“Fine,” Erika said and it was clear that she wasn’t intimidated by appeals to national charters, “I won’t reach into your coat, but you have to come with me.” And she pointed back towards the back of the store. For a moment, Allie hesitated. She knew she couldn’t run and she also knew that assaulting this bitch would get her in way bigger trouble than she was already in. She only had about $20 in food. Maybe if she cooperated, she’d get let off easy. She started to walk towards the back of the store.
She desperately sought to figure out a way to drop at least some of the food before they got to wherever they were going. But Erika was right behind her, and would see anything she tried. They walked down an aisle, back to the deli counter. When she reached the wall, she stopped. There was a gray swinging door next to a cheese display. Erika pointed to the door and Allie grudgingly walked inside.
It was cold in the back and Allie was thankful for her large coat. It was a large storage room with row upon row of food. There appeared to be a little office in the corner of the room, just a square of Sheetrock with a door. Erika pointed Allie in that direction and she went. When she reached the door, she opened it. It was a small office, just a desk with three chairs (a nice one with arms rests behind the desk, two uncomfortable chairs in front). There were a couple of pictures and things on the walls and Allie saw Erika’s name on the plate by the computer. Allie sat down on one of the uncomfortable chairs. Behind her, Erika closed and locked the door. Then she walked around the desk and sat in her chair.
For a moment the two women sat and stared at one another. Allie knew what Erika was trying to do. She was trying to make her uncomfortable enough that she would crack and admit to stealing things. That would make her life a whole lot easier before she called the cops. But Allie wasn’t going to bite on that. There was no way that was going to happen. So they both just sat. Allie squirmed a little, but didn’t speak.
Apparently, Erika felt she had to change tactics. She picked up a framed picture on the table and looked at it. Allie leaned in to try to see what it was. It was Erika holding a pre-school aged boy. Erika looked at the picture, thumbed the frame and then sighed. She looked back at Allie and said nothing. But Allie still refused to crack. She knew that talking first would mean capitulation.
“Do you know,” Erika said, and Allie suppressed a little triumphant smile, “that as manager I am held responsible for loss prevention?”
“I…” Allie began, but Erika cut her off quickly.
“I am not saying that every time something is stolen from the store that they take it out of my paycheck. But store security is one of my areas of responsibility. If I don’t protect the store, then the company will take away my job.” With each passing work, Erika appeared more and more angry. She seemed to be boiling up, and she talked faster and angrier. Part of Allie wished she’d just talked earlier.
“Well…”Allie said. She hadn’t wanted to hurt anyone. She wasn’t stealing anything that she didn’t need. For a moment she felt a stab of guilt. But Erika was talking again.
“And do you know how hard it is? As a single mother, to ensure that I take care of my son? I have a 2-year degree from a community college. This is a really good job for me. If I get fired, it would be very difficult to get this kind of position again. I would be flipping burgers,” Erika said. Allie stared at the woman, trying to figure out what her game was. But the woman looked legitimately fearful. And the guilt grew heavier on Allie’s shoulders.
“I’m…” Allie started, but again she was cut off.
“Is it more important for you to eat than for my son to eat?” Erika asked. There was a new sound in the woman’s voice now. Primal and protective. Allie felt a little nervous about where this would go next.
“I just needed food,” Allie finally sputtered.
“There are places that give away food to people in need. Soup kitchens, my church has one. This is not a soup kitchen, it is a business. You are stealing,” Erika said. And of course she was right, but Allie wanted to explain that it wasn’t as simple as that.
“No, I mean…”
“No you weren’t stealing? Really?” Erika yelled and then stood and walked around the desk. Allie shook her head, trying to explain, but Erika looked enraged now. Her eyes were wide, her cheeks flushed. Allie was surprised by how beautiful the woman looked, even if she appeared to be in the middle of an all-out rage. “Stand up!”
“Why?” Allie asked, scared. She grabbed onto the armrests of the chair, not wanting to stand up. But Erika grabbed her by a wrist and yanked her up to a standing position. Allie was too disoriented to move as Erika pushed the chair out from behind her, and then quickly ripped off her big coat. Cans and vegetables flew all over the floor.
“You are a fucking liar too!” Erika yelled. Allie turned to look at this woman. For the first time in her life, she wished she’d been arrested. The police had to follow rules. This woman was unhinged.
“I just needed food,” Allie said, looking down at the pitiful amount of foot strewn about the floor. Surely this wasn’t enough to get anyone fired. But Erika wasn’t done yet. She spun Allie around.
“What else do you have?” She demanded. Allie looked down at her clothes. She was wearing a pair of slim blue jeans and a skin tight t-shirt. She wasn’t even wearing a bra. There was no place where she could have hid anything if she wanted to.
“That’s everything,” she said in a defeated voice, gesturing to the food on the ground.
“Why should I believe you?” she asked and then quickly grabbed Allie’s shirt at the collar and pulled hard. Allie almost lost her footing, slipping some. But she heard her shirt tear. Erika yanked again and the shirt ripped entirely and fell onto the floor. Allie moved her hands up and covered her now bare breasts with her hands. She was a prostitute at times, she was used to showing her body, but this was terrible.
“Stop!” she yelled. But putting her hands over her breasts had been a mistaken. Erika quickly dropped to her knees and in one swift movement unbuttoned Allie’s jeans and then yanked down on them hard. Erika pulled so hard that it slipped her panties down as well. The clothes pooled around her ankle. Allie felt her cheeks get incredibly hot. She bent down, trying to pull her pants back up. But as she bent over, Erika grabbed her ankles and she instead fell back onto the floor, knocking her head roughly on the linoleum. For a moment, her vision was foggy, but then she saw Erika standing over her as she lay on her back on the floor.
Allie couldn’t figure out what was happening. None of this made any sense. She might have expected a man to try something like this, being on the road gave her a pretty clear picture into the lowest levels of male aggression. But what was this woman doing? The woman’s movements seemed so… animalistic. They were almost sexual in their force and speed. And Allie’s mind was whirring.