The Store Manager - Chapter 3

Within two weeks of his return to work Morten was working a full time schedule. He’d soon realized that it did him good to get out of his apartment and do something useful; he felt more energized than he had in months and much more like himself again. The holiday season was just about to start and he was excited about it. It was without a doubt Morten’s favorite season and he loved the hectic pace of the busiest time of the year. 

“Morten, can I get your opinion on a display?” Elise asked; she was leaning the doorjamb of the office they shared. They’d settled back into a comfortable routine since his return; Elise was in charge of the shop floor and he took care of the administrative side of the business.  It was pretty much the same routine they’d had before Morten’s accident and it worked well for both of them.

“Sure, give me five minutes to finish this up and I’ll be right out, okay?”

“Thanks. It’s up by the cash register.”

“Got it,” Morten replied with a smile before he turned his attention back to the document he was working on; a training document for the seasonal employees. Over the past week Elise and he had interviewed about 20 people. They’d hired six of them and they were starting the following week. Morten knew from experience that it could be useful to send them an overview of the basic routines in the store before they started so they had an idea of what was expected of them.  He’d made the document a couple of years ago, but head office had introduced a few new routines since then and Elise had mentioned a few things she thought should be added to the list as well. After a few minutes he saved his progress and printed a copy. He grabbed the document from the printer, slid it into a plastic folder and placed it in his lap before he released the brakes on his wheelchair and pushed away from his desk. 

Morten found Elise by a display near the cash register; it was obvious that she wasn’t satisfied with her work, judging by the way she was fidgeting.

“What about placing the kettles to the right?” he said as he wheeled up next to her, she hadn’t heard him coming and jumped slightly.

“Sheesh Morten, you need to attach jingle bells or something to your wheelchair. You’re way too stealthy,” she said with a small laugh.

“Funny,” Morten laughed as he grabbed the push rims of his chair and suspended his body from the seat for a few seconds before he dropped back into the seat. The first few times Elise or someone else from his staff had seen him do weight shift they’d looked away and they’d been slightly awkward around him. Fortunately the monthly staff meeting had fallen on his first Thursday back at work and he’d taken the opportunity to explain a bit about his disability to them. It seemed to have put them at ease; most of them treated him like they’d always done.

“Well, you need to stop sneaking up on people. You’ll end up giving me a heart attack,” Elise said as she lightly smacked Morten’s shoulder, then they turned their attention back to the display she was struggling with.

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 “Here’s a copy of the guidelines for the seasonal staff. Can you look it over in the weekend and let me know if we need to change something on Monday?” Morten grabbed the folder from his lap and handed it to Elise after they’d finished sorting out the display. She grabbed it and quickly flicked through the pages.

“Yeah. You’ve made the changes we talked about yesterday, right?”

“Yep. Just give it a final look-over, okay?”

“No problem! So, what are you up to this weekend?”

“Nothing too exciting. I’m meeting some of my buddies tonight, for dinner and a few drinks.  Other than that I don’t have any plans; I need to recharge my batteries a bit, the next couple of months will be hectic.”

“I’m so glad you’re back,” Elise said as she placed a hand on Morten’s shoulder and gave it a light squeeze. “I was totally dreading dealing with the holiday season without you.”

“Grete told me. I’m glad she stopped by and persuaded me to go back to work, if she hadn’t I probably would’ve kept putting it off for a while.”

Before Elise could reply a customer approached them; “Excuse me, where can I find the drills that’s on special?”

“I’ll show you, follow me,” Morten said with a smile. He knew tools weren’t Elise’s strong suit and she had her hands full with the display.  The lady seemed slightly taken aback, but she followed him into the tool department.

“This is the basic model, which is on special for 999 kroner. It’s a good choice for basic tasks, but I would recommend upgrading to the next model, which we’re selling for 1299 kroner now. It’s a more powerful drill and it comes with two batteries and complimentary a set of bits from Bosch. That’s a better value for money.”

“I’ll take that then, you seem to know what you’re talking about.”

“I sure hope so,” Morten smiled. “I’ve worked here since high school and I’ve been the manager of this store for the past three and a half years.” He gestured to the nametag on his uniform shirt, which said; 
“Morten, store manager”

“Well, you probably know a thing or two about frying pans too?”

“That I do,” Morten said as he grabbed the drill the lady had said she wanted and placed the box in his lap. “Follow me to the kitchen department.”

Twenty minutes later Morten led the lady to the cash register, where she paid for a high-end frying pan, the drill and a few other items. Morten was happy with himself; it was his first real customer interaction since his return to work and it had turned out well. On his way back to the office he helped a couple of customers with some minor things and by the end of the day, which was also the end of his workweek, he was tired, but happy. Morten logged off his computer and grabbed his bag from the corner. He stuffed some paperwork and a thumb drive into it before pulled off his uniform shirt and put that into the bag too, and then he put on the plaid shirt he’d worn when he arrived at work. He attached the bag to the back of his wheelchair and then he made sure that his wallet was in the pouch under the seat with his keys and cell phone before he shrugged into his brown leather jacket. He wheeled through the store and wished Elise and the rest of the staff a good weekend before he headed home.

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When Morten got back to his apartment he was tired and his back was hurting around the area of his injury. He remembered the first time he’d sat in a wheelchair while he was in rehab; he hadn’t even managed to sit for 15 minutes before the pain became intolerable and he asked for assistance to get back into bed.  He’d worried that he’d be stuck in bed for the rest of his life, but fortunately things had improved quickly. Morten glanced at his watch and realized he’d been in his chair for more than 10 hours; he’d gotten out of bed just after 6 in the morning and now it was close to 4:45 in the afternoon. No wonder my back is killing me, he thought as he wheeled down the hall toward his bedroom. The guys were meeting at a pub not far from his apartment around 9, so he had time to lie down for a while; to give his back a break. He hoped a couple of hours in bed would boost his energy and relieve the pain.  It irked him a bit that at the age of 28 he was so wiped out after a full days work that he needed to take a nap in to have the energy to have a few drinks with his friends in the evening. Stop it! This is your life now. Deal with it and be happy you’re still able to live independently, do your job and hang out with your friends. It could be worse, Morten berated himself as he wheeled into the bathroom to catheterize himself.

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Morten wheeled into the small pub a couple of blocks from his apartment at 7:45, he knew he was very early, but he’d woken up at 6:30, feeling much better and by the time he was dressed and ready he was restless. He figured he’d kill the time by having a few beers and maybe chatting with Christian, the owner of the pub. Morten had been a regular there since Christian had taken over and refurbished the place a couple of years earlier. Before that it had been a pretty dodgy establishment; the clientele had been rather scruffy, mostly elderly men he’d suspected should be members of AA and the food had been horrible. Christian had completely refurbished the place and added a small kitchen. In addition to a vast selection of beer and wine he’d started serving food. The menu was limited, but Christian’s philosophy was quality over quantity and his dedication to quality ingredients and generally high standards meant that what was served was great.  The rumor of the great food had travelled fast in the area and the pub had become a popular hangout for the locals. 

Silje had started her shift at noon and it had been a quiet afternoon. She was glad her shift was over at 8.  The door opening caught her attention and she turned to see a man in a wheelchair entering the pub. The first thing that hit her, besides the fact that he was in a wheelchair, was that he was definitely good looking; chocolate brown eyes, chiseled jaw and wavy brown hair. The five o’clock shadow on his jaw and his slightly tousled hair gave him a rugged look, which was something Silje appreciated in a man. He was wearing a pair of dark jeans and an open brown leather jacket with a plaid shirt under it. The wheelchair was compact; black frame, low backrest, no armrests and his feet, clad in impeccable brown leather shoes, were resting on a single tubular footrest. It was evident that the wheelchair wasn’t a temporary thing; it was sleek and almost looked like it was part of him. It looked nothing like the clunky wheelchairs she’d seen at the hospital as a child. Silje tried not to stare as he wheeled over to a table next to the bar and slid a chair out of the way to make room for his wheelchair. With that done he positioned his chair and flicked a lever she assumed were brakes of some sort before he shrugged out of his jacket and draped over the backrest of the wheelchair.  Silje grabbed a menu and walked over to his table.

“Hi, can I get you anything?” she asked as she placed the menu on the table in front of him.

“You’re new,” he stated with a smile and then he extended his right hand. “I’m Morten.”

“I’m Silje. I started this week; it’s only my second shift. I take it you’re a regular?”

“Nice to meet you Silje. I live about two blocks away, so I’ve been coming here regularly since Chris took over a couple of years ago. Haven’t been here much lately though.” He flashed her a bright smile that made her heart skip a beat. “Did you move to Oslo recently?”

“In August. My dialect doesn’t exactly hide that I’m not local, does it?”

“It is pretty obvious that you’re not from here. Bergen?”

“Close. Askøy. Ever been there?”

“No, but I’ve been to Bergen a few times, to concerts at Koengen with my friends.  The last concert I saw there was Bruce Springsteen in July last year.”

“That was an awesome concert!”

“You were there?”

“I was. My sister bought me the ticket as a birthday present.”

“It’s a great concert venue. I prefer it over Valle Hovin here in Oslo actually.”A group of four men arrived and Silje excused herself after taking Morten’s order for a beer. She was slightly relieved when it was evident that they were just having beers and playing a few rounds of pool. She quickly served them and then poured Morten’s pint and headed back to him. He seemed very interested in something on his iPhone when she set the beer down on the table, but the sound of the glass hitting the table got his attention.

“Thanks,” he said with a smile.

“My pleasure.” Before she could say anything else Christian walked through the door. He headed straight for Morten’s table and Silje headed back to the bar to finish slicing the lemons and limes she’d been working on when Morten had entered the bar.
 “Morten! It’s great to see you. How are you doing?” Christian’s familiar booming baritone voice and a firm slap on his back startled Morten slightly.

“Hey Chris! Good to see you too. I’m doing pretty well. How are you? Business okay? It looks pretty quiet here today.”

“It’s actually pretty good. The weekends are a bit slower, but we’ve been busier during the week. We’ve been open for lunch for the past couple of months and it’s working out really well.”

“Really? That’s great,” Morten said as he shifted his weight in his wheelchair. He noticed that Chris tried not to stare at him; weight shifts seemed to make people uncomfortable.

“We took a chance when we decided to open for lunch, so I’m glad it’s working out.”

“Glad it worked out for you buddy. Are you working tonight?”

“Yeah. I’d better go change my shirt. Silje gets off at 8. You gonna be here for a while?”

“Yeah, my buddies are meeting me here around 9, I just got restless and decided to head down here early.”

“Sounds like the Morten I know,” Christian chuckled as he got to his feet. “Talk to ya’ later, ‘kay?” After Silje went back to work behind the bar and Christian headed into the back to change Morten pulled out his phone to check his personal email.  A little bit later he realized that Christian had replaced Silje and she was nowhere to be seen. She came out of the back a few minutes later; wearing a pair of skinny jeans and an oversized grey sweater that hung off one of her shoulders, revealing the orange strap of her bra. She had a pair of red chucks on her feet and a black canvas bag draped over her right shoulder. She was definitely pretty by Morten’s standards; he preferred brunettes, but her dark copper hair was close enough. He was attracted to her and before his accident he definitely would’ve hit on her. Now he was sure there was no way a beautiful girl like Silje could be attracted to him; a guy in a wheelchair. And the wheelchair was only a small part of how his disability affected his life and he didn’t think he’d ever be able to find a woman that could deal with it all. He sighed, but before he could let his mind wander farther down the path of self-pity Silje walked over to his table carrying a pint of beer.

“Mind if I join you?” she asked with a slightly shy smile.


To be continued.....