Max

Chapter One Max “Just because it’s ugly doesn’t mean it tastes bad.” I threw the deformed-looking carrot in a bin. It had three roots attached by a single stem, and if I’d allowed it to be sold, it would rot before anyone bought it. At the end of everyone’s shift, I allowed my coworkers to take whatever they wanted from the bin, and then gave the rest away to the local food bank. It overflowed with oddly shaped eggplants, peppers, carrots, and potatoes. The grocery store I managed only sold organic produce grown locally, and the farmers didn’t see a difference between a standard carrot and one that was purplish and curvy. But customers did, and they wanted nothing to do with misfit veggies. It was stupid, because when you looked at the misfits, they were far more interesting than the standard, generic-looking produce. I held up a disfigured pear and shook my head. “There’s nothing wrong with you.” I murmured. “Max Ortega.” I heard a woman’s voice behind me, dropped the pear, and spun around. “Why are you talking to that grotesque piece of fruit?” Mrs. Coleman from down the street tilted her head, then peered into the bin with the other ugly produce and shuddered. “It looks like something grown in radioactive dirt.” I shook my head and sighed. “How are you today, Mrs. Coleman?” She was a friend of my mother, so I forced a smile. “Doing well, Max.” She was in her sixties and had short white hair with a blueish tint. “I had a wonderful time at your brother’s wedding last weekend. To think, your younger brothers and sisters are all married now.” Mrs. Coleman yanked a plastic produce bag open and filled it with perfectly round white potatoes. “Maria,” she said, referring to Mom, “...is loving all the grandchildren she gets to babysit. When are you going to settle down? Meet a woman and have some kids of your own?” Mrs. Coleman always pretended like I was into women, though she knew better. The first few times she’d mentioned marrying me off, I’d reminded her I preferred men. Now, I didn’t care. It wasn’t like men or women were beating down the door to be with me. “Just haven’t met the right person yet, Mrs. Coleman.” I turned away and pretended to neaten the celery. “If you really cared about your mother, you’d find a nice girl and have a houseful of babies.” She grinned, then snatched another produce bag off the stand and filled it with green beans. “Yes, Mrs. Coleman.” I sighed, wishing I could escape, but I couldn’t be rude to Mom’s friend. “Where did your brother and his bride go for their honeymoon?” “Um, they went to Cancun.” I muttered, and a picture of Juan and Tracey on a beach drinking fruity cocktails filled my head. The closest I’d ever been to paradise was Belle Isle, a tiny island in the James River filled with snakes, stoned teenagers, and poison ivy. “You have a stable job, Max, and the way you take care of Maria is a sign that you would make an excellent father and husband.” She grabbed a sack of glossy red apples and placed them in her cart. “Stop disappointing your mother and start a family of your own.” The older woman abruptly swung her cart around and marched over to the tiny bakery on the other side of the store. While she strolled away, the loudspeaker blared. “Max. Come to register three please for customer assistance.” I’d worked at Oregon Hill Fine Foods since the store opened twenty years ago, and it was the only job I’d ever had. My father died when I was seventeen, and as soon as I graduated high school, I’d found a job as a stock boy. I worked long shifts through the night while the store was closed, stocking shelves in order to support my mother and six younger siblings. Over the years, I’d been promoted by my boss, Mr. Perry, to cashier, then shift manager, and now that he was approaching retirement, I managed the entire store. When I got to the register, Pam, the cashier, had her hand on her hip and was glaring at the customer, who I couldn’t see, since the woman was staring in the opposite direction. “This coupon is expired.” Pam stated, a steely tone in her voice. The woman turned around and I saw it was Mrs. Gillespie, who worked part-time at the day care center Mom worked for. “Max.” The older woman smiled, then hugged me. “I would’ve sworn this coupon was still valid. Is there any way you can…” Her voice trailed off. “Of course, Mrs. Gillespie. Let me fix this for you.” Pam rolled her eyes, then stepped away from the register while I manually overrode the system. She saved twenty-five cents on a pound of organic coffee. “Thank you Max. Every penny counts, you know.” “Of course, Mrs. Gillespie.” I sighed, then Pam went back to checking her out. “Your brother’s wedding was wonderful, dear.” She said, then I stepped around her and bagged the groceries. “I can’t believe all of your brothers and sisters are married, and here you are, the oldest of the bunch and still single.” Pam’s eyes met mine, and she bit her lower lip, probably to keep from laughing. This was a near daily occurrence, friends of my family coming in and pestering me about my love life. “Yeah, boss. When’s it going to be your turn?” “I’ll get married when you do.” I winked, knowing Pam had no urge to settle down soon. She played the field, a rotating cast of women filling her bed. “Max, your mother and I have discussed this at length. Now that your younger siblings are all paired off, you need to settle down too. I know a beautiful girl over on Pine Street…” Mrs. Gillespie blushed, then her voice deepened. “Sorry, Max. I meant to say there are quite a few handsome men in the area. In fact, several of them drop their kids off at the day care center.” “Well, Mrs. Gillespie, usually if they have kids, they already have a partner.” I muttered, not mentioning that no one was interested in me. “Be that as it may, you are a wonderful catch, Max, someone who takes care of his mother. If you ask me, that makes you perfect husband material.” “That’ll be $47, ma’am.” Pam interrupted. Mrs. Gillespie pulled a wallet out of her battered leather purse and fished her debit card out. “Maria worries about you, Max.” She used a pen to punch her PIN number into the machine. “Your mother told me you spend almost every night at home, alone. Max, you have a decent job, and a big heart. Don’t let your family down by never finding a, um, man.” She whispered 'man.' “I’m fine being single, Mrs. Gillespie, I promise.” “How old are you now, Max?” “Yeah, how old are you?” Pam drawled, a sneaky grin splitting her face. “Thirty-eight.” I sighed, then Pam handed Mrs. Gillespie her receipt. I wanted the floor to open up and swallow me, or at least the courage to tell the older woman to f**k off. But, my mother would kill me if I did. “You are far too old to be all alone, Max.” Mrs. Gillespie grabbed the cart with her groceries and walked toward the exit. Then, she called out over her shoulder. “I’ll keep my eyes open, and if I see anyone you’d…” She walked out the automatic door, her voice fading away. “Damn it.” I muttered, then Pam laughed. “Dude, you need to catch a man, or these old biddies will never give you a moment’s peace.” She shook her head then patted me on the shoulder. “Don’t let them get to you.” I took a deep breath, spun around and stalked to my office in the back of the building. Unlike the rest of the grocery store, my office was dark and small, the walls covered in ancient wood paneling. I fell into my desk chair, placed my face in my hands, and groaned. “It’s not like I haven’t tried to meet a guy.” The back of my head tightened, and I wondered if I was getting a headache. I glanced at the clock on the wall and saw I only had two hours to go until my shift was over. Usually, when customers got to me I’d hide back here for a few minutes and calm down. Family, friends, and customers had harassed me ever since the wedding last weekend, badgering me to know when I was going to get married. “Gotta find someone who actually wants to go out with a fat asshole like me first.” I patted my gut, then opened the bottom left-hand drawer of the desk and pulled out a bottle of whiskey I kept there, leaving the tiny shot glass in the drawer. “Shit.” I muttered, then untwisted the top of the bottle and brought it to my lips, relishing the burn of the amber liquid as it slid down my throat. “Don’t let them get to you.” I whispered, and put the bottle back in my desk, and shut the drawer. “In two more hours I can go home, maybe go see a movie with… who the hell am I kidding? I’ll go where I always go, the stupid bar, and I’ll hang out with my so-called friends.” I tugged at my beard, and remembered glancing in the mirror this morning, noticing with dismay a smattering of gray hairs interspersed with the black ones. Ten minutes with a pair of tweezers took care of that problem. “I’m going to grow old, alone.” I muttered, then opened my top drawer, fished out a mint and popped it in my mouth. “Men don’t like me. I’m fat, and managing this grocery store isn’t exactly the greatest career.” I pulled my phone out and opened a dating app. “These guys want to go out with lawyers, doctors, architects. Hell, I barely made it through high school before I was forced to go to work. My family would’ve starved if I hadn’t.” My father died of a stroke at a young age, and at the time Mom spoke very little English. If I hadn’t stepped up to the plate, who knows what would’ve happened to my family. I groaned, then opened the bottom drawer and pulled the bottle of whiskey out for another shot. “Max. Come to the seafood department.” The loudspeaker interrupted, so I put the bottle back and got to my feet. “This is what I have to look forward to for the rest of my life. Might as well make the best of it.”