5. Jim

Jim

" H ey kid, how was your vacation?"

I looked up as my friend and long-time mentor, Leo, walked into the locker room. He was several years past retirement age, but after his wife died, he lost all interest in retiring from the factory. Leo had no intention of sitting alone in an empty house. He came to work every day because we were his family, and even though he was slowing down and had trouble meeting his quotas, you took care of family. What the bosses didn't know didn't hurt them.

"My vacation was good. I refinished my hardwood floors and replaced the backsplash in the kitchen," I said proudly. "I'm basically done with my renovations, other than a few finishing touches."

I'd purchased a fixer upper house after I turned thirty and had spent the last five years painstakingly remodeling it. With the work I'd done last week, my house was probably as close to done as it would be. If only I had someone to share it with… Maybe I should get a dog or something. It would be nice to have someone – or something – to come home to at night.

"Welcome back, Jimmy."

My friend George walked into the locker room just as Leo and I were leaving. He was a big, hulking guy who worked as a materials handler here at the factory.

"It was quiet with you gone."

George, Leo, and our other friend Lillian had taken me under their wings when I first started working here right out of high school. I was a smart aleck kid, but a hard worker, and they'd been the support network I'd never had as a kid growing up in foster care. Unfortunately, even though I was a fully grown man now, I was pretty sure they still thought of me as a kid.

That's why I'd just accepted a temporary assignment in another unit at the factory. The forklift driver in sector eleven was starting three months of family leave. I respected the hell out of him for taking the full amount of time off allowed so he could help his wife with their new baby. A lot of guys who worked here couldn't wait to get back here so they didn't have to deal with all the work that went into having a newborn. I'd seen guys come back the day after the baby was born.

Covering a different job was my chance to leave my reputation as the jokester kid behind and show management that I was mature enough to be considered for other opportunities. I liked working on the line, but I was hoping to be a foreman someday, or at least a team lead.

"Jimmy, what's that thing on your face? Are you trying to grow a beard?"

I sighed as Lillian came charging up, her strong fingers grabbing my chin and turning my head from side to side. She was the den mother of our section of the factory, and tough as nails. She had to be, given that she was raising six boys – three of her own and three that her husband already had when they got married. They had some real Brady Bunch shit going on over there.

"It's a goatee," I said, trying not to sound defensive. "I grew it out over vacation."

I loved the look of the beard and mustache combo that circled my mouth, leaving the rest of my jaw smooth. It hardened the baby face that I still had despite my age.

Lillian met my eyes, and her expression softened. She'd always been able to read me better than anyone.

"It looks good, Jimmy. I like it."

"Thanks Miss Lillian."

"Alvarez!"

We all turned as our foreman barked my name. He was a gruff older guy who ran a tight ship. "I heard you're covering over at sector eleven for a while."

"Yes sir, I am."

"Well, you better get over there then. They got a new foreman comin' in and you don't want to be late and make a bad impression."

"Wait, what?" Lillian asked. "You took a new assignment? How come this is the first we're hearing about it?"

"I'm covering for the forklift driver in sector eleven for three months," I explained as the foreman walked away to yell at his next victim. "I made the decision right before I left on vacation."

"Why are you leaving us?" Lillian sounded almost hurt.

I looked around at my friends and decided to be honest.

"Y'all have been great and a really big support to me my entire adult life, but I'm not some smartass kid anymore. I'm a grown man. I figured moving over to another sector will give me a chance to make an impression as Jim, the responsible adult, not Jimmy, the irresponsible kid. I want management to see me as someone who can move up into a better position someday. That's why I've been taking all those classes."

"No one thinks you're irresponsible Jimmy, uh Jim," Lillian said, looking troubled. "But you're right, I guess we do still think of you as a kid and that's not right. You've got the skills and motivation to get a promotion, so you go to sector eleven and help out so other people can see that too. But I hope you'll come back to the team when your temp job is over."

I nodded. "Thank you Miss Lillian. I promise you won't get rid of me that easily."

"And we're still takin' you out for a birthday beer tonight, right?" George asked.

"Sure, sure, I'll see you guys over there after shift."

I hurried across the factory, realizing that I probably should have used the entrance and locker room on this side of the building. I'd gone in on the other side just out of habit. Then again, I wouldn't have seen my friends if I had.

My concerns about everyone on my team treating me like a snot-nose kid aside, I was looking forward to having a new challenge. I could do my regular job in my sleep after being in the same position for so long. I was excited to use my forklift driver certification and learn more about how we created some of our other products.

When I got to the main work area for sector eleven, there was a group of people gathered on one side of the room. I walked over to join the group just as David Weston, one of the suits from the admin office, climbed up on something to raise himself above the crowd. Typical suit, they all thought they were above us.

Although David was also George's brother-in-law, which meant I ran into him at social events several times a year. He wasn't too bad of a guy, other than the stick up his ass and the fancy pants clothes he always wore.

"Everyone! Your attention please." His voice was as snooty as the pinstriped suit he was wearing. "I'm pleased to introduce you to the new foreman for this sector, Jordan Bowerman. Jordan, come on up here."

David shuffled to the side of whatever he was standing on and to my surprise, a woman appeared next to him. And not just any woman, the most beautiful woman I'd ever laid eyes on.

From back here I could only see her from the shoulders up. She had curly red hair that was pulled back behind her in a ponytail or a bun, I couldn't tell from here, and several red curls had escaped to frame her face. I pushed through the crowd to move closer.

The new lady foreman was dressed simply in faded jeans, work boots, and a plain black tee shirt that did little to hide her generous breasts. She had curvy hips and strong looking thighs that I immediately pictured wearing as earmuffs. My gaze returned to her face, noting her pale skin, little button nose, and bright green eyes.

Our eyes met briefly, and I felt the oddest sensation, kind of like I'd touched something electric. My entire body was buzzing with excitement, and it wasn't because I was going to be driving a forklift. It was because of the woman in front of me. I suddenly remembered something that Leo had told me years ago, after his wife's funeral.

"The first time I saw my Anna, it was like being struck by lightning," he'd said. " I didn't even know her name, but I knew without a doubt that she was the woman I was meant to spend the rest of my life with. And I did. Or the rest of her life anyway."

I'd chalked the romantic sentiment up to an old man's sorrow about losing his wife, but now I knew the truth: love at first sight was real and I'd just experienced it. I just wasn't sure what to do about it.