Piece By Piece Ch. 05

Even with the night out with the girls, I still didn't feel better. It had been a week since I started seeing Arthur instead of Tina, and nothing had changed. I was beginning to think this pit I felt like I was falling into was never-ending.

Jordan had become my best friend even though Tina was right here in my town, and we got along great. Jordan was the one that always brought me back to reality. I had to do things for me and not for anyone else: not my children, not my friends, and certainly not to please the people around me.

"I have to ask," I said as we were on a video call.

"Okay," Jordan replied, she was driving in her truck, her phone was on the dashboard.

Jordan was a country girl through and through, more so than most of the pretenders around here. Right now, she was wearing a tank top, and a baseball cap turned backward. In the back of the truck, I could see what looked like haybales.

What struck me the most was her chest, they bounced and bobbed like they were about to knock her out. "Did they come with the drug you took, and have you thought about a reduction?" I asked.

"You sound like one of the guys," Jordan laughed.

"I am only asking because I wear an H, and those make me feel like I am small," I laughed.

"Bullshit," Jordan shook her head. "You need to get remeasured if you think you're just an H," Jordan shook her head. "Brandon would have my head if I got a reduction, and as fast as these things grow, I would be back to being big in no time."

"They are still growing?" I asked which I found impossible. Unless she was putting on weight or pregnant, there was no reason for her chest to grow. As in shape as she was neither of the other options were viable.

"Yup, every month," Jordan said. "Soon, I won't be able to walk. I will be just crawling on the floor."

"We will get to the bottom of this," I said, nodding my head.

"I am going to lose you. I am getting close to home," Jordan said.

I nodded. That small town of hers had no kind of reception. "Call me from the house phone if you need to," I said.

There was static as she tried to talk, then it cut off.

Jordan's problem had made me look up other things, but other than the one incident, nothing had popped up.

"Losing weight rapidly and keeping it off, also gaining muscle as well as stamina," I said, trying to research on my computer. I left out the increased bust enlargement. It sounded like some experimental drug.

"Mom!" Robin yelled up from the second floor. "Out of milk again!"

I sighed. Since Teresa had left, the kids were running rampant. I forgot how much they ate and drank when they were home. The snow had returned, and with it, the holidays. Which meant all of them were either home or at their friends.

"Take the car..." I stopped. "Shit!"

"You said," Thomas started up.

"I know," I replied, shutting down the computer. "Let me get ready, and I will be right down."

With my holiday bonus, I had promised that we would all do some holiday shopping. I had already got their presents and Robin and Robert had already done theirs for the other kids. Thomas had done his online, which was getting delivered. Now we had to shop for the house as well as dinner. It would be the first Christmas that it was just the five of us.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

I pulled into the large parking lot. There was hardly any parking.

"Knew we should have come earlier," Thomas groaned.

"Over there!" Shannon shouted from her spot right behind me.

As I got close to parking, a car beat me to it.

"Damn it," Robert said.

"Robbie!" I said, shaking my head.

Jack was getting into the bad habit of repeating what he had heard over and over again. I knew it was just a phase, so we did our best to ignore it. Sometimes I put my foot down, which ending up with him getting a whack across the head.

"Another one back there," Thomas said as he pointed to the far back of the parking lot. It was the only one, so I pulled into it.

Shannon and Robin were an item now. Robert had gotten over her, so he said, but I could still see him steal glances at her now and then. With the two of them being an item, they spent a lot of time over at Shannon's place.

I had gone to the old barn to make sure they weren't up to no good, but they always closed the barn up. Shannon had put up a motion detector to let her know when anyone came close. I was sure they were having threesomes with the Hispanic stable hand.

I couldn't say anything because, at Shannon's age, I was a lot more promiscuous. At least I knew she was in a relationship.

"Now remember only buying things that we aren't opening Christmas day," I said as I set them loose in the store. I loaded Jack into the cart with me. The rest of them took off. I knew Thomas and Robert were going to get a new game for their console. Since Teresa left, they had hooked their gaming console to the big screen.

Robin and Shannon were probably heading for the sports section. Robin was going to a local college that had a woman's soccer team. I went to the grocery department, and started to get things for the big dinner I was going to make. I had missed making a large amount of food.

"Sorry," a deep voice said from behind me.

I turned to see a tall, dark man standing there, picking out some fruits.

"I stole your parking spot," the man said as he looked at me and waved at Jack as usual Jack clung to me.

"It's okay," I nodded. "I didn't put my name on it."

"I was distracted, or I would have seen you," he said as he put out his hand. "Ned."

"Staci," I said, trying to let go of Jack and the cart. "Sorry, he's..." I stopped this was a stranger, and I wasn't about to tell him about my son's situation.

"No," Ned said. "Stranger, danger," he nodded. "Sorry, young man. And sorry to you again."

Ned slowly backed away and then turned to walk away.

Jack let his vice grip around me go. He was getting better. Two years ago, one of us would have had to stay home with him, the thought of having Jack in a vast store like this, as busy as it was would not have been an option.

Now, as long as Robin, Robert, or I was near him, he was as calm as a cucumber until someone came close. Thomas was the fun brother, not the serious brother. Robert and Robin couldn't get Jack to talk or play as good as Thomas could, still to this day, Thomas was the one that could put Jack to sleep in a few minutes, while it took me over half an hour.

My cart was nearly loaded with food and clothes I was buying for myself as well as Jack and Thomas. Robin and Robert could fend for themselves now that they both had part-time jobs.

"No!" I said as I saw the game that Robert and Thomas put into the cart.

"Mom!" Robert said.

"You can play it," I said, looking at Robert. "You, nice try!" I said, looking at Thomas.

"Ha!" Robert said.

"Since the console is in the living room, that means you can't play it either dofus!" Thomas said.

"I will just move it up when I need to play it," Robert laughed.

"No, you won't," I said, shaking my head. "You aren't taking that thing up and down the stairs every day."

"Okay, when I get enough, I will buy one for my room?" Robert asked.

"Sure, I have no problem with that," I shrugged.

Robert had gotten good grades and was going to a reputable college close to our town. It also had a good football program. Thomas, on the other hand, was having problems. I was sure it was because of his girlfriend.

Shannon and Robin came back with a few clothes and various snack items. "Another sleepover?" I smiled, already knowing the answer.

"Yes," Robin smiled back.

The lines were long to get checked out, so I sent them all to get some food at the in-store fast food as I knew it would be a while to get checked out then drive back home.

"Hi again," Ned said from behind me.

"We need to stop meeting like this," I smiled.

"What," Ned said, glancing around "Are people talking already?"

I laughed as he had a great smile.

"I think the cashier on seven said something," I smiled.

"Well, damn it," Ned said. "Guess I will have to put all this back and find another store."

Ned turned around and started to walk away. "Ned!" I said with a smile. "Stop it!"

"See, I am getting mixed signals, here," Ned said as he came back. "First, you say we need to stop. Now you say to stay."

I hadn't smiled this hard in a while. My face felt like it was on fire. "The shy one has gone?" Ned said as I put my items on the belt.

"He is with his brothers and sisters," I said.

"Ah," Ned nodded. "That's good. I was serious, earlier when I said I didn't mean to scare him."

"He..." I said, thinking about what to say.

"None of my business," Ned said with both of his hands up.

"Thank you," I nodded.

"What about you?" Ned asked.

"What about me?" I turned to look up at the tall man.

"You scared of me?" Ned asked.

I looked him up and down. He had broad shoulders a slight stomach. I expected he was trying to lose weight from the items in his cart. There were sports drinks, protein powders, some clothes and a lot of vegetables and fruits. He had the darkest brown eyes I had ever seen.

"No," I said, shaking my head.

"Good," Ned nodded as he began to put his items on the belt.

"Three-eighty-two," the lady said.

It was a bit more than I wanted to pay, but feeding a large family plus all the clothes, was bound to send my total bill higher than I wanted.

"Shit," I said. The kids must have my purse.

"Problem?" the lady asked.

"My kids have my purse," I said as I tried to find my phone. "Which also has my phone."

"I can hold it for you while you..." the lady started to say.

"Add it to mine," Ned said as he looked at her.

"No, I can't," I said as I looked at him.

"Yes, you can," Ned said. "There is an atm outside, you can pay me back, instead of holding up the line."

I looked back at the line. I could see the angry faces on all of the people. I was sure the kids were already sitting down eating.

"Okay," I said as I looked up at him. "The moment we get outside, I am paying you back."

"Of course," Ned said.

The new total was ridiculously high; my heart was beating through my chest. "Relax," Ned said as he put his hand on my shoulder.

I nodded as he asked for two receipts. "There," he said, handing me one.

"Okay," I nodded again.

We walked towards the exit. The gang was waiting outside for me.

"Mom!" Robin said she could see the look on my face. "What's wrong?"

"You have my purse," I smiled.

"Shit," Robin said as she reached for my purse. "And your phone. I am sorry, do we need to go back to the register?"

"No, Ned here paid for it," I said as I introduced all of them to the tall stranger. Instantly Jack tightened his grip around Robert's neck as he was piggybacking, something he loved to do with his older brother.

"Jack, bud, I need to breathe," Robert said.

Ned stepped back a few paces, and Jack let go.

"You're getting good at this," I laughed.

"Practice," Ned laughed.

The kids took the items to the vehicle as Ned and I went to the ATM. I got the amount needed and paid him back.

"Thanks again," I said as I saw Robin driving towards me.

"No need to thank me," Ned said as he looked at all of them looking out the windows.

"I should go," I said as I stepped towards my large SUV, with a bunch of nosey brats staring at me.

"Number!" Shannon yelled.

"Shit," Robert said as he got out the car and passed me. "My Mom is too scared to ask, and you're too much of a gentleman so, can I have your number since you were eying my video game earlier?"

Ned laughed as he looked down at my son. "You're funny!" he said as he wrote down a number. "And if you have the Ps4, there is my I.D. so I can whoop you online."

"Now who is the funny one," Robert smiled. They shook hands as Robert got into the vehicle. Robin moved over into the passenger seat as I got in, I closed the door and waved at Ned as I drove off.

There was silence as I drove out of the parking lot. "Go for it," I said, putting my arm on the window.

"He seems nice," Shannon said.

"Tall, very tall," Thomas said.

"Funny," Robin added. "Seems like he has a good sense of humor."

"Tall, did anyone see how tall he was?" Thomas said.

"Here is his number," Robert said, handing me the paper.

I looked at it. "I don't think..." I started to say.

"Just friends," Robin said as she looked at me. "Not like the other two, start off as friends."

I nodded.

"Like seriously? Are we not going to talk about how tall he was?" Thomas said, leaning forward. "Robbie here is Six foot two, and the guy was staring down at him!"

"Yes!" the others shouted back. "He's tall!"

"Thank you!" Thomas said.

We all laughed, as always the jokester of the group turned a tense situation into something funny.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"She was right," Michelle said as I put my top back on. "You're wearing the wrong sized bra."

Michelle was Shannon's mother and owner of a clothing store in the mall. Tina nodded her head. "I have been telling her that since..."

I turned around and gave her a look. "Okay," I said as I looked at both of them.

"I got Robin into a better size as well," Michelle said, shaking her head. "It's a wonder how some women walk around these days."

"Exactly," Tina nodded.

"Okay, smartypants," Michelle said. "What size are you?"

"C, have been the same size for a while now," Tina said.

"Stand up," Michelle ordered.

Tina stood up. "Straighten your back," Michelle said as she pulled on Tina's shoulders.

"C, my ass!" Michelle said as she went back to the table to get her measuring tape. "If you're a C, I am a size fifteen."

Michelle was a big woman, nearly as large as Jordan's sister. Tina sighed and took off her top and bra. Michelle measured and laughed. "Knew it," she said as she went back to the table. "Welcome to the B club!"

"Shit!" Tina said as she put her clothes back on.

"What about me?" I asked.

"You're in the oh shit, we have to special order club," Michelle said as she wrote things down on a paper in pencil. "Closest I can get the order in is Tuesday," she said, looking at me.

I walked to the table. "J!" I shouted a bit too loudly. I was sure some of the people outside of the measuring room heard me.

"Tuesday's good," I said in a softer tone.

I ordered more bra's, then Tina and I walked out into the mall. "Fucking, J!" I shook my head as we walked.

"At least you went up," Tina said, shaking her head. "What do I tell Toby, sorry hun, I know you thought your soon to be wife had big boobs, but she doesn't?"

"Like he would know," I said, shrugging my shoulders. "He is going to feel on them, just the same."

"True," Tina smiled.

"You could always get a boob job," I laughed.

"And you a reduction," Tina said.

"Nope!" I shook my head. "They get me out of trouble, now that Teresa has gone. I need them to get me out of speeding tickets."

Tina shook her head. "So, did he text back?"

I knew this conversation was going to come up. "Yes," I said as a smile crept up on my face.

"And?" Tina asked.

"Nothing, we just said hi and talked for a bit," I said. "Nothing serious."

"That's good," Tina said as we exited the mall.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

NED'S VIEW

Another fucking concert, I hated working concerts, especially these pop music ones. The mess was insane. I would rather work after a rock concert. At least the mess was in one spot, usually next to the mosh pit.

"Ned?" Celice called.

"What?" I answered.

"Keith called in, again," Celice said as she came close.

"Nice," Derek replied. "The morning crew gets to handle it. We get to go home."

That was the protocol, our fearless leader's wife was having a baby, and without a lead to close up the stadium, we couldn't stay after hours.

"Let me make a call," I said.

"Don't you fucking dare," Trevor said. "We all know what they will say. One of us will have to stay until the morning guys come to work."

"Nope, not it," Celice said, raising her hand.

All of the others raised their hands. "Fine!" I said. "I will. I can't afford to take a night off."

There were a few grumbles and agreements. If we left, we would only get paid a minimum of four hours. With how much I paid in rent and everything else, I needed the full ten and more if I could get it.

I sent a text to Keith's direct supervisor Maurine. She called me right back. "I thought you guys would have left by now," she said.

"I volunteer to stay if I am allowed," I said.

There was silence. "Can anyone else stay with you?" Maurine asked. "Insurance issue, if it's only just one."

I wanted to call bullshit. There were plenty of times where one person had stayed. The uppers would stash the money in the office safe, which none of us could get into the money room, let alone the safe. Whoever stayed had stayed in the locker room by our work contract violation of that rule was an instant termination. The only reason she was saying insurance was that I had done time.

"I can ask," I said, but I already knew the answer.

"I'll stay with you," Susan said as I asked everyone. "I bought an expensive gift for my son. I need the money."

"Thanks," I said.

Susan nodded. I knew she was lying because her husband was a well-paid lawyer. She only did this for the perks.

Susan let Maurine know she was staying with me. Maurine told the uppers, and we were cleared to stay and clean up.

Not that I wanted to clean up garbage, puke, as well as other leftovers from teeny boppers partying. But on the plus side, some of us found a few wallets, a few phones, and some jewelry.

The rule was since there was no lead or boss to see it, and the cameras couldn't tell what we did with the garbage. Finders keepers losers weepers.

Keith and Orin are main bosses were the most significant contributors to this rule. We had seen them stash everything in their private lockers.

The hours passed quickly as we went around the main floor, then the seats, cleaning, and bagging. Then Trevor and the others got the floor machines to clean up the remainder of the mess that we couldn't get up.

"So," Celice said as we sat down for a break. "You going to tell us about the new chick?"

I turned to look at Trevor, the only person I had told about Staci.

"Hey," Trevor said, holding up his hand. "I was bored."

"I heard she got a huge ass," Juan said. "Like really big!"

I shook my head. "I am not saying a word," I said as I bit into my sandwich.

I regretted telling Trevor anything, but he was the only one that actually listened to me. The others remotely listened, and then they would go off to the others.

Trevor was supposed to get Keith's position, but he had turned it down due to his back injury. Keith was an okay supervisor, but with my history, he made me work twice as hard as the others.

I looked at my phone and saw that I had missed a text from Staci, it was telling me to have a good night. We were hitting it off well, just being friendly. I knew from the moment I saw her that someone had broken her heart badly.

The moment she tensed up when I talked to her, to the way she backed away as we said goodbye. Even some of her texts were distant as she tried to keep it, friends, only.

I was more than physically attracted to her even though her physical aspects were the primary reason that I liked her.

The way her body fit into those jeans, from those thick thighs to that large ass that went from side to side as she walked. When I first approached her, she was bent over to get something her son had dropped her ass was sticking up so perfectly that you could put a glass on it, walk away if she stayed still it would still be there when you got back.