Magdalena: Gainfully Employed

For the rest of the week Magdalena worked diligently at the snack bar, making sure the furnishings were round and there was plenty of food, most of it things that would freeze well. She never saw Craig again that week; what a shame, he was so friendly and cheerful.

Despite the galling lack of a cute ski instructor, she enjoyed her work and its responsibilities. Friday she celebrated the end of her first week at her new job by buying a hanging orange fuchsia plant to provide her other hanging giant with some company in the living room. He had seemed a tad more...male...than usual on Monday, and she thought it was time to find him a female companion with leaves.

Saturday and Sunday she spent the entire day at Mittelmont. Outside the snow swirled in the fog, and from inside the lodge it was impossible to tell whether the storm was natural or artificial.

John dropped by on Saturday. “Oh, hello, you’re still here!” He smiled, looking at once pleased, surprised, apologetic, and scheming. “I’m sorry, I forgot your name. Not that you’re not memorable, but I...meet a lot of people. Ski resort opening, you know.”

“Maggie.”

“Maggie!” He slapped himself on the forehead, hard. “Of course! Maggie! I’m John, if you don’t remember.” She did. “Well, I hope you’ll be around for a while. What are you doing here now?”

“Running the snack bar,” said Magdalena, hoping to sound curt. She decided to drop a hint, too. “It keeps me very busy.”

“Oh yeah, busy, busy!” he drawled, pulling up a round barstool and plopping his angular behind down onto it. “I know I’m working hard, that is, when I’m not hardly working!” He laughed. “That snow machine’s a bitch—excuse me, a bear—to keep running. Damn thing’s brand new, but I’ll be d--, a monkey’s uncle, if it runs worth a spit. I’m out there all the time. Good thing I’ve got a good schedule worked out with my community service! Exes. You know?”

Magdalena shook her head mutely, keeping her expression blank.

“You don’t got an ex? Or you’re just not saying? Just as well. We’d probably sit here and talk all day, and I know something’s broke by now. Better go fix it!”

“Bye.” The word squeezed itself out between Magdalena’s lips in spite of her attempt to maintain a distant, withering silence. Why, why did she feel this irritating, self-destructive compulsion to be polite? Well, you never know, at least this way he can’t tell Amanda she was rude to him. That’s a good thing.

So he thought she’d already be fired by now! Of all the nerve. She shook her head violently and refocused her attention on her job.