CHAPTER 83: A Little Extra

 

Jeremy had returned from his morning run to find that Barbara had gone in to work and, mysteriously, a new pie chart had appeared on the study noticeboard.  He looked at it, not recognising it as anything from his place of work at all.  Instead it was an expenditure/projected profit analysis of the retail market in clothing.  Could this be a project Barbara was working on?  But she worked at Hamburgerman fast food restaurant!

He didn't have time to dwell on this as he had to get to work himself but the thought was in his mind that Barbara had a little secret....it made her seem more cute as it clearly wasn't a terrible one otherwise she wouldn't have left a huge, incriminating pie chart for him to see.  Nevertheless, he had a wry smile about it.

When Barbara finished her morning shift at Hamburgerman she went straight home.  Now that she had some numbers about how much the shop would cost, she would need to save up, probably work double shifts and look for extra income.  She had a contact at the Farmers' Market who said some money could be made from people harvesting plants and fruit they've grown themselves so she went around the back of Crick Cabana to gather some lavenders for sale.  However, as she bent down to gather the flowers, she noticed that her work blouse seemed a little too snug fitting....yep, she'd put on weight; probably as a result of all those lovely meals out she was having with Jeremy.  It was time to hit the gym!

She didn't like the little roll of fat when she looked in the mirror but luckily her sports kit still fit her so, after giving herself a little motivational pep talk, it was time to hit the treadmills and work off that "little extra".

She was at the running for nearly an hour; longer than she'd ever run since leaving school sports.  The official trainer at the gym warned her to take it easy but Barbara wasn't having any of it.  On and on she went until every muscle from her waist to her toes was aching and she was going the colour of beetroot.

Eventually she'd had enough and proceeded to stagger upstairs to the showers...why did they have to be on a different level in this place?  She was finding it very difficult to move her very stiff legs but, fortunately, help was on hand from a familiar source.

"Whoa, Babs...take it easy there!" said John Action.

"Action...thank...*phew*...goodness you're here" she gasped in reply.

"Save your breath, I'll help you upstairs"

"They....should....*gasp*....put an elevator...in here..."

"Thanks....." she said and she continued to stagger to the showers.  The hot water was soothing on her sore muscles and after 10 minutes she emerged to get changed and head home.  She didn't feel so bad after a soothing shower but she decided to take the bus home rather than a subway and walk the extra distance, even though that was the quicker way home.

But between the bus stop and the gym, she noticed there was an argument brewing between an old lady and a familiar, public figure:  Magazine boss and party animal Alan Cuffe.

"It's disgusting what you print!" said the old lady.

"What, the recent article on modern American culture by Pulitzer winning author Norman Brainer?" replied Cuffe.

"No!  I mean all those naked women!"

"Jealous?" said an indifferent Cuffe.

Barbara wanted to hear more but the bus arrived and she had to force herself to get on it....fighting her sore body.  She got home and realised she had another work shift in an hour...she could always opt out but there was that issue of money once again:  She really wanted to put a deposit down on that shop.  She would do the second shift of the day and make it up to Jeremy in quality time later.

"Hey sweetheart..." said Jeremy as he got home.

"Hey" Barbara replied, kissing him on the cheek.  "Gotta run...I'll see you tonight" 

"What?" responded a confused Jeremy.  He didn't know she was on two shifts today.  What was going on with her lately?  He headed inside, got a bite to eat and headed off to the study to eat and go through some work reports.  The house felt lonely without Barbara and after finishing his dinner he looked back at the pie chart and noticed something that evaded his attention this morning.  It was an address on Magnolia Promenade.  Could this be the answer to the mystery?  Jeremy made a note of it and headed off to the Promenade to find out.

The address turned out to be an abandoned store.  Walking around it, Jeremy didn't see anything particularly outstanding about the place...it was run down, empty and needed work just to keep it from falling down.  Why was Barbara interested in here?

He headed home and finished off the reports in the study.  Barbara came home and Jeremy decided to talk to her about the old store and the pie chart.

"Hey, honey" he said.

"Jeremy!  I'm glad you're still awake.  I've missed you today....sorry I didn't tell you I'd be doing two shifts today"

"Well, we're here together now.  You don't have to do extra shifts at work; we're financially OK"

"I know....it's just...."

"The shop?" Jeremy asked.  Barbara was taken aback.

"You know about the shop?" she said, her eyes wide in surprise.

"I guessed.  A clue here, a clue there.  Want to tell me about it?"

"I was going to wait until I'd done all the research first....this is just an idea at this stage:  I've signed nothing and not spent any of our money.  Jeremy, I don't want to stay working at a fast food joint, I want to set up my own shop.  A boutique.  Now I've done some research; Suzy helped me and there's definitely a market for trendy clothing designed for young people here in Sim City.  I found that location and it's going cheap...but I know it needs a lot of work done to it..."

"Oh it certainly does" said Jeremy.  "And you've worked this all out without telling me"

Barbara looked embarrassed.  "Well....I was frightened you'd laugh at my idea.  You being the big businessman and all that" she said.

Jeremy smiled.  "I'm hardly 'big' at my company.  I'm a glorified pen pusher.  But no, I'm impressed with what you've done so far.  Do you have a deposit ready to put down on the place?"

"Nearly.  I've got some money my parents gave me....it was for a downpayment on a place of my own but as we live together I figured I could put that towards the shop."

"OK....and, well, like I said we're doing OK financially so......." he left that point hanging in the air.

"You'll help?" said Barbara.

"I'll help too" said Jeremy, taking her hands in his.  The two of them smiled lovingly at each other.