Chapter 11

[vibe track:... -... ]

“Hi I’m Jessica with Hearth and Home Home Products. I’m calling because our records indicate you recently purchased a Hearth and Home home product for your home. May I ask you a few questions about your experience with your Hearth and Home home product?”

Cameron had the script committed to memory after her first day. That was ... three years ago now? Four? She wasn’t sure. She didn’t want to think about it. About anything. Which was hard, because there wasn’t much else to do here.

It was something she needed to pay the bills. Obviously. That’s why everyone was here, in their little cubicles, repeating the same inane lines over and over and over and over.

“Hi I’m Jessica with Hearth and Home Home Products. I’m calling because our records indicate you recently purchased a Hearth and Home home product for your home. May I ask you a few questions about your experience with your Hearth and Home home product?”

Maybe 1 in 80 got to the next step in the conversation tree. Women tended to get more responses though, even Cameron, who made no effort to change her normal voice — which she wouldn’t say was particularly filled with feminine charm.

It was hard for her mind not to wander here. She didn’t like that. When her mind wandered, it tended to wander into dark places. To all the nights that didn’t happen over the years. But today ... it was like it was 10 times worse.

She just couldn’t stop reliving them. The crack of her finger bones as they slammed into that asshole’s face. The finality in the bang of a car door. A warm blanket on a shivering cold night. The voicemail from the hospital she would never delete. A stranger’s arms around her after she said the words out loud so she could hear it, to make it real.

“Hi I’m Jessica with Hearth and Home Home Products. I’m calling because our records indicate you recently purchased a Hearth and Home home product for your home. May I ask you a few questions about your experience with your Hearth and Home home product?”

The day dragged along, each call adding up to only seconds, piling into minutes. Hardly ever finally equaling an hour, it seemed.

During a break, she ate some chips out of the vending machine. It was raining outside, she noticed. She couldn’t hear it, not even the sound of raindrops on the roof. She couldn’t hear anything in here.

As far as shitty jobs went, this one was fine. She’d chosen it because they didn’t care what she wore or what she looked like. Today she was in old, ratty sweatpants and a T-shirt. She couldn’t remember what the shirt was. She didn’t feel like looking down to check. Didn’t matter. She had on her Converse, one of only two pairs of shoes she owned. The others were from when she was little. They were in a box in her closet. They didn’t fit anymore.

Quarterly performance reviews were kind of annoying when they rolled around, but even her bosses took this place about as seriously as she did.

Everyone knows why they’re here, she thought as she walked back to her cubicle. She didn’t recognize any of the faces. Definitely not their names. She’d never looked before.

Who had even done her last performance review?

Tyson? Or ... was that the guy before him? Did he leave? Wait ... or is my manager a woman?

Cameron didn’t remember. There was only one thought she wanted in her head.

“Hi I’m Jessica with Hearth and Home Home Products. I’m calling because our records indicate you recently purchased a Hearth and Home home product for your home. May I ask you a few questions about your experience with your Hearth and Home home product?”