+~ Hello, My Name is Fred! ~+
☽
The story of Fred the Flamingo~ ☾
Three years ago, I left my job at my local Atwoods to work as a delivery driver elsewhere. But, I didn't leave alone~
Atwoods, for those who don't know, is a home and farm store! Like a tractor supply, walmart-for-ranchers, etc. There's lots of people in and out all day long, and of course lots of kids in tow. Sometimes, parents let kids bring a toy into the store to keep them occupied, and keep them from reaching for the toys we have on the shelves. One time, a child brought in a little wooden flamingo, and he got left behind.
I found him in front of the front counter, where I basically lived for 40 hrs a week. It was after a rush, I don't remember seeing him with a kid, I couldn't even recall who's all kids came through my line. But the store was empty for a moment, except for me, my coworkers, and this little guy here. Thinking his family would return for him, I perched him on my counter where everyone could see. Nobody came back for him. Some people asked about him. By the end of the day, I knew he was gonna need his own name tag in order to stick around, so I cut up a lil piece of paper and put my can-write-really-small skill to use, and named him Fred~
Fred remained on my counter from that day forward, except for the times he didn't. Sometimes after lunch, or when I came in for a closing shift, a panicked coworker (or three) would rush up to me hollering about Fred. See, our counters were kinda... shakeable. And there was a gap between the counter and the shelving beside it. A Fred-sized gap. So guess where Fred would go? Straight down into the deep dark with the cobwebs and 2 year old candy, off on an adventure only a flamingo could understand, much to the dismay of my coworkers. Who panicked. And wailed. And always forgot we had gator grabbers and flashlights but always remembered I was Fred's person. I don't even know exactly how I got dubbed Fred's person, and I was completely caught off guard the first time I was mob rushed by my cashiers wailing "WE LOST FRED!!!", but it gave me the warm and fuzzies and I wasn't gonna argue.
I have never been a flamingo person. I barely even like pink. I am the goth kid, I am the night, I am spooky scary guard dog with spikes and chains and an attitude. But when I left Atwoods? You bet I took Fred with me. My coworkers made sure of it.
*I* made sure of it. And as I type this, Fred is sitting by the tv. A little cat-nibbled, but safe and sound in his forever home. <3
