Closing Time

(Warning: This story has references to substance abuse and mental health challenges.)

Jacob rushed from his car and to the entrance of the store, feeling a pull to look back, but he knew he was in a rush. Feeling woozy, he thought to himself as he entered through the automatic door, “Man, I really need to start eating right. I haven’t eaten since…hmm I don’t even remember.” He heard the sound of air rushing as the doors clamped shut behind him.

“Now what was it I needed? I have to be quick,” he thought as he turned down the first aisle. A steady sound of beeping filled the air from the cashier stands. “This is just magazines and baby stuff, I definitely don’t need anything from here anymore,” he thought, feeling a hint of happiness and a trace of sorrow.

A loud, commanding voice came over the store's speakers, “We're closing in ten minutes. Please find what you need and proceed to the front. Thank you.”

He picked up his pace, turning the corner, realizing the aisles seemed to go on forever. “This is gonna take forever if I can’t remember what I needed,” he said to himself, his frustration rising. He moved farther down, skipping several aisles. He came to number 18, and this felt right, so he turned down the aisle. This one ended up being stationery, business, and school supplies. “Nothing here is ringing a bell, man, I know I should’ve started writing things down,” Jacob thought as an inkling of pride, shifting his mood with a touch of nervousness.

He moved farther down the aisles, coming to number 28 and steering down the aisle. He stopped abruptly as this one contained medications, prophylactics, and alcohol. A strong shudder of confusion and what felt like heartbreak overwhelmed him, and he fell to one knee. “Why? Maybe I do need a drink to calm my nerves,” he thought, feeling he found the answer but quickly pushing it out, “no, no time for that, I need to hurry.”

“You have five minutes to proceed to the checkout, finish up finding what you need, and proceed to the front, thank you.” The voice rumbled over the store once more. This time, less commanding and with a hint of sorrow.

“They really care about their shoppers, almost sounding sorry,” he thought, “should be for making this place so big, and the placement makes no sense.” He could hear the beeps racing even stronger from the registers. “This place is busy, this late…I haven't even seen a soul.”

He moved down another aisle. This one was labeled 41. It seemed to be house supplies and picture frames. “I didn’t catch the name, but this must be one of those superstores that offer everything,” he wondered as a form of clarity came over him. Stopping again, he looked at the products next to him. All different sizes of photo frames. The image of people blurred into each other. Selfies, friends, group trips, and…families. “Thats it, it wasn’t me who needed something, it was Janice and Katy! Their favorite snack for movie night!” A mixture of relief and fear blanketed him as he raced to find the extra butter popcorn and peanut butter crumble ice cream. He began running down every aisle, searching and searching. He came to the aisle labeled 50, but as he turned down it, he realized it was empty. Not one single item on any of the shelves. “What in the world!” Anger returned as he sped on to the next, only to find it was also empty. As were all the following aisles up to 56, where he turned, and all he could see was the storefront. His anger giving was to more fear and sadness. Regret overwhelmed his mind. “I have to ask for help, I can’t let them down.” He sprinted down the aisle, “Hello, can anyone help me find something? All these aisles are empty!” he yelled frantically.

“This is your final warning, shoppers. Find what you're missing and get to the front.” The voice from the speakers erupted almost angrily.

He continued to run his thoughts had already given in, “I’m not fast enough, never good enough, why am I like this? Why me?” As he arrived at the front of the store, the beeping was overwhelming, yet he didn’t see any cashiers or checkout registers anywhere. He didn’t see anyone. “Where are they? Where is everyone?” Thinking to himself, confused. “Hellooooo!” he yelled once more. “This can’t be…,” he stopped as he caught a glimpse of someone outside the doors.

A silhouette of what looked to be a woman and a teenage girl. “Janice? Katy?” he muttered as tears began to trickle down his face. The confusion cleared, turning to understanding, an emptiness settled over him. “No.” He walked toward the door. Not realizing the beeping had turned into a single continuous beep. As he touched the door, a weightlessness overtook him as the lights to the store shut off. The silhouette’s fading. “We needed you” was the last thing he heard as it all went black.

—

“We needed you!” Janice said, tears filling her eyes. She stood in an emergency room, curtained off in a small section. The doctor looked at her, sorrow filling his eyes, “I am sorry, we did all we could; he was just too far gone,” he said, masking his emotion with his years of experience. “I’ll give you a moment, but we have to close up here in 10 minutes for cleaning and make space for others. Again, I am sorry for your loss.” He said as he flicked off the monitor and walked out, shutting the curtain behind him.

Silence filled the room as the beeping ceased. An emptiness that was too heavy to carry alone overwhelmed Janice as she took a seat at the foot of the bed. She rummaged through her purse and pulled out her cellphone. No missed calls. “Oh, Katy, I wish you were here with me. With us,” she thought as she dropped the cell back into her bag. She grabbed her wallet and pulled out the last photo they had taken together as a family. It was smeared and blurred from spilled alcohol, but she had kept it. Holding on to some hope that it would go back to normal, as life had been before. She put a hand on Jacob’s foot as she stood. “Rest now…,” not finding anymore words to speak, she turned and walked out of the curtain.

—-

Jacob hovered there as if hanging from the ceiling. He couldn’t speak. The only words going through his mind now were those of the doctor…” he was just too far gone.” Life flashed before him.

Meeting Janice after high school. Finding out she was pregnant with Katy. The happiness that he felt in those first few months. Then sorrow, as he thought he wasn’t good enough, and worried about money.

Then, Janice is getting into college to become a teacher. He's getting his job at the financial institute. He was so proud of them, but then Katy got sick and needed medication every day. The nerves never went away if he could provide, if she would be ok.

Next, shifting to work overtakes his time. Always working overtime but not feeling it was enough. The anger he felt at the looks in their eyes. He was lost and turned to pills and alcohol to mask the pain. The heartbreak when it all crumbled down in one big argument.

Finally, the years of regret. Realizing his only happiness was his two girls. The fear that it would never return. Only emptiness was left.

He moved down, now floating behind Janice as the doctor left. He put out his hand toward her shoulder. Surprisingly, it stopped, and he felt her as she dropped into the chair. Then, suddenly, the room was gone, and everything was just a bright light. He felt a hand on his shoulder as the light took over.

—-

The voice from the speakers, now behind him, or all around him, spoke, “People rush through life trying to be strong and provide, all the while, never seeing what was important all along, until it's taken from us and life ceases. All they needed was you. They saw how hard you fought. And they saw when you broke. You did give them a valuable lesson, yet you failed to see, until now, that they were all YOU needed.”