Chapter 727: Returning Home for Answers
Chapter 727: Chapter 727: Returning Home for Answers
Hearing what Lucy Summers said, Mindy Lynn quickly replied, "No, no, I didn’t really help you with much."
"You did," Lucy Summers said, her serious tone filled with gratitude. "I didn’t know anything back then. When I moved into the dorm, I hadn’t prepared a thing. You were the one who took me to the supervisor and helped me buy toiletries and other necessities with the employee discount."
"You helped me so much at work, too. You patiently taught me how to use the register, and when I accidentally made a mistake, you shared the blame with me. I’ve never forgotten any of it!"
Mindy Lynn’s eyes grew a little misty, and she was deeply touched.
’I can’t believe Lulu still remembers all that.’
Her voice cracked. "Lulu, you’re so silly. Why would you even remember that? It was nothing!"
"It wasn’t nothing," Lucy Summers said with a smile. "It meant the world to me."
She had been going through a very hard time, and Mindy Lynn was the ray of light that got her through it.
"Okay, okay." Mindy Lynn sniffled, blinking hard to force her tears back. "Let’s not talk about this anymore. I’m going to start crying if we do."
"Okay, okay, we’ll stop," Lucy Summers said, quickly changing the subject. "Let’s talk about something happy instead."
Mindy Lynn said, "Those days working with you were really happy. After you quit, I felt so lonely by myself."
"Lulu, why did you quit back then?" Sheryl Sawyer asked softly.
As Lucy Summers recalled what had happened, her fingers slowly clenched into fists. Her brow furrowed, and her expression grew serious.
Mindy Lynn pursed her lips, her expression turning grim.
Seeing their reactions, Renee Jennings and the other two exchanged looks, a sense of confusion and unease washing over them.
Michelle Fuller couldn’t help but press, "What is it? Did something happen back then?"
Mindy Lynn looked at Lucy Summers’ pale face, her eyes filled with pity. "The supervisor who first hired us was a woman in her forties," she said in a low voice. "Later, the manager found an excuse and fired her."
She paused, carefully watching Lucy Summers’ expression.
Lucy Summers took a deep breath and picked up where she left off. "The manager brought in his own brother-in-law to be our new supervisor."
"Did the new supervisor give you a hard time?" Worry clouded Sheryl Sawyer’s face.
"He didn’t give me a hard time." Lucy Summers shook her head. "Quite the opposite. He was really nice to me, always giving me special treatment. My coworkers saw it and started spreading rumors that I was having an affair with him."
Mindy Lynn quickly interjected, "But Lulu had absolutely nothing to do with him! He was the one harassing her, and besides, he’s married!"
Sheryl Sawyer clenched her fists, her brows knitting together tightly. "What happened next? Did he hurt you?"
"He..." Lucy Summers opened her mouth, finding the words difficult to say. After a long moment, she continued, "He shoved a hotel room key into my hand and said if I went, he’d give me a raise and make me a team leader."
"What’s wrong with him!" Michelle Fuller said with a look of disgust.
Lucy Summers nodded. "I thought he was nuts, too. So I threw the key card in his face, slapped him, and chewed him out."
"Good for you!" Michelle Fuller clapped.
Lucy Summers grinned. "The next day, he threatened me, saying he’d make my life at the supermarket hell. I told him right then and there that I quit."
"So satisfying!" Michelle Fuller gave her a thumbs-up.
"Which supermarket was it?" Sheryl Sawyer asked, both furious and pained to hear this. "What was it called?"
Mindy Lynn explained, "I heard a while back that the manager was sued by the supermarket for embezzlement. His brother-in-law was involved too, so he’s probably in prison now."
"The wicked get what’s coming to them," Renee Jennings said softly.
Sheryl Sawyer’s eyes were red, with glistening tears welling on her lashes. Lucy’s heart softened. Afraid of worrying her, she added, "And I got really lucky. The old supervisor who was fired heard about what happened and recommended me for a new job. It’s an office job, and I really like it."
"That’s good." Sheryl Sawyer quietly wiped her tears away.
Just then, a waiter came in with their food. Steaming hot dishes of dim sum were placed on the table one by one.
The tense atmosphere gradually eased as everyone picked up their chopsticks and began to eat, commenting on the various dishes.
As the meal wound down, their chopsticks were gradually replaced by teacups.
Renee Jennings’s gaze fell on Lucy Summers. She was still mulling over what to say when Lucy spoke up on her own.
"Renee, I’ve made up my mind." Lucy Summers’s expression was serious, and she spoke each word clearly. "I want to go back to my hometown and find out why Mom and Dad did what they did."
Why did they always say her mother nearly died from a difficult birth when she clearly hadn’t even joined the family until she was three years old?
Renee Jennings’s eyes brightened. A faint smile touched her lips, and her voice was gentle. "Okay. When do you want to go? We’ll go with you."
Lucy Summers’s eyes widened. "You guys have time? Won’t it get in the way of your work?"
"I’ve already requested time off," Sheryl Sawyer said softly.
Renee Jennings added, "Me too, though I suppose this also counts as work for me."
Michelle Fuller blinked. "I’m an unemployed drifter, so it’s no problem for me at all."
Lucy Summers breathed a sigh of relief. "That’s a load off my mind."
"I’ll have to ask my supervisor if I can take more time off," Mindy Lynn said with a pout. "I’ve already taken four days, so I’m afraid he won’t approve it."
Lucy Summers looked at her, a small smile playing on her lips. "Mindy, just having you by my side these past couple of days has made me so happy. You don’t have to take more time off just for me. Focus on your work."
"I’ll try asking first," Mindy Lynn said. "If he says no, then so be it."
Lucy Summers nodded with a smile. "Okay!"
In the end, Mindy Lynn wasn’t able to get the time off. One of her coworkers had already requested leave for that period.
The next day, as they were saying their goodbyes at the airport, Mindy Lynn held Lucy Summers’s hand and urged her worriedly, "If you’re feeling down, you can talk to me. Don’t keep it bottled up."
"But of course, I hope you don’t have any reason to. I hope you’re over the moon."
"Mindy, thank you." Lucy Summers gave Mindy Lynn a gentle hug and watched her push her suitcase toward the boarding line, not looking away until she had disappeared from view.
An hour later, an announcement echoed clearly through the airport. A gentle female voice reminded passengers traveling to Soridia that it was time to begin boarding.
Lucy Summers sat in a window seat, a tangle of complicated emotions stirring within her.
She hadn’t told her parents she was coming home.
’I wonder what they’ll think when they see me...’
Sheryl Sawyer, sitting beside her, asked softly, "Lulu, are your mom and dad still working?"
Lucy Summers glanced at her, then looked away. "My dad is a delivery driver, and my mom works part-time sorting packages. It’s a lot less strenuous than their old jobs on the construction site, but it’s still hard work."
"Being a delivery driver means he’s out on the road every day, exposed to the elements. It just doesn’t involve as much heavy lifting."