The following story is one that I tell with a bit of reluctance. On the one hand, it is a relief to finally get it out of my system, but on the other hand, leaving it on a public forum for all to read is somewhat intimidating. I can only hope that when it is all finished, my relief outweighs my regret.
This story begins about the time I started pharmacy school. I was young and eager, excited by my future career and my own potential. I was a pretty by-the-book kinda guy, and I was well on my way to a stable and well-off (even if somewhat mundane) life.
If not for the events in this story, I probably would have ended up there one day.
It all started when I decided to apply for a pharmacy intern position at our local Walgreens, just after I was accepted into pharmacy school. I figured I needed the experience as well as the money, and it would be worth the extra responsibility. Two of the pharmacists I worked with were pretty ordinary, as far as pharmacists go. Middle-aged, slightly burnt out on their careers, a fair dose of apathy, but pleasant enough to work with.
The third pharmacist, Marie, was something else entirely. She was young, having just graduated pharmacy school the year that I started. (If my math is correct, that would have made her 25 at the time.) She was pretty, in a professional sense, with dirty blond hair, slim, and a great smile. While I appreciated that she was easy to look at, I never really thought much else of it. She was my boss, and my primary concern was making sure she was happy with me. Plus, for the first several months that I worked with her, she was always wearing a white coat, which made it difficult to notice much of her figure. And when I did finally see her without her coat, the pants she wore were professional and not very flattering (although I did notice her boobs seemed nicely shaped).
What most appealed to me about Marie was her easy-going nature and her work ethic. She loved to joke around with her coworkers and was very laid-back. She was also eager to help around the pharmacy wherever it was needed, rather than make her techs do all of the work for her. And on the weekends that she worked, she always insisted on buying everyone pizza for lunch.
Needless to say, she was the most-liked pharmacist at our store.
A few patients had tried asking her out on a date, but she was a married woman, and always made that clear whenever someone did flirt with her. Which was another reason I didn't see her as anything other than my boss.
Still, by the time several months had passed, Marie and I had gotten pretty close as coworkers. I respected her ability, and I think she admired how quickly I picked up everything I needed to learn. She would get openly excited when she saw that I would be working with her later in the week, and I was just as happy to work with her.
During slow times in the pharmacy, we would talk about non-pharmacy related things. We found out that we had many things in common. We both liked the same sports teams, similar types of movies, and our sense of humor was very compatible, to name just a few. I began to think of her less of a boss and more of a friend.
This continued for a few more months, until one day Marie took off her coat to go to the bathroom, and I noticed she was wearing different pants than usual. Rather than her typical not-so-flattering dress pants, she was wearing tight khakis that made it very clear that she had a great looking ass. I couldn't believe I had gone so long without noticing it before, and I think she might have caught me staring as she walked out.
I definitely had a new appreciation for her looks. She wasn't just professionally pretty. She was hot.
I have to admit, she did become somewhat of a fantasy of mine after that, but I was careful to maintain my professional relationship with her. Plus, I wasn't the type of guy to go after a married woman.
Everything probably would have continued normally, even after that, if not for a problem in Marie's private life.
As I found out from a few different conversations we had, Marie really wanted kids. She had been married to her husband for a couple years by that point, and she hinted they had been trying to have a baby most of that time without success. Marie loved her husband, but I could tell by the way she talked about it that all of their failed attempts was putting some strain on their relationship.
Whenever she brought it up, I maintained my professionalism and was supportive, but only enough to show that I was sympathetic. I understood it was on her mind, but it wasn't my issue.
Eventually, Marie stopped talking about it, and life in the pharmacy continued as normal, although she seemed to be in bad moods more often than I had remembered.
Then, one day as we were closing down the pharmacy, I finally was shown just how much not having kids was bothering her. The other employees had just finished leaving, and I had closed the pharmacy gate getting ready to leave myself, when Marie called back from the breakroom.
"Hey, Scott, can you come back here for a second?"
I was ready to leave but didn't mind doing Marie a favor. I pulled the gate back enough to let me in, and went back to see what she wanted.
She was standing in the middle of the break room in the same tight khakis I had seen her in before. She was also wearing a shirt that was professional but held her boobs up very well.
"What's up?" I asked, trying to avoid staring too much.
Marie struggled with her words for a second before sighing. "I'm just gonna come out and say it. I'm about to ask you for a huge favor, and I want you to know that it's okay if you say no. I wouldn't even ask, but I don't know what else to do at this point."
