I spoke about the offer with Vinit. He thought that for someone like me, who used to work as a teacher, working the register of a gas station would get boring too. But he didn't mind if I took it up. So I did, every morning when Vinit left for work, he would drop me off at the gas station and pick me up in the evenings on his way back. The work was not super exciting. But it was better than just being cooped up at home. Plus I got to interact with a lot of new people. So it was fine.
Then the first phase of Vinit's project got done with and he had to start the upgrade execution. Since the client was a fast food chain, they could not afford any downtime during the day, even on weekends. So the only time they could do the upgrades was at night. Which meant a few months of night shifts for Vinit.
Since Vinit was going to be working the night shift, I asked Pareshbhai if I could too, so we were home at the same time. He obviously had no problems. So I joined Jill as the other nighttime attendant. Jill was one of the few employees that Pareshbhai trusted and never had problems with. So unlike the day, when part of my work was being a supervisor of sorts, keeping an eye on people, at night I was just like a regular employee. So unlike the daytime employees who thought of me as "management" and never really talked to me much apart from work, with Jill I formed at least somewhat of a friendship.
Jill had been working for Pareshbhai for almost four years. She was also very efficient, and the light stream of customers at night meant there wasn't much for two of us to do. So we both spent time reading, me my books and she her tabloids, and occasionally chatting with each other about our lives. She was a cheerful and bubbly 23-year old who had never been to college. She got pregnant in high school, and kept the baby so had to start working right away to support him. She lived with her mom who took care of the boy when she was at work.
Jill's love life, although a lot more happening than mine had ever been, was probably normal by American standards. Her son's father had been a total loser she regretted sleeping with, and was never involved in their life. She had had a few serious boyfriends in the meanwhile, but nothing that lasted. She had been seeing Phil, the trucker for a while. And thought she might have a future with him.
So obviously, I was a bit scandalized when she mentioned a possible fling with Troy. It's not just that Troy, the big fat laconic slob, seemed nothing like the sort of guy you would associate with Jill. It's also the fact that I had led a very straight-laced life in these regards. All my female friends had been like me too. Resisted the advances of all the boys at college, worried about how parents would react. And there had been a lot of advances towards me. Not to boast, but I am quite a good-looking woman with a good body and a chest that draws attention. So I did get hit on a lot. And there were a few guys I did feel really temped by.
But my parents had hammered their "values" into me very well, and the first guy I held hands with, kissed, and had sex with was my husband Vinit, all at the ripe age of 22. In seven years of marriage, other guys had hit on me too. Especially here at the gas station, where many customers and some of the deliverymen from the distributors would flirt with me. But I had kept everyone at bay.