The Shop Shutter Incident
written by: LJ Jacobs
Based on true events.
Gary opened up the minimart every morning at precisely six o’clock. Because he was the owner and the manager of the business, and because he liked to keep a strict routine, he’d delegated the job of ‘opening up’ to himself. He didn’t trust any other member of staff to be as punctual.
The front of the minimart was shielded by metal roller shutters. Gary had to go round to the back of the building and through the loading area to gain entry. It was only the front windows that were shielded – because of their prominence, those windows were more tempting to potential vandals and thieves, so they needed the protection of the shutters. The back of the shop was all solid brick and no windows. The only access was another roller door for goods and a thick metal door for staff. They also both deterred criminal intentions – although there was graffiti everywhere.
Gary thought it a shame that every shop on the street needed shutters, but the area was deprived and burglary was extremely common. He empathised with some of the desperate locals who needed the odd loaf of bread, but he couldn’t afford to be a charity and secretly knew his business was on borrowed time in this neighbourhood.
Once inside, his next job was to press the small red button that raised the shutters and revealed the shop front. When they retracted, it always reminded Gary of some grand opening you’d usually see performed by a minor royal, and a little fanfare played in his head…
The button was next to the till under the counter. It was the kind of operating button that required constant pressure applied for the function to be completed. He went to press it just as Alison, one of the store’s checkout attendants, came in.
– Good morning, Alison, said Gary, cheerfully, holding off from pushing the button to acknowledge his employee with a small wave.
Alison grunted back.
Alison always grunted back.
Gary accepted that it was probably a reciprocated ‘good morning,’ but he couldn’t really tell, for Alison was not a morning person and seemed to find clear diction a challenge at such an ungodly hour.
Outside the store, Gary could see the familiar face of a regular shopper called Molly Stanworth through the horizontal slits of the shutter. She was a local seventy-year-old pensioner who always came in this time of day to collect her usual pint of milk and packet of rich tea. At her side was her trusty tartan covered shopping cart. Everywhere Molly went, it followed.
Once he knew his checkout assistant had received his acknowledgement, Gary went to push the button again, when suddenly a beeping could be heard coming from the loading area at the back of the store.
– Didn’t you turn the alarm off? mumbled Alison.
– Christ, I forgot that! said Gary. – I’d better do it quick.
– What about the shutter? asked Alison.
– Could you do it for me, please? asked Gary.
He ran to the storage area at the back where the control box was. If he didn’t get there soon, the warning beep would become a full blown siren.
He’d noticed that Molly was getting so tired of waiting, she was now leaning back on one of the metal shutters.
– My legs aren’t what they used to be, was what she kept telling everyone who would listen, which explained why she was now using the front of the shop for support.
Alison will let her in, thought Gary. He later thought, after the whole sorry incident was over, Did I even point out to Alison that old Molly was there in the first place?
When Gary came back, the spring sun was streaming in through the now unobstructed shop window. All looked perfect, except the store was empty. It was only Alison and himself.
How strange…
– Has Molly been and gone already? he asked, bemused.
– Who? grunted Alison, who had now assumed her place behind a till with a copy of Woman’s Own off the magazine rack. She licked a pink nail polished finger then started to turn the pages. She was also chewing and blowing bubble gum while twirling the ends of her purple dyed hair. The radio had been turned on and was serenading her. Gary knew the song well – it was his late mother’s favourite, ‘Flying Without Wings.’
– Old Mrs Stanworth? said Gary. -She was just outside and now she’s vanished! Wait a minute! Can you hear that?
– Hear what? asked Alison. She was looking at Gary as if he’d gone crazy.
– Turn that damn radio off a moment will you! he requested.
Alison tutted slightly, but turned to the metal box on the shelf behind her and pressed the ‘off’ button.
It was then they both heard the muffled ‘Helps.’
– See, said Gary, – I knew I could hear something.
Alison looked concerned now, and came out from behind the counter to follow the sounds with her boss.
The cries were coming from the front of the building, so that is where they both headed…
At the big glass window, they looked out onto the street.
Gary pointed to Molly’s shopping cart, still in the same spot it had been moments before, except now it was overturned instead of upright.
– What on earth…? he muttered.
– Help me! Help me down, came a seagull like shrill.
Alison and Gary looked up and saw the wide eyed upside down face of Molly Stanworth looking at them in terror and desperation.
The shop workers could just make out her words through the thick glass, though it was more like lip reading than hearing – helped by Gary tilting his own head.
– It’s hooked my coat. The metal shutter! It’s hooked my coat and dragged me up! Get me down, for goodness’ sake, get me down.
***
A couple of days later, Gary was surprised to learn that the whole incident – from dramatic start to satisfactory conclusion – had been filmed and posted online.
He sat and watched it on his phone during a break at work while having some northern champagne – a strong cup of tea.
He saw Molly leaning on the shutter door, then the next moment saw her hoisted into the air. It was like she was a levitating fairy godmother in a cheap amateur dramatic production, until the illusion was broken when she was turned a hundred and eighty degrees and her head was aiming at the cracked pavement.
The cause was obvious from this angle – a broken metal panel had come loose from the shutter and it was this that had hooked poor Molly by the hem of her coat.
The next thing that happened was that he came running out as Alison (out of sight) went back to the counter inside and quickly pressed the release button.
He held Molly until she was safely back on terrafirma, shaken but, thankfully, not seriously hurt. It was nothing that a sweet cup of tea and kind apologetic words couldn’t cure.
The clip went viral and the shop became very popular. Visitors from as far away as China came to see the famous shop that had lifted a poor pensioner upside down.
They would take pictures and leave with some shopping.
Business was booming.
It seems Molly wasn’t the only one to go up in the world.
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