Block's Arc

Chapter 6 of 6

Tuesday morning Block came in early with the notebook under his arm and a plan that did not depend on the district office. If corporate would not front him tapes, he would borrow them from the customers who already had them. He wrote a sign at the counter in black marker: RETURN EARLY, RENT FREE. Bring back a tape before its due date, take a new one on the house. He taped the sign to the inside of the front glass and unlocked the door. The phone rang at nine-forty. He picked up expecting a member. It was the district rep. The rep said a truck was on the road. Sixty cases, mixed new releases and catalog, pulled from a store that had already closed out its floor. He said the region had signed off after seeing the weekend numbers. He said it was a one-time push, not a reversal. Block wrote the word TRUCK in the notebook and drew a line under it. The truck backed in at two. Block cut the shrink on the first pallet and scanned cases straight onto the wall. New releases went up two rows deep. The kids section filled. The previously viewed bin took the overflow. By four the storefront looked like it had in better years, blue awning over bright glass, poster frames full, the aisles inside packed edge to edge. A man came in with his daughter and stopped in the doorway. He said the shelves looked like Christmas. Block scanned three tapes for them and waived the total. At close Block sat behind the counter and opened the notebook. He wrote the case count. Sixty in, restock covered through Friday. Then he wrote what the rep had said on the phone, word for word. One-time push. Not a reversal. He underlined the second line twice. The shelves were full again. The store was still flagged.