From Garbage To Glory

Chapter 2

2

Jeremy watched the darkening sky overhead as tears strolled down his face. He loved Vanessa more than life itself. She was the reason he breathed. The reason why he was working 3 jobs everyday.

Vanessa was the most beautiful woman in NYC. She and Jeremy met in college. She was called a princess because of her long blonde hair, dark green eyes and Barbie-like figure. The richest guys of the college were after her. And who did Vanessa choose? Jeremy, who couldn't even compare to her beauty.

While she looked like a princess, Jeremy, at 25, looked like a beggar with a plank-like thin and lean body. His skin was basically sticking to his bones and every curve and edge of his joints showed. He had sunken cheeks, horrible dark circles from lack of sleep and long hair too. Vanessa chose a loser like him.

In other words, he was ugly.

Jeremy was neither good-looking nor rich. But Vanessa still loved him. However, nothing was normal between them for the past three months. They have been constantly having fights and Vanessa was not happy with him lately.

All of this started three months ago when they went to a mall for a date. A new jewellery shop had opened at the mall and Vanessa entered it. They just went in casually with no intention to buy anything. But then her eyes fell on their latest released diamond necklace. It was available at a discounted rate on account of the shop's recent opening.

"Wow! This looks nice on you, ma'am. It's like the necklace was made for your neck only." The sales girl praised Vanessa highly, impressing her.

Her tactics worked on Vanessa, causing her to fight with Jeremy to buy it for her.

"Nessa, baby, you know my condition. I'm already working two jobs to meet the needs of our family. I can't—"

"I knew it!" Vanessa snapped and yanked the necklace off her neck.

She handed it back to the sales girl and stormed out. Jeremy trailed after her. He tried to explain to her but she rushed out of the mall and booked a cab.

"Nessa, please, listen to me. I'm sorry, okay. But try and understand. It's not like I have money and I can't buy it for you. I'm just..." Jeremy trailed off.

Vanessa grunted at him with tears in eyes, "You what, huh? You're worthless, is that what you want to say?"

Her words widened his eyes. Jeremy was tongue-tied. Vanessa was the best wife in the world who always supported and loved him. But hearing her call him worthless like the rest of the world benumbed Jeremy.

"Come on, Jeremy. It's high time now. I can't stay quiet any more. I can't pretend to be happy in this marriage with you." Vanessa pushed him. "Just tell me what have you ever done for me? You never bought me flowers, you never bought me any gift, you never took me out to an expensive restaurant.

She scoffed angrily, "Even on our second marriage anniversary two months ago, you couldn't afford to buy me a real diamond ring. You gave this replica to me."

Vanessa removed her ring and threw it on his face.

"You've always been complaining. You're always showing how hard you work and how you work two jobs a day as if you're doing a favour on me! And I never complained. But I can't stay quiet now, Jeremy." Vanessa shrieked.

The passersby were watching. Jeremy looked down in embarrassment. He was always the shy one while Vanessa was loud and opinionated. He couldn't ever talk back to her, no matter what.

"You're not the only one working. I'm doing a job too. And unlike you, I've been fulfilling all my wishes which is basically your duty to fulfill. I'm your wife but you never bought a thing for me. I asked you for a discounted cheap necklace today and you're reminding me about your struggles?! It's unfair."

Jeremy recalled not having an answer back then. Because he was truly guilty. Vanessa's outburst wasn't wrong. Jeremy truly didn't do anything for her.

He couldn't even buy her a single flower because he never had the money. Whatever he earned it went towards paying the EMIs of their new apartment that he bought for Vanessa.

"You know what, if I married any of those rich guys that chased after me in college, I would have been far happier than this. I was stupid to choose you!" She had gritted the words out and sat inside the cab that arrived.

"Nessa, let me come too. I don't have any money. How will I—"

"Look at this!" She grunted in disdain. "You took me out for a date and you don't have money to even pay for a ride back home... And we haven't even started. You know what, Jeremy, leave it. I don't need you."

Jeremy rubbed his face and got up, breaking out of the bounds of that night's memories. He held the straps of the delivery bag and began to walk to complete the orders.

During delivering the pizza boxes, Jeremy kept thinking about his wife. Vanessa and him weren't on talking terms with each other for the last three months.

She was still hurt and avoided him. She wouldn't even let him touch her since he couldn't buy the necklace for her, and he really felt like he was good for nothing. He had such a beautiful wife and he couldn't fulfill any wish of hers.

A small smile made its way on Jeremy's lips. He opened his phone and the banking application to check his savings.

$28,456.

"The necklace Vanessa needed is worth"$30,000. I'm close. A few more orders and then I'll buy the necklace for her and give it to her on her birthday."

Jeremy's chest swelled in pride. He had been saving money ever since that night of visiting the mall and also took up a third job so he could earn the money needed to buy Vanessa her desired necklace. Her birthday was coming in two weeks. Given that he only needed a few hundred more bucks, he would be able to hit it around her birthday.

He couldn't wait for the day.

Anyway, Jeremy looked down at the address of his last customer on his phone. The night has folded over the day. He was standing under a street light with the bag on his shoulder. Suddenly his eyebrows drew together as he reread the address again and again.

"What joke is this? Did someone prank call to order?" He wondered as he called his colleague at the pizza shop to reconfirm.

However, he was not only insulted by his colleague, he was also warned not to waste his time again. Jeremy sighed and stared at the address again.

"This still looks like a prank order to me."

Jeremy had been working as a delivery boy for a while now. He travelled a lot and saw many places because his pizza shop was famous and they worked 24x7. They had a flood of orders and eventually Jeremy was compelled to go to many places.

The address of his last customer showed a neighborhood with significant poverty. It was a rundown area, which was recently acquired by a big shot dealer. All the slum buildings were demolished, leaving nothing but dust and a heap of rubble, which was being cleaned out every day. Jeremy was well versed with this place because he had delivered pizzas to this area before it was acquired.

Now what truly remained was a wide dusty land with fences drawn around it to keep the trespassers away. There was no way anyone would order anything to that place.

Jeremy looked at the time in his watch and mumbled, "Why am I thinking so much about it! Must be a watchman at the site who ordered it. I should focus on finishing on time and go back home."

With that thought, Jeremy started moving. His feet were numb and throbbing. His lower back was screaming in pain. He missed his scooter. If he had it now, he wouldn't be feeling this tired and drained.

Jeremy hurried, taking long steps, and soon he arrived at the site.

"What the?! What am I seeing?" His mouth hung open in daze because the entire area was cleaned.

All the debris and rubble was gone. The ground was evened, the dust cleaned down. The fence was removed too. A few excavators stood in the corner in the dead of the night. But that wasn't why Jeremy was stunned.

Tbc...