Grim

Chapter 4

My lunch break came to an end and reluctantly I planted a cheerful smile on my face and headed back into the pits of hell. It wasn’t nearly as bad as it had been this morning, now that we had extra staff on board, but on the downside, there were more staff, which meant I would have less opportunities to earn tips. I would be taking care of a lot fewer tables. Still, earning something was better than sitting around at home. Eddie allowed me to stay over to help with the dinner rush as well, but urged me to go ahead home once seven o’clock hit.

In his words, he said that I was beginning to look like I was about to fall over dead. He thanked me a few more times as I was gathering my things to leave for the day. To my surprise, he already had a paper bag full of expired produce to hand over to me. The look on his face filled me with a pinch of embarrassment. I could see the concern and pity on his expression as he walked me to the door of the diner. I hated that look. Eddie wasn’t completely aware of my situation, but he wasn’t stupid. He knew that I was struggling, even though I did my best to hide it. I didn’t want anyone’s pity. I didn’t want anyone’s hand-outs or charity. But I wasn’t about to refuse the free food. I would swallow my pride for now and just keep working at it. Someday I will pay him back for his kindness.

On the ride back to the apartment, the sun was still shining, although the temperatures had cooled down a lot. The sky was filled with pastel orange and faint red hues. The sun would begin to descend soon.

My legs and feet were aching, I couldn’t wait to finally sit down and get something to eat. But I was dreading the three flights of stairs up to my apartment. I felt even worse when I realized that I had forgotten to grab Pete a treat from the diner. Maybe Eddie put something in this produce bag that I could give the old man. I glanced at the bag, skillfully tied to the back of the scooter as I pulled into my usual parking spot. Thankfully, the bag survived my driving. It doesn’t look like anything fell out. I dug around in the bag, until I found a blueberry muffin. It looked like it got a little flattened, but it didn’t have any mold on it and was still relatively soft. This would be alright to give him.

I didn’t waste any time getting my things and going into the building. It wasn’t safe to linger around this area. Especially with a bag full of food. Poverty was at an all-time high in my area and people were beginning to act out of desperation. As terrifying as that was, I understood it. I’ve gone countless days at a time, very hungry, with nothing to eat. If it hadn’t been for Eddie, I’m sure I would have starved to death by now.

As I walked into the lobby, I instantly noticed Pete, still posted at the front desk, he had a scarf slung around his shoulders and a mug of what appeared to be coffee pressed between his wrinkled hands. As I approached, his somber expression lightened into a warm smile.

“That was a long day of work, wasn’t it?” He spoke casually.

“You have no idea, but I made sure to bring something back for you.” I said, holding out the muffin.

His eyes twinkled as he shakily took the muffin from my hands. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“It’s not a big deal, my boss just gave me some extra groceries and you always work so hard, I thought you wouldn’t mind a little something.”

He took a bite out of it and let out a low groan. “Delicious, I appreciate it,” It didn’t take him long to eat the muffin, he even went as far as licking some of the crumbs off the wrapper. It must have been pretty good. Or, this was the first thing he ate today. Pete wasn’t well off financially either. No one knew how bad off he was, he kept his life private, but it wasn’t hard to notice the signs. He wore the same clothes every day and he was always so thin - almost sickly in appearance. “So, what’s new with you?”

I paused, deliberating on how much I was willing to talk about today. I would be sure not to mention the meeting with Erik. And I wasn’t quite sure I was ready to talk about the extraordinary amount of money I would now have to make to help my sister out. It’s best to keep things casual. I didn’t want to make the old man worry too much.

“Well, actually I’m trying to find a new job.”

“You don’t say, isn’t Dale’s diner paying you well enough?”

“Not even close. And now that Tina is getting more strict with the rent, I’ll need to find something soon. I can’t afford to get evicted.”

“She is a miserable witch, isn’t she,” He snorted as he took a few sips from his coffee. “But I did hear that she is looking to hire someone to do some cleaning around the building. She was going to add that to my duties, but I just told her straight out, at my ripe old age, I just can’t climb these steps and move around like I used to.”

It was mind-boggling that Tina would actually ask Pete to clean as well. It didn’t take a genius to see that he wasn’t exactly in the best shape for physically demanding jobs.

“I don’t know, she isn’t too fond of me, but if you're willing to ask her about it, it’s worth a shot.” I nodded slightly.

Pete grinned a bit, revealing three of four teeth. “No problem kid.”

It was always nice talking with Pete, he was a very welcomed face to come home to. He was easy to talk with and gave some of the best advice on life. A lot of other people that lived in this building avoided him as much as possible, purely because he was old and pretty talkative. But I enjoyed our chats. We talked for a short while, before we said goodnight. His shift was just about over, Tina’s ex-husband would be in soon to take over for him. I didn’t want to run into him, so I quickly made my way up the old creaky steps.

Tina’s husband, Richard, was a loud, obnoxious drunk. The fact that he was the night shift guard of this building was laughable. I would have felt safer with Pete watching over the building. Richard was about as useful as a stick and probably about as smart as one. He always made me very uncomfortable, especially when he would stop by my apartment to pick up rent. He would always make lewd comments, and stare at me, as if I was some kind of piece of meat. I couldn’t count the times he offered to waive my rent if I slept with him. Disgusting. But apparently a few tenants took him up on that offer. Which was why Tina was in the middle of a divorce. She caught wind of this fast, gossip and rumors spread quickly in this building.

My legs seemed to ache more with each step and my body just kept feeling heavier. I wasn’t used to working for ten straight hours and I really didn’t have the best shoes. I’ve had the same black sneakers since high school. They weren’t comfortable at all, but they got the job done.

I breathed out a sigh of relief as I made it to my apartment, my keys jingled a bit as I tried to find the lock on the door. The hallway lights always turned off at six. It was just a way for Tina to save money on the electricity bill. As ridiculous as it sounded, I slightly understood. There is nothing wrong with being thrifty, but there are just some expenses that you can’t get away with going cheap on. The hallway lighting should be one of those things.

Once I finally managed to hit the keyhole, I didn’t hesitate to walk inside and slam the door shut behind me. The apartment directly above me was playing some kind of rock music that I’m sure the whole building could hear. It sounded like whoever was up there was dancing around. The stomping and thudding will surely get on my nerves tonight. I prayed that they would go to bed early. But I knew I would be hearing this all night.

I slung my shoes off right in front of the door and tossed my purse on the couch. My first instinct was to get those nasty clothes off. I smell terribly from work. A nice hot shower would melt away the lines of stress that had begun sinking into a hard line across my forehead. I let my clothes slide down right at my feet and walked barefoot, through the shag carpeting of the living room. I couldn’t get into the bathroom fast enough, I didn’t even bother grabbing a towel. I blasted the hot water and practically leaped inside.

Pure bliss. That was the only way I could describe it. I let today's troubles wash away. By the time I was finished, the entire bathroom was humid and my mirror was steamed up to the point I couldn’t see my reflection. I was exhausted, I really didn’t feel like drying off, so I just put my robe on, wrapped my hair in a towel and crawled into bed. I rolled myself deeply into my sheets, burying my face into my pillow. There was just the slightest scent lingering on the sheets - something sweet and earthy. Perhaps the smell of last night's guest.

The image of Erik was invading my thoughts, as I began to fall asleep.