Chapter 5 Shopping

I looked at him after he finished, not sure if I read his lips correctly, or maybe just wishing I hadn't read them correctly. He stared at me for a couple of seconds, His heavy breathing indicated that he had been yelling.

"Forget it. You'll never get it anyway", he said before stalking out of the apartment. Slamming the door so hard that I felt the vibrations, and leaving me stunned into silence.

I fisted my shaky hands and stood up, walking to my room and locking my door before I curled into a ball under my blanket.

I gulped down the knot in my throat, but the tears still spilled, wetting the pillow under my cheek. Tears of anger and sadness, tears of frustration.

That was a feeling I was very well familiar with ever since I lost my hearing. I had thought it would go away with time, but I was wrong. It never did. It was always there, lurking deep inside, eating away at me like a disease.

I gritted my teeth and bumped my fist on the shabby mattress, again and again, then put my face on the pillow and screamed. Screamed hoping the pillow would stiffle my cries.

But all I got in response was silence. Stifling silence that contrasted with the violent storm raging inside my heart.

1

*** ***

The next day at work everything went as usual, my little spot of heaven on the rooftop on the rooftop lifting my mood a little. Just a little before it dropped down again when I saw the note hanged on the door of our locker room at the end of the day.

It was a note describing the changes Sadie had promised me. It was more of a punishment than a change, at least for me.

Instead of being responsible for half a floor and a flight of stairs like every other woman there. I was assigned the stairs.

Just the stairs.

Only the stairs. From top to bottom. Of a thirty eight floor building. Oh, did I say just the stairs? how silly of me, of course she'd give me something else. I also had to clean the ground floor glass walls, and to do that I had to be earlier than usual.

1

The ladies were all excited because most of them didn't have much changes. Some actually were glad because their workload had lessened.

My lunch hour was also switched. It was a couple of hours later than usual, which made it at one o'clock instead of eleven.

Great, I'm going to be starving, too.

I would probably have to buy something to snack on while I worked. One of the good points of working on the stairs was that there was no one in sight since all employees used the elevators. That was probably why Sadie assigned me uniquely to the stairs. I wouldn't meet anyone, and thus wouldn't get in anyone's way.

Great, more isolation...Not that I minded it anyway, people are just a pain in the ass, I thought, making my way to my second job.

Jim didn't come home that night until I was going to bed, around twelve thirty. He caught my eyes, a flash of regret in his as he quickly ducked into his room, mumbling something to himself.

At least he's home. I went to bed after putting next month's allowance for him on its usual spot on the kitchen counter.

6

It was not a big sum, but that was all I could afford to give him with the bills and the rent.

And I still had to go grocery shopping! damn it! I forgot again!

Which meant another jelly sandwich as a lunch menu for me the next day. Three days on a row.

I slept that night dreaming of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. To wake up surprisingly well rested after four hours of sleep.

A rest that I most certainly needed since I left for work at four thirty so I could reach there in time to clean the ground floor before employees started walking in.

Which I did, then started on the montrosity that was the stairs. By the time it was my lunch break, I was spent, looking forward to my precious sandwich.

I hoped that the rooftop would be empty again. I actually didn't know if we were even allowed to go there. But since it was always open, I guessed it was okay.

With my sandwich in hand, I took the elevator trip to the top of the building. The rooftop was deserted as usual, the afternoon sun was playing hide and seek with us as the clouded sky cleared for a few minutes before clouding over again, repeating that game while I ate my sandwich.

But then it happened. Something that, I didn't know at the time, would change my whole life.

I was halfway through my sandwich enjoying the everlasting silence. I had just opened my mouth and raised the bread, midair to my open mouth, when my hand froze.

My dark brown eyes met with sky blue ones, that looked as surprised to see me as I was. I blinked up at the man, only the top half of his body visible as he froze in his steps while climbing the ladder.

2

Well, this is not what I was expecting of my new lunch break.