AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Forcing a smile on my face, I motioned to him to go on to help me with the door and as he did, I gave my reply, “Yeah, I wouldn't want to get in trouble either."
“Alright then. Have a nice night ma'am.” Joe concluded.
“You too Joe.”Ma'am? That was too much. I am not that old to be called “Ma'am”, right?I decided to let that slide nonetheless, I wasn't in the mood.
It had been a stressful day. I dragged myself out of the building onto the road and tried to wave down a cab. New York City really was a busy city. One could tell from the number of cars that stormed the well tarred roads across the office building. The sounds of the honks of cars from the impatient drivers could be heard. The sirens of ambulances, fire trucks and police cars howled at my ear drums, making it cringe.
A yellow taxi stopped in front of me, the window rolled down giving me a peek of the driver. A dark beige blonde-haired man was seen behind the wheel. He had dull eyes, probably from driving all day. He opened the door, giving me the liberty to hop in the car. He looked at my reflection from his rearview mirror and seemed to discern my demeanor.
“Had a busy day?" He asked. His voice was quite coarse for a man in his early 40s.
“Yes, I did. You seem to also have had a quite the rowdy day?” I replied.
“Ah, you can tell?” he said with a forced smile. “Where is your destination?”
“Uhm, 315 W 57th Street. But before that, could you please take me to the burger place near the destination first?” I pleaded, my voice almost cracking out of thirst. I rummaged my bag for my water bottle only to remember I had run out of water minutes ago. I raised my head to the roof of the car and heave a sigh, even the driver heard.
“Sure, don't sweat it.” he voiced, then moving his gaze to the windshield and started to drive.
I bothered myself with thoughts of what to add to the presentation and I didn’t realize when we arrived at the burger joint.Well, that was fast.I thought to myself.
“We're here miss.” the driver voiced.
The aroma and heat from the counter sweeps through the air and welcomed me. I was starting to feel hungry again after the heavy lunch.
“What's your order ma'am?” the young lady behind the counter asked. A look at her and I could spot smudges of mayonnaise on her apron. Good thing the smudges seems fresh, or I would have just continued my ride home. Her hair is tied back as well covered with a cap.
“I will have two cheeseburgers and a large fries, please.”
“Coming right up.” She replied. She withdrew a bit into the small kitchen to process my order. She had a kid who just sits by, staring at me blankly. I winked at the little boy and he smiled at me. “That will be $25.40 in total ma'am,” she said as she extended the package towards the car window.
“Oh alright.” I took my order as I exchanged it with the pay for it.“Like seriously? Ma'am again? What's up with everyone calling me ma’am today?”I pondered, looking at my face in the rearview mirror. I was trying to observe if there is something they saw that I didn't. I had given the woman 30 dollars and asked her to use my balance to get some treats for a little boy. I asked for some water too.
The driver finally stopped in front of my building. The area was getting quieter, but the air is still filled with the noises of the sirens of the city. Leaving the taxi, I closed the door behind me and waved the man goodbye.
“Thank you, sir. Have a nice night.” I echoed with a tired smile.
“My pleasure, miss. You have a splendid night too.” He drove off with the sound of his car disrupting the peace of the night.
Looking at the grandiose of the residential structure, only a few apartments had their lights on. Probably many were still working late, too. I squinted my eyes to look at Justin's apartment and the lights were still very much on. A white light was emanating from the window too, occasionally changing color intensities; surely that meant the TV set was on.
"Oh, Justin," I said with a smile, as I made my way into the building.
I found my way to the door of the building. The doorman seemed to have gone on a break; it was quite strange for him to be absent at his post.
Walking to the elevator, I slipped my hand into my bag to get the keys to the room.I had better not have forgotten the keys to the apartment at the office. Justin might be asleep, and dude sleeps like a log!Opening the door to the apartment, I found Justin sitting on the couch with a remote.
“Justin!” I screamed.
Out of shock, he almost fell to the floor, spilling his popcorn all over the couch and floor. He raised his head above the couch to see it was me.
“Really? Ashley, you scared the shit out of me," he retorted as he tried repositioning himself on the couch.
I laughed my heart out as I dropped both my bag and our dinner on the kitchen counter and took off my jacket, hanging it on the coat rack not too far from the counter.
“You fell asleep, didn't you?” I said as I bent down, trying to undo the buckles of my heels even though my long hair was getting in the way. I flipped the hair onto my back and continued with my shoes.
“Well, I am not the only culprit here, am I? In fact, I am the victim here.,” he replied.
