A Love That's So Demanding

The Daily Grind

Chapter 3: The Daily Grind

Edited by: Trensetta

I finished bathing and got dressed for work. I was the only one who actually had a job, the guys were both pursuing music careers, which also meant that I was the only one paying bills. I didn’t mind it though, they both mean everything to me, and I know that they’ll take care of me once they make it big. We’ve known each other for so long. I met them in high school, senior year. My life changed that year, and they became the most important people in the world to me.

When I got on the bus Denae was there waiting for me, like every morning. She’s short, about 5’2’’, with long, black, red streaked hair. She was dressed to the nines as usual. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her in a pair of flats. We always talked as we rode to work, and even though we didn’t hang out much I still think of her as good friend. “Good morning.” she said with a smile, I noticed her lip was busted, but I chose not to ask about it.

“Maybe for you,” I said. I was rewarded with a curious look from her.

“Someone hasn’t gotten any in a while,” she said. I glared at her, sure I had snapped first, but that statement just hit a little too close to home, I thought I was “getting” a little too much.

“Hey, what’s going on, we always fake fight on the way to work,” she said with a pout.

“Nothing, I just woke up on the wrong side of the bed, is all.”

“Look Non, we’ve know each other for a little over a year now, if you think I can’t tell when something is bothering you then you must think I’m really dense.”

I really wasn’t in the mood to to talk about my problems,  she didn’t tell me her deepest darkest secrets, and even if she had, I just wasn’t the show and tell type.

“Look, do I ask you why you show up with new bruises every day?” My hand flew up to my mouth, I couldn’t believe I’d just said that. I’d been thinking it, sure, but....  “I’m sorry-”

“Whatever,” she said standing up, we’d arrived at our stop.

“Denae, really…I’m sorry.”

“Look just forget that I cared enough to ask what was wrong.” She left me standing on the curb feeling like the mud on the bottom of her high heals.

I walked into the office building, said good morning to the receptionist and kept on walking toward my cubicle. I’m a  customer service representative for Maxeen Press, a publishing company. They run a couple of websites that you can post you photos or poems on. It’s actually a border-line scam, but it pays the bills.

I sat down in my chair and turned on my computer. “Good morning,” Mrs. Linda said. She’s a short black woman who has arthritis in her knees so bad it makes her hobble.

“Hey Miss Linda,” I said. She was really one of the nicest people I knew, and since I was the youngest person working here, she and everyone else in the office made it a point to look out for me. Well, almost everyone...

“How’s that boyfriend of yours?”She asked.

“Fine,” I heard someone from the other side of my cubicle wall say. “I saw him last night at this club, that boy can really rock the mic.” It was my other coworker Michelle, she’s closer to my age. She had hair flowing down her back and was about 5”9’, with green eyes and the complexion of caramel. I’d prayed that just once she would get a pimple, but her beauty wasn’t the reason I hated her. It was the fact that she never once tried to hide that she wanted Travis. I bit my lip to keep from saying what I really wanted to. I knew, or at least I hoped, that Travis didn’t want her, but honestly I wasn’t so sure.