The Broken City

Chapter Two

Carla woke the next morning to the sound of jackhammers. She rubbed her eyes in the bright morning sun. With a sigh she walked into the living room. The couch was empty except for the blanket which was neatly folded and placed on the back. Carla relaxed, not having a wanted felon in her apartment was a weight off her mind. Carla turned to change for the day when she saw her bloody clothes from the previous night. "Dammit." She mumbled. She retrieved the bloody clothes, not fully sure what to do with them. She couldn't burn them but she also couldn't save them either. The blood had dried and she had nothing to remove the stains. Besides, she thought, why would I want to keep a reminder of that night? Carla decided that she would cut them up and start throwing the pieces away one by one all over the city. On her way to the kitchen to begin cutting she felt her phone vibrate in the pocket of her bloody jeans. She fished it out and saw a missed call and voicemail. Before she could check them her phone died. Carla just shook her head, turning her attention back to the task at hand. She grabbed her kitchen shears and stated cutting. She got the shirt cut half way before she got a knock at the door. "Shit!" She whispered. "Just a second!" She yelled after another knock. Carla stuffed the soiled clothes under the sink. She rushed to the door and opened it quickly. "Hi Mr-" She stopped mid sentence. It was her neighbor and her children from across the hall. "Hey Carla. Sorry to bother you so early, especially after last night, but my kids got into your groceries and tore the bag." "Groceries? What?" Her neighbor held up a torn paper bag packed full of food. "I found a few cans the had rolled down the hallway too." Her neighbor said while handing Carla the bag. "Uh, thanks." Carla said. "Again I'm sorry about them. And you two", her neighbor said to her children, "what do you have to say to Ms. Carla?" In unison they said, "Sorry we got into your stuff Ms. Carla." "Thank you for apologizing." Carla said with a small smile. Carla's neighbor smiled at Carla before saying goodbye. After Carla closed her door she could hear her neighbor speaking to her kids, "Now Ms. Carla is nice but not everyone will be nice to you. So don't get into things that aren't yours!" Carla giggled a little before turning her attention to the mysterious bag of groceries. The bag had a third of one side torn and it was getting bigger. Carla walked quickly to the kitchen. By the time she reached the counter the tear was half way down the side. She began to unload the bag. Her counter filled up quickly. The bag consisted of mostly canned foods. But there was a loaf of bread, deli meat and a few cuts of fresh beef and chicken. Carla's eye brimmed with tears. All of this food would get her through two weeks if she rationed well. She blinked away the tears and proceeded to put away the food. "Thanks Frank." She said as she put the last can of vegetables away. Her opinion of Frank softened. He went out of his way to do something incredibly kind that he didn't need to do, even if she saved his life. He could have been caught in the store or delivering it. He risked a lot just to make sure she didn't go hungry. And she appreciated it greatly. Carla decided to return to destroying her soiled clothes when a second knock came. She shoved the bloody clothes back under the sink and answered the door. This time it was her landlord. He was a tall man with ebony skin. He was muscular and somewhat imposing but he did his best to combat it by rolling his shoulders and slouching. "Hi Mr. Winslow." Carla said quietly. "Hello Carla. I wanted to stop by and talk to you. May I come in?" Mr. Winslow asked with a smile. Carla nodded and allowed him access. "I came here to talk about this months rent." "I don't hav-" Carla spoke but was cut off by Mr. Winslow's shaking head. "I know you lost your job and I'm sure money is tight for you. After all that shit that went down on the roof last night I've decided to give you this month to work on finding a job. Last night reminded me that life is too short to spend it worrying over something as fleeting as money." Tears sprung to Carla's eye again but this time the flowed down her face. Without a thought she threw her arms around Mr. Winslow's neck. "Thank you so much!" She spoke between sobs of joy. Mr. Winslow laughed at her outburst of emotion. Carla released him, "You're so kind! Thank you!" He grinned back to her as he was leaving and said, "Just don't tell Mrs. Vickers down the hall. She'll try to talk me into doing the same for her and lose her mind again when I told her no." Carla smiled, "My lips are sealed." Mr. Winslow gave her a wave before he closed her door. Carla felt better than she had in weeks. The crushing weight of losing everything had been lifted for the time being. She felt like hope had returned to her life. After a few minutes Carla returned to destroying the clothes under the sink. Once they were cut she got dressed for the day and headed out into the city. It was a warm, sunny day with a gentle breeze. Carla walked around the city stopping in every alley to throw out a few pieces of the bloody clothes. It took about four hours in total but she was rid of the evidence. After ridding herself of the final pieces of the clothing she decided to treat herself to a milkshake. Carla found a little diner near her apartment and stopped in. A kind faced old woman welcomed Carla, "Come on in honey. Sit anywhere you like." Carla looked around and saw the place was deserted. She sat at the bar and waited for the old woman to come over. The woman, who's name was Alice, smiled at her, "How are you doing today?" "I'm good." Carla said taking the menu from Alice. She scanned the menu looking for the milkshake listing. Considering her options she chose the double chocolate chip milkshake. "That's my favorite." Alice replied while she turned her back to Carla. She started the process of making Carla's milkshake. She scooped the ice cream into the metal mixing cup with the easy that could only come from years of practice. Carla smiled gently watching Alice hum and bounce around behind the counter. Carla started to speak when the mixing machine whirled to life. Moments later Alice placed the milkshake down in front of Carla, added a large spray of whipped cream and a straw. "Enjoy honey." She said with a smile. Carla took a drink and was in heaven. It was exactly what she needed, a small but much needed treat for herself. Alice spoke, "This place is usually more populated than today." Carla quickly swallowed the mouthful of milkshake before saying, "Are you pretty busy most days then?" Alice nodded, "Yeah I'm usually running around here like a mad woman." "Don't you have other waitresses?" Alice sighed, "My husband used to be all the help I needed around here before he passed." Carla offered a sympathetic smile. "Now it's just me here." A gruff voice came from the kitchen, "You forgot me." Alice stifled a laugh before saying, "Me and old Johnny back there." "Old? Woman, I'm not old! You old." Alice could no longer hold her laughter. She roared for a few minutes. It was the kind of laughter that was infectious and it had infected Carla. For the first time in weeks Carla genuinely laughed. She laughed so hard that her abs ached afterwards. After a few minutes Carla stopped laughing and returned to her milkshake. Alice and her spoke for the time it took her to finish it. "That'll be $4.58 honey." Carla dug through her wallet for the money. As she was preoccupied with finding the money for the bill Alice watched, trying to decide how to proceed. Carla found the last penny she needed and place it on the counter. "Question for you honey," Alice said counting the change, "you wouldn't be looking for a job, would you?" Carla froze, dumbstruck from the question. She tried to speak but all her words jumbled in her head. "How could she know that?" Carla thought to herself. "Ma'am?" Alice asked concerned. "Oh, uh sorry. I'm actually, uh um, yes I am. How did you know?" Carla sputtered out. Alice had a small smile when she said, "I've been on this Earth for sixty-two years. I've run this diner for about half of those years. I've seen all types come through that door. I didn't see it when you first came through those doors but when you laughed earlier I saw it, plain as day. If you want the job it's yours." Carla bit back the tears that desperately wanted to fall. She knew that if she spoke her facade would crack so she simply nodded. Alice nodded back, "Be here tomorrow afternoon about five o'clock. Wear comfortable shoes, you'll need them." Carla nodded wearing a huge smile across her face. She didn't know what switch was flicked that turned her luck around but she wanted to kiss who ever flipped it.