Listen to the Words

Chapter 18

Murphy opened his eyes. The ceiling was made of wood, its beams were exposed, and wires and pipes were visible. He sat up. He found himself on a real mattress, on a folding bed. The light was off, and sun shone into the room.

He threw off his covers. He was alone, and the couch-bed had been folded back into a couch. He stood and stretched and walked to the windows. A couple of pigeons sat on the other side of the glass, cooing and pecking at each other. In the distance, the outline of the Empire State Building showed through the gray misty dawn.

There was a sound at the door. The doorknob turned and Jason entered, carrying a plastic bag. He switched on the lights.

"Do you like bagels?"

"Mm-hmm."

Murphy crossed the room to the kitchen. Jason pulled a plastic box out of the plastic bag and set it on the counter. He pulled open its lid to reveal two half-bagels covered in some cheesy substance. He got two glasses out of a cabinet and a bottle of juice from the fridge.

"You can come to work with me if you want."

Murphy took one half-bagel from the box. "Yeah, that's what we're doing, isn't it?"

"Mm-hmm. I'm opening the doors, but Brian - he's my business partner - he usually comes in on Saturday.... I think he's gonna be there today."

"Oh."

"He has a daughter about your age. She comes and helps out sometimes."

************

Stepping out of the shower, he pulled a towel off the hook on the bathroom wall. As he fluffed it through his hair, he heard Jason's voice from the other side of the door.

"Oh, don't tell me, I don't want to know," and then he laughed. Murphy dried himself slowly, and listened.

"Did you have him look at it.... Yeah, I think."

After he was dressed, he looked at the floor. A wet towel and dirty clothes ruined its white-tiled perfection. Surely other people didn't leave stuff laying around, but where.... A tall basket-like thing sat in one corner. Murphy lifted its lid and saw a pile of wet towels. Well look, there was an actual receptacle for.... He pulled his towel from the floor and dropped it inside.

When he opened the bathroom door, Jason sat on the couch. He hit a button on his phone and stood up. "Ready to go?"

Murphy unzipped his book bag and stuffed his dirty clothes inside. "Mm-hmm."

************

"It's not too far," Jason said, as they stepped onto the sidewalk and he closed the door. "We can walk from here."

The sun was rising, and chirping and tweeting mixed with the sounds of traffic in the distance. The streets were empty, except for a couple of guys on bikes. When they turned a corner, some species of rodent sped across the sidewalk, causing Murphy to trip forward a step or two.

"Was that a mouse or a rat?"

Jason laughed. "That was a New York City rat."

"Oh."

"Here we are."

They had stopped at a store front. A metal gate was locked over its windows and doors, and above their heads a large sign read: WEST VILLAGE VINYL. Jason pulled a key ring from his pocket and unlocked the gate. He reached down and opened it like a garage door, and it slid into place above them.