Hey, this is Lia. I can't come to the phone right now but leave a message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. Thanks!
The phone beeps and I swallow the lump in my throat. "Hey Lia, I just wanted to say that I miss you and I'll be able to see you soon. Once I get off work, I'll be on my way. Okay, love you."
I press the end button on my phone and slide it back into my pocket. Leaning back in my office chair, I drum my fingers against the desk. The clock reads 12:31. I get to see her in two and a half hours. Two and a half long hours.
"Hey man, you okay?" Jack peeks his head over the cubicle divider. His dark eyes glaze over the papers on my desk, the scribbles, and I quickly shove them into a manila folder.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just ready to get off work."
He nods and sinks back down into his chair. I listen for the typing of the keyboard before I relax. Jack's a nice guy, but he's a little too involved in everyone's business for comfort, especially since he's the newest worker at the hospital. Accountants hardly ever talk to each other and he doesn't seem to get the point that we don't want to talk to him. It's nothing personal, just our personality types. If we were social, we would have been liberal arts majors.
I crack my neck, pop my knuckles, and look to the clock again. 12:32. Two and a half more hours of crunching numbers. Why the hell did I become an accountant?
"Money!" the coffee girl, Maria, exclaims, holding a stack of paychecks in the air.
That's right, money.
She smiles and hands me my paycheck, the dimples at the corners of her mouth showing.
"How's it going, Carson?" she asks.
I shrug and shove the paystub into my bag, not caring to check the amount until I'm out of Jack's vicinity.
"Going well," I lie. "Got any plans for the weekend?" I engage in the expected pleasantries, anything to make these next few hours go by. Besides, Maria is a fun girl and easy to talk to. She reminds me of my sister in a way, from the dirty blonde hair, her bright blue eyes, and even down to the dimples.
"Yeah, I'm going to go see a movie with one of my girlfriends. She's been going on about this movie for ages and I finally decided to go." A pang in my chest keeps me from looking interested. "What about you?"
"I'm going to see my girlfriend."
Her smile falters, but she catches herself. In a matter of seconds, it is back on her face.
"That sounds fun," she feigns. "I need to get back to passing these out, but I'll catch up with you later, okay?" She darts off to Jack's cubicle without another word. I run a hand through my hair and return to typing.
I really need a new job.
***
"Everybody Wants to Rule the World" plays over my truck radio. The sweltering air spills out of the windows and is sucked away by the rushing, slightly less hot, afternoon air. Sweat accumulates in the small of my back and I shift in the cracking, pleather seats. When I reach the intersection, I slap my hand against the dash, thinking that maybe a nice jolt will get the air conditioner working. Of course, it doesn't.
I sigh and turn the corner, glad that home isn't too far away. As I get further from town, the amount of trees lessen. The newly paved streets of Tampa start to fade into pothole-filled roads. There aren't any runners with dogs, here. Just the occasional kid on a bicycle or an overweight dad riding his lawnmower on the pavement. People don't think of this part of Tampa often, but it's the one I prefer.
VOUS LISEZ
When I Called You Mine
Fiction générale"I've always had a problem letting go of things," I say, playing with the cigarette-burned hole in my sofa. "Is that why you still talk to me?" she asks. I pause to think for a moment. The answer is so obvious, yet she asks it anyway. Of course, i...
