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~Thia~
“A recent string of burglaries in the downtown area has plagued local businesses and homes. The authorities have asked that anyone with information come for-” The radio announcer’s voice stops as my car shuts off while pulling away from the curb.
“Oh, no, no. Come on. Please don’t do this.” I turn the key in the ignition and try to restart it.
Nothing.
I let out an exasperated breath, falling back against my seat. This couldn’t be happening. I send a quick prayer up to the heavens before trying again.
“Come on. Come on. Please.”
The engine sputters in one last valiant attempt before falling quiet.
“Goddamn it!” I bang my fist on the steering wheel.
I suppose I should count myself lucky it hadn’t stopped in the middle of the road somewhere.
But why?
Why did it have to break down now, out of all times? I was already late to work as is. Plus, this morning hadn’t gotten off to the best start. I’d had to walk down fifteen flights of stairs due to the broken elevator in my apartment building, then sit in traffic more congested than an impacted colon for two hours.
And now this.
And I took this way more personally than the other two because this wasn’t just any old car. It was my first one. A white Toyota Corolla. Nothing fancy, but it’d liberated me from taking public transportation and depending on others for a ride. I’d busted my butt working two part-time jobs while struggling to put myself through college just to afford it.
The owner of the used dealership on the outskirts of town had sold it to me at a cut-rate price. And while it had minor body damage and needed a new set of tires, it’d run perfectly until now.
Knowing there’s nothing I can do to fix this, I grab my phone from my purse and call a towing company. They inform me it will be a ten to fifteen-minute wait for them to reach my location before I end the call and phone my boyfriend.
Maybe he can deal with the car while I go ahead to work.
Pick up. Pick up. Please, pick up.My knee bounces as the line rings, increasing in tempo with each one. And when it rings for the final time before voicemail clicks over, I let out a deep breath and hang up.
I start to re-dial when a call comes through. Thinking it may be my boyfriend, Darren, I quickly swipe on the screen, accepting the call.
“Hello? Darren?” I say.
Instead of the smoky baritone, I’m used to a much lighter voice comes through. “No, it’s Loretta, hun. And could you put me through to Syn?”
Loretta?
It takes me a second to realize I’m speaking with Mrs. Templeton.
Or rather, my boss’s mother.
Great.
“Mrs. Templeton, Syn isn’t...” I glance at my empty back seat in the rearview mirror before continuing, “Available right now.”
The truth for once, unlike the dozen other times she’s heard this excuse over the past few weeks. Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t likeIwanted to lie to her, personally. It was orders. And keeping my job meant following them.
“Oh, that boy. He’s always working. I mean, will it kill him to take a moment for his mother.”
“No, ma’am. It wouldn’t.” I lightly chuckle, brushing my bangs out of my eye.
She sighs.
“Would you...like to leave a message for him?” I catch a glimpse of my grimacing face in the mirror and stop.
Whatever the message, it’d only end up in the same place as all her others, at the bottom of Syn’s waste bin. Rude, yes. But he wasn’t a total dick, he’d check it first. However, she didn’t know any of this. And I’d only suggested it cause I thought it might appease her.
“Yes. Tell him...”
I reach into my purse on the passenger seat for my notepad and pen to take a quick note, but she doesn’t continue. I pull the phone from my ear, checking if the call dropped. “Mrs. Templeton?”
“Hm?”
“Are you alright?”
“Yes, yes.” She clears her throat. “Let’s just forget the message.”
“Okay...” I flip my notebook closed, slipping the pen into the binding. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. It’s just... nevermind. How are you doing, dear? You sounded a bit stressed when you answered.”
The sudden change in topic catches me slightly off guard.
This must be that mother’s intuition everyone spoke so fondly of. Not that I knew too much about it. My own parents left me on a playground bench and dipped out, never to be seen or heard from again at the tender age of two. If not for a sanitary worker finding and bringing me to an orphanage, there’s no telling where I would’ve ended up.
“Things have been a little hectic this morning, but it’s nothing I can’t handle. Thank you for asking.”
A little hectic?
That was an understatement, but complaining about my problems to my boss’s mother wouldn’t solve anything.
I roll my eyes at my reflection and force a smile in case this mother’s intuition comes equipped with supervision.
“Oh, alright then. I won’t keep you.”
“Okay, have a good day, Mrs. Templeton. And I’ll be sure to let Syn know you called.”
“Alright, dear. And same to you.”
Just as I end the call, I spot the tow truck in the side view mirror pulling up behind me.
Thank goodness.
Things were finally looking up.
