Wednesday, February 27, 2013

The Crossing

Chavez stood at the intersection and watched the mid-afternoon traffic 
as it whizzed past him. People leaving work for home, parents picking 
up children from school, squad cars cruising for speed demons with 
heavy feet; all of them and more were lost in their own thoughts as 
they sat encased in hurtling means of movement. None were aware of
the others movements as long as they did not cross paths. He set his 
heavy bag at his feet. His left hand was sore from carrying it. There
were still a few more blocks to go before he would be home. He grew
up not too far from this corner. When he was a child his mother would
walk him to school, he always felt safe with her around. She had been
gone for quite some time now. He hoped his car would be ready at the
shop by tomorrow like they had told him. The lights turned green and 
the solid red hand was replaced by the gray lights in the shape of a man
in a walking motion. He grabbed the bag with his right hand and moved
as briskly as he could. He disliked the fact that the lights at intersections
never felt like they gave you enough time to cross unless you were 
sprinting from one side of the street to the other. He could feel eyes of 
impatience glaring at him from behind windshields and being cursed
at under breath. He felt the rush of energy as a car turned behind him
as his feet touched the sidewalk. His pocket began to vibrate and he 
ignored it, he had a good idea of who it might be. When it stopped,
he reached into his pocket to read the text message. It was exactly
who he expected. She must be drunk, lonely, or both to be trying 
to reach him at this hour. Her boyfriend had broken up with her 
recently and there weren't very many people she liked to talk to. 
Chavez had liked her but that had worn off. They went out shortly
after her break up and got drunk at the The Black Crow down 
the street from her apartment. When they got back to her place they
pounded a bottle of wine and began to make out in her living room.
They were lucky because her roommate was out of town at the time. 
He liked feeling needed, he didn't get to feel that too often. There was
something different about it, something that made him uncomfortable.
He put the phone in his pocket and started walking back to his 
apartment where no one waited. 

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