Elevator

The doors to the elevator opened, and a couple new to the gym stood inside. “We’re riding it up and down,” she said. I got in and stood beside them, pressing the correct button for the top floor of the garage. 

She turned to her boyfriend and continued a conversation. “He was in a pissy mood, too. He said he was going to file a police report. Honestly, I respected the girl behind the front desk for not taking his shit. She called security to come get him.” The doors to the elevator opened, and I let them exit before me.

My mind wandered—Maybe someone took a photo of him in the locker room. Or he found someone rummaging through his locker. Perhaps an ex-boyfriend was stalking him, and he had a restraining order the gym wouldn’t honor. Maybe one of the handsy maintenance guys took too long of a look while he was in the shower.

No. 076

Greetings

Beside the Lutheran church, there was a boarding house in the old style. Rooms for rent by the week, month, year. I assumed they ate scheduled meals and commiserated in the evenings. As I stood across the street, a man exited the building, shouting expletives. I continued on my walk. Moments later, the same man came speeding down the road, shouting through his open windows. A bad day. As the car receded into the distance, I imagined him getting into an accident, what with the lack of focus and anger coursing in his veins.

No. 055