Magpie Tale # 28.....

Small Pleasures.....
God, it was hot! She walked from the bank to her vehicle, knowing full well just how hot everything would be inside the closed and locked car. At 18 years old, she felt pretty good about herself. Her heels clicked on the sidewalk in a rhythm like a metronome keeping the beat on track. The sky was so blue and there was a hint of a breeze on this sultry July day. The mixed fragrances of cigarette and cigar smoke from passersby, diesel fumes from the city bus, car exhaust and the endless background noises of the city would soon be left behind. She was a bank employee and was out of work at 4 in the afternoon on this glorious summer day.

She had to park her car in a free parking zone because she didn't see the sense of paying money to park a vehicle all day long and the bank didn't provide parking for employees lower than department heads. Free parking areas were not close to downtown. Three blocks down, four blocks over, another three blocks down and she would be at her car. She just had started into the second block when a car slowed by her. It was a one-way street and she was walking the opposite way the man was driving. He said something but she couldn't hear and stopped walking and said 'pardon me'. He repeated what he had said the first time and it was vile and horrid. He had himself exposed and opened the door to show her his goods, all the while describing what he wanted to do to her.

Fear gripped her throat and her heart was slamming inside her chest, her fingers felt numb and her mind screamed at her......RUN. She started to run and he had to move on in the opposite way. She knew the city and knew that to come back around he would be coming down the street that she was headed toward, the one she had to pass to get to the last three blocks to her car. She had on 3 inch heels but she ran.....hoping desperately to beat him there. Gone were the pleasant thoughts of only a few minutes before as her breath came in gasps. Now she was out of the business district and so few, if any, people were on the sidewalks in this area. As she crossed over the road that was one way coming back she glanced up as far as she could see to ascertain if his vehicle was coming. So far nothing. She ran as fast as she possibly could and as she turned the corner to go the last three blocks she glanced around and there he was. He spotted her but couldn't make the turn from where he was; he would have to go up to the next light which was quite a distance....he couldn't turn around, it was one way. Her guardian angel was with her. She ran the last stretch, found her car, unlocked it with shaking hands and got inside. She slammed the door, locked it and laid on the front seat, out of sight. It was imperative he not know what kind of car she had.

The car was so hot but she was afraid to move.....what if he was on this street and saw her. She laid on the front seat and ran scenarios through her mind. What could she do if he came up and blocked her car in and broke her window making it easy to open the door and get to her. Tears formed in her eyes but she blinked them back. This was no time to fall apart; she had to keep a clear head. Across her hairline sweat formed in droplets and was now running down her face. She had sweat on her upper lip, her neck and arms. Her body was sticking to her dress but still she laid silently there with only the sound of her breathing and the muffled sounds of passing cars outside. Eventually she sat up and looked around quickly. She started her car and pulled out of the lot, headed for home. She didn't relax until she had gone 5 miles and was out of the city. She did not see him and under her breath she kept saying 'thank you, God, thank you God'.

The drive home was always something to anticipate. The window was down on the drivers side and the wind whipped her long hair around. The moving air felt so good against her sticky skin. At last she came to the gravel road that would get her to her road. She drove slowly as the dust was bad this time of year but kept looking at the rear view mirror. Finally the home stretch and when she pulled into her driveway, which was covered with a ceiling of green leaves from the many huge trees, she breathed a sigh of relief. The family dog ran alongside her car, barking his welcome before settling down underneath another tree to wait for her. She parked and headed toward the house where she knew that mom and grandma would be in the kitchen getting supper on the table. Yes, she told her mother about it and watched as her mother's hand went to her chest and fear spread over her face.

She felt dirty and sticky and hot. A bath was in order and that's exactly what she did before supper. It is a small pleasure, perhaps, but it was one that she would remember for many years as her brush with fear melted away in the bathwater.

~ Out of my mind inspired by a photo displayed in Magpie Tales ~