Breaking Her Down
An excerpt from my novel in progress, No Place
There were a lot of women to think about at work. Playboy centerfolds, Army calendars and the like lined the walls of the garage. Tire change, Farrah Fawcett. Clutch replacement, Sharon Stone. Lunch, the wife in that green silk thing. Insurance inspection. Insurance inspection. Dinner. Judy- what was she doing here so late?
“Hey, Dave you got a second?” She was panting, jacket unbuttoned and make up smeared under her eyes.
“Judy, hey, how are you? What happened?” Dave got up from his desk and wiped the grease from his hands onto his jump suit. He put his newly cleansed hand on the startled woman’s shoulder and she started to cry.
“I, I , thought I was shot. I thought I died- my girls, the dark, the road-“ She released her panic in a string of indecipherable sentence fragments.
“Hold on, hold on Judith. You’re ok, you’re not dead. You’re in Denver. Everything is fine.”
She continued to breath heavily and stare into the memory of whatever had happened. Dave’s pulse quickened as her lips, lashes, tongue and chest communicated the evening’s events to him. He snapped himself out of it.
“You sit here, I’ll go check out the car.” He pushed her into the only seat in his office and looked her square into the eyes.
“Everything is ok. Just sit tight.”
Judith didn’t respond. She did as she was told. Dave walked out to the car. It was a 1980s station wagon, wooden paneling and good condition over all. As he got closer and the florescent street light finally blinked on, he realized why she had been startled. There was a small rock, a pebble, lodged in the center of the cracked windshield, on the driver’s side. The sound of broken glass wasn’t something Judith would be accustomed to. Probably just some truck kickback- like dead bug impact only a few thousand times stronger. Dave walked around the vehicle to check if everything else was all right, kicking each tire on his way.
Judy slowly regained her thoughts and calmed down. She checked herself for wounds. Every finger was intact, all her teeth lined up the same as before. Her hand found her heartbeat and she listened for its repetition, growing softer ever second. She wasn’t as much frightened anymore of dying, she realized she was fine. Healthy, that is. It was all the same as before. She was going to keep on living, just like before. That was the problem.
She peered out toward the car, at Dave. His arms rested on the front of the car, she could see the sweat of his brow, concentrating. What an idiot, she thought. I’m not going to get shot. I’m…not worth killing.
“Judy? You doing ok?” Dave entered the office and disrupted her train of thought. She pulled her hair back, attempting a proper presentation.
“Oh, yeah. I’m fine- I’m so sorry to bother you with all this- I was just so scared- you know?” She began to tell the story with her hands. Dave watched each waving fingertip with a newfound enthusiasm. Judy went on, “The noise was so loud and I couldn’t see what happened- it was so fast. I just panicked and I came here- I’m such a fool.” Her head sunk into her hands, no longer trembling, and she was ashamed.
“Judy, stop that,” Dave pulled her hands away to reveal her face. Her eyes welled with tears. The big, brown irises looked at him from underwater. Pressing his thumb on her cheek, Dave tried to wipe away the salty droplets. The melted make up and engine grease mixed, creating a larger smear than before.
“Oh, oops.” He went to get a cloth to clean the smudge beneath her eye. He brought back a mirror and leaned in close to show her own panda-like appearance. The two of them began to laugh. Dave joked, “Now, you stop your crying or I’ll have to give you another black eye.”