Promises Promises
The Phillies won. The players smile. The fans cheer. The late afternoon sun shines down upon the Earth. A sleek black SUV stops at the entrance of the old 3-story apartment building. A tall muscular man clad in black takes the stairs to the second floor, opens the battered door, grabs an old glass aquarium from the kitchen counter, relocks the door, and leaves as quietly as he came. The streets are busy with traffic. Here and there car horns and sirens sound. Drivers curse at the red lights and yell at other reckless drivers. The sun falls under the horizon. The little old lady who thinks she's an elevator operator steps out of the elevator and goes home. The moon rises and shines. The wind blows. People sit down around the dining tables and dig into their home-cooked dinner. The pizza and Chinese delivery guys knock on the doors and ring the bells. Dogs bark. Cats meow. The small dark apartment remains empty and silent except for the ringing of the telephone and the mechanical sound of the answering machine.
The night grows deeper. The dishwashers complete the cycles. The TV shows come to the end. The lights in the windows darken. The wind gets chillier. Everything is quiet and and asleep. The hint of autumn dances in the air and laughs. Children dream. Parents snore. Lovers kiss. A tall dark hairy man gets out of his car and takes the elevator to the second floor. A charming sexy smile blossoms on his face as he reaches the battered door. He fishes the keys out of his jean pocket and lets himself in. He kicks off his shoes and starts undressing as he heads toward the bedroom. He stops dead by the side of the narrow queen size bed. He blinks and frowns in confusion. He turns on the light. The bed is empty. The whole apartment is empty. Where is she? He tries her cell phone but gets the voicemail. It's too late to call her parents, sister and friends. He starts feeling a little uneasy. Her car is not parked at the usual spot in front of the dumpsters. He gets dressed, waits for a while and decides to go find her.
He starts his car. He drives through the city and feels antsy. Her car is nowhere to be seen. Maybe it's time to face the music. Maybe he should drive to that 7-floored building. Maybe she's there in his bed, naked. Maybe he is kissing his way down her soft supple body. No, it's impossible. He waves the thought away with a laugh. She won't be there. She can't be there. She's not there. He knows that for a fact. He doesn't have to see it with his own eyes. It can't be. It won't be. Tomorrow she'll be home at the first ray of the morning. Tomorrow he's going to buy her a ring, a diamond ring, a wedding ring. He will get down on one knee. There will be happy tears in her misty blue eyes. They will spend the rest of their lives together as husband and wife. They will start their own family. They will have most beautiful children, 3 boys, 3 girls, all 6 of them. They will grow old together. They will have their happily ever after. He drives through the sleeping city. The wind, the moon and the stars laugh in his ears but he doesn't hear a thing. Tomorrow will be another day. Tomorrow will be the day. Then they will both be happy. They will be.