After closing down the bar and seeing Micah on his way I began my walk home. It was 3:40am, and the streets were dead silent. I always enjoy my silent walks home, being alone at night like this is quite peaceful. I try not to think about too much and just take in the scenery around me.
The tall buildings of downtown and streetlights to my back illuminate the path in front of me, and as I get closer to home the darker it gets. I can usually start seeing more stars when I approach my street, however the city lights illuminating the sky overhead made it clear that it was cloudy.
I stood outside for a few minutes before going in, breathing in the cool night air and listening the stillness of the usually bustling city. It's nights like these that make me feel comforted. After a few more minutes passed I walked up the flights of stairs to my apartment.
I took my shirt off and changed into a pair of sweats, then wandered to the fridge to look for dinner. I need to go grocery shopping. There were slim pickings for my meal tonight, but I took out some rice that was previously cooked, grabbed a bag of frozen veggies from the freezer, and took out an egg from the fridge.
I threw them all in a pan together and added some oil and seasonings, and after about ten minutes I had some decent fried rice. Definitely not the best, but also not my worst by any means. Heading over to the table I ate my dinner in silence, then rinsed off my dishes and put them in the dishwasher. After turning off the lights I plugged my phone in and then got ready to lay down. Luckily, I don't need to go to work tonight, so hopefully I can sleep in.
The sound of my phone ringing woke me up, and since the only contacts I have are my employees or my mother it's never a good sign.
"…Hello?"
"Hey, Kai, it's me Sarah."
"Oh, hey Sarah. What can I do for you?"
"I know you covered for me at the bar last night, I wanted to say thank you for helping me out on such short notice."
"Not a problem at all. How is your father doing?"
"My dad is about the same, but he still can't do much on his own. I know I said I only needed last night off, but I haven't had any sleep, and I think I need to stay home tonight too. My brother is late getting into town, and I am afraid to leave my dad alone for a long period of time."
Well, that's just great. Still, it isn't her fault, and it's not like I have any plans tonight to begin with.
"Don't worry about it Sarah, I will make sure it's taken care of. Say hi to your dad for me and keep me updated on when your brother makes it into town. I'll take you off the schedule for the meantime, so give me a call when you know you are able to work, okay?"
"What… Take me off the schedule? I am not fired, am I?
"No, you're not, things like this happen and family comes first. I just said to call me when you know you can work, didn't I? I would rather take you off the schedule in the meantime so that other employees who want to pick up hours can see the availability, and it's easier for me this way too. When your brother makes it into town let me know, and we will put you back on the schedule."
"Thank you so much Kai, you really are one of the best managers I've ever had. I will keep you updated. I need to go now; I will talk to you soon!"
"Take care."
So much for my night off. Glancing at my phone screen it read 2:45pm. Well, it's not like I can go back to sleep now. I sent Micah a text to let him know that I will be in again around 6:30pm and decided to get dressed. Since I have this much time before work tonight, I might as well go get groceries.
Grabbing my bags from the hook in the pantry and my backpack, I did one last pat down to make sure I wasn't forgetting anything. The store is only about a fifteen-minute walk away, but I would rather not have to turn back because I forgot my wallet. Closing the door behind me, I headed to the elevator. Shit, I forgot it's out of service. I guess the stairs it is.
Walking out of the building I noticed that the sky was still cloudy, and it smelled like rain. Hopefully all it does is rain. Being alone when it is storming out, though I am an adult, always makes me anxious. It reminds me of the times when I was a scared little kid during a thunderstorm, alone and with no one to comfort me.
Distracted in my thoughts, I arrived at the store faster than I realized. Making a mental list of what I needed, I walked in trying to get this shopping done fast. The last thing I want is to get caught in the rain on my way home with groceries.
Looking through my basket I did a quick review to make sure I was not missing anything. Okay, I have chicken breast, ground beef, tomato sauce, cheese, noodles, bread, eggs, apples, bananas, broccoli, bell peppers, bagels, cream cheese, and milk. After the once over it didn't seem like I was missing anything, so I walked over to the checkout.
"That will be $59.48, cash or card sir?"
The price of groceries is no joke.
"Card, please."
"Great, go ahead and insert the card whenever you are ready. Will you be needing any cash back today?"
"No ma'am, that's all."
"Would you be interested in donating to our childhood trait fund? It's a donation to help families deal with the financial strain they may experience if they have children with trait related abnormalities or need help with healthcare in general."
"…Sure, you can round me up to the next closest dollar."
"Great! That'll be $60 even."
I gave the cashier a slight nod, quickly grabbed my bags, and started heading out.
"Oh my gosh Tanya did you see that guy? He was so hot."
"I know! Wasn't he so tall Liz? He looked so strong… I wonder if I should have asked him for his number?"
Just stop, please. I am used to the comments they make about me once I turn my back, and I know they don't mean any harm… But it's so fucking uncomfortable for me. I'd rather they say these things to my face so I can turn them down and get it over with, and I don't want to turn around and embarrass them by letting them know that I can hear what they're saying.
Luckily, I made it home before it started raining, and I went ahead and put all the groceries away. I re-heated some of the lazy fried rice I made last night and ate that real quick before getting ready. The time on my phone read 4:47pm, should I go for a run? No, given that it's almost five and the weather doesn't look favorable I should just take a shower.
I decided to take a long shower and relax underneath the hot water before getting out… Or at least that was the plan. I could hear my phone ringing, so I rinsed off and wrapped myself in a towel. When I got to my phone the call was already missed, but it was from Micah. He is supposed to be at work tonight, and rarely ever calls me. I really do not want to be the only one working at the bar tonight, but I also hope everything is okay. I unlocked my phone and called him back.
"Kai! I don't know what to do, I don't know if I can go into work tonight, please help me!"
"Okay first… Slow down. If you really can't make it into work tonight then it is what it is, but what's going on? Why do you sound so panicked?"
"It's Avery! He was supposed to start his first day of college today, he got accepted into the Department of Culture and Art at Elsum University downtown."
"Elsum U, huh? Man, that is supposed to be a prestigious school. Good for him… But who is Avery again?"
"Don't you remember anything man?! He is the little brother I was talking to you about last night!"
I don't really think you ever said what his name was.
"Ah, now I remember. Sorry about that. Anyway, why does that warrant you taking tonight off?"
"Because a while ago our mom sent a text message to all of us saying he decided to not go to school at the last minute, not to worry, and that everything was fine."
"If everything is fine… Then why do you sound so worried?"
"Because Kai! This isn't like him. He has wanted to be a professional artist ever since he could talk, and he has been looking forward to this since his acceptance! He isn't responding to the group chat or my private messages. I think something happened that made him change his mind,"
"Listen, you are one of my most valuable employees, and you rarely call out of work. If something really happened, then you know I would have no problem with you calling out to take care of it."
"I knew you would under-"
"However, your brother is an adult, he is safe, and if something really did happen that made him change his mind, he has more than just you to look for advice or help from. I have no problem with you taking frequent breaks tonight to check your phone or call him, but I really need you to be at the bar by 6:30pm. I'm sorry."
"…No, you're right. I'm sorry for overreacting. He's just my ad-"
"Your adorable baby brother, I know. Everything will work out; I will see you in a bit."
He really adores that little brother of his, doesn't he? My shower must have been longer than I thought, because between that and the phone call it was already almost 6pm. After setting my phone down I tried to towel dry my hair the best I could before getting dressed. I picked up my clothes and tossed them in the washer for later, then took out a change of sheets and clean comforter for my bed.
I meant to change them before I went to bed this morning since I woke up yesterday in a sweat, but I was so tired when I got home, I forgot. I sat them on my nightstand so I wouldn't forget when I got home later, then walked to the kitchen for a glass of water. While looking out the window over the sink I noticed that the wind was starting to pick up and it was raining a bit too. Just my luck.
I walked over to my closet and put on a hoodie, then put a light coat in my jacket for later. The only thing I couldn't find was my goddamn umbrella. After spending way longer than I should have looking for it I got another call from Micah.
"Hello?"
"Hey Kai, you are still coming in, right?"
"Yeah, why?"
"Because it's already 6:40pm and you still aren't here, I just wanted to make sure."
"Fuck! Sorry Micah, I got distracted trying to find my stupid umbrella. I am on my way."
"No worries, I'll finish getting everything ready."
"Thanks!"
I can't believe I spent almost half an hour looking for that thing. Ugh, whatever, it's just a little rain. I grabbed my backpack and stuck my hand into the main pouch to make sure everything I had was in there. Ah shit, found my umbrella. It was laying horizontally in the bottom of the bag, and I didn't even notice.