Johnny was walking down
main street. He looked like a service man that was running late for the parade.
He was working hard to get the best out of both worlds between walking and
running. At that moment, he was using all the focus he had to get down the
street as fast as his legs could take him. He was very well-known and feared in
the neighborhood, and he knew that being seen galloping around would be a
faux-pas for his reputation. Once he found his cruising speed, he just kept
beating the pavement without a thought, one step at a time. He was, however,
careful to slow down when his gait was becoming dangerously laughable, and to
accelerate when his speed was fading below what he considered acceptable.
He only paused his frantic
progression when he absolutely had to, right when he reached the green traffic light
lording over the intersection of main and 6th street. His eyebrows
raised out of frustration gave him a boorish appearance reinforcing his natural
tough-man looks. he just hated the idea of having to delay his trip. With
nothing better to do, he indulged in tapping the sole of his dress shoe against
the sidewalk concrete to make the wait for the red light more bearable. Red,
like the epithet of the district.
The daylight was quickly
yielding to dusk. It was the time when sidewalks started to be stripped down from
its daytime pedestrians while the night car traffic was taking over and already
cruising around the block en masse. The blonde fur jacket covering a 3-piece
tuxedo coupled to a small hat he was wearing turned him into an attraction too
irresistible for the drivers’ eyes not to stare. The motorists, part out of voyeurism,
part not to miss out on laughter couldn’t help but turn into gawkers the very moment
they drove by him.
The light hadn’t turned
red completely when he resumed his hurried march to cross the street. “Tap,
tap, tap” the heels of his leather shoes emulated the sound of a horse’s sabots.
Stopped at the traffic light, the men rolling around in search and need for a
moment of purchased thrill made sure to avoid eye contact at all cost out of a fearful
kind of respect. They all knew too well that at kind of distance even glancing
at that type of individual could cost them much more than what they would have
ever bargained for.
At the corner of 6th
street and main, on the sidewalk between a liquor store open 24/7 and an
evangelical church, on the spot of a street light a woman was standing. A few
calm steps to the left then to the right prevented her from appearing
completely still. She was moving enough to escape immobility, but without
intentions to go anywhere. Her moves conveyed the idea that she wasn’t just there
waiting but actively waiting, while her outfit was telling a lot to drivers without
revealing too much to the law enforcement.
As Johnny walked into her
line of sight, she instantly converted her blasé attitude into a teeth-showing smile.
−Hey Johnny boy! How are
you doing, boss? She said.
Johnny stopped once at
public distance from the young women.
−Hi Monique. He said in a
timid tone voice conflicting with his forward suit.
He remained mute for a
few seconds before continuing.
−Hey Monique, I have to
talk to you. Can we talk really quick? He asked.
−Sure, honey! What’s up? What
do you have going on for me? She responded keeping the same bubbly stance.
−Ok, great. So, you have
been working for me for like 5 years now, haven’t you? Johnny asked.
−You got that right! She replied
snickering while exposing a few moves, as if she was hitting the dancefloor of
a nightclub.
−I want you to stop
working for me. Johnny hammered.
The second Monique
understood the meaning of the words put together she instantly dropped her giggly
moves to adopt a statue-like posture. Her smile faded too.
−What? She asked. Are you
out of your mind? Inquired Monique with a vehement voice.
The blatant tension in
her voice made it hard to believe such a dramatic change
−Am I not flooding your front
and back pockets with cash? Are you kicking me to the curb to get one of those
new tramps in town, is that what it is?
The scene was stepping into
dramatic territory. The young woman, unsettled, was displaying gestures of
discontent. At this point she seemed about to lose her mind.
−I have no intentions of
sidelining you, Monique. Replied Johnny in a tranquil manner.
−Why are you doing this
nonsense to me, then? Cried Monique.
Johnny looked straight at
the distressed woman. He looked focused, so focused and tensed that dimples dug
on each of his cheeks. His face had the expression of someone that is about to
say something as much painful as relieving, just like a newborn delivery can be.
−Because I want you to be
my wife.
