Mr. Petrovitch Part II

Watching the minutes tick by on the desk clock, Mr. Petrovitch was lost in thought when Thomas, the man who sat in the cubicle next to him startled him back to reality by asking him if he had his expense report done.  "Not yet," he replied.  "Soon, soon." 

Thomas let out a sigh and said, "Well be sure it is on my desk by noon," and disappeared behind the gray partition.

"All I do are reports," Mr. Petrovitch grumbled to himself.  He knew his time could be spent more wisely.

At 4:35 Mr. Petrovitch arose from his ergonomically correct chair and once again headed for the elevator.  Once out on Broadway he made his way to his motorcycle and rode home.  Before heading into his apartment building he stepped into the small convenience store located nearby.  The man working behind the counter looked up as he heard the bell ring as Mr. Petrovitch entered.  The store was small and claustrophobic.  He made his way down the small aisle and stared at the soup on the top shelf.  Reaching for the box of Matzoh he thought about having something else as well, but then decided it was too much work.  As Mr. Petrovitch made his way to the counter he glanced at the tabloid papers positioned near the front.  So and so were getting a divorce and photos of actresses without makeup were promised inside.  He felt happy just to be ordinary.

After paying for his box of soup Mr. Petrovitch walked back outside and into the sunlight.  The door to his apartment was to the left and he put the soup in his satchel before entering the glass doors.

The apartment lobby smelled of stale cigarettes. It was no longer allowed to smoke inside, but the walls and carpet hung on to cigarettes from years past.  The stale smoke followed him up the stairs to the third floor.  Taking a break at the top of the stairs to catch his breath, he thought about the letter.  "So she wants to apologize," and he smiled.  Once he could breathe again he walked across the orange and red carpet to apartment 3C.

Mr. Petrovitch Part I

Mr. Petrovitch worked at a financial services office downtown.  Every day he would ride his motorcycle from his apartment on Colfax to his office near the 16th Street Mall.  Today was an exciting day for him as he had received a letter from Israel.  Mr. Petrovitch and Sara had been friends since they were young.  He had immigrated to the United States in 1993 while Sara had stayed in Jerusalem. 

It was 9:30 AM  and Mr. Petrovitch left his gray cubicle and made his way to the elevator.  He and three other coworkers entered the open doors and the man in the green shirt and khaki pants pressed the button for the first floor.  They all stood uncomfortably together as oldies streamed out of the speakers.  On the first floor the doors opened and the riders exited.

Mr. Petrovitch reached in the right pocket of his blue pants and pulled out the letter as he made his way through the lobby.  He stepped out onto the sidewalk on Broadway and stood facing the World Trade Center.  The sun was starting to warm the air as businessmen and women walked up and down the sidewalk.  He ran his hand across his balding gray hair as he sat on a chair to read the letter from Sara.  Carefully he tore the envelope and pulled out the pink stationary.

יעקב היקר
אני מצטער
תסלח לי בבקשה

שרה

 

Smiling he put the letter back in his right pocket and slowly made his way back into the lobby.  It was Monday morning and he was not looking forward to spending his week sitting at a desk.  This week was different thought, he had something to look forward to.

The Shoes part V

She looked up and the men were headed out the door. Samantha followed them to Klamath Street where she watched them walk off into the distance.  Noticing how late it was she decided to wait for a bus.  The bus stop was a sea of broken glass glittering in the light from the street.  Behind the bench she was sitting on was on old brick building with tall green grass enclosed by a fence.  Leaning forward she saw the bus heading toward her.  She entered and noticed that it was unusually empty.  As the bus continued down Klamath she looked out the window at the dark city and wondered about the stranger.  Who was he and where was he going?  Stepping off the bus Samantha entered back out into the cold night.  She walked the block and a half back to her apartment building and headed in for the night. 

A couple of days later Samantha was leaving for a meeting with a client when she decided to stop and check her mail.  As she put the key into the gray mail box she noticed there was a large envelope with unfamiliar writing.  Carefully she opened it and found a black and white photograph.  It was one of the photograph's by Alfred Stieglitz she had seen at the gallery a few days before.  She smiled and looked down at her shoes.

The Shoes Part IV

As she crossed the street to follow the stranger and his friends, Samantha noticed the blue street lights had come on.  "It's getting late," she thought.  There were still crowds of people moving up and down the sidewalk.  She passed a Conoco Station that advertised a touchless car wash and Gatorade 2 for $3.  A yellow cab waiting to fill up wore a Dex Knows mohawk while Metro Taxi's phone number was lit up by lights.

She followed the three men into a photo gallery.  The stranger liked the photos of Stieglitz while the other two just wandered.  The shortest of the three men had short brown curly hair and wore glasses and was younger than the other two.  He looked Samantha's way and she quickly looked down at her shoes.

The Shoes Part III

Samantha looked out the window onto the outdoor patio.  Umbrellas of pink, purple, yellow, orange, red, blue and green adorned the tables.  She wanted to be outside but the sky had clouded over and she was afraid it would rain.

Leaving the restaurant she headed North on Santa Fe.  The art galleries were full of acrylics, oil, and photographs.  Frida and Diego were a common theme.  She crossed the street and headed south, past the museo de las Americas and more galleries until she reached 7th and Santa Fe.  There she stopped and sat on a bench to enjoy the night air.

Across the street was a biblioteca.  Red, white and blue cars traveled up and down the street. Samantha took a sip of her ginger kambucha and gazed across the street.  Walking with some friends was a man she didn't recognize, but for some reason was drawn to him.  He was tall, of medium build with short blond hair.  Intrigued she decided to follow him.

The Shoes Part II

Upon entering the library she stopped and asked the security guard what was going on over the weekend as she was new to town.  The guard adjusted his blue shirt, leaned forward and in a raspy voice tole her about the Fair.  Making a mental note, she decided she would try to attend as it sounded fun.

Continuing forward in her pretty shoes she entered the lobby of the library.  She was glad to be out of the sun and wind and the air conditioning felt good.  Walking across the lobby she glanced at the books on display.  One of her favorites, The Peoples History by Howard Zinn sat on the second shelf.  Making her way to the elevators she got on and pushed the button for the 4th floor.

The 4th floor was always her first stop.  It was a room full of round tables with Dell displays.  After reading her emails she headed back down the elevator to the coffee shop.  At the cafe Samantha ordered her usual, an iced Americano.  Taking a sip of the cold liquid she reveled in the bitter taste of the coffee.  Taking her coffee to go she walked outside.  Walking down 13th she headed for Santa Fe and the art walk.  Her new shoes carrying her smoothly across Speer to the sidewalk.  Once on Santa Fe she headed towards the art district.  The wind was picking up and she was still hoping it wouldn't rain.

It was still early so she decided to get something to eat.  Entering a Mexican restaurant that promised authenticity, she ordered an azada taco.  She sat in a booth with orange, green and yellow seats that looked out on to the outdoor patio.  Biting into the taco, the warm spicy meat tasted heavenly.  The restaurant started to fill with people who had the same idea of eating before viewing art.  Hippies with pony tails, girls with tattoos and men and women with gray hair all cam and went.  It was getting noisy, in the back someone pounded out tortillas and people were speaking in English and Spanish making it impossible to eavesdrop.

The Shoes Part I

The shoes came in a box via Federal Express.  Samantha didn't know who they were from or how anyone would know her shoe size.  She had never owned a pair of shoes like these before.  The box revealed a pair of black leather Mary Janes with leapard print insoles.  Taking them out of the box she smiled and anxiously tried them on.  They fit!  Not only did they fit, they fit perfectly!

Wanting to wear the new gift she pun on her blue, green and white print skirt and a white blouse and dicided to go to the art walk downtown.  Samantha felt like a new person in her new shoes.  She hadn't felt this good in a long time. 

Her shoulder lenght gray hair blew every which way in the wind as she made her way to the bus stop.  Adjusting her sun glasses she looked down the street on Colorado Boulevard to see if a bus was coming.  "Perfect timing," she thought to herself as the number 40 headed her way.  She paid the bus fare and made her way to a seat.  The bus was unusually empty for that time of day.  On Colfax she got off the bus and waited for the number 15 to take her downtown.

While waiting for the bus she chatted with some women who were from out of town.  A young Mexican woman was from Arizona and complained that she had been over paying the bus fare for some time and no one had told her.  The other woman was from Death Valley, California and was happy to be living in Colorado.  Ten minutes later the bus showed up.  Samantha got off the bus on Broadway as she wanted to stop by the library before heading to the art walk.  The Central Library was her favorite as it was quite large and she could find everything she needed in one spot.

Fat Tire Part III

Her brick apartment was in the middle of her street next to the park. Entering the foyer she slid the key into the mailbox. A local newspaper, a bill and Comcast promised services for only $20 a month sat waiting be be freed from their prison.

Entering her apartment she switched on the light and set her keys and bag on the counter. There was a knock at the door. "Buena!" she heard a woman say.

"Hola!" she replied back and opened the door. It was Lucia her neighbor across the hall. "Puedo usar el telefono?"

"Si, por supuesto!" and went to her black leather bag to get the telephone for Lucia.

She handed Lucia the phone and watched her walk back to her apartment and closing the door she let out a sigh. It had been a long day and she needed to relax.

Going to the closet she pulled out a blank canvas from the shelf. The paint brushes were in the drawer along with the tubes of paint. Setting the canvas on the wooden easel in the corner of the room, yellow, orange and red glided over the stretched white fabric. Her arm glided up and down, a music conductor leading a symphony of color. Slowly her anxiety started to melt away. Just as she was getting in her groove, Lucia knocked on the door again. "Gracias!"

"De nada," she replied and took the phone. Walking back to her corner she thought of a song from years past. "How did it go?" she thought and started humming the tune as she painted.
It was a warm evening and craving something cold she grabbed a Skinny Cow ice cream sandwich from the freezer. Sitting down at the table she took the first bite. A mixture of cookie and ice cream swirled on her tongue and everything was cold.

Fat Tire Part II

On the train ride home she sat and thought about the past.  How they had met through a mutual friend at work and how close they had become as friends.  Maybe last week was a mistake she thought.  They had met for dinner in Cherry Creek and then after dark walked along the bike path back to her house.  They stopped and sat on a bench next to the creek where there was a small water fall and listened to the water crashing over the rocks on its way to the lower part of the creek.  They had talked about the future with hope and enthusiasm.

The voice on the intercom announced Colorado Station and she got up to get off the train.  It was dark now but she didn't feel like taking the bus.  It wasn't that much faster anyway so she decided to walk.  It was still windy and she could hear it rush down the freeway as she crossed on the overpass.  It felt good to walk, she felt all of her stress and anxiety leave.  She wanted to focus on something else so she directed her thoughts towards the art projects she had bouncing around her head.  Just as she was making this resolution she arrived at the bike path.  It was going to be a long walk home.

Fat Tire: Part 1

She sat on a bench in the shade, sheltering her from the scorching sun.  Her skirt moved gently up and down in the warm wind.  Staring straight ahead at the public art in the shape of red Ys she thought to herself "Yeah why?"  That's when she saw him.

He stood in the shade next to the library, cigarette in his mouth.  He put down the cigarette long enough to take a swig from his drink.  He looked right at her and their eyes met.  She quickly turned her head to stare at the Ys again and thought "Why?"  He took another drag from his cigarette and disappeared around the corner of the building.  All she saw was his long black wavy hair and then he was gone.  She knew it was him.  She recognized his goatee and he always wore khaki pants.

Getting up from the bench she quickly shoved her book into her backpack and walked towards Santa Fe street.  She wasn't going to wait around for him.  Once on Santa Fe she headed south, passing by art galleries, photo labs and Mexican restaurants.  Craving a beer she stopped at one with an outdoor patio.  The cold beer tasted good in the dray heat.  A couple passed by pushing a baby stroller.  The woman wore a green tank top and an old blue scarf on her head.  Her husband pushed the baby protected from the sun by a light blanket.

It was 4 o'clock and she was almost finished with her beer.  Wanting to take the train back home she emptied the bottle and paid her bill.