Hi guys, this is just something I've been doing on the side, and will update hopefully on a regular basis with new chapters. This is strictly the writing thread and any reactions must be kept to the separate thread.
Hey, reader. My name is Trent. Glad to know you chose to read my story, or I guess, my life’s tragedy. Before you get into this, I warn you that this story is what you could easily call a “feels trip.” However, even without a permission slip, we’ll be going right along anyway.
Chapter 1: Where it Began
About thirsty-seven years ago, a businessman and a nurse accidentally collided on the stairway of the New York city subway. The man’s briefcase flew open and out it vomited a flurry of unfinished work and signed papers. The poor girl felt nothing but guilt for creating such a mess and immediately knelt down to aid the man in retrieving what remnants of his work hadn’t disappeared in a rather inconvenient gust of wind. She jumped after flying sheets, releasing miniature apologies every few seconds while the man did nothing but chuckle at how sincere and regretful the poor woman was.
As the nurse was finishing up collecting the man’s paper, she snatched a small, black, 3.5 x 2 card that was lying a good thirty feet away from the paper she had recently snatched from the dusty floor. It was completely unscathed on the front, the golden text contrasting itself from the black. The man’s name, number, and place of business were all listed on the card. The bottom of the card was covered by a sheet of dust and was incredibly scratched, a large contrast present between the state of each side of the card. She never bothered to check the other side, as she’d found what she’d wanted on the front. She shoved the card into her pocket, the corner crinkling, the folds collapsing in upon each other.
The nurse approached the man with a stack of paper, dumping it on his lap. She opened her mouth to speak, her tone sassy and her voice gentile, without any rasp. “Here you go, Stan.” The nurse’s face contorted into a smirk when Stan gave her a confused look.
“H-how did you know my name?” Stan stammered out his words as a drop of sweat slipped off his brow. A train roared by and suddenly everything was moving in slow motion to Stan. The nurse’s dirty-blonde hair began flowing with the sudden gust of wind conjured by the train. It was at that moment that he looked into her eyes, and saw their deep blue matched the color of the sapphire implanted in the center of her necklace. Stan’s mouth was hanging wide open.
“”Well I’ll just keep that a secret.” The girl smirked at the man, her playful side becoming eminent. “Good day Stan. This game of 52 Pick Up was fun.” The woman’s sneakers squeaked as she turned and made her way to the slowing train. She took one last look behind her to see Stan staring back at her, and she once again released a smile before her pink sneakers disappeared inside the train.
Stan couldn’t help but regret not asking her name or at least for a form of communication. He held his hand up, clenching it as he grunted in frustration. He enclosed his other hand around the handle of his briefcase and ventured off to his eternally tedious career.
———————————————————————————————————
*Dum, ba dum, dum bum bum, ba dum.* Stan’s phone burst to life as he was settling into a chair with a bottle of beer he had found lurking in the corner of his refrigerator. Stan wasn’t used to calls outside of work and was astonished when the drum beat began to play. He sighed as he stood up, placing the beer on a coaster that sat on a table adjacent to Stan’s recliner. He grabbed the phone resentfully and held it up to his ear after pressing the “accept” button.
“Hello?”
“Well you don’t sound happy to hear me at all, Stan Fitzgerald.”
Stan’s face contorted in confusion. His brain cycled through the voices he had recognized before stopping. A toothy grin spread itself across his face. “Well I hadn’t expected it to be you, mystery woman.” He let out a hearty laugh.
“Mystery woman. Got a nice ring to it. But I prefer Linda better.”
“Linda… Do I get the pleasure of knowing your maiden name?”
“We’ll leave that for another time. So what are you doing, handsome?”
Stan’s cheeks flushed red. He hadn’t had a woman outright flatter him like that… ever actually. “Was going to relax with what I consider to be a well-deserved bottle of beer after an awful day at work. How did you even get my number?”
“I like having my secrets, Stan. Another time, another place. But maybe I could answer your questions over a real drink.”
Stan was flabbergasted. A woman wanted to talk to him? “Well, where would we go?”
“Look out your window.”
Stan’s shoes clicked against the floor as he hustled over to the only window in his apartment. Down outside the complex entrance was Linda. Her sapphire eyes were already staring back at him when he looked down, and she began to wave. Stan almost flew out of his apartment door, rushing down the carpeted stairs of the building deciding that love had no time for elevators. When he reached the lobby, he slowed down, attempting to leave the building with a bit more suave and bravado. He pushed the glass door open and stood next to Linda, staring at her up and down. Her dress was the same blue as her eyes and her necklace, and it hugged her skin and flattered her in all the right places.
“You must have hurried coming down here. I mean look at your hair!”
Stan pulled out his phone and saw his reflection in it, gasping as he licked his fingers and began trying to get the brown strands to settle back down to his scalp. He released a chuckle before he took Linda by the arms as they strolled on down to the bar to begin their life together. If only they knew...