His Vice

32

She sighed, digging more into her pillow only to have her eyes open at the sound of her alarm clock. She stared up at the roof of her bedroom, her roof. She leaned up in bed, and the dog turned slightly in sleep. She rubbed her eyes, trying to wipe away the sleepless night, shutting off the alarm. She got out of bed, placing her feet against the rough carpet of the small bedroom, heading out into the hall. She turned on the light to the bathroom, which flickered slightly, but she was used to it by now.

"Wierd dreams" she muttered to herself in the mirror, grabbing her toothpaste and toothbrush, brushing her teeth and spitting into the sink, letting it go down the drain until suddenly, the water from the tap stopped running. She paused for a moment, adjusting the knob, only to get nothing. She cursed, hurrying into the kitchen and turning on the tap to the kitchen sink, only to get nothing more than a few drops.

"Dammit," she sighed, grabbing at the warning from the landlord about her lack of water payment for the month. She opened the fridge, pulling out a bottle of it and using that, swishing it between her teeth and spitting it into the sink. She got dressed, just like any other day, letting the dog out to pee before bringing her in. Kissing her on top of the head to say goodbye and closing, locking the door behind her.

"Harmony" she turned, smiling kindly at the sight of John seemingly just closing his door to go to work. "How are you this morning?" He asked

"Oh, I'm fine. But Billy shut off my water again, that kind of sucks"

"You know, I can give you the money and you could just pay me back later" he claimed, walking down the hall side by side towards the lobby.

"That's kind of you to offer, but I actually get paid today, so I should be Ok" he looked concerned, opening the door for her out into the cold New York City air.

"I didn't know the soup kitchen paid you so well" he responded with a humorous tone

"Minimum wage is better than nothing-" she responded "Besides, the enjoyment of what I'm doing is more of a reward than millions"

"Ahh, the 'if you like what you do, you won't work a day in your life' shindig"

"Exactly" she responded with a smile

"But, you know, you still owe me that date" her cheeks reddened slightly, the thought of anyone liking her was still surreal. John had been trying to get her to out with them since he had moved in a few months before, but it wasn't that she didn't like him, in fact, she could see them together. It was just that she couldn't find the time. John was a nice guy, he had a normal office job, lived a normal life just like herself. Sometimes, she could imagine their family in her mind, one of peace and serenity, two girls of course, like she had always wanted.

"Maybe tomorrow" she responded softly. They bidded goodbye and she headed down the streets of the Bronx, heading towards work as she did every day. She arrived just before nine, using her key to open the battered metal door and let herself in, locking it behind her.

"Harmony, great" Nelly claimed from wrapping cutlery "You can take over for Jasper for the chicken noodle, apparently he doesn't know how to not burn something"

"Of course" she smiled, heading through the door into the backroom. She could already smell what Nelly was talking about, moving into the kitchen seeing young Jasper digging through the small spice cupboard, she suspected he was trying to find something that would mask the taste of burned. He turned his head, sighing in relief.

"Good, you can fix this" she laughed, taking his spot in front of the stove.

"Why don't you start on the bread?" She asked, glancing at him. He gave a thumbs-up, digging through the cupboards looking for the ingredients. Jasper always preferred baking to cooking, it seemed he did nothing but burn everything when he cooked, but his buns always came out perfectly golden and tasting of perfection. A good day's work was always fun, dishing the people of the city a good meal, happily talking, learning about their lives, their loves, and losses. It was just so perfectly simple. When the door was shut and locked, that was when Nelly called her over.

"Harmony, here's your cheque" she handed her the envelope. Harmony smiled softly, opening it up and reading the numbers on the small piece of paper. It would be enough to cover what Billy wanted, but not much more than that.

"This is less than last month" Harmony claimed, looking up from the paper. Nelly looked down slightly, as if ashamed.

"I'm sorry Harmony, I know it's not what you're worth, but we've just been struggling so much lately.

"Of course Nelly, It's Ok, I understand" she wrapped up the envelope, placing it in her back pocket, giving the older woman a kind smile. And just like any other day, she huddled into her jacket on her way home, glancing at the people driving by in their vehicles, the others walking the streets, laughing with one another, sometimes a restaurant she walked past had an open window and she couldn't help but look as she walked by. People eating their perfectly prepared, filling meals. She couldn't remember the last time she had gone anywhere to eat. She sighed, her breath turning to smoke in her eyes from the cold. She didn't want to admit it, but the reality was if she wanted to continue to have a roof over her head, she was going to need a second job.

Before she crossed the street, she pulled the cold metal handle of a free newspaper housing, grabbing one of the bundles of paper before she made it home. She went to the bank, cashing the cheque and pulling out the money she needed to pay Billy. When she got home, she was quick to knock on his office door in the lobby, giving him what she owed. She unlocked her apartment door, slipping inside and placed the last few bills on the kitchen counter, and pulling her jacket from her shoulders, placing it on the edge of the worn couch.

Zuni came out to happily greet her, waiting by her food bowl for some kibble, which harmony happily gave. She sat down on the couch with the light on and a pen between her teeth, flipping through the pages of the newspaper to the classifieds. She started circling the possible options, grabbing the landline and phoning them about what the job required. But, each one kept saying they had already found someone else to fill the position. She sighed, noticing one near the edge of the paper.

Maid needed for an apartment building in Manhattan, pay 50$ an hour and transportation to and from work will be given if necessary, no experience required

She couldn't believe what she was reading, such a high pay for a maid job. She couldn't even imagine what it would be like to have that kind of money. She went to phone it but realized that there was no phone number given on the ad, only an address in Manhattan. She just couldn't pass up an opportunity like that, hurrying to the bedroom and digging through her desk. She pulled out a pad of paper and a pencil, and a copy of her old resume. She sat at the coffee table, writing out the inked words in the paper, making the adjustments, and adding her newer parts. She sighed happily at her work, placing it neatly on the coffee table. She picked up Zuni in her arms, taking her down the hall to prepare for bed. She went to sleep that night almost giddy for the next day. And so, close to nine she entered the soup kitchen just like always, did her day of work happily with Nelly and Jasper, helped pack up, and said her goodbyes just after four, pulling out the old, wrinkled bus map from her pocket, getting on the nearest bus heading towards there Manhattan district.