His Vice

34

"I'm glad we finally got to do this" John smiled at her from across the table, admiring her reddened cheeks, her coffee in hand. "So, tell me, what's new" he took a sip from his cup.

"Well, I got another job" she responded. He looked concerned, placing his cup on the table.

"I thought you liked working at the soup kitchen" he claimed.

"Oh, I do, very much. And I still work there in the mornings, but I got a second job"

"I see" he responded "So, how do you like your new job?" That question, she really didn't know how to answer that one. The first weird thing was seeing her uniform, a soft black dress with a white belt, white headband, and white elastic to hold back her hair. She had been working there for two weeks now, the other maid staff were nice, giving her tips and tricks to the job, that wasn't a problem, the job itself was fine. But, what was her real concern was who she was doing the job for.

These people dressed in black, all she had gotten from the other maids was that they were part of some sort of Christian cult, but she still had no idea what they actually did, how they could afford to live in such a high class, beautiful part of the city, and why she had experienced cleaning at least five pools of what looked like blood so far in a span of two weeks, three on the sheets when she was doing laundry, one soaked into the carpet of one of the halls and one in the lobby on the shiny marble tile flooring that she had to scrub for nearly two hours to get the stain out. But, that wasn't even the strangest part of the job.

Their boss, Maxwell. Wherever she was, he always seemed to be there. If she was mopping the floors of the lobby he was there, talking with the other people dressed in black. If she was doing basic cleaning of the apartments, he always seemed to be walking down the hall at the exact moment she was. And, the worst was when she was directed by her manager to clean his apartment on the top floor. Empty bottles of alcohol, messed up sheets, and used condoms on the floor, it disgusted her, thinking of him doing those acts, even if he was married to the woman she suspected he was doing them with. The worst part was his used clothes, which were soaked to the touch and when she pulled her fingers from the fabric, the liquid tinted her skin red. She just begged to god it was fruit juice and threw the clothes in the wash. He was a strange guy, if not the strangest human being she had ever met, and she didn't quite know how to take that. He would snap at everybody and then turn and be a whole different person around her, asking her how her day was or how he could help her with whatever she happened to be doing.

"Fine, it's fine," she said quickly, taking another sip from her coffee cup, wishing he would drop that subject.

"Then, how is Zuni?" He asked

"She's great, just as peppy as always. I'm surprised she's lasted this long, but every day with her is a blessing"

"Dogs always make life better, don't they"

"Definitely" she responded

"You know, I was thinking of getting a dog"

"You should" she claimed "They're great, and there's so many at the shelter that deserve a happy home"

"Maybe, you could help me find one" John claimed, smiling at her.

"Of course, I'm happy to help"

-

"Here" she turned her head, startled at the voice behind her to face him, her hold on the mop tightening on instinct. She looked down at his hand held out towards her, holding a black box.

"What is this?" She asked, taking it from his hand. She gripped the lid, letting it slide off the base, revealing to her surprise a rather nice-looking cellphone. "A phone?" She asked, looking up at him.

"It's hard to contact you for work purposes when you're the only one without a cellphone" Maxwell responded

"Mr. Lucas, I can't take this" she claimed, closing the box and holding it out to him "You've already given me such a happy opportunity to work for you, I'm happy enough with that. Besides, I can't afford the charges with a phone network anyway, it would be no use"

"The charges are already covered" he responded stiffly "I never understood people like you" she raised her eyebrows in surprise at his words

"What do you mean?" She asked

"The people that will turn away things freely given to them by others, it's like it gives some sort of power trip for you to say no" he responded

"it's not a power trip Mr. Lucas" he met her eyes. A comment like that probably would have upset someone, but not her. She was more curious than angry "The reason we say no is because we are happy with the little we have, and there's no void in us that can be filled with taking from others" she rang out the mop, continuing her work of cleaning the lobby floor "People like us don't enjoy taking, but instead just happy with what we have, what we have earned with our own hands" she smiled softly at him, mopping more of the tile floor. There was a few moments of silence before he spoke again.

"Teach me" she looked up at his words, meeting his eyes with a look of surprise

"What?" She asked

"Teach me how to do that, to be happy with what you have and not continue to crave more" she was kind of stunned by his words. This man seemed to be searching for something, she suspected so the moment she felt such a dark, angry aura. It was like something was supposed to be in his life, or someone, that wasn't there. It made him despicable, angry, begging to find the answer to peace.

"Well, it's not really something one can teach-" she claimed, holding his gaze "You must search yourself, discover a new kind of happiness that's there no matter what life forces you to suffer, that's not dependent on anyone or anything else, only on you. The only one that's going to make you happy is you, Mr. Lucas, no one can do it for you" he watched her as she continued to work, such a demeaning job of cleaning up after others. And yet, she seemed so contempt, not begging for power, or mountains of money, or the death of those who wronged her. It was like watching a creature from another planet, one that needed to be dirtied. How has no one ever dirtied this angel? She looked up at the sound is his receding footsteps, walking back down the hall with not even a single look back at her. Sometimes she wondered what went through that man's head, but she suspected she'd never discover the true answer to that.

She went home that night, holding Zuni tight as they slept under the worn covers of her bed, not even hearing the justle of the front door as a lock pick was jammed into it, hearing the click indicating its success. The silent figure opening the door with a small creak didn't even make her stir in bed, shutting it softly behind him. He glanced around at her small apartment, the photographs on the walls he could see with the light from the streets out the window, happy smiles and flowers. The worn furniture, no TV, not even a radio or a toaster at least. The carpet was worn down by years of stepping feet, the kitchen sink rusted with only a fork unclean at the bottom. He opened the fridge, slightly blinded by the sudden light. A half-empty can of wet dog food, a can of pasta sauce, two eggs, a little container of butter, half a loaf of bread, and a head of wilted lettuce that should have been thrown out already. He closed the door to the fridge, noticing the pile of papers on the kitchen counter, pulling out his cellphone to look through them, piles of bills, electricity, water, heating, multiple warnings for overdue rent. She was under a payment plan with her vet for her dog's medications and was behind in those payments too.

"Fuck me, no wonder she wanted the job so bad" he muttered. He placed the papers down, shutting off his phone, moving down the small hall. Nothing but a tiny bathroom and a bedroom. He pushed the door to the bedroom open the slightest bit, peering inside. And there she was, sleeping with the mutt he assumed was the reason for all her veterinary debt. But still, despite how financially strapped, she slept with the face of a young child filled with so much wonder, so much love for the world, untainted. He hadn't accepted her answer to happiness earlier in the day, and suspected the answer to her happiness wouldn't be found in her dwelling. But, that seemed to be a bust, in fact, her apartment basically represented everything that should make her miserable. So, it had to be in her mind, somewhere. And to find it, he would have to dissect her.