Downtime

Half an hour before his shift ended, Jack was already standing by the door, lifting his coat off the rack. Tim glanced up from behind the counter, shrugged, and looked back at his phone, lifting his hand with thumb up in Jack’s direction. Jack said nothing, Jack rushed out the door and around the corner, and froze. 

“Are you coming tonight?” 

“Yeah...” he said, trailing off. He looked at his phone, then at the clock. He shook his head. “Yes. I am coming.” 

Alice stifled a giggle. “Are you sure?” she asked, with mock concern. 

Jack rolled his eyes at himself and shrugged. “I should be able to make it. 

“Well I’m glad.” said Alice with a genuine grin. Jack smiled back, and left. 

When Jack got home, he threw himself onto the couch. He glanced at his phone, sighed, and turned on the air conditioner. “Hey google” he said. He glanced at his phone again. “Set an alarm for forty... nevermind. Fuck.” he rolled his eyes as google announced the fourty minute timer. “Hey google, cancel that timer. Hey google, set a timer for fifty five minutes.” he said. 

He threw himself back onto the couch, and tried to relax. When the alarm went off, he shot up, drank some water, and left before the hour turned. 

---

The doorbell rang and Alice left to answer it before calling “I’ve got the door!” When she opened it, she leaned in to look through the peephole, but opened it so quickly she wasn’t able to get a good look. 

“Sup.” said Tim. He held up a large case of beer, then it’s weight dragged his arms back down. The flapping motion made his coat move comically. 

“Oh.” said Alice. 

Tim grimaced. “Try not to sound too excited.” He came in. 

“I’m sorry!” said Alice. She grinned. “Thanks for coming, Tim.” 

Tim chuckled. “I’m just giving you shit.” He flapped, hefting the beer again. “Where do you want this?” 

“I’ll take it.” said Alice. Once she was holding it, Tim opened the top and took out a can, opened it, and took a sip. Alice giggled. 

“Try to have a good time tonight.” said Tim as they made their way to the kitchen. 

“I’m going to.” said Alice. Tim looked sideways at her. 

“Jack’s a mellow guy, and he was in a big rush today. Whatever he’s got going on has him stressing. Don’t hold it against him if he doesn’t make it.”

Alice shrugged and tried to hide a smile. “He said he’d make it.” 

The doorbell rang. Alice lurched towards the hallway, then hefted the beer onto the counter before running back to the door. She didn’t bother calling her intent again. Tim shrugged and made his way into the party with another beer. 

This time, Alice took a look through the peephole. She smiled, and opened the door. 

“Hi.” said Jack. He smiled. Alice smiled back. 

“Thanks for coming.” said Alice. 

“I wouldn’t miss it.” said Jack. 

They stood there for a long moment before Alice started. “Oh! Come in!” Jack did, awkwardly. 

“I, can’t stay long, actually.” said Jack. “I’m sorry. I wanted to make sure I made it, but-” 

“It’s ok!” said Alice. She hesitated, then hugged him. “I’m just glad you’re here. 

Tim sighed, smiled, and hugged her back. 

---

Jack measured his pace so that he would fall behind the crowd. They filled the street from curb to curb, signs and voices raised. He continued to chant with them as he fell from the front of the column, but towards the back, there was less energy, and he stopped as the end of the column overtook him. 

Once he was out of the procession, he folded his sign under his arm and stepped abruptly up the curb. He walked in the wake of the procession for several minutes, then turned left. Under the echoes, he casually leaned his sign face down against a trash can as he walked by. 

He checked the time, then he broke into a trot. 

Another turn, and several blocks down, he passed by the back door of a kitchen. There was a man standing by the door, smoking. As Jack entered the block, the man lit a second cigarette, then glanced towards Jack. He looked away from Jack, but let the cigarette dangle between his fingers at his side. As Jack put his hand into his pocket, and as he passed the man, quickly handed him a small bottle. The man put it into his pocket, and crushed his fresh cigarette underfoot. Jack walked on, and the man went back inside. 

---

Jack shuffled into the store 25 minutes after his shift started. Time looked up at him. 

“I clocked you in.” said Tim. He tossed Jack a clipboard. “You get to do inventory.” 

Tim caught the clipboard. He sighed, then shrugged. “Thanks I guess.” He hung up his coat, then looked at the clipboard and sighed. “I’ll start in a minute.'' he said. He sat down heavily behind the counter next to Tim, and pulled out his phone. 

“Busy night?” asked Time. 

Jack stared at his phone for several seconds, then sighed deeply and shook his head as if to wake himself. He put away his phone, then sat for another few seconds. “Yeah.” he said suddenly. “Long night.” 

Tim smirked. Jack looked up at him. “What?” he asked, a little too sharply. 

“Alice hasn’t come in.” said Tim. Jack stared. 

“What?” asked Jack.” 

Tim hesitated. “Long night?” he asked, uncertain. 

Jack stared at Tim for a moment, then cringed. “I was at the march downtown.” 

“Oh.” said Tim. His eyebrows shot up. They sat in silence for a long moment. “I’m surprised you made it in.” 

“Why?” asked Jack. 

“Bomb went off.” said Tim. Jack stared at him. “Did you see the news?” asked Tim. 

Jack didn’t respond. He opened his phone. “Jesus.” he locked it again and stared out the window. After a long pause, he asked sharply “Did they catch them, whoever did it?”

Tim shook his head. “Nah.” 

“Good. I mean, good god.” said Jack. They sat in silence for a few minutes. “I hope Alice is alright.” 

---

Jack emerged from the storage room at the back of the shop at the end of the day, and tossed the clipboard onto the desk with a clatter. “Inventory’s finished.” he said. 

“Nice.” said Tim. 

“I’m going home.” said Jack. 

“Good weekend.” said Tim. Tim looked back at him from the coat rack. 

Tim raised his eyebrows. “Holiday tomorrow.” 

“Oh.” said Tim. “Yeah, I forgot.” 

When Tim got home, he sat on the couch, then immediately lay down. After a long pause, he turned on the television, then stood up, and drank some water. He paused. “Hey google, set an alarm for, nevermind.” He double checked his calendar, then lay down on the couch again. 

Within a few minutes, he was asleep. The TV played through his sleep, until finally, the news came on. 

“We have an update in an ongoing story. Police have taken in a suspect in the bombing of city hall last night, which now has an updated body count of over twenty, including three members of the city council.” The anchor disappeared and an image appeared on screen. 

“Alice Miller, 27, was pulled over for speeding while leaving the county. The police searched her car, and found small quantities of what they’re calling ‘highly volatile chemical compounds.’” 

Jack didn’t wake up.