Love's woes!

A long, rickety tan station wagon pulled up to the service station, Sheila came running out, happy that Ray was on time tonight. Sheila hopped in and smiled, Ray threw her a quick smile but immediately turned to face the road, so she turned her head forward and gazed out the window. She remembers vividly the night she met Ray. She was taking a smoke break, the air was humid which made her stay out five minutes longer than she usually does. This tall slender guy approached her asking for a light, she stumbled around in her pockets and found her Bic, she rolled the wheel down and held the flame to his cigarette, as he leaned in she caught a whiff of alcohol on his breath, and wondered if he had anything more to drink. He told her thank you and she was in the mood for a conversation so stayed out and talked for five minutes, then ten, then fifteen, next thing she knew she was tongue kissing this stranger on the side of the building. He introduced himself as Ray and said he’ll be there to meet her when she gets off. This was perfect because Sheila was tired of her boss harassing her about wanting to take her home. They’ve only been together for three months now, she would have loved to have Ray meet her parents, but Ray said he wasn’t the bring your boyfriend home type. One night when Ray was extremely early picking her up, Sheila found Ray outside the car pacing back and forth and before she could ask him what was wrong, he started asking all kinds of questions about her best friend, Alice, which was also her roommate. Ray noticed one night while staying over that Alice kept a safe tucked in her corner. After he got done, he said he wanted them to go to the diner down the road to talk about some plan he’s been brewing up. So she agreed.

While waiting for the waiter to bring their food, Ray lit another cigarette, his foot thudding in cadence with the guitar music in the background. Ray hummed as he swayed his head back and forth, closing his eyes as if he were drifting off to sleep. Sheila amorously stared at him as if she were sleeping herself.

“Baby, I have the perfect plan”, Ray said with wide eyes.

“Let’s rob your friend, we could use that money, in fact we need that money and from there, we can go wherever we wanted to.”

Sheila looked at him, but she already had her mind made up. She now needed the money, and so against her better judgment she said yes. She decided to take her new lover up on his offer, what’s the worst that could happen she said to herself. Yet going against her better judgment was what she was good at, rarely did she ever listen to anyone, including herself, but Ray was different, Ray was special. Yet this isn’t the first time she fell “in love”. This mentality has inadvertently landed Sheila in hot water, like the one time where she decided to steal for “love” or the other time when she thought she wanted to become a medical doctor for “love” but this time would be different, she told herself, this time she really was in love. Wherever here we come, she thought to herself. And her and Ray were going to be lovers in a different culture, a different atmosphere; different everything. She was excited, a new beginning of some sort. Sheila knew where Alice kept the key, and it would be easy for her to steal the money before Alice even knew her and the money would be gone forever.

Carrie Underwood echoed throughout the apartment, Alice walked in to find Sheila with her backed turned swaying her hips as she set the table for two, interesting she thought to herself, for Sheila never cooked anything since she can remember. She tosses her bag and briefcase on the couch without Sheila even noticing she was there. She headed upstairs to shower, she felt tired after a long exhausting day of dealing with clients and cases. She waited fifteen minutes while the steam from the water circumvented the bathroom, the hot water felt good against her body. She got out and quickly dried off for going to sleep was the only thing she looked forward to doing. She heard Sheila footsteps bounce off the wall as she ascended the stairs. So she sat up waiting for her friend to appear at her door.

“Oh Hey, I didn’t even know you were here, you’re not going to sleep are you? Come on, I cooked for us.”

Alice looked surprised, not to sure what to say, she was hungry but on the other hand, sleep seemed more important to her than food. Even though she had the option of sleeping in tomorrow, she figured she’d used that day to catch up on work. She looked at Sheila, while she looked back at her smiling with a fork in her hand. She must admit to herself, that the food did smell good. And again, she was hungry. So, she decided to take advantage of the opportunity to eat and spend some time with her best friend. It’s been awhile since they really had a chance to sit down and talk, her working all the time, Sheila having another new boyfriend, it may be awhile before they could actually hangout again, like old times. She flung her legs over the side of her bed and slid into her slippers, feeling good because she knew they were going to have fun. Sheila blew a kiss at her and motioned her to go ahead downstairs while she goes to her room to grab something. Alice agrees, laughing and singing the song being played along the way. The chrome steeled rectangular safe took on a life of its own as Alice’s shadow faded down the stairs. Sheila stared at it for awhile before moving towards it. She stepped lightly and quietly as to not cause the floor to creak beneath her. She grabbed the key which hung on an ornament she brought for Alice on her birthday. Right above it, was a picture her and Alice on vacation after their high school graduation, she quickly looked away for she has to stay focused, she had to do this, for Ray.

“Hey sexy, are you coming down or what?”, Alice shouted with zeal.

“I’ll be right there, girlfriend”, Sheila laughed as she replied.

As she got closer, the safe got bigger, as if it knew what she was up to. Her heart thudded against her chest, for the adrenaline was now pumping throughout her body. She got down on one knee, and nervously dropped the key on the floor. Come on Sheila, get it together, she thought to herself. She crouched down to pick it up, closed her eyes and took a breath. A memory of her and Alice flashed in her mind. She smacked the side of her head with the palm of her hand. Stop it, stop messing with me, she whispered. The vibrating of her phone going off freed her from the mind games she was playing with herself, she glanced at the screen.

“Hello, yeah, I’ll be right down, for real this time.”