Trip on the way home

Wow, it's been a long work for me. Reports back to back. No fun as a research analyst. I can’t wait until this day is over. I am going on vacation for a week. I have saved up my PTO hours, which are 3 weeks. My boss told me I can get off early on Friday. She was dreaming about her vacation all week. The big day has arrived. Mandy has to get those final reports done this morning because she was leaving at noon. Mandy asked for help from her co-worker to help her finish the reports quicker. She turned in her reports to her boss. She was walking out of the door at noon. She was glad to be on her way home. Why the traffic has to be heavy like this? It is only around 12:10 pm; people should be at work. The interstate piled up and traffic moving slow. There has been an accident that caused the traffic on the interstate. The cars piled up. There were police and EMT on the scene. It was terrible. Mandy could finally get through the traffic jam and the accident. She had some books she needed to return to the library. Mandy pulled up to the library and the park lot was full. Mandy turned her books in and looked for more. Mandy loves reading books. It was escapism from the real world. Her favorite author Sarah J Maas new book “House of Earth and Blood” supposed to come out on March 3, 2020. Mandy couldn’t believe that she didn’t pre-order the book. She ran into an old school mate, Bobbi. They talked about their days in school and their love of books. Something strange was happening. This strange man seems like he was following Mandy. Jamie Holmes was his name. He’s tall about six feet three and lanky swimmer build with buzz reddish brown hair cut. He was in the genealogy department researching the city’s history. Mark had requested microfilm for his research. Mandy was like a kid in the candy store. She just craved being around books. Mandy grabbed 5 books and sat down at a table. She pulled out her cell phone and connected to the library’s internet. Mandy checked her email and connected to Spotify. Meanwhile, Jamie was semi stalking her from a distance. Even though he was in the genealogy, he had eyes on her. She’s so pretty and would love to ask her out. Whoa, slow down, Jamie. You are moving too fast. This is what Jamie was thinking about. He’s a handsome man and not the creepy type. Mandy was listening to Pop Culture Happy Hour. It is a podcast that keeps up with latest pop culture. She still indecisive of what books she wanted to checkout. Her choices:

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern

The Red Scrolls of Magic by Cassandra Clare and Wesley Chu

The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren

The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams

I don’t know which one to check out. Mandy read the summaries of the books to decide which one to check out. An hour later, she still confused. Jamie, on the other end of the library still researching. Mandy couldn’t believe that she spent almost 5 hours in the library. She checked out all five books. Mandy would have four auto renewals. I think that’s about two months. She will use her time that she’s on vacation to read the books. One of the library staff announced that they will close in 20 minutes. Jamie was wrapping things up too. Mandy checked out all five books. As Mandy was walking out to her car, a man bumped into her and knocked her books out of her hands. It terrified her. Oh madam, I am sorry about that, let me help you pick up your books. No, I got it, thanks. Mandy got into her car and pulled off. Her gas was on empty. She stopped at the gas station up the street from the library. This same man that knocked the books out of her hands was stalking Mandy. He pulled up at the gas station. Mandy was walking out to her car and fill her gas tank. She pulled off on the road, heading home. She remembered that her refrigerator was empty. Mandy stopped at the grocery store. She bought a pack of skinless family size chicken breast, 2 salads bags, a case of bottled water, and a six pack of Oikos Greek Nonfat Plain Yogurt. The grocery store packed today, but I forgot its Friday, its beginning of the weekend. Everyone is out and about this weekend. As Mandy waiting in the checkout line, an elderly lady started talking to her, carrying a conversation. Oh, what a sweet old lady, she reminded me of her Nana who passed away two years ago. Their conversation helped with waiting in line. The old lady told Mandy that she likes to do word search puzzles. This man is still stalking Mandy, and she’s not aware that she being followed. He’s doing grocery shopping. He picked up a 24 pack of Red Bull. No need to pick up perishable items like his meat and vegetables because he didn’t know how long that he would be out. Mandy got checked out and loaded her groceries into her car. She turned on Spotify and jammed to a pop channel. Here we go again. Traffic backed up again. What am I, a traffic jam magnet? It seems like, ever since off and on today, I got caught up in a traffic jam, off and on today. It’s ridiculous. She was turning on her street where she lived. Finally, she felt good that she has gotten off of the highway. It was a feeling of relief. No traffic jams, no horn honking. Mandy pulled up to her apartment. She didn’t see any of her neighbors, which are strange. She got out of her car and she heard a voice “welcome home” Mandy Barton. Why are you showing up at my place?