Jacqui slipped out the door fifteen minutes later than she intended after yet another groundless lecture from her mom. She wanted to back the car over her phone. Even being thirty-one and divorced, she'll be seventeen for the rest of her mother's life. Thinking she'd save time, Jacqui opted for Starbuck's over Yoplait and Special-K. She'd make it up at the gym. She traded a bill for a latte and scone and left with a smile. Workdays went better when she could get to her email and spreadsheets before Dan took his call from corporate.
She found her Civic hemmed in its parking space by a diagonally-parked cable truck. The driver brushed past her as she stepped out from the coffee shop. "Excuse me, Sir?"
"Yeah?"
"Your truck trapped my car. Can you straighten it out?"
"No." The driver took a place in the coffee line.
Jacqui set her food down and tapped on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, but I need to leave. Could you please let me out of my parking space? I'll hold your spot for you."
"Whatever."
"Sir, could you please move your truck?"
"I'll tell you what: I'm going to stay here and eat my breakfast. You can take your fat ass on a hike. Maybe you'll lose some weight."
"Oh, wow. Is that all I have to do? That'll solve all of my problems. Thank you!"
The cable installer turned his back to her. "Yep."
"Sir? Please? I'm not kidding. I really do need to get to work."
"Ma'am? Please? Unless you're planning to hop on the counter and spread 'em, I need your fugly ass somewhere else."
Jacqui could feel blood rushing to her face and she turned away from him to keep from showing him any potential tears. Her breakfast disappeared from the counter. She dropped her hands at her sides and marched to her car. The car in front of it left, which gave her an exit but the cable truck antagonized her some more. She wished she never put her latte down. It'd look so good splashed across the front of him. Jacqui unlocked her cell from her purse and looked for a dispatch and truck number to turn him in. Instead, she found unlocked doors and keys in the ignition. 'You're a dumber bastard than you are rude,' she thought.
She looked around for witnesses or cameras while the cable installer still stood in line. 'The adult thing to do is be thankful I can get my car out.' Jacqui took the keys and locked the truck. Fingering the keys on the keyring, she drove the Civic to a clump of junipers marking off a McDonald's Drive-Thru. The keys landed deep within the shrubs. "Too bad I'm not an adult."
She found her Civic hemmed in its parking space by a diagonally-parked cable truck. The driver brushed past her as she stepped out from the coffee shop. "Excuse me, Sir?"
"Yeah?"
"Your truck trapped my car. Can you straighten it out?"
"No." The driver took a place in the coffee line.
Jacqui set her food down and tapped on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, but I need to leave. Could you please let me out of my parking space? I'll hold your spot for you."
"Whatever."
"Sir, could you please move your truck?"
"I'll tell you what: I'm going to stay here and eat my breakfast. You can take your fat ass on a hike. Maybe you'll lose some weight."
"Oh, wow. Is that all I have to do? That'll solve all of my problems. Thank you!"
The cable installer turned his back to her. "Yep."
"Sir? Please? I'm not kidding. I really do need to get to work."
"Ma'am? Please? Unless you're planning to hop on the counter and spread 'em, I need your fugly ass somewhere else."
Jacqui could feel blood rushing to her face and she turned away from him to keep from showing him any potential tears. Her breakfast disappeared from the counter. She dropped her hands at her sides and marched to her car. The car in front of it left, which gave her an exit but the cable truck antagonized her some more. She wished she never put her latte down. It'd look so good splashed across the front of him. Jacqui unlocked her cell from her purse and looked for a dispatch and truck number to turn him in. Instead, she found unlocked doors and keys in the ignition. 'You're a dumber bastard than you are rude,' she thought.
She looked around for witnesses or cameras while the cable installer still stood in line. 'The adult thing to do is be thankful I can get my car out.' Jacqui took the keys and locked the truck. Fingering the keys on the keyring, she drove the Civic to a clump of junipers marking off a McDonald's Drive-Thru. The keys landed deep within the shrubs. "Too bad I'm not an adult."