WHERE THE BRIDGE CUTS OFF

So there I was, in the dark, fumbling for my headphones. I was disgusted by the indecency of my upstairs neighbors. I mean, did they have to do it every night. I gotta put on some music to distract myself. Damn, they were all tangled and you know how frustrating untangling headphones is, especially when your desperate for an audio fix. Thump, thump! I am getting irritable. I was irate with steam coming from my ears and the gears in my head squeaking. Each pound from above was another nail being shoved into my head through my ears. My head ached with a tension as great as the thick cables on a suspension bridge while a herd of tractor trailer trucks embarks upon them. Bang, bang!

[upstairs]: “Tommy, simmer down. It's getting late and we have neighbors. Come over here so I can put your pajamas on.”

“i don't wanna go to bed!!' He stomps on the floor as hard as an earthquake wrecks the city line.

She had a hard day. Ted, her boyfriend walked out the other day and the bills needed to get paid. They are cutting hours at the restaurant and she might not have enough for the rent and the utilities. She was a hard worker, she had a hard job but she was a great mom.

Her name was Jeanette. She worked at the local diner and tips were mostly what fed her son Tommy. One afternoon, on a rainy day, as I rush to get to a dry place, I stopped in. Even though we lived in the same building I wouldn’t find out until much later. She had a pretty face—one that I would always remember. She had Hazel eyes and chestnut hair. I accumulated an acute affection for her. I had no idea of her love life let alone that she had a son. I ordered the special, a bacon cheeseburger medium-well with extra caramelized onions. The wait was short, I admit and once I bit down on it, the burger became my usual choice as I continued to go every day, on my lunchbreak.

[a few months later]: It was soon time to head home on a Thursday evening and, after work I couldn’t wait to get home and watch Netflix. I entered the building, pressed the elevator button, and to my surprise, there was Jeanette.

You live here, I asked.

 She nodded, floor 3.

Oh I  live on floor 2, do you hear those noisy neighbors.

No, my son makes so much noise at night I would think people would complain but no one has. I guess I’m lucky, I mean after the father of my child left me a year ago