Week Nine - Setting & Dialogue

She was running dreadfully late. The invitation had said 6:45 and because she’d had to wait on the babysitter, she was already 30 minutes behind schedule. As she steered her Lexus SUV along the highway, she noticed the sign announcing her exit. She was still learning her way around the cities, having just moved here from San Diego, where her husband had been stationed. She had never been to this part of town before, but her co-worker Janice seemed like a nice enough lady, so she figured her neighborhood was probably alright.

After she exited the highway, she stopped at the red light and made a quick right turn onto Williams Blvd. There was very little traffic, so she slowed briefly and looked down at the invitation she held in her right hand. “You’re invited to celebrate the retirement of Janice Wheatley: 4518 Watkins Rd”.

“Oh, shoot! Watkins road,” she said. “I must have exited too soon. Good work, Sarah.” She noticed that she had driven up alongside a public park. She could see that what little grass there was had been worn down to the dirt and there was only one crooked swing on the rusty-looking swing set, where it appeared there had been three. Empty soda cans and other bits of trash lay discarded here and there. Sitting on a picnic bench with his legs straddled open, and drinking something out of wrinkled paper bag, was a young man wearing a tank top t-shirt and baggy pants. His hair was in cornrows. He noticed her watching him and lifted his head in greeting.

Sarah snapped her head back to the road. Suddenly, she was uncomfortable. On the opposite side of the street from the park, she started noticing torn down businesses, some boarded up and some just left to circumstance, shattered window panes gaping at her. She needed to get back on the highway. That much she knew, so at her next opportunity, she made a quick u-turn, making a mental effort to restrain herself from gunning it. She drove casually back towards the highway and cast a cursory glance at the man on the bench. He was watching her now with a look of amusement on his face.

“You can't go back that way!” he yelled, cupping his hands to his face.

“What?”Sarah mumbled to herself. “What is he talking about?” She nervously pushed a button, raising the SUV’s window. She continued down toward the freeway, ignoring the young man. When she had gone the short distance to the stoplight, she realized that there was no entry to the on ramp. Ahead of her the street became a one way, so she couldn't go forward, and if she were to go right, it looked to only have her circling around back to the street she was on.
She thought it was weird that there was no traffic, but she pulled over to the side of the road to think. She was so deep in thought about what to do, she almost hit the top of the SUV when the young man suddenly appeared at her window, as if out of thin air.

“Hey, mama, you lost?” he asked.

“Um, well, it would appear that I am,” she said, manufacturing the best smile she could.

“Well, what's a nice looking young lady like yourself doing in my neck of the woods, hunh?”

Sarah surreptitiously looked down to see if her doors were locked. “ I -, I-, I was just looking for, for .....”

“Come on, mama, spit it out. I ain't gone bite cha.” he said. His breath smelled an awful lot like her husband's when he came home from a night out with the boys. She noticed he had a cigarette tucked behind his right ear.

“Well, I sincerely wouldn't expect you to,” she answered, taking a deep breath. “I was only looking for Watkins, Watkins road.” She kept her hands on the steering wheel and looked straight ahead.

“Here's what’s up, lil’ lady. My friends call me Tony, so I'd like it very much if you would do me that honor. These streets around here can be a little dangerous at night, so you know what you do?”

“Um, I really have no idea. I thought I was just going to get back on the highway here, but - “

“Well, actually, all you have to do is turn around right here. Go back up to the next light. That'll be Jackson. Take a left and go down two stop lights and you'll run right into Williams. Cool?”

“Er, cool,” she said, subconsciously sweeping her hair behind her ear. “ I really appreciate it, uhm, Tony.”

“Hey, no sweat, ok?”

“Right. No sweat,” she said, with a big sigh of relief.

She looked at him as he strutted back over to the crumbling bench, and thought how nice it was of him to help her. She looked into her rearview mirror and quickly manuevered a u-turn. As she pulled off down the street, she looked back and saw Tony with his hand in the air, saying goodbye. She beeped her horn twice, and road off into the twilight.