A FRESH START

Late during a quiet night down at the front of the local laundromat called “Mr. Lee’s Laundry”, a smaller establishment, unkept walls on the outside, and a sign with letters blinking in and out, John, arrives carrying his hefty laundry basket. “Hey, Wane!” he said.

“John! What are you doing here so late?” Wane asked, nervously.

“I spilled a drink all over my new suit and my old washer at home isn’t getting the stain out. I figured these ones would since your dad always tried to buy the new models whenever he could. Hey, speaking of your dad, how’s he enjoying retirement?”

“Better than how you maybe doing in a minute.”

“What’s that supposed to mean,” John said as he turns around to see his ex-wife Sarah, coming out of the restroom. “Oh.”

“Hi, John,” Sarah said annoyed.

“Hey, Sarah,” John said, in a similar tone.

They both paused for a moment, staring at each other silently judging. John walked over to Wane asking him for some change to use the machines. Wane tells John that he’ll have to use the newly installed coin exchange stationed over by the washer that Sarah was using.

John looks over to see the coin dispenser standing right next to the washer Sarah was waiting at. “Perfect,” John said, sarcastically. As John slides in the two dollars both he and Sarah stand near each other in a silence so loud it could make your ears bleed. They occasionally glanced at each other. “So…” John said, trying to figure out what to talk about to break the tension. “How come you’re here so late?” he asked.

“Washer stopped working. I’ll be getting it fixed tomorrow,” Sarah said, coldly.

John takes a second to decide if he should keep this conversation going. “Do you know what’s wrong with it—”

Sarah gives a loud scoff interrupting John. “You don’t have to make small talk with me, John. I know you aren’t really interested.”

John, frustrated at the remark, grabbed his coins and walked away without saying another word. After 15 minutes of near complete silence, Sarah came over to John “Hey, I’m sorry about the way I talked to you back there.”

“It’s fine. I understand,” John said.

“I’m surprised you’re off work this early. I never got to see you come home any earlier than 11.”

“I got a promotion. Gave me more manageable hours.”

“That’s good.” Sarah waited a moment to see if John would say anything more. “…The Bakery is opening more stores to try and start a chain. They even asked me to run the new location for them!” Sarah said, trying to sound excited. She waited another moment for John to speak. Sarah’s false excitement turned into frustration. “Nevermind,” Sarah said, turning to walk away.

John rolled his eyes and muttered, “Classic.”

“Excuse me?!” Sarah said, swiftly turning around with a livid expression.

“I said ‘classic’ Sarah! Because that’s exactly what this is! Classic, Sarah!” John exclaimed.

“All I did was try to strike up a conversation with you. But of course, as always, it’s a chore to try and keep it going let alone starting one of your own!”

“I just did! Literally 15 minutes ago!”

“Oh, please, John. We both know that wasn’t going to be a real conversation. You just wanted to break the ice and try to clear the tension instead of wanting to seek interest in what’s going on in my world for once.”

“Why can’t it be both?!”

“It can when it’s actually both!”

“What do you want from me?”

“I want you to care, John! For God’s sake every time you’d come home from work you wouldn’t even look at me! You’d just eat dinner then go to bed. You acted like I didn’t even matter!” Sarah said with tears starting to swell up in her eyes.

John’s jaw clenched in self-frustration. “I do care,” he said.

“Really? Because during the divorce I asked only one thing from you, John. An apology. And you couldn’t even give me that!” she said, sobbing.

“I told you I’m not going to apologize for making sacrifices to provide for us!”

“I’m not asking you to apologize for work John and you know that! And if you don’t then clearly, you’re not the man I once knew,” she said wiping away her tears.

The dryer Sarah was using rings with a little jingle signaling that it’s done. “Bye, John,” Sarah said, walking away to gather her finished clothes.

John’s mouth opened with him desperately trying to say something as Sarah walked away, but nothing came out. For a moment John couldn’t muster up the courage to say or do anything, but he knew he couldn’t stand there like he always did. So, despite his body feeling like it was glued to the floor John marched over to Sarah. Sarah turned quickly hearing John’s footsteps. “John, there’s nothing you could possibly say that’ll—”

Without warning John quickly hugged Sarah.

“I’m…I’m so sorry, Sarah. The last thing I ever wanted to do was hurt you. You were my everything and honestly still are. I treated you horribly and there’s no excuse for what I did. You deserved so much better,” he said with a slight quivering voice and tears filling up the corners of his eyes.

Sarah, still filled with tears, wrapped her arms around John tightly hugging him back. “Thank you,” she said happily.

“If you aren’t doing anything this week, would you maybe like to go and catch up over breakfast or something?” John asked.

“Let’s maybe start with just talking for now,” Sarah said, wiping away her tears.

“Sounds good to me,” John said.

Gage Mehle resides within the well-known tourist town of Orlando Florida. When he’s not creating stories, he can be found playing video games, drawing, spending time with family, and playing with his cat, Tapioca. Follow him on Instagram @gagemehle