This Is Our Strange Life

Hi, I'm Joseph.  All my life, I've been waiting for someone special, and I found that person. And now, I've realized how special she is to me. But before I introduce her, let me tell you about when we met. Oh, how I will never forget this day. So, it was....let me think...ah! I remember the exact date and time. Thursday, August 2nd, 2007, 6:51 A.M.  It was a fine, sunny day here in Ohio. I'd just woken up from a long sleep, and the sun was out. Birds were chirping, the air was breezy, and kids were walking to their bus stops for school. Some days, it was different, but that day, it was just your casual Thursday. I looked in the fridge to see what I could cook for breakfast. 

"We only have three eggs left, you know," my brother said behind me. I looked at him for a moment.

"Good to know,"  I responded. I wasn't really feeling like myself that day. The day befor, I went to my job, and when I came back home, my boss called me in to work extra hours because the girl that worked during that time had to go to her mother's funeral. So it was just me there, alone, working the graveyard shift. Was it boring? Yes, indeed, it was. When I came home from work, it was already 4:27 A.M. I only got two hours of sleep, so I was tired as hell. That morning, I asked my brother to make breakfast, because I was really tired. He insisted. So, he made something he likes to call 'Sloppy Egg Joes,' which is really just a scrambled egg sandwich. The thing is, I'm the one who went to chef school, so his food... wasn't so good to me. Once I was done, I went to my bedroom and got ready to go on my morning walk. Bad news, once again. I guess I gained some weight or something, because my jeans did not fit. Oh, and not just one pair. All of my pairs. I was furious. Was this a bad luck day for me? I thought that it was. My brother lended me a pair of jeans, and they fit fine. 

"Peace, man," I said.

"Yeah, okay," he responded, "be safe." I exited my apartment, entered my car, and drove off to the park, hoping tat the day would get better for me.

There were about ten couples that passed me. I have to admit, I was... jealous. I was alone. I felt like a loner. It sucked. But, I wasn't going to let it get to me. When I finally let it go, some eighteen year old dude with his girlfriend decided to walk up to me and tell me something.

"Hey, look, Eloise! A loner!" the guy said. I clenched my fists. My luck was not getting any better.

The guy saw my fists, and laughed. "Ha! What are you gonna do about it old man?" he said tp my face. His girlfriend, Eloise, was laughing her ass off.

"You're messing with the wrong old man," I said with a tone I had never used before. He laughed even harder.

"Oh my freakin' goodness!" he said, "I'm so scared of you, grandpa!"

"Dude, you're a dick," I said, "You know that?" He scoffed. He tried punching me, but I caught his hand. Then, he tried one last time. I caught that hand as well. I let him say some words to his girlfriend, and then I punched the guy. There, standing in the background was his girlfriend, eyes widened and all, covering her mouth crying. The guy got up to be tough, but he knew he didn't have a chance. He just walked away, with his girlfriend trying to comfort him.

"By an old man," he said from a distance, "Damn.." So, I was still at the park, proud of myself for what I've done. I was there so long, kids were coming home from school. As I was walking, I bumped into a business woman. I just made her papers fly everywhere, so I felt terrible. 

"Oh my god," I said, "I'm so sorry!"

"Oh," she said like she was crying, "It's okay."

"You need help?" I asked

"Help would be nice, I guess," she still sounded sad. I helped pick up her paperwork, and I noticed that she worked at the Sally Jensen News Inc.

"You Sally?" I asked curiously. She laughed.

"Ha. Do you really need to know?" she said smiling. Probably because I'm one of the only ones who noticed her company name. "Yes," she continued, "I'm Sally." 

"Well, hi," I answered, "I'm... Joseph." I looked up to give Sally her papers, and you will not believe this: Her blue eyes, shined like the sun. They were beautiful. The made her face look a good, seventy-five percent better. She was gorgeous. "So," I added, "What do you do? She looked at me.

"I- Uh.. write newspapers," Sally said, "And you?" I stared at her. I did not want to tell her what my job was. It was so embarrassing. Sally was nice, so I decided to tell her.

"I'm a-a-a plumber," I said nervously.

"Oh," she said, "That's nice." She looked at me again, and smiled big. "If you excuse me, I'm running thirty minutes late. I'll- I'll catch you later." She ran off. I thought it was because I was a plumber, but she was too nice. I sat and wondered when I would ever see her again.