Traffic (Complete two-hundred pages) (Moving to Kindle Vella in 30 Days! )

5

WIFE

THAT MORNING JACK WOKE to the blaring sun in his face and the joyous ringing to the telephone under his pillow.

Jack grabbed at his phone the second he felt his wife shift and groan. "What?" he said.

It was Pat. "Buenos días to you too, hombre. Where the hell am I?"

"I don't know where you are, Pat. I only know where I am."

"I'm on the corner of Devonshire and Reseda. It's the most dangerous intersection in LA but can you still pick me up?"

"No. I can't."

"You can't or you won't?"

"I won't."

"Come on, Jack, I'd take public transport but I lost my wallet."

"Take a ride share or an Uber. Who the hell carries wallets anymore?"

"I'd get a ride share but I don't have my phone."

Jack paused. "Then how are you calling me?"

Pat paused. "Alright. I'll get a ride share."

"See you at the party, Pat."

"See you, Jack."

Jack hung up and threw the phone out the window. Immediately it flew back up through the window and onto the soft carpet. They had a trampoline in the backyard.

Katelyn moaned and rolled onto her husband. Her lips kissed upwards his chest and her hand climbed downwards. "You're up so early," she said.

"It's not early," said Jack. But she squeezed her hand and said:

"Well you're up anyway." Her teeth were brighter than the sun when she smiled. "How was your trip? You sell any cars?"

"I don't sell cars, I sell software. But yes we sold more than we planned."

"Mm," she said. Then came the real question. She looked him in the eyes. A mix of anger swirled like venom in the black of her left pupil. But a tender cream of powerless jealousy eroded the white of her right eye. "How's Penelope?" she said.

Jack froze. His wished he hadn't been looking at her. Her stare was like a truth serum. All encompassing and horribly pointed with arrows of accusation. But he knew not to hurt her with truth. Not today. Not tomorrow. Not ever. "My co-worker?" he asked.

She looked at him hard then lowered her gaze. She rose up, disarmed. "Never mind." She pulled herself out of the cloud-soft bed and crept out of the room.

He did not follow. He merely turned his face to the sun. Opened his eyes to it. And waited until he was blind. Inside the darkness he could see the National Palace of Mexico City with perfect clarity. A sudden kick in his brain flashed the image of the car flipping, and hails of glass from the windshield precipitating over Penelope's dark brown hair. Until suddenly a red river oozed out of her ear. And he was stuck between the glass sand. And the red shore.