Mr. Trager

The Grey Area

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 16th

"Morning." I felt a hand on my head. "Time to get up."

I opened my right eye to see Trager towering above me.

"Good morning." I stretched my arms up toward the headboard, with a groggy sigh.

He disappeared from my range of view, his voice carrying from somewhere near the master bathroom. "Sleep good?"

"Of course." I replied, pressing my feet against the cold hardwood floor.

Only someone like him could make an early morning enjoyable. How did he manage to be so cheery all the time? I knew it was mostly a front, of course, but he was so convincing at times. A lesser acquainted person might have believed that he was simply unbothered by life's little monotonies and miseries.

He reappeared, heading abruptly for the bedroom door. "Take your time."

With a sigh, I fell backwards onto the bed for one last breath before I rose.

"What am I doing?" I whispered to myself, the voice that came out hardly sounded like my own.

What I was I doing? I was making the life I'd always wanted. I was making up for lost time. This was a good thing.
After a quick shower and some nice warm clothes, I pepped myself up to meet him on the first floor, but the sound of his voice brought me to a halt at the middle of the stairs.

"Right right, just like I told ya!" He must have been on the phone. "Has ole Rick ever let you down before?"

With a bit of hesitation, I tiptoed my way from the stairs around the corner, following his voice to the kitchen. I hadn't expected any kind of greeting, he was a busy man after all, but I certainly hadn't expected him to turn away and hush to a whisper when he saw me. Probably just something work related, something that people like me weren't supposed to hear; that's what I told myself at least.

"Tell ya what, I'll call you back in a little while, yeah?" He turned to face me again, one hand in his pocket, the other holding the phone to his ear. "Thanks buddy."

Not wanting to interrupt, I stood a few feet away from him with hands clasped together awkwardly in front of me. Getting on his bad side definitely wasn't on my to-do list. I keep my eyes toward the floor.

"What?" He asked, slipping the phone into his pocket.

"Hm?" I blinked away my blank expression. "Oh, uh, just waiting on you."

His expression softened, as if relieved that that was all I had to say.
He lifted one of the mugs from the counter behind him, offering it to me. "Coffee?"

I took the cup from his hands, gladly, holding it close to my body to feel the warmth.

"Hope black is alright, I don't have much to dress it up with here." He brought his own mug to his lips, shrugging his shoulders.

I smiled. "It's perfectly fine."

My enthusiasm was repaid with little more than a nod, and a distant expression. I had hoped that the previous nights events would leave him a bit more open, or ease that horrible tension at the very least. Unfortunately that didn't seem to be the case. As if on a timer, he appeared to reset every new day.

His demeanor somehow seemed even less interested than before. "Shouldn't be a busy day, I've just got a few things to pick up here and there. You know how it is."

"Right." I moved my eyes from him to the floor, slightly discouraged by his behavior.

Still, if life had taught me anything, it was that if I wanted something to change I had to put in the work. Small setbacks weren't going to scare me away.