One Foot In & One Foot Out

Chapter 11

BEEP, BEEP, BEEP!!

[Finger subconsciously hits snooze]

[Ten minutes later]

BEEP, BEEP, BEEP!!

"UUUGGGHHH!"

Jael woke up to massive ache in her back from which she had no idea where it originated. She just knew there was a phantom pain that caused her to deeply groan. To add to her pain, she had just also had the weirdest dream that felt so real to her. She knew that she had been asleep, so why did it feel like in those moments, she wasn't?

"Why did that dream seem so real? It would explain why my back hurts but what was Damien doing at the end of the dream?" she thought to herself.

Jael tried to recall the events from her dream but all she could come up with was she and Damien having fun, something hitting her back, being on the ground, and Damien walking up to her to, assumingly, help her up. Then, the two of them collecting all of the souls from the shootout to take to their next destinations. That was it. He brought her back home after they were done, kissed her cheek, and bid her farewell.

Grabbing her phone, she called her bank to see if there was a deposit for the job.

"1500. So, I got paid which means I did go to Miami. But where did this stupid backache come from and why do I feel like I'm missing this large and important chunk of time? Plus, what the hell kind of dream was that?"

Before she could contemplate it any further, an unexpected text came in to her phone, setting it off.

"Ooo, Dominican Bruce. He wants to do lunch today? But do I feel like going anywhere with the way my back is? I was kinda gonna do homework. Meh, I usually hardcore procrastinate anyway, what's another day? Plus, free lunch!"

Jael slowly rises from her bed, holding onto her lower back like an elder member of society to find some Ibuprofen before taking a much needed, soothing shower, and getting dressed.

Bruce told her that he would meet her at Evelyn and Olive, a Memphis local, Southern and Jamaican hole in the wall spot not far from the downtown area. She loved going to eat there. There aren't many Caribbean food spots in the Memphis and surrounding areas, so she enjoyed frequenting this one spot.

The building was off of a less traveled road down the street from several auto shops, a tiny dog park, and a university campus. The one thing that Jael hated about the restaurant was the parking lot. It was in such a terrible spot and seemed shady. The inside of the dining establishment gave off the "hole in the wall" vibe even more by the numerous tables and chairs that were clearly worn but added charm and character. The classic and present reggae tunes playing in the background of the laughter of the owner and bartender chatting away.

Occasionally, Jael would spot him walking around the building with his elongated, healthy looking, to the floor, dread locks hanging from behind. As a Caribbean person, this was one of Jael's happy places and she was appreciative that Bruce suggested it.

Jael made her way there through the annoyingly cluttered lunch hour Memphis traffic. The loud bangs of constant construction going on nearby, the agitated honks of anxious and patient-less, hungry people, and the humming and clanking sounds of other cars as they passed by.

This wouldn't be Memphis if no one was loudly blasting their Three6Mafia or Yo Gotti, or just some other jam from their opened windows and droptops. Memphians do love their music and they loved to allow any one and everyone to hear it as well.

Jael detested driving through the Midtown/downtown areas of Memphis. There are two colleges and a busy hospital in the area and the traffic is terrible around lunch time. It never helped that not only did she have to deal with insolent drivers, Jael also had the occasional case of road rage. There was also the fact that the majority of Memphians cannot drive worth a lick and can be very selfish.