Wednesday, November 27, 2019

short story

Helen -very content with her life. Not wanting trouble, not very fashionable or healthy but moderate in a lot of things.

Matty Johnson - Peter, Kaden and Matty just energetic puppy that has kinda trampled through life but so happy and good looking he get away with it. Not sure if dim or just naive

Point A. - separate, content but not happy. They meet. 

Scene 2 he stops her on the gym floor and asked her out on the fly, she says no.

Scene 3 they run into each other waiting in a long line at the bank. They flirt. She feels more comfortable. They are friends.

Scene 4 he comes to her office during a bad time and he waits her out and asks her out again. She says yes.

Scene 5 first date, montage of dates. Big fight.

Scene 6 work scene realization

Scene 7 trying to find him she makes great effort

Scene 8 they make up and realize life is a little crazy and little controlled. She is pregnant. 

A/B - friendship, starting to shake up Helen's life in a controlled way, turns into chaos, she pulls back, central conflict choosing some chaos with him or controlled life without him. Realizes parallel with work b story. Chooses Matty. 

Point B. Together and happy him managing her controlled moment and she tries to enjoy the chaos














Her walk was halted as she left her office.  Helen looked back several times to make sure her desk was clean and she hadn't forgotten or left something important out on her desk. Even though she always locked the door, she did share the space with a few other employees and she always worried.

Helen was just always a little nervous when leaving.  As she walked through out to the hallway.  Helen went to lock the door that connected the office suite to the health club where she worked.  She was a little bit sad today but she dismissed the feeling as just being run down. She grabbed the door handle and inserted her key.  When the door moved toward her Helen jumped a little startled as a large man came through the door abruptly.  Helen was just about to tell him she needed to lock the door when with the giant grin of a child he cut her off as he said.  "Oh hey, sorry I'm new to the gym, what is this?"  His eyes took in the little white washed hallway with one framed picture of a flower that a coworker had brought from home.

Helen said "this is an office space, it's not part of the gym, I'm actually just locking up" she gestured with the keys in her hand.

The stranger, not understanding that he shouldn't be there, saying "Wait, what is up here?  I saw offices downstairs, what are these for?"

Helen said "just accounting and human resources, it's only a couple people." The only other door in the hall was glass and clearly lead to the parking lot.

Helen normally joked that the most important people were tucked away from the rest of the staff but she was tired and just wanted him to leave.  He, again, was not getting it, he crossed the empty hall to the office door she had already locked and pulled.  "So, no one is here?" he said.

"No, I'm leaving too" said Helen and she started to get a little nervous.  Plenty of people would hear here if there was a problem but this was not this guys first time in a gym, at least 6 feet tall with wide shoulders and since he did not seem to pick up on her eagerness to leave she sensed he might just be dim enough to be trouble.

"oh ok" he said and headed back through the door and into the gym, just as Helen started to shut the door the stranger whipped around and asked "So it's a good gym?"
Again, startled she fumbled saying "yeah it's good"  A shy smile and blush came over the tall man, who suddenly looked like a child.  "Ok, yeah I guess I'll see you around".

Helen, now feeling on the spot, shut the door in his face, put the key in deadbolt, locked the door and left down the hall and exited the building. 

____________________________________________

Matty felt good today.  He had just joined a new gym, met some nice people and had place to kill time.  He always seemed to feel restless but with his endless amounts of energy he just kept picking up new hobbies.  Matty walked over to the weights but quickly felt bored starring at himself.  He looked around.  Other people were much more fun to watch but at the gym you had to a little covert.

Matty bounced around from free weights to the squat rack, then just went to the cardio to go for a run.  When he saw her.  The tall blonde office worker that walked quickly across the floor with paper against her chest.

He jumped off the moving ground and jogged to catch up with her long stride.

"Hey you"

Startled she looked up "Hi."

"Did they let you out of your cage?" He said with a smile indicating the door in the corner that led to the small hallway he had stumbled into yesterday.

She looked up but did not seem to be listening.

"So hey, I'm new in town and I want to check out the new Matt Damon movie, but I hate to go alone, do you get off work soon?" He continued

In shock the woman was now paying full attention but seemed speechless. She looked quickly at him, at the papers in her hand and then back to him and then back down again and she said "I'm very busy now."  and she walked away.

Ok, thought Matty she's busy.  Well, we'll find each other during a time when she's not so busy.

______________________________________________

Oh wow, Helen had had quite the adrenaline rush at work and that night she just needed to get home.  She hopped in her car and just slumped in her seat thinking she'll just sit for minute but the cold crept in too quickly and she turned the engine to get the heat flowing.  After the key when in her body went into auto pilot putting the car in gear and pulling out of the parking lot.  Her mind swam with thoughts of work, she had been put on the spot many times that day first by a supervisor that was not, not definitely not her boss but somehow thought that she was.  The pecking order is hard to define in human resources.  She thought of herself as a separate branch but if people were breaking the law or opening the company up to liability  it was her job to correct them.  She hated people the policy cop but sometimes she had to do it.  She had almost forgotten the random gym rat asking her about movies out of the blue.  Helen really wasn't listening she was pumping herself up to tell off that manager when he had stopped her.
Helen groaned when she remembered she had to go to the bank that night.  Her landlord insisted on a check for rent and while Helen had ordered checks they were taking forever to get to her, probably something to do with the scatterbrained post office worker as her  PO Box never seemed to contain anything addressed to her. Shaking her head in frustration at the postal worker Helen turned the car down another road and headed to the bank and away from her bed.
Her mental dialog continued as she quickly parked and went in before the lobby closed when low and behold that gym goer happened to be in line.  He was bouncing on the balls of his feet and trying to make conversation with the man in front of him in line but the elderly man was not having it.
Helen looked for a drinking fountain or a bathroom to put some distance between her and the stranger but instead walked to the back of the line and hoped he wouldn't turn around, but she knew he would.
Almost immediately he turned and said "Well hey stranger, looks like you aren't busy anymore, how was work?"

"Oh it was fine" she said, trying to keep it short and simple

"That's great, what do you do?

"I'm in Human Resources, like payroll and stuff."

"What kind of stuff, like hiring and firing right?  Did you fire anyone today?

"No"

"That's probably good, I've been fired a few times and I deserved it every time but it was never fun, in fact sometimes it was a relief, it's just hard to see when things were done.  What other things do you do?  You seem pretty busy, I'm sure there is always something going on in that back hall that no one knows about."

This guy would not stop talking, for every answer she gave he had three more questions bursting to  come out.  It was a lot from a person she didn't even know and finally after ten more questions about if she had ever made anyone cry (yes) was it a guy (yes) and did she feel bad (no, he had it coming) she just said it.

"Has anyone ever told you that you are exhausting?"  she just spat out

"Just about everyone I've ever met"  He said with grin.  "I just take an intense interest in other people."

"Do you ever." She said back with a smile. "I'm Helen."

"And I'm Matty"  They both looked down and up at each other and he went back to peppering her with questions

___________________________________________________

"What do you mean she walked out?"