Beginnings - Banker’s Hours

The concussion of the blast shook the tiny town of Hillbrow. The grayish blue of the early morning winter sky blossomed blood red. Flames shot skyward carrying chunks of brick, charred splintered wood and plumes of smoldering paper. The wispy fingerling morning clouds brightened and then disappeared behind the large black swirling ball of smoke and gas.
The ball rose and spread throughout the sky as if it were spread with a knife. Debris from the explosion began raining from the blackened sky, hitting the ground, denting hoods and smashing windshields of parked cars, littering the narrow asphalt streets and grass, covering the area with smoldering missiles.

Fire crackled and danced throughout the remains of the jagged black smoking fangs of foundation. Dust and tiny bits of unrecognizable material covered the grass around the rectangular mass of flame and smoldering cement. The First Bank of Hillbrow was gone. What remained looked like a huge nest for a mythical bird, as if a Phoenix would rise from the smoke and ashes to claim its perch. Sleepy people began slipping into the streets to see what had shaken them from their Sunday morning slumber.

Jack awoke with a start, as if he were falling in a dream and had awakened at the final moment before impact. He lay there in the same double bed that he had slept in as a child, head up, looking at the dimpled texture of the off-white ceiling. Stretching out with his toes, he yawned and rubbed an eye with his fingers.

Something had awakened him, physically shaken him from sleep. Normally, Jack could sleep through practically anything. He wondered what had dragged him from his sweet abyss. He closed his eyes again; hmmmm, still sleepy. He curled to one side and pulled the heavy comforter up across his shoulder.

“I would awake during the best dream I’ve had all month,” he mumbled. Working his head back into the pillow, he let his breathing slow and felt himself drift away again. Back to the dimly lit bar, she was still sitting on his lap. Her long curls were pulled away from her face and clipped behind her head. She was giggling at his witty remarks. How he had convinced her to come over to his table, he had no idea, didn’t care really. Dreams didn’t have to make sense, they were dreams after all, and this certainly wasn’t realistic for Jack.

He let his eyes drift down her body, from the tight cream colored, sleeveless cotton top, pausing briefly, down her stomach to equally tight pink shorts which displayed ample amounts of perfect thigh. His mind quivered, everything quivered. He could feel his toes clench and unclench in his shoes. What should he say to move this thing along, he wondered. Fortunately, dream time seemed easier to control, strange in a way.

“Cari,” he stammered past dry lips and throat, hoping that he had remembered her name correctly. He paused, waiting and watching her face as it reflected orange and gold from the lights above the bar. The music was loud; she might not have heard him. Boy, he needed a drink about now. He licked his lips and spoke again. “Cari?”

“Yes,” she responded softly, the words almost lost in the sea of music and chatter from the rest of the bar. She leaned into him, putting her cotton candy colored lips to his ear. He could feel her body press against his chest. She has got to be able to feel my heart thumping, Jack thought. He turned and looked up into her eyes, those twinkling, mesmerizing, man crushing eyes.

“How about us getting out of here? We could go somewhere quiet and talk or something?” He knew that it sounded stupid, he was already embarrassed, how desperate could one sound!

She smiled coyly and slid more squarely into his lap. Nibbling at his ear, she whispered, “Let’s go!”

His body was numb with excitement. This was going to be a night to be documented in the history of Hillbrow. Jack reluctantly lifted Cari off his lap, helping those long legs to their feet. He rose from the wooden chair like a drunken sailor, intoxicated with anticipation.

BBBBBRRRRRRIIINNNGGGGG!!! BBBBBRRRRRRIIINNNGGGGG!!!

The phone on the desk of Jack’s studio apartment shattered the moment! Jack nearly fell out of bed, his face damp with perspiration. “Aurggggh,” Jack clamored for the phone, squinting around the room for it in his disorientation. Locating the enemy, Jack swore at it viciously!