Image © Mara Eastern Used with permission
Weave a tale that involves the concept of waiting. We do a lot of waiting in our lives, in queues, at train or bus stops, waiting for loved ones to arrive etc….
6.25am he said to be here for my pick up.
So I was here, waiting.
I’ve been waiting since then. The city moves past me and does nothing to acknowledge me as a participant in the modern life of a thriving metropolis.
The workers on the early trains and buses, the rush to get from one stop to another, their iridescent shirts betraying their worker status.
A little later the business office people in suits and carrying attaché cases all troop past. So many with heads cast down their thoughts far from the drudgery of the office.
Still I wait, rugged against the cold, my lunch in a brown paper bag safely stored in my rucksack out of the weather.
They said it would be to my advantage to be here early as he didn’t like to be kept waiting. But what of me. I don’t like it either.
I think of all the reasons for him not sowing up.
His car broke down.
He was home sick.
He was called away on another more important job.
He forgot about me.
That last one bothers me. I hate that I might be forgotten. It means I didn’t mean much in the first place. That I could be easily forgotten.
But I want this job. I want to impress. I need this job.
So I wait.
As the lunch hour approaches I eat my first sandwich. Corn meat with pickles. My mum likes to make sandwiches with pickles.
I sip on my bottle of water and as each person approaches me I look with expectation then with disappointment as they pass me by.
By 4pm I am getting very agitated. I’ve checked my phone through out the day for messages, but there’s nothing to say that any one cares.
I get a call eventually at 4.45pm. It’s him full of apologies. Promising tomorrow to collect me. Says he is impressed I waited all day.
Can I be there again tomorrow?
I wonder that myself!
Written for: https://mindlovemiserysmenagerie.wordpress.com/2016/07/28/tale-weaver-78-july-28th-waiting/
Morpethroad 
Interesting play on the prompt: waiting. I wonder was this a test of the character’s resolve, will power? And, who is this mysterious employer! Excellent story — leaves me waiting for more.
Thank you and a waiting you may be doing…..lol
You’re in no hurry to continue this one? Shucks! Has potential — meets all sorts who AREN’T his mysterious employer and goes off and does very odd odd jobs — you’d think of a better plot than that.
What a bummer, being stood up like that !
You’ve captured that feeling, Michael – I felt let down with him – and he waited all day!
Thanks Kim off to read your piece.
the home comforts of the sandwich make the feeling of abandonment all the more powerful
Talk about giving a person trust issues! I wanna know who “he” is–and he’d better have a really good reason for not showing up! And he’d better provide lunch tomorrow! ( I know, don’t get so involved in the story 😮 )
Well the next day “he” does show up and takes him to lunch in the classiest pub in town. The rest you’ll have to wait for. Thanks Mandy for stopping by my blog.
Oh I’ll be waiting alright! 😀
If it was a test as to whether or not he really wanted the job bad enough to suffer such a humiliating day, I believe the employer got his answer. In my opinion…this person really wants a job and would probably be a hard worker! As for the employer’s character…it’s very questionable!
Great story! 🙂