Chapter 3- Lavender

I guess the bath salts ended up in the trash because  I saw the maintenance guy, Lucas, pulling them out and looking at the jar.  He's a quiet guy... little smelly, but who wouldn't be after hours of scrubbing commodes and emptying constantly overflowing trash cans. He stared at them for a minute with a look of confusion, then I watched as he opened the lid and smelled them.  A smile spread across his face like he had just found a fantastic treat and he slipped the jar into the oversized pocket of his coveralls.

As I walked out of the office for the night I patted Lucas on the back.  "Thanks for all you do, buddy." I said.  He gave a humble smile but didn't make eye contact.  "Hey, you know, we should start a recycling program here or something.  Help out the environment a bit."  He looked up at me and I could see his eyes for the first time.  They were a light grey with a faint hint of blue around the edges.  The lines on his face showed years of care mixed with frustration.  He made some sound that I would best describe as a "harrumph" and gave me a look as though he assumed I was joking or making fun of him.  I imagine he's had a lot of that in life.  I smiled sincerely and pointed at the trash can.  "I'm serious, look at what you've got there." I said, gesturing to the contents of the can.  "All those soda cans, tons of bottles, shucks most of that is actually worth something.  I bet you could set up a program that would not only pay for itself, but put a little extra money in your pocket."  His eyes moved to the can, and his face seemed to say "I'd never thought of that before."  I patted him on the shoulder as I turned to go out the door.  "There's a recycling place not far from my apartment, I'll get their information for you."  He smiled at me as I walked out the door and I could see he was missing at least one tooth and several more looked like they could use a good scrubbing and a few fillings.

As I walked to the train station I stopped and grabbed a hot dog at a roadside cart.  I can't imagine how Lucas feels at the end of the day.  He puts up with all our garbage and mess, never complaining, and with no hope of promotion or advancement.  I smiled as I thought of the bath salts concealed in his pocket and imagined his dirty smile as he soaked in a luxurious tub full of pink bubbles.  I could hardly stop myself from laughing as I bit into my dog.

I walked into the house and put down my bag, heading right for the bedroom.  Slipping into a clean pair of khakis and sliding my golf shirt on, I grabbed my clubs and headed out the door.  My neighbor, Ted, was waiting out front in his sedan, trunk open and a big smile on his face.  "Ready?" he said eagerly as I dropped the bag onto his in the back.  He slammed the trunk and we both hopped in the car.

It was a perfect evening, not too warm and the sun was just beginning to drop in the sky, giving the air an almost grey quality.  As we stepped out onto the driving range of our local course I listened to Ted taking about some investment strategy he was creating at work for his clients and nodded politely.  I stared out at the falling sun and felt the day's last hint of heat coming from the brilliant yellow sun.  The horizon was turning a shade of orange with just a hint of pink.  The color almost perfectly resembled the bath salts and I smiled as I thought of Tracy's eyes connected to mine.  I swung my club and watched the ball sail out toward the sunset, smiling at the satisfaction of a near perfect day.

"Hey, are you even listening?" I heard Ted ask as he stepped in front of me.  I took a step back, surprised that I hadn't even heard a word he'd said.  His annoyance with my lack of attention quickly changed as he saw my face.  "What?" I asked, slightly embarrassed to know I'd completely zoned him out.  "You got something on your mind." He said.  "And if I didn't know better I would say you were in love."

The next day at work Lucas showed up smelling like Jeff's bath salts. Dwayne, the large man sitting in the cube next to Jeff won't let him live it down either. He keeps asking if Jeff and Lucas are dating.  Jeff refuses to even acknowledge the taunts, wearing his oversized earphones that resemble Princess Leia's hair buns from the first Star Wars movie.

Even Tracy is in on it, laughing out loud every time Dwayne says something. I guess she wants to make it clear that she is NOT interested in him. Hopefully he gets the message and will leave her alone. He's been doing everything but stalking her for almost a year now. You'd think he could take a hint!

Tracy stopped Lucas as he pushed his cart by her desk.  "I think you smell good today Lucas." She says, smiling at him.  He laughed politely and smiled back.  "I hate this smell, but my skin does feel fantastic."  He pushes up his sleeve and Tracy rubs her hand along his furry forearm, a look of mock approval mixed with pretend surprise.  They both look at Jeff and laugh at the sour pout on his lips.  I hear Lucas whisper something to Tracy that looks like an apology and she nods as though whatever he'd done wasn't a problem at all.  "I actually just did it to make Jeff feel stupid." He says to her quietly.  "Well it sure seems to have worked." Tracy replies with a smile.

Weird thing- maybe nothing, but Lucas didn't exactly seem... well... clean. You'd think a guy that soaked in a tub of Lavender would look less grungy, but it didn't look like he'd even got wet. He definitely smelled like the bath salts Jeff gave Tracy... Maybe he just rubbed them all over his jumpsuit or something.