Attitude Adjustment (Flash Fiction)

[Danny]

Here’s something I wrote tonight just for fun. I haven’t written flash
fiction in some time and thought I’d give it another try.
———————————————————————————————————————–

“I’m sick of this heat! I hate summer, I hate Florida!” Jay Woodson
said as he keyed in a meter reading on his hand-held reader. “Six
years of reading meters in this freaking heat. I’m about done!” He
tossed the reader onto the front seat of his pick-up and sped to his
second route as his wife attempted to reason with him on the phone.

“Honey, you love it here, and you know it. It sounds to me like you’re
simply projecting your desire for a new career path onto circumstances
and things outside of your mind. You blame the weather, your location,
the people you work with. Jay, maybe you need a new direction. Or
maybe you need to look at the good things in life, rather than the
negative. Put your faith in God and ask Him what to do about this.
Trust me, it works!”

“Becky, I love you, baby, but I can do this on my own. I’ll tough it
out and find a new job once this recession eases up some.” He turned
onto Caste Street and exited the truck to read the first meter. “Ahh,
nothin’ like sweatin’ like a pig!”

“Jay, you always think you have all the answers, but you don’t. None
of us do. Just step back in silence, relax, and pray. You have been
very unhappy and miserable for the past year. I love you, sweetie, and
I want to see you happy”, Beckey sobbed as Jay grunted and yelled.

“Stupid bushes! These people and their bushes around the meter boxes,
I’m sick of it!”

“Jay, take a break, get some water, and…” She was cut off as Jay
slammed his phone shut and stuffed it into his pocket.

“Ouch!!” he screamed as he realized the bush had thorns of some kind.
With a quick tomahawk chop, he swiped down on the bush with his long
screw driver. “To hell with this, I’m outta here!” He stormed back to
his truck and squealed his tires down Castle Street towards the county
park. Sweat poured down his face and arms as Jay cursed the heat and
threw the thermostat onto MAX-HI.

A cloud of dust followed the white pick-up as it cruised down the dirt
road into the park. I’ll just take a nice, long lunch and cool off, he
thought. Jay brought the truck to rest under his usual large clump of
palmettos by the lake and let it idle, the A/C on full blast. He
closed his eyes and leaned his head onto the steering wheel. His anger
was subsiding as exhaustion set in. “God help me, please! I’m tired of
hating my job so much. I know I don’t talk to like I used to, but I am
now. Please help me see things differently. Please, what do I need to
do?” He sat in silence for about five minutes, letting the cold air
conditioner nip at his face resting on the wheel. His five minutes of
quiet contemplation faded into an unconscious dark void.

Jay succumbed to his exhaustion and entered a deep theta sleep as his
work truck idled in the shade. All sense of time had been lost. What
seemed like a few minutes to him actually turned out to be forty
minutes. A loud, distinct voice woke Jay from his slumber.

“Jay Woodson, be grateful for all the good things in your life, of
which there are several.”

He was jolted awake and looked around his truck, but nobody was
around. Those words were etched into his brain as he pondered their
source. As he tried to rationalize, the beeping of his phone grabbed
his attention. Becky had sent him a text message, which said, “I just
want you to be happy, honey. I love you and I thank God for you every
moment. I’m so grateful for you.” Jay’s eyes filled up as the reality
of those mysterious words hit him. At that moment he realized how much
he cared for his wife, and how much he appreciates her. Thoughts about
his job flooded his mind, only these were positive thoughts. He
recalled how many of his friends recently lost their jobs, while he
still was given his annual raise. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he
enjoyed a renewed appreciation for his job and for life in general. He
reached for his cell phone and pressed “call”.

“I’m sorry, baby. I love and appreciate you more than words can
express. Nothing can ever change that, just remember that, Becky. I am
so sorry. Thank you for being in my life, and for putting up with me.”

Jay made his way towards the exit to resume reading his route, this
time with a peaceful attitude of appreciation. “Things are really not
as bad as I made them out to be. Thank You, God.”