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Kevin was a simple man, a struggling stage actor, never aspiring to make it too big, just one show on Broadway and he’d be happy forever.
Tanya, on the other hand, was a CEO of an advertising agency. She’d made it from small town girl from Alaska and pushed her way to the top, graduating on a scholarship from one of the most prestigious universities in the country. Never once looking back t her old lifestyle she now
lives in the most prominent area of Minneapolis.
He glanced across the nearly empty Laundromat and saw her standing there, folding her clothes… so delicately.
“See ya next week Donna.” She called to the older woman who was working behind the counter, selling soda and Oxi-clean.
Donna nodded to her and noticed the tall, dark-haired man reading a Sports Illustrated following the young woman out the door with his eyes. He then glanced over towards Donna, he knew she saw him; he quickly went back to his reading.
Tanya had made many mistakes in her life; she had a couple hidden tattoos to prove it. She was married and had a son, Sam, when she was nineteen. Sam was now eleven and her marriage had ended. Tanya had struggled these past years to go to college and raise her son… alone.
Kevin hadn’t been married before, just a couple long-term relationships here and there, lately he was attached to, Rachel who wasn’t convinced what they had was over.
The next Sunday, Kevin went to the Laundromat and was disappointed when he did not see Tanya at the usual washing machine she used. Kevin sighed and picked up an old issue of Sportsman Magazine after he finished putting his laundry in the machine.
Tanya was sitting on the other side of the small business; she was talking to Donna, who occasionally would shoot a side-glance Kevin’s way to see if he noticed Tanya was there.
“Sorry your washer is broken…. Tanya.” Donna articulated loudly. “Yea.” Tanya sighed staring out the window.
Donna poured herself some more coffee, “What’s on your mind?”
Tanya was silent for a minute. “It’s Sam…” Tanya paused and took a deep breath. “You know he hasn’t been able to play baseball in almost four years because Stephan left.”
Donna placed a comforting hand on Tanya’s shoulder, “Will you forget about Stephan? You two are not married anymore. It is seriously, time to move on.”
Tanya leaned her elbows on her knees, “I know, sometimes I just think Sam deserves more.”
“Tell you what, Saturday night, I’ll have Paul take him down to the practice fields, meanwhile, you will go out and have fun.”
Tanya smiled, Donna was right; she needed to get out more. Tanya looked back up at Donna; she noticed her carefully defined age-lines and her brightly colored lipstick that matched her flame red hair. Donna was definitely a woman who enjoyed the small things in life.
Tanya was in a daze, which she popped out of when she realized Donna was calling her name and waving something in front of her, “Tanya… you who!”
“Wha, huh?” Tanya took the book of matches Donna was trying to give her. “Great singles bar, ‘Fifth Edition’. Tons of hotties!” Donna winked.
Kevin overheard Donna mention the ‘Fifth Edition’ and he knew one of the guys who bartended there on weekends. Kevin quietly made a mental note to talk to AJ before Saturday hoping he could get a VIP pass.
Kevin and AJ had known each other since right after high school; they met while traveling around Orlando for auditions. Work brought them both to the Twin Cities on separate occasions. AJ to St. Paul, Kevin to Minneapolis.
AJ was very outgoing, in other words, the complete opposite of everything Kevin was. They level each other out in the friendship. AJ is an aspiring singer and actor. At heart, Kevin was always an actor, but AJ would occasionally try to convince him to audition his vocal skills, he had them, boy did he ever, he could belt out a deep ballad like no one’s business, but, theatre was his passion, always was, always will be.
Donna and the Laundromat were pretty much Tanya’s social life in a nutshell, she worked eight to five Monday through Saturday and Sunday was her laundry day.
Her riverside abode was in the process of being remodeled… still. The only areas she could get to without going through construction was two of five bedrooms, the living room, occasionally the kitchen – when the contractors weren’t experiencing electrical difficulties that is – and a bathroom. This, obviously being the reason she ended up at the Laundromat on Sundays.
After Kevin had heard the two talking about the ‘Fifth Edition’ and realized he may actually be seeing Tanya outside of the Laundromat, he was trying to work up the courage to say something to her before she left today.
“Can I borrow a dryer sheet?” What kind of bogus pick up line is that? “Do you use fabric softener?” “You certainly know your way around a washing machine.” They all sounded like bad lines out of a comedy flick.
Kevin snapped out of his train of thinking and looked towards the counter where Tanya and Donna were. Only now, Tanya wasn’t there.