It had been a horrible day.
Most traffic wardens face difficult situations at one time or another, but today he had one too many unhappy customers. It makes no difference when offenders complain about getting a ticket; they still get one, but they whine about it just the same. That last one! He actually pushed him away. That didn’t happen very often. It’s just as well, there are fairly strict rules about not getting physical with disgruntled car owners. All the same, he was only doing his job. Anyway, he knew a hot drink would cheer him up, it always did. He hadn’t visited this café before. It was a pretty dingy looking place, but the cappuccinos were good.
He looked around, there were half-a-dozen customers, mainly men, all sitting alone at tables. The man sitting closest was mumbling to himself, “Why me? It isn’t right, it shouldn’t have been me!” He tried smiling at the man to make him feel better, but it didn’t work. Out of nowhere, a waitress appeared. “Now, now,” she cooed at the grumbling man, “no point in getting yourself worked up. Would you like something else?” The man just glared at her. “OK,” she said, “you just let me know.”
She approached the newcomer. The smile had gone. “A traffic Warden, I see.” He looked down, he was still wearing his uniform, of course. “Don’t get too many of those, I can tell you that. Pity, I never liked you people.” She was a large woman with a pudgy face. She stood pouting at him, then with a lot of obvious effort, said, “And what can I get for you?”
“Another coffee would be nice.” Before she walked away, and not being put off by her attitude, he was used to it, he said, “This chap here,” he angled his head, “he seems to be very upset.”
“Yes, of course he is,” she whispered, “it was a roof job.”
“Roof job?”
She nodded and scowled down at him. “Shush. He fell off a roof. He’ll be OK. Just leave him alone. I’ll get your coffee.”
He sat staring around the café. There was something odd about the place. When she returned with his drink, he had more questions. “Your customers don’t seem very happy, has something happened?”
Still speaking in a low voice she sighed and reluctantly said, “They’re all locals, of course. Four of them are from the building collapse. Didn’t you hear about it?”
He shook his head. “No, I don’t think so.”
“No, you probably wouldn’t. Too busy serving infringements, I suppose. Anyway, it happened this morning.” Her face softened and she pointed to a young woman sitting in the far corner. “That one was electrocuted at home. She’s in a daze, poor thing! Do you know, some people have no idea why they’re here.”
At that moment he had a sudden flashback. He saw the angry man waving his parking ticket at him and thumping him in the chest. Then there was the truck. He’d forgotten about the truck!
His eyes began to water. He said, “Sorry, I think I might be one of them.”
“Oh! Really? I thought you’d know, you being a traffic warden and all.” She giggled to herself. “Sorry, we’re just a holding place here. A sort of halfway house if you like. Just while your case is reviewed.”
He frowned. “What?”
“You know,” she said, “whether you go up or down. See the door there?”
He nodded.
“You’ll go through there when they’re ready for you.” She sneered at him. “In your case, it could be a while.”
He sat reflecting on the fact that his assailant’s meter had only gone over by two minutes.
Wearing a smirk, she said, “Another coffee?”