A Musical Couple

My attempt at a 500 word tight short story

A Musical Couple

Rueben was the manager of an up market deli called Rogue Trader. It provided mouth- watering lunches to Wall Street stock brokers who eat at their desks, hoping not to miss a point movement in the NASDAQ. He looked smart and hygienic in a green and white striped suit emblazoned with the letters RT. He lied when he said he was proud of the service he provided to the world of high finance. His mouth smiled, said a cheerful “have a nice day,” but his head said, “I hope you choke on that prawn triple- decker.” It was a job. He couldn’t wait for evening when he could dump the hated uniform, pack up, and get back to his Sally and their music.

Sally worked in a laundrette and dry cleaners called Spic ‘n Span, round the corner from Rueben’s Deli. If you needed a shirt washed, or a suit pressed in a hurry, Sally never let you down. The money wasn’t good, but it helped with the rent. Like Rueben, she lived for the moment she could switch off the machines and take the subway back to the Bronx and home sweet home.

Rueben played the guitar. He was equally at home with classical and rock music, but his favourite was Spanish. Somehow the raw aggression of flamenco music got him. Sometimes, they dressed up in Spanish- style clothes or evening dress purchased in the thrift shop. He often accompanied Sally as she sang the songs of Diana Ross and Dionne Warwick. They sounded so like the original artists the neighbours seldom complained about the noise.

But then, why would they? It was a CD of the original artist. I should have told you, Rueben played the Air Guitar and Sally mimed to a tortoise- shell hair brush.