Greg took another puff of his cigarette and looked up at the clouded Philadelphia sky. His grandmother was inside the yarn store. Knitting with her friends and talking about who knows what. He needed to find a way to talk to Frank, he always had the answers to everything. As if on cue Greg’s phone rang and he answered, “…please press five to accept this call.”435Please respect copyright.PENANAE6ZHVOWgPw
Pressing five Greg waited a moment before a deep voice was heard on the other end of the line. “Hello, Greg?”435Please respect copyright.PENANA9SPaI4yjAd
“Hi, Frank…I mean Ian.” Greg said nervously.435Please respect copyright.PENANAlU37MGzw3I
“How many times have I told you to call me Ian and not Frank?”435Please respect copyright.PENANA2O3NpsfW1X
“Sorry.”435Please respect copyright.PENANASgZL52pdB1
“Don’t let it happen again. Have they searched your place?”435Please respect copyright.PENANAy5W4mH8ziL
“The detectives are there now.”435Please respect copyright.PENANAnpKq1j1Z4r
“Did you hide the box?”435Please respect copyright.PENANAg730edEn56
“Yes, I did.”435Please respect copyright.PENANAQZrHCf4Nxm
“Good. You talked to the photographer?”435Please respect copyright.PENANAuZPpvDgIGa
“You mean Ben?”435Please respect copyright.PENANAsG06bjmPxg
“Yes, of course.”435Please respect copyright.PENANA8k7jFs9pjV
“He called me earlier and the rest of the crew. They’re figuring out another plan.”435Please respect copyright.PENANADDJvkqqW1k
“Okay. You need to…”435Please respect copyright.PENANAtYrw7Wr3WI
Greg could hear arguing in the background.435Please respect copyright.PENANAHu48S81gmQ
“Everyone back to your cells!” he heard someone yell.435Please respect copyright.PENANAzxH8v7SK7R
“Greg I gotta go.”435Please respect copyright.PENANAq9zwr7r9GT
“What should I do?”435Please respect copyright.PENANAofRmMUi8au
“This call has ended.” Greg heard from an automated voice before the line went dead.435Please respect copyright.PENANAMSGq4f5siJ
He put the phone back in his pocket and sat on the steps outside of the yarn store. A woman who looked in her early thirties opened the door and stepped out of the shop. She wore a pair of light gray crocheted mittens and a knitted sea blue colored beanie. Walking down the steps, she bumped into Greg’s back with her foot.435Please respect copyright.PENANALRusWGDPOy
“Hey watch it!” Greg yelled looking up at the woman. 435Please respect copyright.PENANAwhmYl3uNj6
“I’m so sorry. I should have been paying more attention.”435Please respect copyright.PENANAw28Ge1tW6a
“Yeah, you should have.”435Please respect copyright.PENANAa2A7IElxST
The woman smirked at Greg as she walked down the opposite side of the steps and stood a few feet away from him.435Please respect copyright.PENANAQHPy3SOyd0
Greg couldn’t help but look at the woman and admired her beauty. He wanted her. No, he needed her. Greg smoothed out his jacket before calling out to the woman, “Hey.”435Please respect copyright.PENANAZ8awk1XShT
The woman shifted her eyes towards Greg before she said: “Look I said I was sorry.”435Please respect copyright.PENANA7mgcpZy0n6
Greg watched her fiddle with the phone in her hand, glancing down at it from time to time.435Please respect copyright.PENANAW5tELYNsK6
“What are you doing out here it’s late?”435Please respect copyright.PENANAEhKuxJgAhr
“It’s none of your business.”435Please respect copyright.PENANAizUTRNAWPD
Greg stayed silent for a minute as he tried to figure out what to say next. “Are you waiting for someone?”435Please respect copyright.PENANA4iK8YDew3u
The woman frowned and stepped a little closer to where Greg was still sitting and said "My friend is picking me up. There’s an outdoor concert a few blocks away, but she hasn’t responded.”435Please respect copyright.PENANADEB4GIzfGX
Greg looked at his watch which lit up against the night sky. His grandmother was almost done with her group. Suddenly, oh so suddenly an idea popped into his head. So daring and it wasn’t something he’d done before, but it was finally time to get something he wanted. “Well, my grandmother is almost done with her yarn group and I could take you there if you’d like.”435Please respect copyright.PENANAMTziBMxXqg
The woman darted her eyes toward the ground. Before she could respond to him, Lucy and the other women walked out of the shop.435Please respect copyright.PENANA0ByKZQsi15
“Greg you could have waited inside it’s so chilly out here.”435Please respect copyright.PENANApN8QuZRLZv
“Grandma it’s okay. I wanted some fresh air.”435Please respect copyright.PENANAvzEPDML1dl
“I see you met Odilia,” Lucy said pointing to the woman who by this point had joined the rest of the group.435Please respect copyright.PENANAFKhoNnSlTz
“I thought you were going to that concert.” Odilia’s grandmother said.435Please respect copyright.PENANArm7NQicXAS
“I’m waiting for my friend to answer me back.”435Please respect copyright.PENANALNTbWRizKx
“Greg, why don’t you take her?” Lucy said smiling at him.435Please respect copyright.PENANAbfihVv1NEJ
“Well, I…”435Please respect copyright.PENANAyqklB1eJyD
“He doesn’t have to. I’ll be all right.” Odilia said glancing at her phone once again.435Please respect copyright.PENANAOdR9OqCcZv
“I insist. Greg is such a nice young man. Plus, I want great-grandchildren.”435Please respect copyright.PENANAdfGJBPcbTb
“Grandma!” Greg said widening his eyes before continuing, “How are you going to get home?” he said to Lucy.435Please respect copyright.PENANA33e2yzXJla
“I’m going over to Odilia’s grandmother’s house. She has some nice yarn I could have. Plus, we were in the middle of a good conversation.”435Please respect copyright.PENANAiH8GCGrQnl
“Ah okay. Is that okay with you Odilia?” Greg said trying to put on his best smile.435Please respect copyright.PENANA9TzWlRkrch
“Yeah, I guess,” Greg observed the hesitation in her eyes.435Please respect copyright.PENANApZek75ffpg
“Don’t worry I won’t bite.” Greg gave Lucy a hug before leading Odilia to his car. As he drove toward the concert he couldn't wait to see what the night would bring.435Please respect copyright.PENANAQeaWhU9vrU
****435Please respect copyright.PENANAdHYDubCCIx
The bright lights of the outdoor stage lit up the night as Greg parked his car near the back of the concert.435Please respect copyright.PENANAemocbia7QK
“This is my stop,” Odilia said buttoning the top of her jacket. Stepping out of Greg’s car she continued, “Thanks again.”435Please respect copyright.PENANAjKrmPtJ5xs
As she shut the car door and walked toward the venue Greg rushed out and ran up to her.435Please respect copyright.PENANAriqUaZzYxF
“Yeah?” she said turning around to face him.435Please respect copyright.PENANA2Q9YZqHjHN
“Would you like some company?”435Please respect copyright.PENANAuCsQuk9QOU
“No, thanks.”435Please respect copyright.PENANAsyePAixHuh
“You sure? Concerts are always fun with other people.”435Please respect copyright.PENANAJKz6FyKwPp
“Concerts are always full of people,” she said with a laugh.435Please respect copyright.PENANAjE4xxaHaaQ
“It will be fun. A time you’ll never forget.”435Please respect copyright.PENANApqtmE1BhFP
Greg could almost see the wheels spinning in Odilia’s head. She looked up at him with a soft smile and said “I guess. I need to get home by midnight. I have a busy day tomorrow.”435Please respect copyright.PENANANhKihDDWmh
“I’ll get you home before then,” Greg said with a smile as he walked with Odilia into the crowd.435Please respect copyright.PENANAmdGZII3BpT
****435Please respect copyright.PENANANS7UGSnlX8
The music pulsed in Greg’s ears as he hit Odilia once more. He saw her chest slowly rise and fall. Pieces of her clothes were in a small pile near her body. He looked around and saw a beige burlap fabric laying on the ground. It probably covered some tech equipment at some point in the night. Greg covered Odilia’s body, and he casually walked away.435Please respect copyright.PENANAhbm9AvvW1B
Returning to his car he drove back to his apartment. His hands created red marks on the steering wheel as he smiled. Happy to know he finally got what he wanted and he couldn’t wait for more.435Please respect copyright.PENANAW510hAtKlM