Chasing Liberty
an excerpt

Crap! crap! crap! Sam exclaimed as she jiggled the key back and forth in the lock of the front door of the Liberty Laundromat. What in the world was wrong with this lock she muttered. She tried again to finesse the key into unlocking the door. She simply did not have time to deal with this aqggravation. Mr. Giano would be here at precisely 6:10 am like he was every Monday morning to do his laundry.

With renewed determination Sam closed her eyes put her tongue between her teeth and slowly turned the key. There was a brief metallic grinding when the lock relented allowing her to open the front door. Visibly releived she wiped the persperation from her brow with her shirtsleeve. Thank you Lord she said meaning every word.

The early morning sun was filtering through the front windows of the Liberty Laundromat. Even in her aggravated state she admitted to herself she enjoyed spring mornings with their mild temps and flirty breezes. Walking to the back room she turned on the lights. fired up the boiler for the washers. after popping the tab of her first Diet Pepsi of the day she flipped on the open sign and waited for the caffeine to begin pulsing through her veins.

While taking a healthy slug of her soda she attempted to calm herself with the same affirmations she had written on note cards taped to her bedroom mirror. Sam saw Mr. Giano walking from the parking lot. Sam turned on the TV and flipped to the Channel 9 Morning News. Mr. Giano was adament that Channel 9 news was the only station left in Liberty that didn't senationalize minutae at every opportunity. Mr. Giano was a man of precise rituals. At 6:10 am every Monday he arrived with his clothes pre-sorted with exactly the right number of plastic containers of pre-measured detergent for each load.

As Sam finished her Diet Pepsi she thought who on this wetery green planet could daintily sip this caffeinated elixir that brought energy to her everday life.