“Push the button again,” Tess demanded as if he hadn’t pushed the right one, or hard enough the first time.
“I pushed the button several times, but you wouldn’t have noticed that since your face is in that screen again,” Drew’s eyes met hers for a slight moment before looking back down at her phone again, briefly, glancing back up at the elevator buttons.
“Let me try!” she said, shuffling her way to the front of the elevator buttons that were all lit up with nothing seemingly wrong with them. They had taken this elevator more times than they could count to and from their shared office building in the city.
Tess pushed the buttons in a pattern almost to replicate a beat.
“Tess, it’s stuck! We are going to have to dial the emergency line for someone to come and help us out,”
“Fine. I really don’t have time for this today,” she glanced down at her phone again to al-most ignore the problem at hand.
“Hi. Yes- this is Drew Lima. My wife and I are currently stuck in the Downing Arts build-ing elevator. We’ve tried pushing buttons, but no response; it’s completely stuck. I think we need someone to help us out, please,” He glared at her, hanging up the elevator phone on its base.
Alone in the elevator, silence filled the space as they both leaned up against the elevator wall.
“It’s been an hour. Why are they taking so long?” she said hastily, as if it was his fault.
“They will get here, Tess,” he paused for a moment; “you know I still want to talk about our discussion last night,”
“Drew, it’s not the time; I am hungry, I have to pee, and these emails are not going to an-swer themselves,”
“But when is it ever the time, Tess? You can’t keep dodging me when all I am trying to do is communicate with you about our future,”
More silence filled the elevator, and no one seemed to move.
“You don’t understand my life right now; busy is an understatement. I can’t even blink be-fore the next thing needs to be attended to,” glancing down at her phone again, but clearly agitated at this point.
“Time-it’s always about time!” he snarled as if to challenge her to say more so he could re-taliate.
“Well, we have time now,” his lips pursed together, staring intently at her.
Tess looked up at him, still holding her phone in her hand.
“I don’t know what you want me to say anymore,” her expression dull and lifeless, the ele-vator light above flickering more steadily now above both of their heads.
“I want you to care. Don’t you know where this is headed? We aren’t even on the same path anymore. Right now, I am forcing you to use this time to stop and think. Look at what we have become,” Drew’s countenance softened after he heard himself declare their fate out loud.
Her eyes met his only for a brief second. Tess grabbed her briefcase, hoping to find a po-tential granola bar she hadn’t eaten at lunch.
“Don’t you have anything else to say,” his rushed breathing steadied.
She stopped digging through her bag long enough to glance down at her phone again, with the vi-bration of a new message received.
“Drew, I can’t do this- right now, I told you,” Her now lifeless tone matched her lifeless expression.
“But you see, Tess, you had time. You just didn’t want to use it,” he said calmly and reso-lutely while walking over to the elevator buttons, allowing her to see him turn the key beside the buttons, jolting the elevator with movement, causing them both to grab the walls.
“Are you serious? You did this! You trapped us here?” anger shaking her voice.
“Oh, now I’ve got your attention. It takes me trapping you inside an elevator, faking an emergency, and quite literally putting your back against a wall before you stop to listen to me,”
He pushed the button for the first floor, elevator buttons blinking, signifying they got the message.
“Sometimes we all need a push, Tess,” he smiled as if to challenge her.
“First floor?” he said confidently, not even looking for her reaction.
“Actually, I think I will take the stairs this time,” he declared, watching the elevator buttons light up again.
“I pushed the button several times, but you wouldn’t have noticed that since your face is in that screen again,” Drew’s eyes met hers for a slight moment before looking back down at her phone again, briefly, glancing back up at the elevator buttons.
“Let me try!” she said, shuffling her way to the front of the elevator buttons that were all lit up with nothing seemingly wrong with them. They had taken this elevator more times than they could count to and from their shared office building in the city.
Tess pushed the buttons in a pattern almost to replicate a beat.
“Tess, it’s stuck! We are going to have to dial the emergency line for someone to come and help us out,”
“Fine. I really don’t have time for this today,” she glanced down at her phone again to al-most ignore the problem at hand.
“Hi. Yes- this is Drew Lima. My wife and I are currently stuck in the Downing Arts build-ing elevator. We’ve tried pushing buttons, but no response; it’s completely stuck. I think we need someone to help us out, please,” He glared at her, hanging up the elevator phone on its base.
Alone in the elevator, silence filled the space as they both leaned up against the elevator wall.
“It’s been an hour. Why are they taking so long?” she said hastily, as if it was his fault.
“They will get here, Tess,” he paused for a moment; “you know I still want to talk about our discussion last night,”
“Drew, it’s not the time; I am hungry, I have to pee, and these emails are not going to an-swer themselves,”
“But when is it ever the time, Tess? You can’t keep dodging me when all I am trying to do is communicate with you about our future,”
More silence filled the elevator, and no one seemed to move.
“You don’t understand my life right now; busy is an understatement. I can’t even blink be-fore the next thing needs to be attended to,” glancing down at her phone again, but clearly agitated at this point.
“Time-it’s always about time!” he snarled as if to challenge her to say more so he could re-taliate.
“Well, we have time now,” his lips pursed together, staring intently at her.
Tess looked up at him, still holding her phone in her hand.
“I don’t know what you want me to say anymore,” her expression dull and lifeless, the ele-vator light above flickering more steadily now above both of their heads.
“I want you to care. Don’t you know where this is headed? We aren’t even on the same path anymore. Right now, I am forcing you to use this time to stop and think. Look at what we have become,” Drew’s countenance softened after he heard himself declare their fate out loud.
Her eyes met his only for a brief second. Tess grabbed her briefcase, hoping to find a po-tential granola bar she hadn’t eaten at lunch.
“Don’t you have anything else to say,” his rushed breathing steadied.
She stopped digging through her bag long enough to glance down at her phone again, with the vi-bration of a new message received.
“Drew, I can’t do this- right now, I told you,” Her now lifeless tone matched her lifeless expression.
“But you see, Tess, you had time. You just didn’t want to use it,” he said calmly and reso-lutely while walking over to the elevator buttons, allowing her to see him turn the key beside the buttons, jolting the elevator with movement, causing them both to grab the walls.
“Are you serious? You did this! You trapped us here?” anger shaking her voice.
“Oh, now I’ve got your attention. It takes me trapping you inside an elevator, faking an emergency, and quite literally putting your back against a wall before you stop to listen to me,”
He pushed the button for the first floor, elevator buttons blinking, signifying they got the message.
“Sometimes we all need a push, Tess,” he smiled as if to challenge her.
“First floor?” he said confidently, not even looking for her reaction.
“Actually, I think I will take the stairs this time,” he declared, watching the elevator buttons light up again.