and nodding his head repeatedly, Rick slowly closed the door then, and once closed, he quietly giggled to himself. But then, just as he started laughing, he suddenly stopped as Barbara began knocking repeatedly on his door all over again and calling out to him.
“Oh, Rick! Rick, honey! I'm sorry! One more thing real quick!”
Straightening his face once again, Rick opened the door back up and looked at her expectantly.
“Oh, I wanted to tell you, real quick! You know I live below you, and I'm home alone all day... just keeping an eye on things. But anyway, I heard a loud bang noise during the day coming from your balcony. I don't know what it was, but it sounded like something heavy had fallen onto your balcony or something? You might want to check it out... That's all! Anyway, see you later at the meeting... at eight o'clock,” Barbara concluded, waving and then hurrying off down the hallway.
Nodding and then closing and locking the door behind him, Rick mumbled, “Ya, right. Good luck with the meeting.”
Immediately thinking of Suzi Melons and her cum-drenched face, Rick stared over at the pile of mail on the end table beside his rocking chair. Then, hearing cheering coming from the television, he turned and saw the Monarchs had just fallen behind another touchdown.
“Com'on, guys! Shit! The season isn't over yet. Don't pack it in,” Rick barked at the television, as if the players could hear him and would immediately rally at his words.
Rick had read all the preseason predictions, knew the Monarchs were not likely to make the playoffs, and were in last place in their conference, but it really bothered him to see them lose the games anyway. Suddenly remembering then what Barbara had told him about the noise on his balcony, Rick walked through his dinning area beside his kitchen, where he had a quaint table for two, and he stepped up to the sliding glass door of his balcony. As his condominium unit was on the thirteenth floor of a posh high-rise development, Rick could see the lights through the window of the other high-rises surrounding his own in the night.
Unlocking his sliding door, Rick flicked on the light for the balcony, and then he stepped outside and into the night. As it was fall, the air was biting, and he suddenly wished he had grabbed his jacket. Scanning all around the floor of the balcony, Rick could see his numerous potted plants in various stages of life and death. While some of the ornate pots had little more than dirt and the crumpled, brown remains of dead plants in them, other pots were full of leafy green vegetation and overflowing with life.
Crossing his arms over his chest and rubbing himself from the cold, Rick could see his breath billowing out of his nose and mouth in cloudy white vapors. He could also literally smell the coming rain in the air, and he knew that he'd likely need his umbrella tomorrow on his way back and forth from work. Quickly scanning the dozens of pots, his eye curiously caught then on something that appeared out of place.
Between two of the pots and snug up against the wall of the balcony railing, Rick saw what looked like a blueish-tinted liquor bottle. Knowing he never threw bottles out onto his balcony and not recognizing this particular bottle because of its distinct shape and color, Rick knew immediately this was not something he had left out there. Walking over to the ledge and leaning out over the railing, Rick stared up the high-rise to the countless balconies overhead, and he wondered if one of his dirty neighbors had thrown the bottle out. He sometimes got clumps of hair in his potted plants because one of the ladies above him cut peoples hair on her balcony and just threw the cut hair over, instead of throwing it out. As he stood there gazing up into the night, Rick wondered if this same messy hairdresser was the same person who had now thrown the strange looking liquor bottle out too? As littering was one of