SHIFTS. 20 Years Later. 2pm. The light was flickering on and off, the room was dark and bright at the same time. He wondered what was wrong with the lights, the light went out again before fully turning on. He raised his head to stare at the bulb, waiting for it to turn off again. He was not alone in the building, there were other people staying there with him. "Maybe he fixed it." He muttered, before picking up the laundry basket that had fallen off his hands. He bent, kneeling on the floor with one knee and gathering all the fallen clothes and putting them in the basket. The clothes were all white and he shouldn't have let them drop on the ground. He was glad he had not washed them yet, besides even if they got stained the washing machine was going to do a great job getting the stains off the clothes. He stood up immediately and he was done picking up the clothes. He pushed the basket under his arm and whistled as he walked down the floor. The stairs were dusty like no one was

6:10pm Leonid held the hose and pointed it at the car he was washing. His partner was not around, so there was no one to talk to. He had been washing the car for five minutes now and was getting tired. He had been working all day without a break, he was glad this was his last shift. He couldn't wait to head home and meet his wife Amelia. "Leo, a car is driving it. It looks expensive, take care of it. I will send someone to continue that one." His boss yelled. Leonid nodded, "Yes sir." His boss was sitting on a chair in the middle of the car wash and was monitoring their every move. Leonid found it weird but what was he going to do? The Mercedes Benz drove in and parked beside the other car Leonid had been washing. He walked over to the car and waited for the driver to get down. Leonid stood aside as the door came open, a well polished shoe came into view. Leonid knew the person in the car was going to be a hell of a rich guy. He silently said his prayers hoping to not be embarras

Leonid brushed the thought away from his head, afterall he still had the time to take up another job at a restaurant as a waiter. He thought about Amelia, it would be better if she never heard about the thing that happened at the car wash. He was not sure she would believe he was telling the truth. Who would, when the watch was found on him. He wanted to get a necklace for her as a gift, he had been saving up for it for a long time and he was hoping Amelia would love it. This was the second expensive gift he was giving her, she was going to love it. He smiled just by thinking about that, soon he was whistling and jogging down the street on the roadside. Leonid pushed the door and walked in, he had asked for the job a few days ago but hadn't had the time to start. He glanced around and walked towards the staff. The restaurant was filled with classy people, you could tell by how expensive they were dressed. He got into the kitchen, staring around the place. A chubby chef was standing

"Let me help you with your tie; you look great now. Your hair doesn’t look like it was chewed by mice anymore, and your beards look different too." Amelia stated. "Don’t say anything; it’s okay; you don’t have to thank me." Leonid gazed at his reflection in the mirror, admiring his appearance. He couldn't recall the last time he looked so great. She had assisted him with washing his hair, despite the fact that it was with her feminine products. His hair, which cascaded down his shoulders, was gleaming and sparkling. The fragrance was enticing, and Leonid resisted the temptation to grab a strand of his hair and smell it. "I am still going to say thank you for grooming me; it was a good thought and also a good thing to do, but now the ladies will keep on flirting with me," Leonid said, winking at his wife from the mirror. He wanted to tease her, and he sure did because she frowned at him and said, "There are women flirting with you?" She questioned. "You should know since you were al

"Take it." Mrs. Harrington urged "The money would go a long way for you. Your debt would be reduced." "$1 million is a huge amount of money, and he is giving it to you for free." Amelia glanced at Leonid; their eyes locked. She waved her head pleading with her eyes that he shouldn't take it. Without waiting for a reply, Ethan pulled out a check from his pocket and took out a pen. He placed the check on the table and wrote down the amount he intended to give to Leonid. For $1.1 million, I still added a little for you trying to take care of Amelia." He pushed the check across the table until it was in front of Leonid. Mrs. Harrington's face lit up into a smile. "Leonid is too poor to refuse that amount of money, Amelia. Get ready to say goodbye to your husband." "No!" Amelia yelled. "Leonid can never do that to me; he is far too loyal to choose money over me." Leonid glanced at the check. He read the amount that was written on the check. Amelia kept on watching him, with a look of