Shipyard Series - Stewart vs. Freight

Four thirty came quickly for Stewart. He’d started sweating a little bit despite the cold of the office and the thought of walking into Uperman’s office made him a bit sick, filling his eyes and head with a watery pressure. About the time his nerves started to eat away at his thought Barrowker called him and told him to drop the faxes off at Uperman’s.
He was careful where he stepped on his walk through the yard to Uperman’s office . The rain had stopped but all the yard was mud, a deep brown blackish color almost like tar and sand mixed together. In his left hand he had a file folder overstuffed with faxes which he kept clutched tight in fear that any might fall out. He was staring at the ground for puddles trying not to think of the smirk Fred gave him as he left the office. "Fred’s an asshole." He thought. Stewart took a mental survey of what he was up against. He was a small wiry older shipping clerk who Emily had never met and he was going to ask her out on a date while delivering faxes for Uperman. "Excellent plan." He thought. Stopping next to a large maroon metal freight he took out his flask and took a swig of scotch. Nobody was around to see him. The yard was empty most all the time save the occasional truck that would barrel through. The scotch warmed his insides and he let out a deep sigh and his brain calmed down a bit. "So what. So what if that’s the way it has to be. Maybe she’ll say yes." Stewart smiled a bit and took another swig. "After all I’m not so old. I still look good for my age, I mean especially compared to other guys my age." Stewart imagined things wouldn’t be so bad. He began to picture Emily alone in the office with nobody to talk to. He would stroll in from the yard, be funny and charming and she’d be so overtaken that she couldn’t help but say yes to a date. Each puddle now was a little possibility and he danced around them with his new confidence. Lost in his thoughts of Emily and watching the ground he slammed into a freight head first splitting his forehead open and knocking himself down into the mud. The hit was like any other blow to the head, a white shotgun light that throws you into the future. In Stewart’s case it was only a few seconds before he realized he was on the ground. Touching his head he looked at his hand and saw that it was covered in blood. Some of which had sprayed on his pants and shirt and was starting to run down his face and chin. On the ground lay the folder of faxes. Some of the papers were fluttering around in the wind and Stewart jumped to his feet to grab them. The mud was slick and the quick jump made his head swell with pain and he fell forward on his knees. Gathering the papers he put them back in the folder covering everything with mud and blood. He’d started to cry a bit though not much and not for long because he was over taken by pain and anger. Standing up he started again towards Uperman’s Office which he could see now was only a short distance away. His suit and everything else about him was dirty and bloody. It didn’t matter now what he said to Emily. He’d probably be fired after this and would never see her again anyway. He walked slower now though not watching out for puddles. It started to rain lightly and the wind picked up a bit.