Connor Stacey The Rust Belt

Allie liked the rain. Her yellow jacket fell just above her knees and had four petal flower patterns at the end of the sleeves where she would often crimp her fingers. Streetlights flickered as she walked to work. Allie saw new faces most days at the general store where she was a clerk. Dozens of young men—who were practically boys—often stopped in. They regaled her with their fantasies of what their lives will be like in the big city, when they arrived. Barrett was different; he seemed to blend in with the city. Allie could tell he had grown up there like she had. His words were quick and deliberate. He had dark skin and short, curly black hair. Today, he wore a gray button-down shirt. Allie liked that shirt. He’d bought it a few weeks prior at the store where she worked. Tonight, Barrett waited outside Joe’s Coffeehouse. He was on his way to work the night shift at one of the auto parts factories in town. On Thursdays, he would take his “morning” coffee with Allie on her walk home from work. Allie smiled and waved, splashing her way across the puddle that had formed along the crosswalk. Barrett knocked open the door with his elbow. “From the sounds of it, something in the paper’s got them all riled up today.” He pointed at a group crowded around a table. “No worries. Won’t stop you or me from enjoying a nice spring evening.” Allie went over to the counter where the waitress was already putting a pot on for them. “The usual?” she asked casually. Barrett nodded, “Of course! Bring me one of those cakes too. It’s gonna be a busy one today. I can feel it.” Settling in, Allie recounted the week’s events at the store. Its owners, the Coopers, were going out of town. Mr. Cooper’s brother was getting married. Mrs. Cooper was unhappy with the event’s sudden arrangement as she would have to leave the shop for a few days. Allie reassured Mrs. Cooper that the store would be fine in her absence. Barrett was no less busy. He rattled off the happenings at the factory, how everyone on the line was rife with work. Allie enjoyed hearing what Barrie was up to each week. As she paid for her coffee, she already longed for the following Thursday. Another few weeks came and went with the passing storms, Allie began to see folks on their porches reading the paper as they sipped their morning coffee. Storefronts cleaned their windows and put up the latest summer fashions. Before long, the first birds of the season could be heard from the tops of trees and buildings alike. Barrett had moved during that time as well. Allie had offered to help, but he insisted it was no big trouble. He lived alone, and his brother drove in from out of state to help with the process. This time when they met, Barrett had a tired look to him. Allie knew that things around town had been all in a tizzy lately with the closing of one of the larger factories after the company had gone bankrupt. Layoffs had spread to others in the area and the industry, and that included

Barrett’s brother, Marcus, who had worked at a steel mill near the state line. “Things are certainly looking worse for wear around here,” Barrett remarked. He sipped at his coffee again with a furrowed brow. “I couldn’t just stand aside and let things be, you know?” Setting the mug down, he continued, “So, I told Marcus I’d send his family what I could. It’s part of why I changed up the scenery. The new place is gonna give me a fresh take; plus, I’ll be saving a little cash to make it easier to help where I can.” He pushed up a half smile as he laid down a few cents to pay for the coffee. Allie had seen that look all too frequently lately. Regulars at the general store had given her the same look as they purchased half or sometimes even less of their usual groceries. As summer pressed on, regulars stopped coming as frequently, and on many days, Allie was left alone with her thoughts in the rising heat in the store. This summer’s heat was different, crawling across the city like a plague, and it was starting to take people with it. Apparently, some of the other workers were complaining about recent pay cuts, and the union workers had gone so far as to suggest a strike. Barrett chalked the whole ordeal up to those wicked temperatures and reassured her that nothing would become of it. That was the Barrie she had always known though, a tireless young man doing a thankless job. After all, “any job that pays is better than nothing at all.” Allie had also seen a cut to her pay, but she knew the words weren’t for her. By early July, things seemed to be settling into place. The papers had been eerily silent, and the gossip between the shelves of the general store was shifting back toward its usual, familiar pleasantries. The sun held high in the sky as Allie walked out the front door and down the city streets. A cup of coffee marked a calming end to her Thursday. Barrie would be waiting for her. She’d picked out a pale orange sundress for the occasion, something light and free-flowing to work against the heat. A single cloud rolled overhead, providing a moment of shade as Allie crossed the street to the coffee shop. Barrett was nowhere to be seen. Puzzled, she walked inside and scanned the room. She found him waving her down from a table with his usual smile. His shoulders were hunched, and his bedhead made his face look askew. The waitress came around with their usual order. Allie thanked her, moving her along to the next table, and began gingerly describing her day at the store. As she spoke, he smiled and nodded, his left hand tracing the cracked edges of the table. Allie stopped mid-sentence, “Is everything alright, Barrie?” He took a long sip from the mug in front of him before his eyes met hers again. “Well, things could be better you know, and I’m sure I can, uh, find something soon, but with the recent cuts at the factory…” He trailed off with a soft, sorry smile. This must be some sort of sad joke, Allie thought, but the more she looked over her companion, the more she believed him. He carried on. He had a little money saved up to keep his own place, but without the extra cash Barrett had been sending, Marcus and his family might run dry within the week. With things the way they

were, that spelled eviction. His face was tight with concern as he told the story. Tears welled up in Allie’s eyes, but she held them back; Barrie would find a way. He always found a way. That night, after their coffee, Barrett walked her home. The conversation had been sparse on the short stroll, and for all his confidence and pleasantries, Barrett seemed out of place amidst the evening lights. As she wished him good night and shut the door, Allie wondered what he would do. Perhaps, he would wander down by the riverside. It was a fitting place to go when one had time to pass with their thoughts. Doubtless, he would still be awake until the sun broke on the horizon. She drifted off with reassurances still floating around from her evening’s coffee: Barrie was a working man, and he always would be. He’d find a way. Over the next week, Allie spent her free time scrubbing the papers for any “Help Wanted” postings and speaking with anyone who might know of a listing to no avail. She had even pleaded with Mr. Cooper that the store might hire another clerk, but it just wasn’t possible. Business was down, and tensions were high. Allie kept on at her job, and each day stretched longer than the last. Each passing moment sat at the empty counter began to unnerve her to the point where she could barely focus, and the occasional customer was such an interruption to her boredom that she might shoo them off just so she could return to it. But with each passing day, she came closer to Thursday, and with each evening, she restored her hope as she thought of new places to stop in and ask—for a friend—if they were looking to hire anytime soon, and in every case, the answer was, “We’re terribly sorry, but no.”

That Thursday, the sun rivaled the city’s own misery in its intensity. Heat rose up from the pavement, and sweat clung to skin. Allie paid no mind to it as she made her way to the coffeehouse. She was determined to know the plan Barrie had concocted, and she was delighted to find him waiting outside. In the shade, he reminded her of the same man she met here on a rainy day before everything began to change for the worse. As they began their tales from the week, she started to feel as if something wasn’t right. He sounded fine, almost excited, as he talked about this great new opportunity he was going to check out the next day; it had to be the one for him, but Barrett had a hollow look to his eyes and his skin looked shallow and pallid. Even in the cool interior, the sweat trickled down his arms and onto the table. No matter how much he smiled, Allie felt as if he himself didn’t believe it. He is here with me, she thought, but he’s not here. “Well, I’d better get going, don’t want to keep you all night.” Barrett drew his wallet, and as Allie opened her purse, he gave that soft, easygoing look once again: “It’s on me today.” He pulled out three quarters and a nickel and gingerly set them atop the tray. “You take care of yourself, Miss Allison.” He said gently as he strode for the door. “I’ll see you here next Thursday, right?” She called after.

He looked back and flashed a smile, “Of course.” The next week, the city lost itself in the greatest rainstorm it had seen in a long time. Leaving for work, Allie pulled on her rainboots and slipped into the yellow raincoat. Humming, she entered the general store, wiped the mud from her shoes, and hung the coat on the rack, all to the calming sound of rain on the rooftop. Mrs. Cooper came into the store that afternoon, rushing over to Allie with good news: a man who had stopped in yesterday was starting up his ferry service again and would need good men to crew the old boat up and down the river. He left a name and a phone number on a small sheet of paper which Mrs. Cooper pulled from her purse. Allie tucked it into the pocket of the raincoat where it hung. That evening, she left early and started the long walk home. The street lights flickered on against the dark clouds, and she made her way down the city streets toward the center of town. Breathing the fresh air, she smiled and turned the corner, crossed the street, and headed for the coffeehouse. Pulling down her hood, she stepped inside, the slip of paper held tightly in her fist. Barrie wasn’t there. Had she arrived that early? She sat at the booth they had met at so many times before and checked the clock on the far wall. It was nearly six, only a few minutes before she usually arrived. Alone, Allie sipped at her coffee, watching the door as the minutes slipped by. Each Thursday, she returned. And each Thursday she waited. For Barrie.