Remi closed the door behind him and stepped out onto the street. He slipped on his sunglasses. It was sweltering already. He felt the heat immediately rise up his shoulders and the back of his neck, effectively breaking the cool that he had settled into in his apartment. The walk down the block was going to feel like miles.
He didn’t take his headphones with him, though he wondered as he began walking if he should have. The sound of the cars and bikes whirring by filled his ears. He watched a familiar-looking woman in a red evening dress rhythmically clack by on her heels. She walked slowly and carried a tiny purse as she passed him, fully made up for either an evening that had just passed or one that hadn’t begun yet. He decided after a minute that he was glad he hadn’t.
Damn, he thought to himself after another minute. He was still waking up.
He kept walking. The sidewalk rumbled as a subway train passed underground, the clattering of the tracks reminding him of something he was listening to just the other day. It was too early to check his phone, but the temptation was still there. It had probably blown up overnight, but at the moment the most important thing was getting to the end of the block.
He passed the flower stand by the market and slowed down. Today they had different arrangements from the usual. They looked especially fresh today. Too fresh. He raised his eyebrows with an uneasy curiosity and kept going, a little faster until they were out of view.
He was almost there. The overhead sign came into view as he closed in on his destination. Sighing in relief, he pushed against the glass door and stepped inside, a gust of air conditioning welcoming him in.
“Hey, man,” the guy at the counter laughed as Remi approached the counter. They high-fived their hands together momentarily. “You look like shit.”
“Yeah, I probably do,” Remi said, wiping sweat from his nose.
”The usual?” The barista grabbed a cold cup, ready to fill it with ice.
”Yeah."
"You ever gonna change?"
"Too early for that question,” Remi said, his sleep still visible as he took off his sunglasses, “but probably not.”
The barista set the cup down on the counter. Filled to the brim with cold brew, black. “We missed your show last night. My girlfriend’s friends went though."
"Oh yeah?” Remi nodded. He took a sip of his coffee as he dug around in his pocket for his phone. He was finally having a morning.
”Yeah. They loved it. One of them wants to know what one of the tracks was. It made her cry."
"Yeah?” Remi repeated. He knew exactly which one it was. “Tell her to come out and say hi next time. Same goes for you guys."
"Definitely.”
Remi dropped a ten down by the register and left the counter, drinking in his lidless coffee as he returned to the heat of the city.