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He’d only passed through this section of town a handful of times. The Monastery, as it was called, was an old section of town. Time stood still here as neon signs illuminated the dark dingy streets just enough to read the old fashioned signage that hadn’t been replaced in decades.
Just a few blocks up the street nightlife flourished in Uptown Faerghus— bars open until all hours of the night, clubs that required connections just to wait in line only to be turned away at the door, and fancy restaurants that required reservations even on Tuesday afternoons.
Here though it was quiet— hyper aware of the busy lives the working class led here. Everything was open late, considerate of all schedules that people may have, and always quiet— sweet peace after a long day of work.
It had been his escape from the constant hustle and bustle of the city. After his parents' passing, Dimitri was left to run the family business on his own and he quickly realized how taxing it was to fake a brave face, smile, and pretend he knew what he was doing. His father had prepped him well enough, but with no one else to offer a guiding hand, he was left to traverse the business world on his own— a world that was cruel, fast paced, and far, far too noisy.
The Monastery was calm, time stood still here, the cars were old, but they ran just fine, buildings were aging, but stood tall and proud over the streets stained with dirt and debris that everyone was too busy to fix. Good, honest people lived here— people who dreamed of making it in the city that he detested.
Dimitri pulled into the empty parking lot of the local laundry and let out a deep sigh. He’d just come back from a business trip and was looking to have some alone time, but to his surprise, he’d arrived to a surprise party being set up in his apartment. As soon as he saw the balloons and and banners, he grabbed his luggage and jacket and headed back to the elevator and back to the safety of his car.
The lights of the laundromat sign were dim and flickering, on the verge of burning out completely, with the potential of leaving the parking lot in total darkness. The thought of it was appealing, to be left alone in total darkness miles away from any responsibilities or tethers to his old life. He had his things all packed— he could just never go home again, leave his old life and start anew— but the fantasy was just that— a fantasy.
Dimitri looked at his phone, emails were already piling up, Sylvain had simply replied with a sad face emoji in response to Dimitri’s message about being late, Ingrid already had plans to reschedule dinner tomorrow, and Felix had left him on read. He wouldn’t leave for good, but tonight he would run away— even if it was only to the edge of town to pretend he wasn’t who he was if only for the night.
The laundromat was inviting with its aged brick walls and cracked floor panels– it was so lived in— so perfectly aged and at this moment in time— empty— it was all he could ask for. The lights flickered on as he stepped into the room— motion sensors alerting the empty building to his presence. It was comforting being in such an empty space. How long had it been? He had once hated the solitude that came with being alone, but since his parents passing, it was the only time he felt he could breathe. Friends and colleagues were constantly at his neck, insisting they knew more than him or could somehow make him feel better— with a drink, a bite to eat, a cigarette, any number of vices the corporate world turned a blind eye to.
He heard the door close behind him and he grimaced at the sound of the tinkling bell that announced the arrival and departure of patrons. He hadn’t seen another car in the parking lot when he pulled in– if he had he may have left and driven out of town, towards the border, and out of the city– just for the night– just long enough to clear his head and enjoy the peace and quiet for the first time in months.
He glanced up, but to his surprise saw no one in the doorway. He kept his head down, just in case he had missed someone coming inside, the thought of talking to anyone right now made him feel sick. He wanted to be alone– he needed to be alone– and just breathe and not think and enjoy the pitiful thrill of running away from a life that everyone around him envied.
Dimitri unzipped his bag and began sorting through his clothes from his last trip. There was some tinge of excitement in doing such a mundane task uninterrupted– sorting lights and darks, rationing out loads to be equal in size– it was painfully boring, but it was just what he needed.
Once everything was sorted and ready for the machines he headed for the token dispenser to start his load.
He pulled out his card, but found there was no way to swipe it– he should have known. The Monastery was ruled by cash– it was easier and far less messy than card payments and frankly, most people running businesses couldn’t afford to install a fancy machine just for one or two patrons.
Dimitri sighed deeply and looked at the piles of laundry resting on top of the two machines and smacked his head to his hand. “Well shit…” he muttered under his breath.
“Yeah…” a female voice piped up from behind, “They don’t take cards here.” She stepped out from behind the counter and walked over to the washing machine. “Sometimes they open if you kick ‘em though.”
“Thanks for the tip…” he groaned as he looked over at the machines. He felt bad– the business was clearly struggling on its own, the last thing they needed was theft. “I’ll leave something on the front desk as payment… maybe I’ll write a note or–”
“Or you can just ask if I’ll open the machine for ya?” The woman reached into her shorts pocket and pulled out four tokens and placed two on top of both piles of his laundry. “This will cover the wash and the dry. Washers are here, dryers are on the back wall… Oh! And don’t use dryer #6. It broke today and I need to call maintenance in the morning.”
Dimitri nodded slowly and offered a half-hearted smile in return for the kindness. “Thank you. I really appreciate this.” He wanted to ask her to leave– so that he could be alone at last and enjoy the sweet sound of the machines, but it was clear she wasn’t leaving and he let out a deep sigh as he loaded the machines with the tokens.
When he looked up she had moved and was sitting cross-legged on top of one of the empty machines and had her weight braced with her arms firmly planted behind her. “Dimitri?”
Dimitri looked up, frazzled and red faced as he heard his name come from the strange girl. “How do you—?”
The woman laughed and smiled as she sat up and looked at him. “Your name’s on the bag and honestly… I thought you may have stolen it seeing as how you don’t have any cash.” She smiled lightly and paused listening to the sound of the clothes swirling around in the rickety machine.
Dimitri rolled his eyes at her and glared at her, he was only met with a light smile on pink lips. She had lovely pale skin and dark blue hair that she had clipped back out of her face that made her wide lavender eyes pop even more.
“I didn’t steal any of this…” he groaned as he sat back on his chair and watched the washer register the time needed for each load– washer number #1: 32 minutes– washer #2: 36 minutes. “Do you always assume the worst of people?”
“Yes.” she responded immediately and sat up, letting her bare legs dangle over the edge of the machine. “You have to always assume that people want to hurt you…” she rifled in her pocket and pulled out a small switchblade and brandished the blade for him. “I’m an expert at getting rid of creeps.”
Dimitri laughed as he watched her wield the tiny blade. “That wouldn’t do much good against someone with a gun though…” he half joked, knowing full well that most places in The Monastery were home to old-timer clerks who were more than capable of shooting guns if need be.
The woman simply pointed her thumb towards the cashier counter and gestured towards the rifle mounted on the wall. “Never needed to fire it, hopefully never will, but I could if need be.”
Dimitri nodded and at last silence fell again. The sound of the washer rumbling was loud and chaotic. Newer machines have a certain rhythm to them, a wonderfully monotonous cadence that can be tuned out, but that was not the case here. Instead it would grumble, and flip, and groan, and every few seconds the agitator would struggle and click.
“Do you wanna listen to music?”
Her voice interrupted the sound of the wash and before he could even nod she had made a beeline to the old boom box sitting on the cashier’s desk. She reached into the drawer, pulled out a CD, and loaded it into the machine.
Dimitri turned to watch her. He hadn't even realized what he had agreed to, but it was too late to back out now. He could see her figure more clearly now— the baggy t-shirt she wore was thin and torn and in the dim light of the laundromat he could make out the shape of the bra she was wearing underneath. Her pale legs were practically bare aside from a pair of shorts that were only a few inches long and a pair of work boots that he knew she would never replace.
“Let me know what you think.” The woman smiled and let the music play. There was a rumbling bass that didn’t quite work on the old boom box and then the drums came in– steady and rhythmic– they set the pace for the song that then introduced a more complex guitar riff and then— a woman’s voice— crisp and strong powering right alongside the rest of the band.
He sat back and watched the woman dance along to the song. It was clear that she listened to the song all the time. He could see her mouthing the words as the singer continued and even her seemingly sporadic movements were still in time to the music.
The washer chimed just as the song ended and he watched as the light smile on her lips faded with the sound. He already missed it– the noisy music and her twirling— time had seemed to stop entirely and he lost track of his laundry— it had been exactly what he needed— peace.
“Let me guess….” she piped up and turned the music off. “Now you need tokens for the dryer too?”
Dimitri nodded sheepishly and half laughed. “What’s my tab up to?”
The woman reached into her pocket and grabbed four more tokens, “You sir are up to… $8.” She reached into the drawer and pulled out a notepad, “I’m gonna have to put your name on the wall of shame.”
Dimitri held a hand over his heart and winced. “No! Anything but that!” he teased as he pulled his wet laundry out and headed for the dryers. “I’m sure we can work out a payment plan Miss…” it hit him like a ton of bricks. “Wait— I don’t even know your name!”
The woman laughed and bounced over to help him. “To be fair, you didn’t ask.”
She was right… she had figured out his name, by the one written on his luggage, but he hadn’t even bothered to ask her what hers was. He felt embarrassed and a tige of pink crept over his face. “I’m so sorry, Miss…”
She loaded his laundry into one of the dryers and smiled softly. “Byleth.” she said curtly.
“Well then, thank you Miss—”
“Just Byleth.” She cut him off and watched the timer on the dryer as it registered the load. “Looks like you’ve got just under an hour.”
Dimitri nodded and watched the dial tick down by one minute— he secretly wished it was longer– an excuse to stay and enjoy the strange comforting lack of silence she provided. It was strange– she set him at ease more than any amount of sleep had— and he didn’t want to have to leave her.
“Well… just Byleth…” he sat down and cracked a half smile. “You have me curious now— was that you on the CD?”
Byleth blushed— it was the first time he’d caught her off guard. “That was my mom— she and my dad were a band together. You ever heard of Mach Five?”
Dimitri shook his head.
Byleth smiled and nodded. “Most people haven’t. They never got very big, but my dad always wished they had… I think he always wanted to be a rock star, but instead he bought a laundromat because it paid the bills.” She sighed deeply and looked out the window at the neon signs. “Now it’s just me and my uncle Seteth taking care of the place…”
Her tone changed and he immediately regretted asking. He nodded solemnly and patted the seat beside him, offering her the space beside him. “I understand the pain of losing your parents… mine died in a plane crash.”
Byleth took the seat beside him, but kept her distance, not wanting them to physically touch. She knew enough about him from the way he spoke and dressed to know he wasn’t from this side of town. He had to have just stopped in because they were open– she knew that– and she kept her guard up.
“What did your parents do for work?” Byleth asked as she scooted back one seat over and stretched herself out so that her boots almost touched him.
Dimitri shook his head and sighed. “My father worked as a police officer and my mother as a nurse…” he lied. He didn’t want to bother her with his business jargon or have her look down on him as some snotty rich kid who had no place being in her place of business.
Byleth looked at him and saw his face twitch a bit as he spoke. “I don’t know if that’s true, but it also seems like a silly thing to lie about. Unless your mom and dad were assassins and you’re completing their mission to come and kill me and you needed an alibi to secure my trust…” she babbled mindlessly as she watched the timer tick down minute by minute.
He laughed at her creative tale and patted her leg lighty, “No… nothing nearly as exciting…” he trailed off as he noticed that she was watching the timer tick down— did she want him to leave so badly? He probably disturbed her night? She may even have been sleeping when he showed up.
“Well then… let me ask you, Dimitri.” She pulled her legs to her chest, still keeping her distance, “what do you do for work? And answer honestly because I can tell when you’re lying.”
He sighed and conceded to her, “I inherited my father’s business. My family is the one that designed machines that accept digital forms of payment.” He hated admitting the hand he was dealt in life— what he did hardly counted as work and he had spent his whole childhood knowing he’d never have to do much. He could throw away his money— quite literally and still be fine. He was used to people rolling their eyes or backing off from him when he admitted his wealth— he was all too accustomed to the solitude that came with it all.
She was quiet and she kept her head down as she listened to him explain. “Makes sense how you of all people don’t have $8…” her voice faded— there was a twinge of sadness laced in her joke.
“I owe you much more than that, Byleth… I know it’s silly to defend myself so I won't, but I came here simply to get away from the city for a little bit— and to enjoy the quiet of The Monastery myself.
Byleth nodded, but stayed low as she rested her head on her knees. “People here would give anything to even visit Uptown Faerghus… it’s a dream for most of us…. I applied to university there, but after dad passed I had to take over the business and I couldn’t go.”
Dimitri was familiar with the university— they prioritized connections over all, but they allowed for some scholarship students. He took a few classes when he could, mostly to stay in touch with Sylvain and Ingrid who were getting their degrees there— in a different life he could have bumped into her on campus or even sat next to her in class.
“Byleth…” he spoke softly, seeing she was getting upset.
“Hmm?” she didn’t speak, but looked up at him.
“I don’t want you to think of it as charity, but I’d like to help somehow–”
Byleth shook her head. “That really isn’t necessary, Dimitri. Just paying for your laundry is enough.” she got up and caught one of the dryers before the chime went off.
“I didn’t mean to offend, Byleth. I’m sorry if I upset you.”
“You didn’t… it’s just life.” she said flatly as she got ready to stop the second dryer.
Dimitri stood and started to fold the now dry clothes that she had already begun to unload. The silence was deafening and he kept his head low as he heard the painful ruffling of clothes. The quiet was awful— he wanted to hear her mother sing again, and watch her dance out of rhythm to the music. He wanted to start the whole night over— and ask her her name when he first saw her.
The second dryer went off, but this time she let it chime— she had wandered over to the counter to put the boombox away and once again his eyes wandered— he could see the fatigue in her eyes and the worn look of her boots that she’d never get rid of. He saw the remnants of a poor dye job from a box dye purchased at the store— he saw a girl who’d been dealt a far worse hand than he had.
He folded all his clothes and loaded up his suitcase with all the clean laundry. She was tidying up the counter space, brushing off crumbs from a meal she’d probably eaten at her desk. “Had enough of The Monastery?” She asked in a curt tone.
“I’m not sure where I’ll go. I’m a man on the run— I could go anywhere.” He cracked a half smile hoping to lighten the mood.
To his surprise she offered a light smile in return and nodded. “If I could be anywhere in the whole world right now, I’d go to the beach.”
Last time he’d pried it hadn’t ended well, but curiosity got the better of him. “Have you ever been?”
“Nope!” She responded in the same quick manner she had earlier.
He nodded and offered her his hand. “Would you like to see it?”
Byleth shrugged and stepped out from behind the counter. “I can’t… I’ve got a business to run… and so do you.”
Dimitri gave a half laugh and kept his hand out-stretched. “You cant even say that with a straight face.”
Byleth rolled her eyes and took his hand grudgingly. “What’s all this about anyways?”
Dimitri took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze, feeling the warmth that rushed over him from her touch. “I’m making a promise— that one day we’ll go to the beach.” He squeezed her hand one more time and slipped something to her before he pulled his hand away.
“If you ever get a day off— call and we’ll go.”
Byleth looked down at her fist. She opened it and inside was a crumpled piece of paper and a ring studded with tiny gemstones.
“That should cover the washer and dryer and then some…”
Byleth furrowed her brow and looked up at him. “And what makes you think that I’d want to go on a trip with a spoiled brat like tou?” She growled as she unfurled the paper and read the phone number on it.
“You don’t have to—“ he looked down at his feet, “but I’d really like to get to know you, Byleth.”
Byleth balled her hand into a fist and crushed the paper in her hand. Her cheeks flooded pink and she turned her head so he couldn’t see.
“Have a good night, Byleth. And thank you— for keeping me company while I did laundry.” He closed the door— prompting the tiny bell to ti ike again and signal his departure. He stepped outside and headed for his car. He popped open the trunk and loaded the suitcase inside.
The door tinkled once again and he looked behind him to see Byleth running towards him. He met her gaze and blushed as she crashed into him.
He caught her and steadied her as he felt her lips press against his just for a moment.
She pushed him away and smirked seeing the tinge of pink in his cheek.
“Does this mean you’ll call me?” He asked earnestly as he reached for his in his pocket.
“It means you still owe me $8… so come back okay?”
Dimitri nodded and gave her cheek a quick peck. “See you later, Byleth.”
He let her go and stepped into his car. From the rear view mirror he watched her until she was safely inside. He didn’t know where he’d spend the night, but he knew some day, he’d take her to the beach.