Rattle

"So is this guitar any good?" The bratty little kid looked at the electric guitar which cost over 2.000 dollars skeptically and I forced myself to bite back a rude sigh. It was obvious that the kid new nothing about music, guitars or how to even play a simple E on the guitar; he was just another one to follow the trend of wanting to be a rockstar. Just dyed black hair with bangs covering the left eye and clothes so new they hadn't even been washed once revealed the annoying truth. If I sold him a guitar it would suffer the same fate as the clothes and the hair which would be replaced with the next months fashion and dyed in another color, probably a light brown.

"Yeah it's a good guitar, if you use it the right way." He nodded, trying to look as if he knew exactly what I meant. "You haven't played before, have you? I'd recommend that you try one of the guitars over there," I pointed to a few guitars to my left. "Or even an acoustic. They are easier on your fingers when you learn how to play. Steel strings can hurt like a bitch." I said as I walked over to the acoustics before turning and seeing that the kid was still standing by the expensive Gibson.

"Why would I want an acoustic? Those are lame. I want this one, it looks cool." The kid crossed his arms over his chest, taking a defensive position.

"Music isn't about looking 'cool'!" I said, using air-quotes. "It's about learning, making sounds that feel good. Can you even tune a guitar? Change the strings? Do you know the difference between steel and nylon strings?" I was so close to just explode. The stupid kid was making me so angry! "You're so set on getting that Gibson, do you even know that you'll need an amplifier for it? That guitar will need a really good one too." I sighed deeply, soon giving up getting the kid to understand. One more minute and I'd let him walk out with a guitar without amp, picks or anything.

"What's it to you? Just let me buy the guitar! Don't you want to make some money so you can buy a guitar of your own since you know so much about it?"

That little bitch. Was he a fucking idiot? He thought I was selling guitars, wasting my time to help him find a good first guitar for him because I wanted money? He thought I was trying to save money for a guitar of my own? What a stupid kid! I wanted him out - out of my sight, out of my life, out of my music store which was filled with guitars I owned. These were nothing like the ones I had in me and my husbands luxurious penthouse, right in the middle of New York City. I didn't need no fucking money.

I didn't normally react like this, I really didn't. I'd had this kind of customer way too many times before and they were always exactly the same, but no, I didn't blow up on them. I was short, sweet and harmless, but those days- those few days every month I was kinda short tempered.

"Get out. You're not welcome here." Said through gritted teeth, trying to contain myself.

"What? You can't just tell me to leave! I want to buy that guitar!" The teenager protested, almost making me laugh.

"I don't care how many guitars you want. You can go and find them somewhere else, 'cause you're not buying them here." I stated as calmly as I could, but just got all the more frustrated as the little brat tried to stand up for himself.

"I want to speak to your boss! Get me the manager, I'm going to get you fired!" That did it.

"No you're not, you are going to leave now, if I so have to kick you out of here." He still stood there stubbornly and I felt like punching him. "Do you really think I work here to make money? Do you think I enjoy wasting my time on brats like you who won't even touch their guitar after two weeks because 'the shitty thing won't work properly'? I work here because I love music and I want to let other people enjoy it as much as I do. I don't have a boss because I own this goddamn place and I'm telling you now, get the fuck out of my store!" I could no longer keep my voice down and as the kid finally left with a shrug I sighed in relief at the store being unusually empty that day.

I looked at the time and saw that it was only around 5pm, but I was too exhausted after dealing with that kid to keep working. Taking advantage of the fact that I owned the place I locked the door, closing for the day a little while earlier than I normally would, before retreating to the back room where I settled down with a hot cup of coffee and could finally relax. Coffee always did the trick for me, no matter how bad I was feeling there was always two things which cheered me up like nothing else. Coffee, like I said, was one of them and the other was my husband, Bob.

Smiling at the thought of my wonderful husband of almost four years I dug my phone out of my pocket, dialing the number to our apartment without even having to think about the numbers. I waited as the annoying beeping sounded every other second or so. I always hated that beeping, and knowing that it was that sound that kept me from hearing my love's sweet voice made me hate it even more. A few more seconds and it finally ended though.

"Hey baby." I felt my insides heat up at the simple words that really did mean more than most things to me.

"Hey Bob. I miss you." I sighed longingly and he chuckled softly. "I closed early today so I'll be home soon. What do you want to do tonight?" I said as I played with my lip ring with my tongue, flicking it back and forth.

"What we pretty much always do on Friday nights?" He said suggestively and I could tell just by the tone of his voice that he had a smile on his face.

"That's what I thought. You get dinner started and I'll pick up a movie and some snacks on my way home, 'kay?" I got up and started to gather my things, putting my wallet in my pocket as I kept the keys in my hand and flung my jacket over my arm. It wasn't so cold I needed to put it on just for the short walk to my car.

"Yeah, I'll see you in a little bit then?" Bob said as I got ready to leave and go home.

"Yeah, I shouldn't be too long. Twenty minutes, maybe thirty if the traffic's a bitch." I locked up the store securely and headed to my car, shivering in the cold wind that I had not anticipated.

"Okay, I love you. Bye." I smiled as I unlocked the car and got in.

"I love you too." I put my phone back in my pocket and after putting my seatbelt on I inserted the keys into the ignition and started the car. I put the radio on and relaxed as some slow pop-song came on, it wasn't great and it wasn't horrible, just perfect music to drive to.

Deciding I wanted to watch a movie we already had at home I only stopped at a small supermarket to buy snacks and made it home faster than I had expected. After parking my car I walked inside, through the lobby and to the elevator, going all the way up to our floor which was only inhabited by me and Bob, and we liked it that way.

I unlocked and opened the door quietly and closed it just as carefully, smiling as I heard sounds coming from the kitchen, letting me know that Bob was indeed making dinner. I slipped my shoes off and made sure the door was locked before sneaking through the hallway and into the kitchen, smirking lightly as Bob had his back turned to me as he stirred in the various pots on the stove. I tiptoed over the floor to where he was standing and snaked my arms around his waist, kissing the back of his neck when he jumped in surprise.

"Baby, didn't I tell you not to sneak up on me like that?" He turned around and wrapped his arms around me, bending his head down to meet me as I leaned up, connecting our lips in a short, loving kiss. I pulled away, licking my lips as I smiled at him.

"You might have mentioned it once or twice. But you just look so inviting when you stand here like that." He smiled and kissed me lightly again before I pulled him closer and rested my head on his shoulder, relishing in the feeling of finally being home with him again.

"Dinner's almost ready. How about you sit down and relax as I get it ready? You look exhausted." I smiled as he kissed the top of my head before pulling away. I sat down at the kitchen table, looking at my husband as he had turned back to the stove, not wanting the food to get burnt.

He was wearing loose fitting, dark jeans, and the slightly rounded hips were easy to make out, as the dark blue button up shirt he wore ended perfectly at that level. I loved when he wore dark clothes as it brought out the light in his blonde hair and bright blue eyes. The eyes that was the first part of him I fell in love with. You might be able to guess what the second part was.

I kept my eyes on him as my thoughts wandered, straying far away to memories from a long time ago. I could never help but to grin every time I thought about every first time I'd had with Bob. The first time we met, the first time we talked, the first time we kissed - The first time we really loved each other. Every single step that had led to where we were now made me so happy, and I felt so lucky.

"I hope it doesn't taste too bad, you really do look hungry." I smiled and kissed him appreciatively on the cheek as he place a full plate in front of me.

"I'm sure it's delicious, just like everything you do." It was true, he was a mastermind in the kitchen, probably caused by him being in the hotel and restaurant business for so long.

"You're just saying that." Bob sat down on the opposite side of the table, opening a bottle of white wine and pouring it into two glasses. I took a bite of the pasta and vegetarian pasta-sauce of Bob's own secret recipe and let out a satisfied sigh. It was even better than delicious. "How was your day?" He smiled, sipping his wine. It was such a cliché line to use, but it meant a lot more to us. Everything we did had a meaning.

"It started out pretty good, but then it fucked up when this brat showed up and I wanted to snap his neck off." I smiled halfheartedly as I swallowed a large gulp of the wine.

"Aw, was no one else working?" He smiled sympathetically, knowing how annoying people can be.

"No, the store was almost empty all afternoon so I let them off early as it's Friday and then that kid showed up, and BAM! The day was ruined." I sighed at the memory of what happened just over an hour ago, hoping for the sake of all music that the kid didn't get a guitar anywhere else either. But then I got home and I could forget about it. I smiled at Bob, "So how was your day?"

"By the sound of it, better than yours, but not much. There were these Chinese diplomats that were complaining about their rooms, but no one could understand a word they were saying until someone from the Chinese embassy finally showed up and translated for us." It was his time to sigh, and I returned his sympathetic smile from before.

"Sounds like we're both in need of some relaxation in front of a movie." I said before taking another bite of my food, and he just nodded as he was still chewing his food.

"What movie did you get?" He asked after swallowing and taking a sip of his wine.

"I kinda feel like watching The Shining, and we obviously have that one, so I didn't get any. Is that okay?" I knew it would be okay as it was his favorite movie, but moods change and he might not really feel like watching it.

"Of course it is." He smiled and we kept talking as we finished eating, discussing other things that had happened that day, whether we should get a new set of couches or not and just other random things. After clearing the table we put the movie on, cuddling up on the couch like we always did.

As he wrapped his arms around me and I let my head rest on his shoulder I felt perfect. It sounds so silly and boring, but to me, knowing that no matter how horrible my day or an entire week was, I was always coming home to this. We had been spending at least one night a week, more or less watching movies and cuddling like that ever since we moved in together and then after we got married it felt even more significant to still be doing these things that you'd think just completely fresh couples do.

And almost four years into it, we were happier than ever, felt safer than ever and more in love than ever. Our life was as close to perfect as it would get and we wouldn't even dream of changing anything about it.