Keys

The man swung the door closed just as fast as he opened it. It was a long day at work. He hung his jacket and keys on the hooks by the door, kicked off his boots, and started towards his bedroom to unwind and continue packing.

On the key ring by the door, an old, tarnished key turned to another key.

“Not a bad first day, kid. He usually doesn’t use ya so often if it’s your first day, but he seems to like you.”

Further on the key ring, a bright and fresh key took the compliment with enthusiasm behind a pendant that says “John” in capital letters.

“Man, that’s good to hear. They told me I would be used a lot, but I wasn’t sure exactly.”

“Well, let’s see how the rest of the week goes for ya before we start getting ahead of ourselves,” said the Old Key, a hint of disdain in his voice.

Throughout the week, the Young Key was put to work more often with each following day, just as much as the Old Key and the Work Key. He met the Work Key on Monday morning. The Work Key was on the ring on the other side of a gym membership pass. He had told the Young Key all about being with different owners throughout the years and how he became detached because of it. The Old Key kept to himself during these conversations.

“Is there ever a day that he doesn’t use you?” The Young Key asked one day, out of curiosity.

“What? You think he’ll stop using me someday?” The Old Key replied defensively. “He uses me every day!”

The Work Key tried to calm everything down. “He’s just asking a question. For myself, I don’t get used much on the weekends except for rare occasions.”

“Whatever, you’re a working key. I’m a house key,” the Old Key snarled.

“Yeah, but how many locks do you open?” replied the Work Key.

It was quiet for the next few days of the week. The Work Key would get a lot of use in the day, while the Young Key and Old Key would split used in the evening as the man would move back and forth across town at that time.

Finally, on Sunday, the man had packed and moved all his belongings from his house, where he used Old Key, to the new place, where he used Young Key. The Old Key was taken off the key ring before Sunday dinner.

“Where’s he going?” asked the Young Key.

“If he’s lucky, he’ll end up in one of the kitchen drawers,” said the Work Key.