Part 1

Daniel Refero prepares his breakfast the same way he always does. A glass of Tropicana pulp free orange juice, two pieces of Wonder bread (toasted for one minute and ten seconds), and a single fried egg sunny side up. Prior to starting his meal Daniel unplugged his toaster in fear that if he left it plugged in too long, it would start a fire and burn down his home. He began his meal with a small sip of juice and then proceeded to make a sandwich using his two pieces of toast and egg. He ate the sandwich in eleven bites and saved one gulp of juice to wash down the final morsel. After cleaning his plate, glass and fork and placing them back in their respective drawers, Daniel went to his bedroom to get dressed. He picked one of his four short-sleeved collared shirts, each with their own respective matching tie, and a pair of khaki pants. He decided to wear the beige shirt his mother gave him for his 33rd birthday last month. He ironed the shirt, put it on, and grabbed the keys to his home as walked out the front door, locking it behind him. “Shit… the toaster.” he thought to himself and unlocked the door and went back to the kitchen and found that he actually had unplugged the toaster. Back out the front door, locked it, and just as he reached the first step of the stairs to the street he thought “Did I really unplug it? I know I saw it unplugged…” And Daniel proceeded to climb back up the four flights of stairs to check that the toaster was in fact unplugged, and it was. Daniel repeated this process three more times before making down to the street level at 57th and 2nd.
Daniel walked to his job every day where he was the daytime manager for the Comfort Diner, a re-creation of an old style five and dime diner. The walk was short and easy, only twelve blocks away from his home. Just as he was about to cross the street at 56th, a cab ran a red light and nearly hit him, only reminding him how much he hated driving. Daniel hated driving and taking the subway. He could always catch a glimpse of the masses of people crowding into the Lexington Ave subway station as he crossed the street at 53rd. “Who in their right mind would enter a metal tube that travels in underground tunnels at speeds up to forty five miles per hour? Complete idiots that who.”
In between 53rd and 52nd there was a homeless man that, despite Daniels refusal to give any money or even a glance, asked him how he was doing that morning. He didn’t know why this man always said hello to him but the fact that he didn’t ask for change or anything made him uncomfortable.
It took him 14 minutes to get to the Comfort Diner. He entered through the side door and went straight to his office where he organized his desk for the coming day. At 8:15 he walked out to the dining room and watched the waiters, busboys, and customers go about their breakfast. The smooth functioning of the restaurant pleased him. It was like a giant machine; each person doing their part to ensure the proper function of the machine as a whole. Daniel walked around and greeted each of the regulars. He liked the fact that he had regulars.
“Hey Geoff, how’s Mary these days?”
“Spendin’ all my money but what else is new?”
Geoff was a partner of one of the most well known law firms in town. His wife had a thing for expensive jewelry and perfumes.
“How’s that job in Queens going Bob?”
“The fuckin’ hydraulic system in the crane keeps givin’ out. I keep tellin’ my supervisor about it but you know how that goes. That type of shit can take weeks before the head haunchos hear about it.”
Bob worked construction everywhere from Manhattan to Queens to Jersey City. All he ever seemed to do was complain.
“James! How are the pancakes this morning? I had the cook put extra berries in for ya.”
“There are more blue berries on the left half of the top pancake but they taste just fine Danny.”
Daniel disliked James. He thought he was a little bit crazy and he called him Danny. He hated the name Danny; Danny was not his name. His name was Daniel, Daniel Refero, and that was the way it was supposed to be.