He could not remember the last time he cooked breakfast for himself. His wife was so good at whipping up eggs, bacon, toast and coffee that he had grown very dependent. Just like the last time she left all those years ago. He burnt some of the bacon, but out of six pieces, he got two good pieces. The toast burnt as well. He fixed another piece. He never even attempted eggs and the coffee was hot, but the flavor was terrible. He choked down what he could of his pathetic breakfast and returned to the living room.

  Sitting on the sofa he considered his options. He could call her again and maybe just keep on trying while waiting here. Leave a few messages. Last time she left for two days. This time could take much longer. He considered calling his son to see if she had called him, but decided against involving him if he didn’t have to. He was supposed to meet up with Lloyd closer to night time. Right now he might go ahead with it unless she came back. Once she did, there was no leaving for a while. He wanted to patch things over.

  He turned.

  A scratching at the back door.

  Will nodded to himself.

  Five minutes later, he and his little dog were off for their walk. Will had grown accustomed to the attention. He knew between his money in the bank and the rest at his house, he was doing pretty well. He could easily get by for a while without any side projects. Of course, a certain hunger caused him to crave something falling into his sight where he would strike again, but he let it go on the walks. He was just another man walking his dog on a hot day. The temperature had not yet climbed to the hundreds, but Will knew it was on its way. He would cut this walk a bit shorter than usual. He was only a quarter of the way when he turned back to head home.

  “Hey stranger.”

  Will turned. This was like some dream. He couldn’t help but grin and lean into the opened window of Becky’s car.

  “Hi.”

  She gave him a huge smile and a bubbly laugh.

  “We just keep meeting like this.”

  Will shook his head. He wiped away the perspiration drops from his forehead. He could and maybe should wear a head band, but he insisted on resisting any fall into an exercise cult.

  “How have you been?”

  She nodded with the confidence of a teenager. With the confidence of a single woman.

  “I’m good, Will. I’m really good. Want a ride home?”

  Will paused. If she gave him a ride and his wife was home when they arrived, this could just make things worse. He wanted her back to him. There was an emptiness even in the short time of her absence. His little dog barked and he motioned to her to be quiet.

  “Maybe I shouldn’t. It’s okay.”

  Will then recalled how his wife left twenty years ago. For whatever reason, she held him in suspense. And she never apologized. She would not give him an apology now either. He just knew it.

  Without a word, he opened the back door, ushered the little dog inside and climbed into the passenger seat. He closed his eyes and let the cold blast from the air conditioner hit him in the face.

  “Ah. You got to love technology.”

  She laughed and pulled away from the curb, heading toward his home.

  “So how is Tim?”

  “Oh. Well we’re not seeing each other anymore.”

  “No? What happened?”

  “Ah. We are just different people. He likes being alone and I don’t. We reached an agreement. What’s done is done. No harm. No foul.”

  “Damn. I hoped you two would be together a long time. How’s Jenna?”

  “She’s fine. Staying with her dad this week.”

  “Oh. I thought she only stayed with you.”

  She nodded, but said nothing. In a few minutes they were in Will’s driveway. He thanked her and started to climb out.

  “To tell you the truth, Will…”

  “Yes?”

  “I am thinking of getting back together with my ex.”

  Will watched her. She had a spark in her eyes. She also had the day off. Will made a suggestion. She agreed with a smile. After Will put the dog back in the backyard and freshened himself up in the bathroom, they headed away from his home.

  8

  Becky’s house looked different from the first time he had visited. Will almost commented on it, but caught himself at the last second. The place looked more open. She had gotten rid of a lot of clutter. Almost like she was moving. Maybe she was moving back to her ex-husband’s house. Will did not know and had no intentions of asking.

  She had driven them to a convenience store. They purchased a twelve pack of Coronas. Will even bought a cigar and Becky bought her first pack of cigarettes in six years. When she lit her first one up, she inhaled like she had waited on this moment of pleasure for a lifetime. Will lit up his cigar and took a puff. He was never a big smoker but now and then a good cigar went quite well with a drink. They were now seated inside at her dining room table with the patio door cracked open to let out the smoke. The day was hotter than hell as usual, but her air conditioning fought the heat off quite well.

  “So she just up and left while you were asleep.”

  Will nodded as smoke exhaled through his nose. He studied the table. The beer tasted good. Becky had plenty of limes to add to the flavor. He felt good. Letting go of all the stress of his recent life and allowing the liquid magic to put his mind at ease.

  “Has she ever done it before?”

  “Becky, why do you think we make the choices we do?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Why do we make choices? I mean we always try to justify our good choices before we do them and damn the bad ones once they are over and done with, but at the time, we usually charge at the bad choices like bulls. More so than the good ones a lot of times. Why is that?”

  Becky took a drink of her beer and tilted her head.

  “Very philosophical, sir.”

  Will laughed. This woman could be a blast when she wanted to be. That first night he met her, he noticed how she talked a lot, but at McCaskill’s she proved quite interesting. He smiled to her and awaited an answer.

  “You know, we have reasons. Mostly shit from our past. But I don’t know. Choices are choices. They’re like life’s little tests. Tests to see what we do. And I have made a few bad ones myself.”

  Will finished his beer, walked to the refrigerator and grabbed two more. He returned to his chair.

  “Such as?”

  “My ex-husband obviously. And now here I am talking about getting back with him. Only he seems different now. Before he was not into me. He was into me being his wife, but he really didn’t enjoy me as a companion. I was like a trophy on his shelf.”

  “Well, don’t take it too personally. All men feel that way.”

  “But what’s the point of that?”

  “Becky, my dear. We are men. We conquer and plant our flags. Sometimes we don’t even know why we do it, but we just know to do it. It’s a natural instinct.”

  She laughed.

  “Plant your flag?”

  Will laughed again. Blew smoke into the air.

  “You take a lot of things sexually. Don’t you?”

  Her face dropped.

  “Sexual? What do you mean?”

  Will knew he should apologize. He had taken this in a direction that was not right. Going down the wrong road. He started to apologize, but a moment drifted along. He just smiled to her.

  In an instant her smile beamed much wider than it ever had before. She slapped him on the shoulder and laughed.

  “That’s the difference.”

  She took a long pull on her Corona.

  “The difference?”

  She slammed the beer on the table like a Viking.

  “Tim would have bought into my girlish taunt. You did not. You’re a real man.”

  Will shrugged.

  “Tim’s a real man.”

  “Pshaw. If you say so.”

  “Oh come on. I’ve known the guy my whole life. He’s a good guy.”

  “I agree. But he’s timid. You know? He would back up from a kid if they ordered him to. But not you, Will. You have that stern masculine thing going on. You have the look of some hunter. Some real man.”

  “Well thank you, Becky. And you know, you have the darkest hair and eyes.”

  She giggled and choked a bit on her beer.

  “Is that meant to be a compliment?”

  Will pointed the neck of his beer bottle toward her and looked her straight in the eye.

  “You know it little lady.”

  “Aw. How sweet.”

  Will took a pull from his Corona. Leaned back in the chair with his arm propped up on the back corner, he pictured himself as some old cowboy in a western, playing cards while flirting with the whores and ready at any time for an ambush. A six shooter by his side. Men like that were gone. But that spirit lived on. Jesse James and the Younger’s and all those men robbing trains on up through the years to John Dillinger and Pretty Boy Floyd robbing banks. Hailed as heroes in their day. But there would be no more of them. Only men like Will who did the same as them but had to do so quietly under the radar. A slicker version of an outlaw.

  Becky talked more about life in general and so did Will. Nothing too serious. He didn’t bring up his wife and she left her ex-husband out of the conversation. The beer flowed and the smoke eased its way out of the opening in the doorway. The sun beat down hard on those poor souls stuck in the heat while Will and his friend’s former girlfriend chatted and drank and laughed like old lovers.

  The time grew to be near dark. Will knew he should mention that she should take him back home, but the truth was he did not want to go back home. He would wait for her to bring it up. He made sure not to bring up her earrings either, but as the beer flowed, that got to be tougher. Part of him wanted to tell this nice lady who welcomed him into her home and gave up her day to hang out with him what a down right thief he was. But he held it back. If he told anybody it would be Lloyd.

  Lloyd.

  “Oh damn.”

  They were in the midst of music playing from her stereo and Will knew soon he would ask for a dance or she would. The eye contact was growing too intense. She paused the music.

  “What is it?”

  He should have told her he needed to head home. Lloyd could wait and he would. Will looked outside through her front window. He wondered if maybe Lloyd was parked outside watching him. He had fallen into the habit of looking over his shoulder for the old man but each time nobody was there. He turned back to Becky.

  “You need to go back?”

  The way she said it was perfect. Like going back was the right thing to do and they were in agreement on the subject. Two responsible adults doing the right thing. But in her eyes, there was a sadness. Will hated to see it. Despite stealing her earrings, he never enjoyed sadness in anybody’s eyes. He felt the need to cheer them up. He did not agree with her. Instead he did a bow.

  She laughed and turned the music back on. They danced to three different songs or maybe four. Will did not recognize most of the songs. They sounded new age and poppy, but he didn’t care. Get enough beer in him and he could dance to anything. She laughed and looked him deeply in the eyes as they danced. They swayed and smiled to one another. This felt like a first date. But this was no first date and they were not kids anymore. Before he knew it, they were both out of breath and took a break.

  They plopped down on her love seat. Will laid his head back and she did the same as if they were looking up at the night sky and counting stars. They took a few moments to catch their breath. The volume on the stereo remained high. Will just sat there taking it all in. His worries over Lloyd, the upcoming plan for Mrs. Mason, the move to Murfreesboro, the surprise visit the night before and his wife leaving stayed in the back of his mind. With this young lady beside him and the beer flowing through him, it all could wait.

  Will spoke but she couldn’t hear him. She pressed the volume control on the remote. The music still played but just barely.

  “What’s that?”

  “Do you ever feel like a cage?”

  “A cage?”

  “Yeah. Like there’s a lot inside of you, but you have to keep a lock on all of it.”

  “Hhhmm.”

  “You have your own secrets. Right?”

  “Sure I do.”

  “Me, too.”

  “Do tell.”

  Will felt himself plunging into confession mode. He could not do this. He had to pull back. He knew he could, but he opened this door for the lady. He had to come up with something.

  “One time, I was walking down the road and I saw this woman. A fine looking woman. My wife was right beside me. I stared at that woman’s ass for two or maybe three minutes. True story.”

  Becky laughed.

  “Wow. You bad boy.”

  “I know. I am that. I mean I told her about it later but you know.”

  “You didn’t.”

  “Yes, ma’am. Always been faithful.”

  “Ah. I don’t know, Will.”

  “It’s sweet.”

  “Yeah, but I thought you were a real man.”

  “Well I am. A real man treats his woman with respect.”

  “And yet, she left you.”

  Will shook his head.

  “It’s temporary. She will be back.”

  “Now you sound like a real man. Pig headed.”

  She laughed again. Will shook his head with a grin.

  “Well, that doesn’t sound like a cage. That’s not hard to hold in. Hell. You didn’t even hold it in. You told her. So I’m not convinced of this cage business, mister.”

  Will leaned back and waved a hand at her. She nudged his leg with her foot. Her hands were so soft to hold when they were dancing. And her perfume had intoxicated him more than the beer. He felt her snuggle up next to him. The smell of her hair was like rain. A summer rain when you’re young and the world is ahead of you. The days when life is simple and the worries haven’t set in. All you care about is simple work and simple love. No real world, but a world only youth can truly enjoy. Before the real world’s tentacles have not dug in.

  As this free spirit flowed through him, Will felt no fear at all when he leaned up, turned to Becky and said it.

  “I stole your earrings. You want your ex-husband back. Do you want your earrings back?”

  She sat staring at him. Her eyes were empty and blank. Like the eyes of that corpse in the van that night. All light and life gone from them with only darkness remaining. Just empty nothingness. He wondered if she might be in some trance. She might even have turned to stone like one of Medusa’s victims. He leaned in close to her.

  “Becky?”

  “You need to fill your basement.”

  A week later Will walked into Lloyd Drummond’s house. He felt a slight chill in the night air. An eerie feeling of dread wrapped its dark arms around him. He felt like his presence was affecting the place somehow. Like he was soaking this place with some curse by simply walking inside. Staining the lovely paintings with his soiled hands. Lloyd’s wife was asleep. They entered his den. Lloyd promptly closed the door and took a seat. Will continued to stand.

  “Have a seat, son.”

  “No.”

  Lloyd stared at him. His eyes were sharp although his body was bent and weary. Will stared back at him.

  “Okay.”

  “Why did you tell me about all that? My dad and you all’s history? Why even open the door?”

  “You practically begged me to, son. You came here. You then demanded some leverage on me in case I turned on this Mason job.”

  “But why? You’re almost dead. So is your wife. I know you didn’t have a conscience back in the old days, but I thought surely you might have one now that the grim reaper knocks.”

  “You watch your goddamned tongue. As far as a conscience, how in the hell is yours?”

  Will turned away from him. He rubbed at his finger where a wedding band once rested. He stroked his hair.

  “Son. I don’t care what you have to say.”

  Will turned back toward him.

  “Men sit when they discuss business.”

  Will watched him. The old devil was crafty. Like a snake. But like a survivor, too. He conceded to his elder and took a chair. Took in a long breath and let it out slowly.

  “Now. I told you what I did because I am dying. Not in spite of it. The truth is I want to do this.”

  “Yeah. But why?”

  “To help you out. Like your father told you.”

  “Don’t bullshit me, Lloyd.”

  He watched the old man. Clearly he thought he was still looking at a naïve kid who had come out of the fantasy bubble of good old honest business. However he still looked at him as a cub trying to be a lion. Will had come much farther and now was the time to prove it. The old man smiled.

  “Norma Mason. I met her and her husband forty years ago. I met them at a party. I was low. This was before I took the Tourer even. I wasn’t even married yet. Norma and her husband were hosting one of their usual get togethers. Charming. Everybody dressed in tuxedos and black dresses. Champagne. Had an old black blues band there. And they could play. Let me tell you. Better than that gangster rap crap and the shit they call R and B these days. You a fan?”

  “Dance through this a little faster.”

  “Anyway, I made my rounds to the young ladies there. I never made my way to Norma. After all she was married to a man who was already wealthy and only growing wealthier by the day. But I did find my way to one little cute thing. She was blonde headed and wore a purple dress. Had an ass you wouldn’t believe. I couldn’t see her ass with her dress on, but once it came off, son of a bitch!”

  Lloyd broke into laughter. Old ugly laughter from a man who now appeared more monster than friend to Will. Will motioned for him to speed up. He did so with no smile on his face.

  “Well long story short. We did our business in one of the rooms of that same house she now occupies. She walked in on us as we were finishing up.”

 

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