The Man in the Brown Coat

The prompt: to write a story about anything in Ernest Hemingway's voice

            It is late. A man in a brown coat is walking down the street. He stops in front of a dark house and pulls an envelope out of his pocket. He knocks on the door, and a young woman answers.

“You again.”

“Here’s your money. Take it.”

The man in the brown coat closes the door behind him.

“How many times do I have to tell you, I don’t want your damn money.”

“I know you need it.”

“You’re wrong, you know.”

The moon is full and illuminates the front of the house. The young woman and the man in the brown coat can be seen through a large bay window. A single candle lights their faces.

“I don’t understand why you insist on coming in the middle of the night every week with your stupid money.”

“You know my situation. It’s the only time I can get away, and if I take too much money at once she’ll notice.”

“But I don’t want it.”

“What am I supposed to do?”

“I’m not a child anymore. I can take care of myself.”

“You aren’t as grown up as you think you are. You’re still young, and you need all the help you can get.”

A cloud passes over the moon. It is difficult to make out their faces.

“You don’t have a job. You have to pay rent and buy food for yourself. You need this money more than I do.”

“As a matter of fact, I do have a job. And anyways, if I need help, I have Josh.”

“How is he, by the way? I haven’t seen him in a while.”

“Jesus, Dad, mind your own business!”

The cloud disappears. The light from the moon falls again on the sidewalk and the brick house and the window and the people on the other side of it.

“Okay, sorry, just trying to pass the time.”

“It’s time for you to leave now.”

The front door opens and the man in the brown coat steps out and turns around to face the young woman.

“I’ll see you next week.”

“There’s really no need for that.”

“Remember to call if you ever need anything.”

“Don’t hold your breath,” the young woman mutters as she reenters the house and closes the front door.

The woman standing outside the window turns and hurries down the street. The full moon illuminates the shortcut to her house on the other side of the park.

She moves through the house, stopping on the way to her bedroom to kiss her son goodnight. She then gets into her bed and waits.

A man enters her bedroom. In the moonlight, she sees him take off his brown coat and get in bed beside her.