Part VIII: 2015

Part VIII: 2015

Samson

Well, this f*****g sucks. My disability got denied because I ended up going to prison. I missed the appeal window, so I have to apply all over again. I lost my house, and the fee for storage was about a thousand. At least my landlord was gracious enough to get my stuff put in storage instead of throwing it out. I don’t have the money to get it out though, I’m going to see if I can live with my dad or brother. I’d rather live at dad’s though, there’s plenty of rooms to choose from, my old room was turned into a mini museum of his time in the band. He tried charging people admission, but that quickly faded since he got pretty much everyone in town to see it, and what’s the point in going twice? But it was enough, he said, so I’m going to ask if I can move in. I get in my car, it’s the only thing I have left, it was completely paid off, so luckily nobody could take it from me. I’ll use it to find a job, but what am I going to do? Other than the military, I don’t have any skills. I guess I’m going to have to get an entry level job with some high school kid as my boss. God, that’s embarrassing to think about. I fought for my country, and now I’m going to get bossed around by some kid who can’t wipe his a*s right. At least I’ll have a cool mansion to come home to, and Bimbleton to get me what I want. It’ll be nice having a piece of that life back, I really missed it, even if dad isn’t as rich as he was. Mom’s in Europe, and I don’t really feel like bothering her. She can see right through me, she’ll know why I’m contacting her now, and I don’t wanna do that. So, I get to dad’s house, and it looks like there’s a garage sale going on. “Hey dad.” I say when I see him.
“Oh good, you brought the car, too.” He tells me.
“Well, yeah, you got it for me on my sixteenth birthday, remember?”
“Yeah, well, I have to sell it, it’s on the docket.”
“What’s going on?”
“Estate sale, I lost the house. After fees and such, I’m using the money I make from this to put a down payment on another, much smaller house, probably a one bedroom.”
“But, this is literally all memorabilia, it belongs in a museum, not some person’s house!”
“Look, I accepted this fact a long time ago, and now you need to, too. The band is dead, it’s never coming back, nobody cares anymore. I have to get a real job, maybe I can join a cover band, or take some gigs somewhere, and if that doesn’t work out, maybe I can manage a McJizzle’s or something.”
“Dad, a reunion tour could be just what the band needs, all sorts of bands have been doing it lately, you could just find a new drummer, uncle Ruby was just a drummer, one of the easiest members to replace. It's not like he wrote anything anyway, you just told him what drum beats you wanted for a song and he did it. He wasn’t all that important-”
“Just drop it, I tried that, remember? It failed horribly, besides, I’ve known Ruby almost all my life, to try to replace him for a second time would be just s****y, besides, I already told you, the band is dead. Uncle Ernie plays bass for a different band, and I haven’t practiced my guitar or vocals in years, I would sound terrible. I have to get back into it though, if I’m going to join another band, if they even want me. Wow, did you see that? My guitar that I recorded our first album with just sold for $1,500.” He sighs, “There goes all my hard work, being sold to people with disposable income.”
“Where’s Bimbleton, is he working somewhere else now?”
“Oh, that’s right, you were in jail, Bimbleton died, son.”
“What?? No!”
“I knew you liked him, we all did. He was a good servant, and a good listener, and had the occasional good advice when I needed it. He was a good man, and I was sad to find him, but he was in his bed, so it was nice and peaceful, I bet.” I couldn’t help it, I started to cry, over a servant. But dad was right, he was there for all of us when we needed him. He was more than a servant, he was a friend. I never knew my dad’s father, so he was like a second grandfather to me, well, to us. He treated all my siblings the same way too. He was upset when my parents divorced, he said he liked us all, and that not having half of the family around was tragic. I’d tell Rayven and Wolfgang, but I doubt they’d remember him, they were so little when my parents split. In fact, they probably barely remember me, I haven’t kept in much contact with them. The only reason I stuck with dad was because I didn’t wanna leave my friends, and Luxor stayed, because he somehow saw dad as the superior parent, he’d have no idea my mom would make millions off of her books, none of us did. “There goes the only gold record I ever got.” He sighs again, “This is too depressing, wanna come in, get something to eat?”
“Nah, I gotta see Luxor, see if I can stay with him.”
“Good luck, you know how anal retentive your brother can be.”
“Oh yeah, that’s right. Well, thanks, and good luck with everything.”
“Thanks, I’ll send you my new address when I find one.”
“Alright, see you.” I get in my car, and take anything personal out of it. “You got like, a box or something I can put this stuff in?”
“In the house.” I go in the house, find an empty, flat, unused box, assemble it, and put my stuff in it.
“Thanks again, dad.” I say as I leave and head towards the bus stop. The bus stop, this is my life now, living like a poor person. I never thought my life would end up this way. I get on the bus, and get dropped off near Luxor’s house. Damn, it was a long ride. I knock on the door, and he answers. “Hey, bro.”
“Samson, what can I do for you, my brother?” Luxor asks.
“I need a place to stay until I can get on my feet. I owe storage a thousand bucks, and it’s only going to increase week by week, I lost my house while I was in jail, and dad sold my car.”
“That is unfortunate, I heard about the estate sale, I was not aware your car was included.”
“He got it for me on my sixteenth birthday, so technically, it was his car.”
“Ah, I see. You are aware my apartment is one bedroom?”
“Yeah, I can sleep on the couch if need be.”
“Fine, but you must follow my rules exactly. You must put everything back exactly where you found it. Anything you use, you must immediately replace. You are to be awake at six a.m every morning and looking for a job. Once you find a job, then you can adjust your habits to accommodate your schedule. Once you find a job, I expect your half of the bills, and you must buy your own food and hygiene supplies. You are to be awake no longer than ten p.m, non negotiable. I need my eight hours to properly do my job. That being said, you cannot occupy the bathroom between the time of 6-6:30, as I am going to require it to get ready for work. You may use it after I leave, but you still must be awake and productive, even if all that means is you are eating breakfast. I entrust you to start job hunting after I leave. If I come home from lunch, and you are asleep on the couch, I will ask you to leave.”
“Wow, dad is right, you are anal retentive.”
“No, I like order, and expect nothing but perfection, Bimbleton understood that, he will be missed, I attended his funeral with father. Had you not ended up in jail, you would have been able to join us.”
“Yeah, I know, I fucked up, I haven’t stopped thinking about that night since it happened.”
“I am sorry to hear about Katarina, I know she meant a lot to you.”
“Thanks, bro.” I go in the house.
“If you could kindly remove your shoes, please.” Here we go. I take off my shoes, and put them next to his. I can already tell this isn’t going to be fun. I love my brother and all, but he can be such a condescending a*****e. Because he’s so smart, he never got out of that superiority complex that I used to have when I was in high school. I thought because I was rich, physically fit, and popular that I was better than everyone else. Obviously, Luxor doesn’t care about being rich, he’s got smarts, he can do literally anything he wants, and he chose a normal job as a Homicide investigator. I pegged him for astrophysics or something complicated like that. He says human behavior intrigues him, and he wants to figure out how people’s minds works and what leads them to kill and blah blah blah. I just hope living with him isn’t as big a pain in the a*s as I think it’s going to be. I was rudely woken up the next morning by my brother who was yelling at me. “Samson, I have told you that you need to be up and around by 6, it is now 6:30, I am heading off to work, if you cannot follow a simple request such as getting up on time, I have doubts that this will work at all.”
“Sorry bro, I’m just mentally exhausted, and I forgot to set my alarm last night.”
“You are an adult, and I expect you to behave as such. As it is your first day, I will allow it to slide. I have to go to work now, I do not want to miss my bus.” Luxor leaves, and I take a shower. Luckily, I was able to get my clothes from my dad’s house before I left yesterday. Good thing I kept some stuff there, I didn’t want to wear the same clothes I wore yesterday. Looking at my clothes, I can’t believe I wore this stuff in high school.
Sure, it was in style then, but now it just looks tacky. I hope they still fit me. I dressed as best I could, and went job hunting. Eventually, McJizzle’s hired me, I’m working the grill. Great, just great. This isn’t how I’d imagine my thirties going. I was hoping to be a retired football player by now. Life never seems to go the way you expect it to, does it? I made my way back to Luxor’s, but the door was still locked, he must still be at work. He didn’t give me a key, because he doesn’t trust that I’m not going to pretend to look for work. Well, at least he doesn’t have to worry about that anymore. Thank God I live in a city, where’s there’s a ton of jobs available. I definitely wouldn’t have had this kind of luck in a small town. Luckily, I only had to wait about a half an hour before Luxor came home. “Have you done what is required of you?”
“Yes I have, I start at McJizzle’s tomorrow. I’m training from 1-5 for the next three days, and then I officially start next Monday full time, well, five days, 38 hours.”
“Congratulations, shall I order a pizza to celebrate?”
“Yeah, sure, bro. How was work?”
“Oh, speaking of which, there is something I must discuss with you.”
“What’s that?”
“I will be taking vacation days this week, Oswald and I may have an idea on how to pursue our current case.”
“So, what does that mean?”
“I was going to request you stay with a friend until you have a job, but considering you have found one already, you may reside here. I am entrusting my house to you. As you are my older brother, I am assured you will keep things as I left them. I request you not enter my room, as it contains sensitive information to my current case, and I would not like anything to be missing.”
“Why don’t you just take it with you?”
“Hmm, perhaps I should, it is relevant after all. I must be exhausted from thinking so much today that I should have thought of that myself. Even so, for the sake of respect and privacy, please do not enter my room.”
“Aw, so I still have to sleep on the couch?”
“Are you not aware it contains a mattress?”
“That would have been nice to know yesterday.”
“I am sorry, I merely thought you would assume so.”
“Well, not every couch has a mattress.”
“Honestly, I do not know much about furniture. The salesman said it would be good to have in the case of a guest. Emily has slept on it a couple of times.”
“You have a girlfriend? No way!”
“I am merely friends with her, although I am considering examining romantic interactions, but she finds my seriousness about my intellectuality abrasive.”
“Yeah, just by that sentence right there I can see why she’d be turned off.”
“How do you mean?”
“I mean, if you want her to like you, you need to not be so serious all the time. You say she’s smart, so try to incorporate humor with your intellect. She’ll laugh, and that will help her see that you’re not so stiff. Also, and this will definitely go against all logic, but girls like it when you do simple things for them, like opening doors, and pulling out her seat so she can sit down.”
“But she is fully able to do those things for herself, why would I do it for her if she is fully capable of doing it herself?”
“Because it’s romantic, it shows that you care about her, it’s the gentlemanly thing to do.”
“I see, in a way, earning her trust.”
“Exactly. Ask her about her day, she’ll like that you’re genuinely interested in her. Pay attention and respond accordingly. Do not talk about yourself unless she asks about you. I know how you like to ramble on and on without taking a breath in between.”
“But I do breathe when I talk.”
“No, what I mean is, you talk too much.”
“Stanley used to say the same thing. Although, Oswald talks about as much as I, and I must admit there comes a time when I wish he would cease speaking so that I may speak.”
“That’s how people feel about you.”
“I see. Thank you for the information, I will put it to use someday, perhaps upon my return from my work vacation. Thank you, Samson.”
“No problem, bro.”
“Would you like to partake in spirits? I have many varieties.”
“Since when do you drink? I thought you were afraid it would destroy your brain cells.”
“I do not drink enough to do that. I drink only occasionally, and even then, I only achieve what is called a ‘buzz’, and then I cease.”
“Yeah, I uh, probably shouldn’t... you know what? It’s a celebration, so why not? Gimme a shot of whiskey.”
“To your new job, and getting back on your feet.” We toast. It’s odd, my brother’s had a stick up his a*s his whole life, I’d never expect to see him loosen up like this. I only took one shot, just because I’m supposed to be in recovery, I felt like celebrating, and besides, it was good enough for me, I didn’t want anymore. He orders the pizza, we sit and watch Space Adventure: Series II. It was always his favorite show, I’m glad he still enjoys it. I like it too, just not as much as him. Later, we said our good nights, and I was able to sleep in since I found a job, but I woke up in time to tell him to have a good trip, and he tossed me his keys. In a few hours, I head to work.
“Mr. Alpha, you’re three minutes early! Awesome, I like an employee that cares about coming in on time!” My manager, Mike, a tall, fat, balding, mustached sweaty guy says to me.
“Uh, sure, Mr. Bronson.”
“Just call me Mike, Sam.”
“Samson is fine, nobody ever calls me Sam.”
“Ok, Samson, first you’re going to watch some videos, and then I’ll have your supervisor train you on the grill and fryers, ok?”
“Sounds good.” I say reluctantly.
“Great, come in here, and sit at that computer. It’s going to give you instructional videos and they’ll be followed by tests. Ok? Great!” He leaves, and I start watching this crap. What a whole load of bullshit, they talk to the viewer like their brainless. The tests that followed were simple as s**t, I was so bored. Luckily, for the second half of my shift, I got to work the grill, and I met my supervisor, David.
“Woah, I get to train an old dude! Nice!” David says.
“I’m not old, I’m 28.”
“You look 40, dude.”
“War will do that to ya, kid.”
“Alright, listen up, old dude. You take the frozen patties and put them on the grill, then you push this button. When it’s done, It’ll open back up, and you’ll just have to take the spatula, and put them in this bucket. Then you come over here, and assemble the sandwiches. Think you can do that?”
“Yeah, I got it. And my name’s not ‘old dude’, It's Samson.”
“Whatever, dude. Now, I’m gonna supervise you so you do it right.” This kid is a f*****g a*****e. He treated me like an idiot the whole time, it was getting annoying. The next couple of days weren’t any better. Then, on my last day of training, he comes up to me and says, “Dude, can you work the rest of my shift?” I gotta go to football practice.”
“No.” I tell him, I get off in a half an hour, the f**k?
“Yeah, well, I can’t bail on the team, they need me, I’m quarterback.”
“But you just got here an hour ago.”
“Yeah, I totally forgot I had practice today, tomorrow’s the big game, I gotta be there to practice. See ya.” And he just left, he just f*****g left. I went to Mike to complain.
“Hey, uh, Mike?” I knock on his door.
“Samson, come on in!” Mike says.
“David just left. Said he had football practice.”
“Yes, thank you for picking up his hours.”
“But I never agreed to it.”
“He told me you were fine with it.”
“He didn’t ask me until after he told you he did. He just dropped it on my lap and left.”
“That doesn’t sound like David to me, I hope you’re not trying to cause trouble.”
“I swear, I’m not, that’s what happened!”
“He gets off at eight in case he didn’t tell you.”
“I’m not doing it, I leave in ten minutes.”
“Then I guess you don’t need this job, goodbye.”
“What? No!”
“Then get back to work.”
“F**k!”
“This is your verbal warning, I don’t want to hear that type of language in my restaurant.”
“I’m sorry, Mike.”
“Next violation is a written warning, and then disciplinary action if it continues. And you’re supposed to be wearing a beard guard, not just a hairnet.” I go back to work and put on the stupid beard guard. Man, this job f*****g sucks. I finally finish my shift and head home. I grab my brother’s bottle of whiskey, and belt it.

Luxor

I have left my brother in charge of my home while I am away, I hope my trust has not been misplaced. Oswald and I are on a train heading to the first possible refueling station for the Heavenly Cruise. Since we plan no arrests or searches, and simply asking questions, our boss has given us the opportunity to commence our search. We reach our first stop and head towards the police station. “May I speak to whoever is in charge?” I ask the officer at the front desk.
“What is it concerning?” The officer asks, bored.
“The Heavenly Cruise.” The officer sighs, and yells,
“Hey cap, got another one, here!” The captain approaches us.
“What can I do for you fellas?” He asks.
“We are inquiring about the Heavenly Cruise. Did it stop at this port to refuel?”
“Look, I’m going to tell you the last guy and every officer your prescient sends here. We’re not going to authorize a search, it was done, we did one, nothing was found.”
“But did it stop here?”
“Yeah, it did.”
“That is all I wanted to know.”
“That’s it?”
“Correct.”
“Alright, fine, leave.” He turns around, grumbling under his breath.
“Come Oswald, let us approach our next stop.” We get on a different train, and head towards our destination. “Ok, so we project that he either stopped at this dock next, or this one. Which do you surmise?”
“This one is closer, he may have stopped there.” Oswald says as he points at the map.
“I concur, if we can trace his exact route, we may be able to find the ship.” We get off at our next stop, and get off. We find the police station, and repeat our process.
“Nope, sorry, no cruise ships matching that description was ever found underwater, but maybe it was docked here. You’ll have to go to the pier to find out.” the captain tells us. So, we headed to the pier and kept asking around until someone finally knew what we were talking about.
“Oh yeah! I remember a whole bunch of people excited to board that thing. I wanted to go too, but I didn’t have enough for the tickets, too rich for my blood.” A local wharf straggler tells us.
“Did anybody depart the ship?”
“No, but the pastor was on the top deck, ushering people on, and there were ticket guys, but nobody else got off.”
“Do you remember anything else?”
“Just that they never came back, which is a bummer, because I actually had enough saved the next year.”
“Thank you, you have been very helpful.” We get on yet another train, and head towards the next possible port.
“Ok, so he seems to be heading north northeast, that’ll lead us into other countries soon, and we don’t have enough to go that far.” Oswald tells me.
“I concur.” I tell him. “We have two more ports to check out here in the United States, if our calculations are correct, we will need passports to get to our next destinations.”
“Alright, let’s hit these ports and go home.” As we correctly guessed, the locals told us the same thing the last one told us, about nobody departing, and only seeing the ticket takers and the pastor. Highly unusual, vacation yachts usually follow a preplanned course and then dock back at home to let the passengers off. This one kept going as impractical as it was, considering the number of passengers would have made the boat quite crowded. We hit the last dock, and interviewed the locals again, and again the same story of the ticket takers and the pastor.
“Do you know if they went east or west? I asked.”
“They headed east, which is weird, considering I was expecting them to turn right around and start their circle. But they went east, and we never saw those people again.”
“Did your local police department do anything about it?”
“Yeah, they searched for them, but gave up after not finding anything.” Same as the last few places we visited.
“Ok, thank you for your help.” We reboarded the train heading back.
“So, seems we’re going to need passports if we’re to continue this search.” Oswald comments.
“Unfortunately, this may be beyond our means. This is now an international case, I doubt the feds will allow us to continue once we present our evidence.”
“Then let’s not tell cap.”
“You mean withhold information pertinent to the case? That is illegal and against regulation!”
“He wanted us to solve it, right? And technically, the feds gave up their search years ago. Reports say they visited all of the coastal countries in Europe and Asia, and they refused to say anything.”
“Yes, but it is decades later, perhaps someone that was overlooked knows something.”
“See, that’s what I’m thinking too. I know we can solve this thing.”
“Ok, I just do not want to end up in federal prison for going against regulation.”
“Alright, fine, we’ll tell the captain, and he could decide from there.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
“No, I get it. I don’t want to go to prison either, I just want us to be the ones to solve this case.”
“So do I, it is quite the conundrum.” We eventually make it back to Swampy Fields, and head for the station. We head to the captain’s office immediately.
“So, you’re back. Make any headway?” our boss asks us.
“Actually, yes.” I tell him, as I take out the map with the marked route.
“So, did you find him or the boat?”
“No, unfortunately not, he seems to have gone into international waters, heading east.”
“Damn, the feds already checked there, didn’t find squat.”
“With your permission, we would like to obtain passports to visit the countries we feel he may have visited.”
“All right, tell you what. Take a break from this case for now, we have a car accident for you to investigate. Survey the scene, tell me what you find. Be careful out there, the storm’s getting nasty.” We go to the scene of the accident, two males, one female. The male driver crashed into a pole, knocking it over and crushing him in the car. All the occupants seemed to be mid 20’s, and the smell of alcohol was strong. I smelled the mouth of the driver, he was intoxicated. I follow tire marks where he had tried to brake. Seems like a hydroplane to me.
“No doubt the driver was drinking.” I said. “However, the tracks would suggest he hydroplaned and tried to brake. I could see the survivors, a man and a woman, being loaded onto the ambulance. “I would like to speak to these two when they regain consciousness.” I tell the paramedic. “Come Oswald, we have a report to fill out.”
“Yes sir.” Oswald remarks. I can tell by the tone of his voice that he is still resentful that I narrowly beat him to sergeant. We head back to the station and get to doing the paperwork. A couple of hours later, the phone rings, and I answer it. The survivors of the car accident are awake. We head down to the hospital and ask for their rooms. We head to Charlie Bateman’s room first.
“Charlie Bateman?” I ask him.
“Yeah, what happened?” He asks.
“Detectives Alpha and Middleton. We were hoping you could tell us, you were in a car accident.”
“Oh, man! That’s right! Oh my god, is Sandra ok?”
“Yes, she is alive, but the driver did not make it.”
“Oh, s**t, they were supposed to get married tomorrow, we had a little get together of just the closest people, and man, we got so drunk.”
“Do you know what happened in the events leading up the accident?”
“Not really, I just know it was raining hard, and he swerved right, then left, then that’s all I remember.”
“Ok, thank you for your time.” We leave the room and head to the next one, occupied by one Sandra Zircon. Poor dear, this is the second time her boyfriend has died.”
“Maybe she’s a black widow?” Oswald asks.
“I thought that too, but watch her emotional response, there is no way she did this on purpose.” We reach her room and enter. “Detectives Alpha and Middleton, here to ask you about the car accident tonight, you are Sandra Zircon, correct?”
“Yeah. He’s dead, isn’t he?” Sandra cries. “Why does this happen to me?”
“We were wondering that exact same thing, did you accidentally cause the accident, maybe you bumped him and he went sliding, or maybe you were mad at him and you wanted him to die?” Oswald asks, sternly.
“My god, I’m supposed to get married tomorrow, and now I’m not because my fiancé is dead! Why would I want this, you a*****e?” She screams at Oswald.
“My apologies, miss. Can you then explain to us what happened? You were in the front seat.”
“He hydroplaned and swerved right, then left, then we crashed. He had the steering wheel in his chest, and he told me he loved me right before he died.”
“So the pole that fell on him was post mortem, then.”
“A POLE FELL ON HIM?” she starts crying harder.
“That was inappropriate.” I tell Oswald.
“I’m sorry sir.”
“We noticed the smell of alcohol emanating from the car, were you drinking as well?” I asked her.
“Yeah, we all were, he was going to drop off me and Charlie- Oh my god! Is Charlie ok? Did he survive?”
“Yes, he is in another room down the hall.”
“Oh.” She breathes a sigh of relief. “I don’t know what if I’d do if I lost him too, he’s my closest friend.”
“Yes, he mentioned it was a small gathering.”
“Do you need anything else from me?”
“No, I believe we have enough information.”
“Good, I wanna go back to sleep, I hurt so much.”
“Thank you for your time, and we apologize for your loss.” We leave the room.
“I see what you mean.” Oswald says. “Nobody with that much emotion would do something terrible to people she supposedly loves.”
“Stanley showed me how to pick out the liars from the genuine ones. At first, I did not understand the difference, but now I understand.”
“As do I.” We leave the hospital, and head back to the station. “I don’t know about you, partner, but I’m exhausted.”
“Yes, it has been a long day, and it is past our shift end.” I gather up my papers at my desk, occupied by the detective who works there on the next shift. “Excuse me, Jenkins.” I say as I open up my drawer and insert my current folder. “While I am here, could I ask you to please empty the trash at the end of your shift? I do, and I’d appreciate the same courtesy.”
“I’m sorry, sarge. I promise I’ll start taking out the trash. And here, I thought you just never used it.” Jenkins tells me.
“No, but if you could please?”
“Sure thing.”
“Thank you.” I leave the station and get on the bus and head home. There seems to be a thick layer of smoke billowing down my street... I speed walk to my home, which is engulfed in flames. “What happened? I ask a nearby firefighter.
“Kitchen fire, spread through the house.” He tells me. Samson is outside, watching the house burn.
“WHAT HAPPENED? WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED??” I ask him.
“I’m sorry bro, I was cooking, and I went to go to the bathroom, and when I got back, the pot was on fire, so I used potholders to smother it, I couldn’t find your extinguisher. But the potholders went on fire, and so I threw it, and it hit your curtains and spread. I threw cups of water, bowls, whatever I could fill, but I wasn’t fast enough. I managed to call 911, before the living room was engulfed in smoke. I’m so sorry, bro, it was an accident, I swear!” I punched him straight in the face, and I did not stop until someone pulled me off.
“You absolute moron! I knew I shouldn’t have trusted you with my house! I’ve had a long f*****g day, and now I can’t even relax because my apartment is on fire! You ignoramus, you imbecile, you fecal headed-” I ran and attacked him again. There is no forgiveness for such a heinous act, even if it was an accident.
“You have insurance, don’t you?” Samson asked me.
“That’s not the point, I thought I could trust you with my house for less than a week, and you burnt it down! I’ll never forgive you for this!”
“You’re using quite a lot of contractions there, bro.”
“Yeah, cause I’m f*****g pissed off!” I never thought it possible to reach this level of anger before, as I had never experienced it before. I wanted nothing more than for him to get out of my sight. “Leave. Now.” I tell him angrily.
“But where am I supposed to go? Dad can’t take me in, and I’m sure as hell not going to bother mom, it’s been years since we spoke.”
“That is your problem now, is it not?”
“I’m so sorry, bro.”
“Save it, find somewhere else to go.”
“But-”
“Now!” My brother sadly walks away, heading I do not know where, and I do not care. Until my insurance kicks in, I myself must find a place to live. I call Oswald. “Oswald?”
“Hey partner, didn’t we just see each other?”
“I require your assistance, can I spend the night at your domicile?”
“Uh, sure, if you really need to. I’ll text you the address.”
“Thank you, I will explain when I get there.” The firefighters finish hosing down the house, the rain helped put it out, but the wind kept it alive, so it was a tough battle for them, but they got it. The fire chief approaches me.
“I’m so sorry, detective. Your brother’s story corroborates what we found, the pot was found next to the drapes, and the stove was burnt where the pot was.”
“My brother may be an idiot, but I know he did not do it on purpose. However, that does not excuse the fact that it will be a long time before I forgive him.”
“Do you have a place you can go?”
“Yes, I am spending tonight with my work partner.”
“Come back tomorrow, see if there’s anything you can salvage. This isn’t the best weather to try.”
“I understand.” I get on the bus and head towards the address Oswald sent me. I knock on the door, and he answers.
“Hey, what’s up, partner? Come on in.” Oswald says.
“My brother set my house on fire.” I tell him.
“On purpose?”
“No, it was an accident, but I am still not speaking to him for an indeterminate amount of time.”
“It was an accident though, you said so yourself.”
“I trusted him with my apartment, Oswald. I was looking forward to relaxing after our trip and our shift in my own home, watching Space Adventure and eating dinner like I always do.”
“That part I can help you with, come on, I’m watching it now.” I take off my shoes and put them next to his. I sit on the couch and watch television with Oswald. He has an annoying habit of saying lines before and at the same time the actors do. “You should take the rest of the week off, you can stay here until your insurance kicks in and you can find a new place to live.”
“That is awfully kind of you, Oswald, but I do not want to be a burden.”
“You’re not a burden, your house burned down, it’s not like you’re some bum trying to mooch off of me. Tell you what, we split the bills, you can buy your own food, and then it will be as much your place as it is mine.
“That is agreeable.”
“Feel better?”
“About feeling like a burden? Yes. About my house burning down? No.”
“Well, like any death, it’ll take some time for you to grieve.”
“I am just so angry at my brother, he is almost thirty years old, how can he be so irresponsible?”
“Age is irrelevant, accidents happen.”
“I-I just-” I ran upstairs to his bathroom and started crying. It is not something that happens often, the last time was when my parents divorced. I was but a child then, so of course that was a normal reaction, but this is an object, a house, why do I feel so connected to it? I was not upset when I moved out of my childhood home, so why am I reacting like this now? It does not make sense to me. I am grateful that Oswald cares to allow me to share his dwelling with him, he was a good choice for a partner. He understands human emotions and empathy better than I. After I finish crying, I head back downstairs, and sit back next to Oswald. “Do you have any rules in your house that you abide by?”
“Nah, I live by myself, so I do what I want, but I’m pretty neat, I clean up after myself, do my own laundry and junk.”
“That is good to hear, I appreciate order and cleanliness.”
“I know you do, we’ve been partners for a few years now.”
“I suppose that is true.”
“Are you hungry? I ordered pizza while you were in the bathroom.”
“I suppose I should eat something, I have not eaten since we were on the train.”
“Yeah, me too.”
“Do you have any spirits?”
“I’ve got a couple of bottles, anything in particular?”
“No, I just want to forget, which will require an excess of alcohol that I am not used to.”
“Yeah, well, if you need to puke, you know where the bathroom is.”
“Affirmative.” I say at the same time as the actor on the television.
“I think we’ll get along great, what do you think?”
“I am unsure, I have been known as-” I sigh, “-being anal retentive.”
“Alright, but just remember, this house is under my name.”
“Yes, Oswald, I will try to remember that if I see anything out of place.”
“Is it really that bad?”
“I guess you could say so.”
“I’ll try my best, sarge.”
“Please do not call me that outside of work. Here, we are roommates who happen to work together.”
“I do consider you a friend.”
“Really?”
“Well, yeah, we’ve been through a lot together, our jobs being what they are, and besides, it’s nice to hold an intellectual conversation with someone without having to dumb it down for them.”
“That is how I feel about Emily.”
“Emily? You’ve got a girlfriend?”
“No, we are not dating, though I do want to try the experimentation of romance with her. She is of high intellect also, and is truly the best option I have ever come across.”
“Why don’t you invite her over? You need an emotional connection.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I know you were crying upstairs, I saw it in your eyes. Women are naturally emotional creatures. If you tell her what happened today, and you start to break down, she will comfort you.”
“I suppose. It is getting late though, I will call her tomorrow, and take the day off.”
“I’ll explain to the captain, just request a personal day when you call, so you don’t have to explain yourself.”
“Thank you, Oswald.”
“No problem, Luxor.” I will definitely take his advice, and talk to Emily. He is right after all, women are more emotional creatures than men, and she could help me through this difficult time. I however cannot stop think about my seething hatred for my brother. He put me in this situation, and I have no choice but to put up with it. If I were to see him any time soon, it will be too soon, and I do not know if I will be able to keep myself from attacking him again. That is something I have never done before, and normally, he would have triumphed over me, such as he did when we were children. But I suppose knowing his error, he decided not to fight back because he knows he deserved it. Hopefully something survived the fire, even if it is just a trinket.