Going Home, Part 1 (662 hits)
Category: NoneRating: 1.89 on 10 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by girlintheworld (View user info) at 2005-06-03 00:20:02 EDT
Charlie stretched his legs out so that he took up his seat and the seat next to him. He was finally going back. Ready to be what she wanted him to be. He had done a lot of thinking while he was gone.
He couldn't wait to see them again. He'd written them a letter (didn't want them to be too surprised). He'd made some money, gotten his shit together. She hadn't married again, as far as he knew, and she was still living in the same place—the yellow house on Brickner Street. The bay window. The broken door. He wondered if anyone had fixed it. Probably. Theresa had asked him to do it, but he never found the time.
Theresa. He didn't realize until that point how much he missed her. Her soft, curly brown hair. The way she smelled in the morning, her big green eyes looking up into his; her pale arms wrapping tightly around his frame each day before he left for work. Her lips, rose pink and playful...
And his boy. How old was he now?
He wanted to believe that there was a real reason he left them, but he couldn't even make up a good excuse. He was wiser now. He was ready.
He wasn't so naïve as to think that they'd receive him with open arms, exactly. He knew his son would be pissed—rightly so. Theresa, though, she might be more understanding.
So maybe it wasn't right that he had run out on her when she told him she was pregnant. And he probably should've gone straight back to her when he saw the picture of her with the baby in her arms. Looked just like him. He was just too fucked up then; knew he couldn't provide, knew he had to make something of himself.
He'd left her a note in the early morning, said his dad was sick and he'd be back in a couple days. Got in his car, drove until he was almost out of gas. Called her from a gas station, said his dad was worse than he had known, and he'd call when he was on his way back.
He hadn't been anywhere near his parents' house, and she was still waiting for that call...
But now, he could do anything. He could buy them anything. His methods weren't exactly the greatest, but who was really honest these days? There was always more where that came from, in his opinion. And it took skill to do what he did. Got a feel for people in an instant, and took it from there. "Fuckers don't even know," he smiled as he felt the knife in his pocket. Of course, he wouldn't tell them. He'd be honest about everything else, but this would be his little secret.
"We're gonna take a break. Be back on the road in 5 minutes." The bus driver's voice dipped into Charlie's thoughts. He sat back up and looked out the window. Nothing but dead, brownish-green fields met his view, but the sky was a powdery blue and it calmed him.
"Hey, is anyone sitting here?" Charlie was startled by a woman's voice. Looked up at her. Gorgeous. Deep red hair, pretty eyes. Slender. Wore a yellow sundress that fit every curve of her body. Perfect. He'd wanted to bring home a gift for his wife and child, and now he had an opportunity. But he was stuck for a minute, couldn't think of what to say.
"Uh, no. Here, let me move this stuff." Smile. Showtime.
"Thanks."
"What's your name?"
"Lindsey. Yours?"
"Charlie Poloma. How old are you?"
"Twenty." She looked 16, but it didn't matter. She could've said she was 23 and he would've believed her.
"So, you comin' home from school or something?"
The bus started moving again, and it seemed to him that she was formulating answers.
"Yeah, finally." She smiled at him and it made him visibly uncomfortable. "Where ya going?"
"Me? I'm going to see my family." He said it quietly, as if this information was the deciding factor between going to heaven or hell. He was going to have to play this coolly; he could tell she was innocent enough. He could just take from her what he needed. She wouldn't realize until the next morning, poor kid. Oh well.
"Oh." She leaned in toward him so as to invite more conversation (how lucky for him, unfortunately for her). "I hate these bus rides; they take too damn long."
"I've been on this bus for about 7 hours now. It's not so bad. Gives me some time to think."
She looked at him with a gaze he couldn't read. "Thinking takes too much effort, really. You're either gonna do something, or you're not." She said it so defiantly it made him laugh.
"Is that right?"
She didn't answer, and turned her head away. He let the silence settle between them, and watched the sky crawl from its powdery blue to a blush pink. Rose pink. He smirked, thinking of his wife once again.
"What?" she said. "What's funny?"
"Nothing," he replied. "Just admiring the sky."
"It is pretty," she agreed. "Reminds me of home."
"You happy to be going back there?"
"'To be happy at home is the ultimate result of all ambition'."
"And what is your ambition?" he asked, locking his eyes with hers.
"I don't know. I am only 20. Got my whole life to figure it out."
The way she said things, as if that was the only way things were, made him think again about his past. If only he could have been that sure at her age, his life would be totally different now. It made him feel grateful that ideologies such as hers existed, but a little resentful as well. If only...
"You really do think too much," she commented, smiling again.
"What? Yeah, sorry. You're pretty sure of yourself. I'm almost jealous," he admitted.
She inched closer and whispered in his ear, "I'd be jealous too."
He reached out and held her hand, and she didn't pull away. He didn't invite this, but he sure as hell wasn't gonna pass it up. Would probably make his job a lot easier. It was her fault she was a stupid kid. Stupid rich kid, about to get her heart broken, about to make his family a lot happier. So sad.
The bus stopped suddenly, and its passengers lurched forward into the seats ahead of them.
"You ok?" Charlie asked, acting concerned.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Lindsey answered. "I wonder what happened. I hope everything's ok."
After a few minutes, the bus driver got on his microphone and announced that the bus broke down and wouldn't be fixed for another 3 hours or so. There was a hotel up the road that people could stay in for a discounted rate. Charlie took this as a good sign. Things were looking up, and although he'd be later than he wanted, he would still be richer and happier by tomorrow morning.
"I'll help you get settled there, if you'd like," he offered, smiling kindly.
"Oh, that'd be wonderful. I'll call my house once we get there, so no one will worry," she said, gathering her luggage. "Didn't you bring anything?"
"No, I'm a light traveler," he grinned, and picked up her suitcase.
User Reviews
Submitted by JonnyX (user info) at 2005-06-06 18:32:02 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by indigogecko (user info) at 2005-06-04 12:06:37 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Very well written, good momentum, and I can see where it's going... won't spoil it for those who haven't read the second part though.
However.. see my comment on part 2.
Submitted by girlintheworld (user info) at 2005-06-03 22:11:41 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
About the same time you pen "Eat Me".
Submitted by Shlongy (user info) at 2005-06-03 22:02:51 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
When are you penning "Going Down"?
Submitted by knucklesnelson (user info) at 2005-06-03 21:40:04 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
kewl now i shall read the second
Submitted by Brdn_Nkd (user info) at 2005-06-03 09:30:22 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
nicely done
Submitted by Xcuses (user info) at 2005-06-03 09:20:48 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I see Romance Novel writer in your future...
Submitted by sparkle_pink (user info) at 2005-06-03 00:46:22 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I'm looking forward to the rest.
Submitted by Saxon (user info) at 2005-06-03 00:38:00 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Your getting better with every post. This was good.
Submitted by awj002 (user info) at 2005-06-03 00:31:59 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
a pretty good story so far, but what really makes this the roxor is a few moments of especially descriptive prose. like of the scenery, and his wife, and all that.