Chasing the Monsters: 55

He woke, and the light in the room had dimmed a great deal since he'd decided to move the second straight-back chair to his feet as an ottoman and continue to read.  His neck felt cramped, from his head hanging back in slumber.  His mouth was dry.  He was tempted to swig from the bottle of beer that was still open on the table, but refrained.  "Gotta keep a clear head," he said aloud to no one.  

He thumbed back into the book, and opened to where he'd bent the page corner.  He didn't remember doing it.  "Must have been right before I nodded off," he said, and tried to stretch his back a bit, but the pain was too much.  Hours must have gone by; the room was now dimly lit by a crack of daylight under the curtains, which he had drawn earlier.

Today, Peter's planning an outing for us.  I believe he's taking me into the city, to some kind of jewelry store that buys and sells expensive pieces.  I don't think he's buying; he tends to be thrifty, for lack of a better word.  Maybe he's selling off something.  Now that his ex wife has been gone for more than 5 years, he may be deciding to sell off some of her things.

Yesterday, he was furious that he couldn't locate a few of her pieces.  He said he remembers that she had at least one set of diamond earrings inherited from her mother.  They are supposedly worth a great deal, and he wants them.  He's pretty much, torn apart everything in the house to locate them, and he's had no luck.  Regardless of that, I calmed him, the way he usually likes me to, which required my letting him have his way with me, in that way that disgusts me.  I deal with it; the awards promise to be too good.  He doesn't ever really hurt me, he just comes close.  He says it's all right, it's just fantasy and play, but for me, sometimes it comes dangerously close, like a few weeks back.  But I'm not going to rehash that again, I'm moving on from it.  I have my own plan if he tries that again.

He stopped, looking up from the journal.  "What the Hell is she talking about?"  He thought he knew, but didn't want to.  It was the kind of information that cops, and likely all people, struggle to take from their minds when dealing with a family member.  He swallowed, and looked at the clock.  It was nearing dinner.  He looked through the cartons around him, now mostly empty, and nothing was left.  One box of pizza still had a slice, and he examined it.  Seeing nothing crawling, he ate it.  After this, he realized how hungry he was, and decided to try and go out.  How many days had he been in this room?  He had lost count.  Going out would be okay, he could grab a few supplies and come back in and work more.

Somewhere, there had to be a clue.  Something.  Anything.  Some mention of someone on the force.  He said this to himself, but as of this third volume, he hadn't seen mention of anyone but Connie, Peter, Todd and Bitsy.  It was infuriating at best, and he had more volumes to read through than he wanted to admit.  He'd go out, in a few minutes.  

Just a few more minutes.

***

"Hey, Tina, come in," Todd said, opening the door.  Jack was in the family room, where Todd had left him when answering the door.  A video game console was on the floor, and a car racing game was paused on the screen.  

"Did I interrupt?"

"Well, nothing we can't finish later,"  Todd said.

"Yeah, I'm like KILLING Dad at this," Jack added.  "He's a wuss in car games."

"Thems fighting words, Jack," Todd said, bringing Tina into the family room, and turning the TV off.  

Jack said, "Hey, Aunt Tina."

"Hi, Jack, I came to say goodbye."

"Goodbye?  You just got here, sort of."

"Yes, well, I need to go and take care of something.  I'll be back someday, though hopefully not that long from now and not alone."

"Is this about Uncle Cord or anything?"

She smiled, "Why, yes, Jack, it is."

"Well, good luck.  He has some girl."

Tina's smiled abruptly disappeared.  "Gee, thanks."

Todd laughed lightly.  "Don't be mad, Sis.  Just telling you the truth."

Jack added, "Yeah, he showed me her picture.  When we stayed there, when Mom and Dad went to Chicago."

"Oh he did, did he?"  She folded her arms over her chest.

"Well, yeah, I mean, she's like his friend or something.  That's how he put it."

"Ugh!"  she said, as Blair came into the room with Jewel in her arms, Ray holding her hand, and Sam, trailing. 

When the latter saw her, he said, "Aunt Tina!" and raced to her to give her a hug.  Ray did the same.  Jewel clapped.

Tina hugged the boys and said, "Hello, Jewel, my beautiful niece!"

The toddler said, "Hi!" and waved.

"Oh, she's getting smarter by the day," Tina said.

"She's getting there, she's talking more," Blair said.

At this point, Sam had gone next to his father on the couch, and Ray was hanging off Tina's leg, and she looked down, and then back to Blair with water in her eyes.  "I've come today to say good-bye for a while."

"Oh, really?"  Blair said.

"Yes, I'm headed out West, if you catch my drift."

Blair knew what Tina was talking about.  "I do, I think." 

"I'll miss all of you.  I won't be able to nanny for a while."

"We understand."

Sam said, "Yeah, Aunt Tina, we understand.  Good luck!"

"Thanks, Sam."

"Going away?"  Ray said.

She crouched down to his level.  "Yes, Ray, I have to go away for a little while."

"No."

"Yes, I do.  But I promise to be back."

"Pwomise?"

"Yes, I do."

"I don't want you to go away.  You wuv me."

"Yes, I do.  And when someone loves you, it doesn't matter if they go away or not, that love doesn't change."

"Okay," he said, sadly.

"Okay," she said, hugging him over her shoulder.  She patted his back and looked up to Blair who was still standing with Jewel in her arms.

Tina stood up, and approached her sister-in-law and leaned over and kissed the baby on her cheek.  In turn, she smiled and waved.  "Bye Bye," she said.

"Bye, sweet baby," Tina said, and then hugged both Jewel and Blair as much as she could.  "Take care, Blair."

"I will, you do the same."

"I will,"  she went to the door and looked back.  "Take care, My Brother."

"I will," he said back to her.

She stopped and said, "And Todd?"

"Yeah?" he said, looking back to her from the game that was reappearing on the screen due to Jack's impatience.

"I love you," and she went out the door.

He watched her go, and Blair watched his expression.  She turned to him and said, "You've never heard her say that before, have you?"

"No."

"Well, she does."

"I guess she does."  Blair nodded, and Todd said, "We're not playing anymore, Jack, it leaves your brothers out.  Let's finish later, and go outside and do something."

"Yeah!  Outside!"  Ray said, jumping up and down and few times and then doing a little, crooked cartwheel on the floor.

"None of that in the house,"  Blair said.

"Okay, Mom," Ray said, sadly.

"Yeah, Buddy, let's do that outside," Todd put out his hand.  Blair watched as all four of her boys went out the sliders into the yard.

***

"It's lovely here," she said, putting down the blanket.  Unlike the old days, he had to help her get down on the ground since she was getting more and more frail while the disease made its way through her.

He got down on the blanket beside her.  "You brought it, right?"

"Yes, Jack, I brought it.  Merlot and brie.  We've been doing this for years, do you think I'd forget?"

They did the "something strange" then.  Since the first picnic they had, when he had accidentally spilled merlot onto the brie and they ate it anyway and decided it was better merlot soaked, they'd repeated it.  They'd smear the reddish brie onto baguets and drink the rest of the merlot.

She said, "don't pour me so much, you know I can't have a lot."

He poured the wine into her glass, and some spilled onto her hand and over her fingers . . .

He woke again, and this time, the room was completely dark.  The volume he was reading had fallen to the floor, and his neck hurt worse.  "If you're going to sleep, why don't you move to the bed?" he asked himself, standing up and stretching.  Everything ached.  He wasn't sure how long he had been in the same position in the same place.  In fact, he couldn't remember the last time he'd opened the motel door.

He reached down the get the volume that slipped from his grip, and there was a knock at the door.  At first, he thought he would ignore it since no one worth anything knew where he was, and he was in no mood for the management.  But after considering it a minute, he wondered if it had to do with his length of stay, and the fact that he'd lost track of time what could be days ago.  

How long have I actually been here?  Pam would . . . well, she would tell me to get a shower, for God's sake. . .

He sniffed his left armpit as he heard the door knock again, and made a face at the sourness.  He walked to the door, and opened it, expecting the motel manager, with all of his large, round, belly, and unkempt facial hair.

Instead, he was looking into the crystalline blue eyes of Timothy Broderick.

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