Undermind: Nine Stories

by Edward M Wolfe

  And most shocking of all, it was Kim who brought up getting engaged. Now he just hoped he hadn’t agreed too soon. He thought maybe he should’ve kept the same approach going and acted hesitant about getting engaged. As long as the rabbit is beyond the reach of the greyhound, the dog keeps chasing it, doesn’t he? But what reason does he have to chase after it’s in his mouth?

  He hoped that the necessity of this game had run its course though, and that Kim was mature enough now to embrace love and commitment on the basis of their own rewards and not still dependent on the dopamine rush that came from the pursuit, or in Tom’s case, the catch and release.

  He thought that he’d done the right thing by agreeing to the engagement, but he was also determined to not get clingy and he would continue to let Kim take the initiative more often than not, just to be safe. And so now, two of his life’s major goals were well on their way to being accomplished: being a successful business owner, and marrying the girl he loved. There was also a chance that Tom might either come to work for him as a sales consultant, or maybe even buy into the business and become a partner. Tom was still considering it. Tom was interested in being his own boss and making a lot more money if what Lance was promising him was true. But he couldn’t see himself replacing his mechanic’s jumpsuit with a suit and tie and talking to people in offices. It just wasn’t him. He believed it when Lance told him he could do it – but he didn’t know if he would like doing it. So Lance was still working on presenting it to him in a way that Tom would find appealing. He knew that before long, he’d have Tom not only as his best-man at his wedding, but as his business partner as well.

  Could his life get any better than that? Actually, it could. He’d recently adopted a Dalmatian puppy from a rescue society after reading an article about lots of people buying Dalmatians after seeing one in a popular movie and then they’d no longer want the dog a few months later. A recent movie featuring a Dalmatian as a practical co-star had set the cycle in motion again and now there were thousands of Dalmatians across the country being neglected or living in shelters with a short lease on life if they weren’t adopted before the holding time ran out. Then there were the ones who’d been rescued by the Dalmatian Rescue Society where Dalmatian lovers were committed to taking care of them until they were adopted.

  Adopting them wasn’t easy either. The requirements, forms, interviews, financial statements and lifestyle questionnaires that Lance had gone through made him wonder if this was a dog he was trying to adopt, or a human. Eventually though, he was approved and was finally allowed to bring home the puppy he had named Domino. Having grown up as a ward of the state, Lance had never had a dog before. It was one of many things he’d never had the pleasure of experiencing as a child. Acquiring Domino was the fulfillment of a lifelong desire.

  Domino was turning out to be everything Lance had hoped for and more. The two of them bonded instantly and Lance felt like they shared a very special connection. He felt badly whenever he left Domino alone, but he made up for it (he hoped) by always coming home with a special treat. Often times though, Domino was so excited at Lance’s return, he paid little attention to whatever present Lance tried giving to him as he came through the door. As far as Domino was concerned, Lance was the best treat there was. Anything else was only good as a means of passing time while Lance was away.

  Lance knew that he couldn’t possibly be happier with his life. His last thought before Corrine plowed into him, was: what’s the best gift he could possibly buy for Domino after his dinner with Tom and Kim. Then there was a horrendous sound from the high-speed impact of steel and glass and Lance’s thought process was instantly terminated for a while as he plunged into darkness.

  ***

  Corrine was driving home after completing her shift at the restaurant where she worked as a waitress. She didn’t have any plans yet for the evening, but there were possibilities. She didn’t like to think about the fact that it was Friday night and nothing was already setup, but she told herself that this was a good thing. All of her options were open. This of course meant that no one worthwhile had asked her out yet this week.

  Being a waitress and being young and attractive meant that she was frequently asked out, but along with such frequency came the luxury of discretion, and Corrine had chosen none of her would-be suitors this week.

  She did however accept a few business cards. So far though, she wasn’t feeling desperate enough to call back any of the hopeful candidates who’d given her the cards along with very generous tips. She thought that it was stupid how men with lots of money always thought they could buy their way into a date. It was fine with her if they wanted to tip her 30 or 40 percent. She could definitely use the money. But accepting the grossly inflated tips didn’t obligate her to anything.

  So far, the one person who she wished would ask her out hadn’t, and it didn’t look like he was going to. At least not yet. Corrine was almost hoping something else would go wrong with her Mazda Miata so she would have a good excuse for seeing Tom again. Last weekend she had brought her car into the garage where Tom worked and told him that it was making a funny noise – especially when she was just starting off, and then it would go away after she gained some speed. Tom determined instantly that the problem was a fan belt and had her back on the road minus funny noises in no time. When she got back to her apartment she told Sarah about the extremely cute mechanic who had fixed her car and Sarah immediately decided that she couldn’t put off having her VW Beetle’s brakes looked at any longer.

  Corrine thought it was odd that Sarah had nothing to say about Tom or her car after she had returned from having her brakes checked. She wondered if Sarah had hooked up with Tom and didn’t want Corrine to know since she had seen him first. She wondered if that was who Sarah had a date with tonight. Why had she been so vague about who she was going dancing with?

  ***

  Devon spotted a really strong glow that was just what he was looking for. Mostly white, fading grey patches throughout, and light red streaks etched here and there. The glow was coming from a car on the highway that was just changing lanes into an off-ramp that fed into a street where not too far away there was a driver entering a state of anxiety mixed with anger and envy. These two people could be perfect, Devon thought, feeling lucky.

  He shifted his energy frequency completely into the physical plane as far as he could. He descended into the second car and settled into Corrine’s mind. Upon his entry, he saw and felt a barrage of images and emotions that came from her mind and into his. Among them were: A young blonde woman in a revealing top {envy}; a man wearing a cook’s uniform in a restaurant kitchen {anger}; a computer monitor showing an AOL login screen {anxiety}; a closet filled with dresses and outfits {sadness/hope}; a mechanic sliding out from under a car and smiling up at the viewer{lust/desire}, an imagined scene of the blonde and the mechanic kissing {jealousy} quickly followed by another made-up image of Corrine slapping the blonde whose name was Sarah {rage}.

  Devon went back to the thought of the computer screen to see how it fit in with what Corrine was experiencing. Ah, Sarah’s email. Corrine is wondering if the mechanic named Tom may have had email communication with Sarah about seeing each other tonight and this is causing the anger and anxiety. He gathered together images that related to the email and pushed them forward into her mind, coupled with a sense of urgency. She responded to this by thinking that if she hurried, she could possibly read Sarah’s email before the website automatically signed out her account due to inactivity. Sarah never signed out manually since she checked her email every time she walked past her laptop on the kitchen table.

  Devon shifted his awareness for a moment to the first car with the powerful glow of happiness and contentment and he got a sense of its location, direction, trajectory and timing. He could make this work. He started conjuring up images and emotions and pushed them at Corrine. Sarah and Tom smiling at each other. The computer screen with a warning message that the AOL account will be logged o
ut unless the user indicates they want to stay logged in. Sarah and Tom dancing and kissing. The AOL inbox with a red flag indicating that the user has mail. Sarah and Tom undressing in Sarah’s room. The logout warning. Then he gave a big push of urgency: GO! GO! GO!

  Corrine slammed the gas pedal to the floor and wished her car had more power as it sluggishly increased its speed. She needed to get home fast to see if she could read Sarah’s email. Or maybe, she thought, Sarah was even dumb enough to have left a chat window open with Tom.

  Corrine’s mind was so fully occupied now with the images she and Devon were creating that she didn’t see the red light in front of her which allowed highway traffic at the bottom of the freeway off-ramp to turn left in front of her. She never even hit her brakes before she slammed into the black Mustang that might as well have been invisible to her.

  The front of her Miata crumpled like an accordion. Corrine flew forward. The steering wheel met her halfway, breaking her ribs and pushing them straight through to her lungs and heart. She died instantly and was so intent on getting home before Sarah’s AOL account could get logged off, she just kept on going toward her house, picking up speed as she went since she was no longer dependent on the acceleration capability of her Miata, nor was she confined to a body that needed transporting. Her speed of travel was now limited only by her thoughts.

  ***

  “So, are you seeing anyone special?” Kim asked Tom just as he stuffed his mouth with three pieces of Shrimp Remoulade. He smiled at her with his mouth full, thinking that she timed that deliberately. He chewed and swiveled his head left and right one time indicating that he wasn’t seeing anyone special. “Oh, come on! There has to be someone,” Kim replied.

  Tom swallowed and said, “Oh there’s definitely someone. I’m going dancing with a girl named Sarah after we finish dinner with Lance. There just isn’t anyone special.” He reached for more shrimp.

  He and Kim were in a private dining room at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse enjoying an appetizer. Kim had arrived first and ordered the shrimp and a drink. Tom arrived shortly thereafter along with the waiter and he promptly sent the waiter back to get him a drink. He had showered and changed at work, then came straight to the restaurant but was still uncomfortably surprised to find that he had gotten there before Lance had.

  He hoped Lance would arrive quickly. Even though Lance was his best friend, he felt like he was now perfectly situated inside a recipe for disaster. Whenever he was alone with a pretty woman and alcohol was involved, it almost always ended the same way, whether he intended it to or not. Knowing that Lance was on his way meant that it wouldn’t happen tonight, but seeds might get planted in Kim’s mind. And so far, Tom had been very good about not having sex with Kim.

  Tom was proud of himself for this accomplishment and for making this sacrifice, and for doing so well for so long. But now here they were alone and drinking together. Where was Lance, anyway?

  “Lance should be here by now. I’m gonna find out what’s up with him.” Tom pulled out his cell phone and touched the screen a few times then placed the phone to his ear.

  Kim looked at her gold watch, frowned and said, “You’re right. I can’t believe he’s late to his own birthday party.” She watched Tom expectantly, waiting for a sign that Lance had answered his phone, but Tom just glanced around the restaurant with a blank expression, looking at framed paintings on the walls as he listened to Lance’s phone ring over and over. Kim noticed Tom’s full lips and she wondered what they’d feel like to kiss. Then she imagined biting Tom’s lower lip and running her fingers through his curly blonde hair, and then she consciously stopped herself. She told herself she was engaged now so it didn’t matter how sexy Tom was. Besides, she was going to be seeing a lot of Tom once she married Lance, so she might as well start learning now to view him as off-limits.

  ***

  The paramedic named Jorge instinctively touched his hand to his pocket when he heard a cell phone ring to see if he felt vibration or if it was someone else’s phone that was just barely audible over the sound of the wailing siren. He didn’t feel anything. He looked at the gravely wounded man lying in front of him strapped to the ambulance gurney and saw the rectangular shape in the man’s pant pocket. Jorge put his hand on the shape and felt it vibrate.

  Jorge and his partner Luis who was driving the ambulance had once talked about whether they should answer ringing cell phones belonging to the people they were rushing to the hospital. Luis was concerned about the feelings of the injured person’s loved ones who didn’t know what had happened to the person they were trying to call and who might not find out for hours or possibly even days. He would hate it if he kept calling his girlfriend and got no answer and didn’t know it was because she was injured.

  Jorge had much more practical concerns like taking care of the patient and not getting caught up in trying to explain to people what condition a person was in mere moments after critical care had begun. Luis countered that not all calls are life and death. There were plenty of times when you could give a good description of someone’s condition. What if the patient was only moderately injured, or just being taken in to make sure there wasn’t any unknown internal bleeding, or if they had a broken leg or something?

  Jorge, sticking with practicality and simplicity said, “Should we make a chart of injuries with a column that says Answer Cell Phone – Yes or No and like, put a checkbox for what category the person should be in?” That ended the discussion and they continued not answering patient’s phones whenever they rang.

  ***

  Tom heard Lance’s voicemail greeting begin so he touched the screen to end the call and put his phone down on the table. “Hmm,” he said and waived for the waiter to come over.

  “He didn’t answer?”

  “No.”

  “Maybe he finished work late and he’s taking a shower.”

  “Can I get another Long Island?” He turned to Kim, “You want another?”

  “Sure. I deserve it for being early!”

  “And another of whatever she’s having.”

  “Tom Collins,” she said.

  “Tom Halverson,” Tom corrected her.

  “No, the drink,” Kim replied, laughing.

  “I just ordered you one.”

  “I know,” she said and laughed even harder.

  “What’s so funny - my name or your drink?” Tom was confused.

  This struck Kim as even more hilarious than ever and she entered a laughing fit. Tom smiled. He didn’t know what she was laughing about but he was enjoying the moment anyway, even if it was at his expense. Kim was a joy to look at, and when she smiled she looked even more vibrant and beautiful. Somehow, Tom thought, Lance always landed the hottest women. The only problem was, he stayed with them for so damned long.

  Kim finally regained some composure that threatened to evaporate at the slightest provocation and said, “Tom Collins!” and burst out laughing again with tears now running through her eyeliner and streaking her cheekbones with inky black liquid.

  Tom shook his head and said, “Halverson.” Kim was now laughing so hard she fell off her chair and curled up on the floor hugging her sides. Tom was glad that they were in a private dining area. Otherwise, the entire restaurant would be looking their way. He still didn’t even know what was so funny. He got up and went around the table to help Kim off the floor.

  “Come on, funny lady. You can’t lie on the floor in a nice restaurant.” He took hold of her left arm and reached down with his right hand and slid it between her upper torso and the floor so he could help her up. As he did so, his hand brushed the side swell of her breast and he could’ve sworn he heard Kim make an “mmm” sound. He got her into a sitting position and quickly let go of her but remained close in case she started to topple again.

  “Oh God, you crack me up!” she said, taking slow, deep breaths and waiting to see if she was done laughing or if she was going to start back up again. “Help me up,” she said, raising her arm
s to Tom.

  Tom’s charm with women was automatic and something he’d always had. He didn’t understand it and he didn’t even think about it. It had just always been that way since he was a teenager. He knew what to say, how to say it, and when. When he really wanted a woman, he almost never failed to take her home. Whenever he was around Kim and Lance he was uncomfortable to a degree because he had to consciously not be himself and not accidently seduce Kim. Tom didn’t like having to constantly second-guess himself and he never did so when he wasn’t around Kim and Lance. Now, being that Lance still wasn’t there and he’d had enough alcohol to shut down any self-censoring efforts, he acted without even thinking.

  Tom bellowed in a high-pitched, nasally, New England accent, “Clam chowdah!” as he pulled up on Kim’s arms, bringing her to her feet, at which point she began laughing again and fell into him. He didn’t know why he’d said that, but on some level he knew that she would find it just funny enough to resume her laughing fit, and he wanted it to continue.

  She laughed into his neck with her mouth open, and Tom was acutely aware of the sensation of her lips and tongue each time they touched his skin, and the soft but firm pressure her breasts were exerting on his abdomen, jiggling and bouncing as she laughed. He almost decided that he would have sex with her despite his promises, but as soon as the thought occurred to him, he stopped thinking and tried to form a wall between his mind and his libido. He had promised himself and Lance that he’d never do that again. Twelve years ago he had outright stolen Lance’s first girlfriend from him and marveled at the ease with which one person could emotionally destroy another.

  He had no doubt that he had caused many men that same level of pain over the years and it didn’t really bother him, but he never forgot what he’d done to Lance and how badly he’d hurt him. He thought Lance was stupid for feeling any emotion at all about a girl, but no matter how dumb Lance was when it came to women, the simple facts were that the pain was real, he had caused it, and his friend had felt it.