by P. A. Jones
Finally, when the journey came to an end, my head stopped hurting from all the emotions and thoughts about the wedding. It was all clichéd and I didn’t know how to handle my own damn life.
***
As usual, I checked my mailbox and it was full, as expected. There were quite a few letters. I grabbed them all and unlocked my door with my wife following me. We inhaled the blast of stale air as soon we entered the house. Eva sneezed hard.
“We need to get the bad air out.” I opened the windows to let air go out.
“I need to freshen up first.” Eva ran towards the bathroom. Her firm ass looked cute when she ran fast. She ran that short distance perfectly; she was a runner, after all.
I put the letters on the dining table and opened a few. As I guessed, one letter was from the boxing association. They had sent me a check for a few thousand dollars as a runner up. I couldn’t attend the final match with Peter as I was in Canada at the time. This will sting for a while. I wanted to fight that jerk and teach him a good lesson, but my love life was way important than my ego.
Obviously, they had declared Peter as the winner and gave me second position. The money wasn’t as much as I had hoped. As expected, my eyes were set on defeating Peter and gaining the prize money of fifteen thousand dollars; instead, I got four thousand dollars. This would be enough to cover some expenses, at least. Thanks to Mason, my four months of mortgage payments were taken care of already.
The second letter I opened was from the bank, a thank you letter for paying the mortgage. I already knew Mason had taken care of that. But a new payment date was mentioned on the letter. “Two more months and I have to pay them again,” I muttered. That was the exact time I had to get some work. Otherwise, the bank would foreclose on my property to get their loan amount back. No, that can’t be good. I’m married now. Something imaginary, but heavy, fell on my chest; it was the burden of my marriage. Eva was my responsibility, now. Damn, this is the same situation I got into with my old marriage.
When I was married to Samantha, this was the exact burden I had faced, though the situation was different. Her appetite for money and luxury was more than I had imagined. So I had to work hard and get more money to satisfy her needs. I did that for her, but then she slipped away from my hands like water. Sadness filled my heart. I didn’t miss her or anything, but my earlier marriage was a failure. I can’t let the same thing happen this time. I’ve got to get out of this. Two more months would be enough to earn some real cash. I smiled to myself. But still, those thoughts couldn’t lift the pressure on my chest. I never thought of Eva as a responsibility, but now being my wife, I felt the need to do what was necessary.
“You can’t even afford her shoes with your current savings.” Martha’s words fell in my ears like a hammer. Was she right about it? Am I capable of making it through?“Hey, honey? Who are you talking to?” Eva came out of the bathroom; her hair was still wet. She came closer and shook her head fast so water was shooting over me.
Many droplets of water splashed on my face. I instantly grabbed her and pulled her to me. She purposely fell down and kissed my lips. Her pink, soft lips tasted fresh and sweet after the bath. It just so happened that her bath towel fell down and her firm breasts collided with my body. I grabbed the curve of her lower back, feeling the touch of her bare skin, and pulled her closer to me.
She made some noises from the back of her throat. She tried to say something, but she couldn’t. I kissed her for a few more moments and then released her lips.
Her breath deepened. “Jeez , that was unexpected.” She giggled.
“You showering me in water was unexpected, too.” I kissed her cheek. “What do you say? Another round of sex?” I winked.
“Unfortunately, no, you can’t for four days.” She pushed me away.
“Damn.” I showed her my false anger.
She giggled. “Good for me. I’m getting a break after so many days in a row.” She wrapped the towel back around her. While picking up the towel, she stumbled on the bank letter. “What is this, Nathan?”
“Nothing important.” I tried to take the letter from her hand.
“It’s a mortgage letter. You have to pay it in less than two months. The last time I checked, you were in some financial trouble.” She touched on the subject, which I didn’t want to talk about.
“Yup, but don’t worry. I got this one.”
“Are you sure, baby?” She came forward and pushed her hand through my hair. She didn’t sound convinced.
“Yes, don’t worry. I’ll pay it on time.”
“You can talk to me if you feel like it.” She kissed my forehead.
“No worries, babe. I’m good.” I tried to put some false hope in her. I wasn’t sure how much good I was. I need to talk with Mason about this.
Chapter 4
Nathan
“I’m sorry, sir, but we don’t have any projects for you right now,” the receptionist replied. It was frustrating to get rejection after rejection since this morning.
“But you have put an ad in the newspaper for a web developer.”
“I know, but that position is already filled up by a bright entrepreneur, sitting there.” She pointed me towards the couch on her right side. A young man in his twenties was sitting there, playing with a color cube.
“But he isn’t even wearing a suit.” I banged my right hand on the desk in ferocity, and the sound was loud.
“Please, sir. Don’t make a scene or I’ll have to call security.” The receptionist frowned.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean it. But at least give me an interview.”
“I’m sorry, but I think you should leave now.”
“Okay, bitch,” I whispered and walked out of the office. This was the fifth place I had tried today, but nothing was working out as I expected.
When I came out the building, I spotted a bar. Drinking in the morning? I didn’t want to drink in the morning, but the pressure building inside me from the morning warranted one glass of J.D.
I walked in. “Jack Daniels, please,” I asked the sexy-looking waitress across the table.
She winked at me. “Hello, mister, how are you today?” She leaned down on the table in between us. Her bosoms were pressed against the wood surface and showing almost everything she should be hiding behind her dress. Her eyes loomed with lust.
She was definitely trying to flirt with me.“I’m fine. Thanks for asking.”
“You can have me if you want.” She replied in a seductive voice.
“What are you? In your forties? Or more than that?” She had tried to hide her age with heavy makeup, but she was way older than she looked. I could see a few wrinkles around her neck. She should have hidden them if she wanted to seduce a man.
“Mind your own business, mister. Soda or Coke?” She scowled at me.
I couldn’t control my laughter. She was seducing me first, and then she was telling me to mind my own business. “Sorry, sweetheart, but this man is already taken.” I flaunted my ring at her.
Her expressions changed rapidly; she must have lost interest in me, and she turned back to serve me the drink.
“Hello, Mr. Brown.” A familiar voice struck my ears. I turned around to face Mr. Lobo.
“Hello, Mr. Lobo. What are you doing here?”
“I should ask you the same question. I live nearby and I was actually going to call you in couple of days. I have something for you.”
A hope for new work ignited in my belly. Lobo worked for a software firm, which had given me many jobs last year. “Good, I’m actually looking for some work.”
“No, it's not something new. But before that, I heard about the Japanese client of yours. He did a lot of your publicity.”
“You mean bad publicity?” My eyes automatically looked down. I wasn’t so proud of what happened back then.
“Yes, I mean exactly. Do you remember the work you did for my company one year ago?”
“I did many jobs for you. Which one are you talking
about?”
“Hmm. That’s a good question.” He paused. His chin lowered and he gazed at me like he was judging me. “It’s the Texas unit ERP. I hope you remember that one.”
“Oh, yup I do remember that one. That was a tricky one.” A long work schedule appeared in my mind. It was a hell kind of job.
“Yes, and we want you to enhance it for us.”
“That’s good. I’m really looking for some work right now.” I grinned. It was more than a month since I had touched any codes.
“No, no. You are not understanding me. You are bound by a contract and you will have to do this for free.” He rushed his words like a bullet train.
I couldn’t understand a single thing he said. Work for free?“Hey, man, wait a minute. Did you just say free? And what were you talking about? What contract?”
“I think I must show it to you first.” He took a paper out of his bag and handed it to me.
I checked it; it was a sample contract form I fill out when I take up work from any company. “What about it?” I threw the paper on the table.
“This is the sample agreement,” he said calmly.
He was starting to irritate me. J.D. was already in my system, kicking my senses. In addition to that he, wasn’t giving me any job or money. “Can you just cut to the chase, dude?” I was speaking with my hands in the air now. It was a sign for him that I was excited enough to punch his face; at least I thought he would understand that sign.
“Okay, read section thirteen point three.”
I grabbed the document back and went to section thirteen.
● The assignee of the work should perform the enhancements when deemed and this clause will be valid for two years.
“What the fuck?” Did the sentence mean that I would have to work on their enhancement for free? “This can’t be right.” I bumped my fist on the table.
“Mr., please don’t make me call the bouncers,” the lady behind the bar warned in an instant.
“What is this, Lobo? Don’t tell me that you have this in my agreement as well.”
“Yes, we do. But I talked with the employer and they agreed to pay you some money.”
“Is it present in all of my agreements with this company or other companies I worked with? How much will it cost me if I break this one?”Avoid appeared out of nowhere in my stomach. It looked to be lots of trouble.
“There are five of them. But three have passed the two-year mark. And one project is discontinued. So far, this one is the problem for you.”
“What kind of money are we talking here?” I knew it wouldn’t be much, but I desperately needed some money.
“Five thousand per month. As per clients’ guess, it is four months work.”
“No, I can’t do this, man. You are robbing me now.” Hopelessness and anger were stirring in my stomach. I couldn’t decide how I should be acting on the news.
“Sorry, man, but if you say no, the company will go through the legal route.”
No, this can’t be happening to me.“You should have told me this earlier, dude.” Going through legal was not an option for me. I just barely got out of Samantha’s case.
“Sorry, man. That’s not my job. I always give a week to the developer to go through the whole contract. If you can’t figure it out, then it’s your fault. And you were the one to give it back to me in one day, because you needed money.”
I wanted to punch him hard, but I couldn’t do it. It wasn’t his fault. I was the one to be blamed. Another wrong decision. The bitter taste of my own mistake lingered on my tongue.
“Do I really have an option to say no?”
“I don’t think so unless you want to go the court’s way,” he replied calmly.
Shit, this is going to take lots of my time; here goes my dream of finding some work to support my marriage. My hopes were trembling in the hands of the company I worked for. There was no way I could concentrate on new interviews with the pending work.
“What if I complete the job in less than four months?”
“In any case, the company will pay you twenty thousand bucks.”
At least I have that option open. “Let me know your new requirements and I will see if I can fulfill those.”
“Very well, I’ll inform the team ASAP.” He forwarded his hand for a handshake.
“Can you also send me a copy of the agreement I signed? I need to read it again.”
“Sure, I’ll make sure it gets to you before you start your work.” He smiled and walked out of the bar.
Chapter 5
Frustration
Nathan
“Nathan, please don’t tell me that you are thinking of boxing again. It’s so brutal, love.” She gasped hard. “It’s not that I’m stopping you, but I don’t like it, either. Every time you box, I get older by a few days because I keep worrying about you,” Eva hissed when I told her that I was going to meet Mason at the club. Her emotional outburst was unexpected. I knew she didn’t like me boxing and she cleared that in our Canada stay.
“Don’t worry, sweetheart, nobody is going to let me play again after I bailed out of the final match without telling anyone.” I looked down. It was a shameful action from my side. I had never backed away from or run out of any challenge before this.
“Please understand me. I can’t see you hurt.” A lone tear fell out of her eye.
I couldn’t say anything; I walked away.
When I walked out of the house, the weather outside was cloudy. Dark clouds surrounded and blocked the sun’s rays. Everything around the street looked dull. People were hurrying inside their houses; the rain must be expected anytime. It wasn’t even spring, but New York was surrounded by the upcoming rain. Heck, does it have to rain today? Rain wouldn’t be so much of a disaster, but parking was far away from the club and I didn’t want to get wet.
There were two things I wanted to discuss with Mason: first, my financial situation and second, my wedding news. I’d not given him the marriage news yet. I wondered how he would react to it.
It wasn’t like I cared so much for his opinion about my marriage, but his opinion on my financial condition was very important to me. First I asked him to meet in some coffee shop, but he insisted we meet at the club. Why does he have to meet at the club? I actually felt ashamed about entering the club by myself. I was one match away from Peter, but I chose a different route. I hadn’t regretted that decision, but I felt sad for bailing on the match. If I had that prize money, I could have paid my debt to the bank.
An hour later, I was standing in front of the club without getting wet. The thunderstorm hadn’t started yet.
The moment I entered the club, my senses picked up something flying towards me. I ducked to avoid it; something passed at a very close distance. I caught a glimpse of it and it was a boxing glove. I quickly looked at its source it was none other than Mason.
“It’s good that you still got the moves,” he shouted from the other corner.
I threw my hands in the air with an expression of ‘What the Fuck?’
“Come on, dude, let’s hit the ring.” Mason patted me on my back.
“No way, man. I can’t play now. I think I’m done. Even Eva doesn’t like me playing anymore.”
“What the heck, man. Do you know what are you saying? Don’t talk bullshit in front of me. I didn’t train you for this shit talk. Come on, go and change and let’s have a one on one.” Sweat was dripping off his body. The scent of sweat surrounded me from everywhere, making me passionate and aroused me to the extreme. Passion for a fight. The hair on my arms pricked in excitement. My whole body tightened to respond. That was a call from a formidable opponent, and there was no way in the world I wanted to miss the opportunity. I clenched my teeth and squeezed my fist hard. No, Nathan, not today. Please, I don’t fight anymore. Eva’s face flashed in front of my eyes. I was a married man now and I couldn’t go into a fight like that.
I felt a twitch in my heart like a chain squeezing around it. I couldn’t do it.
“Sorry, Mason. I can’t do it. I’m here to discuss some different matters.” My muscles relaxed. Tension released from my body. But I couldn’t guess if I was happy or not with my own decision.
“Okay, give me a minute and I’ll meet you near the swimming pool.”
I nodded my head and walked out of the club to enter the swimming pool area. Our club was a multi-sport facility including swimming pool, tennis court, boxing club and a few other sports. I took a seat around the corner of the pool. It was a nice and quiet area so we could talk comfortably.
“So tell me, champ, what is it?” Mason came and grabbed a chair to sit next to me.
“Well I have news to tell you. I got married few days ago.”
“What?” He spit the water out of his mouth, onto my face. Mason was drinking water when I told him the news. Giving him a shock backfired on me.
“Fuck you, man. I just took a shower before coming here.” I gave him an aggravated look.
“Dude, say it again. Are you married? To whom?”
“Who could it be other than Eva, dude? There is a reason I bailed on Peter’s match and who else would I marry?”
“No, no, you can’t tell me that you just got a divorce and you got married again. What the heck got into you, man?”
“That it happened all of a sudden; actually, it was an accident. It all happened in Vegas.”
“The night of craziness. Now I understand what happened. Do you know you can easily walk away from the Vegas marriages? You just need to file an application. Tell me you did that,” Mason asked.
“I don’t know, dude. I’m confused myself. I think she liked the fact that we are married and I can’t hurt her. And I love her, so what would possibly go wrong in all this.”
“Don’t you think you’re rushing too fast? The last time you got married you ended up heartbroken and totally fucked up. I don’t want to see you going through that phase again.”
