A Pact For Life

by Elliot, Graham

  Three years later...

  It was an early fall day in Denver. The kind where summer can still be felt during the day, but the nights let you know winter is on the way.

  Back to her original shape thanks to many miles ran, Diana sat under a tree at Cheesman Park with a laptop open. In a technique she developed after Sophie was born, one eye was focused on the screen while the other was on her daughter.

  “Mommy, look!” Sophie beckoned as she held up a picture of a tree. As a three year old, she had mastered the subtle art of the crayon.

  Diana looked up briefly and replied, “That's great, honey.”

  “You didn't look!” Sophie said as she ran up and shoved the picture in Diana's face.

  “Alright, alright, you got me.” Diana admitted and took the picture from Sophie. In the typical tone a parent uses toward their young child's creations, Diana exclaimed, “This is wonderful!”

  “It's for daddy!”

  “Well, I'm sure he's gonna love it. Speaking of that...” Diana looked down at her watch. “We need to go home so you can get nice and pretty for his show.”

  “I wanna drive!” The bossy little redhead demanded.

  “Well too bad. That isn't happening.” The bossy older redhead replied.

  Diana saved her work and packed up their stuff. With the little girl in one arm and a rolling suitcase in the other, she headed for the car. This was her life now. The artful juggling of work and parenting. So far, she was doing a pretty good job at it.

  It would've been a lie to say everything was perfect and there weren't any problems in her life. Parenthood proved to be the toughest job Diana ever had, and despite the occasional frustration, anger, hopelessness, and fear, she found relief through her family.

  She buckled Sophie into her car seat in the back of her black Mercedes SUV, turned the key, and checked herself one last time in the rear-view mirror before leaving.

  It was a happy reflection.

  In what had become a yearly fall tradition, Cale put on a showcase of the pieces he deemed his best over the previous twelve months. Unlike most modern art shows, it had very little flash. There were no lasers, spotlights, or turn-tables. It would not be confused with a fashion show, rave, or concert. The pieces were the main attraction.

  “Daddy!” Sophie Dawkins shouted as she and Diana walked into the brightly lit gallery.

  “There's my sweet honey child,” Cale said as his daughter raced toward him.

  Cale always called Sophie his sweet honey child. It was endearing and heartfelt in a way only a father could be toward his daughter. His love for her knew no boundaries. That's why it was so fitting that he pronounced every single letter.

  Halfway to her Dad, Sophie stopped dead in her tracks as the favorite person of every girl ages three through infinity came into view.

  “Grandpa!”

  “Is this my stunning little granddaughter coming my way? Look how beautiful you are in your dress!” Donald exclaimed and reached down to pick her up. He mouthed to Diana, “Good job.”

  “Thanks,” She silently replied and turned to Cale. “Wow, what a turnout. Did you see the line of people waiting outside?”

  Cale blushed, “Yeah, the gallery owners said they are expecting five hundred more people than last year.”

  “Are you happy about it?”

  “Actually, to be honest with you, I'm pretty indifferent. This show stuff doesn't have the same appeal it did when I was younger. It was all a big party back then. But I'm glad you guys showed up.”

  Diana smiled and came in close for a hug. While embraced, they exchanged a kiss. Short and sweet.

  Still in each other's arms, Cale asked, “Are you free any time this week? My dad wants to take Sophie to the park tomorrow, and I was thinking we could sneak a date in if you're not busy.”

  “Yeah, I would like that. What about tonight? Do you wanna spend the night?”

  Cale went in for another kiss that was supposed to symbolize a yes answer, but halfway there, the lights dimmed and the owner of the gallery stepped up to a podium to address the crowd.

  “Ladies and Gentleman, Cale Dawkins.”

  Not wanting to leave Diana hanging, Cale gave her a quick kiss so there wouldn't be any doubt that he'd be spending the night.

  In his standard gray shirt and jeans, Cale weaved his way through men in suits and women in cocktail dresses toward the podium. At the front of the stage, he took a moment to survey the crowd. Brian was covertly high and staring at a sculpture of a laughing older man with bushy hair, raccoon-like eyes, and a smoker's weathered face. Nick was putting his phone away after spending most of the show reading Wikipedia. His father, esteemed looking as ever, held his daughter. Sophie was waving at Cale with the type of gusto a little girl can only show her dad. Diana, in a slim black dress, was next to them. She held a glass of red wine that mixed well with the look of pride.

  He cleared his throat and opened his speech with, “First off, I would like to thank everyone for coming out, especially my little girl. This is her first show so say hi if you see her around. Be quick though, she has her mom's temper.”

  There was a wave of laughter from the crowd as Sophie scrunched up her face in jest. When the crowd grew silent, Cale continued.

  “The inspiration behind these pieces is hope. A promise that things will turn out alright in the end if you just keep yourself open to the world. Sure, there are moments where you may be frustrated beyond belief or in so much pain that simply getting out of bed is too much to ask, but no matter how unbearable things might seem, the important thing is to just keep trying. Things might not work out exactly as planned, but chances are that as long as you at least try, something good is bound to result.”

  Cale stepped away from the podium to a barrage of cheers, and headed for Diana and Sophie. As he made his way past the crowd to his family, one thought flashed in his mind.

  1. This is my life.53

  FOOTNOTES

  1 In everyone's life, there are moments of periods, moments of question marks, and moments of exclamation points. No matter how boring the periods, or doubtful the question marks, or frantic the exclamation points, what is important is making it to the end of the story. Things might not work out exactly as planned, but chances are that as long as you at least see it through, something good is bound to result.

  2 Occupational Circumstance: This phrase was chosen for its brevity, but honestly, it sucks. To put it in simpler but longer terms, Jenny's job had the unwritten responsibility of being Diana's best friend.

  3 In Cale's case, fight or flight wasn't exactly the proper term. It was more sex or skedaddle.

  4 Think of how powerful sex is if such brief act can have such lifelong consequences. Babies aside, there are STD's, falling in love, jealousy, and hundreds of other things that can affect a person forever. Guns and sex, those are the only things that can change a person's life that much in such a short amount of time. It's kind of ironic that both involve a concentrated blast into a target.

  5 And not just in coordination for standing upright. Being naked, speaking through nondescript sounds, and decreased brain activity all made a good case for comparison. Oh, and don't forget a vulnerability to his surroundings and its predators.

  6 Well she opined as best as a slightly buzzed, older sorority girl could. It was like seeing a child dress up in adult clothes.

  7 As advances in travel and communication have progressed, kisses like that have slowly died out. They used to take place in airports and train stations all the time. There you would have two people saying goodbye and knowing they likely wouldn't see each other again for many month, years, or ever again. Now with cheap flights and webcams, the farewell kiss has become a romantic relic.

  8 Like some college kids, Brian discovered weed in college. And like some weed smokers, Brian became a pothead shortly after starting. And like some potheads, Brian became a college dropout. But unlike them all, Brian was a boy genius who understood how the world w
orked. As both a drug dealer and user, he knew that above all else, moderation was the key to being safe.

  9 One of the guiding principles of Diana's life was to always be early for every meeting, appointment, dinner, get together, etc. She never wanted anyone to wait for her.

  10 Without shared experiences, mutual friends, and daily routines, most relationships start off with oral biographies. Sure, there are the few people who are able to bypass this immediately and simply enjoy the moment, but most beginnings consist of where you grew up, your occupation, and interests. Of course these things are important and in no way bad, but there should be a way to let it come out naturally. It’s like starting a book saying this is character X and he is this age, he does this for a living, and so forth. Before you know it, you are 100 pages in without any actual plot. This is otherwise known as the way of epic fantasy. Actually, when you think about it, maybe epic fantasy is what is desired in most relationships?

  11 A hypothesis: Sex may be powerful, but it's also fleeting. The repercussions may last a lifetime, but the act itself comes and goes, no pun intended. Saying, 'I love you' has a hidden alternate meaning and it's this, 'I want to die with you'. More so than sex, dating, and even marriage, to say, 'I love you' and truly mean it is as good as forever.

  12 Diana felt weird calling Cale her boyfriend. It wasn't just the 'boyfriend' that made her feel this way, but the 'my' in front of it. When it comes down to possessives, new ones usually aren't added as often as you might think. 'My house', 'my problems', 'my drink', etc. Common and familiar things like that are not a problem, but when you go years and years without having a boyfriend, it can feel just as weird as saying, 'my third boob'.

  13 Of course this can have varying degrees of effect. It's one thing for an eleven year old to have a hissy fit at a baseball game, but it's monumentally different to be a young boy and watch your mother slowly die in front of your eyes which happened to a certain brown haired, gray shirt wearing man.

  14 Pronounced Da-Vorce-Say

  15 An atomic bomb

  16 Cale's friend and ex-girlfriend.

  17 Cale's friend and ex-girlfriend.

  18 You can probably guess their relation to Cale.

  19 I'll spend my entire life searching for the words to properly describe your beauty.

  20 Look at Kurt Cobain, Michael Jackson, John Lennon, Ernest Hemmingway, Van Gogh... Pretty much any artist with natural talent.

  21 Alcohol, weed, sleeping pills, sex.

  22 If it needs two exclamation points, it's over-excited.

  23 Christmas themed bar crawl.

  24 Every heartbroken person should use this line on their heartbreaker once they finally move on.

  25 DUI's being the main New Year’s cash cow.

  26 It also had something to do with being ordered to paint it by Pope Julius II. The man just wanted to sculpt, but the Pope demanded he paint.

  27 At least for the guy that is.

  28 This doesn't include Diana's maternity leave. If it did, the odds get much better, but getting pregnant every year wasn't something she intended to do. This pregnancy was a one and done deal.

  29 Halloweens, birthday parties, and the unwavering love and admiration that can only come from a young child.

  30 Still pronounced Divorce-Say

  31 Many people are familiar with i.e., but not many know what it actually means. It’s Latin and stands for 'id est', which roughly means ‘in other words’.

  32 When it comes to skin tone, clear is most definitely a color. Look at Larry Bird, every member of British Royalty, and that rascally son of a bitch, the Pope.

  33 There are three levels to snowfall: Flurrying – Tiny flakes that don’t even stick on the ground. Snowing – Flakes about the size of a dime that slowly fall and take awhile to accumulate, but will eventually stick. Dumping – Globs of snow no smaller than a quarter, visibility is limited to less than ten feet, and God help you if you are driving.

  34 This is a hug where the hugger lifts the huggee off the ground.

  35 A Snowcat grooms mountains for skiing. Picture the body of a Jeep with the tread of a tank.

  36 “Have you called your doctor yet about that procedure?” “You need to end things with that laundromat.”

  37 God's in his heaven, all's right with the world

  38 For the rest of his life, he would remember every detail of that moment.

  39 This actually works. Take a towel or some other padded object, wrap it around the bottom of a wine bottle and bang it against a hard, flat surface. Eventually the pressure will push the cork out enough that you can grab it and pull it out.

  40 This is like the doomsday clock that was made famous during the Cold War and the advent of nuclear weapons. The closer it gets to midnight, the closer Cale comes to death.

  41 The reason for the blank description is because Diana and Andrew didn't actually know the charity behind the ball. It didn't matter to them.

  42 That's why it's never a good idea to date someone with the same first name as a close relative.

  43 Stomach pump

  44 Charles Bukowski was an author and poet who wrote from the 1960's till the 1990's. You could think of him as a poet for the bar. Someone who didn't write about the beauty of the world, but rather real life. Despite writing about tumultuous relationships, drunk nights, jiggly asses, dead-end jobs, and living in squalor, his words are some of the most beautiful to ever be placed on paper.

  45 Once pushed, both couldn't be undone, would likely result in catastrophic damage, and eventually require intense diplomacy to rectify.

  46 According to some of Denver's more bar-friendly historians, the story of how marriage was first developed is an interesting one. Back in the BC days, women were getting it on with everyone who had a penis. Relationships meant nothing. It was a free for all. The problem with this was no one knew whose child was whose. So one of the powerful men, most likely a white guy, was bragging to his friends about how he knocked up a beautiful woman, only when she gave birth, a black baby came out. So in order to save others from this embarrassment, he created marriage. Yep, the holy, sacred tradition we have all got started due to the first cuckold.

  47 An 18-29 year old who drives a BMV or Mercedes plastered with every jam band sticker known to man.

  48 When it comes to ego boosts for the rich, expensive cars and younger women are the two main outlets, but don't discount the power of seeing This piece has been graciously donate by ______ in museums and galleries.

  49 A small note about Anti-Depressants: They don't make you happy, but rather just prevent you from being sad. It's like a trigger safety for the mind. Any bad thoughts come and go in an instant. There's no lingering thoughts of, “You suck, you suck, you suck.” Instead, it's just, “You suck, now what's next?”

  50 Concert-like

  51 He was still trying to change his life by changing his drink.

  52 The pregnant one.

  53 The end

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  To Matt Halbmeier, Michael Kaser, and everyone else at Second Home and Milwaukee Street Tavern who graciously gave me advice and more importantly, drinks, while I wrote this book.

  To Ryann Horn and the staff at Starbucks on 2nd and Fillmore for always keeping the coffee coming as I tried to sort through the previous night's drunken scribbles.

  To Joey Puschak who provided the edits that made this book readable.

  To JR Moehringer. Without your letter two years ago, I never would've written this.

  To Haney, the man who drew a gray shirt way better than I ever could.

  To Andrea Steffes-Tuttle, Kaneen Geiger, Annie DePuydt, and Amanda Thall for telling me what parts of this book sucked.

  To Tokyo Joes, the greatest restaurant in the world.

  To Trent Killian and Brandon Thall for providing innumerable quotes that I've shamelessly stolen.

  To the following bands and musicians: The Decemberists, Dismemberment Plan, The Gaslight Anthem, The Good Life/Cur
sive, The Killers, Mice Parade, Minus The Bear, Modest Mouse, My Morning Jacket, Neko Case, Neutral Milk Hotel, Radiohead, Thrice, We Are Augustines, and Wolf Parade.

  Thank You

  Originally from a small town in Central Florida, Graham Elliot managed to escape a few years ago and now resides in Denver, CO. You can usually find him around Denver’s Cherry Creek neighborhood where he likes to scare the divorcees (pronounced Divorce-say) and their little dogs too! He's been known to talk ad-naueseum about Kurt Vonnegut and is eternally searching for the perfect walking album. You can email Graham at graham.elliot@grayshirtpress.com