by Steven Swaks
Todd realized his goof. Stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Why was he like that? He could solve a chemistry equation with his eyes closed, but girls... they were harder to understand than DNA strands. He had to recover. Think of something, biochem, no, school… yeah, school was a great topic, little nerdy, but he had nothing else in store.
“Are you going to school in the area?” He asked her, after taking a deep breath.
“I’m a senior at Stone Falls High.”
“That’s great.” His heart rate slowed down. He could handle small talk about school. “Do you know where you’re going to go next year?”
“I’ve applied to several colleges, but I don’t really want to go too far. I might just go to Stone Falls Community to get rid of my GEs. I’m not looking forward to leave the area. I love this town.”
“I’m Todd, by the way,” he said extending his hand.
“I’m Jessica. It’s nice meeting you.” She could not help but look straight at him. There was something peculiar about him. She couldn’t say why. He looked strong with the soul of a child. He seemed robust and shy. He was an enigma, but she liked what she saw.
She glanced at his manuals. “Do you come here often to study?”
“Once in a while.”
“Can’t you study at home?” She immediately realized that she had stepped into personal boundaries. She was being nosy. “I’m sorry, that’s none of my business.”
“No, that’s fine. My mom’s apartment is small, and my brothers are noisy. A diner is not a much better place to study, but for some reason I manage to block out the noise here.”
“And the coffee is great.”
“And the coffee is great!” He smiled at her. She was as sweet as she was beautiful. He even liked the way her dress flowed down to her thin ankles. She knew how to dress without showing too much skin. She respected herself, and he liked that.
She couldn’t get her eyes away from his. What was she doing? She was staring at him. She couldn’t stare at a boy. It was not appropriate, not polite, not like her.
“Hum, what can I do for you, Jessica?” Amanda asked from the other side of the counter.
“Uh, yeah, uh, I need a dozen pies…”
Amanda frowned. “A dozen pies?”
“What? No, no, no, a donut, uh, a dozen donuts, for school.”
“Shall I pick them for you?”
“Uh, yes, of course, please.” She looked back at Todd.
“I have to study, but it was very nice talking to you, Jessica.”
“Me too.”
“Do you have to study?” he said to tease her.
She rolled her eyes and chuckled. “No, I meant, the pleasure was all mine.”
He smiled at her one last time and walked back to his chair, not without a last look.
Flickers
“How was your day off?” Alex asked Ben from the confines of his deep recliner.
The television was glowing in the dark recreation room. The office staff had left the station two hours ago. They had gone home to their families, heedless of the gloom and silence left behind them in the station.
“Crummy.”
“Have you been thinking about the TC?”
“Yep. You?” Ben answered without looking at his partner.
“I have.”
“Funny, I was thinking that we would spend the whole shift without talking about it,” Alex commented.
“Well, it’s hard not to talk about it.”
“Did you hear anything about the kids?”
“I called one of the nurses yesterday. Looks like they will be ok.”
“Good.”
They both stared at CSI, an older episode in Las Vegas, long before the show travelled to other cities.
“It’s been an interesting week. First, Gina and her mom, now that call.”
The break room light turned on. “Jen, come on,” Ben rolled on the armchair to look behind him, “don’t–”
Nobody was there. The door was still closed.
Ben turned to Alex with an inquisitive look.
Alex slowly shrugged in silence and opened his hand in interrogation. “How?”
“The door was closed,” Ben said.
“I know.”
“The door was closed,” Ben repeated. “I’m positive.”
“Maybe… Jennifer?”
“The damn door didn’t move. I looked right away. What the hell is going on in this place?”
“Jennifer is messing with us,” Alex said.
“She’s not like that. She wouldn’t even leave dispatch.”
“Maybe she brought in some friends of hers to mess with us. I’m sure it’s not that hard to rewire that light. Our bedroom light is controlled from dispatch. I bet you, they’re with her laughing their butts off.”
“Well, if that’s the case, she’s going to have a piece of my mind. I’m not going to deal with that after the week we’ve had.” Ben jumped out of his seat and stomped to dispatch with Alex trailing behind him. He banged on the door.
“We have an intercom,” Jennifer calmly said through the speaker.
“I’m not in the mood right now, Jen, open that door.”
She buzzed them in.
“I’m not a big fan of your tone, Ben.”
“I don’t care, if you are or not. We’ve had a crummy call two days ago with three fatalities and two banged-up kids, and we had that psycho Gina who decided to play with an electrical cord after butchering her mother.”
“It’s not that you saw anything.”
“No, but we knew both of them, and we knew the cop who died on that TC.”
“Well, I’m sorry, Ben, if you’re getting stressed, but do me a favor and don’t take it out on me.”
Alex spoke with a calm voice to defuse the situation. “It’s been a rough few days, Jen.”
“I know, but it doesn’t–”
“Did you mess with the lights in our room?” Ben cut her off.
“Your lights?” she frowned, “why would I mess with your lights? What are you talking about?”
“Did you mess with the vacuum cleaner? Did you let somebody in to screw with us?” Ben said closing in on her.
“What are you talking about?” She stood up. “I’m not some teenager, my friend. I have other things to do than goof with two clowns like you!” Her face was reddening in growing anger.
Alex gently pulled Ben by the arm, “Drop it. Let’s go back to the room, and let’s get some sleep. It’s getting late.”
Ben glared at Jennifer.
“You know what? I took the night shift because I didn’t want to deal with people’s issues all day long. You two were great up to now, but if you are starting to give me that crap, I’m going to quit this job!”
Alex and Ben looked at her. They believed her. Call it gut instinct, but Jennifer was out of the light equation.
Ben looked at the television screen where CSI was also playing. Grissom was in the lab with one of his assistants on their way to solve another fake crime in all their Hollywood glory. “I’m going to watch some TV in the rec-room. I won’t be able to sleep for a while,” Ben said with a calm voice.
“We’ll leave you alone, Jen,” Alex said.
“I’m–”
Her television went dark. She looked up at the screen in surprise.
Ben turned around, startled.
“Nobody messed with our lighting,” Alex muttered. “Something else is going on in here.”
Ambulance Bay
The next morning, the rising sun ended a restless night. They knew something was happening. They did not know what, but they both knew it.
By 7:40 AM, they folded their sheets and stacked them on the shelves for the following shift. They turned in their paperwork and waited for the relief crew to come in.
Jack and Aaron, the two paramedics taking over, arrived two minutes apart. They parked their cars and gathered their belongings. Health conscious, Aaron carried his next three meals in a soft
cooler. Jack didn’t care. McDonalds was good enough, or perhaps Burger King. He would see according to his mood. Both men were in their thirties. They enjoyed their jobs and liked the town. Work was fairly slow, at least until the previous week, but it sure beat the big cities’ craziness. They’d heard of paramedic units running over twenty-four calls in a single shift over there. No, thank you.
Jack threw his sports bag over his shoulder and stopped by Alex and Ben. “Hi kids!” His goatee split into a mocking grin.
“Hi,” Ben grunted.
“Somebody got up on the wrong foot. Busy night?”
“You can say that,” Alex said.
“How was yesterday?” Aaron asked, stepping into the conversation.
“All right, nothing special.” Alex looked beyond them for an instant, “Have you had anything weird happen?”
Jack’s smile vanished. “What? What do you mean?”
“You know what I mean.”
Jack and Aaron glanced at each other, their faces turned pale.
“In here?” Jack asked.
“Yes, in here, in the station. Did you have anything funky at night?” Ben asked.
Jack rubbed his goatee in a nervous reflex. “The other night, the classroom lights flickered for a while.”
“A bunch of small objects moved around, cups, TV remotes, that sort of stuff,” Aaron added.
“What do you mean, move around?” Alex asked.
“Nothing crazy, they were displaced. We found the rec-room remote on my bed when I knew I left it on the recliner, just stupid little stuff like that. For a while we were thinking that Jennifer was messing with us, but it happened when we were with her.” Aaron kicked a small rock and watched it hit the curb.
“And you didn’t see anything?” Alex asked.
“No, but it happened a couple of times when we were in dispatch with Jen. It was just the three of us, and nobody came to the door, nobody buzzed, or even showed up on the cameras,” Aaron said.
Jack crossed his arms. “It’s not only here.”
“What do you mean it’s not only here? What are you talking about?” Alex asked.
Jack looked over his shoulder. “Some guys are starting to talk. Some weird stuff has happened at 63’s.”
“Where? At the fire station?”
“The guys were sleeping a few days ago. The old bell they used in the thirties started ringing in the middle of the night.”
“That doesn’t mean anything. One of the fire boys was probably messing with them,” Alex said.
“Yeah, maybe one of the off-duty guys,” Ben added.
“The station was locked. Captain Hanken was on. You know him. He’s very old school, and he would never allow that kind of goofing around,” Aaron said.
The four men fell silent for a moment. “I need to get out of here,” Ben said walking to his car without looking back.
Backyard
Larry Cherlin had an amazing life. He was married to a beautiful wife with flowing auburn hair and sparkling blue eyes. She attended social gatherings on a regular basis and hosted different events supporting charities. She didn’t do it because she cared. She only did it to be seen. She enjoyed the attention, and if her charisma wasn’t enough to be the focal point, her wardrobe did it. She could have been a fashion expert, as she was able to show enough skin to maintain the attention on her without falling into the trampy look.
Deborah Cherlin was not a complete trophy wife, or at least she hoped she was not, but she was part of the whole package for Larry. She was the queen of his 6500-square-foot Spanish-style home with all the room and the comfort a packing industry tycoon could ask for. Tycoon, might be an overstatement, but he was surely on his way up there.
Why did he live in Stone Falls? Because he liked smaller towns, and because the city had rolled out the red carpet for him to install his warehouses and factory in town. He had the city council eating from the palm of his hand. Too many jobs were at stake for the city to give him a hard time. In L.A. or Frisco, he would have been a nothing, one more business owner among a million. In Stone Falls, he was king.
Perched high on the hill, his house was nice, but Larry didn’t care, except for the view of the valley. He was a man, and men didn’t care about homes. That was for his wife. No, instead, he cared about his cars. His 1989 Porsche Carrera was his vehicle of choice. Not because he could not afford a newer one, but because he liked the old classic look. His baby slept in a white-floored garage similar to the ones in airline hangars. What was good enough for a jet was good enough for his favorite toy. If the Porsche was the love of his life, a black Lincoln Navigator filled the daily commute requirements. The SUV was more convenient, but not nearly as fun as a classic sports car.
His kids were already in bed by the time he came home. Good, at least he didn’t have to deal with the baths and the changing. Larry couldn’t bear to watch the bathing ceremony. It was long, laborious, and an overall waste of time. The kids screamed and thrashed in the water like squirming fish, excited to play in their own filth. The concept was repulsing. At least, Larry Cherlin’s desire to have a son had been fulfilled. In a decade or so, the little man would start to become interesting. In the meantime, his boy was a four-year-old eating and pooping machine.
His daughter was hopeless. She was mommy’s girl. She already cared about fashion at seven years old. What would happen at fifteen? She would be a bigger drain on his finances than his wife. Then college would come, talk about no end in sight. Kids were like a death sentence. At any time, he could get away from a marriage, some paperwork, a solid attorney, some alimony to please the judge and to make sure she didn’t starve, and ta-da, he would be out of it. Kids? Forget it. He would have to wait until they were eighteen. Even then, he wouldn’t be able to kick them out. Debby had mentioned adoption from China a couple of times. Adoption? And not even from the U.S? Was she insane? Larry had shut her down once and for all. She hadn’t brought up the topic ever since.
Larry felt that he had to be fair. Debby was a dedicated wife. She could be better at times, but overall she was good. She took care of the meals and bathed the kids. A cleaning woman came every week to take care of the house. Perhaps they should have one of those illegals from Mexico, or Asia, to attend the house, the kids, and cook. He would give her some money here and there, no questions asked.
Larry Cherlin liked to come home at a certain time. The sweet spot after the infantile inconveniences, but early enough to enjoy his wife’s company. He parked the Lincoln in the four-car garage next to the Porsche on his left. There was an empty spot on his right between his car and his wife’s Lexus RX, because there was no way he would allow her to park next to his SUV. Non monsieur, no way.
Cherlin shut the engine off and pushed the garage door remote switch on his dashboard. The door rolled down quietly. He stepped out of his car, loosening his tie. He strolled into the kitchen, picked up some cold chicken, mayo, and a Japanese beer. He knew it was not the healthiest of dinners, but two hours at the gym every single day well compensated for it.
He sat on his leather armchair in the living room and turned on the television, but left it on mute. The silence in the house was relaxing. The kids were sleeping. Deborah was upstairs. She knew she had to leave him alone for a while.
BBC was playing, but there was nothing truly new, the same conflicts around the world, the same strikes in France, and a bird flu spreading through Asia. Adopting kids from China, he thought, how ludicrous. The financial segment came on; the Dow Jones was up, more money in his deep pockets. Life was good.
Cherlin walked up to the master bedroom, not without enjoying the thick carpet on the way upstairs. Deborah was lying on the large bed, dressed only in a satin nightgown. He kissed her on the forehead, changed into his night outfit, and sat next to her.
They talked for a while, mostly about his work and the small trucking company he had recently purchased in Arizona, before making love.
Larry Cherlin was satisfied and fulf
illed. He had a beautiful home, a nice car, a gorgeous wife, and a thriving company. What else could he ask for? He walked back down to the kitchen and poured himself a glass of wine in a crystal glass. He slid open the glass door and walked bare-foot onto the unlit deck. The city lights were beautiful. Cherlin could see the cars streaming on the highway on the other side of town. Main Street spread in front of him in a straight line east to west. Further to his right, the new mall and theater glowed in the darkness. He smiled.
His pajamas were not enough for the outdoors. He walked back inside and looked around him. Nothing would do. Cherlin strode into the garage and opened a cabinet. A rolled-up rope would work. He went back up onto the deck. A breeze chilled him. It did not matter. It would not take long.
~
Deborah Cherlin stayed in bed for a while, waiting for her husband. She knew she was part of the furniture. She had never been to college and had left high school during her senior year, two months pregnant. Even if she had lost the baby later on, she had never returned to school. Perhaps it was the shame of confronting others about what had happened to her. Larry was already a college student and her savior. She had been under his wing ever since. Without him, she would have been a minimum-wage worker for the rest of her life, but now she was Mrs. Cherlin. People knew her and respected her status. So what if Larry flirted with a secretary or two at the plant? Sometimes she wondered if he hired his female staff for their résumé or the length of their legs. Larry was happy and took care of her. That was what mattered.
She picked up the remote and turned on the sixty-five inch television. She flipped from channel to channel for a while, not finding anything interesting. CNN was showing the world news. Why would she care? She only understood that we were fighting in the Middle East for our freedom. At least that was the rumor at the country club. Usually, she quickly grew bored with the conversation and found an escape to the spa or the tennis court.
What else was on? Food channel. Food meant calories and extra weight. Larry wouldn’t like that. Thinking about him, Larry was taking a long time in the kitchen. She casually called him once from the bed and waited for an answer. Nothing. She gazed toward the bedroom door and called him again with a firmer voice. No voice echoed. She fetched a pink satin robe, and walked bare-foot down the carpeted stairs. She glanced at the large living room.
