by Thomas Duffy
“Ideas I do have. But not facts to make anything that will be happening easier for you. I don't know what the future holds for me quite yet. Nobody has told me for sure.”
“Our son. Leonardo. Such a good boy. Such a smart boy. He is our masterpiece. Our creation that will be our ultimate contribution to the world.”
“Yes. He is smart like his father.”
“Smart like you.”
“We were both smart in different ways. The ways of our intellect are on completely different wavelengths.”
“His intelligence derives from both of us.”
“If I take the pill to make love to you, will it make you happy?”
“I believe I've yearned for a man's love. I haven't found it since you left. I tried to look for love again but gave up on that search. That difficult damned quest for happiness. Sometimes I feel love comes but once in a lifetime, you know?”
“I truly do know,” Finn said as he took the pill which would quickly enhance his sex drive.
“There isn't much room in here for us to make love so let's make the best of it.”
Angela started unbuttoning Finn's shirt as he lifted up her dress and took it off her quickly. Finn sat down on one of the chairs in the room. Angela brought herself on top of him. She felt him penetrate her and the emotions she was experiencing were mostly of sadness. She knew this would be one of the last times she would be able to make love to her ex-husband. Their eyes met. Angela moved back and forth while on top of Finn as he was deeply kissing her lips.
Then, at the same time, they both said, “I love you.” As they continued to make love, they both felt the same level of sadness and Finn had wished they had been able to salvage their marriage long before their divorce.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Back at Leonardo's school, his teacher, Mr. Mathis, was grading papers. Before class, Leonardo approached Mr. Mathis in his classroom regarding the recent exam he had taken.
“I think I got one question wrong, Mr. Mathis.”
“You did, Leonardo. What happened?”
“I don't know, sir. Lately, I've been thinking a lot about my future.”
“What about your future, in particular, is on your mind?”
“What happens when I become older?”
“What do you mean?”
“When school is over? What's the next part of life?”
“You know that your career is the next step. And your career would be so much better if you didn't get a question wrong on one of your most important term exams.”
“I was torn between two possible answers. I crossed out what I believe is the correct answer. If you look closer at my paper, you will see that is true, sir.”
“I do see the correct answer was crossed out but I can't give you credit for an answer which you had crossed out. I can only give you credit for the final answer.”
“I know that but maybe, this time only, you could make an exception for a student as exceptional as you say I am.”
“I'll offer you an extra credit question for the seven points back which I have taken off from your exam.”
“What is the extra credit question, Mr. Mathis?”
“It is a question I want you to answer in essay form and is, in many ways, unrelated to this particular course.”
“I'm a little confused, sir.”
“I want to know where you see yourself in two years.”
“I see myself more advanced in my studies getting ready for great things that the world has in store for me. Preparing for a career one day. I can't predict the future so why would you have me write such an essay?”
“Maybe the extra credit is a bad idea. 93 is a decent grade, don't you think?”
“I need the points but I don't know what to say.”
“Just write 500 words as to what you want to accomplish in two more years.”
“I'll try, sir.”
“Don't try. Do. That's the only way you'll get those seven points back.”
“I understand.”
“I'll give you the paper back in class with the hundred. Just make sure you don't disappoint me with the paper you write. I hear you struggle a little with words.”
“I have a 98 average in English.”
“As I said, I heard you struggle a little. Don't let me see a weak paper.”
“You won't,” Leonardo said as he left the classroom.
As Mr. Mathis' class began, he gave out all the marked exams to the students in his class. Leonardo's test was marked 100. Leonardo knew he needed to succeed on the paper he was asked to write to keep that score.
Leonardo went to his room that night and wrote a paper on his future career dreams which stated how he strived for perfection and to be the best in a mathematically related field. He talked about teachers who had influenced him throughout the years and how he wanted to be a professor one day. When he returned the paper to Mathis the next day, it seemed as if the paper was more than acceptable.
“Your 100 is official, Leonardo.”
“Thanks, sir.”
Mr. Mathis knew the details of the separation could never be revealed to Leonardo. He had asked him to write the paper to know if Leonardo could accept the fate that would be bestowed upon him. That fate was one in which he would never know of the separation. It had been declared that Leonardo, because of his father's actions, was destined to be a mathematically proficient instructor. Since it was what Leonardo wanted anyway, Mathis was quite satisfied. Mathis knew, after college, Leonardo would return to educate and never learn of the separation. It was decided by “the powers that be” long before Leonardo wrote that essay.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Finn and Angela were sitting on the floor together after having made love two times. Staring intensely at each other, they were enjoying a conversation they were having.
“Finn, why do you think you chose me out of all the girls on the site?”
“I think I told you this before. You were the one who stole my heart from the moment I saw your pictures. Though they did you no justice. You looked like a princess the moment I met you and I knew you were the only woman I'd ever make love to in my life.”
“I thought you were kinda nerdy but I thought that was sexy.”
“Nerdy? And you're not nerdy?”
“I thought I was a princess, now I'm a nerd?”
“I never said that. I thought you had princess like features that perfectly complemented your nerd side.”
“Are we really having this conversation, Finn?”
“You started it.”
“I did, didn't I?”
“Yeah, you did.”
“You know, Finn, I am scared for you.”
“Why do you use that word? Scared? I've never been scared of anything. And you shouldn't be either,”
“Well you have good reason to be afraid.”
“What's coming?”
“I don't know but if I were you, I'd be quite concerned.”
“I'm concerned but I know I have no control over my fate at this point.”
“You really don't, Finn.”
“That's the hardest part of right now. I've always had control of my life, my future, whatever you want to call it. And, now, I am so shaken, so lost, so disappointed in what I have done.”
“You should always know that I didn't want to sign the divorce papers. I only did it to set us both free in the hopes we'd find better.”
“There's nothing better than you, Angela, remember that.”
There was a knock on the door. Dr. Pratt announced her presence outside when Finn asked who it was. Angela was secretly wondering if she would have to leave.
“Yes, Dr. Pratt. Can I help you?”
“Finn, Angela has to leave.”
“Why does she have to go so soon?”
“Don't worry. You can see her tomorrow one last time before we move you forward.”
“Move me forward?”
“Yes. There's a new agenda.”
&n
bsp; “What is the new agenda?”
“That's not for you and Angela to know until tomorrow. All she needs to know is she has to leave right now.”
“I hear you, Dr. Pratt.”
Angela kissed Finn goodbye and left the room as Dr. Pratt had requested. When Angela was gone, Finn was asked by Dr. Pratt to write an essay on what he was truly sorry about in his life.
“What is the point of this assignment, Dr. Pratt?”
“We both know you're sorry for what you have done. Putting things into words makes us cope better with our eventual fates.”
“I believe I've expressed all I want to convey through any form of expression possible. I just want to face the consequence of what I have done. This is torture.”
“You may be right. Perhaps that's the point.”
“To torture me?”
“You'd be surprised what powerful people can do to others who are weak and vulnerable like yourself.”
“I don't think torture is fair. It certainly isn't moral.”
“It's not really torture to have you write down your thoughts. We want to see where you are, emotionally, at this point in the game.”
“What do you mean, game?”
“By me saying “game,” it's really just a manner of speaking.”
“Is this whole thing a fucking game?”
“We don't play games.”
“Who are we?”
“We are the people who you've betrayed through your actions.”
“Who, exactly, have I betrayed?”
“People so powerful that you'd feel like a moron if I told you who they were.”
“But, they're just people. People are people. We're all created equal, aren't we?”
“I think you know that's not true. You weren't born yesterday, In any event, you're going to be taken somewhere to write that essay whether you like it or not.”
Mr. Franklin came over to Finn. He handcuffed Finn's hands behind his back and walked Finn out of the building to the car he had originally been brought in. Mr. Douglas was waiting inside the vehicle. After Mr. Franklin put Finn in the backseat, he got in the driver's seat to take Finn to the next destination.
“Where are you taking me? Where, exactly, you fucking goons?”
“Watch your words, sir. We're here to help you.”
“Help me?”
“Yes, if we weren't trying to help you, well, you would have been dead already.”
“I'm not teaching. I'm not with my wife, and I'm not with my son. Aren't I dead already?”
“If you have had patience, you would have been with your son one day,” Douglas stated.
“I know. But, I guess I'm just not a patient man.”
“That not our problem,” Franklin said.
After about a twenty-minute ride in silence, they arrived at an abandoned old high school which was no longer operating. Franklin and Douglas walked Finn through the entrance. It was brightly lit although there were seemingly no people present in the building other than the three of them. All of a sudden, Finn's old teacher, Moses came out of one of the classrooms. He looked much older than Finn had remember him,
“Do you remember me, Finn?”
“Of course, I do. Why wouldn't I remember you, Moses? You helped make me the person I am today.”
“I'm in retirement now. They asked me to come here to speak to you today for a few reasons.”
“You were the one who told me there was no Santa Claus. Do you remember?”
“And, I'm here to tell you now that all the words I said to you when you were a younger man were false words of hope. There's nothing that can help you now, young man.”
“Why are you here, then?”
“I'm here because I want to know what you are going to write in your essay. The one they asked you to write. I wanted to see if you were sorry for what you have done. I want to see if you can redeem yourself for the trouble you've caused.”
“How could I redeem myself?”
“It's never too late, Finn.”
“I thought you said it was too late.”
“Release him from the handcuffs, gentleman, please.”
Mr. Franklin came over and used the key to the handcuffs to release Finn from them. He warned Finn to not try to escape.
“You were my most prized pupil. The one I always knew would make a difference in the world. To see you being made an example of breaks my heart, young man,” Moses said.
“Why do you keep calling me young man?”
“To help you realize that you are still young. This is a tragedy that has happened here to you.”
Chapter Thirty
“Moses, do you mind if I ask you a question?”
“Of course not, Finn.”
“How did you go through all those years of teaching knowing that all you were telling the students were lies?”
“But, they're not lies. Not all lies. Some lies, yes. Mostly what I would teach my students, though, were life lessons.”
“What's the life lesson here?”
“That's for you to find out. Eventually. Write your essay. That's the least you can do for us. Consider what you've put Angela through.”
“What's the obsession with this essay? I don't think I comprehend. What, exactly, have I put Angela through?”
“Angela will never see Leonardo again. That's what you've done to her. You've taken her from her son.”
“You're not answering my question about the essay.”
“This essay may determine the fate you face.”
“So an essay can make or break my future. Is that what you're saying?”
“Your future is already broken. It's how broken it will be that is the question everyone is wondering.”
“Everyone?”
“I'm saying too much.”
“Do you know how much you meant to me when I was a young man?”
“Of course, Finn. Teachers shape the lives of their students. You were an ideal mentor for the students you had taught throughout the years. A worthy mentor, indeed.”
“I guess I'm ready to write this essay then.”
“Sit down at that table over there.”
Finn walked towards a desk fit for a high school student. He sat in the chair behind it. There was a piece of paper and a pen on the desk. Finn started to write his essay.
“I am sorry for what I've done. I've taken advantage of the chance to see my son before it was my time to see him. I've hurt his mother, Angela, beyond belief and for this I am forever heartbroken.” Finn continued writing his essay and the reasons he was sorry. During the essay, he found himself in tears. He wrote about the times he betrayed his wife, his son and his country. His thoughts did not translate as well on paper as they had been formulated in his head. English was never his strong point. Mathematics was.
Moses had left the room in the middle of Finn writing his essay. Moses deemed Finn a prize because of the extraordinary abilities he possessed. However, Moses realized that whatever Finn was writing in the essay, it probably wouldn't match the expectations he had for the man who was once his student. Moses was happy he saw Finn one last time and moved forward as far away from Finn as possible. Moses knew what Finn was writing could not save him. It was more of a curiosity factor of the “powers that be” that had Finn write the essay. They wanted to see if a man could truly be sorry for betraying his family and his upbringing.
When Finn finished his essay, Mr. Franklin took the essay from him and put it in a large yellow envelope to be delivered to Dr. Pratt the next morning. Finn was taken to a motel where no room was occupied. It had been abandoned and was simply a prop in the scenario that was occurring. Mr. Douglas walked Finn up to a room.
“You'll be getting a visitor soon before you go to bed,” Mr. Douglas informed Finn before walking away with Mr. Franklin.
Finn was thinking about who would be visiting him next. He was hoping it was a loved one or a friend, perhaps a classmate from back in the time he was growing up. There w
as a knock on the door. He could see it was Alexis through the peep hole on the door. He opened the door to let her in.
“Alexis, why are you here?”
“They told me to come to see you. To warn you of what's to come.”
“What's to come?”
“All I can say is it's so horrible. I can't believe the suffering we're going to endure. Thank God you still have time. My time is up. I am prepared.”
“You time is up? How do you know?”
“I just completed the last phase. There's no more group. There's no more anything. It's all over.”
“Why have you come to see me other than to tell me how horrible my fate is? If you were meeting your fate, why would you be in front of me now?”
“They told me I can't kill myself. They said you could do it for me. That way I have a chance to go to Heaven. If Heaven exists. I want the chance to go there if it's real.”
“Hold on a minute. What is this fate you speak of? I want answers. Maybe it's a game.”
“There's no game. I don't want to face what they told me I would have to face and it's up to you to put me out of my misery. There's nobody else.”
“I'm not going to kill you, Alexis. That wouldn't benefit me, now, would it?”
“It would benefit me. You'd be saving me.”
“I thought you were dying.”
“I have been dead a long time already. I just need to get out of my body once and for all.”
“This isn't making any sense.”
“Sense? What makes sense? What could possibly make sense after the senselessness we've embraced in our acts of deception against the powers that be?”
“Go somewhere else. I'm not going to kill you. I wouldn't even know how to do something so grotesque to an enemy, let alone a friend.”
“There are ways I can tell you to do it for me.”
“I'm not killing you. Please leave.”
“I only wish that nobody does you the favor of putting you out of your misery when the time comes. When you see what is to come, you'll only wish you had helped me.”
“Leave!”
“I'm going.”
Alexis left the room and exited the building. She walked away from the premises slowly. Finn saw her from the window walking until she disappeared from sight and he could no longer see where she was going.
