Chapter 22
Two men sat at a coffee table…laying a tad lackadaisically in their chairs.
In front of each man…sat a half-filled tumbler of liquor; every so often one of the men would take a small sip…and grimace at the bitter taste.
One of the men grabbed his glass and examined it with his eyes; he looked almost wistful.
"I haven't had a decent glass of this stuff since…"
He glanced up at the other man.
The other man chuckled a bit; his skin and hair were dark. His eyes were a dark brown.
The other man had dark brown hair and light skin, with emerald green eyes.
"Yup…" he cackled. He spoke with a heavy Hispanic accent.
"Karen had a fit when I told her about that…good times," he chuckled.
Both men nodded their heads in solemn appreciation.
"Do you remember that time we got blasted and stole a…"
"Yup," the first man quickly interjected. He glanced down at his hand…a small and feint scar ran over his palm. He held it up to show to the other man and grinned.
"I was just telling Marcy about that the other day,"
"Oh…god," the first man chuckled. "How'd that go over?"
The second man gave the first an uncomfortable smile and glanced around the room. The first man chuckled again.
"Yeahhhh…"
He took a sip of his drink…and savored the bitterness.
"How's it going?"
The second looked up at him; he was examining his fingernails.
"Its fine…the usual,"
The first man nodded in understanding.
The two were silent for a moment; each looked down at their glasses.
"To be honest," the second man mused. "She's pretty disappointed."
"Oh?" the first man glanced up.
"The doctor's tell us we probably won't be able to have kids,"
"Oh, Carl…I'm sorry. Why didn't you tell me that sooner?"
The two men looked at each other for a moment.
"Ya know…" Carl glanced around the room. He finished his drink.
Carl got to his feet…crossing the room to fill his glass with more liquor.
He gently set the bottle down on the shelf…and slowly turned back to his friend.
"I mean…this is the first time we've had a chance to catch up in person in over a year,"
The other man looked at Carl solemnly; he glanced off into the distance…and held his drink to his mouth.
"Its been too long," he muttered.
He took a nice long sip of his drink.
"How's Karen and the kids?"
He lowered his drink to his lap; he looked down at his feet.
"They're…its…I wish I could…" he stopped himself.
Carl looked down into his glass.
"That bad?"
"Sometimes I wish I could just be there with them. Half the time I don't even feel like a father…or husband. Every time I come home…everything and everyone has radically changed so much. I try so hard to make up for the time I miss…none of it matters in the end. I'm missing the most important part of my life,"
The two men were silent again for a moment.
"Saul," Carl replied. "You're family is going to be okay."
Saul started to take another sip of his drink.
"I hope so," he whispered. "I hope they can understand someday…why I can't be there."
Carl looked on solemnly; Saul chugged the rest of his drink.
"I'm sorry," Saul said…forcing a laugh. "I'm bringing down the mood."
Carl awoke in his favorite chair in his den. He rubbed his eyes…wiping away the bleariness.
Carl tossed the open copy of Les Miserables laying on his chest onto the ground; he got to his feet…walking over to his desk…and leaning on the edge.
"I'm worried about David," he said aloud. He eyes peered into the fireplace across from his desk. The fire had long since died out…all that remained was a few sparking embers.
Carl's study was a cozy little place; hard wood floors, hard wood desk, a nice, big cozy chair.
One wall was an entire shelf of books; the other was genuine brick.
And in the corner…was his small fireplace.
It was very picturesque…like something out of a Victorian gothic novel.
"I'm not really sure how to help him anymore. He's so caught up in his own confusion…just like you did. I wish you were here. But I won't let you down. I can't let you down."
He grabbed a picture on his shelf; he examined it for a moment with a solemn expression on his face.
"I miss you, old friend,"
It was a picture of Saul.