When Trent opened his eyes, the morning light was there, but thin.
He sat up slowly and surveyed his bed. Ann, Mae, and Bea were all still sleeping. Mae had ended up getting closer to Bea, and she had, either by choice or in her sleep, begun spooning her. Ann was laying on her side, still deep asleep.
Trent felt blearily but surprisingly focused and aware.
Good. He had a lot to do today.
They all did, but he let them sleep, carefully extracting himself from the bed and then going about the bedroom getting his things ready. He put together his outfit for the day and grabbed his phone, then quietly slipped out of the room and closed the door behind him, careful not to let the latch click and instead gently easing it into place.
His mind buzzed as he headed into the bathroom. He took a leak, brushed his teeth, then got into the shower. Turning it up high and hot, he tried to organize his mind. There were phone calls he needed to make, people he needed to speak with, words he needed to assemble.
He'd be god-fucking-damned if they lost that house.
Trent finished scrubbing up quick, dried off fast and efficient, and pulled on his clothes. As he slipped back out into the main hallway, he checked his phone. It was just past seven in the morning. He felt more awake, but still bleary. He made his way downstairs and went into the kitchen. He grabbed a Monster Energy from the fridge, cracked it open and got to drinking. As he prepared to check his phone, Trent paused and looked out the back window.
The sunlight was getting stronger and it played slowly across his backyard. He was struck by a strange sense of wonder as he looked to his backyard, to the fence, to Mae's parent's backyard, then to their house.
It was late May. This time last year, Trent had been struggling with mental health, staring down the barrel of a life unhappily lived, basically alone in all the ways that true mattered. And now he was in another town, another state, living with and dating three amazing women, preparing to begin a campaign to gather an unthinkable amount of money to save his in-law's house from the fucking bank. It was something he didn't feel qualified for.
He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, held it, then slowly let it out. He opened his eyes and took another drink, then grabbed his phone and checked his texts. He had one from Melody. He'd gotten it while he was in the shower.
Hey I'm up now, call me whenever.
Okay good...sort of.
He fired off a text to Jacob Warton: Hey, need to talk. Something's gone wrong. Not an emergency, no immediate danger. Text me when you can talk. Thanks.
Once he got that done, he called up Melody.
She answered on the first ring. "Hey, Trent...what's up?" she asked.
"Hey, Melody. Uh…" He paused as his brain actually caught up with the situation. "Shit."
"What's wrong?"
"I'm just realizing that we haven't really spoken since...the night we had, and the first time I'm calling you, I am doing so coming to ask you for money, and that's a really bad look."
"Well...we've both been busy, you especially, and I trust that you aren't just looking to use me for money. And I imagine something bad must've happened if you're asking for money."
"Yeah, something bad happened," he replied.
"What happened? I want to help, whatever it is. You and Bea and your friends are all really great and I want to help."
"I...all right, I'm going to just accept that, because we can't really afford not to. Mae's parent's are going to lose their house unless we come up with sixty five grand by June first."
"Holy shit."
"Yeah. I'm not asking for the whole amount, but basically, any money you would be willing to give or loan would be extremely appreciated," he replied.
"All right, hmm...lemme think...I think I can get together a few grand to give you."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"All right...I'm sorry I have to ask for this it's just-"
"It's an emergency, Trent. And I trust you. I've been texting with Bea a lot, and Jackie. I trust Jackie a lot. And based on everything, I trust you and I trust Bea. I don't think you're ripping me off and I don't think it's fucked up to ask me for help. I'm willing to go out on a limb for you."
"Thank you. It means a lot."
"I'm just glad I can help. How do you want the cash?"
"Bea's going to set up a website to coordinate all this, so be prepared to send it electronically. We're still scrambling, we only found out about this last night."
"Oh...my God, that's-okay. I didn't realize it was such an early development. Jesus, how much do you actually have so far?"
"I'm not sure," he replied. He paused as he got a text. Checked it. It was from Jacob. "Shit, I gotta go, I've got a lot to do today. Um...we'll keep in touch via text, if that's all right?"
"That's totally fine, and Trent?"
"Yeah."
"Good luck. Really. Give Mae and the others my best."
"I will. Thank you so much, Melody."
"You're welcome."
They said goodbye and he checked the text. All it said was: Ready.
Trent called him up. Jacob answered almost immediately. "Hit me with it," he said, all business right away.
"Mae's parent's are going to lose their house if we don't come up with sixty five grand in nine days."
A long moment of silence from the other end. "Well shit," he muttered. "I'm glad it's not more cult shit, but damn that's wretched. I'm assuming you need cash?"
"Yeah. We're putting together what we can for now. I don't want you to feel like you have to but I also know we're supposed to ask for help when we need it."
"That's right," Jacob muttered, "we are." He paused for a moment, then grunted. "Dammit. We've been doing well, putting together a lot of cash, but we're still in the phase of settling up. This luck has been good, but it's just been letting us get back into the black. My own immediate family is pretty good, but my brothers are...they don't have it quite as together. We've been handling credit card debt, gambling debt, paying off their houses and trucks, and socking away for the girls' college funds…"
"I understand, you have to take care of your own."
"At this point, Trent, you and Mae and everyone over there are our own."
"...I appreciate that," Trent said, then paused and cleared his throat. He hadn't been expecting to hear anything like that, and for some reason it hit really hard.
"I'll check through the finances. I think I can kick a few grand your way. I can at least commit to a thousand dollars, but I'll hop online, look over everything, then talk with my wife about it. I'll have you a more solid number before lunch. And if there's anything else you need, anything that might help in this whole thing, ask away."
"I will, and thank you. Seriously."
"You're welcome. And Trent...try not to feel too weird about this. I know money tends to fuck everything up and it's harder than hell asking for money, let alone money like this. You've got guts for doing this in the straightforward way that you are. I was in a bad place when I was your age and...dear God was it hard to ask for help. Whatever your head is telling you about it, ignore it. You're doing the right thing."
"...thanks, Jacob," he managed.
"You're welcome. Lemme know if you need anything else. I'll get back to you soon."
"Talk to you then."
Jacob hung up and Trent stared at his phone for a long moment. His mind felt like it had blue screened for a moment. Suddenly, he sensed someone nearby and looked over. Bea was standing in the doorway to the kitchen, wearing a pair of loose-fitting shorts and a t-shirt.
"I didn't hear you," he managed.
"I heard you," she replied. She had an air of intensity to her, an emotional gravity. She walked over to him suddenly and hugged him tightly. He hugged her back, unsure if she was trying to support him or if she was asking for support. "I hate this," she whispered.
"I'm sorry, Bea," he murmured.
"You sound so grown up, talking with Jacob about this, and at first I was thinking of how great that was, but then it kind of just went the other way, and I hate this, I hate how this has been thrust onto us. And I'm just-I'm kind of a mess right now. I'm here, I can handle this, I can do what needs to be done, but I'm going to be a bit of a mess because we lost my fucking house when my mom died from her goddamned fucking medical bills."
"I'm so sorry, Bea," he murmured. "I hadn't even considered-"
"I know, and it's fine," she said. "You have enough on your plate right now. We all do." She let go of him, sighed heavily. "God, this is a lot. But I can handle it. I'm going to take a shower and then finish putting together that website. Then I'm going to call Jackie and see what she has to say. She's always been good at putting stuff together, like assembling a cathedral out of a hurricane."
"I'll be here," Trent replied, unsure of what else to say as it was obvious Bea wanted to get to work.
She just nodded and left, heading back upstairs. Trent looked at his phone again, then glanced out the back window once more. He blinked as he realized Candy was out in her backyard now. She was filling up the birdbath they had. Trent made a snap decision and pocketed his phone, then headed out the backdoor. Candy looked up as the door opened, then she offered a tentative smile and wave. Trent waved back as he walked over, his pace brisk.
He passed through the gate and came to stand with her.
"What's going on?" she asked. "You look...rather focused."
"I've been on the phone with a few people," he replied. "I think we've got a few grand together so far."
"Really? Wait, who?" she asked.
"Jacob Warton and...a friend. I'm going to call a few others and Bea-"
"What friend?" she asked.
"Uh, you know, a friend. No one you know."
"You seem a little shifty about it."
He sighed. "It's not-it isn't shady or anything. Just...a girl up north."
"What girl up north?" Candy murmured, now seemingly more amused than anything else.
"Her name is Melody. She's a friend of Jackie's. We met at a party-it's not important."
"Oh. That kind of friend," she replied, a small smile coming onto her face. She shook her head. "How many sugar mamas do you have?"
"Hey," he said immediately, "I'm the one who's got the cash, for the record. And none of the relationships are like that."
"Okay, okay, touchy," she murmured, turning off the hose. "Never in my life did I think I'd be comfortable with my son-in-law dating other girls while also dating my Mae, but she's obviously happy as all get out."
He groaned. "Why do we have to talk about this?"
"I'm sorry," she said, then laughed a little. "It's just...a little entertaining, I must admit. Don't forget that I'm the weird one who likes uncomfortable conversations." She frowned suddenly. "I...wanted to thank you, for doing this. And also apologize in advance, because I don't really know how to handle a situation like this. We've struggled basically our whole lives. There have been better years and worse years, but I can't ever say it's been easy. We were doing okay there for a bit in the very beginning, before and shortly after we got married…"
"What happened first?" Trent murmured uncomfortably.
She sighed. "Stan started drinking. An expensive habit, even back then. And then a string of miscarriages hit us."
"Jesus. I'm so sorry."
"It's...I've made peace with it. I have Mae. That's more than enough for me," she replied, smiling sadly if determinedly at him. "Childbirth is expensive. Raising a child is, too. We were starting to do okay...and then our parents fell ill. One by one, they passed. I had already lost my father by then, but then my mother got cancer and passed. It was fast, but the hospital still managed to wring a lot of money out of us. And then Stan's mother died. Stroke. And then finally his father got dementia and began physical deteriorating. He needed full time care at the end. And it was fast with him too, as far as these things go, but it was still a lot.
"Then Stan lost his job the next year. Laid off. He was drinking worse than ever then. Couldn't hold down a job for a while after that. And then the thing with Mae happened. And we were always socking away for Mae's college…" She paused, sniffed, reached up and brushed at her eyes. "Oh God, this is a lot."
"Do you want a hug?" Trent asked.
"Yes," she replied, and she hugged him. He hugged her back. He knew that Mae's parents had been through a lot, but he hadn't ever quite pieced together just how much it had been. He was sure there was more, and it pissed him off. A lot. More than he had been. This wasn't fucking right.
A lot of people, a lot of older couples it seemed, hid behind a facade of normalcy. Behind closed doors, there was always some dark secret. Abuse, neglect, violence, just something awful. It wasn't everyone, but it was too many. And here he was, having dated a woman whose parents turned out to be the real deal.
They weren't perfect, no one was though, but they were good people. They were good parents, too. They cared. Regardless of their missteps, at the end of the day, they genuinely cared about Mae, and they would go to the ends of the Earth for her. He didn't doubt that. So why was this shit happening to them?
He knew the reason, though. Because the universe didn't care what happened to people. Because there was no God, no supreme being watching out for the good people. The universe just was. Shit just happened. It was ridiculous that he'd encountered factual proof of a god-being and still he knew this to be the case.
Trent paused. Wait, was this the result of the Black Goat? After a moment, he concluded that it didn't, almost certainly. What was happening to them had the ring of authenticity, of everyday normalcy. This happened because capitalism was ruining society, year by year, decade by decade, and they were just caught in the crossfire.
"Thank you," Candy said as she stepped back. "I don't really know what happened with your upbringing, but I know it was bad, and I'm so grateful that it didn't result in you being emotionally closed off. You aren't afraid to care, and that means so much. I can see it in the way you are around her...Mae knows that she's loved. She gets reminded of it every day, I imagine. Stan's the same way. He's not scared to care, to look goofy, to embarrass himself for our sake." She smiled wider. "Hey, why don't I come over and make breakfast for everyone?" she asked suddenly.
"Are you sure?" he asked.
"Yes! I'm off today. I want to be helpful. You all are putting together this...this campaign to save our house, I'll be damned if I won't help out."
"Well all right," he replied, "let me just...uh...um...prepare for your arrival."
"Yes, yes, hide the weed and the sex toys, mom's coming over," she murmured.
He sighed. "Goddamnit, Candy."
She laughed. "Go on. I'll be over in ten minutes."
"Thank you. Back door will be unlocked."
She nodded and headed back inside. Trent hurried back over to his own house. He did a quick survey of the downstairs, trying to see if there was anything truly unbecoming out, but besides a weed pipe and a few joints (which he didn't hide, not now that he'd actively seen her smoking weed), he headed back upstairs.
Bea was just coming out of the bathroom in a fog of steam, freshly dressed and looking grim.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"Nothing. Candy's coming over to make breakfast. She wants to help," Trent replied.
"Ah. That makes sense. Warn Mae so she doesn't come bounding downstairs as naked as the day she was born," Bea replied.
He chuckled. "That's exactly what I was on my way to do."
They shared a quick kiss and Bea headed downstairs. Trent carefully slipped back into the bedroom. Mae and Ann were still asleep. It was a little past eight now. God, an hour had already slipped by. And there was still so much to do. Trent gently woke Ann.
"Mmm...hmm? What's going on?" she murmured, blinking muzzily.
"Nothing," he replied, running his hand slowly up and down one arm, "but Mae's mom is coming to make breakfast for us. Here, in the house."
"Oh...okay."
"I need you to warn Mae when she wakes up," Trent said patiently.
Ann looked at him, uncomprehending, then blinked a few times. "Um...gimme a second."
"Okay."
She got up and headed for the bathroom. While he waited, Trent stared at Mae. She was still passed out cold, and he knew she probably would be for at least a few hours more. He felt a surging swell of emotions as he looked at her. She looked so very vulnerable, so innocent. He felt that rage coming back. Hadn't she suffered enough?
Of course not. That was always the answer in this life. Of course not.
There was always more suffering to be had.
But he could fight back now. They all could. And they would.
Ann returned and got back in bed. "Okay, I'm here. What now?"
"When Mae wakes up, tell her that her mother is downstairs," Trent replied slowly. "So that she doesn't say anything stupid or she doesn't come running downstairs naked. I imagine she'd die of embarrassment. And I want you to do it because you seem like you need some more sleep, and I know that if we woke Mae up now, she would jump right into her twenty four hour marathon stream whether she's ready or not, and she's not ready, not at eight in the morning. So I don't want to wake her before she wakes up naturally."
"That...makes a lot of sense," she replied, nodding. "Okay, will you bring me my laptop? It's downstairs on my desk. I think I'm too up to go back to sleep, so I might as well start getting some work done."
"Okay." He leaned in and kissed her. "I love you."
"I love you too," she replied.
Trent headed carefully back out of the bedroom.
It was time for more heavy conversations.
