by J. Bengtsson
“Oh good, then you’ll agree to my terms. Just audio. And afterward, I need to use your phone.”
Misty readily agreed, pitying me with a lingering stare. No doubt she assumed my silver-streaked disaster ‘do and dust-up makeup job were the reason for my not wanting those coveted fifteen minutes of fame, but vanity had nothing to do with it. I was protecting my students on the off chance I didn’t make it out of the parking garage alive.
After agreeing to my rules and giving Misty Swallows the ultimate gift—a trapped RJ Contreras on a silver platter—she readily handed over her phone. Honestly, after the exclusive I’d just given her, I considered stealing it. With what Misty stood to make on her video, she could buy plenty more iPhones where this one had come from. But my mother’s nagging voice was never far away, and I knew I couldn’t go through with the hasty plan.
Stepping away, I dialed up Donny. Not only did his proximity to the scene make him the ideal helper, but he was also the only sibling whose number I had memorized. Not out of devotion, but because Donny had once bragged that his phone number, in letter form, spelled out ‘arousal,’ and since then, I’d never been able to erase it from my memory.
“Hello?”
“Donny, it’s me—Dani. I need your help. Can you come pick me up right now?”
“Who?”
“Dani.”
“Dani,” he said, elongating my name as if he were trying to place me.
“Dani, your sperm sister.”
“Ah, right. Dani. Has anyone ever told you that you sound like Princess Leia?”
“Yes. You. Many times. Listen, Donny, the earthquake just toppled my building…”
“Yeah, that quake was sick, man,” he interrupted.
Sick wasn’t the first adjective that came to mind when describing what I’d experienced, but I didn’t have time to debate vocabulary with a dimwitted gamer. “Did you hear me? My building collapsed. I lost everything. I really need your help. Oh, and can you bring your credit card? I’m going to need to borrow some money. Can you do that for me, Donny? Can you help me?”
It was a heartfelt plea, a cry for assistance.
“I don’t know, Dani. It’s really not a good time. I’m on level seven.”
So much for asking nicely. “I don’t care if you’re in a galaxy far, far away. Pick me up right now or I’ll come over there and cut your electricity!”
“Fine. Jesus. Princess Leia is so much nicer than you.”
“Just hurry.”
“I’m saving my game, geez. Chill. Do I need underwear for this?”
I growled in response. Forget cutting the electricity, I was going to murder my sperm brother in his sleep.
The sound of a man calling my name drew my attention. I whipped my head around to find Jeremy—smartly dressed for our second date—rushing toward me. I was saved! So relieved was I to see him that I threw my arms over his shoulders and buried my head in his chest. No lie, I would’ve burrowed into him for safekeeping if only human biology allowed such a feat.
“My god, Dani, this is just unbelievable,” he said, hugging me tightly. “I saw it on the news. I came as soon as I heard that it was your apartment complex. Are you all right? Were you inside when it happened?”
I lifted my head and looked over at what was left of my building. Tears welled in my eyes as it hit me… really hit me. I had been in there. And so had many of my neighbors. My heart sank. Families lived in there. Children. Pets. So much suffering. I knew I couldn’t save them all. But if I could save even one…
“Uh, Dani?” Donny said, interrupting my reunion with Jeremy to remind me that he was still on the line. “Was that a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’ to the underwear?”
I winced. “Never mind, weirdo. Go back to your video game.”
“Sweet. Thanks.”
I shook my head as I handed the phone back to Misty and wondered how our father had gotten it so wrong the day he’d created Donny.
Grabbing Jeremy by the hand, I dragged him away from the burgeoning crowd. “I need help.”
He nodded unconditionally. With Jeremy, there were no levels that needed to be met and no undergarments to be slipped on. Unlike my own flesh and blood, Jeremy was eager to be of assistance to the dusty girl he barely knew.
“Where’s your car?”
“I parked around the corner. Do you need me to take you to the hospital?”
“No. I need you to take me to the supercenter down the street.”
“The supercenter? You want to go shopping?” he asked, his voice tipped in surprise. “Now?”
“I need supplies.”
“For what?”
I swept my arm behind me to encompass the crumbling mess that had once been my life. His eyes widened, realizing the stupidity of his question. But what he didn’t realize was my desire to go to the store was not to buy toilet paper and tampons. No. What I was really going for was to gather the supplies necessary to keep another man alive.
Had Jeremy known that, I doubt he’d have been so eager to help.
9
RJ: AAA
I waited for Dani to disappear from sight before dropping the act. It had taken everything in me to pretend I was okay—to give Dani hope that she might be able to save me. Hell, with that steely determination of hers, she’d given me hope. I’d actually thought with my own personal Wonder Woman by my side that maybe, just maybe, everything would be okay. But the truth was my body was no match for the destruction that had rained down upon it. Dani had relieved most of the strain, yes, but she didn’t have the healing powers to fix the damage that had already been done. And from the aching alone, I could tell it was extensive.
I didn’t need X-rays to tell me that I’d probably broken every rib in my body or an ultrasound to confirm internal injuries. The pain was excruciating, and it was all I could do to keep a brave face in front of her. But now that she was gone, there was nothing to hold me back, and I let out a groan that rattled the already besieged parking garage.
To my surprise, the walls threw back an echo. Or was it a voice…? I quieted, momentarily considering that I wasn’t the only trapped soul in this wasteland.
“Hello?”
Nothing, not even an echo.
“Is anybody there?”
I waited, hoping. I’d always been a fairly private guy, but even I could appreciate a little companionship at what could, very well, be the end of my life. When no reply echoed forth, I reluctantly turned toward the task at hand, which was to not sit by idly like some eternally trapped jack-in-the-box and accept my fate. I might no longer be alive when the rescuers found me, but at least they’d know I tried.
In an effort to free myself, I placed my hands at my side and attempted a backward push-up. That genius idea did nothing but bring a fresh wave of nausea and pain, making me wonder what was worse, the pain I could feel or the pain that I couldn’t—which was anything south of my shin. My eyes tracked down, settling on my stone prison. With my left ankle crushed under a block of concrete, I understood that even if I did survive, there was a real good chance I wouldn’t be leaving here with all my body parts.
With brute strength not working, I adopted Dani’s approach of digging dirt out from my hole in an effort to free up some space around the concrete block and wiggle my way out. But the farther down I got, the more concrete my raw, bloodied fingers met.
Frustrated by the futile effort, I slammed my fists down onto the earth and screamed at the top of my lungs.
“Fuucckk!”
What followed was a volley of F-bombs that rivaled the time Dane had thought it was a good idea for us AnyDayNow boys—at the height of our fame—to toilet paper Tucker Beckett’s vacation house in the Hamptons without realizing he had security guards and a pack of attack dogs protecting the place.
“Please,” came a muffled sound, beset with pain. “Enough.”
A voice. Wait… a voice? Holy shit… it hadn’t just my voice echoing; someone else was in here with me.
&n
bsp; “Who’s there?” I asked.
“Albert. The old guy in apartment 140,” he said, his voice so withered I had to strain just to hear him. “Who are you?”
“RJ, the young guy in apartment 426.”
“You’re not the one who looks like a Manson follower, are you?”
His comment was so random, I couldn’t help but chuckle… and wonder if with my wayward hair maybe I was the guy he envisioned. “Honestly, I might be.”
“Wonderful.”
Not to be upstaged, I asked, “You’re not the old guy who smells like cat litter, are you?”
I swear I heard the faintest laugh. “I might be.”
“Delightful,” I mimicked.
And then there was silence. I waited. Worried. “You okay there, Albert?”
“Uh… no, not really,” the man said, drawing in a gurgled breath between each word. “I’m afraid I’m not long for this world, son.”
The way he said it with such certainty brought a lump to my throat.
“Don’t say that. Help is coming.”
A prolonged silence followed, making me wonder if Albert was drifting in and out of consciousness. Please. Don’t die. I didn’t even know this man, and already I was immeasurably attached. He was my only link to the living world, and I didn’t want to lose him.
“Albert, stay with me.”
He grunted.
“Albert! I’ll start swearing again if you don’t answer me.”
“I’m here.”
“Good,” I exhaled. “Because I can swear in eighteen different languages.”
“I don’t doubt it,” he responded, his voice tapering off.
I waited patiently for more.
“You know, I’m eighty-two years old. I’ve lived a long life. Didn’t think I was scared of dying. Turns out I am.”
“I’m twenty-five, and I didn’t think I was scared of dying either.”
“You young’uns never do. So fearless. Then you get old, and suddenly you’re no longer invincible.”
“I don’t know, Albert. I’m stuck in the same predicament you are, and right about now, I’m not feeling entirely invincible.”
“No, I suppose you wouldn’t be. Can I give you a survival tip?”
“Okay.”
“Preserve your energy.”
“My leg is crushed under concrete. I’m about as immobile as you can get.”
“I meant stop swearing like a sailor. It’s not going to get you out of here any sooner. Besides, it’s not becoming of a young gentleman.”
“I’m no gentleman.”
“You might have been, had your mamma washed your mouth out with soap once in a while.”
“I was raised on foaming soap. Not sure if it’s as effective as the old school bars at curbing bad language.”
Albert commenced a minute-long coughing fit, and by the time it was over, the old man had barely any breath left.
“Hang in there, Albert. Help is on the way.”
“There’s no helping me, RJ. I have a piece of rebar skewered through my gut. I’m bleeding out.”
Lowering my head to the earth, I swore under my breath at the injustice of it all. Why had I even met this man if it meant having to hear him die?
“Talk to me, son,” Albert said, his voice already sounding as if it were fading. “Take my mind off this.”
I could’ve stayed silent for my own self-preservation, but Albert needed me to step up and be the man I hadn’t been in five long months. “What do you want me to say?”
“Anything. Just talk.”
“Uh… I’m a singer.”
“A shower singer?”
“No.” I smiled. “A professional one.”
“What kind of music?”
“I sing current stuff, like pop and rock.”
“Oh.”
In that one word, I could tell Albert was not impressed. Maybe a little more elaboration might turn him around.
“I’m in a famous band—or I was. We broke up last year. Ever heard of AnyDayNow?”
“Can’t say I have, but then I listen to old-timer music,” Albert replied, stopping to catch his breath. “My great-granddaughter might know you, though.”
“How old is she?”
“Becca is sixteen.”
“Then she knows us.”
“So, you’re in one of those bands with all the screaming girls?”
“Lots of screaming. Yes.”
“What’s it like, being on stage, worshipped?”
Had he asked me that question this morning, I might have responded with a cynical answer, but this morning seemed so long ago. My perspective had already shifted in the time I’d been entombed. Now I’d give anything to be up on stage performing again. Why had I walked away?
“I’m not performing anymore, but it was incredible while it lasted.”
“Why aren’t you performing?”
I sighed. “Because, Albert, I’m a narcissistic fool.”
“Aren’t we all?”
“Yeah, but I’m their king. I got tangled up in my own hype and let my ego get the best of me. I lost the joy of singing and performing. That’s why I was here in apartment 426, hiding out like a goddamn coward.”
“At least you figured it out while you’re still young. Some of us take a lifetime.”
“Yeah, well, twenty-five might be the end my lifetime.”
“I surely hope not, son. You’re just getting started. Me, I’ve lived my life… and it was a damn good one. If you remember one thing about me, let it be that I was a lucky bastard. Married my best friend. Had forty-seven years with her. We had two kids. Five grandchildren. Four great-grandchildren. I worked as a school bus driver almost my whole life. Not a glamorous job like yours, but I loved it. My name’s Albert Arthur Aldrich, and them kids called me Triple A—like the insurance. The nickname stuck, and my family and friends all call me that now.” Albert chuckled weakly and I just knew there was a nostalgic smile on his face as he remembered. “Yep, I’m going to die a happy man.”
“I wish I could say the same. I’m alone. An outsider. Always have been.”
“I believe we make our own happiness. Everything is a choice. Do you want to be bitter and only look to the past, or do you want to find joy in the things right before your eyes?”
“And if I don’t get out of here?”
“Then spend the time you have left remembering the good times. Surely you had some of those.”
I fell silent as I tried to gather those good times into one tidy pile in my head. That way, when I needed them most, they’d be there, like Albert’s had so readily been.
“Don’t you give up hope, RJ. I believe you will get out of here. You’ll go on with your life and probably forget all about the old guy in apartment 140.”
“You? Never.”
“That’s the spirit. I tell you what. I’m gonna put in a good word for you with the man upstairs. Tell him you deserve a second chance.”
“I’d appreciate that.”
“But you gotta promise me you won’t waste it. Get back on that stage. Stop living like an outsider. Make every day you’re alive mean something. Like me, RJ. I got no regrets. I lived a damn good life.”
I knew all this. What Albert was proposing wasn’t rocket science. But saying you will do something and actually doing it are two very different things. The truth was, if I died today, I’d do so as a man who’d squandered the best years of his life because he couldn’t let go of the anger and the past hurts. My career. My friends. My fans. Dani. All this time with her right next door! Why hadn’t I opened my eyes and made those days with her mean something? Maybe then I would have seen her for who she truly was. Despite only knowing me as some down-on-his-luck asshole, when everything was on the line, she’d chosen kindness and compassion over her own wellness and safety. I didn’t deserve her devotion, I knew that, but somehow, I sensed her act of selflessness was the stepping-stone I’d needed to become a better man. A more patient man. A more lov
ing one.
A man who would die happy.
“I hear ya, Triple A.”
He didn’t respond.
10
Dani: For a Good Cause
I looked at Jeremy. He looked at me. We both looked back at the store.
Then I briefly closed my eyes, resigned to what needed to be done despite being adamantly opposed to doing it.
Thou shall not steal.
Those weren’t just words to me. My first—and last—foray into theft had been as a five-year-old girl swiping a pack of gum. Mom made me take it back to the store and explain to the manager what I’d done. The mortification alone was enough to cure my thieving ways.
Until today.
Trust me, the last thing I wanted to do was to break the law and steal what wasn’t mine. I was a teacher, who taught good values to her students, and this was not modeling good behavior. Under normal circumstances, I would’ve jumped at the chance to be a paying customer. But if the opportunists streaming out of the front entrance with big screen TVs in tow were any indication, the store was not operating under normal circumstances. The earthquake had jolted awake the looters, who had then come out in force to take what was not theirs. And sadly, if I wanted to get RJ through the night, I was going to have to join their uncouth ranks.
Jeremy turned his attention back to me, his eyes widening as he grasped the full extent of the plan formulating in my head.
“Oh, no. No way, Dani.”
Shame colored my cheeks, the residual side effect of the good girl I used to be.
“I’ll come back with money in a few days,” I hastily explained. “And I’ll repay them for everything I take.”
“No, you won’t because you’re not going in there,” he ordered.
I jerked my head back, surprised that he thought he had any authority over me at all. His comment only made me dig in further. “I’ll do what needs to be done.”
Jeremy’s eyes narrowed. “Then you’ll do it in the grocery store down the street. I’ll drive you there now.”
If I hadn’t already determined Jeremy wasn’t for me, that decided it. “You will not do that. This is the store I want to go to. Besides, it’s doubtful there’s a store in a ten-mile radius of the epicenter that’s going to look any different than this.”