by Avery Stites
“Uncle Donnie, daddy called me the day before yesterday and said he wasn’t going to come home for a really long time. He also said you were going to bring me something.” She looked at me, expectantly.
“That’s right; I did bring something for you. It’s money from your daddy for your college education, and for things you and your mommy will need.”
She nodded. “Well that is nice of him,” she replied. Her voice turned more serious. “So you saw him then, to get the gift?”
I nodded. “Yes ma’am, I did.”
“Where was he?”
“I saw your daddy in California.” I could feel my throat tighten. “He told me to tell you again that he’ll miss you.”
She looked away, her gaze cast out among her things in the room; she seemed to not really be focused on anything. Then: “I’m going to miss him, too.”
I put my arm around her shoulder and she looked down at her lap.
“He’s not coming back, ever, is he, Uncle Donnie?” she asked. .
I paused for a few moments, and then sighed. “No, honey...he isn’t.”
She shook her head knowingly. “I didn’t think he was. I always thought that one day he wouldn’t come back at all.” She got up from the edge of her bed and paced for a few moments. “That’s nice about the money,” she said.
“I’m sorry, Marie. I know it’s hard.”
“You know what, Uncle Donnie? It is hard, but I’ve been expecting it.”
“Me, too,” I said, “Me too.”
Chapter Fifteen
The ride home from Kate and Marie’s home was time I spent thinking about how things had transpired in Los Angeles between my brother and I. In retrospect, I had no regrets, and I didn’t feel much toward him. He had made his choice; I had given him the chance to walk. Burning the Tahoe with him inside was almost poetic in a way, and it wasn’t like I could have brought his corpse home. When Kate was ready, I would have the conversation with her about what really happened, and years down the road, if she wanted, I would do the same with Marie. Kate didn’t know what I did for a living, but she knew all was not as it seemed on the surface. It had suited me just fine that she had never asked any questions. Yet I knew that the days of that type of familial anonymity would soon be a thing of the past after what had just happened.
I then thought about the type of men Gerald and I were; in the end, he had become a terrible person. I didn’t know what he had done to that girl in his apartment, exactly, but I knew. It took a certain type of person to do the types of things that took the light out of a young person’s eyes. I know that I’m not a good man, but that’s not how I’ve ever operated.
***
I pulled my new Toyota Tundra through the gates to my neighborhood, moving down the twisting road. It was nearly dark, and I was ready to eat something and rest. Tomorrow would be a new day, but for now-
My cellphone rang; it was the work phone.
I reached into my pocket and answered, not even needing to look at the phone number.
“Twenty-six, here.”
“Number twenty-six, is it finished?” It was the man who had followed me to the storage unit.
“It is.”
“That’s good,” he said. “Good to hear.” He didn’t waste time. “How are you feeling, physically?”
“I’m getting better every day.”
“Good,” he said, “Because tomorrow morning, you will receive a phone call with instructions.”
“I’m ready,” I said.
“Then back to work you go.”
The man hung up, and I put the phone back in my pocket. I walked out onto my back deck, breathing in the cold winter air. I looked up at the clear sky, at the layout of the stars and realized that while things had changed for me, they had not really changed. The stars were still overhead. The world was the world. And tomorrow, I would go out and do what I was trained to do.
I was ready.
The End
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