Simple Things

by Press, Lycan Valley

  Amy picks at her food and thinks of herself at thirty, forty, god help her, maybe even fifty next to this behemoth. They'd have a kid eventually, and when that kid came there would really be no more room to move. They'd sink together into Marty's community like dinosaurs into the primordial tar pit of his awful little world. Those inky, mediocre depths would take her air – her life force – but preserve her just the same.

  For display.

  There was the promise of his death – almost inevitably to come before her own – but who knew when that would be?

  She thinks of walking away, and of herself in six months’ time. Sitting at cheap table in a dingy little apartment with leafless gray February glowering at her through a spider-webbed window. Rummaging through divorce papers and lawyer fees and the mounting student loan debts that had just become her sole responsibility. No children to worry over, but no money – no room to move. Instead there would be an indefinite sentence in a city of scowling faces and shut doors. Her grades would suffer, and that's if she could even afford school without him. She'd eventually be rid of him through the courts, but in all likelihood she'd drop out of school and then... no. Their story didn't end in a volcano going off. Fate wouldn't burn her. It would drown her.

  You think you've got me. Like I'm just a character to you, same as Newton's wife was to him, and you think that you're writing our book and you can decide if I'm standing at the end or if I get destroyed.

  Marty looks up at her with sauce all over his mouth like a baby and sees that she's smiling and smiles back and grabs a fresh slice of the coronary special. The first of many she will order in the coming year.

  That's the thing about books, Marty. You can always skip ahead to the end.

  She sees it as if it is before her. The end-paper of the story of Marty and Amy, as told in the first new Orange Keyhole book to be released in almost a century. A keyhole is carved deep into the back cover. Outlined inside in black ink – a fat man clutching his chest, driven to his knees by a killing pain. And looming over him is the shape of a woman, her dark fists raised in celebration, her black face slashed with a crescent of laughter the color of sunset.

  Most kids love toy telephones. Even before they can talk and understand language, you can hand them a toy phone and they’ll chatter into it all day. Have you ever wondered who – or what – is listening on the other side?

  Author Robert Teun found out the hard way. He still remains unconvinced that being a writer is the kind of activity that is a fit occupation for an adult, but it's too late now. He lives in England with his family somewhere in the countryside.

  JACOB’S CALL

  Robert Teun

  ADAM and Jacob curled up on an armchair dressed in black suits and shiny shoes. Lights out, television bright, burnt shadows flickering against the wall. Jacob clung to his toy iPhone. Adam stared at the television but didn’t watch it. He couldn’t shake the image of the beetle shell coffin lowering into the ground from his mind, knowing Anne, his wife, and Jacob’s mother, lay inside leaving them in a relentless darkness. The crushing void between them and an infinity of emptiness. Two hunted animals trembled in their hiding. Their lives colored in shades as rich and as dark as the Devil’s Rainbow.

  “Can I still talk to Mommy?” asked Jacob, voice cracking with emotions he could barely understand.

  “We’ve talked about this haven’t we? Remember what Father Finnegan said-”

  “We pray. But I don’t like praying.”

  “Why not?”

  “I don’t think God will let her. I tried to pray, but Mommy didn’t talk back.”

  Adam held Jacob tighter, his tears silent causalities in the war of grief.

  “Daddy?”

  “She watches from Heaven; she’s watching us right now.”

  “Really?”

  “I promise.”

  Jacob slid down to the edge of the seat, breaking the hold. He took his blazer off, pulled at his tie, and stretched it down to make a tight knot. Adam shifted down to Jacob’s level then placed a pair of soft hands over Jacob’s and wrangled with it until loose.

  “I’m going to ring Mommy tonight on her iPhone. I know she’ll hear me then, Mommy always has it.”

  Adam rose to his feet, walked to the kitchen, and poured himself a glass of water.

  “Jacob, I think it’s your bedtime now.”

  Adam felt he needed something stronger. He needed Jacob out the way so he could drink and mourn in his way. It was a couple of hours past Jacob’s bedtime anyway. Adam lifted his son and carried him to the bedroom with Jacob’s arms wrapped around his neck. Soon his son would be too big for this.

  Teeth brushed. Bedclothes chose. Lion in one hand, a toy iPhone held tight in the other, Jacob lay in bed waiting for his father. Adam bent down to kiss his son goodnight, Jacob held up the teddy first, “kiss Lion, then me.”

  Adam did so.

  “Daddy”

  “Yes,” replied Adam as he stepped towards the door.

  “Do you think Mommy still knows she’s my bestest friend?”

  “Of course, she does.” Replied Adam, he then blew a kiss, turned out the light, and closed the door. Adam turned and leaned against the door with his eyes closed.

  ***

  Adam awoke, showered, and dressed. In the mirror, a night of tears dried on his face. He combed his black hair into a side parting, just as Anne liked it.

  Jennifer, Jacob’s nanny would be in soon. As much as he wanted to stay at home, mourning would not pay the bills. Wallowing in memories would only hurt. At least, at work, he could vent his anger, far away from Jacob.

  Poking his head around the door of Jacob’s bedroom, Jacob sat on the window seat with his toy iPhone to his ear, looking out towards the surrounding trees and a lake just behind the house.

  Adam sat next to Jacob.

  “Don’t worry; I’ll tell Daddy.”

  “Tell me what?”

  “Shhh, I’m on the phone,” sighed Jacob, shaking his head. He paused. Nodded. “Okay, I’ll tell Daddy.”

  “Tell me what, Jacob?”

  “Mommy said, don’t forget your house keys.”

  A chill cut through Adam. His mouth turned dry. The strength ran from his legs leaving him weak. Just for a moment, he believed that Anne was on the other end of the phone before a thought entered his mind. Anne reminded him daily about his keys. Adam sometimes didn’t bother with them knowing that Anne would be home long before him; there to greet him at the door with a kiss. Jacob would have seen this ritual every day. The poor boy just wanted for everything to be back to normal. That was all. Adam hugged Jacob tight.

  “Of course, I’ll remember, you’ll be here to give me a hug when I get home, won’t you Jacob?”

  Jacob said nothing.

  ***

  Adam pulled into the driveway and found another car in his spot. Adam parked up behind it, locked his car and entered his home. Jennifer waited just inside the door.

  “What’s going on, Jennifer? Whose car is it parked outside?”

  “Mr. Murkowski’s waiting for you in the living room. Jacob’s upstairs. He said he’s sorry.”

  “Who’s sorry?”

  “Jacob is. But you’d better let Mr. Murkowski talk to you first. Before you do, just know I love Jacob, and you know that. I had no idea what he was doing. One minute he was there and the next. Poof. He was gone. Andy was with him.”

  “Mr. Murkowski’s son?”

  Jennifer nodded.

  Adam took his coat off, hung it on the coat stand, and went to the living room.

  Mr. Murkowski stood waiting; he was a good five inches taller than Adam’s six foot. He had a voice you could crack a walnut on. Adam reached out and shook hands with Larry Murkowski.

  “Can I offer you a drink, Larry? Take a seat.” Adam went to ask Jennifer to give them a moment to find she had already gone.

  “No thanks, Adam, not today. I’ll get straight to the point because I don’t know any other way o
f going about it.” Larry said as he pulled out his cigarettes with trembling hands, pulled one out and lit it. He smoked between words.

  “You know I’m a widower, so I know how you feel.”

  Adam doubted Larry knew how he felt at this moment. In fact, he felt it impossible. How any man loved his wife was different from the next.

  “Well, Andy took it hard. He cried just as any little boy who loses his mother would. He got angry. Only natural. He lashed out. Swore. Acted out but nothing too bad. Nothing that couldn’t be fixed.”

  “What happened, Larry?”

  Larry Murkowski’s shoulders heaved as he fetched a deep sigh.

  “I was driving down here to pick up Andy from a playdate with Jacob. Thought with everything going on, Jacob could do with a friend right now. I’d arranged it with Jennifer, and she said you wouldn’t have minded. Anyway, one minute they’re playing on the sidewalk then I see Jacob take a step back then run at Andy before he pushed him right into the road as another car was coming down there like a missile. That guy must’ve seen Andy on the road just in time to hit the brakes. He swung the car round to stop himself from hitting Andy. Now he must’ve thought it was his fault because he came flying out of that car to see if Andy was all right. I took the guy to one side, explained that it was an accident, no one’s fault. God knows how I would’ve coped if he hadn’t of stopped in time. I couldn’t cope without Andy and Betty. I tried to sit Jacob down to find out what was going on and why he did it.”

  “Did he explain why?”

  Larry took a deep draw of his cigarette.

  “Well, here comes the odd part and the part I don’t expect you to believe, but I’ll say this. You need to take the boy to see a counselor, see if you can’t help him deal with his grief better.”

  “With all due respect, Larry, I know how to deal with my son.”

  “Adam, I need you to listen for your sake as well as Jacob’s. He said to me that all mothers need to be with their children. He said Betty had told him on the phone. Now I’m going to leave it at that Adam, but you’ll understand if Andy doesn’t come around for a while, won’t you?”

  Adam nodded.

  They shook hands and Adam showed Larry the door and said that he was sorry for what Jacob had done, then closed the door before rushing up the stairs without as much as a thought of how he would handle the situation. But one thing was for sure; the phone had to go. It wasn’t healthy. Adam got to the top of the stairs and stopped. He heard Jacob talking.

  “Mommy, I don’t think Andy will want to be my friend anymore.”

  ***

  Later that night, Adam snuck into Jacob’s room as he slept, reached out and slipped the plastic iPhone from Jacob’s grip. Adam didn’t feel right doing it. Sneaking back downstairs, Adam decided against putting it in the bin in case Jennifer would think it was there by accident. Knowing it was Jacob’s favorite toy, she’d only be inclined to fish it out for him. No. It had to go far from here. As he held it, he could feel something off-kilter about it. He couldn’t have put it into words with a gun to his head. It just felt wrong. Cold, not to the touch but in how it made him feel.

  He felt dread. He felt death closer than he had ever had before. It was there, in that little plastic toy phone. Adam grabbed a coat, left the house, leaving the door locked. He traveled down to the lake and looked out to the still waters. Adam cocked his arm back and cast the phone as far as he could.

  He went home, but he couldn’t sleep. The phone would not leave his thoughts. It rang in his dreams.

  ***

  Adam woke, washed and got ready for work. His eyes felt heavy, his body was beaten. Padding by Jacob’s room with lead-filled feet, he heard talking. He pressed his ear against the door and listened.

  “I thought you were gone, mommy. I got scared. Are you scared? You said it was dark where you live. You said it was cold. Do you want a blanket? I can bring you a blanket if you want.”

  Adam held his breath and pushed the door open, his hand never leaving the handle. He slipped into the room. Jacob sat there with his back turned to the door, gray light filtering in through the window, a pink phone held to his ear. The thin black cord was laid out like a snake on the floor.

  Jacob rested the handset on his shoulder, speaker pressed against the fabric of his nightshirt, and cocked his head over to meet Adam’s gaze.

  “Mommy needs me.”

  Then turned back to face the window, not saying a word, phone still pressed to his shoulder.

  It occurred to Adam that his son would not speak until he had his privacy.

  “Love you, son, stay away from the road, okay? See you when I get home.”

  Nothing. Jacob had learned God’s first language, silence.

  Backing away, Adam left the room without another word.

  Jennifer waited as Adam’s footfalls chopped down the stairs.

  “I didn’t see you there, Jennifer.”

  “It’s okay; you look like you’ve had enough already. Are you okay, Mr. Brown?”

  Adam nodded with pursed lips. “Can you keep an extra close eye on Jacob today for me?”

  Hurt registered in Jennifer’s eyes, her face fell, her smile faded like a dying star.

  “I told you, Mr. Brown, that I honestly had no idea where he and Andy had disappeared to. They're little ninjas. I am sorry about what happened.”

  Adam shook his head, stepped down to Jennifer’s level and patted her hand. “I know it’s not your fault, I mean it. But what I mean is just keep an eye on him and the phone. I didn’t expect all this to be easy for him, but I didn’t expect him to act like this either.”

  A ghost of Jennifer’s smile returned. “Okay, I’ll hide his iPhone up for the day.”

  Adam glanced away. “I’ve already taken care of that. But he’s now using an old phone I thought we’d thrown away. I worry about him. I know it’s hard, but this is getting unhealthy.”

  Adam rolled up his sleeve and checked the time.

  “Crap. I’m running late. Keep a close eye on him will you and talk to him. He always listened to his mother more. Maybe he’ll listen to you more than me.”

  “He’s got Lion if he won’t talk to us. Better than a phone don’t you think?”

  Adam shrugged his shoulders then turned. He reached the door, stepped out, and then drew himself back in before he left for work.

  “Thank you, Jennifer. Really.”

  ***

  Adam rushed home, foot pressed down, running through red lights, weaving through traffic, begging beneath his breath. What had possessed Jacob to do it? Was it an accident? He played the blurted phone conversation with Jennifer over in his mind. She made no sense. All he gathered was that he had to be at home.

  Now.

  Adam flinched as an Ambulance wailed past him in a flurry of lights. Adam turned left, the ambulance just ahead. It turned right. The same way Adam needed to go. Then down the straight road, then right again. Adam’s gut lurched forward as he traveled in the ambulances slipstream. He knew where it was heading.

  His house came into view. People gathered either side of the street. Curtains flickered. Adam pulled up behind the ambulance outside his house with screeching brakes.

  Swinging the car door open, he wrestled with the seat belt to escape to the sidewalk. Larry Murkowski’s car jutted out at an awkward angle. Fence collapsed. Grass ripped. The smell of hot brakes and oil hung in the air. Jessica sat on the edge of the step of the ambulance’s cab. Her head cocked back as an emergency technician checked her over.

  Adam’s legs wobbled, his chest turned cold, the hairs on his neck rose. Larry leaned against his car holding a wad of tissue to his nose. His eyes were already bruising. Cuts adorned his head. Adam prepared himself for the worst.

  Larry looked up, burst into tears and staggered forward with his arms outstretched.

  Adam flinched and stepped back, but Larry moved faster, wrapping his arms around Adam.

  He sobbed.

  “Larr
y?”

  Larry snorted then wiped his eyes on his sleeve as he released Adam then held him at arm’s length. “I’m sorry, Adam, I am.”

  “Larry?”

  “I didn’t see him, honest. I called the ambulance.”

  A feeling of dread punched Adam in the gut, winding him.

  “What have you done, Larry? What the hell have you done?” Said, Adam, as he pressed forward but Larry held him at arm’s length, refusing to let Adam move forward. Looking over Larry’s shoulder, Adam saw Jacob on the ground like a broken toy. Fury rose melting fear. Yanking Larry towards him with a snarl, “You! You did this on purpose didn’t you? Didn’t you!”

  Holding his hands up, Larry protested. Adam yanked Larry up until his toes dragged along the road, before throwing him to the ground. “You’re not worth it.”

  Larry’s arm rose, propping himself on one arm and reached out to Adam with the other as he lay.

  “Wait! You’ve got to hear me first!”

  Adam wasn’t listening. He ran over to Jacob’s still form lying in the garden. The emergency response was a flurry of wires, bandages, and rubber gloves. Adam felt the bile rise in his gut towards his throat. Adam saw one of them look over her shoulder and at him.

  “You the father?”

  Adam nodded as he stepped closer.

  “No,” said the emergency technician, rising to her feet then towards Adam. “We’re doing everything we can.”

  “Will he be okay?” Adam’s words stumbled from his mouth.

  “As I’ve said, we’re doing everything we can. Once we can get him to breathe, we’ll be better for it. You can help us by getting him a bag ready and staying as calm as possible.”

  Adam nodded. He felt useless. But, if he couldn’t be at Jacob’s side then maybe Lion could.