“Chevelle. It’s my first name. Franklin is my middle name.”
Patton rolled his head back and chuckled, partly because he thought Frank’s name was funny, but mostly because he was beginning to feel drunk.
“Anyway,” Frank said, smiling at his friend’s reaction, “my old man… he was strong and quiet, but he was great. I never saw him cry, not even once. Not even when his mother died. This one night after dinner he comes into my room. He closes the door behind him and he pulls up a chair.”
Frank paused, his face taking on a dreamy expression, as if he could see the moment in his mind’s eye. “He touches my hand and kinda closes my book so I know he really wants my attention. So I sit up at the edge of the bed and really look at him. And man I’ll never forget that look in his eyes.”
Frank took a sip from his drink and set it down on the table. “I’d never seen him like that… you know… quiet. Humble. Hurt, almost.”
“Meek?” Patton said, taking a stab at what his friend might be getting at.
Frank looked at him and considered the word for a moment.
“Yeah… that’s a good way to put it.” Frank sat up and leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. “Anyway, he leans forward a little and his eyes are a little moist and he says ‘Chevelle, you’re a smart kid. You got a chance to make somethin’ of yourself so don’t you be messin’ around with these damn gangs.’” Frank paused again. He cleared his throat, trying to hold off emotion. “Then my old man said, ‘You have the chance to get this family outta this damn place. Whatever you do, help your brothers and sisters.’ I took that as his greatest wish. His dying wish.”
Patton reclined back again, gazing at the stars. “My dad was quiet. It was my mother that did the talking in our house.” He said it and was surprised to feel a sudden rush of emotion. He realized he was missing her.
Frank chuckled and then said, “I just can’t imagine that. I mean my Momma could talk but it was my Dad who disciplined all the kids. Momma would just write down what us kids did and then my dad would whoop our asses when he got home from work.”
They both chuckled.
“My Mom ran our house with an iron fist,” Patton said. “My dad would take me and my brother and my sister out of the house just to get a breath of fresh air.”
Patton turned serious and asked, “So did you?”
Frank looked at him, confused.
“Do what?”
“Help your family?”
Frank reclined again, swirling what was left in his whiskey glass.
“I helped who could be helped. My brother was a heroin addict so I couldn’t do much for him. One of my sisters got pregnant when she was 14.”
Patton grimaced and let out a loud breath.
“Yeah, I’m glad the old man was gone by then,” Frank said. “He woulda killed that girl. Anyway, I helped some of my brothers and sisters through school. Helped another brother buy the old shop where Dad worked. His son is running it now,” Frank said, with a satisfied look on his face.
“That’s great, man,” Patton said, impressed with his friend’s generosity.
“What about you?” Frank asked him.
Without turning to look at his friend, Patton said, “My brother is a lawyer and my sister is an accountant for a big firm. They didn’t need much help from me. Anyway, I made a lot of money, but after I lost my family…”
Frank smiled sympathetically, understanding what Patton was trying to say. He pointed to the house where Jennifer was inside and said, “Now you have a reason to keep going.”
“I almost didn’t make it,” Patton said, his voice betraying a bit of emotion.
“To here?”
Patton nodded, but Frank knew there was more to it.
“After the accident I went into the hospital and they had me drugged up. I don’t even remember the funeral. After a while they let me out but I wasn’t getting better. Drinking. Painkillers. Nothing worked. Anyway, I didn’t need to work because I already had enough money. Maybe that’s what my problem was—I had nothing to look forward to every day.”
Frank nodded, silently encouraging his friend to keep going.
“One day I was going through my shop and I found this gun I’d made. It was all made of composite plastic, you know, that really hard stuff. Anyway I guess I got the crazy idea to try out my invention—to see if my life’s work had been worth it. And I was about to do it when my little nephew called.”
“Right then?” Frank asked, almost disbelieving. Patton nodded and gave Frank a funny little laugh.
“It got me distracted. I love that little kid. He’s always so happy. He was calling me because it was his cousin’s birthday and he wanted to tell me he loved me and was sorry,” Patton said, tears running down his cheeks now. “I held that gun in my hand the whole time I talked to him, but eventually my grip was getting lighter and lighter. By the end of the conversation it was on the table by a lamp.”
“Then what?” Frank asked, riveted.
“I got into my car and drove down to the mental ward of the hospital and checked myself in. I was in there for a while and when I got out, I wasn’t completely better, but good enough to go on.”
“Well Buddy, I’m glad that you did,” Frank said, turning his attention to the night sky again.
They fell silent for a long while, taking in the beauty before them. Patton was the one to break the silence.
“I’m drunk.”
They looked at each other and laughed.
She wanted to grab his hair and scratch out his eyes. He sounded like one of those whiny little crybabies she’d gone to high school with.
“Charlie, you’re making too big a deal out of this,” Anna said, trying hard to remain calm. He was pacing around wildly, his hair disheveled. He was so angry he didn’t respond to her.
“So what if they didn’t get him,” she said. “This Larsen guy is just one person. There’s nothing he can do to stop us.”
He stopped pacing and looked at her, shaking his head in disagreement.
“He’s just one person, but he’s convincing. You saw that. He’ll fight us tooth and nail on this.”
She rolled her eyes, not caring if he noticed.
“Charlie, you’re not looking at the big picture here. People want a government. They don’t know how to live without the structure. They’re scared. They’re like children.”
Their argument continued for another half hour. Neither of them budged from their original position so she asked him to leave. They should sleep it off and start again in the morning. What she didn’t tell him she had a date with David.
“We need to do something,” Charlie said as he opened the door to leave.
“Charlie, I’m done with this for right now. Go home. Have a smoke. Have a drink.” Then, placing her slender hand on his forearm she said, “the wheels are already in motion. There’s nothing these people can do anymore.”
“I hope you’re right,” he said, turning and slinking away towards his car.
She wanted to slam the door to show her displeasure, but she decided against it. She still needed him, even if he was showing himself to be a liability.
Hours later Anna was propped up on her elbow, gazing affectionately at the man in her bed. It was the longest he’d ever stayed, she realized. Usually, once they were done, David was up and dressed and out of her apartment before she could even say goodbye. Maybe he was tired tonight, she thought. Or maybe he had something on his mind.
He was acting differently towards her. He was much more passionate and much more intimate. He didn’t sneer at her when she got sentimental. He returned her hugs and kisses now, and he was much gentler with her in bed. He was asleep now, but she had no doubt he would wake up at some point, get dressed, and leave her. For now, though, she would take in the sight of him.