The Gorging (3 page)

“Alright. You boys have a safe trip back.” This was odd coming from Miller, a man that usually kept a grudge against the law, especially those who pull him over and write him a fat ticket for driving too slow. His feelings must be a little on the low side at the moment, knowing the most money he can bring in from his farm would be from the pile of aluminum cans lying about ten feet in front of him.

“I’ll be seeing you soon,” said Sergeant Anderson. “Maybe I’ll help Sheriff Johnson with the investigation. Don’t you go getting crazy with that shotgun looking for those boys either.”

“I’ll shoot ‘em if they come back. I’ll tell you that much.”

Sergeant Anderson chuckled then he and his nephew stepped down from the porch, got in their patrol car and left for the trooper station, leaving Miller sitting and grieving over his lost cattle and chickens.

Miller waved as they left with a beer in his hand. He pulled the beer down to his lips and took a long drink. He shook his head as the tears began to drip from the sides of his tired eyes. He held in his emotions as best he could until the troopers had left. “I hope they can figure this out before it’s too late for everyone.”

WYOMING

The alarm clock on Bobby Evan’s nightstand sounded at six o’clock in the morning. His wife Nikki woke up and was disturbed with the buzzing sound.

“Can’t you set that thing on quiet mode or use your iPhone to wake you up?” Her words were muffled by the pillow she pulled over her head to block the annoying sound from the clock. She usually works nights at the Cheyenne General Hospital as a nurse. The twelve hour shifts can be tiresome and losing much needed sleep in the morning times just makes the next time at work that much more bothersome. She had the night off and wasn’t expecting to hear a blaring buzzing noise from the alarm. Her husband, however was expecting it as usual. He had to be at work at the Cheyenne Central News Station by eight o’clock. The alarm continued to buzz louder and louder.

Nikki rose up in bed and stared at Bobby. “My God. Can you turn that thing off?” She laid back down, flopping her head on the pillow and letting out a deep breath, wishing she could get back to sleep again.

In a half-asleep moan, Bobby leaned over and tapped the top of the alarm clock with the palm of his hand. “I wish
I
could sleep all day.” He turned toward his wife with a sarcastic grin to his face. He rolled over closer to her and plopped his arm across her chest and made fake snoring noises. Surely, this would make her laugh.

“You know I stay up all night. You get to go sit in a cubicle and write little stories all day. I actually have to change bedpans and wipe people’s throw up off my scrubs. You want to change jobs? I’ll gladly change jobs with you.” She leaned toward him and rubbed her nose against his. They both giggled. Bobby and Nikki have been married for the past ten years and are still very much in love as if it were the first day they had met. “Don’t forget to get Eddie up and make sure he eats breakfast before you take him to school.” She laughed and rolled back over, pretending she fell back to sleep. Now she’s making the loud fake snoring noises.

Bobby’s grin quickly went away. “Oh come on. You always take him to school. I don’t have time to get him there and then get to the office on time.” He shook her shoulder. She smiled with her eyes closed, trying hard not to laugh. “Come on Nikki. You know I hate being stuck in traffic with all those dimwit parents that thinks their child is smart because they’re on the honor roll. You know those bumper stickers that say ‘My kid’s an honor student at Jefferson Elementary School.’ Eddie’s too smart to go there. We can just home school him.”

“Nope. It was my night off and I’m sleeping the whole day. Besides, who would teach him at home? You? Ha. You couldn’t teach a jack to pop out of its box.” She let out a loud laugh as she turned back toward Bobby and kissed him on the cheek, then quickly turned back over and buried her face in the pillow. Bobby lay there on his side, just a little angry, not with his wife, but at the dumb parents he would soon have to deal with. Plus, he wouldn’t be able to lay in bed until six-thirty like he usually does in the mornings. Now he would have to get up right away and make sure Eddie wasn’t pretending to be sick again.

Eddie may only be ten years old, but he’s got the whole game with playing hooky figured out. Sometimes he’ll blame it on something they had for dinner or sometimes it would be the magical flu going around school and he just doesn’t want to catch it. Smart kid.

Bobby rolled himself out of bed and touched his bare feet to the cold hardwood floor. He pulled them back up quickly, feeling as though he just stuck his feet on a floor covered with thumbtacks. He slowly put them back down as though he was dipping them in a hot tub of water. He tiptoed over to the sink to brush his teeth. Nikki lay in bed, peaking at him out of the corner of her eye. She was all too in love with her husband. She wishes she were back on the day shift so she can spend more nights with her husband and play with her son more often, rather than just coming home from work only to take him to school then return home and pass out until seven-thirty that night. Up and at ‘em. Another shift at the hospital taking care of patients that should have taken better care of themselves.

Bobby knows the time differences between their schedules are starting to hurt the family. He wants just as much as Nikki does to be able to spend more time together. He feels like they are drifting slowly apart. He doesn’t want to end up like his parents when he was a child. Divorced and switching on and off weekends to take care of Bobby. Bobby always promised himself that he would never let that happen to his family and he knows he has to do something to keep it from ending up the same way. It’s a crappy way for a child to grow up.

“You think you can take a few days off this weekend?” Bobby had toothpaste running out the sides of his mouth as he spoke to Nikki. She was trying to get back to sleep. “I think we should take a weekend and go down to Denver. You know check out what John Denver was talking about. You know, how high the Rocky Mountains are?” He kept jabbing the toothbrush in and out of his mouth as he stood in the bathroom doorway, mumbling the words.

“It’s kind of weird that you actually know who John Denver is.”

“He was my dad’s favorite. We had to listen to it every time we drove through Colorado on road trips. So much fun I tell you.” He rinsed out his mouth and gargled with mouthwash.

“I should be able to take some time off,” said Nikki as she lifted her head and smiled at Bobby. “I’ll put in for it when I get to work tonight.” She put her head back down and spoke into the pillow. “Better hurry up. Don’t want to get stuck with those parents, do you?” Her giggles were muffled as she kicked her feet up and down like a child playing under the sheets. Bobby began to laugh and nearly spat mouthwash on the bathroom mirror. He caught most of it by putting a hand over his mouth. He looked in the mirror and stopped laughing as he thought about what it would be like to finally take a vacation with his family after so long. The news station has been working him to death lately and a break would definitely do him some good.

Eddie’s still asleep in his bed that’s shaped like a racecar ready for the Indianapolis 500, buried under the pillows and the blankets with tiny cars printed on them just like the bed he’s in. Eddie doesn’t want to go to school. He never did like it. The kids at school liked to bully him because he’s a lot smarter than most. Seems you have to be dumb to fit in with the other school kids, but Eddie’s parents wouldn’t let him fall behind on his grades. Bobby walked in the room and shouted; pretending he was a poet, “Get up. Get up. It’s time to get to school buttercup.”

Eddie moaned and groaned at the sound of having to go to school. “I don’t want to go dad. I don’t like it there.” He rolled over and pulled the sheets down from his face. “I don’t feel good. Check my forehead dad. It’s hot.”

Bobby put his hand on Eddie’s forehead and said, “Yeah, you are a little warm big guy.” As he held his hand there, he noticed a wet towel lying on the floor next to Eddie’s bed. He picked it up and noticed it’s rather warm. He looked at Eddie. “It usually helps if you dispose of the towel to make your head feel warm before I came in here.”

“But dad—“

“Not going to work with me today, kiddo.” Bobby tossed the towel in the hamper next to Eddie’s closet and sat down on the bed next to him. “I’ll tell you what. If you get up and get ready quick, we’ll stop for a couple of steak biscuits. How’s that sound?” He rubbed his hand on Eddie’s forehead. “You’re not sick, so let’s get up and at ‘em cowboy.”

“Alright dad.” Eddie moped out of bed in his pajamas that have the little cars printed on them as well. Eddie loved the little racecars and always played with his toy cars when he wasn’t helping out around the house doing chores, usually ramming them into the baseboards. “Can I get a soda, too?”

“No soda for breakfast. You know that. Your mother says it’ll rot your teeth.”

“You drink soda all the time and you still have teeth.

“I do?” said Bobby. “Mine are fake now. I drank too much soda as a kid. Want to see?” Bobby pretended to pull his teeth out of his mouth.

Eddie covered his face. “No dad. Stop. You’re teeth aren’t fake. You’re just messing with me.”

Bobby laughed and walked toward the bedroom door. “Now hurry up. You can’t be late and I don’t want to get fired.”

“Dad?” Eddie sat up on the edge of his bed.

“What is it son?” Bobby stopped just before he walked out of the bedroom.

“Do you love mommy?” Eddie gazed at his dad, waiting for the truth.

Bobby looked at Eddie, wondering why he would ask such a question. “Of course I do son. Why would you ask that?”

“I don’t know. I just had a bad dream that you left me and mommy here and things turned out bad. And we needed your help, but you wouldn’t come home.” A tear started to trickle down the side of Eddie’s face.

Bobby walked over and put his hands on Eddie’s shoulders. “Don’t be silly Eddie. That was just a bad dream. I swear to you that I’ll never leave you two and that I’ll always be here whenever anything happens. Okay?”

“Okay dad.” Eddie wiped away his tears.

“Now get ready for school.” Bobby walked out of the room and Eddie started getting dressed.

In the kitchen, Bobby grabbed an iced coffee out of the refrigerator and turned on the television. “That’s funny. I know I paid the bill.” He flipped through the channels, but nothing was on except for that classic snowy screen. He hadn’t switched over to satellite because he liked watching the Cheyenne news channel he worked for and where most of his stories were broadcasted. It was his way of being able to see that he served a purpose in the world, watching his work on television. “Damn it.” He turned it off. He would miss out on part two of his story he put together for the Channel 4 Investigation Team. It was his best work yet. Putting the words together after all the research he had done on the unethical treatment of the animals in the local shelter, it was his prized possession. He felt he should get the Pulitzer Prize or maybe some other fancy top award for his efforts. Especially after one of the sheltered dogs bit him. He had to get rabies shots for that one.

Eddie walked in the kitchen just as Bobby turned off the television. “You shouldn’t curse, dad.” Eddie was holding his backpack in his hands. “Mom says it is bad for our health.”

“That’s your mom alright. The nurse knows best.” Bobby rubbed Eddie’s hair and hurried him along so they could hit the road, Eddie off to school and Bobby off to the little cubicle that makes him feel useless and claustrophobic for eight to nine hours a day. The others he worked with, the newscasters, the journalists, the producers, they were the kind of people that put on a nice face upfront, but they are two-faced and unloyal. They’ll stabbed you in the back just to make a break for the better story, who can get the most air time, and on and on this goes every day.

Bobby and Eddie packed into the little Ford Focus and headed out of the driveway and down the road toward the city. It was only three miles to Eddie’s school, but it would be another ten for Bobby to get to work. The drive was usually an easy one, considering traffic doesn’t get that bad in the city of Cheyenne. It may be the capital, but this is still small town America.

“Are we still getting those biscuits, dad?” Eddie glanced over at the restaurant as they drove past.

“Oh shit.” Bobby completely forgot about the promise he made to Eddie just to get him out of bed. He must have been thinking about the story he’s working on so he can impress his boss. He thinks he’ll get a raise if the producer likes it, but he won’t. The guy’s a total prick.

“I’m gonna tell mommy you’re cursing again.” Eddie laughed as he looked at his dad, but got jerked to the right and then back to the left when Bobby quickly changed lanes to keep his promise. There seems to be a lot more traffic on the road this morning than usual. Bobby nearly hit the Chevy Cavalier driving next to him in the left lane.