Shutdown Fever
Date: 05.02.2010Keywords: Fever, Shutdown,
Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Next
She was a single mother when he met her, but once he had met Bobby, the fact that she had a child was inconsequential to him. He really liked her boy, and they had bonded well once he and Donna had become a couple. Lately he had begun to think of formally adopting Bobby so that he could give him the McLean name.
Hugh decided that he would first check at Allison and Jerry's, to see if his fears were just foolishness. As he turned down the street towards their house he realized his heart was beating faster than normal. 'What if she isn't here; or what if she is, and Allison really is in California?' These thoughts were racing through his mind as he pulled to a stop across the street from the Black residence. Jerry's car was in the driveway, but there was another car in front of it that he couldn't see very clearly. It was in the shadows, and he hoped that it wasn't his wife's car. The house was in darkness, and he knew that if they were playing cards and having a few drinks they would be in the kitchen or living room, and he could tell from where he was parked that there were no lights on downstairs.
Staring at the house and the mysterious car in the shadows wasn't doing anything to calm down Hugh's racing heart. After about a minute of thought, he quietly got out of the car and let the door swing back gently, trying to be as quiet as he could. He had to check that mysterious shadowed car to see whether it was his wife's or not. As he walked around the side of Jerry's red Mustang, his worst fears were confirmed; it was Donna's car all right. She had apparently pulled around Jerry's car and parked in front of it.
Hugh was confused now, uncertain of just what he should do, and very unsure of what exactly was going on inside. He decided to walk around the house, thinking that perhaps they were on the patio. As he walked along the sidewalk at the side of the house he began to feel calmer, having convinced himself that they would be seated on the patio enjoying a beer. As he rounded the house though, he could see that the patio was empty; no one was enjoying a drink under the stars. He walked further into the back yard and looked up at the house. There was a dim light in the window at the center of the upper floor. He'd been in the home often enough to know which room that was.
A surge of anger overtook him, and he quickly retraced his steps to his car, where he opened the trunk and took out the hammer he kept there. He was hefting the hammer in his hand as he walked purposefully back to the house. It wasn't until he approached the side door that he began to slow down and bring his thoughts under control. His initial decision had been to use the spare key he knew was under the welcome mat at the door. He had already imagined their startled faces when he came into the dimly lit main bedroom, swinging his hammer, intent on beating them senseless.
Visions of the aftermath had come to him in time though, and he realized he couldn't do that to another human being, regardless of his motive. He would have had to do away with himself too, as he couldn't imagine living with the reality of what he had intended to do. He stood by the back door, pounding the hammer lightly against the palm of his hand, thinking about what he should do. Finally he backed away from the door, and went to his wife's car.
Donna had the bad habit of leaving her keys sitting in the tray in the center console whenever she parked her car. He always told her it was an open invitation for someone to steal the car, with the door unlocked and the keys in plain sight. He opened the door quietly, grabbed her set of keys, and left the hammer on the driver seat. After quietly closing the door he went back to his car and drove away, heading back to the home he and Donna had shared.
It was only a few blocks drive, and about the time that he turned into the driveway the full effect of what was happening caught up with him. The fatigue he felt from the long day of work and driving, combined with the realization that the woman he had fallen in love with was now in the bed of his onetime good friend, brought tears to his eyes. For the next 10 minutes, time that seemed more like an hour to him, the tears flowed unabated as he grieved for what he had lost. Eventually the grief began to be supplanted once again with anger, controlled anger that got him thinking about a plan, a way to salvage some pride and punish his cheating wife. As a plan was formed he regained control of his emotions, and 15 minutes later he got out of the car and headed to the house with a look of determination on his face.
His first step was to empty his two suitcases, and take the dirty laundry to the laundry room. His dirty clothes could be washing while he went about completing his tasks. The now empty suitcases were lying on the bed, and he began to carefully fill them with his clothes from the closet and the drawers in the dresser. When the two suitcases were fully packed and could hold no more, he took them to his car. He knew there were boxes in the basement storeroom, so he went down and got several of them, neatly dumping their previous contents into piles on the basement floor. Donna could get replacements and clean up the mess later.
He proceeded slowly through the house, gathering the things that belonged to him. The house and furniture belonged to Donna. She was already living there when he had met her, so there wasn't going to be any need to worry about who was getting what. Hugh knew that he hadn't contributed a lot of items to the house, although there were several things he would claim as his own. There was a laptop that he had purchased to replace their aging computer system. He would leave the older system for Donna and Bobby to use. They had two DVD players, so he carefully removed the one connected to the basement TV, and packed it and that TV into the car.
By 3 a.m. he had the car full, and left to find himself a motel room for the weekend. He found a clean place about 3 miles from his former home, and unloaded the first load from the car into the room. Within an hour he was back at the house, loading more of what he considered to be his share of the community assets. He included a box of assorted dishes and cutlery, another of bedding and a third for the books, CDs, DVDs and videotapes that he felt were his. During all of this packing, his work clothes had been washed and dried and added to the car. The last hour was spent packing his tools from the basement and garage into the trunk of his car. By 6:30 he was finished, and made a slow pass through the house looking for anything that he had missed. The last item he found was a recent photo of Bobby, and he placed it in his pocket.
His final act was to sit at the kitchen table, and while he drank a cold glass of water, he wrote a short note and stuffed it into an envelope. That envelope was left in the middle of the kitchen table, with Donna's key ring weighting it down. He left the door unlocked as he walked away. A half hour later he had his remaining possessions stored in his motel room. The next 10 minutes were spent under a hot shower, letting it wash away the day's sweat, and the tears that had returned when he realized it was all done. After crawling naked into the bed he fell asleep almost immediately, the long day, the stress and the emotions having finally caught up to him.
**********
Donna McLean rushed up the sidewalk to her back door, upset that it was already 8:30 and she had wanted to be back home well before eight, before anyone would be likely to see her arriving home. Some fool kids had stolen her car keys so she had quickly walked home to get her spare set of keys. Jerry had offered to drive her, but she was pretty upset with him and was also worried about what the neighbors might think if a strange man drove her home at that time of the morning. It was safer for her to just walk home on her own. Her biggest concern was that the spare house key wouldn't be where it was supposed to be, at the bottom of her clothespin bag.
As she approached the rear door she turned the knob by habit, and was surprised to see the door open for her. She silently cursed herself for having forgotten to lock it, and rushed inside and set her purse on the counter. If she remembered correctly, the spare car keys should be in the drawer under the telephone. As she walked to the phone she glanced at the table, and realized something there didn't fit. She stopped and looked more closely, and realized her missing set of keys was sitting in the middle of the kitchen table.
"How did they get there?" She had spoken this aloud, without even realizing it, as she was so shocked at seeing her key ring there on the table. She reached for the key ring and then noticed the envelope below it. A look of curiosity was quickly replaced by concern, as she looked around her to ensure there was no one else in the room. With shaking hands she picked up the envelope and removed the paper inside. As she did that, something fell from the envelope and bounced across the kitchen floor. She thought she could see something under the edge of the counter in the general location where the item had disappeared from her view.
Donna unfolded the paper and read it twice before the full realization of what it said struck home to her. When it did she collapsed onto a kitchen chair, her face in her hands, sobs wracking her body. She began repeating, over and over, "God no, dear God no!" It became her mantra as she sat on the chair rocking back and forth. Tears began to find their way down her cheeks and her hands, which were still covering her face. After a couple of minutes the phrases she was uttering changed, becoming, "What have I done, what have I done!"
She eventually calmed down enough to pick up the note and read it again, hoping that it didn't say what she thought it did.
Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Next
Keywords: Fever, Shutdown,