The Death of Virtue: Part V

His eyes throbbed from within their thin, dark lids. Lightening shot across from temple to nose. It had been one hell of a day.

Two new clients, getting chewed out by the overzealous and pompous boss, working on that obnoxious middle-aged man’s knee, and the ever-present-and-growing-load of paperwork. The interior of his car had never felt like such a haven.

He had basically marched out of work, forgetting - or maybe not forgetting - to say goodbye to his co-workers. The walk through the lobby and into the parking garage had become so typical he didn’t even remember taking the steps. All he wanted was that few-degrees-warmer-than-outside, two-shades-darker-inside, slightly-more-humid four-seat refuge.

He slumped down into the front seat, laid his head back on the headrest, closed his eyes and the front door at the same time, and stopped. That’s when he grabbed his eyelids and the electricity jumped from cranium to eyeball.

Somehow, he was completely uncomfortable and completely at peace at the same time.

But naturally, it was not meant to last more than a fleeting moment. His passenger seat began to rumble melodically as his cell phone rang its too-familiar New Message vibration. ‘Not now. Just don’t pick it up. Just let it be until you’re miles from here, back in your apartment, with your stomach full of food and beer, and midway through the soccer game’. But he couldn’t ignore it. Some innate force, something was simply taking over control of his right arm and causing him to reach across the center consol and underneath his coat. ‘Nope. Just drop it. Just let the phone go, and trade it for the car keys. Go ahead.’

His arm emerged from under the coat, and within his palm came that damn cell phone. ‘Fine’, his face showed his sour emotions to the empty car and rather vacant garage. He flipped the phone over in his hand and opened it up.

Message from Daniel

Click.

Call me soon as you can.

‘Daniel? I wonder what Danny wants.’ He pulled his left arm down from the window basin and shifted his weight forward. Hitting the Call Back button, he cleared his throat. The electronic ring from his phone echoed in his ear.

“Ah Mattie! Thanks for calling me back so fast, eh?”

“Sure thing, Danny. What’s going on? I haven’t heard from you in ages, cousin.” Matt knew something was just a little bit wrong.

“Well, it’s a bit strange, mate. Kind of a story. I walked into the coffeeshop about a half hour ago and this woman bumped into me. After I got my drink, I headed to leave when I saw this purse on one of the couches. “

“The shop huh? That teenager still ceaselessly almost-throwing-herself-at-you?”

“Uh.. What?” Daniel’s nervously planned storytelling stalled as Matt forced him to think “Yeah, Mattie, she’s still there”.

Matt noticed the harsh and complete stop in Daniel’s aura. Something had actually happened.