Chapter 1: The Gift

Cody White was having a very bad day. Rain fell from the sky in sheets which immediately soaked anyone caught outside. Cody, desperate to get to a job interview, thought he could make it to his car without getting too water logged by using his over-sized umbrella. Halfway through his mad dash toward the car, his prized over-sized umbrella inverted in the wind leaving him exposed to the torrential downpour.

“Fuck,” screamed Cody.

He paused a few steps from his car. He knew showing up at his job interview in a soaking wet suit would make a very bad first impression. He made a snap decision and ran back to his apartment building. He tore up the three flights of stairs to his floor, then fumbled with his key before he crashed through his apartment door.

His dropped his briefcase by the door, then left a string of clothes as he ran to his bedroom. He found a pair of black slacks and a sports coat. It was not a suit but it would at least be semi-formal and better than than the water logged clothes he previously wore.

As he dressed, he saw his reflection from the bedroom mirror. He was very tall – six feet five inches – but he was very thin. He played basketball throughout high school and was heavily recruited by several colleges. During his senior year he tore an ACL in his knee and needed surgery. The surgeon botched the operation and ruined Cody’s chances of ever playing basketball again. The hospital quickly, and quietly, settled out of court. Cody now had a trust fund that his parents controlled. They allotted him enough money for his apartment rent and a monthly stipend for food or other expense. Even if they were more generous, the fund would only last ten years at most. He needed a regular full-time job.

He ran a comb through his short, curly, black hair. It was just recently that he cut his locks from below his shoulders to a shorter, more professional look, at least according to his mother.

Redressed, he stopped at the closet and wedged his raincoat from the back corner. It was too warm to wear in this weather, but it would keep him dry. Outside he walked to his car feeling better that he was wearing the raincoat. He put his briefcase in the backseat and climbed in behind the wheel.

When Cody pulled away from the curb he saw a taxicab quickly careen through the intersection behind him to beat the traffic light. The cab’s excess speed caused it to drift to the far right and just over the edge of the line for parked cars. Cody had only moved a foot or two out of his parking spot but it was far enough. The speeding cab hit the front corner of his car with a sickening crunch.

The cab driver wasted no time. He jumped from his vehicle and started to shout at Cody. “What the fuck, man? Didn’t you look? I’ve got the fucking right of way!”

Cody knew he was in the right and if the cops were called, or if the red light camera was checked, it would clearly show the cabbie in error. However, he stayed seated behind the wheel of his car in an effort to stay dry and maybe rescue his interview. If the cabby would just leave him alone he could force his car back into his parking spot and call an Uber.

The cabby’s verbal barrage continued.

“Get out of the car, asshole! At least roll down your fucking window.”

Cody did neither until the cabby hit his window so hard it cracked. He reacted on instinct and threw open the car door, hitting the cabby and knocking him to the ground.

“What the hell?” Cody bellowed.

“First you hit me, and then you hit my window so hard you cracked it? What the fuck is your problem?”

The cabby struggled to his feet and took a second look at Cody. He was over a foot shorter. The rain coat Cody wore gave him the appearance of a much bulkier man.

“Look at my car!” bellowed Cody. “You hit me, dickhead. You know what? I think I will call the cops. It will take two minutes for them to realize you practically ran the red light. They’ll give you the ticket which means you may lose your hack license.”

Cody fished his phone out of his pocket and moved to dial it when the cabby offered a few more colorful words, then gave Cody the finger and ran back to his car. As the cabby roared away, he nicked Cody’s car again, causing the driver’s side door to close, which caught Cody’s arm as it slammed shut. The door jarred Cody’s arm and he dropped his phone into a puddle of water. He watched the screen flicker and darken as the water seeped into the phone.

When Cody bent over to retrieve his phone a large truck passed nearby and plowed through a muddy puddle of water. The huge wave cascaded down the front of Cody’s gaping raincoat.

“Fuck! Again!” he screamed as he stood with his dead phone in one hand while the other tried to hold his raincoat shut. Dirty water dripped inside the raincoat and down his chest.

Cody flopped into his car, put it in reverse and backed into the parking spot he barely exited. He left his briefcase in the car and trudged back to his apartment muttering every curse word he could imagine.

When he got inside he stripped, leaving a second set of clothes strewn across his apartment. He walked naked to the landline phone. Thank God for small favors he thought as he pulled open the notebook sitting next to the phone. He took the first call from the recruiter on his home phone and made notes in the nearby notebook. He found the number for the recruiter and punched the number into the phone. He tried to explain what happened, but the person he spoke with had no sympathy. He was told that arriving on time for the interview was the most basic requirement. There were no exceptions and a follow-up interview would not be scheduled.

Cody slammed the phone down, chipping a piece of the plastic off of the earpiece. He spun toward the refrigerator and roughly opened the freezer. Inside, he found a half-empty bottle of vodka. He took it out and slammed the freezer door closed as if daring it to come off its hinges.

He opened the bottle and took a very long pull, shuddering as the painful burn slid down his throat. He made his way to his recliner in the living room and dropped heavily into it as he pulled another long gulp of the burning liquid. After a third chug he emptied the bottle and then laid his head back against the leather and fell into blissful drunken unconsciousness.

Four hours later he awoke in a state of confusion. His whole body was shivering. He slowly opened his eyes and realized he was naked in his living room. An empty bottle of vodka sat on the end table next to his chair. The events of the afternoon crashed back into his memory in depressing clarity.

He got up and relieved himself in the bathroom before going to his bedroom. He could not find clean underwear or socks in his dresser so he decided to go commando. He pulled on a pair of mostly clean jeans and a ratty t-shirt that was on the top of a pile of previously worn clothing. He slipped his feet into a pair of sandals and returned to the living room where he retrieved his soaked wallet from his wet dress pants.

He left his apartment without any real purpose in mind other than a vague thought of finding food and more alcohol, and likely not in that order.

When he exited his apartment building he found that the rain had stopped. He saw his wrecked car and muttered a few more curses at the cabby before he shoved his hands in his pockets and shuffled up the street.

The clouds started to clear but dusk was falling so the streetlights were flickering on to illuminate the sidewalk. When his stomach grumbled, he thought of Billie’s. It was a local bar about six blocks from his apartment where he sometimes went to watch a game and have a few drinks. He figured he could get an appetizer and some beer, satisfying both of his goals.

Cody entered Billie’s and saw that it was mostly deserted. Billie stood at the bar wiping it with a rag. She smiled when he entered.

“Hey stranger,” she called out. “Been a while. How’s it going?”

“Don’t ask,” Cody replied. “Been a shit day.” He pulled out a stool and watched Billie pull a draft of beer and slide it to him.

“Then this one’s on me,” she said.

Cody drained the beer quickly, ordered food, and then a few more beers. Before the food arrived an unexpected thunderclap sounded overhead and another round of rain began.