Chapter 8

Todd stood in front of Marc seeming to wait for some kind of response. Marc sat in the white metal chair on his side porch, watching him through dark aviator sunglasses.

"How you feeling, little brother?" Todd asked cautiously. "Zdenka called me. She was a little worried about you."

"Zdenka's a nice person," said Marc. "You should be nicer to her."

Todd ascended the three short steps to the porch, "I can't be anything to her because I haven't seen her in three days. She says she can't come to work because she can't leave you alone with your son."

"Because I'm drunk," Marc laughed.

"Because you've been drunk all weekend and now it's Monday afternoon and you're still drunk and haven't left the house. What the fuck happened, Marc?"

"I had my meeting with Eileen, Tamara's mother," said Marc.

"And that caused this? How much did you have to give her?"

"Fifteen thousand," said Marc. "I fucked her."

"You sure did." Todd shook his head, "She could have easily..."

Marc shook his head, causing the world to wobble on its axis, "No. I fucked her ... on my living room floor ... more or less in the same spot I first fucked her daughter."

Todd froze, then glared at him. He crouched down to get in Marc's face, "Let me get this straight. You won't fuck Zdenka, but you fucked your underage girlfriend's mother who was blackmailing you?"

Marc shook his head more carefully, "No. I fucked Zdenka, too. She's a nice person."

Todd winced and rubbed his forehead, "Shit. Is it to late to send my wife, too? If you're going to fuck every woman in sight, I'd rather keep Zdenka and let you have Allison."

Marc stared up at him, "I'm a horrible person, Todd. I'm not even a person. I'm a monster."

Todd gripped Marc's arm and gave a tug, "Get up."

Marc wobbled and nearly spilled onto the ground before the world stopped spinning around him. Marc dragged him by the arm to edge of his pool, then pushed him to his knees. He pointed, "I want you to look at something on the surface of your pool. Do you see it?"

Marc looked at the water made pale blue by the sides of the pool, "I don't see."

"Look closer."

If he'd been sober, Marc might have known better. But, he leaned forward for a closer look and didn't realize what Todd was up to until his brother's hand closed around the back of his neck and shoved his face under the surface of the pool. Marc flailed and fought, air bubbling out of his mouth and nose in a panic. He struggled until he started to feel like he was about to pass out. Only when he went limp did Todd pull his head out of the water. Marc spit out water and tried to protest.

"Take a deep breath," said Todd. "You're going to need it." Then, he shoved Marc under the water again. Marc hadn't gotten the breath Todd recommended and couldn't flail this time. He just went limp and stayed limp, even as the edges of his vision turned red. After thirty-five years of seeming to want to kill him, Todd had finally decided that take the direct route. Marc didn't have the strength to fight his fate.

Then, he was on his back on the grass, again panting for air. He thought he might have blacked out. Zdenka crouched down and handed him a towel, which he coughed into.

Todd stood and watched him until he was able to stop choking, "You sober enough to listen now?"

Marc realized that he was. Apparently, coming within inches of death did wonders for clearing the mind. He nodded.

"Good," said Todd. "Because I only want to say this once. We're all monsters--every single person on this planet at one time or another is a monster. You wake up every morning and decide what you're going to be and you don't let what you were yesterday make that decision for you."

Marc shook his head, "That's the most retarded thing I've ever heard you say."

"Maybe," Todd shrugged. "I don't do the philosophy shit and you shouldn't either. You've got an infant son to take care of and a better life than most. Stop fucking it up. Is that better?"

Marc nodded, less because he understood than because he didn't want to water-boarded any more.

"Good," said Todd. "Now sober up, straighten up, and stop fucking up. You're in a huge hole. Stop digging." He turned to Zdenka, "Do you mind staying here a couple more days?"

Zdenka shook her head, "I will watch them. Bring me some clothes from the apartment, please."

It was two full days before Marc felt completely sober. That night, he gave Zdenka a hug at the front door, "It was unbelievably good of you to stay."

Zdenka smiled, "It was nice. Adam's easier to take care of than Todd."

Marc laughed, "Well, it was still unbelievably good."

Zdenka nodded, "Marc, what we did that first night, maybe you shouldn't tell anyone. It was nice and it felt good to be wanted, but..."

Marc winced, " I think I may have told Todd when I was drunk. I'm sorry."

Zdenka laughed, "Todd knowing, I don't mind. It will drive him crazy if he thinks I liked you better. Trust me."

Marc nodded, "All right. If that's how you prefer it, your secret is safe with me."

Zdenka leaned in and kissed his cheek. As she did, his phone rang. He extracted it from his shirt pocket. It was Dana, who hadn't called him since he'd answered the phone drunk a few days back.

"She's dead. Can you come to the hospital and pick me up?"

"Who's ... your mother?"

"Yes. I'm at the hospital. Can you come get me?"

Marc glanced at Zdenka, who nodded and shooed him out the door.

Dana sat in Sweetness's passenger seat with her eyes closed, a serene look on her face.

"How do you feel?"

"Numb." Dana smiled, "Marvelously numb. I think this is what dying of hypothermia must feel like."

"Where do you want me to take you?"

"Your house." She turned and faced him, "I want you to take me to your house, let me have a shower, and then fuck me until the sun rises. Do you think you can do that?"

Marc didn't answer right away. Dana went on, "I promised myself that I was going to do two things when she died. The first was to have someone come in and clean that house from top to bottom until it doesn't smell like dead old woman any more. The second was to have you do to me every nasty, dirty perverted thing I've ever been too afraid to do. The cleaner will be there tomorrow at nine."