Chapter 7

Cody went into the kitchen to prepare breakfast. He couldn’t remember the last time he had ventured into that particular room with the need to cook. Angie had always ruled over the kitchen. He knew the general layout and where most things were stored, but it was just general knowledge.

It took him a little time to prepare a breakfast of scrambled eggs with bacon. The bacon was a little burnt and the eggs were runny, but he had made it so he ate it. He had a feeling that he was going to be eating a lot of less than spectacular meals. He had to admit that Angie had been a good cook.

After eating, he went around the house with the intention of making a quick mental inventory of items. If he was going to pack up his wife’s stuff, he had to have some sort of idea how many boxes would be required. He expected it to take a few minutes. What Cody didn’t count on was that there was a lifetime of memories scattered around the house waiting to ambush him when he least expected it.

There were little mementos of past trips. They were mostly stupid things that a visitor would toss out as trash. There was a small hula doll that they had picked up in Chicago at a strange little restaurant with a Hawaiian theme. They had been in a good mood that night – laughing over little jokes and enjoying their meal. Looking at the hula doll brought back the memory so strong that it was just like it had happened yesterday.

There were things that had special meaning because of the effort that was required to get them. After shopping around for an entire Saturday, they found a bedroom set that Angie just had to have. Unfortunately, it was priced for a lot more than they had available. It was still early in their marriage and they didn’t have much credit. They had saved money for months to purchase it. Each time they went to get it, the price had gone up and they were short. About the time they had given up on ever getting it, it had gone on sale for less than the original price. They used the extra money to buy a new mattress.

Cody kept it together until he reached Liz’s bedroom. Opening the door had been like opening an emotional floodgate. When he looked at a cute little stuffed doll left on her bed, an image of his daughter engaged in a sexual act flashed through his mind. Everywhere he looked in the room, the obscene superimposed itself over the innocent.

He sagged down and cried.

It took him thirty minutes to pull himself together enough to close the door to Liz’s room. He came to a decision, he had to get out of that house. It would be easier to pack his stuff and leave everything else behind than to get rid of it. The house itself was a reminder of all that had passed.

Cody went to the bedroom and packed a suitcase with his clothes. It didn’t take as long as he thought it would. Most of his valued possessions were in the garage. It was there that a fatal flaw in his plans became apparent. His car was still at the bar. He called a taxi.

It was a little after eleven when Max and Marylou stepped into the bar. They had swung by to pick up his car. There was also a matter of the bar tab. Max couldn’t remember if he had paid it or not. Much to his surprise, Cody was seated at a table staring down at his beer.

“Hello, Cody.”

Cody looked up. “Hello, Max. Have a seat.”

“Thanks, Cody. This is my wife, Marylou. Marylou, this is Cody,” Max said.

“Nice to meet you,” Marylou said.

Cody said, “Pleased to meet you.”

Max held out a chair for his wife. She took a seat while thanking him for the courtesy he had shown her. He sat down next to her and took her hand in his.

“I couldn’t remember if I paid my bar bill last night,” Max said.

“You didn’t,” Cody said. “None of us did. John over there covered it for us.”

“John?” Max asked.

“The bartender,” Cody said while gesturing towards the barman.

“I never did get his name,” Max said feeling a little guilty.

“Well, it was a little crazy yesterday,” Cody said.

“You can say that again,” Max said.

Cody asked, “What would you like to drink?”

“Wine,” Marylou answered.

“Beer,” Max said.

Intending to pick up the tab, Cody shouted, “Hey John. How about a beer and wine over here?”

“Coming right up,” John answered.

It was a minute later when he showed with the drinks. Max handed him a fifty dollar bill and said, “I hope this covers today and last night.”

“Last night was on the house,” John said.

“Keep it, anuway,” Max said.

“Thanks,” John replied.

Max raised his mug of beer and said, “Cheers.”

Marylou raised hers as did Cody.

“So how did things go last night?” Max asked.

Cody answered, “Not well.”

“What happened?” Max asked.

“It turns out that my wife knew all about the sex site. All she could see was how much money the kid was making,” Cody answered. “The damned girl dropped out of college and used the money I sent to pay her tuition to start that damned site. My wife didn’t see anything wrong with her doing that.”

“What kind of mother is she?” Marylou asked shocked to her core.

“Hell if I know,” Cody said. “She just kept talking about the money.”

“That’s sad,” Max said.

Cody started talking about his daughter. Marylou listened wide eyed as Cody described a girl exactly like Barbie. She hadn’t really believed Max, but she nearly strangled on her wine when Cody talked about how his wife would cook separate meals for her because she was a picky eater. He ended his little stroll down memory lane with, “Now she’s a whore.”

“What are you going to do now?” Max asked.

“I’m leaving,” Cody said.

Max said, “I don’t blame you.”

Marylou asked, “What about your wife?”

“She’s unemployed and unemployable. I figure she can go to my daughter and get her own fucking website,” Cody said. “I don’t care what happens to her.”

Marylou was quiet. She didn’t feel comfortable talking too harshly about Cody’s wife. She saw a lot of herself in what Cody had said about the woman.

“So you’re drowning your sorrows?” Max asked.

“No. I just wanted to get a drink to take the edge off my headache,” Cody answered. “I didn’t feel very good this morning. I didn’t eat anything last night and the booze hit me hard.”

“Same here,” Max said.

Guy walked into the bar and went to the table. He took a seat and said, “Hello everyone. I was across the street dropping off a new thermos for Selena and noticed Max coming in here. I thought I’d see how things went.”

Max said, “Hello, Guy. Guy, this is my wife, Marylou. Marylou, this is Guy.”

“Nice to meet you,” Guy said.

“Hello,” Marylou said. “I heard about your problem.”

“What can I say?” Guy said, “I guess you know he’s unemployed.”

“Yes.”

Guy asked, “Are you worried?”

“We’ll manage somehow,” Marylou said.

She had a feeling that the new and improved Max wasn’t going to have a problem getting a new job. He had an aura of confidence that he had never had before. Others would see that and respond.

Guy looked over at Cody and asked, “How did it go last night?”