o0ZLe p00l

7

 

Bugs wakes on the couch under the freeway. He has a clean pair of jeans and longsleeved shirt on. He stands, stretches and yawns.

This rouses Fido too, who sits forward, rubs his eyes and yawns as well.

The nut looks at the dog. "You want to show me where the house is now?"

 

"Good morning. I slept well, thanks for asking."

"Good morning. You want to show me where the house is now?"

Fido stands. "Yeah, ok. Let's go."

Bugs follows him down the asphalt lane to the main drag. Grease Squirt rises from behind the sofa and tags along.

Fido leads his 2 cohorts to a lot across the street from an almost dilapidated frame house built probably in the post WW2 years. The lawn has died and just dirt remains. Detritus, mostly empty wine bottles and cans, litter it. Warped plywood covers a broken window, and just broken glass hangs in another.

In the driveway an old banged up mini pickup with a cracked windshield occupies the driveway.

"This looks like the place, but more trashed," Bugs says doubtfully.

"It's been awhile. Go on, check it out. What do you got to lose?"

"I don't know." Bugs looks at Fido, but he's gone now.

The wacko stares at the wrecked house more. Finally he shrugs and marches up to the front door.

Bugs knocks. No one answers so he knocks again. After a few moments he tries the door, finds it unlocked and just goes inside.

Old furniture and empty bottles and cans mess up the living room. The interior matches the exterior. Nobody seems to be around.

A half dressed couple who just woke come in from another room. The dude asks Bugs who he is.

He says, "Bugs. Hi, who are you?"

The dude points out, "You're the one who just walked in off the street."

"I'm pretty sure I use to live here. Do you know a pretty girl with a rose tattoo on her neck?"

"Lots of girls have rose tattoos."

A guy walks in the front door with a quart of wine.

"What's up Bud?" Dude greets the guy.

"Nothing. What’s up?" Bud opens the wine, takes a slug and passes the bottle.

Dude sits with his Girl on the couch and lights a joint.

The new guy, Dude and his Girl pass the joint and bottle but offer none to Bugs, who just stands there.

Dad, about 20 years older than everyone else, comes out, and putting himself in the middle of the rotation, takes some wine and a hit off the joint. Someone else who's been sleeping on the floor under a rug gets up. It's one of the street punks who tried to jack Bugs. He looks him over, recognizes him and strokes his chin. He too gets a slug of wine and hit off of weed.

Bugs apprehends this but pretends not to remember the would be extortionist.

Dude asks Dad, "Hey Dad. Do you know this guy?" He shakes his thumb at Bugs.

Dad looks at Bug, not sure. After a bit his face lights up. "Bug!" He hugs the wanderer. "How long you been out?"

Bugs hesitates, "Awhile, I guess."

Dad offers Bugs a hit off of the joint but he declines.

Dude tells Dad, "Hey Dad, I know where to get some aluminum stud scrap."

"In awhile maybe."

Bugs asks, "Dad, Do you know a pretty girl with a rose tattoo?"

Dude's girl finishes the joint. The bottle keeps on going around.

"Yeah, Rose. She's in Commerce City." Quickly Dad looks like he said something he shouldn't have. "But it's been awhile."

"Do you have her address or phone number?"

"No, like I said, it's been awhile. I wrote it down somewhere but I lost it."

Dad grabs for the bottle of wine but it's empty. He pulls a 1/2 pint bottle out of his coat pocket with a shot left in it and drains it.

"Hey Bugs, can you lend me $5?"

"I'm broke, Dad." he replies. "Everyone wants my money," Bugs thinks to himself.

"Where are you staying? There's always room for one more here. After all, it use to be your Ma's house."

"I've got a place. A big place."

"That's great. If you ever need a crashpad though, come on by."

"Thanks. Have fun Dad. I better go."

"Where you going? You just got here."

"I got appointments. You know. Good bye."

"Laters. Take care of yourself."

Bugs leaves.

The street punk tells Dad, "That guy hustles. Like pulls a crazy act."

"It aint no act, kid."

"He's like a psycho street musician. He's got a fat stack of cash. Me and Problem saw him hide it in his shoe."

"Oh yeah? And he held out on me? And I practically raised him? Why, that ungrateful nutbag."

Dude says, "Let's go get that scrap metal."

"Nah, me and Nasty are going to go shake Bugs down. C'mon." Dad hand signals the street punk to follow him and the 2 exit.

Bugs hurries away down the street, into the alley, through a back and then front yard and out onto the next street.

Fido and Grease Squirt go after the crazed wanderer.

"It's very strange that that hood was there. He tried to jack me downtown. Everyone wants my roll," he tells Fido.

"It aint that strange." the dog replies.

"What are the odds."

"Long, but not astronomically long."

"In a city as big as Big Rock?"

"Take the fact that both are indigent. That lowers the odds significantly. And the fact that Drunk Ass Dad and the hood are both shady, a little more."

"But it's still a long shot," Grease Squirt debates.

"Longer shots happen every day. How many people get winning lotto tickets every hour though the odds are long? But say I agree with you and say that some supernatural force seems to be at play. It couldn't be so because just because we can't explain something doesn't mean there's not an explanation. It happened. It's as simple as 'shit happens'."

Grease Squirt nods as they all make tracks.

Dad and Nasty come out of the house and look up and down the street for Bugs. He's not around. Dad gets into the driver's side of the truck and Nasty gets in the passenger's seat.

Nasty asks, "So what do you mean you raised that psycho?"

"He's my stepson." Dad starts the truck.

"Where we going?"

"Commerce City. Rose's. My daughter's. He wants to find her. He will."

"How do you know?"

"He's crazy, not stupid. Commerce City aint that big and she aint that hard to find. If he's going to hold out on me for a $5 nibble, I'll take the whole roll."

"Sounds good." Nasty smirks.

The truck pulls out of the driveway and rolls out onto the street.