Chapter Five
~~ In and out of hiding places
soon I'd have to face the facts
Lucky swung through the door to Jake's, making a face at the stale, leftover smoky bar odor from the previous night's occupants.
"Clean up your face and clean up your act," Jake berated him as she looked up from cleaning the bar counter. Jake stuffed the cleaning cloth in her pocket and glared at Lucky.
"Hey, Jake," Lucky said casually as he walked up to the bar.
"Hey yourself, Lucky Spencer," replied Jake. "Where were you last night and why are you coming in here late? You've already missed unloading the first delivery, and I had to take care of the boxes myself, thank you very much."
"Geez, you sound just like my mom, Jake," Lucky complained.
"Yeah, well, you need a mom to kick your sorry butt every now and then. And, I guess I've volunteered," Jake yelled, hand on hip. "Get over here and sit down. I'll fix you a sandwich. You look like you haven't eaten in a week."
"Maybe a day or two," Lucky laughed.
"And, after you've eaten, I expect you to pick up a mop and help me clean this place up," Jake ordered.
Lucky looked around the bar while Jake fixed his sandwich. The place was virtually trashed with chairs overturned, ketchup smeared on tables, and beer bottles leaking their remains on the floor. Home, he laughed to himself.
Lucky's eyes took on a faraway look as he
remembered another place and time. It was his birthday, and his friends had planned a
surprise party for him. Elizabeth had invited him to Kelly's after it closed, and he'd
opened up the door to a darkened dining room.
*** "SURPRISE!!!"
Elizabeth, Nikolas, and Emily jumped up from their hiding places and yelled at the top of their lungs. Lucky stood there stunned and very happy. He smiled shyly and walked up to his friends.
"What's all this?" he asked in mock anger. "I thought this place was closed."
"Closed to everyone except for the most special person in the world." Elizabeth's eyes sparkled as she kissed Lucky's lips and pulled him into a hug. "Happy birthday, handsome," she whispered in his ear.
Elizabeth took Lucky's hand and walked him over to the table that Nikolas was preparing. Nikolas opened up four boxes of Eli's ribs and fries. "Fit for a king," Nikolas teased. "Good enough for a Prince?" Lucky teased back.
After dinner, Emily slipped into the kitchen and brought out a whole big platter of brownies. Elizabeth lit the candle in the middle of them and said, "Make a wish and blow out the candle, birthday boy!"
Lucky closed his eyes and wished with
all of his heart that he'd never forget this night. With an exaggerated puff, he blew out
the candle and received his wish. ***
"Wake up, Lucky! Lucky?" Jake waved her hand in front of a zoned out Lucky and snapped her fingers.
"Huh? Oh, yeah, Jake." Lucky returned to the present. He looked at the plate in front of him, regretting that Jake had prepared him a meal. He wasn't hungry anymore and had a powerful craving for what remained in the opened liquor bottle in his room.
"Thanks," he said, reaching for the slightly burnt and greasy grilled cheese sandwich on the plate. He took a very small bite and sat back.
"I know I'm no Betty Crocker, but it can't be that bad, can it?" Jake admonished.
"No, it's great. I just have this stomach trouble. Can't eat too much at one time." Lucky held his hand over his abdomen. He quickly finished half of the sandwich under Jake's watchful eye. "Maybe I can save the rest for later?" he asked as he pushed away the plate.
"Here's your mop," Jake said. "Get goin.' This place is reopening in a few hours, and I want it tidy."
Has this place ever been tidy? Lucky wondered.
Jake watched him with an eagle eye as he slowly moved the mop over the floor. What's up with this kid? she thought. This isn't the Lucky Spencer that I used to remember. Luke used to bring Lucky around sometimes on a Saturday afternoon, and we would sit and talk business and swap old war stories. Lucky had been so bright and inquisitive - so much energy that he couldn't sit still in a chair. This Lucky just about falls asleep while mopping the floor. And he sleeps most of the day and goes out a lot at night. Jake shook her head. That one is up to no good. I promised Luke that I'd look after him while he's in the pen, but I don't want any trouble in my place. Jake walked into the kitchen with Lucky's plate as he continued to slowly run reluctant circles with the mop over the filthy floor.
~*~*~*~
Lucky washed his hands in the cracked porcelain basin full of watery, blue toothpaste, a reminder of last night's battle. He dried them off on his dirty jeans, walked over to his bed and flopped down on it. He picked up the half-empty whiskey bottle and inspected it while he turned it slowly in his hand and held it up to the thin light trailing from the window. No drowned bugs. He had remembered to place the lid back on the bottle before leaving the room last night. He unscrewed the top off the bottle and drank down its contents quickly, letting the powerful liquid roll down his throat, into his stomach and on to his blood stream. He drank it down as quickly as a can of soda on a hot day.
Last night… Lucky tried to remember all of the events of the previous night, but could only recollect buying some drugs and snorting them. Every thing else after that was hazy. He remembered nodding off, feeling warm and safe. Lucky promised himself that he'd only take drugs in the privacy of his own room from now on. He shook his head as he remembered his close encounter of the Taggert kind. That was too close for comfort. If Taggert had searched him, he'd be busted and cooling his heels in a jail cell right now. Maybe they'd arrange a double cell for him and his dad in Pentonville. Lucky idly wondered if prisoners were assigned to cells by alphabetical order. He supposed Senior would receive the bottom bunk and Junior would have to make do with the top.
Lucky finished his bottle, and threw it haphazardly at the new black trash bag that he left in the room's corner. The bottle bounced off of the far wall and rolled in place on top of the trash bag. "TWO!" Lucky yelled in amusement at his athletic prowess.
Lucky fell back on his bed, hitting his head on the flat pillow. He wasn't too worried about his tenacious six legged friends right now since it was daytime. Lucky sighed and turned over on his side as he closed his eyes and placed his hand under the pillow to pull it closer.
"%^^&*((^^%!!!!"
Lucky's hand felt something hard and oval under his pillow. He flew upright in his bed and flung the pillow to the floor. Godzilla the Dead stared him right in the face. Obviously, the death of his son last night was too much for his sensitive soul, and he'd crawled under Lucky's pillow and expired. Lucky got up from the bed, padded over to the toilet, ripped off a section of toilet paper, and gingerly picked up the expired cockroach. He threw the toilet paper slash bugaboo into the toilet and imitated 'Taps' with his pursed lips and cupped hand over his mouth. He then ceremoniously flushed the corpse to its watery grave.
Pulling up the thin sheet and blanket off of his bed, Lucky shook the covers violently, inspected underneath, and then let the covers float back onto the bed. He crashed into the bed and promptly fell fast asleep.