Between mercy and control
1273 Words
Marcus
“ So you're telling me, you had an affair with someone who's technically your niece?" Devin questions with barely restrained sarcasm in his tone.
I stare at him flatly" My words exactly”
" Never took you for a person with such intense kinks” he says wiggling his brows and smiling like a manic.
I'm beginning to question why I confided in him in the first place.
"I'm seconds away from punching that smirk off your f*****g face, and throwing you out of my office if you don't drop it”
For some insane reason, that cracks him up.
“ Remind me why I'm friends with you again?" I asked.
" Sorry man, I'm just having the time of my life” he replies between laughs.
" A time of your life that'll send you 6 feet under. Shut the f**k up”
He raises his hands in surrender
" Really, sorry bro. It just feels so good to rile you up”.
I roll my eyes at him, dipping my hand into the bowl of popcorn he brought.
" Seriously bro, I don't know why you're overthinking it?” He sips on his water.
" She's not even related–”
" Don't!" I counter, stopping him mid sentence.
Feeling shitty,I add “ I'm sorry for sounding rude, but It doesn't matter. I'm her uncle and that affair can never happen again"
He shrugs " it's no problem. I understand where you're coming from”
" Thanks bro”
“ You're always welcome" he replies with a grin.
After spending a few more minutes bickering at each other, he eventually leaves.
I push away from my desk and stride toward the floor to ceiling glass wall of my office. My eyes sweep over the busy streets below.
There are times when views like this can be therapeutic. It makes me feel like I'm viewing the world in a whole new dimension.
I linger for a few more moments before making my way back to my desk.
I'm halfway through the day's agenda when my phone lights up with my mom's name.
Without hesitation, I picked up.
“ Hey mom"
“ Hey sweetie. How are you doing?" The sound of her voice sends a warm and comforting feeling through me.
“ I'm doing great. How's dad, and how's everyone at home doing?”
" They're all doing great. Your dad went hiking with Mr Brown, our neighbor next door" she says in excitement.
“ You sound excited. Does his presence bore you that much?”
“ What? No. I love our time together, but I just needed a little girlie escape. I arranged for the hike so I could go have some spa time with Mrs Brown” a soft laugh escapes her.
That tugs a smile from my lips.
“ It's really nice to see that you're having the time of your life mom" I pause “ you deserve it all and more"
I catch the sound of her sniffing on the other end of the line, and my chest tightens.
“ Thank you so much honey. You deserve that happiness too you know" she hesitates, and I know exactly where this conversation is headed.
" I know you'll always tell me you're happy alone, but there's so much more you can feel and experience when you have a partner”
" Mom, I've told you times without numbers that this conversation will never lead anywhere, so stop bringing it up" I reply with more conviction than necessary.
She sighs “ whatever then, do your thing but always remember that seeing you happy brings me happiness too and that's why I'll do anything to make sure you're happy"
" I know mom. I need to get back to work so I'll talk to you later. Love you”
" I love you more darling, take care”
" I will. You too”
I toss my phone on the desk before burying myself back into work.
*****
It's mid-day and I'm already rounding up for the day when a call lights up my phone.
I already know it's bad news before I even pick up.
“ He's sick again, sir"
“ Have you called the doctor?"
“ Yes sir. He's examining him right now”
" Good. I'll be on my way"
“ Okay sir"
I'm gathering my things when a knock comes from the door.
" Come in” I grunt
Margaret walks in with a file in hand, sweating like she ran a marathon.
“ Good day sir”
" Go on " I say without looking up
“ Sir, um– I saw you cancelled the meeting for 2pm”
I raise my eyes giving her a blank expression, and waiting for her to continue.
“ Sir we've rescheduled the meeting twice already and during the last time, they threatened to pull their funding"
“ I've sent an email to them already"
“Okay sir– what?” The way colour drains from her face is almost amusing.
" Yes, I did your job already. So now, you can see yourself out of my office”
" I'm really sorry sir, I didn't mean to be incompetent” She's seconds away from crumbling to the ground with how much her knees are quivering.
" I never said you were. Now reschedule my meetings for the day cause I'll be stepping out”
" Thank you so much sir, I really appreciate it” she continues chanting as she closes the door behind her.
She's acting like I'll fire her if she breathes in the wrong direction.
Am I really that moody? Mom's going to be disappointed in me if she was here.
I step out of the building and the scorching weather is making me second guess my movement.
The valet hands over my car keys, I nod my thanks before stepping into the car.
The drive to Scranton takes roughly three hours but I get there in a record time.
I can see the roof of the town house he stays in before I even get there.
Parking my car in the garage, I make my way into the apartment.
Everywhere seems quiet only for the noise coming from the bedroom down the hallway.
I stride toward the bedroom the door is slightly open so I just lean on the side and watch.
Even from here, I can tell he's really sick.
The doctor is already fixing a drip on him. Mrs clara and James are both standing at the foot of the bed, worry etched on their faces.
They all turn their gazes towards me as I step into the room.
“ Welcome sir"
I nod my greetings while making my way to the bed side. The doctor has finished setting up the drip.
" Make sure he gets enough rest daily and take the drugs as prescribed. He'll be fine soon”
" Thank you doctor,” I say.
" It's no problem. I'll come check on him tomorrow” I thank him once more as he takes his leave.
After speaking with Mrs Clara and James, I head back to his room.
He looks peaceful asleep, so different from the man I've known him as while growing up.
With everything he did, I should have just left him to meet his already due demise on the streets.
But whatever he did in the past, I can't ignore the tiny bit of empathy I have towards him.
I study him one more time before walking to the door and shutting it behind me.
- Writer
