The Final Hour

Chapter III: Trial

Stephen's wife and I got to the supermarket later that noon. I'm ashamed to admit that I still don't know this woman's name. I could just ask her directly. What harm could it do?

"Alright, Chuck," she said as she pulled out a list from her handbag. It was a hell of a list too. "We're going to split the groceries."

She tore the list in half and handed me a piece.

"You get all that and we meet up at counter 3, okay?" she continued before she walked off in another direction into the supermarket.

I suppose I'll ask her later.

---

My half of the grocery list took me to nearly every corner of the supermarket. I was given the hefty responsibility of picking out cartons of milk, vegetables, and an array of other wonderful edibles. After finishing up, I made my way to counter 3 as agreed. It didn't take too long for both of us to start walking to the car - grocery bags in hand.

"How've you been feeling, Chuck?" she asked me.

How HAVE I been feeling? I wasn't sure at that point. I was feeling confused, I suppose.

"I'm doing alright", I replied flatly.

"That's good."

We stuffed the groceries into the car.

"And you know, you can always talk to me." she added. "You don't have to keep it bottled up."

Wasn't really sure what she meant by that. I don't know a damned thing about this "Chuck's" life. The drive home was relatively uneventful. But it gave me the opportunity to reminisce on memories I had before everything went the way it did.

Before you knew it, we were back home. We unloaded the groceries and set them on the kitchen counter. I STILL don't know this woman's name.

"I used to be in the same situation as you, you know?" she said. "It was a tough time for me, but I had the support of friends to get me back on my feet."

I listened to her intently, trying to pick up context clues as to what the situation with "Chuck" is.

"And if you'd let me," she said carefully. "I can help YOU through your tough time as well."

"I wish I knew what to tell you." I said, chuckling; half a joke and half the truth.

---

I spent the rest of the day walking around the house, trying to get myself acquainted with the environment a little more. And the best way to get acquainted with a new environment? Snoop around.

My favourite room in the entire house? The living room. It was adjacent to to the kitchen and had a gorgeous television set. Complete with a gaming console too! Looks like it must have cost a fortune.

I had the greatest shred of luck when I bumped into a frame diploma in the living room. It was given to a "Francine Reynolds".

Francine.

That must be that woman's name. I could be wrong, but it's good to have an idea of it nonetheless.

The front door opened, taking me out of my thoughts. It was Stephen - home from work at last.

"Hey, Chuck." he greeted with a smile.

"Hey, how was work?" I replied.

"Alright. Though, I've had better days, profit-wise." he said. "Franny here?"

Franny. That's Francine. I muttered an affirmation.

"Great, I'm starving." Stephen exclaimed.

---

The days went by quickly. I learned very quickly that this Chuck was an absolute failure of a human being. And that I had the the greatest misfortune to become him in this life. Apparently, I was recently let go of a decent paying job because I decided to slack off. Nothing good could come out of this.

On the plus side, I got to know The Reynolds a little better.

Stephen worked as a mechanic. He owns his own autoshop downtown and he's had a stellar reputation when it comes to the business world. He enjoys video games a lot. I've had quite a few late-night gaming sessions with him already. He's Chuck's cousin. Well, MY cousin, if we're being honest.

Francine was a part-time piano teacher. She can play your money's worth. She had a full-time job before I came around, but she dropped it when she had her baby. Said she wanted to focus on him entirely. I've been helping her out in the kitchen from time to time. There's a definite shortage of help around here when it comes to help with chores and such.

Their baby's called Alfred - fondly called Alfie in the home. I'm not the best around children, but I've enjoyed babysitting him when Stephen and Francine went out on errands or date nights.

I was freeloading off of the Reynolds. I might as well pull my own weight around here as to avoid being a complete deadweight to the family.

I was enjoying the passing moments. I was holding onto these new memories as tightly as I did my past ones.

But the more the days passed, the more I worried about The Cleansing. The Reynolds don't stand a chance. Especially since they've got a baby to worry about.

I don't intend on making the same mistake I did before. I've been given a second chance. And I intend on making it right.