THREE MEN AND A LADY
Chapter Three
Jack found Cal in his usual spot
on the couch. He was wrapped in his fuzzy pink blanket, the blanket he always
used when he watched TV. But he wasn’t watching TV now. He was staring at the
silent TV with a blank expression.
Jack sighed. Something had to be
done about him, but what? He had lain on the couch for hours, not even
bothering to eat. "Cal," Jack said gently. Cal’s head jerked up. He
stared at Jack with wide, terrified eyes. Jack walked across the room. He sat
down on the couch beside him.
"Cal, you have to get off
this couch." Jack’s voice was level.
"But the remote…" Cal’s
voice trembled.
"Look, I’ll show you how to
change the channel without it." Cal hesitated. "And I’ll get you more
doughnuts," Jack added quickly.
"Okay."
*****
"Jack," Rose began
slowly. Jack eyed her warily. This was not good. Rose was not wearing her top
hat. She always wore her top hat. "Well, I have to go away for the
weekend--"
"What?"
Rose’s face was pained. "I
have to. It’s for work!"
"I know." Jack’s voice
was full of defeat.
Rose picked up his hand.
"It’s all right. I’ll only be gone for a few days."
Jack nodded. "I know, but
we’ve never been apart, and I really don’t wanna stay here alone with
them!"
Rose smiled, choosing to ignore
the last half of his sentence. Jack smiled back; maybe a weekend without Rose
wouldn’t be total hell. After all, there was always the garage if Cal and
Fabrizio got too insane.
"So, you’re all right with
it?"
Fortunately, he was spared having
to reply. With a crash, Fabrizio burst into the room. "Why was the door
locked?" he asked. He looked around. "What were you doing?"
"We were trying to have some
privacy," Jack said irritably.
"Oh. Why?"
Jack opened his mouth to answer,
but Rose beat him to it. "Because I’m leaving for the weekend."
Fabrizio looked confused for a
moment, but his face lit up. "Oh, goody!" he shrieked. "We can
eat doughnuts and paint our toenails and everything!" He clapped his hands
happily.
"Now, when you say we, you
don’t mean me, too, do you?" Jack asked.
Fabrizio looked stricken.
"Of course I do! We’ll have so much fun, but first we’ll have to fix
Cal."
"Well, at least you’ll have
something to do," Rose said. Rose considered shoving him out and locking
the door, but then she remembered that the lock was broken.
Two Days Later
Cal was still lying on the couch,
only now he was starting to smell. This was made worse by the fact that the
other members of the household had to do for themselves in the cooking area,
causing several complaints from the neighbors. Jack hadn’t shown him how to
change the channel, so he had been staring into space all that time.
Jack had been too busy trying to
think of ways to keep Rose from leaving to do anything. So far, his best plan
was to throw himself down and beg. She might stay if he did that, but it was
more likely that she would kiss him again and leave quickly.
He did not want this.
"Jack!" Rose called up the stairs. "I’m leaving now!"
Jack jumped out of the chair and
ran down the stairs. He was going too fast to stop, so he crashed into Rose. They
fell against the wall. "Rose, are you okay?" he asked hesitantly. She
nodded.
"I’m fine, Jack." Jack
looked disappointed. "You wanted me to be hurt?"
"No, but if you were,
then…" Jack let the sentence hang.
"Ah…I see."
"Well, couldn’t you--"
"No, Jack."
"But--"
"Jack, I don’t want to
go--"
"Well, then, don’t. Stay
here. With me!"
"I can’t."
"Can I play?" Fabrizio
asked. Both stared at him. He was standing at the bottom of the stairs, holding
a large Super-Soaker. It was aimed at them.
"We’re not playing a
game," Jack said.
"Oh. What are you
doing?"
"I’m trying to leave for my
trip."
"Cool. Hey, will you bring
me back some of those wooden shoes?"
Rose looked confused.
"Wooden shoes?"
"From Holland."
"But I’m--"
"Ah!" An anguished
scream filled the house. It was coming from the living room. Cal.
"I’ll go." Fabrizio ran
into the other room.
"Jack, I really want to
stay, but I can’t, so I’m going." Rose had taken advantage of Jack’s lack
of attentiveness due to Cal’s scream and had gotten up.
She kissed him. "I love you.
Don’t kill them."
Jack grinned. "I love you,
too."
Rose kissed him again.
"Bye." Rose slipped out the door.
Jack leaned against the wall.
Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad. He could get Cal off the couch and fix the
bathroom ceiling.
Another scream of anguish, this
time from Fabrizio, interrupted his thoughts. Maybe not.