The Family Man

Chapter 04

Before my courage fled, I rang Eric's doorbell. I stepped back when the door began to open, realizing I needed more space between him and me.

"Yes?" Eric said, looking at me like I was an annoyance. He was smaller than Jake, maybe an inch taller than me, though it was hard to judge since I was a step below him. It was difficult to imagine him manhandling Jake. His eyes had a sharpness about them like he was cross to find me at his door. He was wearing a gray t-shirt, untucked, with an old pair of comfortable faded jeans. His right hand was gripping a hardcover book, his finger splitting the pages as a makeshift bookmark. "Can I help you?" He added as I stared.

"Ah, yes," I floundered, "I'm Natalie Livingston...from two doors down." I pointed toward my house. Eric had a slim face hardened by a few days of beard growth over soft olive skin. I had an off-putting desire to drag a razor across his cheeks, freeing his face from the stubble.

"Okay," Eric said. His annoyance seemed to increase. Short cropped brown hair lay uncombed across the top of his head. It accented his lazy, unshaven look. Not a great first impression for a man somewhere in his thirties.

"I just found out that you helped me a couple of days ago," I said. Eric looked at me like he had no idea what I was talking about. I sensed he was about to slam the door shut and end my unwanted interruption. "My ex-husband was trying to break through my front door," I added, trying to give him more context. It was annoying that he was making go through a description.

"The loud guy," Eric said, raising his book to me, "he was disturbing my reading." His hazel eyes shifted to understanding, though still held contempt. I guess I was disturbing his reading as well.

"I wanted to thank you and apologize for the imposition."

"Your welcome," Eric said coarsely, then stepped back and started to shut the door.

"I'm sorry to intrude," I snapped, surprised at the venom I instinctively added to the words. Eric's curtness was beyond aggravating. Here I was trying to thank him, and all he wanted was for me to remove myself from his porch. The door closed, louder than necessary. "Asshole," I added quietly.

I moved back down the street with a purpose, whispering to myself about the worthlessness of the male gender. I wasn't sure who was worse, Jake or Eric. Jake I could understand. Hand him a bottle and he became violent. There was a cause and effect. Eric, on the contrary, was a contemptuous jerk. There was no cause, he just was. Widower? His wife probably threw herself off the nearest bridge.

Picking up the blower, I pulled the cord harder than necessary, desiring the engine noise to drown out the world that seemed to want to belittle my existence. Eric hadn't shown up to save me from beating my ex with a baseball bat. He was only there to end the disruption to his life. The blower engine sprang to life, soothing the edges of my growing dislike of men. It wasn't the whole gender I disapproved of, just the ones who came within a hundred feet of me.

The grass clippings grew wings and flew away from the forced air, back to the lawn whence they came I swept the stream along the driveway and down the sidewalk making sure not one lone stalk remained where it shouldn't be. That was the orderly way things should be. Everything put firmly in its place. When I was done, I rethought not trimming the edges. The idea of lopping off the overgrowing strands of grass was appealing. I fired up the weed-whacker and let my mind enjoy the violence of the task.

Maria, as always, calmed me back down. She was my only vice, the perfect drug for handling life's stresses. At least when she's in a good mood. We spent a good part of the day window shopping in the mall. We treated ourselves to Chinese, ignoring the fact that it broke the budget. Sometimes, life needs a little budget busting.