Chapter 5 - It's the Small Things That Can Kill You! - Confession is Good for the Soul

                     Chapter 5 – Confession is Good for the Soul

The kitchen of Larue’s Diner was a small utilitarian space. It was situated behind a green swinging door that separated the cozy little area from the booths and counter out front. Business had slowed down considerably as the lunch crowd thinned out. I looked out one of the windows into the seating area. Clara was still there, and my dad was sitting across from her. They were doing a crossword puzzle in the newspaper together. Dad loved crossword puzzles. This was an activity that he and mom used to do before she passed away. Clara loved them too. My vocabulary and spelling skills were barely enough to allow me to graduate from high school. I didn’t have enough passion or skill to match Clara’s love of the daily games.

I stared at the dishwater and did my own version of meditation. It was silent for a moment. Peaceful. Suddenly I felt something soft hit the back of my head. It was a dishtowel.

“Need another one? Earth to Jax?” Danny grinned. Up to this point I had been scrubbing and drying with a rhythm that matched the clatter of Danny on the nearby grill. I stared up at a rack that held drying mugs. Some of them were mismatched. A few had logos on them from long forgotten beer companies or local businesses that no longer existed.

“Sorry Danny. I don’t know what is wrong with me today. I looked over at the basin filled with cloudy water and a final stack of chipped plates awaiting their turn.

Danny gave me a crooked smile. “Come on man. You’re Jaxon Larue. The best relief pitcher the Warriors ever had. Are you going to let this sad old thing get ahead of you?” he pointed to the corner where dad’s old industrial dishwasher had faithfully chugged away for the last seven years. It seemed grateful for a well-deserved rest. 

“No, I mean I just space out sometimes.” I muttered.

“You mean that you lose the focus of your locus?” Then Danny laughed in that high volume lunatic howl that he was famous for. “Don’t we all do that sometimes?”

“I guess so. I do it a lot though. Dr. Knivens says it is part of my ADD. He might have to put me on some prescription medication for it.”

“You’re a deep thinker Jaxon. A reflective and thoughtful person. I hope that medication doesn’t change that about you.”

I smiled at Danny. “I had something happen to me today. It happened between me and another guy that is in my therapy group.” I felt like, since there was a lull, I might be able to talk to Danny about my experience that morning with Mikey Bevins. Maybe I somehow felt guilty about what happened this morning. It’s been said that confession is good for the soul.

Then I heard the front door open and the bell above the door chime. As I looked out the window, I saw two people slowly walking through the door and into the diner. One of them was Mikey Bevins.

I guess I had been gawking at the two men because Danny placed his hand gently on my shoulder. “Jax, what’s up with you? Why are you so uptight right now?”

I quickly related the story of the bullet hole scar to Danny. “Please don’t tell my dad or Lisa. They just wouldn’t understand.”

Danny just smiled and wiped some sweat from his brow. “Didn’t your father ever tell you not to go into church restrooms with strangers that have bullet hole scars?” He said in a voice that reminded me of Mrs. Cottingham, my third-grade teacher.

“Um, no. I don’t think so.” I stammered.

“Well then, I guess this is mostly his fault. I’m afraid I’ll have to give him a stern talking to.”

“Oh God. Can’t we just leave it alone. I feel like an idiot.” I was blithering now.

Danny just let loose another gale of laughter. “Don’t worry brother.” he leaned past me. Now we were both rather obviously staring at the two late arrivals for lunch. “I’ve got your back.”

“What are you going to do?” I inquired rather nervously.

“Did either of you break any laws when you were in the restroom. Did you both wash your hands after you were done?” He looked at me while wiping a tear of laughter and turning the grill back on. “Cut it out man." I said. "I don’t know why this is bothering me so much this afternoon but I’m not in the mood to be teased about it.

“Okay, we’re cooling it for now. But I think your wrong about your dad not being able to understand what happened. Consider talking to him, at least, if this continues to eat at you.” Danny turned on WLS radio broadcasting out of Chicago. The top forties came blaring out of the little radio in the kitchen.

My dad continued to involve himself with helping Clara complete their crossword puzzle. Lisa walked towards Mikey Bevins and his companion.

“Lisa is talking to them!” I blurted out for no apparent reason. I had so much pent-up anxiety that I lost my filter again. Words just tumbled out of my mouth as if by their own accord.  

“Lisa is a big girl. She is just doing her job. She can handle herself, believe me. We used to date, remember.” Danny said calmly. “I’m going to make a cheese sandwich for you.” He said in a casual tone.

“I already had lunch.” I reminded him. I was leaning even further out the little kitchen window trying to hear what they were saying to her. She saw me and glared. Then she held her hands away from her torso in pantomime and silently mouthed a loud, “WHAT’? I quickly stuck my head back into the kitchen.

“This will just take a minute.” Danny muttered. “It will give your mouth something else to do besides get you in deeper trouble with whatever this all is. Take it from me…” he said as grease in Danny’s frying pan started to pop and sissle. “Whatever this is, it will blow out soon if you quit fanning the flames.”  

Just then, there was a pounding on the back door of the diner. I got up and opened the rear entrance. It was a toss up as to whether it was warmer outside in the September heat or inside the diner.

It was Fenton. I thought he had left to go home and watch his afternoon game shows. But here he was, back again. I’d never known him to use the rear entrance.

“What are you doing here. I thought you paid for your lunch and left.” I said while trying to keep tabs on Mickey Bevins and friend.

Danny started to get territorial about the kitchen area but got drawn into the conversation. “Yeah, what are you doing back. And in my kitchen?” he folded his arms across his chest.

“I was walking home and had only gotten a few blocks when I saw Mikey Bevins driving into the diner parking lot with this strange looking dude.” Fenton was very agitated.

“What do you mean strange?” I asked.

“He’s sitting right out there. See for yourself.” He pointed to the kitchen window. Danny stuck his head out of the kitchen window. Then he popped it back in and looked at Fenton. “His back is to the kitchen. You can’t see his face.”

“Yes, I know. But I saw it. They drove right past me. I doubled back and came in through the back door so I wouldn’t attract attention. This guy looks like a Batman villain. What do you suppose he is doing hanging out with Mikey?

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Mikey Bevins shift his chair and then his friend stood up. He was huge. Easily six foot seven. He turned and I saw his face for the first time. It was old and hard. His jaw was square and clinched. His cheeks and brows were also a roadmap of scars. His right eye was dead. I mean, it didn’t move. Clouded and milky it remained motionless. It was oversized and the contrast between his good eye and the dead one created an eerie mask of someone that was less than human. The man turned and walked back to the restroom.

“My God!” I gasped.

“Maybe if you went into the restroom with him, he would show you his bullet hole scar.” Danny whispered at me. I felt like taking a swing at him.

Clara came bounding into the kitchen.  

“Whoa!” said Danny. “Too many players on the field.”

“Guys! The man that just went into the restroom! Do you know who that was?” she was vibrating with excitement.