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The gym is the only thing on my hit list tonight, and I kill it, running a solid hour on the treadmill before lifting some weights. I like working out at this hour of the night. The gym is quiet, and if I’m lucky, I get the whole thing to myself. Tonight is one of those nights.
When I’m done with my workout, I wipe down with a towel and hit the sauna. After eating two bad meals, I feel a need to cleanse my body of impurities. It helps that the heat and steam relax exhausted muscles since I’m not much for soaking in a bathtub. In fact, I steer clear of them like I would a person carrying the plague. Bathtubs and I don’t get along, for reasons I won’t expound on, and the lack of one in my apartment was the sole reason I signed the lease.
I don’t need much to make me happy, but a single shower stall is one of them.
I spend a good half-hour in the sauna, letting my body sweat out all of the toxins. At least, that’s what I imagine is happening. I prefer to live a delusional life sometimes, and for me, it works. In reality, I know what I put into my body is what counts.
Once I’m through with all the fussy stuff, I head back upstairs to my apartment. It’s a low-key rental, basic because I don’t have the time nor the inclination to decorate. Sparsely furnished, the place is little more than gray-blue walls, oak cabinetry, and shitty floor-to-ceiling white plastic blinds that cover the wall of windows overlooking downtown.
It’s an expensive apartment, but the single recliner in the living room with a pressed-wood round table beside it, and the queen-sized bed in the master bedroom sure don’t speak to it. I’m rarely ever here, so the place sits empty most of the time. I can’t justify decking it out with things I’ll never get around to using.
When I retire, it’ll be different, but right now, everything is about necessity. And if the unthinkable ever happens and I have to get out of town fast, I have a bug out bag in both the closet and the back seat of my car to cover me.
Life is unpredictable. It’s important to plan for anything.
By dusk, I’m leaving again. I take the stairs this time because it’s nearly 7:00 PM and running into John isn’t on my list tonight. Jogging the thirteen flights down to the first floor would be a breeze, but when I hit the ground floor, almost home free, the exit door swings open in front of me and there John stands.
He beams the moment he spots me. “Hey, man! How’s it going? Haven’t seen you around much lately.”
He’s the overly friendly type, always looking for a friend in a friendly face. Which makes me wonder why the hell he chose mine.
“Been out,” I grunt.
He nods as if he understands this all too well. “Oh yeah, the clock never stops, does it? Are you hitting the gym tonight?”
“Already did earlier.” I attempt to move past him, but he’s blocking the doorway, and he isn’t budging anytime soon.
“Right, right. Totally get that. Gotta change it up sometimes, eh?” He pops me on the shoulder as if we’re best buds. I stare at the spot he just touched, wanting to punch him back with much more force. No one touches me without my permission. “I don’t blame you, man. That’s why I’m taking the stairs tonight. Figure I’ll change it up a bit. Avoid that plateau.”
“Right.” I nod, hoping my agreement will get me out of here quicker.
“Cool, man. Well, I bet you have places to be, people to see. Maybe I’ll catch you around sometime. We can grab a drink or something.”
“Or something.” This time, I don’t bother with pleasantries. I push through his barrier, forcing John aside so I can pass. He calls after me, wishing me good night or something equally predictable and mundane, but I keep going.
Guys like John are dangerous. He wants to be friends, but in my line of work, there’s no room for friends. Mark my words, if the police ever start looking for me, John is the one I have to worry about. We don’t talk much, and he doesn’t even know my name, but he’ll remember my face, and I can’t have that. If things turn south, I’ll take him out before he has a chance to squeal.
***
I decide to stake out the family home. This time I park directly across the street from the house in a slice of area that I’ve noticed is always open. I don’t question why as I recline back and keep an eye on the house.
Once again, it’s illuminated by soft, yellow lighting that gives the place a certain kind of warmth that makes you want to go inside and take a load off. I bet the place is warm and cozy. For what little I know of her personally, Brenda seems like the kind of woman to transform an ordinary house into a home.
The curtains are still open, and they have those blinds that let you see everything inside once the sun goes down. Glenn is sitting on his fat ass in front of a giant television with a video game controller in his hands. He’s focused, and when Brenda appears in the archway, her mouth moves, but her husband’s doesn’t. She seems to repeat herself, and then, with an aggravated look on her face, turns and walks away.
I find myself wondering what just happened. Was she asking him what he wanted for dinner? To take out the trash? Maybe she just wanted time alone with him. I nix that idea immediately. She wouldn’t want time alone with the man she wants dead.
Sometime later, she emerges once again with a plate of food in her hands. She doesn’t even bother speaking this time, just tosses the plate on the table in front of him and leaves the room again. Good old Glenn doesn’t even spare her a passing glance, still wrapped up in the game he’s playing.
I can’t help feeling sorry for the woman. She’s trying, and her husband couldn’t give a rat’s ass. It’s clear he doesn’t appreciate her, and therefore, he doesn’t deserve her. Once again, I reach the conclusion that she’ll be better off without him.
My palms itch to wrap around his neck and squeeze. I only wish I could do it that way. Up close and personal, watching the life drain out of him as I tell him what a piece of shit he is and why it’s come to this.
Every man should know the reason they’re about to meet their maker. Sadly, most never get the opportunity.
Glenn is no exception.
Once Glenn sets in on his meal, he chows down like nobody’s business, cleaning his plate in less than ten minutes. He’s a glutton, and it disgusts me. There’s nothing about this guy that is remotely appealing, which leaves me to wonder how he can get anyone to look twice long enough to cheat with him.
