| ***SANDS OF TIME*** |
| �How �bout the frozen lasagna you always used to fix up, mate?� said Jeff to his father as he wheeled him through the frozen foods section of the grocery store. Harry responded by pressing his buzzer once. He sure did love that lasagna. Jeff used to get onto him about having it every other day, but since his stepmother usually did the shopping now, they haven�t had the lasagna in ages. Jeff figured it would be a pleasant, familiar change, especially for Harry. Jeff continued to wheel his father around the store. �Ah, just what we need. Can�t live without this,� he said, bringing his dad to a stop in the beer aisle. Harry had one of those shopping baskets resting on his lap. Jeff piled two six-packs of Shiner into the basket. Harry could feel the weight pressing into his legs. He would�ve cursed at him if he could. It�s very hard to always remain considerate with someone who can�t walk or talk; small things that can always be overlooked or forgotten. Jeff picked up a few more so-called essentials. Technically, he could have lived without a lot of the items he loaded into the basket, but he always liked to have fun and imagination in his shopping. Yet, in the big picture, he was trying to cut down on expenses. He wasn�t sure how much longer he could afford the place of his own; the bills were high, but he was making out for now. Eventually though, he would need someone to help him share the burden or else he�d have to give the place up and move back in with his parents. Lightly careening around the corner of aisle seven, the bread and grain aisle, Jeff brought Harry�s chair to a sudden halt. The basket nearly lurched off Harry�s lap but Jeff was able to catch it before it went over. Harry was shocked at the suspenseful action, but as he raised his vision to see straight forward, he realized what had made his son do it. About 25 feet ahead, loading a bag of dinner rolls into his cart, was Jeff�s ex-boyfriend, Greg. Slowly turning the chair around, Jeff snuck back out of the lane and turned to head away. He watched until the wall divider made that man disappear out of his sight. Jeff was relieved that Greg didn�t see him there. It had been many months since he last saw him and quite a while since he last thought of him. Seeing him brought back so many haunts that he didn�t want to think about. Harry too; very uncomfortable, having been part of that duck and swerve operation. Jeff headed straight for the checkout. The longer he stayed in the store, the more chances there were to bump into him again. Unfortunately, he was carrying more than 12 items by 4, so he couldn�t use the express lane, so he got into the only other line that seemed bearable; one woman with a cart so flooded with non-perishables that she even had to use that rack below to store her groceries. He pondered if it was the correct choice, but he hated shifting lines once he already committed himself to one. Nervously he waited, constantly looking around like a paranoid person being stalked. About five minutes passed by and finally that seemingly bottomless pit of canned goods cleared. And of course, the lady was paying by check; anything to make young Jeffrey wait even more. Jeff looked off to his right and saw Greg pushing his cart down the main aisle. Quickly, he ducked beside Harry�s chair to hide; not the brightest idea. Greg was familiar with his father after all. Greg didn�t see Jeff, but he did see Harry. He figured Joyce had brought him along, so he decided to approach him. �G�day, Mr. Mitchell,� Greg said. Harry recognized the voice. He did not respond with his buzzer. He disliked the man, for breaking his son�s heart. Greg noticed someone�s head off to the side of the chair. �Jeff? Is that you?� Jeff stood up nervously. �Oh, hey. I was just uh... lacing up my boot. It was a little loose.� �Oh. No worries,� responded Greg. There was a quick uncomfortable silence. This was the first time they talked since the break-up. �So, how you been? Been meaning to stop by and say g�day.� �Nothin� much. All the same. Well, me anyway. Harry and Joyce finally got married,� Jeff replied, patting his dad on the back. �Oh yeah?� �Yup. Couple months ago. In front of the Opera House actually. Very beautiful wedding.� �Yeah. Sure sounds like it.� �So, uh... how you been, mate?� Jeff asked out of general courtesy, despite any resentment he felt. �Can�t complain. Life is Life, y�know? And working like usual. All I do.� �Still at the Botanical Gardens?� Jeff asked. He was really uncomfortable talking with Greg, but didn�t want to be the rude one. He prided himself in his personality. �Yep. Always have, always will I suspect,� Greg chuckled. �How �bout you? Still the handyman?� Jeff pushed some hair that was falling into his face out of the way. �Indeed. Same for me. I�ll be fixing drains til the day I die. Hopefully I can start my own service someday, though.� �Go for it then. I know you can do it,� Greg replied. Jeff was shocked. Greg actually appeared thoroughly interested in caring for his old friend. Perhaps he wasn�t as bad as he had made him out to be. Although, it still didn�t bring absolution to his act of adultery. But perhaps, if desired pending, Jeff and Greg could be �friends� again someday. Jeff sure did miss having a good mate to talk to. He had grown mildly distant from his chums at work. And outside of work, there was no one. �Perhaps someday maybe I will. I�m fine for now just working for the company though.� �Yeah, as long as everything�s okay right now, then no need for change,� replied Greg, very comfortingly. �Yup...� The lady in front of Jeff moved away and it was Jeff�s turn to check out. Greg started to turn his cart away to finish his shopping. �Well, it was nice runnin� into ya,� he said. �Yeah. Take care, mate.� �Ta.� And then Greg left up another aisle. Jeff moved forward and emptied the contents of the basket onto the counter. He looked back towards the direction Greg went and sighed to himself. ~~~~~ Joyce was away for a week visiting relatives that lived in Cairns. Jeff was taking care of his dad until she got back. He decided it would just be easier to sleep there instead of at home, so his empty house was left even more isolated for the time being. It would still be three more days before Joyce returned and Jeff began again on a spiral towards growing increasingly distant. His run-in with Greg left him feeling closer to loneliness. And when Jeff gets lonely, he gets silent and intra-personal. Harry noticed his son�s change in personality. Jeff didn�t speak a single word on the way home from the grocery store. And back at the house, still not a word. He just went on his way, putting the groceries away and then proceeding on popping the lasagna into the oven. Frozen lasagna takes 2 hours for cooking, so Jeff had plenty of time to abandon humanity and recollect his troubles by himself. He left poor Harry sitting helplessly in front of the television. He was concerned for Jeff and wished that he�d confide his thoughts in him. It broke him to see his son shut the world out like that. Jeff grabbed his wrist watch from his old bedroom and changed outfits. Without telling his father that he was leaving, he went outside for a quick jog before dinner. The temperature was scorching and he didn�t exercise as much as he usually would. He returned to the house absolutely knackered and in desperate need of hydration. Charging his way into the house, his step sluggish and ham-fisted, he went straight for the kitchen to fetch some ice water. Glancing over at the range, he saw the timer read �1:08" which gave him plenty of time for a shower. Turning the taps, he adjusted the water to a fairly cool temperature. One familiar visage was cauterized into his daydreams; he could think of nothing but. The falling water from the sprayer helped blend in with the tears that streamed down his face, leaving no distinction to any presence that may be watching. His pain was all bottled inside for no one to ever witness. That was his reality. Back in his room, he sluggishly got dressed again. He plopped down onto the mattress and grabbed a pair of jeans. Putting both legs into the sleeves, he then lied back and raised his legs into the air to pull the pants on fully. But in the process of bringing his legs back down, his right leg caught the time glass that was sitting peacefully on the stand. It was one possession that he brought with him from home; he adored it so much. It fell to the floor; with carpeting, it would have been fine had it not been for Jeff�s metal tool box which was stored under the stand. The tool box stuck out just enough for the time glass to catch the end and shatter on impact. Jeff hadn�t even realized he hit the object, although he did feel something as he brought his leg down. Then, he heard the breaking sound. He hopped up immediately, leaving his pants unbuckled and unzipped. Bending over, he picked up the frame of the object. Sand tumbled out of the broken orbs and scattered all about the floor, getting lost within the shaggy carpet. �Shit....,� Jeff mumbled to himself. Not only did he have a mess to clean up, but one of his favorite ornaments was now broken. He got a small trash bin from the bathroom and used it to put the glass shards into. Noticing a small piece underneath the bed, he reached his hand out to retrieve it. Doing so, his fingertips brushed against something. Investigating, Jeff reached further and clamped down on the item and drug it out. It was a piece of paper of some sort. Drawing it to his face, he inspected it. He could tell now that it was a Polaroid. He flipped it over to reveal what it was: the beach, himself and Harry standing next to one another, Jeff with his arm around his dad�s shoulder and the both of them raising a glass of beer to the camera in cheers. Jeff smiled, recalling the events of that day. He was 21 and they had visited Coffs Harbor just to go out and have fun, no real special occasion. They had asked one of the locals to snap a photo for memories. A tear strolled down Jeffrey�s face. It was such a happy recollection. Coffs was extremely beautiful that day. But the reason he cried was because seeing his dad like that made him realize how much he missed being able to truly talk to him. But with a bite of a lip, Jeff choked back all submission and finished cleaning up the mess and getting dressed. ~~~~~ Feeding was always a difficult task with Harry. He couldn�t chew, just swallow. So whoever fed him had to make sure the food was small enough, mashed up enough, et cetera. The lasagna wasn�t too bad. The texture made it easy to swallow. Jeff just had to make sure the pieces were small and that he didn�t cram too much at a time into his dad�s mouth. Jeff dished some lasagna out onto a couple plates. He took a moment to try and mash Harry�s food up as much as he could. �Here ya go, mate. Open wide,� Jeff said, raising the fork to Harry�s mouth. Jeff gave him a moment to get it down. �As good as you remember?� Harry pushed the buzzer once. Jeff chuckled. �Thought you would.� And then he took a bite himself. �Not too bad.� He took turns, giving his dad another bite and then himself, pausing now and then for a sip of beer. He�d hold a can with a flex straw up so Harry could have a drink as well. �Just like old times, �eh?� ~~~~~ It was two weeks before Jeff�s birthday. Joyce had a special gift for him that couldn�t wait til the day of. She stopped by his place one evening to give it to him. It was raining rather steadily. There was a small canopy over the doorsteps but it didn�t protect too well with the wind bringing the rain in at an angle. Jeff answered the door after a couple rings; he was in the middle of loading some clothes into the washer. Joyce held her hand to her face, trying to block the rain so it wouldn�t ruin her make-up. �Come on in. Come on in. Let�s get you out of the rain, �eh?� Jeff gestured, holding the door open for her. �Thanks.� She wiped her feet on the welcome mat thoroughly before entering. As she stepped up, off the top step and into the house, one of the heels of her stilettos snapped and she stumbled into the house. Jeff caught her before she had the chance to hit the floor. �Whoa there, mum.� Joyce gasped and then stood up and straightened her blouse. She chuckled, still flustered and all. �Oh, my. Wasn�t that fun?� She looked down at her broken shoe and then took both off. She shut the door and came in and walked into the middle of the room, eyeing the interior. �I like what you�ve done to the place,� she commented. �Thanks.� A couple months after Greg moved out, Jeff completely renovated his abode; making the place cleaner and a bit more organized. And Joyce had not gotten around to visit lately. Usually, Jeff just came over to their place anyway; basically lived there too. �So what brings you here in the middle of the storm, mum?� �Well,� she said, starting to open her purse. �I�ve got something for you... your birthday gift actually.� �Birthday gift!? It�s over a week away,� Jeff replied in astonishment. �I know, but it�s something that can�t wait.� She pulled an envelope out of her purse and handed it to Jeffrey. He took it and anxiously opened it, sliding his finger carefully so as not to rip the envelope down the side. There were a few individual pieces of paper inside. Withdrawing them, he realized what they were - concert tickets. He could tell by the orange and yellow colors on the stubs. But it could�ve knocked him down with a feather when he saw the band listed on the tickets. His face lit up with immense joy and he shot his eyes at Joyce. She smiled seeing his response. �This is.... how did..... the concert sold out two months ago!� Jeffrey exclaimed. Joyce happily replied, telling her story of how those tickets arrived in her hand. �Well, when I was in Cairns, I happened to have read the paper one morning, and I was just passing through the classifieds when I saw this one ad that said they had Crowded House tickets for sale. And I knew how badly you wanted to go, so I... bought them.� Jeff grinned ever so voraciously, spreading the tickets like a poker hand. �Wow. These must�ve cost a fortune. I�ll be more than happy to pay you back for...� �No, no, no,� Joyce interjected, �Jeffrey. It�s your birthday. My gift to you.� Joyce was absolutely thrilled that he loved her gift. She couldn�t recall the last time she saw him this enthused. It took him a moment to calm down from his high, but when he did, it really set in that there were three tickets. He knew that both Harry and Joyce liked the band as well. �Well, I hope you and Dad want to go.� She didn�t want to admit it, but she had bought three tickets in hopes that Jeff would choose to take them anyway. But, it was still his choice. �Oh, you don�t have to take us,� she said. �Whaddya mean. Of course I�m taking ya.� Joyce smiled and lingered a moment. �Well... I gotta be going. Need to start dinner before Harry starves.� Jeff walked over and gave her a hug. �Thanks again, mum. I love the gift.� �I thought you would, Jeffrey.� Joyce went to the door and put on her shoes, strapping the broken one on, hoping it would hold up enough to get home. She opened the door and began heading out. �Wait a minute, mum. Let me get you an umbrella. Two ticks.� Jeff went into another room and returned with the item. �Here ya go.� �Thanks.� And Joyce went to her car. Jeff sat down in the recliner and gazed at the tickets, waving them in excitement. ~~~~~ The concert was one of the best events to occur in his life recently. If only even just an abstract respite, it was still better than nothing. The experience left him rejuvenated, making him forget all worries and just have a great time. And his birthday was coming up. At this point now, he just didn�t have time nor the desire to think about love. It had been pushed so far into a recess of his mind, left to muster and mildew. But at least it was inactive and not rendering any sorrow or depression upon him. Yes, his focus was not aimed in that direction; work and just day to day tribulations. .....Well, that is until the event that was about to unfold that would change Jeffrey�s life forever. ~~~~~ Joyce brought the cake over; 26 candles crammed into the vanilla filling. As a joke, she had the cake special-made with a mug of beer engraved with colored frosting. It was a small party held at Harry�s house. A few relatives showed up along with a couple work mates of Jeff to celebrate the occasion. It was a barrel of laughs and a humbling mind set. Jeff felt so relaxed and just, well... normal. When he returned home, he popped in one of his favorite movies to pass the time. He made some popcorn and grabbed a couple VBs from the fridge. About halfway through the movie, there was a knock at the door. Jeff grunted in disapproval; he hated being interrupted during a flick. But he got up and trudged over to the door. He flung it open and then his jaw dropped. It was Wendell White. |