I AM MY FATHER
Katherine walked towards the table in the corner, not sure what to expect. She could feel the slight tremble in her hands as she walked up to the table, her anger making her tense. The casual conversations of the customers filled the air, as well as the smell of many different flavored coffees. She hated small talk. It annoyed her, and reminded her of how she felt towards the general populous: They were small and unaware of the world, and she was in control, and more aware than they ever could be. She tried to ignore them, and follow the instructions she was given.
Each table had two or more people sitting at it, with the exception of the table in the corner. Just as David had told her, a man, somewhere in his thirties, sat alone, reading a book. Katherine took a seat alone at one of the empty tables, and took out a small piece of paper from her pocket.
She wasn�t even sure why she was at this caf�. The concept of playing a game at her age was ridiculous to her. But she had never backed down from a challenge, especially from David. Just looking at the handwriting made her angry with David. She was determined to prove to David that she could rise to any challenge he offered, and win.
She glanced down at the paper, read it, and then crumpled it up. �My Challenge: Start a conversation with the man in the corner. He�ll be alone. Follow his instructions,� was all it said. She took a quick look at herself, making sure that there was nothing on her blouse. She hated looking bad in front of people. After finding that she was clean, she got up and headed over to the man.
A group of old men, who had been drinking coffee, got up from the table nearest the man in the corner. As they passed Katherine, one of the old men bumped into her. Katherine looked at the old man, waiting for an apology. After not getting one, she rolled her eyes, and continued to the man in the corner.
She sat down at the table in the corner. The man didn�t look up from his book. Katherine sat there for a moment, trying to figure out why he hadn�t said anything, or if he had even taken notice that she had sat down. �Excuse me.� He still kept his head down. She looked around, seeing if anyone was watching her. No one appeared to be. �Hey, excuse me,� she said in a much more forceful tone.
�Yeah, sure you can sit down,� the man replied in a sarcastic voice. Katherine felt insulted. Why should she have to take this shit from this man? Just as she was about to yell at the man, he looked up.
�That was the worst conversation starter I�ve ever had.�
�Normally when someone sits down with you, you�re supposed to at least look up.�
The man just looked back at her. His bald head glistened with small drops of sweat. �You finished, cause if you�re not, I can wait.�
She was shocked. She didn�t know how to react to this. Never had she been treated this way. As the president of her company, she could simply just fire anyone that talked back to her. As a mother, she could send her daughter to her room if she talked back. Rarely did anyone ever challenge her. And now, this man had insulted her beyond belief. She just sat back in her chair.
Seeing that she had nothing else to say, the man continued. �My name�s Cullen. You�re here for the challenge. There are only three rules to this game. Rule one, you do as I say. Rule two, you obey rule one. And rule three, the challenge is over when I say it is. Any problem with that?�
Katherine held back her anger. She just nodded her head no.
�Good,� he said. �Then I will see you here, tomorrow, at eight PM.� He got up from his seat, and started to walk away. He turned just as he past her, �And by the way, wear something less expensive.� He continued walking, �and preferably something clean.�
Katherine looked down at her blouse. There was nothing on it. He must have seen me looking at my shirt earlier, she thought. �What an ass,� she said, as she crossed her arms.
* * *
Katherine sat in her small motel room, waiting for eight PM to come. She thought of the night that she and David had fought.
It was late, and the entire staff had gone home. Katherine and David were the only two in the building. They sat in the board room at opposite ends of the long table.
�Do you even care for them? I mean Jesus, you just fired 78 people. Those people have lives you know. They have families that they go home to at night, which is more than you can say for yourself.�
Katherine was furious. �I have a God damned family! I have a daughter!�
David just sat there. He had been fighting with her for over an hour, and she was still not getting the point. She cared more about saving a few thousand dollars more than the people she had just fired. �Got to win, don�t ya? You just gotta be on top.�
�I always win! That�s why I make seven-hundred thousand dollars a year. That�s why I can fire people, and not care about their pathetic lives. That�s why I can do whatever I want without regret.�
�You sound just like your father.�
Katherine slammed her fist down on the table. �I am not like my father.�
�You�re father didn�t think about the people before throwing them away like a piece of trash, just like you. He couldn�t have cared less as long as it benefited the company. Anything that made his pocket bigger. He never took orders from anyone, just gave them. And if anyone ever asked him to do anything for them, he would get furious. Christ, I�ve worked here for 30 years. That�s half my life. I�ve been the vice president for 10 years. I�ve seen how he worked. I�ve seen how you work.�
�I am not like my father!� Katherine was crying, and screaming over and over.
David said nothing. He just stood there, looking at her.
�Get out of here, and don�t ever come back,� she said in a much calmer voice then just before.
�You can fire me, but that still doesn�t mean you win. You can�t always win.�
�What is that supposed to mean? I�ve always come out on top, and I always will.�
David tore a sheet of paper from a nearby pad, and wrote. He slid it to her, then walked out of the room, towards his office to clear it out.
* * *
The sun had just set on the skyline of the small town. Katherine waited by the table in the corner. She looked down at her watch. When she looked back up, Cullen was standing there. �It�s eight-thirty,� she stated. He didn�t say anything. �You know, I had to go out and buy these clothes. I expect to be paid back.�
�You don�t own a pair of shorts?� Even though he was amazed by this woman, he showed no emotion on his face. Shaking his head and saying in a quiet voice, �Let�s go.�
The two walked through the city, not saying a word to each other. Katherine didn�t really care to talk to him. All she was concerned with was what she was going to have to do to win this challenge. �So, are we just going to walk around the city all night, or is there a point to this?�
�There is a point to everything.� He looked around, checking the street signs.
At that moment, a man in a dark coat came running at them. Cullen backed up, to let the man run by, but Katherine just stood there, in the middle of the sidewalk. Katherine didn�t feel as if she needed to move, and expected the man to go around. But he didn�t. The man ran right into her, knocking her to the ground. Katherine hit the ground hard, landing on her stomach. The man in the coat reached into her back pocket, took her small leather wallet, and ran off.
Katherine looked up and saw the man running away. �Hey! Hey you bastard!� She rolled over, now looking up at Cullen. �What the hell are you doing? Go after him.�
He reached down to help her up. �I don�t remember working for you. I don�t have to do what you say!�
�What is God�s name is the matter with you?� She was now standing on her feet. �That poor excuse for a human just took my wallet, and you, the man, didn�t go after him.� Cullen stood there, no emotion showing on his face. �Did you even get a look at his face?� she asked.
�No,� he replied.
�You saw him coming; you moved out of the way, you must�ve seen what he looked like.�
�No,� he replied.
Katherine�s hands were shaking. She couldn�t believe that Cullen had done nothing. But it didn�t matter, she had very little cash in the wallet anyway, and all she needed to do was cancel the credit cards. She unclipped her cell phone from her waist.
�What are you doing,� asked Cullen.
�What the hell do you think? I�m canceling my credit cards, and then calling the police.�
�No, you�re not.�
�Like hell I�m not.�
�It�s just money.�
�It�s my money!� She paced back and forth as she dialed.
Cullen paused for a moment, unsure what to say. �You wanna lose this challenge, go ahead and call that in.� He waited for a response. �You wanna keep playing, give me the cell phone, and let�s continue.�
�I can�t believe this,� she yelled in protest. But Cullen just stood there. �Are you serious?�
He just nodded his head.
She turned off the phone, and handed it to Cullen. She was breathing hard, with small tears in her eyes. Never in her life had she ever felt this way before.
Cullen motioned for her to walk in front of him. She did as she was told, and took the lead. She wiped the tears from her eyes, trying to get over what had just happened. �You know, if anything is charged, you�re paying for it!�
She turned around to see if he was even listening. She was surprised to see Cullen holding a gun. He held it out to her.
�Time for your next challenge.�
* * *
�What the hell am I supposed to do with this gun?� Katherine asked.
�It�s your choice. Just know, you�ve only got one shot.�
Katherine was confused. The two walked on, heading in the direction of a river that ran through town. Once again, the two didn�t say a word to each other. They walked for over an hour in complete silence. Katherine kept the gun in her pocket, even though she was nervous that the gun might go off.
She thought about her fight with David. In a small way, she was sorry for what she said. But she said was the truth. She had fought for her way up, and she had won the battle. She was right, and he was wrong. She wiped her face with the palm of her hand. She thought about how David had said she was like her father. She hated her father! He had always made things hard for her. He never gave any praise to Katherine, even when she had accomplished so much in her childhood. Tears began filling her eyes again. At that moment, she thought, �I�m glad he killed himself. He couldn�t be the best at everything! But I can.�
�Down there,� Cullen said, as he pointed to the shoreline.
Katherine hadn�t even been paying attention to where they were walking, and was surprised to see a river. She noticed a man standing by the shoreline.
�Who�s that?� she asked.
�The last part of this challenge. After this, you are done.�
Katherine didn�t feel like fighting with Cullen over something like this. She was frustrated enough. She started heading towards the man, but stopped when she noticed that Cullen wasn�t following.
�This is for you to deal with. Not me. I�m not the one who has to win.�
Katherine wiped her forehead again. Her hands were palmy, and tense. Instead of retorting, she turned, and walked down to the shoreline. On her way down, she looked back only once; Cullen had left.
As she got down to the shore, she could see the man more clearly. It was the man in the dark coat. Katherine pulled out the gun, and aimed it right at him. �You wanna give me my wallet back?�
�Why not, there�s nothing important in it.� He threw the wallet to the ground.
She knew that voice. �David, is that you?�
The man took a few steps forward into a bit of light. Indeed, it was David.
�What the hell is all this,� she asked. �Why all this running around the city?� She was shouting. �Why this game? Why?�
�I thought that maybe I could change you.�
Katherine smiled. �Change me? Change me? Who gave you the power to go around and tell people that they need to change their lives. Who granted you the title of Samaritan?�
�I just didn�t want to see you turn out like your father.�
Katherine froze, the rage running through her veins. She aimed the gun at his head. �Take that back.�
He stood there, his hands in his pocket. David was calm.
Katherine�s face was red, and tears streamed from her eyes. �I�m not my father!� Her hand trembled. �I�m not my father.�
�You will be. He lost, and soon you will too.�
Katherine�s lips pressed together, her eyes looked sharply. She pulled the trigger. A shot rang out; David fell to the ground.
---
Katherine stood there, sobbing uncontrollably, the gun still in her hand. She had killed a man. The silence was soon broken by the sound of sirens in the distance. In the darkness, she could see flashing lights heading her way. She reached for her phone, but it wasn�t there. Looking up again, she could see Cullen standing at the top of the hill, looking down at the river back, the phone in his hand. �They�ll never believe me.� she said to herself. Falling to her knees, she placed the gun to her head, and pulled the trigger. Nothing. The gun only had one bullet.
�I�m not my father,� she whispered. |
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