good to be with her. And you get all tingly and warm inside. And about the time you get up the nerve to ask her for a kiss, when you think she’ll say yes, she plants a boot in your mouth. This is not an if but a when . It’s going to happen. If it’s not a boot, it’s a sock full of nickels. Life swings it hard, and if it connects, the best thing you can hope for is to lose a few teeth.”
“Your dad was Mr. Encouragement, wasn’t he?”
“He was a realist.”
“Is that why he killed himself?”
Jonah looked away.
“I’m sorry —that was a cheap shot. Keep going. I want to hear what life does next. Seriously. Can you at least cash in the sock full of nickels or does life take those with her?”
Jonah rubbed the fuzz on his chin, then gestured with a hand. “His point was you have to make the right decisions early.”
“You mean like not going over to life’s house?”
“No.”
“Keeping her away from the sock drawer?”
“You have to decide how you’re going to handle the boot because if you don’t, you’ll give up when things get tough. Just sit down and stop living because it’s too hard. Life hurts too much. It kicks you in the teeth, which it did to him. And it’s doing it to us.”
“So you’re illustrating irony here? Because giving up is exactly what you’re doing.”
“I’m not giving up. I’m trying to move forward. I’m making a good decision now so I don’t have to suffer later. I keep the equipment instead of buying it back from the sheriff’s auction.”
Devin turned his chair toward the window.
“This business wasn’t a bad idea,” Jonah said. “It was good —”
“Leave.”
“We shouldn’t have set up the office. You should have saved the inheritance —”
“We can’t present a professional image from your mother’s spare bedroom.”
“We don’t have a professional image! Don’t you see that, Devin? We don’t have paying clients. We have a hundred hours of old people talking about life in the good old days.”
Devin waved a hand. “Whatever.”
Jonah walked to the door. When Devin turned, he saw something in the man’s face he hadn’t seen before. A resolve —defiance perhaps.
“You know what the problem is, Devin? I can’t tell you anything. I can’t talk about what’s bothering me. Or what’s wrong with the business. You don’t want a partner. You, you, you —” he stammered. “You want a lackey, a camera operator. Some techie who can get the shots and call it good and edit and take your direction. But you don’t want feedback. You don’t want correction. You don’t want to work together ; you want a slave. You’re the only one who can have an idea. And that’s sad because I’m fully invested. I wanted to be part of this.”
Jonah ’s face was red when he finished, his voice raspy.
“Where’d that come from?” Devin said.
“I don’t know. I guess I’ve been waiting. All the things I wanted to say but was afraid to.”
“I should have told you to get out a long time ago. That was good.”
“You think so?”
“There was real energy there. Like you were feeling it.”
“You want me to try it again?”
“The ‘you, you, you’ part was impressive. It felt a little forced when you said ‘slave,’ but I’d keep it if you’d recorded it.”
“I’m trying to get more passion in my life. You know, like living from the heart instead of the head.”
“Your mom tell you that?”
“Yeah.”
“She’s right. It’s working. You convinced me. It was really good.”
“Thanks.”
“And you’re right.”
“About what?”
“All of it.”
Jonah lifted an eyebrow. “You think so?”
“Yeah, absolutely. I’m a narcissistic, overbearing, grandiose thinker who only wants to do things the best way because my way is the best way, and if you don’t like it, hit the road. It’s in my DNA. Passed from generation to generation. I don’t see reality. Someone like you can.”
“Someone
“Your dad was Mr. Encouragement, wasn’t he?”
“He was a realist.”
“Is that why he killed himself?”
Jonah looked away.
“I’m sorry —that was a cheap shot. Keep going. I want to hear what life does next. Seriously. Can you at least cash in the sock full of nickels or does life take those with her?”
Jonah rubbed the fuzz on his chin, then gestured with a hand. “His point was you have to make the right decisions early.”
“You mean like not going over to life’s house?”
“No.”
“Keeping her away from the sock drawer?”
“You have to decide how you’re going to handle the boot because if you don’t, you’ll give up when things get tough. Just sit down and stop living because it’s too hard. Life hurts too much. It kicks you in the teeth, which it did to him. And it’s doing it to us.”
“So you’re illustrating irony here? Because giving up is exactly what you’re doing.”
“I’m not giving up. I’m trying to move forward. I’m making a good decision now so I don’t have to suffer later. I keep the equipment instead of buying it back from the sheriff’s auction.”
Devin turned his chair toward the window.
“This business wasn’t a bad idea,” Jonah said. “It was good —”
“Leave.”
“We shouldn’t have set up the office. You should have saved the inheritance —”
“We can’t present a professional image from your mother’s spare bedroom.”
“We don’t have a professional image! Don’t you see that, Devin? We don’t have paying clients. We have a hundred hours of old people talking about life in the good old days.”
Devin waved a hand. “Whatever.”
Jonah walked to the door. When Devin turned, he saw something in the man’s face he hadn’t seen before. A resolve —defiance perhaps.
“You know what the problem is, Devin? I can’t tell you anything. I can’t talk about what’s bothering me. Or what’s wrong with the business. You don’t want a partner. You, you, you —” he stammered. “You want a lackey, a camera operator. Some techie who can get the shots and call it good and edit and take your direction. But you don’t want feedback. You don’t want correction. You don’t want to work together ; you want a slave. You’re the only one who can have an idea. And that’s sad because I’m fully invested. I wanted to be part of this.”
Jonah ’s face was red when he finished, his voice raspy.
“Where’d that come from?” Devin said.
“I don’t know. I guess I’ve been waiting. All the things I wanted to say but was afraid to.”
“I should have told you to get out a long time ago. That was good.”
“You think so?”
“There was real energy there. Like you were feeling it.”
“You want me to try it again?”
“The ‘you, you, you’ part was impressive. It felt a little forced when you said ‘slave,’ but I’d keep it if you’d recorded it.”
“I’m trying to get more passion in my life. You know, like living from the heart instead of the head.”
“Your mom tell you that?”
“Yeah.”
“She’s right. It’s working. You convinced me. It was really good.”
“Thanks.”
“And you’re right.”
“About what?”
“All of it.”
Jonah lifted an eyebrow. “You think so?”
“Yeah, absolutely. I’m a narcissistic, overbearing, grandiose thinker who only wants to do things the best way because my way is the best way, and if you don’t like it, hit the road. It’s in my DNA. Passed from generation to generation. I don’t see reality. Someone like you can.”
“Someone
Similar Books
