Entry One Hundred Three: Adam Mahoney, You Just Won!

[This entry is the current story I am working on. This is thirty-three of who knows how many will be posted. Enjoy it while it lasts...]

Chapter Thirteen
Adam returned to the school gym every day, eventually increasing the intensity of his workouts to a respectable level although there was no one to gain respect from but himself and that would just have to do. In between he started several projects around the house and eventually got all six neighborhood yards mowed and edged. He finally made a trip to Phelps Hardware and after several rounds with the paint mixer, was able to create the right shade of robin’s egg blue for the exterior of his house. That project alone kept him occupied for several days although the task was made easier by all the ladders and high-end painting equipment he was able to procure from the hardware store.

He also had to make another trip to the IGA but knew it would be his last unless he took the time to shovel out all the rotting “fresh food.” The stench was overwhelming and the flies were multiplying to Biblical plague numbers. To delay having to clean the place out he doubled up on canned goods and made sure he had enough frozen dinners to fill his freezer. It finally crossed his mind that there shouldn’t be any flies if, as the Squatters had promised, all life—including animals—had been wiped off the earth. Then he spotted the Dove Bars in the freezer and forgot all about that annoying contradiction.

Adam had established a new rhythm, a healthier pace, and his outlook slowly improved. His decisions were safe, not adventurous at all, but his mind was beginning the healing process and, even though the chasm was still prevalent, the workouts and the active chores at home helped him ignore the gnawing emptiness, solid and unmoving, still echoing inside him. He had answered the question “What can I do?” at least temporarily, with trying to maintain normalcy, going about his life much as he would have at any other time, only now he was by himself. It wasn’t perfect but, considering the situation, he was starting to assume it was as good as it was going to get.

All words and images ©2007/J. Colle