Behind Our Walls : Deleted Scenes

 

It was the last day.

That was how she would come to think of it, but in the moment, it felt like every one that had come before it. She woke up, just minutes before hearing the beeping from the coffee maker downstairs and shrugged into some comfortable clothes as she headed down for the pre-shower dose of caffeine. Things began to veer towards less-than-normal at the sight of her father, sitting at the table, head down and staring at the television while he tapped a charred piece of toast on his mostly empty plate.

“What gives?”

He jumped in his chair as if he hadn’t even been aware of her presence, tried to play it off and then resigned himself to acting like he didn’t understand how the toast had appeared in his hand. “What do you mean?” he finally asked.

“Don’t you have classes this morning? Why are you still home?”

He shrugged the question off. “I wasn’t feeling the greatest so I canceled classes. Trust me, the kind of kids I have this semester aren’t likely lamenting the loss of a day of learning.”

She peered at him closely. Years after the heart attack that had nearly ended his life, they had all learned to pick up on the early warning signs that he was about to launch himself into a full blown rant.

“But you’re watching the news. You never watch the news. I mean…unless you’re trying to spike your blood pressure.”

“Have you seen this story yet?” He spun his tablet around on the table and slid it across to her. Sophie waved off the device and shook her head.

“Too early for that. Can you just tell me about it? You know, with words? From your mouth?”

James smirked and pulled the tablet back. “I found this link to a story about the social security administration last night.”

Sophie raised her eyebrows. “Oooh, social security administration. Sexy.”

“Shut up. According to the article, benefit checks haven’t been getting sent out over the past week and no one seems to be picking up the phones to explain.”

“So…”

“So, I was watching the news to see if anyone else was covering it.”

“Covering what? A bureaucratic fuck up? The fact that some pencil pusher is probably going to be losing their job? I would think that a broken water main would get more column inches than that.”

James looked up at her, squinting like he always seemed to do when he wasn’t sure if she was joking or not. “You never paid much attention in civics class did you?”

Sophie shook her head and turned to the counter to pick up a mug. She poured the coffee and listened to the silence as he undoubtedly waited for an answer to his condescending question.

“Maybe not,” she said, “I also don’t hang out with my friends at the diner, having malteds before we cruise the strip and drag race.”

“What the hell are you babbling about?”

She turned back to face him, leaning back against the counter. “Daddy, I’m pretty sure they don’t call it ‘civics class’ anymore.”

“Thank you, wise ass. My point is that it’s a big deal if those checks don’t get sent out. It couldn’t have been caused because some guy in an office fucked up and confused his outbox with someone else’s inbox. Checks always get sent out. Always. No exception. Even if the government completely shuts down, they still make provisions to see that the benefit checks go out.”

Sophie still wasn’t making the connection between all of this and the emergency he was hinting at.

He didn’t seem to notice her confusion and instead rambled on. “And if there is some kind of an explanation, then why the hell aren’t they telling people about it? Why aren’t the phones being answered?”

She sat down at the table, trying to keep her voice level and at a low volume to try and encourage him to calm down. “Where did you find the article?” He started to slide the tablet across the table again but she stopped it with one hand. “Just tell me, I don’t need visual aids.”

“Another teacher sent me the link.”

“Okay, but what site is the article on, is it a major news outlet?”

“No it’s…” He looked down at the screen before shaking his head. “It’s some kind of governmental watch group, I think.”

“Daddy, you know that the Internet is teeming with the crazy right? If this was as big a deal as you’re suggesting, than at least one of the credible news sites would be saying something. Hell, they’d be cutting into the morning soaps and game shows. Have you found the story anywhere else?”

He looked almost crestfallen, shifting his gaze from side to side. “No,” he finally admitted.

“So you only found it on this one web site? Let me guess, sandwiched between a photo of Bigfoot and the baby that was born with six heads, but only one brain?”

And just like that, her sarcasm gave him his second wind. “You know, even if it is a hoax, just the chance that something like this could be true is enough to warrant looking into it. Who do you think is affected by this? You’ve got retirees out there potentially with no money now to pay the bills, buy food or medicine—”

“Dad, take a breath.”

“And of course, God forbid the insurance companies step up and just provide their customers with the medication they need. God, they couldn’t do that, that would be a fucking tragedy if they actually—”

“Daddy!”

The tone of her voice finally cut through his mania and he stopped, taking in a long slow breath as beads of sweat started to form on his forehead. She made a conscious effort to soften the tone of her voice, to try and bring him back down. “Look. I’m sure that everything is fine. I get why you’re upset but the reality is that you’ve got one article, written by God knows who, and you’re working yourself up into a frenzy over it. Just give it some time and breathe.”

He didn’t answer her but seemed somewhat calmer. His eyes locked in on hers and he nodded slightly before shifting his gaze out the window. Sophie shook her head and sipped the coffee again. This is how arguments with him would go. He would get something else in his head that he decided took precedent, and the drama would be over. Sometimes he would wander out of the room in mid-sentence, making her feel like she libed with someone suffering from Dementia. In this case, he frowned and walked to the window, peering out into the street.

“What?” She couldn’t stop herself from asking.

“I just figured out what’s been bothering me all morning. No construction.”

“I don’t understand, is that code for something?”

“They’ve been out there on the corner at Figero, tearing up the sidewalk all week. Where are they?”

She walked up next to him and peeked out herself. The equipment was all there, but no workers.

“So they aren’t there today, so what?”

“They’re working on the city’s dime, that’s so what. It was something at the end of the article, in the comments section. Apparently a lot of road projects have been put on hold, workers just haven’t shown up.”

“What does that have to do with Social Security checks?”

“Nothing. The point was that it was another symptom of a larger problem. That maybe money isn’t getting funneled to the places where it needs to be.” He stopped and turned to glance at the table as the tablet chimed softly.

“What?” Sophie asked.

James bent over to look at the screen, wagging a finger at it as he did so. “Another comment. Listen to this. Across the country, park rangers were called at home and told to not come to work today, even in the capital. No explanation. Also…” He scrolled down the screen. “… prisons.”

“What? Prisoners not getting their paychecks either?”

He ignored the sarcasm. “It says that they’ve been having a hard time getting prisoners transferred.”

“Ominous. What does that have to do with anything?”

“There has been a shortage of US Marshals available to escort prisoners during transport.”

For the first time, Sophie reached out and took the tablet from him, looking over the browser and scanning through the article. “You don’t find it strange that this site is the only one who has heard of it?”

“Maybe.”

“I really think you’re getting yourself worked up over nothing. If you’re looking for something to do, the basement needs to get cleaned up. Maybe you could do some laundry or grocery shopping.”

He looked up at her and laughed for the first time. “And what do you think happens to your old man when he runs the wrong cycle program on the washer? Or if I use the wrong kind of fabric softener or buy the wrong kind of crackers?”

“All right, all right, I get it. Then go to a movie. Go bowling. Go to a bar and get drunk. Anything other than sitting around the house, festering all day.”

“I am not festering, I’m just concerned about—”

“You’re jumping at shadows and conspiracy theories. What happens if you work yourself up into another heart attack and then we find out after the funeral that none of it was even true?”

James let out a long breath and finally touched the button on the tablet, returning it to the home screen.

“Happy?”

“Joyful. Thank you.” She set the mug down, walked over to him and bent over to hug him in his chair, kissing him on the cheek as she did so. “You know I’m only giving you this much shit because I care, right?”

“Sure. With friends like these…”

“You’ve got to take care of yourself, all right? Just take it easy. If there is something going on, there has to be someone out there dealing with it, all right?”

He nodded. “I know. I just—”

“The Internet is one giant Venus fly trap for people like you. Just back away. Now if I go take a shower, can I trust you to restrict yourself to your Soduku app or the football highlights?”

He smiled again. “When exactly did you become the parental figure in this relationship?”

“Just promise me Dad, I need you to—”

“Holy Hell, you have gotten pushy since you got that personal trainer job. Yes, I promise that I will stay off the website and that I will cease all pursuing of any information relating to previously indicated topics or articles, and that subject matters deemed bad for my health will be avoided at all costs. Satisfied?”

Sophie nodded. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be so pushy.”

“You do it because you love me. Trust me kiddo, I get it. Go take your shower. I’ll still be upright and breathing when you get back down here.”

Sophie walked down the hall and up towards the bathroom. It was hard to not laugh at how worked up he could get over things like this. Still, she did find the tiniest weight in her stomach after the conversation, wondering if anything like this could ever be true. A part of her that she didn’t want to acknowledge couldn’t help but think that maybe there was something to this worth paying attention to. After all, sometimes the smell of smoke in the air really did mean that danger was looming.

.

.

.

Check out Behind Our Walls, available for purchase on July 19th. Click here to pre-order your copy today for the Kindle.

.

.