He was gone. He would never be again. I’d never hear his live voice again. I’d never shake his hand again. All I had now of him were memories.
When I stepped out of the shower and began drying off, I noticed that I had a new voicemail. At first glance, I figured it was probably something else from work.
But when I picked up my phone I realized it was actually a call from a number I hadn’t seen in a long time.
I pressed the button to answer the voicemail and waited for it to play.
“Long time-no see, Mason.”
The voice was deep, raspy, and with a bit of a cold forcefulness to it. I recognized the voice. I hadn’t heard that rasp in a long time. The voice belonged to Ranier Caplinger, Arnold’s son.
We were the same age and had been at one time best friends. But this was after we’d become bitter enemies and did our best to one up the other one any chance we got. However, quickly we learned that we made a much better team than we did adversaries.
The message continued. “I’m sure you’ve heard about my father’s passing by now. It goes without saying that you meant a great deal to him. I understand you are part of a different world now, a public world. But that doesn’t change the fact that he loved you like a son. I used to love you like a brother. And I expect to see you at his funeral Monday. You got it? Don’t make me have to come looking for you. My father will not be disrespected in death.”
A loud click ended the voicemail.
I sat the phone down and stood there for several minutes looking at myself in the mirror. Leaning against the sink I stared at myself, right into my eyes. Was there even a hint of the man I used to be in there? I wasn’t sure. I’d been civilized by a plush, pampered world; still it was so enticing to think about meeting up with the old gang again.
I was a bit confused by Rainer’s voicemail. Sure, there were pressing concerns that I might be seen by the news media and the paparazzi. That would most likely be bad for my image, but there was nothing that would keep me away from my mentor’s funeral. I would simply deny knowing anything about this other life he supposedly had.
I didn’t like lying, but it was true that most of the rumors that were floating around these days, I had no clue about. It had been twelve years since I walked away from the family and it was tough. I felt like I was all alone and had no one, but I knew that if I ever really needed him, Arnold was there for me. He was out there watching.
But he wasn’t watching anymore.
From now on, I was all alone.
CHAPTER 4
Libby
The sound of my alarm woke me viciously from the most pleasant dream, yet as my eyes flew open I came to the understanding that I had no idea what I’d been dreaming about. How was this possible? I was just there. And it was beautiful, I was sure of it. I was safe, secure, and I was loved by someone…
But who? Who was in my dream? They were so familiar…
I reached over and turned the alarm off on my phone. It was too early to get up, wasn’t it? I could have sworn I’d just laid down about five minutes ago…
But it was. Morning had arrived and I had yet to discover a way to turn back time. Still, my body remained motionless.
After a few minutes of lying in bed I became aware that my house still smelled deliciously like cheesecake. It had been a fun evening hanging with Tammy and baking some great desserts. But I had to get my day started. There were young minds I still needed to mold.
I rolled myself out of bed and took a quick stretch trying to get my blood moving and wipe the sleep from my eyes.
I took a shower, wolfed down some breakfast, gave the kitchen a quick clean, and then slid behind the wheel. It was a beautiful day outside and even though I was still groggy and desperately wanted to finish that dream (whatever it was about) I was excited to get to work. I always was. It was the highlight of my day and I considered myself lucky to get to say that about my career. It paid almost nothing, but it was putting ramen noodles in my belly on a daily basis and I was happy for the most part.
If only the gangsters who wanted me to pay them money would have just forgotten about it and not threatened to kill me and my family, life would have been great. But that was not the reality I had been dealt.