Cassandra Goth had just announced her intentions to move out of her father’s house. The silence stretched interminably as she stood in the foyer, looking from Mortimer, her father, to her little brother, Alexander, and back again, waiting for some response. Finally, Mortimer sighed.
“It’s a little much for one day, don’t you think?” His tone was one of genuine concern.
“I know this all seems to be happening so quickly, Father—” she began.
“That’s kind of an understatement,” Alexander muttered.
“Alexander!” Mortimer snapped. Cassandra looked at her brother and smiled.
“He’s right, Father. But I feel that I need to do this. I need to make a few changes in my life.”
“Like your makeover?”
“It’s a start,” Cassandra admitted. “I just… I need to stand on my own. My whole life, I’ve been your daughter, or Don’s fiancé. It’s time for me to be my own person.”
“You will always be my daughter,” Mortimer told her, with a gentle smile, “a fact of which I could not be more proud.” Cassandra’s face lit up at his words, and she hugged him tightly. “We will miss you, you know.”
”That’s kind of an understatement, too,” Alexander added. Cassandra laughed, and ruffled her brother’s hair.
“Hopefully you won’t miss me too much… I’m only moving a block away! I’ll be dropping by often, and I expect you guys to come visit me, as well.”
“I think we can handle that,” Alexander said, brightly. “Don’t you, Father?”
“Indeed,” Mortimer said.
All too soon, Cassandra’s taxi arrived, and it was time to go. She waved to her father and brother, watching from the front yard, as she shut the door of the van, and she was off. In but a few moments, the cab dropped her off at her new home, a modest little place on Main Street, the perfect place to start the next phase of her life.
Over the next few days, as she got settled in, Cassandra came to love her cozy little house. She met a few of the neighbors, and established a comfortable little routine. She couldn’t shake the feeling, however, that she was being watched.
Also, annoyingly, she was only getting her morning newspaper about half the time. She confronted her delivery person, Derek, who swore that he dropped the paper off every day like clockwork.
“Maybe someone is stealing it,” he suggested.
”Stealing? My newspaper?!” Cassandra was incredulous. “Why would anyone do such a thing?” Derek shrugged.
“I’ve seen it before. Sometimes it’s neighbors who aren’t getting along, sometimes it’s someone’s idea of a practical joke. Sometimes, people are just jerks.” Cassandra thanked the young man, tipped him and sent him on his way, still puzzling over why anyone would steal her newspaper.
A few days later, Cassandra had Mortimer and Alexander over for a housewarming dinner. As she gave them a tour, she watched their faces, her father’s especially, for signs of disapproval, thankfully finding none.
“Cool place, sis,” Alexander told her. He seemed especially taken with the Xbox 360 in her living room.
“Thank you, Alex. Father?”
“It is very nice, daughter. You have had no problems?”
“Other than my morning paper disappearing every other day, not a one.” She didn’t notice Mortimer stiffen slightly at her revelation. “By the way, I invited someone else to dinner; a new friend I met my first night here. She should be here any time.”
Sure enough, Marisa Bendett soon arrived, and was introduced to the Goth men. The adults stepped out to the rear terrace for drinks, while Alexander got better acquainted with his sister’s Xbox.
Dinner consisted of spaghetti and conversation, mainly about the new prescription benefit plan being debated in the legislature. Marisa, a Field Sales Representative, was particularly invested in the healthcare issue. If an illness kept her off the road, she couldn’t make her quotas, wouldn’t collect her commissions, and wouldn’t be able to keep up with her bills.
“Repo men are just frightening,” she said. “Even more than burglars!”
“How do you mean?” Mortimer asked.
“At least with burglars, you call the police, there’s a chance they’ll be caught. Those repo guys are unstoppable. You can’t reason with them. They’re… they’re like tax collectors!” Everyone shared a laugh at this.
After dinner, bringing his plate to the dishwasher, Mortimer glimpsed movement out on the sidewalk. It was Don Lothario, kicking over Cassandra’s garbage can, and cackling gleefully for a moment before running off.
Casting a quick glance at his daughter, who was clearing more dishes from the table, Mortimer stretched. “An excellent meal, daughter. If you’ll excuse me, I think I’ll step outside for a moment to catch a breath.” Without another word, Mortimer went to the curb and righted the can, cleaning up the mess Lothario had left.
Heading back into the house, he washed his hands, bid Cassandra and Marisa a pleasant evening, somehow managed to tear Alexander away from the Xbox and headed home.
The following afternoon, Cassandra returned home from work, and just as she was about to enter her home, she spotted movement from the corner of her eye. Whirling, she saw Don Lothario pacing along the sidewalk, an almost deranged glint in his eye.
Suddenly, with the whine of a siren and the roar of a powerful engine, a police car screamed to a halt in front of the house! A young, blonde police officer jumped out and handcuffed Lothario!
“Doctor Lothario,” the officer told him, as she maneuvered him into the back seat of her patrol car, “you’re under arrest for violating a restraining order. If you come within 100 yards of Miss Goth again, you’ll get more than just a quick spin downtown.” Cassandra couldn’t believe her ears! She approached the officer.
“Excuse me, what is this all about? What restraining order? What’s going on here?” After securing her prisoner, Officer Demi Love turned to Cassandra.
“Doctor Lothario was served with a restraining order last night, after he was witnessed vandalizing your garbage can. He was also found to have a collection of newspapers, which he admitted to stealing from you. We’ve had a couple of extra patrols in the area today, just to make sure nothing happened.”
“But who— Father!” Cassandra was shaking, unsure whether from fear or anger.
“Believe me, he was looking out for your best interests, Miss Goth. I’ve seen this too many times. The good Doctor here needs some time to cool off, and let go of his resentment. Sometimes that’s all it takes.”
”‘Sometimes’ that’s all it takes?!” Officer Love nodded.
“Sometimes. Then again… sometimes, people are just jerks.” She shook Cassandra’s hand and walked round to the driver’s side door. “Have a good evening, ma’am.”
Cassandra stood on the sidewalk, shocked, and watched as the patrol car, her former fiancé handcuffed in the back seat, drove away.
30 Apr 2006 | 01:37 AM