The 'Cousins'

Part Eighteen: The Not-So-Noble Breath!

Timeline: Thursday, 19th April, 2007. Morning

Greg woke early, refreshed and relaxed. He felt good about himself and some of his customary buzz and energy had returned. His reasons for doing what he was doing here seemed as relevant first thing in the morning as they did when he thought of them the previous night. He felt he was now a man on a mission and that mission was to knock down barriers threatening to hold him and Jess back.

He skipped across to the window, pulled open the curtain and grimaced at the black, sombre clouds rolling in from the southwest and challenged them; ‘not even you can spoil my day!’  

 Greg switched on the TV.  A panel of experts was giving their opinions on whether the Attorney General, Alberto Gonzales, should resign after firing eight attorneys through a flawed process.  Greg quickly switched to a country music station where Todd Fritsch was singing  ‘What’s wrong with me’ from his latest album. The energy and bounce of the piece perfectly matched Greg’s mood and he hummed along with the song as he went into the bathroom to shower.  He opened the faucet full on hot for several minutes to fill the cubicle with steam to hide its cracked tiles and the discoloured cement between them before he got underneath the powerful jet. He felt so good he also began to sing.

It was after his shower, when he wiped away the condensation from the mirror over the hand basin before smothering his face with shaving cream that he recalled his more extreme thoughts about his feelings for Jess late last night. They worried him that there might be some hitherto latent urges emerging within him.  He had no children, could his motivation be a latter day paternal compulsion or something more sinister; more carnal?  Greg rubbed the stubble of his chin and spoke to his image in the mirror. ‘Come on now, you’ve got growing feelings for the boy, but you know it’s not in that way for God’s sake. Sure, it was good to touch and be close to him, but that’s part of this novelty, he’s good company, you don’t feel so alone with Jess, and that’s all it is. You must have had too much vodka in those cocktails last night.’

Greg brushed aside these thoughts, convincing himself that he was comfortable with the boy and with his intentions towards him. They would take each other for the way they were and not bother what anybody else might think or want to make of them.  He finished his ablutions, dressed, and with a skip in his step set out for Ma Tooley’s across the street, nursing an appetite for a hearty breakfast.

The wind had backed round to the south. He pulled the collars of his jacket closer together against the freshness in the wind as he crossed the street and screwed up his nose to the smell it carried. It was a newer, sicklier smell than The Noble Breath that reminded him of a mattress he had once burned.  He nodded at the redneck lounging against the wall beside the door of the little diner.  Greg’s greeting was acknowledged by a twitch of the man’s lips that raised the cigar end stuck between them ever so slightly in a reluctant tobacco tribute.  Greg went inside to find three diners eating breakfast and Ma Tooley lighting kerosene lamps.  They returned his greeting cordially and he stood watching Ma complete lighting the four lanterns in bewilderment.

Ma let out a whoop of laughter that rocked the bands of flesh around her ample frame. ‘You wanna know why I’m doing this?  Right?’  Her question was like a cue for the lights to go out and she let out an even deeper hoot of laughter.  She wiped the tears from her eyes with her knuckles and said. ‘There’s your answer, power outage. It’ll be out for an hour. Happens everyday at this time and I is pree-pared.’

Greg’s jaw dropped and he grumbled. ‘I was hoping to get some breakfast.’

‘No problems,’ Ma Tooley’s skirts swished outwards as she swirled around and headed back to her kitchenette. ‘I is cooking on gas, man,’