I Went Down (NaNoWriMo Read-Along)

1 Cal

The light was seeping in through the curtains like dirty water. Cal pushed back the blanket and sat up. Minnie was waiting by his bedside as usual, making sure that he slept alone.

“I’m leaving,” she said. “There isn’t anything here for me. I’m going to Delta Mouth.”

Cal stepped through her and pulled on his pants.

“You can’t stop me,” Minnie said. She floated after him, insubstantial, as he spat in the wash basin and walked down the dark stairwell.

When he reached the kitchen, a wash of light and heat and smell pushed out the door to overwhelm Minnie’s presence.

“Just barely noon,” said Helen when she saw him. “An early morning for you.”

“I had a bad night.” He pulled up a stool and leaned his elbows on the wide wooden counter where she was pulling bread dough into portions and pushing it into proofing baskets.

“I’ve never known that you had a good night.” She pushed a plate towards him with one flour-whitened hand. Yesterday’s pastries. 

He shrugged. “There are better nights.” He selected a raisin bun and began to pick it apart. Even a day old it was still soft and buttery, a product of Helen’s kitchen magic.

He saw Helen watching him from the side of her eyes, but she said nothing as he reduced the bun to a scattered pile of crumbs. The sour bile taste of Minnie’s words was harsh in his mouth. The sweetness of the raisins couldn’t yet drive it away. “I’m going for a walk.” He brushed the crumb pile into his hand and tossed it into the open door of the over.

Helen’s nostrils flared as the sharp smell of burnt toast overwhelmed the warm scent of bread. Her lips twitched as she bit back some comment. “There’s a fog,” she said. “Don’t take a chill.”

“There’s always a fog,” he said.

In the entry hall, Helen’s brother was dozing on one of the cushioned benches. His muscular arms were crossed over his broad chest to keep them from falling down into empty space; Harlan was a good foot wider than that bench. He raised his head as Cal walked by. “Going out?”

“Yes.”

Harlan rearranged himself into an sitting position. “How long?”

Cal shrugged. “A while, I guess.”

Harlan stood. “I’ll bar it up behind you then.”

Cal stood to the side while Harlan unbolted the double doors and swung them open. Wet light oozed over the doorstep to show the long hallway with unlit lamps beneath the smoke stains they had left on the walls. The interior seemed as gray as outside. Harlan filled up Cal’s senses, the only definite living thing around. 

He stepped out onto the well worn steps and looked up. The sun was somewhere above, but not strong enough to burn away the stubborn river fog of Delta Mouth. The fog had coalesced in water droplets on the sign which hung above the door. There was a light sheen of mildew over the red letters which spelled out “MINNIE’S” and Cal made a mental note to look again at the cost for an electric sign.

Harlan peered out for a moment, then retreated inside again. Cal heard the heavy bar settle into place and knew Harlan would be back to his bench. He should find another doorman who could spell the big man, give him the chance to sleep in a bed somewhere else.

A few steps had taken him down the stairs and across the narrow street to the Torgove Canal, one of many that slithered through the city. The stone wall which held the street away from the water was stained but Cal leaned on it anyway. The dark water moved slowly beneath him, pulling along an assortment of trash. A few brown bottles, a splintered piece of white-painted wood, a woman’s hat with a long green ribbon dragging behind it like a tail or a piece of seaweed. Nothing unusual. Cal brushed a bit of moss off his sleeve and walked slowly along the side of the canal. The Torgove District was silent at this time of day. It wouldn’t liven up until the murky light started to fade, when the lamplighters would come around to coax some shine out of the dirty glass globes that lined the canal and the people of the city - Angiers, Pelagoans, Ibaians and all the mixtures in between - would come seeking entertainment.