Just Don't Die

Kalvin

As Blaine left the high school parking lot, he decided to go to the one friend who wouldn't be at school or work. Blaine met Kalvin Brown when he was Blaine's boss at the food court in the mall. Since then, their friendship had bloomed and lasted longer than Blaine could have expected. Blaine remembered his conversations with Kalvin before he went to the mental hospital. The memories of Kalvin brought up the fact that he never got a chance to tell him anything before he got sent back. Did he even know he got out of the mental hospital?

Kalvin had moved from Idaho to attend college here and loved the small mountain town atmosphere and outdoor experiences so much that he never left. Kalvin stood just over five foot six, freckled with a light brownish-red ponytail, and was always a little on the chubby side.

Kalvin earned his bachelor's degree from the local college but never had to think about a career. Through some wise investing and extraordinarily good luck, he was able to live very well with only the occasional job whenever he got bored.

As they became closer friends after high school, Kalvin taught Blaine how to shoot, camp, and fish. He was the one who got Blaine more involved in all things outdoors and created a spark that pushed Blaine to do a lot of things he probably would have never dreamed about.

These "man skills," as Kalvin called them, stemmed from Kalvin's time in the Army. He said he would have probably been a career soldier but was medically discharged after completing a tour in Korea. Blaine was never able to get the complete story from Kalvin, but he did know that it wasn't a combat injury, and drinking was definitely involved.

Blaine had admired Kalvin from day one. He was surprised to find out a short, fat guy would be in charge of him, but Kalvin quickly put him in his place with some well-timed and witty insults. The fact that on the first day Blaine worked with Kalvin, he witnessed Kalvin escort an unruly, drunk customer from the mall also helped solidify Blaine's admiration of him.

The customer started to yell at Blaine when he messed up his order, and as tactfully as possible, Kalvin had told him to keep his voice down and to be patient with the new employee. The customer responded with a wild swinging fist across the counter towards Kalvin. Without any perceptible effort, Kalvin deftly manipulated the fist and directed it to the cash register. The man screamed as the bones in his hand shattered.

Blaine didn't see how because he was too distracted by the screaming man, but Kalvin had quickly jumped the counter and had the man's other hand twisted behind his back. He softly told the man that he would not press charges or break his other hand if he decided to leave now. The man responded with wide eyes and a short "OK" and ran as fast as he could toward the exit. Kalvin had earned Blaine's respect from that first encounter, but Blaine always wondered and could never figure out why Kalvin had put up with him as a defiant teenager.

Blaine pulled his truck into a spot next to Kalvin's old Chevy Nova in front of his single-wide trailer. A pang of remorse suddenly hit Blaine as he realized in the reality he had just left, he had essentially died last night. Even if that other voice took over, it was no longer him. Kalvin would not be able to know that he actually shifted to another time, and Blaine didn't even say goodbye.

Blaine decided if there were anyone who would be capable of understanding or believing what had happened to him, it would be Kalvin. Blaine's internal monologue was trying to decipher the best way to convey the truth to Kalvin without getting him another psychological evaluation at the mental hospital here. He didn't have any lottery numbers to give him, nor anything provable in the near future. He could tell him what's in store for him, but as soon as he tells him, it becomes a philosophical conundrum as to whether it happened because he was told about it.

As Blaine reached up to knock on the door, it opened to a double-chinned, unshaven face.

"Aren't you supposed to be at school?"