Persistence of the Damned

I remember the parents splitting up on Christmas. It led to a step mother and a couple step fathers. Spent much time shuffling back and forth to every other weekend parents and their companions. Not always good. I hadn’t seen my father for years. Starting quarterback and safety at the new school, he made it to a game. Can’t say I remembered other games. It might have become a big deal and I was getting good grades until it fell apart. I was kicked out of my mother’s home and dropped at my father’s house. It was not good. I walked the hallway of another high school knowing so few. I grew up in the city but the school was big. Eventually I saw a few kids I remembered. One was Dave Slick. We hung out a few times before and now in 10th grade he was kissing on his girlfriend in the grass, I liked his sister. Him and I camped out one night drinking alcohol and I was nodding when I noticed his stepfather crawling into the tent. “What’s he doing here?” I slurred. I passed out drunk remembered nothing. Months later no parent caring, I was never going to school and me and Dave ran away. Some crazy idea we could live outside or that someone somewhere, anyone would care at all. It was cold and i ended up back with my mother. She took Dave back to his house. I never saw him again. I came out of the army years later and read in the paper Dave had stabbed his roommate dead and crashed his car. He went to jail. He got out and I attended the funeral of someone who was there when I had no friends. When I heard the words, “you didn’t know about our stepfather did you?” It put things into a different perspective and I could see the memories we shared from a new, dark perspective. I could only guess at what was his life from 15 years old until he died not having his place and struggling with himself, who he was. It put the why to many unusual things. I dedicated this novel with the memory of David Slick. I have had many friends straight and gay and accept people as they are. Life is a four letter word and it isn’t fair.