Bits of life

F-25 Words-700

It was at one of those wild parties that Jake and I were introduced to Kitty and her companion. She was a pretty girl and both Jake and I lost our hearts to her. We couldn’t leave her side nor could we stop our conversation with her, mostly consisting of sweet nothings. She had that attraction to draw men to her and keep them there. Slowly we developed our relationship with her. She had a nice cozy place just behind my work place. Jake went with me to college and at present was idle. So he had more time to be with her and much against my will, I had to go to office and listen to my dad’s instructions covering the work for that day.
I kept my father in the dark regarding our escapades with Kitty and her companion. It was only later we came to know that couple’s objective had always been to trap the rich guys whose fathers could supply them with ready cash without asking questions. Gradually, I started lying to my father about my goings on about the town. He didn’t till date, know what I was indulging in.It would be a deep shock to him and my mom.

One day, when I was away from town visiting one of our customers, Jake went to a casino with Kitty and her gang of friends that included both men and women. Emboldened with the fact that I would support him in his deals, he borrowed heavily from the loan sharks at the casino. He had no luck turning in his favor on that fateful day, he had lost 100k in gambling and another 20k in ordering drinks for all. By the end of the day, he was shattered. He was beaten up when he talked out of turn and Kitty didn’t bother about saving him.”

Before he could complete the murky details of a sordid story, the jail bell chimed, signaling the end of visiting hours for the day. Within minutes, the warder appeared to usher us out.
As we walked out, we could see the desperate expressions on the faces of Ol and Jake. Our minds were heavy with remorse and the mood was somber. A situation like this would make people comment that life gets tricky sometimes. Some would blame it on fate. What about man’s will power and strength of mind? Couldn’t he master his own mind and heart? Wasn’t this a special gift given to man alone in the scheme of creation? I was so pestered by doubts such as above that I had hardly noticed we reached home. My mother was waiting on the stoop. Anxiety and tension seem to brought out lines of worry on her face.

Oliver’s father and mom left by five in the evening to their city home. Before they left,
Uncle Rod held uncle John’s hands in his and said, “John, I am sorry for the whole affair. My son had to do this to you, who had always done a good turn to others and who lived a peaceful till now. Tell me brother, what can do to clear this mess created by Oliver, my own flesh and blood?”
John patted his hands and said, “don’t be too harsh on yourself. Life is not something we can order about. But you can do something more constructive by living in the city where these things took place.”
“I will be happy to do anything to clear this mess.” Uncle Rod was almost in tears for the umpteenth time.
“You can make inquiries about these criminals belonging to the casino, of whom Oliver was talking about. You can take the help of a private detective who might be of great assistance to us in finding out everything we need to know about the culprits,” said uncle John.

I was impressed and pleasantly surprised at the alacrity and presence of mind of uncle John.
They bid goodbye and left soon afterwards.

We went in and I felt choked by the seriousness hanging in the atmosphere around us. I decided to take them on a long drive to a nearby beach, which was a famous tourist spot.