Luck of the Draw

“Luck of the Draw”

By W. P. Gerace

Blaring away in the early morning hours on this chilly April 15th morning Ernie Barker was jolted out of his deep slumber by the nuisances of his rude neighbors. He could hear the couple arguing once again not even an hour before the sun would rise and they were at each other’s throats. They were a young couple he gathered they were no more than 25 or so if that. No children, no dogs, no cats, or any pets, in fact they both had decent jobs as lawyers and seemed to do well for themselves. He couldn’t understand why they were always clawing at each other like cats. Shaking his head, he banged on the window hoping to alert them and ask them to pipe down. Despite his attempts they raged on.

“Ignorant kids. “ Ernie was so pissed this was the first day of his retirement after thirty five years in public education of which the past fifteen were spent as the Principal of Center City Elementary School one of the toughest schools in the city and he could not even get peace.

“What is it honey? Are you worrying about those kids again? Come on sweetie lay down with me. Leave those kids alone. You know we were young once.” Franny, his wife of forty-two years, she too a retired school secretary, had never looked at anyone poorly.

“What is it with you Franny really? Everyone means no harm everything is peaches and cream. Honestly girl I do not get you. “Ernie retorted knowing she would just look at him with those meek greenish blue eyes and turn away.

As if he predicted what she would do the second she did exactly that. Shaking his head, he truly did not understand her desire to be so kind all the time. Her soft approach was too much to bear, sometimes she lacked structure and discipline almost like the kids he educated for nearly 40 years. Shoot it is probably why their own two children Sally and Frank do not even visit or pick up a phone. There were so many heated arguments through the years when the kids were small and his gestapo approach as Franny would put it chased them away.

Annoyed with this entire situation he began to mumble and walk down the hallway. In the distance he could hear the bellow of their old German Shephard Jax. The poor boy was well into his late teens or early twenties and could barely see or hear. His once vibrant muscular body was nothing but skin and bones. He was dying from cancer but neither one of them had the heart to put him down. He has been such a part of the family for so long.

As he treaded along the plush white carpets, they had just been put in two weeks ago costing nearly over a thousand dollars Ernie thought the material felt damp. Bending down he noticed the entire creamy color of the carpets were tainted a bright maroon. Following a clear path down to the end of the hall there lay Jax sprawled along the floor, blood oozing from his mouth and butt. Ernie had so many emotions running through him at the same time as he watched the pet that had been part of this family for nearly two decades wither away. A thousand dollars down the drain and they did not even take the darn warranty.

Sprinkling his head from above he could not help but wonder where it was coming from. Flipping the hall light on the ceiling which they had nearly patched three months ago had a huge brown stain in it. Large drops of water were dripping down as if there was a pipe that burst. But there were no pipes there and they had not had rain. Where was the water coming from? Ernie was in no condition to traverse up there and risk falling. This is when he needed his son Frank. He was a tall man in his 30s who could easily get up there. Shaking his head, he refused to call him. That would mean him admitting he was wrong.

“Franny! Franny! Get out here! We have a big leak and Jax is bleeding all over these carpets! “Hollering at the top of his lungs he neglected the fact that she was all the way down the other end of the hall.

He was about to call her again when the phone rang. Luckily for him the phone was right there sitting on that wobbly beige table Franny bought at Goodwill. Answering the call, it was some man with a thick foreign accent. He said he was from the bank and needed his full social security number and date of birth. His account was locked, and they needed to unlock it but first they needed to verify him. Not thinking Ernie rattled off his information.

“What did you do! You idiot! “ There was Franny standing there her blonde hair strewn about as if she were in a cat fight.

“What do you mean?’ Ernie asked, still lost on what happened.

“You gave that stranger all your information. How do you know he is even from the bank?”

Just as he realized he should call the bank and check into this as he was so frazzled and stressed about everything that happened the ceiling collapsed and the roof antennae pierced through his chest. He could hear his flesh tear and his heart come to a complete stop.

“That sucks honey. Luckily I have my own bank account and have enough money to keep me comfortable. I had for the past ten years. That sucks for you. I guess I am not so soft and dumb as you would say. Oh, and I do have a boyfriend. Had one for nearly 15 years. Bye Sweetie. “