The Ballad of Angus Pecos

Bat Shit Crazy

The sound of the newscaster on the tv cut through Johnny's head like a knife. Pounding at his temples as he tried to sleep.

"Millionaire hedge fund manager, Johnny Dolaire, was found two days ago on a deserted island off the coast of Australia."

Johnny groaned. Two long years spent alone on an island. It could teach you a lot about yourself. Things you never knew. Like, he was a pretty damn good shot with the pistols that were packed in his sailboat for safety.

He had become wildly accurate with them in his time there. Hunting small game, and using coconuts for target practice. Man, coconuts...he never wanted to taste them again.

He opened his eyes to state of the art hospital room. IV's hung around him and monitors beeped his vitals. He tried reaching across his bed but was stopped by an IV line. Reaching with his right hand for the remote he noticed something that wasn't there before. A watch?

Where had it come from? He'd been deserted for two years and knew every inch of his well tanned skin. That watch had not been there before. The dark brown leather band was well worn and was barely being held together by the last stitching that remained.

He turned his wrist over to get a closer look at the watch. Antique bronze that showed years of wear and tear but no clock face? He reached with his left hand, as far as the IV line would allow him, and took the band off. Inspecting the bronze cover and finding a push release, he pressed it in. The bronze facing opened up to reveal an almost pristine inner clock face.

"I'll be damned. It's Dad's old watch. How in the hell did it end up on my wrist?" Johnny said in a cracked and gravely whisper.

"Believed to be dead, Johnny was found by a passing freight liner that saw smoke from his campfire by the sandy shores of the island." The TV reporter said.

Johnny reached over and finally found the remote attached to his hospital bed and clicked it off.

"Enough of that. I already lived through it once. No need to keep beating a dead horse."

A knock came from the faux wooden door that was the entrance to his hospital room. They couldn't have afforded a real wood door?

"Yup." Johnny called out.

The door swung inwards and a short, thickly built brunette nurse walked in. She straightened her blue scrubs and adjusted her silver rimmed glasses.

"Hello Mr.Dolaire. I'm your nurse for this shift, I'm taking over for Amanda. My name is Jessica. How are you feeling today?" Her mousy voice was shaky.

"I'm beautiful, sweetheart. I wasn't really in bad shape before, just really fucking tired of coconut." He said with a slight grin.

She scribbled something on her clipboard and walked over to the monitors and scribbled some more.

"Are you experiencing any headaches or nausea?" She asked.

"Nope. Just wish I could get a nice glass of Pinot and a barely cooked steak. Would you happen to know where this watch came from?"

Johnny handed Jessica the watch and inspected her facial features as she turned it over in her hands. She seemed familiar in some way. Maybe she had one of those plain faces that you saw everywhere.

"I know your mother stopped by. Perhaps she put it on you while you slept? You've slept for mostly two days you know?"

His mother? He hadn't seen her in over four years. Was she really here? Well, I guess she had to be. Where else would his dad's watch have come from?