Cease the Second Kind

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

2049 AD

            A week passed since that discussion of entropy.  For some odd reason, the discussion really rattled her.  Amanda began to ponder its implications in the world.  Was it theoretical?  Or was it already in motion?  She forced it out of her mind, because she knew herself to chronically overthink things to the point where it actually could stress her out.

            The sun was setting low over Las Rocas that Saturday evening.  She was getting back from her part-time job as a sale consultant at a clothing store in the interior.  Amanda decided to fill up her car finally, and verbally redirected her car to the nearest station.  Her car pulled up to a vacant pump and she stepped out.  At the pump she pulled out her financial card, which worked as her debit, savings, and soon as a credit card, and swiped it at the machine.  It said press the fuel type and when she pressed it she noticed the price.  “$15 per gallon!  What the fuck!”  She screamed at the pump and nearly kicked in the pump.  It was two dollars higher than last weekend.  After a furious moment she gathered herself and acquiesced to paying.  “I can forget about buying that new pair of earrings tomorrow,” she thought to herself.

            She sat quietly in her automatic car ride home and was about to step in the front door when her Glass vibrated in her pocket.  Transferring her purse to her other shoulder she fished her Glass out of her pocket and saw that it was Benjamin calling her.  She pressed the answer button and held the Glass to her ear.  “Hello?”

            “Hey Amanda its Ben.”

            She smiled and walked inside her house.  “Benny boy!  What’s up?”

            “Do you want to hang out tonight?  I realize it’s already nine and you are probably busy, but I’m going to be honest when I say that my whole weekend is completely empty.”

            She laughed, “Yeah sure.  Do you just want me to swing by your house?”

            “Let’s meet at the park on Yangtze Avenue, you know, the Chinese part of town.”

            “I know it.  I’ll see you there Benny Boy,” she jabbed into the Glass and rushed inside to change into some nicer clothes.  After five minutes she returned to her car in a sundress and with her hair blonde hair in her usual fashion.  The car revved up and sped off when she gave it its directions and she was en route.  In the primary passenger seat she crossed her arms and looked out at the Las Rocas skyline, at her perfect world.  The gemlike buildings glinting in the setting sun, which cast rays of violet and purples down across the city.  The only other city with the same amount of allure, to her, was New York City.

            She had visited New York when she was ten.  For her that was nearly eight years ago, but that city just captivated her, especially the architectural grandeur of the Empire State Building.  It was a Michelangelo among Picassos.  The city of New York was such a hodge-podge, but with the Empire State Building, the city seemed to have unity.  It was such an old building, and was well over a hundred years old, making it a relic and just a piece that seemed to embody the soul of the city.  Not even The Pillar held as much significance. 

            The car exited the freeway and shot down into the interior and decelerated into a safer speed of sixty miles per hour.  The car bolted around the base of the city.  Merely looking up you could see the surrounding buildings scraping the sky.  The creation of Las Rocas was so fast, that outward expansion matched vertical expansion, because soon enough, the sky became the only limit to the city’s growth.  Often buildings were strengthened at the foundation, and built a few stories taller every few years, to keep up with rising demands of output for whatever product or service a company provided.

            The car then found Yangtze avenue and sped down it until it found the park.  Finding an available spot, the car parallel parked with accuracy that only a machine could make.  Amanda could see Ben’s car had already arrived.  Benjamin and his father lived by themselves in a condominium near the center of the city, which had some of the best housing within Las Rocas.  She had seen his condo before.  It was a comfortable five thousand square feet with the best view of the center of the city.  It was an elevated room and you could watch the antlike forms of people racing around on the ground below.  When she was younger with Ben they would sit there and just pretend they were ants, even sit there with magnifying glasses pretending to burn them.

            Amanda got out of her car and walked over to Benjamin who sat idly on a swing set.  Looking around, Amanda saw that there were only a few people present at the park.  In just under two hours the park would become a congregation of lowlifes.  The way she saw it was that they had just less than two hours to have fun before they were met with offers for drugs and sex.  She went up and hugged Ben and they said hello to one another.  They chatted for a few moments about general topics such as some family matter, and how their work lives were.  Ben then offered to walk around the quarter-mile long trail that encircled the municipal park.

            Ben stuffed his hands in his pockets, his shoulders slightly hunched up, which she gathered that he was nervous about something.  It was odd, because Ben was usually fairly loose and rarely stressed.  He looked over at her and saw that she had concern in her eyes.  He flashed her one quick smile in hopes of hiding his distress.  However, Amanda knew him better than that.  “What’s wrong?”  She just had to ask.  Ben looked away, avoiding eye contact.  “Benny, you can talk to me,” she pushed.

            “I didn’t call you to just hang out with you,” his body trembled, and his head craned down, “M—my dad,” he took a deep breath to gather himself.  Amanda walked in front of him and placed her hands on his shoulders gently, stopping him.  A sob escaped him and she figured that he needed to sit down.  Her heartbeat was sped up quickly, wondering what he had to say about his father.  Ushering him to a nearby park bench, she sat him down and raised his chin so he could look into her eyes.

            The mere eye contact steadied him somewhat.  Ben’s eyes were bloodshot out of nowhere.  His eyes conveyed helplessness.  “My dad has,” he stopped to stifle a sob, “five months to live.”

            Amanda stood there frozen.  The man that she grew up knowing affectionately as Mr. Ross, and Benjamin’s father, was terminal.  She did not even know what to say.  Her mouth was ajar, but no words came out.

            Ben, luckily, found the strength to continue.  “They found this morning that my dad has Stage IV Pancreatic Carcinoma,” he looked as if the wind was knocked out of him from a blow to the stomach.  He hunched over in physical pain and clasped his hand over his heart and he was on the verge of uncontrollable tears.  Amanda took a seat next to him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders and rested her head on his.  A tear slid down her cheek, for she loved Mr. Ross.  Ben and she have been friends for as long as she could remember.

            Benjamin’s whole body rumbled with each sob.  His large six foot frame never felt so small in her arms before this moment.  They’ve shared tears over other things before, but never this.  Amanda had never dealt with a situation like this before, and was clueless as to where to even begin to help him.

            Intermixed with the poignancy was a connection that she never felt to him before now.  She lifted his head to stare into his eyes and pressed her forward to his.  She could feel his wet cheeks on hers.  Then she found one way she could cheer him up, as well as herself, and it only felt right, because it would express her feelings for him all those years.  Amanda leaned forward and brushed her lips to his.   His body jerked and he involuntarily leaned forward into the kiss.  She wrapped her arms around his head and pulled him to her tight, intent on never letting go.