The Perfect Family

Visions from the Past

Vincent:

Mopping up diarrhea from the urinal in the boy's restroom really gave me time to ponder my life, and what in the hell I was doing with it. When I enrolled in college to study psychology all those years ago, I would have never guessed that this is where I would end up.  I had great ambitions to become a success, the kind of man that had respect from everyone that knew him.  I fantasized about having the perfect family with the perfect wife.

Instead, I'm cleaning up shit.  But that's all I've been doing my entire life, cleaning up all the shit that has been dealt to me since birth.  My years in this world have been nothing but one big turd after another.  And for what?  What do I have to show for all my trouble?  I'm thirty eight years old and I still don't have the family that I've dreamed of.

My father is probably laughing at me right now from his grave. He always told me that I wouldn't amount to a damn thing, and he was right. Even if I tried to make things right with Emily and Cora, what were the chances that they would even hear me out? They would only scream when they saw me, and I couldn't handle that kind of rejection again.  I couldn't stand to hear their screams again.

But I had to tell Cora that I was sorry for everything that I put her through. She had to know that I never meant to hurt or frighten her. That was the only way either of us would ever find peace in this damn world.  I had to make things right.

I glanced at the watch on my wrist. It was almost three thirty. That was about the time she started getting ready to practice for basketball. I could wait for her outside of the locker room and make sure no one else was around before talking to her privately.  She would have to listen to me!

The bell soon rang and the hallways were filled with the hustle and bustle of students. I pushed through them, bumping into the occasional jock who thought it would be funny to degrade me, then ran to the gym to look for Cora. A few of her teammates were there, but she was no where to be seen. I waited a little longer, pushing around my mop so I didn't seem suspicious, but it was no use.

She never showed up.

I finished mopping the floor with a disappointed sigh, then I began heading towards the parking lot with my head hung low.  The same kids were in the back smoking their marijuana, and when they saw me, one of them looked up and asked, "Yo, what's the matter, Mr. Powell?  You look tense, man."

"I'm just tired. It's nothing for you to worry about."

"You should learn to smile more. You always look like your dog just died or something."

"Sure.  I'll try to remember that."

I rolled my eyes and kept walking towards my car, until I saw two familiar figures in the distant.  It was Cora and that little shit head she was running around with. They were in each other's arms with their lips pressed together. 

I immediately felt sick. My head remained low, but I kept my eyes fixed on them for quite some time. The boy's hands lowered from her upper back down to her butt, and my blood began to boil. Who did this little ass hat think he was? Cora was far too young to be this intimate with some loser!

She must have felt the same way because she pushed him away, causing a beam of pride to surge through me.  Those warm feelings, however, were dashed into pieces and replaced with rage when the little shit head roughly grabbed her wrist and started to scream in her face.  "You stuck up little bitch!"  He growled, "We've been dating for three months and you won't let me get in your pants!"

Cora tried to pull away, but he refused to let her go.

My face became as hot as a furnace and my fists began to tremble by my sides. I wanted so badly to go over there and beat the hell out of him, but that would only frighten her. I had to remain calm until the opportunity to catch him off guard came along, then I would make the little bastard pay.