The Extinct

CHAPTER
32

Eric’s room was uncomfortably hot during the night and the squeaks of mammoth cockroaches were coming from the corners. The sun rose and quickly filled the room with flowing light, making it impossible to sleep. Eric was groggy but he stood up and stretched before looking out the window and seeing two green topless jeeps parked on the curb in front of the hotel. Some locals were loading them with suitcases and coolers and large plastic jugs of water.

Eric dressed and walked down to the first floor bathroom. When he was done with his toiletries, he went to the small cafeteria and saw Thomas sitting with Douglas and two new faces. One of them was a man, possibly in his late forties, wearing a corduroy jacket with sunglasses pushed up into his blond hair. The other was a woman, blond and petite wearing tight stretch pants and a black blouse revealing a little cleavage. Though the temperature caused one to constantly have a thin film of sweat on their skin, she was fully colored in rouge and lipstick and eyeliner.

Eric took a plate from a small buffet table and loaded it with eggs and toast before getting a cup of coffee and sitting down at Thomas’s table.

Thomas smiled at him and said, “How was your night?”

“Restless. It’s so hot I always feel dehydrated.”

“You have to constantly drink water and limit your sodium while here.” He turned to the couple seated across from him. “This is Eric,” he said.

“Pleased to meet you,” the man said with a warm smile, “I’m William Carthy and this is my wife Sandra.”

Eric nodded hello and she smiled at him. The familiarity with which they greeted him made him suspect Thomas had already mentioned him. “So where are you from, Eric?” William said. “New Hampshire,” Eric said. “Oh really? We live in Boston now. I manage to get up to New Hampshire every autumn for the leaves. Beautiful state.” Thomas said, “William’s a Stake President in the Mormon church. Quite a damn fine one from what I hear.” “You’re too kind,” William said. He spoke in a soft voice; tender almost, and his eyes were friendly and unassuming. “I didn’t know the higher ups in the Church could marry,” Douglas said with a mouthful of eggs. “We’re not Catholics. Marriage and family are the cornerstone of our faith, of any faith really.” “Were you always Mormon?” Douglas said. “No, I converted in my twenties actually.” “Why’d you convert?” “Oh, thought I could do more good I suppose. Just had a calling.”

Douglas scoffed. “All nonsense if you ask me. I’ve seen all manner of cruelties and very little compassion in the world. Doesn’t seem to point to God.”

“Perhaps you’re not looking in the right places,” William said with a wry smile.

One of the men loading the jeeps came in and said something to Thomas. He nodded and stood up. “The jeeps are ready. If you’d care to gather your things, we’ll be leaving within the hour. And if you’ll excuse me, I have a few things to attend to before we go.” He bowed his head slightly to Sandra. “Madame.”

She smiled, looking at him just a bit longer than was proper.

“I’ll come too,” Douglas said, sopping up the last of his eggs with a croissant and shoving it into his mouth. “Haven’t really gotten to see the town yet.” “Of course,” Thomas said, not taking his eyes of Sandra. “Have you had a chance to see the town?” he said to her. “No, not really.” “It wouldn’t do any harm if you’d like to accompany us. I have to go down the shore a bit and it is a beautiful drive.” “Go ahead honey,” William said. “You don’t want to come?” she said. “No, you go. Have fun.” “All right,” she said. As they walked out William was watching his wife and had a glimmer in his eye. His deep love for her was written on his face. “She’s quite lovely, isn’t she?” William said. “Yeah.”

“I ask the Lord sometimes why he blessed me with her. She’s a wonderful woman, full of life.” He took a bite of eggs and washed it down with cold juice. “You ever loved a woman, Eric?” “No. I don’t know. Maybe.” “What was her name?” “Wendy.” “Where is she now?” “I don’t know, New Hampshire still I think. I’m sure she’s moved on though.” “But you haven’t?”

Eric looked at him but saw no maliciousness or prying. There was only the soft voice and the kind eyes. “No, I guess not. I don’t really know.”

“Love makes up in height what it lacks in length. Frost said that somewhere I think. I’ve always thought it was true. You’re a better person for having loved a woman. And no doubt there’ll be others; you’re still a young man.”

Eric bit into his eggs; they were soft and rubbery and he put down his fork and tried to remove the taste from his mouth with coffee. “So what’s a Stake President?”

“We have different regions called Stakes. Like stakes in a tent. The tent is the Church and each Stake holds it in place. So I guess you could compare it to like a regional governor or something.” “Really? And you’re one?” William chuckled softly. “Don’t I look like it?” “No actually. All Church bureaucrats I’ve ever known were dicks. No matter what Church they belonged to.”

He laughed. “Yeah, I’ve known quite a few of those myself. But you can’t blame them, it’s a difficult life to follow God. It’s hard to love goodness in a world that presents you only evil. You look around and see evil being rewarded and goodness punished and you think it’s foolish not to join in.”

“So why don’t you?”

“Join in?” William shrugged and wiped his mouth with a napkin. “Wants are all ephemeral. You buy a nice car and the next thing you want is a nicer car. You find a good home and you want a better one. It’s a never-ending cycle if you let it grab hold of you.” He put his elbows on the table and leaned in a little closer. “I don’t think material things are important, they just seem like they should be. And if you don’t realize that you’ll wake up with the world around you and emptiness inside you and you’ll be asking ‘why aren’t I happy?’” William leaned back in his chair and took out a package of cigars, lighting one and letting it dangle between his lips as he pulled a small plate closer to him to use as an ashtray. “But what do I know? I could be totally wrong.”

“Thought smoking cigars was a no-no?” Eric said.

“Only on vacation. My last vice from my pre-baptism days. If the Lord didn’t want me to he’d let me know.” He sat and smoked awhile, watching the sunlight flood the room from the many open windows. “I’m sorry about your father. I heard what happened.” Eric shifted in his seat. “He deserved better.” He ashed onto his plate and looked Eric in the eyes. “So it’s revenge you want now?” “I guess.” “Do you think it’ll help?” “I don’t know. Thomas thinks it will.” “Most of the time it doesn’t.” “How would you know?”

“I’m human too. I’ve been wronged and I’ve sought vengeance. Look, I’m not preaching to you Eric; you’re going to do what you’re going to do. I just want to help if I can.”

Eric stood up. “I don’t need your help.”

Eric walked out of the hotel and into the muggy heat of a Kavali morning. The hawkers were back, taking up any available space on the sidewalks and streets. The street vendors were yelling at them and tourists were being accosted by five or six of them at a time.

He made his way down the street and in between the buildings Jalani had taken him down. He walked a long time and ended up on the shore. The sand was cool from the surf and he buried his feet in it and sat down, his arms wrapped around his knees. The ocean appeared a light blue closer to shore and turned to a dark green as you went farther out. The harbor just down the beach was choked with boats of various sizes; from canoes getting ready to go out and fish to yachts just floating around leisurely.

Though it was beautiful, Eric began feeling the pangs of addiction and his mind was distracted. He missed home too and now that he wasn’t using, the feeling began growing in his gut. He thought of the college campus, the leaves browning in autumn and falling to the ground, the trees twisted and naked without them. He missed his mother. He hadn’t spoken to her for months and he wondered if she was doing okay. He hoped she’d found someone that really loved her. When this was all over and he started returning to a normal life, he would want to see her again.

But he also missed Wendy. He’d called her once from Thailand; sitting on the line and listening to her voice. He wanted so bad to speak but he knew she wouldn’t understand. She wouldn’t have cared why he did what he did; she would just think it was a selfish act and he didn’t consider what it would do to her. Besides, she could never look at him the same; with those innocent eyes. She would always see him as a murderer, and that was not how he wanted to remember her.

Eric heard footsteps in the sand behind him and saw William coming. He sat down next to him and inhaled the sea air deeply; closing his eyes and leaning his head back to absorb the full warmth of the sun.

“I’m sorry about what I said, Eric. I didn’t mean to overstep my bounds.”

“It’s okay. You didn’t mean anything.”

“You know, when my father died, I was there with him. He died in a hospital bed of cancer. He used to box for fun and when I was a kid he’d take me to his matches and I’d watch him kick the hell outta somebody. He looked like a giant to me, dancing around that ring. But when he was in that bed he wasn’t much more than a skeleton… and I hated him for it. I wondered why he would let me see him like that. It took me a long time to realize why. He got to hold me and say goodbye. That’s all he wanted, just to have me there and know that I cared about him. Did your father know that you cared about him?”

“Yeah,” Eric said.

“Then you gave him a gift that no one else could’ve.”

Eric looked away, the warm tears slowly rolling down his cheeks, the saltiness on his lips and tongue. William stood up and put out his hand. Eric took it and stood up.