Coming December 20, 2019
Good morning, Justice and thank you for agreeing to sit down
with me today.
I’d have loved to do this interview a little later in the
day.
I’m sure. Well there is a freshly brewed pot of coffee if
you’d like some.
Why didn’t you say that in the first place?
For someone used to getting up early in the morning, you’re
far grouchier about it than I expected.
Shouldn’t I be? You’re grouchy in the morning, everyone you
live with is grouchy in the morning, hell, everyone you know is grouchy in the
morning. Don’t you always tell people that you base all of us characters on
people you know?
Yes, but…
Well then you can’t really expect any of us to be balls
of sunshine in the morning, now can you?
Point taken. Shall we move on?
Yeah, we can do that. This is good coffee by the way.
Thanks. So tell me about your reaction when Jude pulled up
in the towtruck with a motorcycle on the back and a perfect stranger in the
cab beside him. Looking back, do you think that maybe you were a bit harsh
under the circumstances?
No.
Care to elaborate?
Yeah, as long as you don’t mind me answering a question
with a question. How would you feel if one of your kids showed up on your doorstep
with a dusty stranger and a busted up old motorcycle?
Curious, but then, I love old bikes and would jump at the opportunity
to help work on one. As for the stranger, well, considering he looked about as
lively as a wrung-out dishrag, I’d like to think I’d have been cautious but
welcoming.
Goody for you. I’ve been looking out for Jude since we
were kids. I’ve seen all of the impulsive shit he’s gotten into and the
aftermath too. In that instance, I couldn’t help but feel like he was being
gullible and we were about to be taken advantage of. You watch true crime
shows, you’ve seen how it works. The good Samaritan who pulls over to help a stranded
motorist and ends up getting carjacked, beaten, robbed or killed. The concerned
individual who, out of the goodness of their heart, invites the down on their
luck drifter to stay with them for a couple days and ends up murdered in their
bed. There’s a lot of good people in the world, I know this. But there are
plenty of bad, too, and I for one would like to make it through the rest of my life without becoming a statistic.
Fair enough, but if you felt so strongly about it, why not
have Jude drive him into town, drop him off somewhere and be done with it. Or
do it yourself if you were so worried about your brother? In the end, you let
him in and offered him the couch to sleep on and you were the one, not 24 hours
later, who made the decision to let him stay with you guys until he could get
that bike back on the road.
I’m also the one who went ahead and asked Clark to do a background
check too, don’t forget.
True.
Look, by the time he got done cooling off in the shower
and getting dressed, he was shaking, bad, so I sat him on the couch and went to
prep some sides for dinner. By the time Jude came home with the food, Nash had passed
out. He was pale, and when I tried to wake him so he could get some food in
him, he didn’t even twitch not one little bit. Now, I can’t say that I slept so
soundly that night. I spent half of it listening for signs of him moving around
downstairs, poking into things, and there wasn’t a peep. Not even a creek of
floorboards to suggest that he got up to use the bathroom, and that backpack of
his that I brought in for him, well, you can be damn sure I searched it for
weapons before I left it in the bathroom for him.
Kind of figured. So are you implying that getting a peek at
some of his ink had nothing to do with your change of heart.
Did I say that?
No.
Then don’t imply things I didn’t say. The ink had me
curious, no doubt, but the conversation we had in the office the following day
helped a great deal too. So did all the things I learned about him through the
background check. The things he didn’t say.
Understandable. He does tend to play his cards a bit close
to the vest.
As outdated as that saying is, it’s especially true of
him when we’re playing cards. Not only that but I’ve yet to figure out any of
his tells and he can bluff with the best of them. I enjoy the challenge of
playing with him and he’s added a new dynamic to the game.
So, if I was to paraphrase a line from one of my favorite
novels, which would he be. Someone who goes, or someone who stays?
The jury is still out on that.
And you?
What? Going or staying? A year ago that would be easy to
answer. Staying. Always.
And now?
At the very least my eyes have been opened to the
possibility that there might be things away from here that I would enjoy seeing
or doing. But this will always be home. I’m just coming to see that I don’t
have to live here for the rest of my days for that to be the case. I don’t
have any plans at the moment to go any further than Virginia, but my mind is
more open to the possibility than ever before, and I’ve even begun poking
around the internet, looking at photos and checking places out.
I’d be curious to see what comes of it.
You and me both.
Now that some time has passed since Nash’s arrival and a few
things in your life have settled down as much as they can in a small town like
yours, what’s next?
No clue, but there won’t be a dull moment, that’s for
certain. Honestly, though, the possibilities are limited only by the imagination.
There is a salvage yards full of parts
and pieces and a stream of ideas that some days more closely resembles a flood.
I’ve been getting better at writing them down when they come and it makes for
some good conversation around the supper table each night.
That’s always good to hear.
So are we all set?
Just one more, question, if you don’t mind.
Fine, but let me refill my coffee cup first.
[Pause]
Better?
Much.
What’s the deal with you and that Challenger? You came up
with some pretty intriguing ideas involving it and a particular someone in
various stages of undress. How did that
all work out for you?
And on that note, you can consider this interview over.
Good morning, Justice and thank you for agreeing to sit down
with me today.
I’d have loved to do this interview a little later in the
day.
I’m sure. Well there is a freshly brewed pot of coffee if
you’d like some.
Why didn’t you say that in the first place?
For someone used to getting up early in the morning, you’re
far grouchier about it than I expected.
Shouldn’t I be? You’re grouchy in the morning, everyone you
live with is grouchy in the morning, hell, everyone you know is grouchy in the
morning. Don’t you always tell people that you base all of us characters on
people you know?
Yes, but…
Well then you can’t really expect any of us to be balls
of sunshine in the morning, now can you?
Point taken. Shall we move on?
Yeah, we can do that. This is good coffee by the way.
Thanks. So tell me about your reaction when Jude pulled up
in the towtruck with a motorcycle on the back and a perfect stranger in the
cab beside him. Looking back, do you think that maybe you were a bit harsh
under the circumstances?
No.
Care to elaborate?
Yeah, as long as you don’t mind me answering a question
with a question. How would you feel if one of your kids showed up on your doorstep
with a dusty stranger and a busted up old motorcycle?
Curious, but then, I love old bikes and would jump at the opportunity
to help work on one. As for the stranger, well, considering he looked about as
lively as a wrung-out dishrag, I’d like to think I’d have been cautious but
welcoming.
Goody for you. I’ve been looking out for Jude since we
were kids. I’ve seen all of the impulsive shit he’s gotten into and the
aftermath too. In that instance, I couldn’t help but feel like he was being
gullible and we were about to be taken advantage of. You watch true crime
shows, you’ve seen how it works. The good Samaritan who pulls over to help a stranded
motorist and ends up getting carjacked, beaten, robbed or killed. The concerned
individual who, out of the goodness of their heart, invites the down on their
luck drifter to stay with them for a couple days and ends up murdered in their
bed. There’s a lot of good people in the world, I know this. But there are
plenty of bad, too, and I for one would like to make it through the rest of my life without becoming a statistic.
Fair enough, but if you felt so strongly about it, why not
have Jude drive him into town, drop him off somewhere and be done with it. Or
do it yourself if you were so worried about your brother? In the end, you let
him in and offered him the couch to sleep on and you were the one, not 24 hours
later, who made the decision to let him stay with you guys until he could get
that bike back on the road.
I’m also the one who went ahead and asked Clark to do a background
check too, don’t forget.
True.
Look, by the time he got done cooling off in the shower
and getting dressed, he was shaking, bad, so I sat him on the couch and went to
prep some sides for dinner. By the time Jude came home with the food, Nash had passed
out. He was pale, and when I tried to wake him so he could get some food in
him, he didn’t even twitch not one little bit. Now, I can’t say that I slept so
soundly that night. I spent half of it listening for signs of him moving around
downstairs, poking into things, and there wasn’t a peep. Not even a creek of
floorboards to suggest that he got up to use the bathroom, and that backpack of
his that I brought in for him, well, you can be damn sure I searched it for
weapons before I left it in the bathroom for him.
Kind of figured. So are you implying that getting a peek at
some of his ink had nothing to do with your change of heart.
Did I say that?
No.
Then don’t imply things I didn’t say. The ink had me
curious, no doubt, but the conversation we had in the office the following day
helped a great deal too. So did all the things I learned about him through the
background check. The things he didn’t say.
Understandable. He does tend to play his cards a bit close
to the vest.
As outdated as that saying is, it’s especially true of
him when we’re playing cards. Not only that but I’ve yet to figure out any of
his tells and he can bluff with the best of them. I enjoy the challenge of
playing with him and he’s added a new dynamic to the game.
So, if I was to paraphrase a line from one of my favorite
novels, which would he be. Someone who goes, or someone who stays?
The jury is still out on that.
And you?
What? Going or staying? A year ago that would be easy to
answer. Staying. Always.
And now?
At the very least my eyes have been opened to the
possibility that there might be things away from here that I would enjoy seeing
or doing. But this will always be home. I’m just coming to see that I don’t
have to live here for the rest of my days for that to be the case. I don’t
have any plans at the moment to go any further than Virginia, but my mind is
more open to the possibility than ever before, and I’ve even begun poking
around the internet, looking at photos and checking places out.
I’d be curious to see what comes of it.
You and me both.
Now that some time has passed since Nash’s arrival and a few
things in your life have settled down as much as they can in a small town like
yours, what’s next?
No clue, but there won’t be a dull moment, that’s for
certain. Honestly, though, the possibilities are limited only by the imagination.
There is a salvage yards full of parts
and pieces and a stream of ideas that some days more closely resembles a flood.
I’ve been getting better at writing them down when they come and it makes for
some good conversation around the supper table each night.
That’s always good to hear.
So are we all set?
Just one more, question, if you don’t mind.
Fine, but let me refill my coffee cup first.
[Pause]
Better?
Much.
What’s the deal with you and that Challenger? You came up
with some pretty intriguing ideas involving it and a particular someone in
various stages of undress. How did that
all work out for you?
And on that note, you can consider this interview over.
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