Excerpt:
Victor remembered Jossette’s last breath. He remembered their last kiss. He remembered the look of death in her eyes.
Victor shrieked and moaned in tears as he dove into the water and started swimming. At times he swam above the water. At times he splashed the water hard with his feet as he dived into the depths of the lake. Jack and Jerry could see that Victor was swimming farther away from the shoreline and toward the more deadly clutches of the lake’s deep center.
Novelette: Envy Is A Terrible Thing
By Charles Peters
Copyright 2019
All Rights Reserved
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This story is fiction.
Any resemblance to any real people or places or things is not intentional.
Chapter 3
Victor had just sat down on his beach towel when Jack came running up. Jack said, “Victor, I need to talk to you about something.”
Victor stood up as Stewart’s friend Harry Walsh walked up and sat down next to Stewart. Victor stretched and threw his hat on the head of Harry Walsh. “Damn, it looks better on everyone but me.”
Harry grinned as he pulled the hat off his head and looked at the gray wool fedora with a black sweat band. “I like it.” He tossed it back to Victor who spun it around on his finger and then dropped it to the Marilyn Monroe beach towel.
Jack looked at Judy. “Oh my fucking god, you are so beautiful.” Jack looked at Victor. “Do you realize how beautiful your sister is?”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, she is a total doll. She could date anyone but she is dating that sorry mechanic who cheats people.”
Judy said, “He does not cheat people.”
“Yes he does.” Victor and Jack walked toward the water. Victor asked, “So what do you need to talk to me about?”
Suddenly Victor spun around and began walking backwards as he stared at the beautiful Sandy Stowe. “Speaking earlier of beautiful, Sandy just keeps getting better looking.”
Sandy smiled and winked at Victor as she continued walking.
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Jack said, “You do remember that your friend Sam Smith got beat up by her husband for flirting with her.”
“Yeah, yeah, Sam has a better chance with her than I do.”
Jack said, “That was not my point. She is married to a jealous husband.”
Victor continued walking backwards as he watched Sandy. “I would never sleep with another man’s wife, and neither would Sam, but damn, she is fine.”
Suddenly Victor tripped over Harry Walsh’s father, Jerry Walsh. Victor fell to the ground next to Jerry. Victor looked at the skinny, nerdish owner of the local hardware store. An image of Barney Fife from the Andy Griffith Show flashed in his mind. Victor apologized to the father of his brother’s current best friend. “I am sorry.”
Jerry eyed the disheveled Victor sprawled on the ground next to him. “No problem. I was looking at where you were looking. She is beautiful. Dirk and Sandy are competition to you all at the Hollis Mud Track, though, aren’t they?”
Victor liked to build cars and he worked with Sam and Sally at the local Hollis Mud Track where Sam and Sally raced. Dirk and Sandy also competed there with specialty cars built from junks. Dirk and Sandy had various businesses and investments around Hearthville, with one being D&S Stowe Inc., which handled other teams of drivers besides just Dirk and Sandy.
Victor said, “Yeah, but competition or not, she is a good looking woman.”
“Indeed. But dangerous to a man’s health.”
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“I guess you heard about the fight between Dirk and Sam.”
Jerry laughed. “I was there. I saw it. Dirk threw Sam over the car. It was a sight. I don’t think either you or me would want to tangle with Dirk over his wife Sandy. Dirk was more than Sam could handle.”
Still on the ground but partially sitting up, Victor knocked some of the sand from his surfer style black and white checkered swimsuit. Squatting, but not standing up, Victor started trying to shake the sand off his greased up arms and legs. He looked like he was trying to do some weird Russian dance. When he noticed people looking at him, he quickly stopped the pointless effort. “No. I don’t want to get into a fight with Dirk. True that. But. I have beaten him at poker. He is not a gracious loser but actually, I do like Dirk.”
Jerry said, “I wish I had the money to play poker with you all but you all are out of my league.”
Victor said, “Come to the next game. I will stake you a hand or two. No strings.”
“Seriously.”
“Yeah.”
Victor stood up and looked at his father grinning at him.
He told Jerry, “Again, I am sorry I tripped over you.”
“No problem.”
“Just let me know when you want to sit in on some poker hands. See you.”
“Sure. Thanks.”
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Victor turned to Jack and they continued walking to the edge of the lake. They then stepped knee deep into the cold, clear water. Victor sprawled down like a dead man floating to bathe the sand from his youthful body. Then he quickly sprang back into a standing position. Victor said, “This dihydrogen oxide is freezing.” Victor folded his arms and shivered.
Jack said, “Yeah. You did good in chemistry. Look. Victor. I know we are the kind of friends who can go bowling and barely say three words to each other. I like that we don’t have to entertain one another with brilliant conversation. I like that. But man, you should have told me about Jossette. Mom and I were visiting with Bert’s mom at the hospital when Bert and I started talking. He told me.”
Victor said, “My father knows. The rest of my family does not know.”
Jack said, “And that is when you took the overdose of pills two years ago.”
Victor said, “That was an accident.”
Jack said, “After I talked to Bert, I talked to Sam. You had a nervous breakdown when Jossette died and I didn’t even know it. What kind of friend am I?”
“You are a good friend.” Victor began to tear up. “I loved Jossette. I still love her, and talking about her is difficult.”
Neither Jack nor Victor had noticed when Jerry walked into the water next to them. He had joined them to give Victor the comb that Victor had lost. It had fallen from Victor’s swimsuit pocket when he had tripped.
Jerry cleared his throat to let them know that he was standing with them. They looked at him and he handed Victor the lime green comb. Victor took the comb and rubbed it between his fingers as he placed it into his back pocket.
Jerry said, “I know it is none of my business but I am going to ask anyway. Am I understanding what the two of you are talking about correctly?”
Jack said, “Jossette Ogleby died.”
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Jerry said, “Fuck. How?”
Victor pictured Jossette as he had held her close. He remembered all the equipment in the hospital room. He wished for the feel of her in his arms again.
Victor grabbed his head. He said, “Man. I can’t talk about it. Please don’t have me break down crying here in public.”
Jerry saw the tears streaming down Victor’s face. He looked at Jack.
For a moment Victor relived being in the hospital room. He saw Jossette laying in that awful bed surrounded by equipment and with the oxygen hose in Jossette’s nose. He thought how she had begun to cough and struggled to breathe. Still, she had kissed him and it was a kiss he would always remember with love. He touched his finger to his lips.
Jack said, “I am sorry.”
Jack saw that Victor was starting to tremble.
Victor remembered Jossette’s words. “I love you so much. Why did I ever believe that you had stopped loving me? I am so sorry.”
Victor said, “I don’t want to think. I’ve got to swim. I’ve got to get out of here.”
Victor remembered Jossette’s last breath. He remembered their last kiss. He remembered the look of death in her eyes.
Victor shrieked and moaned in tears as he dove into the water and started swimming. At times he swam above the water. At times he splashed the water hard with his feet as he dived into the depths of the lake. Jack and Jerry could see that Victor was swimming farther away from the shoreline and toward the more deadly clutches of the lake’s deep center.
Jerry said, “This is not good. He is upset and he is swimming toward the middle of the lake. Is he planning on drowning himself?”
Jack screamed, “Oh shit. Go get Victor’s father to get his boat. I am going to swim after Victor. Try not to alarm anyone else. This does not need to be on the 6 o’clock news.”
Jerry ran to Elliot. He whispered in Elliot’s ear. “We need to get your boat and go after Victor.”
Elliot jumped up. He and Jerry ran to where Elliot’s small motorboat was docked in the water. Elliot and Jerry jumped into the boat. Elliot quickly cranked the boat as Jerry untied it. They took off from the dock.
Jerry looked for Jack in the water and pointed him out to Elliot. Elliot asked, “What is going on?”
Jerry said, “I don’t know exactly. Jack was talking to Victor about Jossette. Jack had learned that Jossette is dead.”
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Elliot moaned, “Oh fuck.”
Jerry asked, “How did she die? She was so young.”
Elliot said, “Food poisoning that turned into something else. But see before that happened Ellen made the less than brilliant decision to keep the kids apart in a way that caused them to both think that neither wanted to have anything else to do with one another. Jossette’s mom Terence called me and told me what was going on. And then the night Jossette was dying I took Victor to the hospital. They talked. They confessed the love they had for one another. She died in his arms. He hasn’t been the same since she died.”
Jerry said, “I remember how close they were. They were two sweet kids and so smart.”
Elliot pulled the boat up next to Jack. “Do you see Victor?”
Jack said, “I can’t see him but I am pretty sure that he has turned and is swimming back toward shore.” Jack pointed. “Do you see where the water is moving, sort of splashing, there?”
“Yeah. Get in the boat.”
“I think where the moving water is, is Victor, but I am not sure.” Jack crawled up into the boat. “Mr. Duddley, I am so sorry. After Bert told me I talked to Sam. Sam tried to explain the situation to me but I didn’t understand. I felt hurt that Victor had not told me and I wanted to talk about it. I thought his talking about it would… I don’t know. I thought… God. I wasn’t thinking.”
Elliot said, “Victor is a good swimmer. It is going to be okay. He is going to be okay.”
Jerry said, “But he is so upset. We need to get to him.”
Elliot sped the boat toward where he saw water splashing; where Jack had pointed. As they got closer they saw fish jumping.
Jack moaned. “Oh fuck. I thought that was Victor swimming back toward shore.”
Elliot looked around. Elliot screamed, “Victor, can you hear me? Victor. Where are you Victor?”
Victor called to his father. “I am over here. Leave the boat put. I will swim to you.”
Victor swam to the boat and then climbed up into it.
Elliot said, “You had Jack and Mr. Walsh worried. You had me worried.”
“You didn’t have to worry. I am a good swimmer.”
Elliot asked, “Do you want to talk about what led to this?”
Victor said, “I can’t talk about it. I can’t.” Victor bit at his lip and tried to stop from crying but still there were the tears.
Jerry looked at Victor. Seeing Victor’s tears, Jerry knew his and Jack’s fear that Victor was going to kill himself was justified. Then Jerry imagined Victor holding Jossette in his arms when she died. Thinking about that and realizing Victor could have just died, Jerry broke down and started crying. “You don’t have to talk about it. Just know that I am sorry you had to go through that.”
Jack said, “Me too. I am sorry I felt angry. I am sorry I pressed you. Sam tried to tell me but I am an idiot. It is okay that our friendship is based on us not talking. Talking is way overrated.”
Jack looked at Elliot. Jack asked, “But how is it that most people don’t know?”
Elliot whispered, “Lawrence and Terence wanted privacy as well. It is hard to lose a child or a sibling.”
Jack thought back to the last time he had seen Roger, Jossette’s brother, in Atlanta in a nightclub where Jack’s band was playing. Jack considered that he had asked Roger about Jossette and that Roger had avoided answering him. Jack considered Roger’s behavior didn’t mean anything to him at the time, but now he knew. Jack nodded. “I guess I understand.”
Jerry hugged Victor as they both cried. He stared at Elliot. He mouthed the words without being heard. “I thought Victor was going to kill himself.”
Elliot nodded.
Jack said, “Victor, tonight, you and I will go bowling. Okay?”
Victor said, “Yeah. I will like that.”
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