Fifty Seven Days

Sam got out of the car when he saw the old man walk out onto the lawn. Though they were fitted, Sam wasn’t used to the new clothes, or maybe nerves convinced him his hands weren’t busy enough. He checked his pockets three or four times before the old man saw him. Sam smiled and was unsure if it was appropriate to hide his smile or not. The stern look on the old man’s face assured him it would be best to do away with the smile and shake hands. The old man looked at Sam’s hand for a reasonable second before shaking it. Two large men were carrying a large dresser out of the old man’s front door.

“What’s going on?” Sam asked. “Are you guys moving? I thought you loved this place.”

“Actually, we’re starting renovations on the house this weekend.”

“Looks like you’re moving a lot of stuff.”

“We’re doing the whole house, practically.”

“Nice!” Sam was unsure if he was feigning interest or not. “So Paul is going to get a bigger room?”

“Paul won’t be living with us anymore.”

“Why not?”

“He’s moving out, heading to college.”

“College? Wow! That is excellent news. I can’t believe my little brother is headed out to college. I bet he’s super smart too. He was always the genius of the family.”

“We’re all very proud of him.”

“That’s going to be an awfully big house to be living alone in… what with the renovation and everything.”

“There’s going to be a guest house out back. Down the line we’re going to start renting it out.”

“Oh?”

“It’ll be a good source of income for when your mother and I retire.”

“Any prospective renters yet?”

The old man didn’t answer. Instead he looked back at the movers.

“Hold on,” the old man said to Sam. He walked over to the movers and said something to them. Sam couldn’t hear but was sure it was some detailed direction on how they were moving furniture incorrectly. Sam chuckled to himself as he thought of it. “Sorry about that, Sam.”

“That’s all right.”

It was quiet. There was a nice breeze, like the conversation was trying to take a breath.

“You look well, son. Looks like you’ve put on some weight since the last time I saw you.”

Sam put up his arms and looked down at his body. He playfully patted his gut.

“It’s good,” the old man said, “You look healthy.”

“So are you guys finally putting in a pool too?”

“Nah, it seemed like a good idea when he had kids running around the house. It actually doesn’t do much for the property value either.”

“I remember one summer it was so hot mom decided to buy us one of those inflatable pools.”

“I thought you and Paul hated that thing.”

“Yeah, it was only about two feet deep, barely 15 feet wide. It was like a glorified bathtub. By the time that cheap hose would fill it up the water would be so hot anyway, remember?”

“Just barely,” the old man answered.

“I got a job.”

“Did you?”

“Yeah, I’m working on cars again. Not a big garage, it’s just one of those drive-thru tune up and oil change deals, you know?”

“That’s something.”

“Hey, is my mom going to be coming by soon?”

“She’s actually at your aunt’s place right now. That’s where we’ll be staying until the renovation is over.”

“Oh.”

“Something wrong? I can call her right now if you need to speak with her.”

“No, that’s okay. I was just hoping that maybe I could come over for dinner tonight.”

“Maybe some other time.”

“Right.”

Sam turned towards his car and reached into his pockets for his keys. Instead he pulled out a small metallic disc and quickly turned around. He gave it to the old man who looked at it, confused at first but the hint of a smile melted his otherwise stern face. The old man examined it closely and saw the etched equilateral triangle on one side and the number “45” on the other.

“Forty five days, eh?” the old man asked.

“Yeah. Well, technically it’s been fifty seven days but with the new job I really don’t go as regularly as I used to. I figure it’s good if I aim for nice round numbers anyway, give myself something to shoot for.”

The old man gave it back to Sam.

“Actually,” Sam refused to take it back, “I was hoping to show you guys at dinner tonight. But since that’s not happening I thought I’d just show it to you now. You can keep that since I’m hoping to get the sixtieth this weekend.”

The old man insisted on Sam taking it back. Reluctant and dejected, Sam plucked the disc from his hand.

“Here,” the old man said pulling out a business card, “You can reach me at the cell phone number. Call ahead and you can tell her over dinner tomorrow.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

Sam smiled and didn’t bother hiding it. His eyes glistened as he looked at the business card as if he were trying to memorize the phone number straightaway. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his car keys.

“Son?” the old man said before Sam got in his car. “Keep it up.” And with that Sam drove back home.