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“So, how was dinner?” I ask while clasping my wife’s hand.
Jodie smiles and squeezes my hand as she replies, “It was really nice, baby. I love getting to go out with you on these nights. We should do it more often.”
Nodding my head, I tell her, “I should work around my busy schedule and do this with you at least once each week. I’m sorry things have been so hectic these last few months. The business is really growing and we are seeing record profits.”
“Money is nice, but don’t let it kill you, Scott. Your health means more than a few more dollars, and you’re working over seventy hours per week. If you hire another person for the shop, it might take a load off you.”
“And cost more money,” I say with a grimace. “But, I’ll see what I can do, my love.”
Jodie is my angel and more. Married just five years ago, we are not in our early thirties and finally getting things to click for us. As of just a few months ago, we no longer live paycheck to paycheck and we have more disposable income than ever. When I suggested we go out to eat tonight, Jodie’s face lit up, and she seemed happier than she’s been in a long time. I love seeing her so happy, so I need to do whatever I can to continue making her happy. Hiring someone else to help with the extra work we have could be exactly what will accomplish this.
We continue walking along the dimly lit sidewalk to our apartment building. It’s late and there are just a few other people making their way to one place or another. This is a walk that Jodie and I have taken dozens of times before, so it’s not much of a surprise when we see a group of three young men turn and look at us as we go by. One of them says something, and my wife squeezes my hand tightly once again.
“Ignore them,” she says to me as we continue walking. “Don’t even turn to look at them. They’re just a gang of dipshits that stick around here and bother people.”
“Dipshits that the police do nothing about,” I reply as I turn my head slightly to see them walking just behind us. “They’re following us. Fuckers.”
“Just be quiet, alright?” Jodie knows I can be very confrontational whenever I feel the need to be. Though the guys behind us are on the street in this part of the neighborhood often, we rarely interact with them. They typically keep to themselves after making rude comments. However, they now seem to be keenly interested in us.
“If they do anything, baby, I’ll have to protect you.”
“Don’t do anything,” she replies. “Just walk faster.” We do and the footsteps behind us become louder. The men are now jogging at a faster clip than we are walking and I become concerned. Maybe they are intending to do more than simply make comments in our direction.
“Hey, man, give me a smoke,” I hear one of them say to me.
“I don’t have any. Sorry.” We keep going, though I realize they are immediately behind us now.
“Then, maybe a few dollars for some smokes? You got that, right?” I can smell liquor on the men as one of them jogs around and stops right in front of us. Jodie and I come to a stop as the three of them surround us. “You got money, right? Just a few bucks, bro. We’re friends, right?” The young man smiles, his discolored teeth on display as he fidgets around inside his jacket pockets. I wonder if he has a knife or even a gun inside that he plans to use on us if we refuse.
“Here, I have a ten-dollar bill,” Jodie says while looking into her small purse.
“Nah, I want him to give us the money,” the little shit says to my wife as he looks at me. “You good for it, right? Give me the dough, bro.”
Swallowing hard, I reach into my pocket and pull out my wallet. I open it to find only a twenty-dollar bill left inside. “Here,” I say as I hand it to him. “Now let us go about our way, okay?”
“Whoa, that’s not friendly,” one of the other young men says from behind me. “We’re friends, man. You should be happy to see your friends.”
I turn and glare at him. “You’re two-bit jerks who hustle people for money you don’t deserve. We are definitely not friends.”
His expression changes as he walks up to me. “Dude, I might loosen your teeth for you.”
“And I’ll break your neck,” I tell the smaller man. Jodie taps me on the arm to let me know I should shut my mouth and stop stirring up trouble. Unfortunately, trouble has already found us.
“We’re cool, bro,” the first guy says in front of us. “You can go now.” He steps aside, but then reaches for Jodie’s purse. She doesn’t immediately release it and so he pulls harder, causing her to fall to the ground. My anger, barely held in check already, suddenly explodes and I swing at the man, hitting him hard in the left cheek and sending him into the street. Turning, I see another of the men coming at me and I am able to connect again, this time hitting a nose, and he stumbles backward. However, I’m not ready for the sudden swat with a small baton the third man is holding. There’s ringing in my ears as I fall to the ground.
“You fucking cocksucker!” the man I hit first yells at me before landing a kick to the side of my head. The other two men kick and punch at me, concentrating their attacks to my stomach and my head. In and out of consciousness I go, my thoughts going to Jodie and what might happen to her next. She screams loudly, calling out for help, and suddenly one of the men is pulled away from me. A stranger thrusts the assailant against a lamppost and hits him so hard he falls to the ground unconscious.
“Kill him!” one of the other two men says just before the stranger takes him by the arm and flips him over onto the concrete sidewalk. The third man with the small baton finds himself on the receiving end of a perfectly performed roundhouse kick that sends him in one direction and the baton in another. The stranger then informs them that if they don’t clear out, they’ll go to jail. They get up and run as my wife comes to my side.
“Scott!” she calls out to me as her hands move around on my body, most probably to search for any wounds that might have pierced my body.
“Jodie,” I say as I try to catch my breath. “My head.” The splitting pain between my ears gets worse as I look up at her and the man who came to our rescue.
“I’ll call an ambulance,” he tells her before turning away and retrieving his phone from his pocket.
“Just stay still, okay? Help is on the way, baby. Don’t move.” Jodie’s eyes are full of tears and some of them fall upon me as she runs her fingers through my hair. Her face becomes ashen as she pulls back her hand and looks at the blood on her fingers. “Oh, Scott. Please hold on.”
“Fuck, it’s bad,” I say as I breathe hard. “They beat the hell out of me, honey. I’m so sorry I didn’t back off like you wanted. This is terrible.” My abdomen hurts badly as well, causing me to wonder what is ruptured. Internal bleeding is certainly a possibility as I feel myself becoming more faint.
“Hey, man, help is on the way,” the stranger who helped us says as he returns. “They’re sending an ambulance and police. The 9-1-1 operator says they should be here in three minutes or less. Hold on, okay?” His eyes look at me in a way that conveys exactly what I have feared while lying here. I look terrible. If that’s the case, I might not make it to the hospital alive. So, considering this might be my last chance to talk to Jodie, I turn my head to her.
“I love you more than anything in this world,” I tell her. “Always have and always will, Jodie. If anything happens to me, talk to Rob, okay? He’ll show you how the business works. Your name is on the checking account at the bank already, so that shouldn’t be a problem.” Coughing, I feel my wife’s soft hand on my chest.
“Don’t you dare talk like this, Scott. You’ll be okay. Do you hear me? You’re going to be okay. Just stay with me, baby. Don’t close your eyes.” She cries hard as I feel myself slipping away.
“I love you, honey. I love you.” My fingers and toes tingle as I hear the ambulance and police sirens in the distance. Though I don’t want to go, I feel there’s really no choice at this point. Those assholes have done me in and my body is too badly injured to survive. I’ve often wondered how I would eventually die, but I never thought it would happen at just thirty-two years of age. Five years were all I’ve been able to spend with the love of my life. It’s too short, but I have no control over these things. If only I had kept my fucking mouth shut. Still, he assaulted Jodie. He threw her to the ground. Asshole.
“Sir, can you hear me?” an EMT says as she kneels by my side. “What’s your name, sir?”
“I love you, Jodie.”
“Sir, can you tell me your name?”
“They have beaten him all over,” Jodie squeals. “Help him, please.” The EMT places an oxygen mask on my face and I feel its soft caress on my lips and nose as I smile. The pain I have been feeling suddenly subsides and the surrounding sounds dim as I close my eyes. My poor wife will have to go on without me. Hopefully, one day we will see each other again in heaven. It is the only consolation I have as I slip into darkness and silence.
