Life by the Page 6
6
After grabbing something to eat and building, Leon set out to write something. Sometimes the best thing he could do when he had no ideas was to make up a character on the spot and throw him in a random setting. He found that sometimes just writing about that character lead helped him develop narratives. He sat for a while, his hands clenched together and his chin resting upon them, staring at his computer screen. Images of different people raced through his mind as his brain went to work. He thought of a Doberman running in a marathon, the sweat beading down his neck as he pressed onward toward a finish line. Without thinking he pushed it out of his mind. If it didn't make him feel anything, he would never use it. Then his mind took him to a ship in a great storm as it was tossed about on the high seas. He could smell the salt in his nose and feel the spray of the ocean as it violently shook the vessel. He pushed that out of his mind as well as he was easily made sea sick. Then he pictured a female cat with a dark bluish tint to her fur. She stood in the snow cold yet unmoving, her breath clearly visible in the cold winter air. She stood by a light on a bridge staring out at the water. She seemed young, pretty, and stoic. His heart began to race for no reason. He could feel paradox within her. The water was somewhat icy and the bridge she stood on was made of a cold green metal. The light above her illuminated only the spot on which she stood. She couldn't see into the depths of the icy water but somehow she knew was down there. Yes, yes he could feel it. His hands moved instinctively to his keyboard as his mind kept racing. He imagined her sighing heavily, and then she stepped up and climbed over the railing. She held onto the cold metal with her hands as she leaned forward to look over the edge. She started to breath heavily and her ears twitched from the cold and from anxiety. She had a fear of heights yet she kept standing on the ledge. Suddenly there were footsteps there was someone else on the bridge, running for her as fast as they could. It was another cat with grey and white fur, a male. As he approached he yelled out but she didn't hear him. As he came within inches of her she let go of the railing. She fell quickly and then he lost his train of thought. There was a loud ringing sound coming from without his mind. Everything became blurry and the sound continued. Leon opened his eyes and returned to the real world.
The phone was ringing in the kitchen. Leon's ears went flat on his head and he groaned in agitation. He stood up as he brushed the fur back at the top of his head. He could strangle whoever was on the other end of that line. He went into the hallway and walked a few feet to the kitchen. He picked up the phone placing it to his ear and with a deep breath he said "Hello?"
"Hello Leon" It was Martha "How are you?"
"I'm fine" he replied with the slightest contention. There was silence for a moment and then she spoke.
"I've been meaning to check on you" her words were cool and practiced "I've missed you these past few days".
"Yes...did you need something?" Leon felt as though nowadays she only called when she needed something.
"What no time for small talk? I understand honey you're a busy man." There was another short pause before she began "The thing is...I've run into a bit of trouble." Another short pause "I lost my job at the bank". Something dropped in Leon's stomach. I felt something akin to a large led ball. He felt genuinely sorry for her. She was always well off in her career and this surprised him.
"I'm sorry to hear that."
"Yes... I certainly didn't expect this, and I was just wondering if you could help me."
"Yeah uh sure, what do you need exactly?" he replied earnestly but with hesitation. Granted it had only been two days since they fought last.
"Well I was wondering if you could float me a loan." Leon's suspicions were once more aroused.
"I thought you got paid last week? And its Sunday, wouldn't they pay you for the week you put in?"
"They said they wouldn't pay me for this week until the end of the month." That made no sense to Leon. He sighed covering the phone with his palm so she wouldn't hear and rubbed his temple before placing the phone back to his ear.
"Well how much do you need?"
"A thousand ought to be enough".
"A thousand dollars? You can't be serious." He heard a noise in the background something like a car starting. She must have been on her cell phone.
"Well yes dear, I need to make car payments. Insurance, living expenses, you know that sort of nonsense." Leon winced and stared at a spot on the kitchen wall. Her insurance wasn't nearly that much and he knew she had paid off her car already. Did she buy a new one? He felt like she was lying to him. She didn't always do a good job of it either.
"I'm not sure I have that much in the bank right now." He said very sternly. She gave a sort of huff into the phone. "How much do you have?"
"I'm not sure."
"Well, can you find out?" Leon rolled his eyes.
"I'll check tomorrow ok?" Martha sighed.
"Ok but hurry wont you?" He was about to say something but she cut in saying "Love you honey". Her voice sounded semi sweet as she spoke those words.
"You too". He replied as she hung up the phone. His ear twitched and the hair at the back of his neck stood on end as he put the phone back on the receiver. Leon was angry both at Martha and himself. He knew it wasn't entirely her fault that their relationship was going sour. He had been very eager once things had gotten serious between them and that eagerness had put him in a position to be taken advantage of. He had been just as unreasonable with certain things as she was but right now he couldn't think of any instances in particular. He was too frustrated to think of anything but how frustrated he was. He opened a cabinet above the sink and reached for his pack of cigarettes that he had stashed there earlier. He placed one between his lips and searched himself for a lighter but he could not find one. He used one of the burners on the stove to light it and took a few puffs to relax himself. The light rush of the nicotine went straight to his forehead and made him feel a little bit better. As he walked to the living room he decided there was no way he would give her the money.
Leon fell carelessly into his leather chair in front of the fireplace and puffed away at his cigarette as it quickly burned away. He didn't like the particular brand he was smoking but it was the only thing available to him since the store ran out of his brand. The owner told him they wouldn't get a new shipment until next week. Leon rested his muzzle on one hand while holding his cigarette in the other and staring into the fireplace his mind wondered from one place to another. He thought about his life so far. He had written six novels, none of which were masterpieces in his mind but they fared well on the market. He wondered where he was going, not only with his writing but with himself. Did he still want to write for a living? Certainly, he enjoyed it more than anything. He thought about his love life, the romance, the sex. He felt there was a lot more sex than actual romance. Maybe Martha was holding that over him. Then he thought on the events of that day. He thought of bumping into that fox at the coffee shop. He briefly forgot his name and remembered it again. Nathan, it was a good name. Was it better than Martha? He supposed that didn't matter as much as his personality. He wished that he could have spoken with him a bit longer. He wondered what he did, how old he was, what made him decide to give Leon his number. Leon wondered what it was like to be with another man. He imagined it would be different, that was what he was looking for. He wanted a new experience, something different.
He tried thinking of what he was going to write about. He remembered something about winter and there was a bridge, but he couldn't remember what was happening. He tried hard to remember what it was but he couldn't. He sighed brushing the hair from his head to the back of his neck then itched his ear. The fire was not as strong as it was before but he didn't want to get up and stoke it. He noticed it was cold in his house. He often left it that way. It wasn't to save on the heating bill; he just liked it that way.