Chapter one.
KNOCK KNOCK!!! The bedroom door swings open, hitting the wall with a THUD, interrupting a deep dreamless sleep. "Oh, son I'm sorry. Did I wake you?" Mr. Williams teased. Alex rubs his eyes and turns towards his father, who is slowly walking to his bed side. "Well son, looks like its about that time, you know where you get ready for school." Still in a daze, Alex looks up at his dad towering over him. "Have you ever wanted to sleep forever?" he groaned. "No, son not at all." He places one huge hand on his shoulder and continues. "Because if I were to sleep forever. I would miss you and your mother so much, its unbearable to even think of..." He trails off unloading seven kinds of mushy love, memories, and all the stories Alex can tell you by heart. "Well dad, on that note, I'll be getting up now!" His dad backed away swiftly. "OHHH WELL I WILL NOT APOLGIZE FOR LOVING MY SON!" He stuck his chest out pretending to be some battle scared barbarian. "I HAVE DONE THINGS FOR YOU THAT YOU WOULDNT EVEN DREAM OF DOING!" He throws his arms around Alex and tackles him back onto the twin-size bed with a loud BOOM. Alex tried to laugh... but couldn't breathe. He's reminded of an old memory, five years old and his father is standing tall, flexing his muscles after throwing him on the couch, both of them laughing out of control.
"What are you guys doing up there?!" A firm high pitched yell from some where down stairs, Mrs. Williams can be heard amid all the chaos. "Michael, you better quit playing around, you will miss your meeting and Alex is going to be late for school!" she barks. They look at each other. Michael stands slowly to once again, tower over him and in a monster tone he whispers. "This is not over son!" Using his fingers Alex pretends to put on war paint. "I'll be waiting!" He whispers back. As his father leaves to get ready he takes huge loud steps out of his room. "HEY! Stop all that racket and get ready!" Mrs. Williams has had enough.
Alex gets up from his bed and opens the blinds letting the morning light in, the morning sun lights up the room enough to see what he would be choosing to wear today. The sun can be seen through the top of the trees, not a cloud in the sky. "Looks like a hoodie for the morning, that'll be off and rolled up in my bag by noon." he says aloud. The suburbs of Boulder county offer a mix of hot and cold weather through out the days of May. Highs of seventy degrees Fahrenheit when the sun is out, and low forties with cloud cover, sometimes the wind would not blow whatsoever leaving only hot sun rays to heat the day up, today would be one of those days. Shirt and jeans would be just fine, its not like any body notices anyway. He picks out a plain greenish light blue shirt, with a favorite pair of Levi's. A quick visit to the bathroom and the mirror says comb your hair.
After a quick brush through its on to cologne. "Now, Alex you have two choices." He proclaims in a game-show host voice. "The blue one, that kind of smells like a woman's perfume." He points to the blue one. "Or the brown one that smells like a Grandpa." Picking up a brown bottle, takes off the cap, points the nozzle towards himself and lets the mist fall on to his shirt and soak in. "Great choice Mr. Alex!" He declares. "Who you talking to son?" His dad asks from down the hall. Alex locks eyes with his reflection in the mirror. "Myself, pop." he stretches. "Well Alex, they say geniuses and crazy people talk to themselves... so which one are you?" Alex crosses his eyes his reflection in the mirror the same and responds. "A genius of course." Mr. Williams pokes his head into the bathroom, smiles and quietly signals to an invisible watch on his wrist. "Yes, sir." Alex sighed.
They both walked down stairs. His dad always made it a point that his son knew how lucky he was to live in a home with two floors. Mr. Williams grew up poor, number four of five siblings. Alex could tell anyone his fathers story line for line as he had heard it all of his young life. He knew very well how fortunate they all were. One summer his father took them to where he had grown up, a small Texas town. Alex got to see the home where his father had lived. Seven people living in a three bedroom home, it must've been tough. "Life is what you make it, son." His father always said that, it was his quote. Mr. Williams worked very hard to make damn sure his family would want for nothing, and he loved to remind anyone who would care to listen. His dads life story was more of a cautionary tale, its like he was terrified his only son would go down the wrong path in life and end up homeless or worse. Alex understood how much his father cared about him and his future, that's why he kept certain things from his dad, if he ever found out about the night life with friends on weekends his father would be having an in-depth talk with him and perhaps ground him for life.
The first floor of their home was filled with bohemian décor. Mr. Williams fell in love with a free spirited young woman from Colorado who was studying at The University of Texas at Austin, eleven years his junior, another story Alex could recite word for word by heart. She was celebrating her twenty first birthday, the entire bar had her attention. All the roads he had taken in his life had lead him to this moment, this beautiful young girl standing on top of the bar singing along to Piano Man, surrounded by friends and strangers, with him being the lesser. He would start the story with, "I had twenty dollars to my name, I had to ask your uncle jack for one dollar, to make it twenty one, which I still owe him to this day." He would pause and turn to his wife and continue. "She could've had anyone in that bar that night, but she chose to have a drink with this poor man who offered her twenty one dollars for drinks, a dollar for every year she had lived on this earth." On que she would reply, "I just wanted the money!" And everyone would laugh.
"I made you guys some breakfast sandwiches to-go, maybe tomorrow we can all sit down and have a nice family breakfast." Mrs. Williams, lived for family time. Board games, dinner, movies or just sharing each others day. It didn't matter to her, as long as they were all together, safe in one place. "Well thanks little lady, and what might be your name?" Mr. Williams said in his best John Wayne draw. "Oh, Michael you should've been an actor." He looked at Mrs. Williams like he did when they first met. "But Emma, if I was an actor, I would be practicing my roles in all the movies my agent would sign me up for and wouldn't have any time for you. I would just miss you to death!" He soothed. They shared a laugh, and hugged each other.
Alex had to step around them to grab his breakfast sandwich. Emma broke her gaze from Michael reached in her purse and handed Alex a envelope. "Son, here is a check. Please give it to Mrs. Crabtree, for your lunches this week." She hands him the check, he looks it over and admires her handwriting, handwriting that he could pick out anywhere. "Thanks, but next time can you make it out to me, so I can just cash it behind your back?" None of his parents laughed. Just stared. "Well you guys have a great day, I got to go, almost sure ill be swamped with paperwork." she sighed. "Well Emma, darling just remember without you they wouldn't know what to do. You just keep doing what you are doing, and remember Hawaii is just around the corner, my love." Mr. Williams, always looked at the Brightside of things. "Yes, sir, and I just can not wait!" she gushed with bright eyes. They embraced, followed by a quick kiss.
"Alright son lets get out of here!" His father insisted. "Bye, mom." Alex said giving her a hug. "Be sure to eat your sandwich Alex, and have a great Friday." She let him go, and gazed at him with adoring eyes. "That shirt really brings out your eyes, son." He crossed his eyes. "how about now?" she rolled hers. "Bye, son." She laughed and pointed at her husband. "He gets that from you Michael." Mr. Williams threw a thumbs up her way. The father and son duo walk out of the kitchen into the mudroom and into the garage, armed with hot breakfast sandwiches. Ready for the day.
Sincerely Yours,
Timothy.
