Ken Learns About the Last Three Days
“Look I’m just saying I think you and Molly should maybe get dinner sometime.” He said at a pair of disinterested eyes sipping on a whiskey on the rocks
“I’m not interested,” Ken replied, quickly glancing at his co-worker,
“come on man I’ve seen her glance at you, she’s clearly interested,”Ken sighed
“I don’t date co-workers, if something goes wrong you can’t avoid them.” His coworker sighed while lowering his head into arm before jolting back up
“You always say that man, you always have some kind of excuse!” He said while moving his arms about in contrast to the near statue of Ken.”Look I get that you’re divorced and all, but it’s been like four years right? I think that’s enough time to get back into the dating game right?” Ken sighed as a look of anger flared for a minute before he returned to a neutral face,
“Look I just-” Ken was interrupted by a vibration in his pocket, he pulled his phone out “Cassandra Hill” it read on it’s screen. Ken's eyes widened as a face mixing both confusion and anger grew on his face before he breathed in and faced his co-worker.
“Look I gotta take this, you ok with me going out for a little?”
“Yeah that’s alright.”
Ken steps out of the bar with his face of confusion and anger bubbling again on the surface. He takes out his phone and answers. “Look, they already took the child support out of my paycheck so if you haven’t gotten it yet, it’s not my fault, so don’t bother me about it!” He's struggling to contain his anger, but manages to keep it to a whisper.
“It’s not about child support,” Cassandra answers calmly.
”Oh..." Ken pauses. "So... what’s this about?”
“It’s about Sunny.”
“Sunny?” Ken began to slump at the mention of Sunny. “What did the little shit do this time?”
“He’s in the hospital.”
Ken’s eyebrows raised. “What did he do start cutting himself?” A slight pause occurs as Ken realizes it wasn’t the best time, “No, Sunny’s not the kind of kid to do that, what happened?”
“He got into a fight.”
“Wait, he got into a fight?” He pauses.
"He... left the house? Did you get him to go outside?"
“No, he left cause of Kel.”
Ken sighed. “Well, at least he left... So, who did he get beat up by? Was it that big older kid? Vance, was it?”
“No it was Basil.”
Ken's expression went from tired and angry to shocked and appalled. “Basil! That little twerp hospitalized Sunny?”
“They got into a fight at his house. I don’t know all the details, I just know it ended with both of them being hospitalized and..." Cassandra paused.
"...Sunny losing an eye.”
A silence filled the phone line.
“I was also told by Kel that Sunny finally told the truth."
...
Ken's jaw drops. “Wow... good to know he finally did it... I’m p- happy that he’s finally told them.” At this point, Ken has entirely zoned out the sound of the bar behind him and the evening city crowd. What's left is a long silence.
...
Finally, Cassandra starts again. “I think it would be a good idea for you to see him. I’m not asking you to come back for long, I just think it would be good for him to hear from you that he's doing the right thing.”
Ken’s mind, a boiling cocktail of emotions sealed under a tight lid, is begging to release steam. It's pleading to spill over. But like he always did, he just held the lid shut.
"I don’t think it’s a good idea for me to visit, I’ll be honest with you. I don't think I’ll be visiting not for a long time, not until he’s graduating or getting married.”
Cassandra replies, “Alright, I understand, but could you at least call him?”
Ken thought about it, but he couldn't afford to open the lid. “I’ll give him a voicemail once I get back to my apartment, I don’t want to hear his voice.”
“That’s fine by me.”
Ken sighed with relief. “Alright, I have to go, I have a co-worker waiting in a bar.”
Ken hung up and reentered the bar with an unusual need for whiskey.