Memory of the Past

Unease and impatience stirred in the air. It’s nine-thirty already and Zach is still not here. ‘What’s taking him so long? Maybe he has more flowers to deliver than he usually does. That must be it.’ Ed sat in silence and waited for Zach, he wants to see him again, to apologize for his actions last night. The clock ticked on and he finally went to bed at midnight. Zach never came.

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When Zach looked through the different addresses, Eddie’s address was not on the list, which means he is not going to see Eddie to night, maybe never again. He was angry and did his job quickly and went home. He wondered what Eddie was doing, since it is a Friday night. He fell asleep imagining that they were falling asleep together watching a movie.

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With a piece of toast stuck in his mouth while he poured a glass of orange juice, Zach thought of Eddie. It’s right now six in the morning and he has nothing planned for the day. He couldn’t sleep since all he could dream about was Eddie. It’s been only one day but the urge to see the man again was uncontrollable. He sat down at the table and finished his sketchy breakfast. He then made up his mind and scribbled a quick note for his parents to see and left.

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Eddie struggle with the sheets as he was tangled in them and the knockings won’t go away. KNOCKS! He opened his eyes wide as the sound registered in his mind. He scramble up from the bed and tripped by the sheets. Luckily the bedroom is heavily carpeted. He quickly walked out and stopped. ‘Who can it be at six-thirty in the morning? Zach? The kid must have life besides butting into his life so it can’t be him, but who else?’ Dread clouded Ed’s mind and he started to doze off as the loud and urgent knocks came again to wake him up. Everything seems to be in a frenzy lately. He walked to the door and hesitated. ‘I’ll pretend I am not home.’ But his hands disobeyed him and unlocked the door and opened the door slowly. There stood a rather disheveled Zach in his regular clothes, a rather tight blue jeans clad to his legs with a small yellow T-shirt that clung to his chest. The color brings out the blonde mane, which shined but definitely hasn’t been combed that morning.
On the other hand, Eddie stood in the chilly morning air in his pathetic boxers. He looked at the boy and he tried to speak but words won’t come out. The boy just looked on until Eddie gestured him to come in. Zach took a seat on the sofa while Eddie walked into his bedroom to throw some clothes on. Zach waited as he heard the man open a drawer and some shuffling with clothes and out he came with a simple white T-shirt that was kind of transparent and tight. It showed the older man’s defined chest. He has a basketball shorts on and it’s on rather low to show the outline of his butt. He only stood in the kitchen and started to gather some ingredients to make breakfast. Zach stood up and walked into the kitchen and took a seat on the high stool and looked at the man get to work. The pancake mix was done and Eddie started to put them in the frying pan and he turned around to ask the boy if he wanted any.
“Sure, as long as you didn’t poison it because of what I said two night ago. The boy shifted his position and placed his hands on top of each other. The older man looked up.
“You weren’t the problem, I was. My past was. I just don’t want to talk about it, that’s all. Okay?” The man said with a soft voice, he sounded tired.
“You don’t have to make me breakfast you know. I know I am kind of early. You can go back to sleep and I’ll come back later.”
“It’s okay, I can’t go back to sleep now.”
After several minutes of preparation, two glasses of milk are set and so are two plates of pancakes with strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and grapes on the side. Forks are in hands and the two men ate. The silence was strange, but it was nice. Occasionally, Zach would look up from his plate and see the man ingest the food with delicate hands and slowness. Sometimes Eddie would sneak a peak at the boy opposite of him eating quickly, leaving nothing behind. They kept on until they both looked up on the same time and into each other’s eyes.
“I am done. Thanks for the food.”
“Yeah.”
“I just came to say sorry about the other night, and umh… to see if you want to do anything?” Zach said with slowness, unsure what the man would say.
“I said that it wasn’t your fault and you wouldn’t want hang out with me. The things I do will bore you.”
“Try me.”
The man stared at the boy with the bold request and finally said, “You want to sit around and read all day?”
“You want to watch a movie? Play games? Talk maybe?” The young man questioned the other man with a smile and wondered if the choices caught the attention of Ed.
“Why are you here? Why do you linger here? I am not the most fun person in the world and have definitely kicked you out of here every time you come. Why?” The string of words came out as the man was troubled by these questions these past few days.
“You may not be the most fun person in the world but you are intriguing, and I am not easily interested in anything.” The boy replied quickly with an honest tone.
“I’ve told you that I don’t like too much human contact, yet you insist on seeing me. You are becoming bothersome.”
“You are lying. You know you are. You are just saying that so that I can go away and never come back. You are afraid of people, and I am going to make you change that view on the human race.” Ed looked back with a fierce glare and gulped at the truth that came out of the boy’s mouth. How the boy was able to infer that from the past three days amazed Ed, but more importantly the boy knows what he feels and he wants to help.
“So, what do you want to do, because if you can’t choose, I say we can talk for a little bit.” Ed shrugged his shoulder and started to clean up the counter. He placed the dishes and the utensils in the sink and began the dishwashing. Zach got up and walked next to the taller man, he grabbed a piece of cloth and started to dry the plates. Their hands touched for a brief moment and immediately Ed withdrew his hand and dropped glass. The pieces shattered on the kitchen floor and both bent down quickly and started to pick up the broken pieces. A small piece of broken glass was hidden from the Eddie’s eyes, and his nervousness made him cut his finger while blood oozed out slowly. Zach saw the man’s blood come out and immediately he grasped the hand and placed the finger into his mouth. The older man flinched and could only stare with a terrified expression. Zach just sucked on the finger slowly and the metallic taste bloomed in his mouth. They stayed that way until Zach could taste the blood no more and he released the other man’s hands. Eddie moved his hand and he could see it shaking. He stood up quickly and went in search for the first-aid kit. He returned with his finger in a band-aid and he realized that the boy cleaned the mess up and has finished washing the dishes. He is now drying and looked up when the other man entered.
“You alright?”
“Yeah. Thanks.”
Ed placed all the dried plates and utensils into their proper place. He walked to the living room and sat down. He waited for Zach to join him and maybe tell the boy that he is willing to see a movie if the boy doesn’t mind. Zach was behind him and took a seat next to the man on the three-sitter. They each stayed close to the sides and looked on in silence for a few minutes.
“So what’s your full name?” The boy finally raised a question that broke the dead silence.
“ Edward Greene, I am an orphan. The name was given to me by some one from the shelter.” Zach seemed to be entranced by the mouth of Edward Greene and he traced the lips with his eyes, meanwhile he memorized the name.
“I am Zachary Scott McMillan the third. My parents couldn’t resist the temptation of having ‘the third’ trailing behind and so I received the fearful name. How old are you? You don’t appear to be too old.”
“Twenty-six.”
“Eighteen. The dreadful age of responsibility.”
“Where are you going to college?”
“Right around here.”
“Oh. I remember the place. I was there six years ago.” Ed stopped as the memory of the past slowly surfaced but it stopped as Zach interrupted the thought.
“You went there? You don’t seem to be too smart.” Zach said teasingly.
“Don’t assume anything kid. I received a full scholarship to go there and was one of the best students.”
“I was just joking. You know you never really answered my question before about all these books. Have you read all of them?”
“Yes. It’s what I do on my spare time, which is when I wake up until I go to sleep. And no I don’t have an official job, but I have enough savings from an inventive idea long ago.”
“And what’s the inventive idea? Internet connection?”
“No, more like nanotechnology.”
“I’ve heard about those you know. Tiny robots working to repair. You came up with that?”
“I made it practical.”
They now sat in silence and like always they just looked at each other.
“So anything about you I should know about?” The boy said quickly, finding the conversation ending.”
“Nope.”
“Nothing?”
“Nothing.”
“…”
“Are we gonna sit here all day and stare?”
“Let’s go see a movie.”
“How about ‘no’. If you haven’t noticed, I am not exactly comfortable going outside this apartment.”
“Then I can go rent a movie?”
“Why don’t you go home kid, you probably have better things to do on a Saturday.”
“Why do you always want me to leave?
“Why do you want to stay here?”
“Fine, I can go, but I promise I will come back to get to the bottom of your mind.”
The young teen stood up and walked toward the door. He never saw the hesitating mouth of older man trying to apologize, or the tears threatening to come out. Again Eddie was left in the silence of his home, but whether it was comforting or not became uncertain. He wanted Zach to stay and talk with him. He wanted someone to be here with him. For the first time in a long while, he truly felt lonely and he needed comfort from the young man, but it was too late.