chapter 62
It was Sunday.
Larry’s heart raced with excitement. Everything was falling into place...he only needed to complete a few final touches.
He surveyed the small room under the stairs and admired his hard work. Lovingly, he fingered the doorframe. The waiting...the planning...it was all coming together now. He gave one last approving glance, removing a stray red thread that had attached itself to the edge of the frame and moved into the kitchen. Opening the refrigerator, he looked over the contents. It was stocked with, among other things, fresh fruit, cheeses and a bottle of wine. In the freezer, he was storing loaves of French bread. Enough romantic movies had taught him the powers of fine wine, cheese and crusty French bread. Larry had spent nearly a week’s salary on the wine alone. The guy at the liquor store assured him that he was purchasing a fine bottle that would appeal to the most discriminating palate.
It had better.
Larry retreated from the kitchen and headed upstairs to the bathroom, taking with him a pair of scissors and several towels. He carefully laid the towels on the floor so the edges all touched and no floor showed through. Then, he picked up the scissors and began shearing away his long curls. Normally so neat and precise, Larry cut into his curls with reckless abandon, eager to shed the persona of a pathetic curly haired man. Within minutes, the towels were covered with piles of locks of hair. Larry took out his electric razor and shaved the remaining hair on his head to an army style crew cut. Like men standing at attention, his little hairs lined up neatly in a row, stiff and straight. His hand ran over the top of his head enjoying the coarse new feeling. It made him wonder why he hadn’t done this long ago.
Methodically, Larry picked up each towel at an angle so the hairs of his past would fall downward to the center. He then pulled each towel away, leaving a small pile of his former self. A quick sweep and the old Larry was gone, deposited in the trash for good.
Larry moved into his bedroom and removed his neatly pressed outfit, checking it again for any flaws. He laid it on the bed as a seal of approval, then sat down next to it and eyed the clock. There were still hours to go. His morning tasks took far less time than he anticipated. He was disappointed.
The waiting made him very jumpy.
This was going to be a big day...a big week...a big rest of his life. He had tried to take more vacation time at work, but with all his absences already, his boss was in no mood to give him more time off. He nearly blew his cool at her flat denial of his request, but didn’t, it would have tipped them off. Larry smiled at his brilliant acting job...at work and in Naples.
They all underestimated him.
He opened his nightstand drawer and pulled out the high school reunion letter he had hidden in it and let the rage of his youth flow through his body.
They would all be sorry they did.