Just Say Uncle

2013 by Annie Carson. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 02/08/2013

ISBN: 978-1-4817-0478-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4817-0477-9 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4817-0476-2 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013900279

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

All characters are purely fictional. All places and incidents are used fictitiously. All artists are the real deal.

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Acknowledgements

I might give alms to his body; but his body did not pain him; it was his soul that suffered, and his soul I could not reach.

Herman Melville

Chapter 1

The first time Charlie saw Maggie he should have known she would be trouble. He was attending college on a GI bill after four years in the military. She was working in the English office finishing up her bachelors degree in literature. What the hell kind of degree was that. All they do is sit around reading books and writing papers, his friend Morrie had said as he launched into a lengthy discourse about those literary types. Those people see themselves as ultra intellectuals. What infuriated Morrie the most was that they threw around these fancy words but were, in his eyes, basically all talk and no action. He cautioned Charlie that he could not be too careful with the blonde who sat at the front desk. He described her as a bit of a looker but one of those anti war bleeding heart liberals who always had to have a cause. Trust me on this he had counseled. She has no sense of the real world. Charlie, my friend, consider yourself warned. Just focus on what you need; get in and get out, he had said as he patted Charlie on the back.

Well how hard could it be? All Charlie wanted to do was force add a course and naturally he needed the signature of the department chair whose office sat directly behind her. Waiting for her to look up he thought she didn’t look that formidable to him. In fact he thought she seemed a little vulnerable as she sat at her desk. Her brow was furrowed as she brushed her hair from her forehead and scrutinized the electric typewriter as if she was encountering a foreign object. Damn, damn, damn, she muttered as she ripped the paper out of the typewriter wading it up and tossing it into the overflowing garbage can. Then she looked up at Charlie and bellowed, What are you staring at? Well, so much for vulnerability.

And that is where it all began. He had managed to get in and out; force adding his class in the process. But there was something about Maggie that stayed with him. He would see her on campus, after that day, primarily out jogging in the early morning or at the ice hockey rink. She seemed to be a regular at the games as was he. She would always sit as close to the center line as she could get; always with the same friend. When the score was close he would notice her sitting on the edge of her seat with that same furrowed brow; absentmindedly brushing her hair back from her forehead. She seemed so intense although he had to admit he was really captured by her passion for things. She would smile when she saw him and they would say hi in passing. But it was never more than that. And then she was gone.

After Charlie graduated he moved to Cincinnati. He found a place to live, secured a job with the local phone company and began the process of starting a new life. Charlie had grown up in a dying town. He quit high school to join the Army at seventeen. As luck would have it he would end up stationed in Germany serving under a Sergeant who recognized his hidden potential and made sure Charlie finished school. He supported Charlie in his pursuit of communications and the groundwork of his life was established. When he finished his military commitment he was able to stay involved in the reserves while doing the college scene. He was quite comfortable venturing into new places while carving out his place in the world.

Charlie had always been outgoing, making friends easily and quickly establishing acquaintances wherever he would go. He liked having an orderly life where everything looked right and fit into its appropriate place. He dressed smartly making sure his pants and shirts were starched and pressed so no wrinkles were ever seen by the naked eye. His car and living environment remained neat and clean with everything in its place. He would dispose of extraneous items immediately circumventing the need for clutter to ever occur in his life. He vacuumed daily even though he lived alone without pets or even a plant. There was never a dish in the sink or a smudge on a mirror.

Charlie worked as a telephone operator which was quite fitting since he was known by his associates as the social butterfly. He had impeccable attendance, was always punctual, achieved outstanding evaluations and was respected by those he worked with and for at his job. Outside of work he had a comfortable social life. He dated, played tennis, served in the reserves, spent time with his buds, and hung out at the pool when weather permitted. Life was good and all was moving along as it should.

When an opportunity came along for Charlie to advance he decided to move into the world of telephone repair. This was perfect for Charlie since it afforded him the opportunity to move around fixing problems and soothing customers. He was a natural at this. He was a flawless problem solver who sincerely believed in customer service. He would go to great lengths to treat people with respect. His finesse combined with his work ethic made him a power house when dealing with the public. He bought a nice house; drove a Chevrolet El Camino truck, consistently put money in the bank, had good friends, dated the right kind of women and was clearly on track for the well managed life.

Then one day it happened. Out of nowhere he got hit with the unexpected. It had started out like any other day. In fact all of his calls had been easy fixes and uneventful. He had time for one last job and showed up at the address listed for an out of service problem. This shouldn’t be any big deal he thought as he rang the doorbell.

Oh boy. In retrospect he realized this thought could not have been further from the truth. The door opened and a woman came out quickly pulling the door shut behind her. Never in a million years did he expect to see Maggie. Honestly he hadn’t thought about her in ages. But there she was in faded, frayed and patched blue jeans with an old ice hockey jersey on. Her hair was pulled back into a loose barrette with strains falling loose all around her face. Her green eyes sparkled and she smiled warmly at him. Had she made the connection as quickly as he had? Before he entered she just wanted to let him know she had a Heinz 57 dog that was harmless and really quite friendly although he did a mean imitation of an unruly adolescent. In all truth she had given barely enough info to prepare him for what he was to encounter on the other side. As she opened the door he was greeted by what appeared to be a wildebeest lunging at him with a tail that wagged a million miles an hour. He braced himself as Maggie grabbed the dog’s collar attempting to hold him back as he eagerly tried to jump up on Charlie. He was huge with a mammoth head and a gigantic wet tongue hanging out of his mouth.

That should have been his first clue. The second clue should have been when he looked around and saw what appeared to be a clean house but lots of stuff. Organized clutter she had said. Talk about differences. He was military; she had protested the war. He wore clothing that was starched and pressed; she wore faded jeans and huge old shirts. And speaking of huge there seemed to be a huge theme going on. Huge dog, huge shirt. Why she even had a huge drink, the monster size that looked to hold at least a thirty two ounce pop in it. He was order; she was clutter. It was all so clear.

So did he take heed? Of course not. Maybe it had been her eyes or the way she smiled at him. Or maybe it was the way she furrowed her brow and pushed her hair back from her forehead as she tried to describe what was wrong with her phone. He remembered that image so clearly when she was trying to tackle that typewriter some years ago. But whatever it was it was at that moment the course of his life would change forever.

Throughout their years together Charlie would relate this story and Maggie would look at him fondly and with a wink she would quote a line from a Tom Petty song, You got lucky babe when I found you. Maggie had a knack for citing lines from songs that seemed to directly relate to any topic being discussed. Charlie always thought it was somehow connected to her former years as a lit major where her life consisted of analyzing novels while using quotes from the books she was reviewing to substantiate her arguments. He would often tease her about the way she would refer to the artists on a first name basis as if they were old friends. You know what Tom says she would announce and then launched into a perfectly quoted citing from one of his songs. They are old friends Maggie would retort. She loved words and found great solace in books and music. She told him that music soothed her soul and energized her spirit. Unless, of course, she was listening to someone like Leonard Cohen for instance. He could picture her in her younger days; sitting in front of the turn table, listening to Suzanne with tears streaming down her cheeks.

Why do you listen to him, he would ask?

Oh Charlie, how could I not. He says the most powerful things that we all need to hear. And he does it in a way that seduces people into paying attention. Just listen to his voice.

Aw sweet Maggie. Lots of people listen but very few hear it the way you do.

There is always hope Charlie.

And that pretty much said it all. In Maggie’s world there was always hope.

As for getting lucky, as Tom would say, Charlie had to admit that he definitely had. He would tease her sometimes singing a few lines from a Marshall Tucker Band song:

"Can’t you see, oh, can’t you see,

What that woman, Lord

She been doin’ to me…"

But truth was Maggie was more often than not amazing. She was filled with confidence, conviction and compassion while never losing hope. Charlie had told her that she reminded him of the Harry Chapin song, Always Seventeen. Quite honestly everything about that song reminded him of her. But learning to appreciate Maggie had been a venture. One minute his life had been in perfect order where he thought everything made sense. The next minute his world was turned upside down where order and predictability became a thing of the past. He was never totally sure how it had happened but he had jumped in head first determined to hang on for the ride and in doing so life had brought him lots of turbulence along with many fine things.

Together he and Maggie had two children. Hayley was the oldest and had graduated high school this year. She had been accepted at a good college and was excited about living on campus while attending a school that she believed whole heartedly would allow her to follow her dreams. Jackson was heading into his final year in middle school thrilled with the prospect of finally getting to be top dog status. They had a nice house with a mortgage, three jeeps with only two payments, a built in swimming pool and a number of credit cards that more often than not they could pay off monthly. They religiously put money into a savings package that Charlie would check on regularly so they would have resources for Hayley and Jackson’s college as well as their retirement. Over the years Charlie had owned two vintage Chevy’s followed by a corvette but eventually he left the cars behind to get a hot tub. Apparently this had all been part of the middle age crisis thing. Certainly preferable to hooking up with a women Maggie would joke when her friends would lament about their husbands’ middle age antics.

Everyone in the neighborhood loved Charlie. His was the first to welcome new members into the community. He kept an eye out for everyone and was always willing to lend a hand to those in need. The women referred to him as one of the girls. The men found him to be a solid guy that always had your back. On the weekends you would regularly see Charlie outdoors grooming his yard or washing cars. You would hear those passing by beeping and waving at Charlie in acknowledgment. Charlie knew everyone and it appeared the world was his friend.

To complete the American dream they had a yellow lab named Chaucer who had an incredibly loving gentle spirit but an overabundance of neurosis. He was a clever dog who would ring the doorbell when he wanted to come inside but wouldn’t go up or down stairs. When the kids were younger Charlie had told them that the vet had given Chaucer pills to keep him from leaving the first floor and it seemed like for the longest time they believed him. Chaucer would sit at the foot of the stairs and cry whenever the kids were upstairs but adamantly refused to go forward. They had even resorted to putting special treats on the steps to see if he could be enticed but to no avail. Chaucer was no fool. They had an electric fence so that he could run free in the yard. He managed to stay within his parameters without ever having to feel the correction. Charlie on the flip side had felt it twice.

All in all life had moved along with what seemed to be the normal amount of ups and down as Charlie and Maggie became entrenched in middle age. Being the respectable family man Charlie had elected to move into a management position to secure a better retirement package. Several years after he made the move into middle management the package changed and the middle layer took a major hit. Upper management and craft remained secure but the company drastically altered the package that middle management would receive.

Charlie quickly appraised the situation identifying what he needed to do to continue securing the future of his family. He worked diligently to move into an upper management position but was unable to reap the benefits. He then looked into returning to a non management position but when he approached upper management he was asked if at his age he thought he could still do the job. He answered honestly that he felt he could but left with an odd sense that he was doomed in that arena as well. When he was told his request could not be granted, even though numerous positions were available, he knew he had been hammered.

Charlie and Maggie took a hard look at the situation and felt that it was important that he go forward and make the company aware. This was clearly prejudicial based on Charlie’s age. Besides as Bobby would say,

"Sanctuary never comes

Without some kind of risk;

Illusions without freedom

Never quite adds up to bliss…"

After much deliberation and Maggie’s support he mustered up his courage and reported the age question. An investigation took place. Of course the comment was denied but ironically a few months later that Senior Manager had been moved to a less favorable position. A bit like being sent to Siberia, Charlie had told Maggie. Maybe a coincidence but seemed highly unlikely that his position would be altered right at that particular time.

Naturally that didn’t alter the course for Charlie. There he was; frozen in middle management with what appeared to be no chance to move up or back. Although he enjoyed the crew he supervised and the customers being served he was sorely