Unfinished Business - Repost of Part 1

By Gene

So you're getting married, huh?" My sister took a drag on her Marlboro, smiled, put her hand on my shoulder and pulled in for a big hug. "Well I'm proud of ya! It's about time ya tied the knot, Brother!"



I held my breath and waited a moment until it seemed an acceptable time to break the hug. Because we're so different, I've never been comfortable around my sister, and her smoking habit drives me up the fucking wall. It makes her look and smell like crap. Her perfume is usually piss-poor too. As much as she may like the smell of vanilla, and as much as it may have been trendy a couple years ago, it tends to smell like vinegar when it mixes with her body chemistry, and I'm a firm opponent to people purposely smelling like food. It's just not right.



Not that long ago, I didn't care if I saw or heard from my sister or most of my family ever again. But since moving to the East Coast, I've made a point of trying. It's usually no big deal. THis trip to Wisconsin was one of those efforts to get along.



I pulled away and looked at my sister, making a point of touching her on the arm so she'd feel like we're bonding or something.



"Thanks," I said, smiling. "I feel really lucky. Alice is an awesome woman. Beautiful, smart as hell, funny, caring, mixes in everywhere. I really love her."



"I can tell," Jennifer said. "And she's crazy about you, too. But who wouldn't be crazy about my big bro'?"



I smiled again. I was reaching my tolerance level. There were just too many memories for me at my parents' house. Few of them good. And I didn't like who I became after extended time with my family or around that house. I'm generally a bastard, but I don't like being an asshole.



I stood up and stretched, my ass a little sore from sitting on the concrete front porch.



"Come on, let's go inside. It's about time to rescue Alice from Mom and Dad."



Jennifer stood, "I hear ya."



We went inside, finding Alice with our parents in the kitchen, cleaning the dinner dishes. I put my arm around Alice's waist and kissed her on the cheek.



"Hi Baby. How you doin?"



Alice smiled, but her eyes told me she was getting to the end of her tolerance level, too. "Just fine! We're just cleaning up here. Grab a dish, we'll be done in just a minute."



My dad gave me a bear hug and his look that said, "One dish is plenty, let the women do this." So naturally I grabbed two more dishes and dried them while looking right at him. I love him, but his sexist shit doesn't really fly with me.



"So when's the big day, pal?" he asked, beaming.



"Well, we're trying to decide. If we do a big thing, it'll be sometime next year. If not, it may be next month."



"What?" Dad gaped. "What do you mean next month? What's the rush?"



"We're not sure how much fuss we want. We'd have the key people out and everything, but the planning and cash needed for a big event is usually such a waste. We want to be as mellow as possible."



"I don't see the need to put on a big production just to be together," Alice said. "The whole point is to commit to be together, to join your lives. Why spend $50,000 to do that? It's insane. We'll get married, have a party, and that's it."



My dad grinned. "That's reasonable. I can see doing that, if you want."



Jennifer shook her head, also not picking up a dish. "No way, man. When I get married, I'm inviting as many guests as possible. Even people I don't like. I want money and presents coming out my ass. I know it makes me greedy, but that's the way I am."



"Well I'm sure you'll be happy with whatever you choose to do, and we'll be there for whatever it is, wherever you have it," my mom said. "Oh, I'm so excited for you guys!" she squealed, nearly dancing in place.



When the dishes were done, Alice and I grabbed Jennifer and met up with her boyfriend at Steve's Sports Bar, near Miller Park, on the edge of Milwaukee. I had gone to the bar many times over the years and still tried to hit it whenever I was in town. Steve's was actually my backup choice, since Pat McCurdy wasn't playing that night and my all-time favorite Irish Bar, Nash's (best authentic Irish bar you'll ever find in a Hispanic neighborhood) had been bought out by the Mexican restaurant next door. Since then, my pals had rechristened it Pablo's Irish Pub.



Kent lit another cigarette and downed a big gulp of beer. He'll probably always be on my Shit List. He's a low-class jerkoff who never really gets his act together 100%. He gets 100 chances and eventually blows them all. But Jennifer loves him, so I'm stuck being nice to the guy until he fucks up big enough for her to leave him or for me to have him killed. He's a recovering coke and crack addict, and Jennifer has sworn to leave him if he falls off the wagon again. Depending on what he does if he ever has a binge again, I might have him killed even after she dumps him. He shouldn't be drinking. Every addict learns that you shouldn't indulge in any drug when you've recovered, because the risk is too high for exchanging dependence on one drug for another. He's too stupid to care, and Jennifer is too dumb and complacent to do anything about it. But I care, and I'm waiting. I'm always waiting.



"So, what do you folks have planned after the nuptials, there?" Kent droned in his Northern Wisconsin accent. Only a Cheesehead can tell the difference between the Northern Wisconsin accent and the Minnesota/North Dakota accent heard in "Fargo." But they are pretty close. "Plan on travellin' an' whatnot?"



Christ, every time the guy opens his mouth I want to knock his face on the other side of his head. Just looking at him makes me want to do it, too. He's a tall, skinny guy with scruffy reddish hair and a goatee, and his fucking Adam's Apple sticks out like an extra joint in his neck. He's got the high cheekbones, drawn face, and sunken eyes seen on just about every guest on Jerry Springer or criminal seen on "Cops." I secretly suspected that Kent was actually an actor paid to be on those shows, he looked so much like those people.



"Yeah, we'll travel around a while. There's lots of places we want to see," I said.



"Ireland could be good, or Rome. Maybe the Grand Canyon, or even Paris," Alice said.



I smiled and nudged her. "Good to see you've narrowed the list down to one region," I said. "What about you two?" I asked.



"Well, ya know, we can't afford a lot, and we don't have much time 'cause of work and all, but we're going up North next week for a little break," Jennifer said.



"Really?" I asked, trying to sound interested. It's where they went whenever they had time. Kent had some land in the center of the state, and they had been going camping there for years.



"Hey, I forgot to tell ya," Jennifer chimed, excitedly. "There's a ghost up there, it was even on the news!"



"REally?" I asked. THis was interesting, though I was still skeptical. I had been pulling pranks on my sister her whole life, and it was never very hard. It wasn't any harder now. I used to have her convinced that I had a hotline to Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny hidden in my closet, and if she pissed me off when I was babysitting her, I could call them at any time and cancel any plans they had to bring her presents.



"It's true," Kent said. "Some old guy up there was working on his farm when he saw something on the edge of his field. When he went to look, something pulled him in and tried to choke him to death. He got away, and now he won't go out there anymore. A few other people saw something on the side of the road by the woods. One of them said it was Bigfoot, but the others said it was a ghost or something. They said it was some big guy with his clothes all torn up. It's like the Blair Witch or something."



I glanced at Alice, who locked eyes with me for a second. We both knew what this would lead to. Alice stood up.



"Excuse me for a second, I have to use the ladies' room," she said.



"Isn't she great?" I said. "Only woman I know who'll go to the bathroom alone instead of bringing at least one woman from the table with her."



"WEll, I always say, 'I don't need anyone to wipe for me, and I don't gossip,'" Alice said. "Be right back."



I poured myself another beer from the pitcher. "So how close is this to where you guys go camping?"



"Oh not too far, not too close," Kent said. "It's just a couple miles from my grandpa's old house. We haven't seen anything, though."



I reached in my pocket. "I've got some quarters, who's ready for a game of pool?"



Kent and Jennifer stood, "I'll play, but you know I'm not good," Kent said.



"You're better than me, I totally suck. You're going to win, Brother."



I laid a few bucks on the table for the beer. "We'll see, I haven't played in a while. And when Alice comes back, she'll kick all our asses."



And she did. She didn't even make it look hard. Just seeing her bend over the table in her green satin shirt and black slacks was enough to make MAxwell stand to attention. The confidence she had to go with her pool shooting skill made me want to take her right there on the pool table. But I opted to wait and keep that thought in mind for when we got home. I made sure that we were staying in the basement rec room on the hide-a-bed, not in the guest room across from my parents. After seeing what clothes Alice was packing, I could tell there would be at least one moment like this, and we would definitely need the privacy.



I felt a buzz in my pocket, right next to Maxwell's throb. My White Court pager. I excused myself and read the message. I went to the men's room and reached behind the tank of the middle toilet, where I found an envelope. Gotta love the Hellfire Club. We're everywhere, and can do anything, given a few minutes. I stuffed the envelope in my pocket and went back out to the backroom.



"So you guys want to go on vacation, huh?" I asked.



"We are going on vacation, up North," Jennifer replied.



I smiled slyly. "How would you like to change plans, maybe go to Florida instead?" I asked, pulling the envelope from my pocket. "I have a couple of tickets, thanks to my frequent flyer miles from travelling around for Lyonspaw. I hate Florida at this time of year, too fucking hot for civilization. Why don't you guys go?"



Jennifer's grin spread from ear to ear. "You're kidding! Awesome! When can we go?"



"Tomorrow or the next day. Then the tickets are invalid. I was going to let them run out, but if you guys want to go..."



"Sure!" Kent said. "Now do we owe ya anything?"



"Nah," I said, putting the envelope in his hand. "I'll arrange for a hotel stay for you guys, too. I think Elijah had a room booked in advance down there, but his tour was cancelled, so now it's just open. We'll pull a few strings."



"That's great, buddy! Thank you!" Kent said, shaking my hand.



"No problem."



THat night, in my parents' home, after Alice and I had made love, I held her and she asked me:



"So when are you going to go?"



"Two days or so. Just had to get Jennifer and Kent out of there. They don't need to be around, no matter what's going on up there. And I don't need to be recognized. We'll play out our trip here, make nice, see the extended family tomorrow, then get down to business."



"You need my help?"



"Of course. But not in the field there. I'll need you on the other end. This could get weird. I'll need information, and need the cops and press out of the way. There's a lot of weird things up there. Gangs, cults, animals, even Bigfoot. More weird crap happens in Wisconsin than people would expect, that's how I got into this business."



Alice hugged me tightly, listening to my heart while I ran my finger up and down the small of her back, enjoying the smooth, cool feel of her skin. After a moment, she spoke again, her body tense.



"You know what it is, don't you?"



I ran my tongue over my teeth and swallowed, my throat suddenly dry. "I don't know. I hope not. I can think of two things that can be up there, and I don't like either one of them."