A Philosophy of Ruin by Nicholas Mancusi

Author:Nicholas Mancusi
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Hanover Square Press
Published: 2019-04-09T11:52:55+00:00

* * *

As soon as he had pulled off the highway and driven down backroads for fifteen minutes he pulled to the side of the road near an empty field and called Dawn.

She picked up. “Your cell phone? Don’t you watch movies? Go find a pay phone.”

She hung up.

He drove on and found a pay phone outside of a convenience store in a strip mall a few miles away. He got out of the car, blipped it locked with the key fob, took a step away, and then turned and locked it again, double-checking.

He was surprised to hear a dial tone when he lifted the receiver to his ear. Looking through the plate glass into the store, he accidentally made eye contact with the cashier. Oscar turned his face away from him as he dug into his pants pockets for a quarter, dropped it into the slot, and dialed, reading the number that she had texted him off his cell.

“It’s me,” Oscar said.

“Sorry, I’m not one hundred percent sure it’s a real thing, the cell phone thing, but it’s better to play it safe.”

“I almost just got arrested.”

“Wait, what? Did you meet the guy? Do you have it?”

“Yeah, yeah, that part was okay. Are people following me?”

“Following you? Who?”

“I mean, do you think there’s any reason why people would be following me?”

“No. I mean, shit, no, definitely no.”

Oscar heard her muffle the receiver with her hand and whisper something to someone else in the room.

“I might be losing it a little bit,” Oscar said.

“You’re spooked.”

“There were these three men, in a truck, and they were behind me for a while, and then when I sped up they were still there—”

“Is that it?”

“It’s hard to explain. But I really think they were tailing me.” Now that he was off the road, he wasn’t so sure. It was hard to recapture the claustrophobic clarity of that moment.

“Listen to yourself. So people in a truck were behind you on the highway? Uh-oh, better freak out. You’re being paranoid, which I don’t blame you for, all things considered. But you’re fine. Just get back here. Did you say you were almost arrested?”

“I came this fucking close, I swear.”

“What happened?”

“Deus ex machina. Won’t happen again.”

“You need to relax. I can hear you breathing.”

There was a silence. Oscar took three deep breaths, something his mother taught him to do when he was upset as a child.

“Mexicans?” Dawn asked, betraying a note of real concern.

“Yeah. I don’t know. I guess.”

“Well, it’s not really saying much anyway.”

“I’m still okay, right?” he said. “This is all still okay?”

“Everything is fine. You’re overthinking it. Stop being a pussy. You haven’t even crossed any borders. Just maybe stay off the highway for a little while until your head clears. Think of your family and hurry up and get back here. I’m hanging up now. Keep driving.” She hung up.

Oscar turned around and sat down right on the curb. He felt like crying. The event was still too recent for him to fully comprehend how close he had come to being big-time arrested.

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