Elevating Overman by Bruce Ferber

Elevating Overman by Bruce Ferber

Author:Bruce Ferber
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Rare Bird Books
Published: 2014-07-18T23:23:07+00:00


Overman stands at the Ventura Boulevard address pulled from the file Big Dave has compiled. It is a sleazy adult motel in the West Valley, the current home of Jake Rosenfarb. The light is on in room 202 and as Overman walks up the stairs, he hears the sounds of “Jeopardy” blaring from the television. Rosenfarb always loved trivia. In a way, the window man’s whole existence had been an homage to it. But who was Overman to judge the shallowness of a life? He had been there, done that as well as anybody.

He positions himself so he can see through the crack in the curtain. There is no Alex Trebek-loving hooker present, rather a slew of empty pizza boxes and soda cans surrounding what looks like a street person. Overman takes in this frightening image, knowing that while his desire to do the right thing has brought him here, he has no plan of attack. Would Rosenfarb be satisfied and turned around by a simple apology? Does Overman need to get him out on the tennis court and deliberately throw the match to lift his friend’s spirits? Would he accept a cash donation to help him get back on his feet? As much as Overman hates the idea of diving head first into this pool, he is convinced that the direness of the situation demands a response. And the bottom line is, if he doesn’t save Rosenfarb, who will?

An older man and a young, heavily made-up Latin girl climb the staircase, arm in arm, shooting Overman a “what the fuck are you doing here?” look before entering room 204. It’s a safe bet that they have not shown up to watch the Double Jeopardy round along with their next-door neighbor. Overman tries to ignore the loud giggling coming from their room and concentrate on the task at hand.

He bites the bullet and knocks on the door, but Rosenfarb doesn’t move or even register a reaction, choosing instead to shout at the TV: “What are the Punic Wars?” A louder knock produces the same non-reaction. Overman opts to stay the course, figuring that sooner or later the show must end and most likely before that, cut to commercial. Perhaps then the down-on-his-luck window man would snap out of his trance and open up. Overman waits patiently through shouts of “What are the fallopian tubes?” and “Who is Mort Sahl?” when Trebek announces the upcoming Double Jeopardy, which of course will be preceded by a commercial. Surely Rosenfarb could be diverted from an ad for carpet shampoo.

Overman knocks again, this time calling out: “Jake! I need to talk to you.”

Rosenfarb looks toward the window, shrugs and goes back to his TV. Overman thinks about breaking down the door. It would be a whole lot less dramatic and noisy if he could will the thing open, but his mind has yet to be able to move inanimate objects. He has another idea. Maybe Rosenfarb still has his cell phone. A true salesman couldn’t live without a phone, even once he’d stopped selling.



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