Serenity Reborn by Craig A. Hart

Author:Craig A. Hart [Hart, Craig A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Northern Lake Publishing
Published: 2020-04-13T16:00:00+00:00

14

Shelby dropped ice into the two tumblers that sat on the kitchen counter and then dashed a couple of generous shots of scotch into each one. The events of the past few days played themselves in his head, and he hit the glasses with a third splash.

He picked up both glasses and once more marveled at how regaining the use of his hand had enriched his life. Knowing that Mack could somehow manage to make a masturbation joke out of that, he kept the thought to himself as he walked into the living area and handed Mack one of the beverages.

His friend was sitting on the couch and had already kicked off his loafers and propped his feet up on the coffee table. One big toe sporting a grotesque and poorly kempt toenail poked out of a hole in one of the socks. Shelby grinned. No woman’s touch there, yet. He was impressed by how fully and enthusiastically Mack had embraced bachelorhood. He’d been worried that the breakup up the ex-detective’s long marriage would spell the beginning of the end, but Mack had bounced back within a few months and now seemed happier than before. Smellier, but happier.

“When I start a fire later we’ll use those as kindling,” he said pointing to the socks. “They reek and they’re holey to the point of unholiness.”

Mack was one of those people, Shelby mused, who seemed to be immune to regret. They viewed the past as water under the bridge and didn’t dwell on it. Shelby envied the outlook and the ability to truly compartmentalize. While he was a devoted realist and had no time for pity parties, he was also a firm believer in personal responsibility. One should accept their role in the bad that happened and not shy away from shouldering their part of the burden. That, he felt, was for cowards. And he was not a coward.

Unfortunately, it was sometimes difficult for Shelby to know when his responsibility ended and the other person’s began. In an effort to ensure that he carried the proper load, he wondered sometimes if he ended up accepting too much of the blame, the responsibility ... and the guilt.

It was the guilt that really got him. Guilt tinged with the poisonous tendrils of regret was a potion that had killed some of the greatest figures of all time, meaning there was then no reason why an aging boxer in northern Michigan should be immune.

“Shel?”

Mack’s voice brought Shelby back to earth, and he shook his head as if waking from a trance.

“What?”

“You were just standing there like a moron. More than normally, I mean. Thought you were having another episode or died standing up.”

Shelby shook his head and lowered himself down into his recliner, holding the glass carefully so as not to spill. “You’re just chomping at the bit for me to die, aren’t you?”

“Can you blame me?”

“About as much as you can blame me for dying just to get the hell away from you.”

“I’ll give you that.

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