The Next Time I Die by Jason Starr

Author:Jason Starr [Starr, Jason]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Titan

TEN

At the Katonah train station, I get in my car and head home. The sun is bright and I’m squinting against the rays reflecting on the melting snow alongside the road. At a traffic light, I text Laura to tell her I’m on my way. She calls immediately.

“Everything okay?” she asks.

She sounds panicked, concerned. I flash back to how cold and distant she was when she told me she was ending our marriage.

“Fine,” I say. “Just didn’t want to push myself too hard on the first day back.”

“Makes sense, and I’m glad too. I’ve been worried about you all day.”

“That feels good.”

“My worrying makes you feel good?”

“Yeah, actually it does.”

“Remember, I have to pick up Lil later today from after school club, so I won’t be home till six-thirty.”

I don’t remember this, of course, but it sounds like something I should know. “Oh yeah, that’s right.”

“Do me a favor and defrost the steaks? Unless you want something else.”

“Steak sounds great. Hey, the light’s about to turn, don’t want to talk and drive.”

“Smart. Can’t wait to see you later. I love you, baby.”

Recalling in my other life, Laura saying, Our marriage is over, Steven. I don’t love you anymore, I say, “Love you too, baby.”

* * *

At home, Wasabi greets me. He’s already getting to know me and I feel like I’ve known him much longer than a day. It’s nice to have some time to myself. None of this seems to be going away so I might as well get used to it.

After I take the steaks out of the freezer, I change out of my work clothes and take a relaxing shower in my luxurious bathroom. In one of my dresser drawers, I find a pair of Dolce & Gabbana sweatpants and a comfy T-shirt; I put them on, then sit at my PC.

I log on to my brokerage accounts and see that I’m about twenty thousand dollars wealthier today. Maybe instead of figuring out how to get back into the swing of things at work, I should be thinking about how to wind down. At the very least, with the cushion of all this passive income, I don’t have to grind the way I used to.

When I return downstairs, it occurs to me that I haven’t checked our basement since I’ve been back from the hospital. Somehow, I’m not surprised to see that it’s been fully renovated and, holy shit, there’s a spectacular walnut pool table with yellow felt. I’ve always wanted a cool pool table so it makes sense that I splurged for this one. Hey, maybe I’m a great pool player now. I rack the balls and take several shots, missing all of them. Nope, still suck.

I’m about to leave the basement when I notice, off to the side, a door leading to a well-stocked wine cellar. There must be hundreds of bottles, mainly whites, which makes sense, as I’ve always preferred whites to reds. I choose a bottle of 2012 Pinot Grigio from Alto Adige. Back upstairs, I pour myself a glass and take it to the den, I put on some jazz.

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