Tropical Quests by Wesley Sizemore

Author:Wesley Sizemore
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Two Harbors

Fourteen

Though we knew some or most of Tom’s past, we didn’t understand the complex ramifications of it all. Sweet as he could be, he was also capable of explosive anger, episodes that were usually triggered by a real or imagined slight. Once someone flipped him the bird in traffic and he started a car chase that ended only when he’d stopped the guy, dragged him out of the car, and given him the choice of being beaten or apologize.

After that episode, Doug and I took him aside, sat him down in the parlor (the room for serious talks) and explained to him that he couldn’t behave that way for several reasons. “You risk getting hurt or killed when you confront people like that, Tom, and going to jail, and for what?”

I joined in. “Tom, a month after someone flips you the bird or yells at you, you’re not even going to remember it unless you do something stupid that gets you arrested.” He looked totally pissed off at being lectured, but I continued. “Doug and I care about you, but you have to think about us, too. We’re both in business here. We can’t have our names associated with someone who goes off like that.”

He stood up. “Well, I’ll just move out then if I’m such a problem.” It was so obvious a ploy, I groaned, but Doug stood up and started yelling, something he never did. I was as shocked as Tom.

“Sit your dumb, cracker ass down, NOW, and listen. We’re probably the only two people on this whole goddamned planet who care about you. Is it that fucking hard to change your behavior a little bit? You leave here, who out there is going to take care of you?” He waited. “Come on tough guy, answer me.”

Punch Doug out or listen to him? I could see the conflict in Tom’s face. They stared at one another; then Tom sat down.

“Look, Tom, John and I are your friends. But there are some things you just can’t do. Reacting out of anger like that is one of them. It’s an inappropriate, disproportionate response,” and he explained that to him. “Now I got an idea out of the newspaper. I’m going to collect used light bulbs and put them in a box out by the pool equipment and set up a target for you. Whenever you get that angry, you come here and start slamming those light bulbs against the target. And I’m going to buy you a punching bag and hang it from the mango. Use it.”

Corny as the solutions seemed, they worked. He would storm into the house sometimes and go right out to the deck and start breaking light bulbs against the wall, then head for the punching bag to terrorize it for as long as an hour before returning to normalcy.

He had another quirk that was extremely annoying to me in the beginning. I don’t much like being touched, especially by another male. I don’t like

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