As Ethan was waiting in line to get something to
eat, he thought of what Dorothy had said. I’ve
always been very careful with my tools and never really cut myself. Scrapes and
bruises for sure, but I’ve never bled.
Placing his
order, the cashier told him, "That'll
cost you five dollars." He quirked an eyebrow at him. Apparently he knew
of Ethan’s habit of using archaic terms and expressions. He smiled, handed over
the five credits, took his snack and sat down where he continued to ponder. If I were to cut myself and bleed on a piece
I was working on, I’d clean it up immediately. Since the virus can’t live
outside the body, there’s no risk in continuing on.
This
revelation caused him to cheer up. He can still do the three things he loved,
woodworking, running and swimming.
₪₪₪₪₪
Looking
over the next restoration project and saying to himself, this won’t take long at all. Some wood-filler, sanding and staining and
it will be good as new. Intent on his work, he didn’t hear Chris enter the
shop.
“Hey,
Ethan, how’d the therapy session go?”
After
coming down from the ceiling and putting his skin back on, he rounded on his
brother. “Butt-munch! You scared the shit
outta me!”
Laughing,
Chris made a show of looking around the floor where Ethan was standing. “Hm.
That’s funny. I don’t see any shit on the floor. Is it still in your pants?”
Ethan
picked up a standing block and launched toward Chris’ head. “Don’t ever sneak
up on my like that! You never know what kind of tool I might be holding onto.”
Chris
groaned and rolled his eyes. “That’s a mental picture I’ll never be able to get
out of my head.” He complained.
“What
picture?” Ethan asked, pretty much knowing what the answer would be.
“You
holding onto your tool.”
“Fuck
you, the horse you rode in on, and anyone who even remotely looks like you.”
“Now
I’d pay good money to see that!” Chris shot back, grinning.
“See
what?” Poor Ethan had no clue as to what Chris would say.
“You
said, ‘fuck you, the horse you rode in on, and anyone who even remotely looks
like you.’ Since you and I look somewhat alike, that means you have to fuck
yourself. Should I go get you a dildo?”
“Ha,
ha. Very funny. Not!”
“Seriously,
how did your session go?”
“It
was nothing like anything I’d seen before in those old vids. No couch, no
psycho- babble bullshit. We sat in chairs facing each other and just talked,
kinda like what we’re doing now. She convinced me that it would be okay to
continue doing woodworking.”
Chris
lightly punched his shoulder. “Dumb ass, I told you you didn’t have to give it
up.”
“Dumb
ass? Where’d you pick that up from?”
“You,
numb nuts.” Chris replied laughing, using yet another archaic expression.
“You’re not the only person who likes to use those old phrases. So what are you
working on now?”
Ethan
showed him a coffee table that was in superb condition except for several small
holes on the surface. “A little wood-filler, a little sanding, a little stain
and you won’t know the difference.”
Chris
looked at his little brother with respect, shaking his head. “You’re amazing. I
don’t know how you do it, but you always manage to pull it off. The only thing
I’ve seen you unable to restore was the old chair that was badly burned in a
fire.”
“I
don’t know how I do it either. I just do it.” His telecommunicator beeped. It
was Alicia calling. “Hey, what’s up?”
“Ethan
I have something serious you and Chris need to know about. Is he there with you
by any chance?”
“Yeah,
he is.” He activated the speaker.
“Hey,
Alicia,” he hollered so she would hear him.
“Okay.
You guys need to sit down.”
“Sit
down why?”
“If
you don’t, you’re gonna fall down.”
“Okay,
we’re sitting.”
Alicia’s
deep breath was clearly audible. “Ethan, the video of you getting gang-raped
has somehow found its way into the telecommunicator network. Probably everyone
has seen it by now.”
Ethan
turned white as a sheet and started shaking so hard Chris had to grab him to
keep him from falling out of his chair. “Alicia,
get over here now! Bring Troy with you!”
₪₪₪₪₪
“Shit.
I thought all this was behind us. What are we going to do?” Troy asked as he
worn a groove into the carpeting with his pacing.”
“I
know what I’m going to do,” Alicia snarled, “I’m going to find out whoever did
this and make them pay dearly; with their lives if necessary. I’ve already
contacted the telecommunications bureau and they’ve pulled it form the network.
The bad thing is we don’t know how many people have seen it, and what they’re
reactions will be.” She looked towards the stairs where Ethan was in his room
sleeping.
Chris
went to a closet and brandishing a weapon. “If anyone comes around looking for
trouble, they’ll find it!”
“Chris,
put that away. Violence is not going to help Ethan.” Troy ordered.
Chris
shot him an angry look. “It may not help him, but it will damn sure protect
him!”
Alicia,
normally the voice of reason told Troy she’d do the same thing. “I think we
need to get in touch with his therapist.”
“Good
idea. What’s her name?”
“Dorothy
Daniels.” She pulled out her telecommunicator and spoke into it. “Locate and
connect to Dorothy Daniels.”
“Dorothy
Daniels. How may I help you?”
“Hi,
this is Alicia Evans, Ethan’s sister. We have a situation with Ethan. The video
of him getting gang-raped was put up on the telecommunicator network. We have
no idea how many people may have seen it before I got it pulled. I’m afraid of
how people react around Ethan.”
“Does
he know?”
“Yes.
I felt he had a right to know.”
“How’s
he taking it?”
“Well,
he’s…”
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