Excerpt: Knot

Teddy’s grandfather sat on the couch and received his visitors with grace. There were no tears. He and his wife had not even slept in the same bed for the past fifteen or so years. They stayed together because it was easier than being apart. She couldn’t support herself, and he was too old fashioned to wash his own clothes and cook his own dinner. They had shared the same space reluctantly, but with a quiet dignity based not on respect, but on indifference. When they spoke to each other, it was to discuss the weather or plans for the day. There was hardly ever an argument, and when there was, the screaming was brief and apathetic. They had mastered the art of small talk until it was so small you had to say it was tiny. They lived a life of tiny talk. They didn’t even eat meals at the same time. They didn’t watch TV together, or go to shows together or play games together. Once a week, Teddy’s grandfather drove her to the grocery store and he sat in the car while she bought the groceries. Then, he drove her to the liquor store to buy her vodka, which she bought in gallon jugs. That was the only time they ever spent together.

Teddy’s grandfather saw Teddy looking at him, and he winked. His grandfather was the only adult in his family that Teddy really liked. He was a jovial fellow who taught Teddy how to bet a Trifecta at the track. Whenever they went to the track, his grandfather would buy rum and cokes from the bar, and secretly give them to Teddy outside. They came in giant red plastic cups, and one was enough to give Teddy a buzz, at least at first. Though he never said it, Teddy knew that his grandfather loved him. More importantly, there was a form of respect between them. Teddy respected his grandfather, and his grandfather treated Teddy like a friend rather than a grandson.

His grandfather’s friends were strange and interesting people. They were mostly blue collar. They were plumbers and carpenters and electricians. There were no writers or teachers amongst his grandfather’s friends. Those people were considered snooty. His friends were salt of the earth types. They were also, one and all, drunks and misfits. His grandfather’s friends really had nothing in common other than a common love for the effects of liquor. Some of them also shared his tendency to gamble too much. Most of them were divorced, for that had chosen wives who would not tolerate their behavior. Many of them had been married multiple times.