Sunday, November 29, 2015

Cadillac (Part 1)

     It's a Saturday morning, and we're all in a merry mood.  The three of us --- Bekka, Jane, and myself --- are crammed in my Acura, heading north on I-5 towards Anaheim.  It's our last ride in the Acura.  It's being traded in for a Cadillac Fleetwood I special ordered through one of my mafia cronies, a hefty dude named Rico Carelli.  Rico owns Carelli Cadillac of Anaheim, and also turns a pretty penny shipping hot cars to foreign buyers.  He's a good guy, and still only mildly pissed that I got his wife tweaked out on meth at a party.

Cadillac (Part 2)

     As much fun as we were having at Knott's having g-forces applied to us, I was secretly looking forward to the drive home.  I wanted to spend some time behind the wheel of my new ride.  From what little time I'd driven it so far, I was guessing it would be our usual vehicle, replacing the Fury when it came to us all going somewhere together.

Cadillac (Part 3)

     I went back up to Carelli Cadillac on Wednesday, arriving just before noon.  The sales-drone I'd dealt with on Saturday recognized me and had apparently been told I was expected, as he already had the phone in his hand as I approached.
     "Mr. Carelli, sir?  Mr. Schneider has arrived, shall I send him up?  Yes sir."
     The drone told me, "Go ahead on up, Mr. Carelli is waiting."  I thanked him and headed for the stairs.

Cadillac (Part 4)

     We had settled into a routine.  Jane was out of the house by 7:20, before me and Bekka were up.  She made her own breakfast and packed her own lunch, consisting of Snickers bars and Slimfast.  Between drama club and volleyball practice, she didn't get home before 4:00.  Lance would be with her, and the two of them would ensconce themselves in the spa for an hour or so, then she'd drive him home.  Bekka and I would let them have their privacy.  Then we'd either go out for dinner or Jane would make something.  Eight to nine was homework hour.  Then the three of us would hit the bong and watch TV, Jane heading for bed around 10:30.

Cadillac (Part 5)

     We're bombing towards Evelyn's in the Fleetwood, Jane leaning over the front seat so she can talk.  Our dinner date is set for 5:30, and I don't want to be late.  Bekka is giving me a smirk, prompted by my appearance.  I'm wearing a tie.  Jane is also amused by this.  She is in the same clothes she went to school in, a Road Warriors t-shirt and her black leather pants that look like they were sprayed on.  She says, "I've never seen you in a shirt with buttons."

Monday, November 23, 2015

Pet (Part 1)

     I went down to my office around eleven in the morning and dialed Florida.  Jane's dad picked up on the third ring.
     "Hello?"
     "Yes, is this Mr. Osborne?"
     "It is...."
     "Yeah, hi, my name is Lenny Schneider.  You may remember me, we met a couple years ago on a dinner cruise in Fort Lauderdale.  My wife and I befriended your daughter Jane on the cruise."

Pet (Part 2)

     Monday morning found us at the offices of Carlsbad High School.  Sunday had been spent in a state of chemical frenzy.  We went out for a relatively early breakfast at IHOP, then returned to the penthouse to hit the bong and watch porn, Bekka and I explaining what was going on through every step.  Jane took all this in with fascination, asking for explanations at the turn of scenes.  She was particularly curious about the identity of some of the male performers.

Pet (Part 3)

     By sheer chance we arrived at the trattoria at the same time as Angel.  The four  of us went to a table on the patio and ordered wine to start off with.  Angel was curious about the spiky blue-haired teenage object we were with.

Pet (Part 4)

     I'd posted signs on the inside doors of the sound stages reading, "CLOTHING OF SOME FORM MUST BE WORN OUTSIDE.  THIS MEANS YOU!"  The performers took it to heart, and would at least pull on underwear before heading down for a smoke or a soda.

Pet (Part 5)

     Over the weekend we took Jane shopping for school supplies: pens, pencils, folders, a calculator, and spiral notebooks.  At Bekka's suggestion we forewent buying a regular book bag and instead went to a military surplus store in Oceanside, where we found a strapped canvas bag the right size and shape.  Jane began to personalize it by drawing the Crass logo on the upper flap.  I personalized the Cutlass by putting an Operation Ivy sticker in the rear window.

Wednesday, November 18, 2015

The Fallen (Part 1)

     Bekka and I were up in Encino for another of Vinny and Chrissie's legendary parties.  The two of us were legendary on our own, being greeted like old friends by people we'd met once in our lives.  Besides our reputations as the reigning champions of smut, we were known as a couple that things happened to.  The last party was the one where Chrissie had been kidnapped the following day, sending Bekka and I on a search for her.  Things had gotten wild.  So there was that.

The Fallen (Part 2)

     On Monday I called down to Carelli Cadillac in Anaheim and asked to speak to Rico.  He and Rachel left the party around three in the morning.  I wanted to find out what sort of condition Rachel was in, and if I could help in any way.  And if Rico planned to kill me and Bekka.

The Fallen (Part 3)

     "A Cadillac Fleetwood?  Seriously?"
     Bekka was grimly amused by my potential choice in new vehicles.
     "Is it gonna have curb feelers, Lenny?  Will you drive around with the left blinker on all the time?  Will the climate control be forever wedged at eighty?"

The Fallen (Part 4)

     Our body went into the morgue as a Jane Doe, but didn't remain that way.  Her name was Meredith Jansen, and she lived in the townhouses at the end of the street.  She was reported missing by her family, who couldn't figure out where Mom could have gotten to.  She could have reached our property by walking along the edge of the bluff.

The Fallen (Part 5)

     The next day was our first full day of blocking and rehearsal, working through our interior scenes.  Me and Small Steve were moving furniture into place in Dale's "office" when Elspeth and Eddie came skipping in, hand in hand.  They both had anxious looks on their faces.

The Fallen (Part 6)

     We arrived back at the mansion around a quarter to two, sacks of Mexican food at the ready.  As the headlights panned over the front entryway, I thought I made out a shadow, but I wasn't sure.  Fuck it, I was feeling punchy.  I anchored the big Fury in the driveway and slouched out, grabbing the bags of food.