Free Ragged Man by Ken Douglas

can’t, I got a date with Sherry. I’ll get my father to do it.”
    “ You sure?”
    “ I think he likes you better than me. He’ll be glad to do it.”
    Evan Hatch walked across the room to the phone and tapped the buttons.
     
     
    * * *
    Rick dropped on the divan, closed his eyes and listened to Mick Jagger’s voice coming out of his friend’s speakers.
    “ You can’t always get what you want,” repeated the chorus, “You can’t always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need.”
    Very true, he thought, before Ann’s death, he’d managed to get anything he’d ever wanted out of life. And he hadn’t been born with a silver spoon in his mouth, he’d earned what he’d wanted. He was no stranger to hard work. He’d taken risks and they’d paid off. But since Ann’s death, the only thing he wanted was her back, and the only thing he needed was food and water and a place to sleep.
    “ What time you wanna be picked up?” Evan’s voice snapped him out of his reverie.
    “ Two, my plane leaves at 5:00, that should be plenty of time.”
    “ Can you be here by 2:00?” Rick heard him say, then he watched him hang the phone up.
    “ Thanks,” Rick said.
    “ You sure you’re ready?”
    “ I’ve got to go back. I have to put the house on the market, deal with her things and sell the Jeep.”
    “ You sure that’s the best?”
    “ I can’t live in that house without Ann. Everything there reminds me of her, the house, the furniture, the Jeep. I have to shed it all.”
    “ Maybe that’s not such a bad thing, being reminded of her. She occupied a large chunk of your life.”
    “ What time you seeing Sherry?” Rick asked, changing the subject.
    “ Lunch at one.”
    “ When are you going to let it go?”
    “ Never.”
    “ Jeez, you gotta get her out of your mind.”
    “ I can’t. It must be love.”
     
     
    * * *
    Evan had been in love with Sherry Quilvang since a cold New York winter day in 1986 when he’d stumbled into her at the Record Rack. He had been making a cold call and she had been the girl behind the counter. Although he had fallen in love with her at first sight, she had been in love with her employer, who also happened to be her husband. Over the years he’d become her friend and confidant, and, during her rocky marriage, had spent many an hour over a bottle of wine acting the big brother.
    “ I gotta pack.” Rick offered his hand and Evan grasped it. “Thanks for the use of the place, you’re a good friend.”
    “ You’d do the same for me,” Evan said.
    “ Will I see you before I go?”
    “ No, I have to go to the Village and drop off some CDs before I meet Sherry.”
    “ Good luck.” Rick turned and went down the stairs.
    “ I’ll see you in California next month,” Evan yelled after him.
    “ Looking forward to it,” Rick shouted back, then he was out the door.
    Alone again, Evan removed the magazine, laid out two more lines, then inhaled them. Feeling as good as he thought he was going to get, he donned a black leather jacket and bounced down the stairs and out the front door. He walked around to the back, flicking the button on the garage door opener and climbed into his BMW. He was halfway down the street before the door thudded shut.
    When he rounded the first corner, a red Toyota started and followed. It stayed with him all the way to the train station.
     
     
    * * *
    Sitting across from Sherry in the restaurant, he felt the tension, something was different. She kept changing the subject and fidgeting with the menu, and the way she kept crossing and uncrossing her legs was putting him on edge. He wondered what was bothering her.
    “ Would you like to start with a drink?” the approaching waitress asked.
    “ I’ll have a double vodka martini, straight up, no olive,” Sherry said.
    Evan was taken aback. She usually only drank wine. Something was definitely up.
    “ And you, sir?” the waitress asked.
    “ Make