4~The Starting of the Unraveling

Only suckers think love lasts. A realist will take what the person has to offer and use it to their advantage. ~ Duncan A. Baker

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Chapter 4

The Thread that started the unraveling

The day had been long, and the nightmare was still fresh in Duncan's mind by the end of the day. It wasn't like he had never had a nightmare before, but this one was different. Every part of it had stuck with him. The burning on his skin, the smell of his vomit, and the voices, the sounds of all those voices. He could still hear the voices when everything was quiet around him. He was glad that his day had been busy, but at the time, the screams, cries, and pleads, broke through even the yelling in the fishbowl. Finally, at five, his office was empty and quiet. Duncan sat back at his desk, gazing at the horizon but not noticing it. His thoughts were back to the lingering dream that had consumed his thoughts all day. "It was so damn real, I just can't believe how real it felt; it was like I was in hell," He murmured, taking a drag from his cigarette and then a gulp of his drink.

There came a buzz, and Sybil spoke, and he was happy to hear a real voice. "Sir, I have a Miss. Huston on the line for you."

"Angelica?" Duncan asked, glancing down at his watch and seeing the time. "Why would she be calling me at the office?" He growled and then remembered he had switched off his phone earlier because of his wife's obnoxious texting. And before he hit the button to talk to Angelica, a text came in from his wife that her father was over early. "Of course, he is." Again, he growled, seeing his wife's newest text that his father-in-law was already at their house. "Have the limo ready for me in three, and tell Miss. Huston I've already left for home, and I'll see her tonight at nine."

"Yes, sir,"

Duncan slipped on his coat and finished up the last of his drink and debated on having another but knew he needed his wits about himself to deal with his father-in-law. He could only imagine what his wife had been going on about with her father. "It's time to kick the old ball and chain to the curb." He grumbled, heading out of his office.

When he was out front, the limo was nowhere to be seen. The wind tore through his coat, chilling him to the bone, and he swore under his breath. A voice broke through the gust of wind, causing him to turn his head. The raggedy man was back and standing on the same box he had been the night before, but this time closer to the front of his building. The man spoke with such enthusiasm that curiosity got the better of him; he took a step towards the small group of people and listened in.

"In Jeremiah 17:9, God says the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick, and in the very next verse, He says, "I the Lord search your heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruits of his deeds." Is God testing you in your life? Is He testing your decisions? Is He telling you that your heart is sick and in need of Jesus?" The scraggly man asked the murmuring crowd.

Duncan shook his head and started to turn away when a woman said something that piqued his interest, and he wanted to hear what the man said. "There's no such thing as God, so there's no such thing as hell."

"A girl after my own heart," Duncan chuckled, but now he was interested in what this preacher had to say about the topic.

"Are you willing to bet your soul on that?" The man asked.

"There is no such thing as a soul. We are all just water and tissue, and when we die, we're dead, that's it." Was the girls come back.

"A car needs a battery, right?"

"Yes, but what does that have to do with anything,"

"Well, what causes that battery to start a car?"

"I don't know, power?"

"It's a chemical reaction in the battery that makes the power,"

"So,"

"You can't see that happen, can you,"

"Yeah, well, I can't see my heartbeat either, but I know it does,"

"Yes, but can you see the sparks that makes it come to life?"

The girl was quiet for a minute, and everyone could see what she was thinking. "Well, that doesn't mean anything."

"But it does. You claim people don't have a soul; I claim they do. You can't see the wind, you can't see power, you can't see the electrical waves that are traveling all throughout the air, but they are here. And just like the air that you breathe, there is a real heaven, and there is a real hell."

"So what? I'd rather go to hell where it's like a big rock concert and party with all my friends than go to heaven and sit on a cloud and play the harp all day long. How boring!" The girl laughed.

The grin on the man's thin face slipped away, and he got down from his box. "There is no party going on in hell, and even if your friends are all down there, it won't matter. There are no friends in hell, there is no party going on, no dancing, no food, nothing to drink, you will thirst, you will hunger, you will scream out in terror, but only the screams and pleads for help is what you will hear, and the more you cry out, the more the other voices will drown out your own. Help and mercy will never come. Once you're in hell, you are there for eternity. You had been given your chance to accept Jesus's free gift of life, and you rejected Him. So, instead, you go to a place where the light of God is nowhere near you, only the eternal darkness,"

Duncan's shoulders stiffened, and his nightmare rushed back to his thoughts and everything that this raggedy man had said about hell and how it was so dark.

"That's bull! I've heard hell was all fire and brimstone, and the devil has horns and a pitchfork. At least that's what all these "Christian" people say," The girl laughed, putting her hands up in quotations.

"Oh, there is fire, a lake of fire where the flames are so hot, they burn blue," The man said, and his eyes met Duncan's and held them for a second before going back to the girl. "And Satan isn't red and doesn't have horns and a forked tail. Lucifer was one of the most beautiful creatures God had ever made, and from his pride, he thought he was better than God and fell. Do you think the devil goes around now looking like a Halloween costume? Or would it be more likely that he makes himself very appealing to the human eye to tempt mortals into the trap of falling away from God and following him instead?"

"A long as I'm not hurting anyone, what I do is my business."

"That right there is precisely what the devil wants you to say, the lie that he tells the world, so they fall into sin and face a judgment that humans were never supposed to face." The man said with a deep frown.

"Whatever!" The girl hissed and turned and walked away. As she passed by Duncan, he heard what she whispered under her breath. "The guy is full of crap! There is no heaven or hell, so he can take all that shit and stuff it!"

It was as if the girl had whispered it in his ear, breaking the trance the conversation had on him. Duncan shook his head and chuckled, looking over at the scraggly man before turning his back and walking over to the curb when the limo pulled up, getting himself mentally ready to deal with whatever his father-in-law wanted to talk about and then deal with his wife. "Damn do-gooders always trying to make others as miserable as they are."

The snow was falling harder as the limo pulled up and then through the front gate to see the stunning colonial that Lydia's father had given them as a wedding gift. The house was outlined with white lights and Christmas decorations. All the cookie-cutter goodness made him want to get sick. Lydia loved to decorate. It gave her something to do in her dull, hum-drum, domesticated, housewife life. The last thing Duncan wanted, even back then, was to live outside of the city; he wanted to be where the action was, but Lydia refused to sell the house, so here he was.

Duncan walked through the door, meeting the maid and handing her his coat and briefcase. He glanced at himself in the mirror, smoothed back his hair, gave himself a wink, then went to find his wife and father-in-law and readied himself to do battle… and win.

The front room was empty, and he walked over to make himself a drink and then headed for the study. The smell of Duncan's favorite dinner drifting from the kitchen, he took a sip of his drink and then walked into the room chock full of books he would never read. His father-in-law was in a chair facing away from the door. On the other hand, Lydia was standing up and saw him walk in, and a huge smile appeared on her face, which made him want to roll his eyes.

"Duncan, sweetheart, I'm so happy your home!" She said, running over to give him a hug and making him spill some of his drink.

"I told you I would be," He answered and saw his father-in-law stand and turn around. "Hi Bill, it's good to see you."

"Glad to see you still know where you live, Duncan." came his father-in-law's remark, but Duncan didn't say anything to that, just smiled.

"So, Lydia, is dinner ready?" Duncan asked.

"Oh, now he wants dinner," Bill snarked.

"Daddy, please, don't do this," Lydia begged and smiled. "I'll go check with Anita and see. I had her place all the table settings just like you like it." She gushed and kissed him on the cheek before heading out.

When Lydia was clear of the room, Duncan walked over to freshen up his drink when his father-in-law chimed in. "Lydia told me that you haven't been home at all in over a month,"

"I'm a very busy man,"

"Must be, but that's beside the point,"

"Then what's the point, Bill?"

"I was once a young man too,"

"Glad to hear it,"

"Don't be a smart ass with me, Duncan. Just because I'm out of the game doesn't mean I don't know and have players who still are."

"Well, now I've been informed. So, what are you trying to tell me, and I wish you'd get to the point so we can eat dinner?"

"I'm saying I know your screwing around on the side,"

"And how would you know that?"

"Like I said, I was once a young man. Rich, good-looking, and could have any woman I wanted and did. But I loved my wife and took care of her. You, on the other hand, are not taking care of my Lydia, and that's going to stop right now. You've had your fun; now it's time to settle down and give my daughter a child and start a family."

Duncan took his glass, walked over to a chair, and sat down. "Is that what I'm supposed to do now, Bill, start a family? Is Lydia the one wearing the pants in the family, or is it me?" Duncan asked and grinned. "Or would it be better if you come into our bedroom while I'm screwing her and you give me directions in bed on how to knock up your daughter?"

Bill was silent; red flowed up from his neck and filled his face, but he didn't move a muscle. The large plump man made a fist, and even though Duncan wasn't worried, the man's hands were thick, and knew he could get one good punch in. "Listen here, you little shit. You might think you are too big to touch now that you're some big man in your company, but let me assure you, you're not. You've made some money, so you don't need mine anymore, that much I can see over that smug face of yours, but you know nothing, son,"

"Is that a fact,"

"Yes, it's a fact. You can take that to the bank. So, if you don't make my little Lydia happy, or if you hurt her in any way, mentally or physically, I will destroy you and everything you've worked for."

"You think so, do you," Duncan smirked.

"It's as much as a guarantee. So get your ass in there and make my little girl smile," Bill said, a normal color coming back into his face as he started to walk out of the room. "Lydia has always been too good for you, but you already knew that; that's why you married her in the first place. She married down while you married up, and I allowed it to happen, so that's on me." He said, shaking his head. " You better do right by my baby girl, and if you need instructions on how to get a woman pregnant, I can give you some. Obviously, I'm man enough to know how to get the job done. I have a kid."

Duncan watched his father-in-law walk out of the room, and when he was out of sight, he threw back his drink and slammed the glass down on the table. "You stupid prick. We'll see who gets the last laugh. You think you're a nasty SOB, don't you? Well, you haven't seen anything yet. I'll show you how it's really done!"

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