Living The Life of Riley

Living the Life of Riley

cal chayce

            The first item he chose from the shelf was a roll of wine gums, because they were his dad’s favourite. Then he continued on, perusing the rest of the shop for all the sweets and treasures he wished for himself: the hard toffee, chips, chocolate, soda, the hockey cards.

            Riley loved when his dad was in a generous mood and gave him money for no reason. It was going to be an awesome day, playing hooky and going to the zoo with Dad, all the while gorging himself with all the candy he wanted. His friends were totally jealous that his was the coolest dad ever.

            He rode back home with his haul, anticipating the day ahead. His dad started to scold him for buying the wine gums instead of using all the money on his own treats, but instead he smiled and mussed Riley’s hair. Riley winced due to the bump on his head, tender and fresh from the previous night, then smiled himself. When his dad was happy, he was happy, too.

            They got ready for their big day, hopped in the car and took off. Riley babbled excitedly about getting to see the monkeys play; they were always so funny to watch.

“You like them because you’re a monkey yourself,” his dad teased with a shove to Riley’s shoulder.

“Well, you’re a gorilla!” he shot back, laughing, and rubbing his upper arm.

            They were about to pull onto the freeway when his dad slowed the car to a crawl. Looking south, he mumbled, and pulled it to a stop.

“Maybe I better pop in to see Jack before we go,” he said, and turned south, away from the highway. Riley’s eyes lowered and he stared at his shoes. Noticing his son’s sombre face, his dad reached over and gripped his shoulder.

“Hey buddy, relax, man, we won’t be staying long. I just need to talk to him a minute, okay? And then we’ll be on our way.”

            Riley remained silent.

“And you love playing with Jack’s puppy, right? You can let him chase you ‘round the yard. But don’t be complaining when it’s time to go, or then we might miss the elephants! That’s one of the best things at the zoo, isn’t it?”

“Yeah.”

“And all that awesome poop they make. It wouldn’t be a perfect day without seeing the elephants’ poop!”

            Riley snickered despite himself as they pulled onto Jack’s street. Half way down the block, his dad’s friend sat on his porch drinking a beer and plucking a ratty guitar.

“Didn’t expect to see you today, Davey,” Jack said, setting his guitar aside as they pulled up beside the porch.

“Well, I figured I should maybe apologize, Jack. Got a little carried away last night, I guess.”

“A little?”

“Ya know, Jack, you were being a bit of a prick yourself.”

“Yeah, I suppose I might’ve been. Want a beer?”

“Ah … no, can’t. Me and Riley are off to the zoo today. We can only stay a minute.”

“That so, Riley? The zoo, eh?” he asked the boy, who was already playing with Jack’s dog. Riley nodded and ran into the backyard with the pup nipping at his heels.

            After an hour, the dog was tired and wanted to be left alone. Riley wandered back around to the front of the house but no one was there, just an ashtray overflowing and a few empty bottles of beer. He heard laughing inside and crept up the porch to listen at the door. The men talked loudly, joking and such, as the demands of the day subsided.

            The child tried to amuse himself with Jack’s guitar for a while, then played soldiers with empty bottles. He noticed a Budweiser can on the driveway that had toppled out of Jack’s garbage bin. He took pleasure in crushing it flat, and then began kicking it down the sidewalk.

“Go in a straight line, asshole beer can,” he said, “or I’ll kick you right into the damn ditch.”

He was nearly at the corner when the serene afternoon was shattered by Jack’s exploding front window, a coffee table having crashed through it, smashing beer bottles and crushing the guitar on the porch. Riley didn’t turn right away to see what the commotion was; he had a pretty good idea.

            When he did turn, he saw his dad staggering out through Jack’s front door.

“Fuck you, Jack, you bastard!” he yelled, and made his way to the car. Fumbling with his keys, he turned and scanned the street for his child. “Riley, come on!” he yelled and honked the horn obscenely.

Riley abandoned his game and raced back down the block toward the car.

“Where the fuck were you when I called?”

“I was just—“

“Shut up for Christ’s sake and get in the car!”

Riley climbed in and gently closed the door, hoping not to give his dad an excuse to freak about anything else.

            His dad started the car and screeched out of the driveway, over the lawn, trash, and curb. He threw it in drive and tore down the street. Riley saw his squashed beer can laying inert on the sidewalk and wished he’d had the chance to kick it one more time, kick it good and hard.

            Keeping silent while his infuriated father tried to negotiate the road, he feigned interest in the mechanics of the door’s ashtray, lifting the lid up and down. But he accidentally let it go and it snapped shut with a noticeable clunk.

“Shit, what was that?” Davey asked.

“It was just the ash—“

“That was you made that noise?”

“I was just seeing …” Riley tried.

“I’m worried sick about this fucking car breaking down, having to pay attention to every little sound, and you’re banging around over there making me think the fucking wheels are falling off!”

            Riley squeezed a little closer to the door to be out of range of his father’s grasp but it wasn’t far enough. His dad reached over and grabbed a fistful of his hair, and pulled him part way across the seat.

“Why can’t you ever stop being such a goddamn fuck up? What’s the matter with you?” He was livid, raging. “Just wait’ll I fucking get you home.”

            The threat was not an idle one, which was no surprise to Riley. The beating that day wasn’t as bad as some others, his dad having passed out early. Riley’s ribs were sore and there would be bruises on his back but it could have been worse. He too, went to bed early that night, fading off to sleep while cursing himself for getting his dad mad again.

            He awoke in the morning to a gentle rapping on his bedroom door as his dad entered.

“Hey son,” he said, his voice raspy, hair and clothes disheveled. “I know it’s not your allowance for another couple of days yet but because I, well, with the zoo and all, here, take this and go get yourself some candy.”

            Davey slouched and headed out to the shower as Riley got dressed, careful not to aggravate his new injuries more than necessary. He smiled at the prospect of getting to buy even more junk at the store. Two days in a row! He had the coolest dad ever.

            The first item he chose from the shelf was a roll of wine gums.