Percival Chapter One Part Seven

It was on a news channel and a handsome man wearing a baby blue suit thrusted a microphone under an old man’s bearded chin. The old man’s wrinkled skin drooped under his eyes and he looked like he was asleep. “Tell us how you feel about this verdict?”

“I don’t know what to think. We lost.”

Percival switched the channel, looking for anything of value.

“…only nineteen ninety-five…..He’s the father. I know it…..He scored the last goal….we have breaking news…The weather this weekend should be gorgeous but a serious storm is brewing…..”

He turned on his videogame system and picked up the controller. The screen popped into view and loaded his saved game. He’d been playing Toad’s Revenge for a month now, navigating a toad warrior through an imaginary land. What it amounted to was how fast he could smash the buttons and wiggle his thumb, which wasn’t a far cry to what he did for a living with the register but it passed the time until he hoped Clarrisa would come over.

They’d met a month ago right outside his door. At two o’clock in the morning, Percival was half asleep, the television was on but turned down real low.

“What the fuck is this,” yelled a man’s voice from outside Percival’s window. This didn’t surprise him nor was it the first time that he had heard yelling, fighting or loud sex from his motel room, so he didn’t pay it much mind but it had woken him and he liked the voyeurism and muted the television.

“This is all I have. I swear Santiago,” said a woman’s trembling voice.

“This is forty five dollars!” Percival could hear the woman give a yelp. “You better have more than this. What did you do with it?”

“That’s it. I swear. I’ll get the rest to you when I work tomorrow. I promise.”

Percival heard a slap and then he saw a silhouette of the woman hit his window. “You know that I’m fair with you Candi. You know that. You get me the rest of that money or there’s no more. Do you hear? No more!”

Then Percival heard the heavy footsteps of the man heading down the stairs to the parking lot. The woman was just under his window and he could hear her sobbing. He didn’t know what compelled him but he got up and put on a pair of pants and opened the door. He stuck his head out and she gave a start, jumping to her feet.

“What the fuck do you want?” she said. She was bleeding from her nose and tears smeared her over done makeup. She was short with long brown hair held together with a thick white hair tie. She wore a latex red mini skirt with white stockings.

“I’m sorry but I heard everything and wanted to know if you’re alright?”

“Fuck off!” She rose to her feet and swung her small black pocketbook over her shoulder and headed in the opposite direction.

Percival didn’t know what to say but he wanted to stop her from going. “Are you a…a.” he didn’t know how to finish off the sentence, but it seemed to work and she stopped with her hand on the railing and one foot on the first step.