Dawn of Eve, MJ Howson [lightweight ebook reader TXT] 📗

he could stay warm dressed so thinly? An elderly woman stopped in front of him and stared at the backpack flopped on the seat beside him. He paid her no attention and scrolled through his phone. She soon walked away.

The notifications seemed endless. Messages from gym clients. Alerts from the SAM app. A text from Lisa at work appeared, asking if he could swap shifts this weekend. Jacob scrolled back to the SAM notifications. The message from Daniel canceling jumped out at him. He flipped the phone face down against his thigh and closed his eyes. Part of him wasn’t surprised. Still, though, it was yet another in an endless list of dead ends.

The PATH train came to a halt, and Jacob exited to the Grove Street station. With his backpack flung over his shoulder, he began the short walk home. His tracksuit did little to keep the chilly wind from reaching his body. Jacob jogged the final block home to generate a bit of heat. He stepped into the apartment, relieved to find it toasty and warm this evening. He went to his bedroom, passing Sean’s closed bedroom door. Jacob tossed his backpack into the closet beside his duffel bag. He kicked off his running shoes and flung his jacket onto his bed, keeping his jogging pants and tank top on.

Jacob went to the kitchen and opened the fridge. His stomach growled as he scanned the sparsely stocked shelves–butter, cream cheese, milk. It was nothing but a dairy farm. He decided to check to see if Sean was planning to get takeout.

Jacob opened Sean’s bedroom door to find his roommate sitting upright against the pillows along the bed’s headboard. The television was off, and Sean had an iPad propped in his lap.

“It’s a Friday night,” Jacob said as he flopped beside Sean. “Shouldn’t you be playing video games?” He snatched the iPad from Sean’s grip. “What’s this?”

“Give it back.” Sean tried to wrestle the tablet free. “It’s none of your business.”

Jacob briefly studied the screen. The website showed a directory of nurses. He looked at Sean and asked, “Is this a work thing?”

Sean pried the iPad away and said, “It’s for my uncle.” He flipped the tablet’s cover closed and tossed it on his nightstand. “Talk about me being home on a Friday night. It’s becoming a regular thing for you.”

“Tell me about it. Everything’s falling apart. I just had another new client bail on me.”

“What about your old lady?”

Jacob frowned at Sean’s recurring dig against Dawn. He said, “We’re still trying to figure things out.”

“Did she dump you?”

“No.”

“Did you dump her?”

“No. But I’m close.” Jacob sighed and rubbed his eyes. Sean’s bedroom was drafty. He ran his hands along his arms to try and warm them. “She’s not the same person I met a year ago. All she talks about is wanting a family. And that doll comes first. Constantly. It’s always that fucking doll.” Jacob ran his fingers across his eyes and shook his head. “There are days I think I should just end it, you know? I’ve just invested so much in her. In us.”

“If you dump her, you’ll have more money for other things. You know, like the rent?”

“Huh?” Jacob glanced over at Sean beside him. “I thought I paid you for this month.”

“You gave me half.”

“Is next month okay? I’ve got new gym clients lined up for January. December’s always slow for me. Especially this close to Christmas.”

“Sure. Gym clients.” Sean chuckled and shook his head.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing.” Sean picked up his iPad, flipped the cover back, and returned to browsing the website from earlier. “Speaking of rent, the lease is up February 1st. I didn’t renew.”

“What?” Jacob sat there stunned. “That’s less than a month and a half away. When the hell were you going to tell me?”

“I just did.”

“What the fuck, Sean?”

“Relax. I negotiated an extra one-month extension. We’ve got until the end of February before we have to leave.”

“Oh. Okay.” Jacob shook his head, somewhat relieved to hear about the extra month but still rather shocked about the lease ending. “So, where should we move to? Is there something else close by you were thinking of?”

“We?” Sean laughed and closed his iPad cover. “I’m moving into the city so I can take care of my uncle.”

“Your uncle?” Jacob stared at Sean in confusion. “Why?”

“Jesus, Jacob. Could you even pretend to care about my problems?”

“What?”

“You really don’t remember, do you?”

Jacob leaned back and rested his head against the wall, allowing the frame of the headboard to rub against his neck. He closed his eyes and tried to recall what Sean had told him about his uncle. All Jacob could think about was his weekend client schedule and what to do about Dawn.

“He can’t take care of himself anymore,” Sean said. He waved his iPad briefly. “I’m trying to find a live-in nurse to take care of him.”

“But you’re a nurse. Can’t you do it?”

“I’d rather have someone trained to deal with his Alzheimer’s. Someone not emotionally attached like me.”

“Oh.” Jacob frowned, still confused. “Then why are you moving into the city?”

“I’m moving into his place. I want to be there for him. I can help the live-in nurse and coordinate his care. He signed over his healthcare control to me.”

“Oh.” Jacob turned to face Sean. He felt overwhelmed by the information he was hearing. “So you and a nurse are going to move into your uncle’s place?”

“Yup. I’m still going to have my job at Mt. Sinai. The nurse will be there for him full time. And he wants me there. They say it’s good to have a close family member around. It helps them to deal with the memory loss.”

“Shouldn’t he just go into some sort of assisted living place?”

“I tried to talk him into that, but he refused. He wants to be in his own apartment. Besides, having his things and belongings around him will help, too.”

“I guess that makes sense.” Jacob forced a supportive smile to form