Jake’s Midnight Dust Up
December 29, 2017 Leave a comment
The last day of 2017 found Jake alone in the empty house. The movers had come and gone. Earlier that day Jake sent his wife Rachel off with their two kids to their new home in another state. Jake stayed behind to clean up the house for the new owners. The house belonged to them at midnight.
Rachel was Jake’s second wife. His first wife Leah divorced him after she found out about Jake’s cheating. And, so that there was no more cheating, child support for Jake’s and Leah’s six sons and daughter was deducted from his paycheck. Jake wasn’t proud of what he had done but he was a survivor.
His mother, though, who had taught Jake from his childhood to “get what is yours”, was proud of him. So was Jake’s manager Aram Fields. Aram liked Jake. Jake’s sales record chart was given pride of place in the break room – on an easel next to the water cooler. During the twenty years Jake had worked for Aram, he became Fields Pre-Driven Cars’ top salesman seven years in a row. Jake became family when he married Rachel, Aram’s daughter.
Jake could pitch like no other salesman Aram knew. And, Jake’s mark-up-the-interest-rate-2-or-3 % financing was his specialty. Jake also knew each car’s history and could promote each one as “slightly used but highly prized by its previous owner”. Jake had a way of convincing people to “get what is yours”.
Well, that night, while Jake was in the kitchen cleaning the oven, there was a knock on the front door. When Jake opened the door, there stood a man with a tool carrier.
“Hi…uh…I didn’t call you. I…what are you here for?’
“What is your name?”
“Jake.”
“I’m at the right place.”
“No, I don’t think so.”
“Yes, I am.
“No. I didn’t call anyone. This is still my house.”
“Your house?”
“Yes! Now I have to get back to work. Goodbye…” Jake tried to close the door but the man put his foot in the doorway.
“Hey! Now you are making me mad! Get out!”
“I’m here to fix what is broken.”
“What?! What is broken?”
“Are you sure you didn’t call me?”
“I would know if I called you, wouldn’t I?”
“I have the tools. Let me in.”
“I have my own tools. And, I have what it takes to fix things in my own house.”
“I don’t think so.”
“Hey you! You know what?! My manager Aram thinks I have what it takes. He pays me pretty good to make things happen.”
“You like to be rewarded for your efforts?”
“Yes, of course!”
“I am here to reward you for your efforts.”
“Huh?”
“I can fix what is broken.”
“What?! What is broken?”
“Are you sure you didn’t call me?”
“I would know if I called you, wouldn’t I?”
“I have the tools. Let me in.”
“I have my own tools. And, I’ve been fixing things all my life.”
“I don’t think so.”
“Hey! We just went through all this before. You are wasting my time.”
“I did offer to help.”
“I don’t need help. I am my own man. I’m not just another senior citizen you can manipulate. I’ve been around the block.”
“Look, you bicker with me and you bicker with others. You’re good at bickering to “get yours” and at getting other people ‘theirs’. Tell me your name again.”
“Jake! I told you!”
“I’m at the right place.”
“No, I don’t think so.”
“Yes, I am.
The back and forth between Jake and the man went on for what seemed like hours. Neither Jake or the man gave in. Jake, at last, became exasperated.
“Listen. I didn’t call anyone. This is still my house. I’m in charge”
“Your house? What time is it?
“Time for you to leave! Get outta here!” Jake pushed the door against the man’s foot.
When the man saw that Jake was not going to let him in he grabbed an envelope from the tool carrier and handed it to Jake. Then he asked, “You are Jake Houseman? You purchased 763 Peniel?”
“Yes.”
“Your new property…this is what the bank came back with. You purchased the foreclosure with cash but there is a property tax lien against it.
Jake opened it and saw the notice of notice of lien on his new property. His face wrenched.
“Hey, hold on!” Jake grabbed the man by the arm as he tried to leave. “We’ve got to work this out!”
The man said, “Let me go. I have to be on my way.”
“No way. You are staying until we get this business sorted out!”
“I will work it out. You have my word.” Jake loosened his grip and let go.
“Besides,” the man said, “you are no longer Jake Houseman. You are now Jake Newhouse.” The man winked and then turned and left.
“Hey, what’s your name?”
“I knew your father and your grandfather,” the man called back from across the yard.
The man walked past the neighbor’s house and was then out of sight.
Jake stood in the doorway. The rising sun cast his long shadow onto the floor of the empty house behind him. Jake stood there stunned and tired and hurting. After several minutes of looking at the lien and rubbing his forehead, Jake went back inside. He picked up his tools and cleaning supplies. He placed the extra set of house keys on the kitchen table, walked out the front door and then over to his car.
At the sidewalk, Jake, with his face still wrenched, turned to look back at the house.
“I bought someone else’s lemon. What a ball-breaker that guy is! But, I’ll live. Lesson learned. Goodbye house on Jabbok.”
And so Jake saw the sun rise on another year.
© Jennifer A. Johnson, 2017, All Rights Reserved
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Chagall – Jacob Wrestling with God
Schoenberg: Die Jakobsleiter: Friede auf Erden, Op. 13. Orchestral version
Cindy Wity 