Hobo

I can’t take watching him any longer.

I walk in from a twelve-hour day and he’s there on the couch. He reeks of cigarettes, and says his back aches. You can tell he’s been sitting in that same spot for hours. His daily routine consists of catching up on television series’ and Call of Duty online, with more strangers that also have no real lives.

He quit his job last week. On a whim.

He says he couldn’t take the call center any more. An angry customer made him walk outside. I told him to walk back in. He came home instead. He’s been in the same spot ever since. He claims he starts a new job Monday. He said the same thing about last Monday.

I begin washing dishes that have sat since I cooked him dinner two weeks ago.

He kept saying he’d do them, so I waited. I can’t wait any more. My feet kill from standing the entire day. It’s been really rough, but it has to get done. Clearly he won’t be the one doing them. I begrudgingly clean up the house that I’m never at. He watches me, and plays his video game. After I pick my daughter up from school, he tells her to ask if we can go get some food.

I’m exhausted, but I drive to the restaurant.

He lost his license. I paid all of his tickets and court fines. He says he’ll pay me back…just like he says he is starting a job in 3 days. Okay, sure. We get dinner, and I pay the $60 bill, again. And this is life.

#mb