19290117 08:38:15

19290117 08:38:15

KF-N-7313

Pulaski slowly waddled through the front living room with his body hunched inward as he wrapped his arms around himself to try to keep some head within the sweater. The lingering waddle became an expedited hobble once his feet touched the cold surface of the kitchen tile. When he made it to the table, he thrust his body down onto the chair with enough force to make it slightly skid backwards. He only allowed the tips of his heels to touch the floor as he clenched his eyes closed and strained to keep himself from shivering. Madeline came into the room behind him and was better clothed to deal with the coldness within the house - her feet had two layers of socks within the thick wool slippers, and she still had her full velvet pajama suit on underneath the outer robe. The routine started as soon as she reached the kitchen sink. Water was poured into the pot for coffee, and a pat of butter was set to melt in the black iron pan to prepare for cooking eggs. After extinguishing the match used to light the stove with a sharp puff of breath, she lazily watched the smoke curl and billow upwards, then turned to face her husband while leaning against the counter.
"Toast?"
"Mngh. Yeah. Two."
Madeline nodded and turned back to the counter to get some wheat bread from the corner shelf, pulled two pieces from the bag, and quickly spun the plastic wrap to close it. She cracked the eggs against the side of the pan, kept the yolks intact, and gave a few moments of lead time in cooking before she put another pat of butter down to prepare the frying of the toast.
"Ugh. Maddy, this year is already shaping up to be some some kind of weird shit, I can tell." After saying this, Pulaski reached for the pack of cigarettes on the table and tapped the bottom of it on the surface until a single stick protruded from the pack, which he eagerly took into his mouth and lit.
"Oh?" She kept her back turned to him and her attention on the food.
"Well I mean, it's like. I don't get what Torrence is thinking. At least as far as making me some kind of goddamned mentor to these new folks. I mean, shit, you know Ridgeland is a strange duck, yeah? Well this guy Kedzie, somehow he's even weirder. And somehow he manages to be a totally different weird. He's like, some kind of Jesus freak in a way. More like a Bible freak. I'm going to go nuts trying to do work with either of these guys."
Before responding, Madeline knelt down to view the gas flame under the pan to ensure that it was as low as possible so that the food would stay warm and not cook longer while waiting for the water to boil. Next came the preparation of the coffee in the strainer so that it could receive the water.
"Maybe it's as simple as the fact that you're the best kind of guy he's got who can handle oddballs like that."
"Phhhhhhhhew. I guess. Fuck I'm still cold. Still, though, how hard is it to get guys to work with who aren't freaks, eh? Just find more guys like me. I manage to do that just fine I think. Why's that so hard?"
"I don't know, honey. I'd guess he's got a plan of some kind worked out in his head, or at least has seen them do things that he thinks are valuable. Maybe that's all there is to it." The water just started to boil at this point. As quickly as she shut the gas off and took the pot away from the stove, she carefully guided the water trickle from the lip and ensured that there wasn't a single drop that splashed or spilled away. Madeline rubbed her hands together sporadically and looked about the room while waiting for the coffee to pour through. He sat in silence. She poured some coffee into a mug and brought it to the table, then left and returned with the food. Rather than sitting with him, she returned to the stove with the pan to prepare her own course.
Pulaski took the coffee mug first, and let a mouthful of the brew swish around in his cheeks before swallowing it down. He let out an exasperated sigh as he felt the warmth trickle over his body. This broke his silence.
"I mean, did I tell you about the other night? All I gotta say is, the guy didn't even want to drop me off in front of his place at the end of it. We're in the middle of night in fucking January and he says to stop somewhere by the prison and says that he'll walk. I mean what the fuck is that about? Isn't that the strangest shit you ever heard?"
"I can't explain that, no." Madeline laughed after saying this.