Evening
10:36 PM
Ernesto looked at the TV, watching the ending scene of Superman play out before him. He had stuck glued to the couch all evening, sitting at the end of the cushion as his uncle had been lying back at the end, his eyes turning from the TV to his cellphone every couple seconds, chewing on an unlit cigarette out of habit, a Pepsi in his hand where a glass of whiskey should have been. Ernesto was watching with total shock and awe, the sight of Superman flying across the sky, fighting bad guys, stuff of fiction and unrealistic to his uncle, but a spectacle unlike anything else to Ernesto. He stared in surprise as he turned to his uncle and spoke with excited curiosity, “W-why is Superman beating those guys up?”
His uncle had been taken out of his moment of playing with the cigarette with his tongue, his eyes glazing over from his phone to the child, a rather annoyed expression on his face, but indulge regardless. Taking the unlit smoke from his lips, he leaned forward and spoke, “Because they’re the bad guys. Sometimes, people are too stubborn, kid. You can’t talk your way out of a situation. Sometimes, you gotta throw a few punches until they see things your way. Or at least shut them up”
“So… They’re the bad guys?” Ernesto asked, “What did they do?”
With an audible sigh, his uncle answered, “They hurt a lot of people. So Superman is beating them up for that.”
“Like you do?” Ernesto asked with his eyes on his uncle now
However, his uncle was less willing to go into detail. He assumed his brother had told about it, which only annoyed him more, but he answered, “Sure, kid. Sure. Something like that. I take care of bad guys.”
Ernesto smiled at the thought of his uncle being a hero. A real life Superman. A big smile came onto the child’s face, turning back to his uncle and speaking, “I’m gonna be a hero, too. I’m gonna help everyone. Just like Superman. And you!”
His uncle stopped midway lifting the cold can of Pepsi to his lips to turn to the child, a confused look on his face. There was puzzlement, completely lost. And the words escaped his lips. “A hero, huh?”
Before Ernesto could elaborate further, his uncle reached for the remote and turned it off, much to Ernesto’s dismay. His uncle stood up from the couch, clapping his hands together and proclaimed, “Alright, 10:30. Time for bed, Ernesto. No buts, ifs, or any of that crap. Heroes need rest or something.”
“Ooookay” Ernesto said, jumping off the couch and running down the hall to his room. His uncle called after, “And don’t wake the baby. I just put him to sleep!”
“Okay” Ernesto replied again, opening his door by standing on his tiptoes before he turned and replied, “Goodnight, Uncle Hector!” and before Hector could reply (Not that he would), the door closed.
With Hector left in the living room by himself, he fell back onto the couch, finally able to light the cigarette that he had been desperately trying to enjoy the whole time. As the smoke lit up, he thought to himself, “A hero…… Fuckin’ christ!”
His eyes went back to his phone, looking at the text from “Tony”
T: Hey, where’d you leave him
H: In the trunk, like we said
T: And the cops?
H: Never heard from them
H: Far as anyone knows, he’s on vacation
T: Better stay that way
T: We can’t fuck up
H: Think I don’t know that?
H: Look, just bury him
H: My job was to put a slug in his brain
H: I did
H: Burying him is for you and Mikey
T: You’re fuckin impossible sometimes
H: Yeah, but I’m the best guy you got
H: We won’t have to worry about him telling anyone
H: Trust me.
H: After tonight, we can get back to making some real money
~15 Years Remaining…~
10:36 PM
Ernesto looked at the TV, watching the ending scene of Superman play out before him. He had stuck glued to the couch all evening, sitting at the end of the cushion as his uncle had been lying back at the end, his eyes turning from the TV to his cellphone every couple seconds, chewing on an unlit cigarette out of habit, a Pepsi in his hand where a glass of whiskey should have been. Ernesto was watching with total shock and awe, the sight of Superman flying across the sky, fighting bad guys, stuff of fiction and unrealistic to his uncle, but a spectacle unlike anything else to Ernesto. He stared in surprise as he turned to his uncle and spoke with excited curiosity, “W-why is Superman beating those guys up?”
His uncle had been taken out of his moment of playing with the cigarette with his tongue, his eyes glazing over from his phone to the child, a rather annoyed expression on his face, but indulge regardless. Taking the unlit smoke from his lips, he leaned forward and spoke, “Because they’re the bad guys. Sometimes, people are too stubborn, kid. You can’t talk your way out of a situation. Sometimes, you gotta throw a few punches until they see things your way. Or at least shut them up”
“So… They’re the bad guys?” Ernesto asked, “What did they do?”
With an audible sigh, his uncle answered, “They hurt a lot of people. So Superman is beating them up for that.”
“Like you do?” Ernesto asked with his eyes on his uncle now
However, his uncle was less willing to go into detail. He assumed his brother had told about it, which only annoyed him more, but he answered, “Sure, kid. Sure. Something like that. I take care of bad guys.”
Ernesto smiled at the thought of his uncle being a hero. A real life Superman. A big smile came onto the child’s face, turning back to his uncle and speaking, “I’m gonna be a hero, too. I’m gonna help everyone. Just like Superman. And you!”
His uncle stopped midway lifting the cold can of Pepsi to his lips to turn to the child, a confused look on his face. There was puzzlement, completely lost. And the words escaped his lips. “A hero, huh?”
Before Ernesto could elaborate further, his uncle reached for the remote and turned it off, much to Ernesto’s dismay. His uncle stood up from the couch, clapping his hands together and proclaimed, “Alright, 10:30. Time for bed, Ernesto. No buts, ifs, or any of that crap. Heroes need rest or something.”
“Ooookay” Ernesto said, jumping off the couch and running down the hall to his room. His uncle called after, “And don’t wake the baby. I just put him to sleep!”
“Okay” Ernesto replied again, opening his door by standing on his tiptoes before he turned and replied, “Goodnight, Uncle Hector!” and before Hector could reply (Not that he would), the door closed.
With Hector left in the living room by himself, he fell back onto the couch, finally able to light the cigarette that he had been desperately trying to enjoy the whole time. As the smoke lit up, he thought to himself, “A hero…… Fuckin’ christ!”
His eyes went back to his phone, looking at the text from “Tony”
T: Hey, where’d you leave him
H: In the trunk, like we said
T: And the cops?
H: Never heard from them
H: Far as anyone knows, he’s on vacation
T: Better stay that way
T: We can’t fuck up
H: Think I don’t know that?
H: Look, just bury him
H: My job was to put a slug in his brain
H: I did
H: Burying him is for you and Mikey
T: You’re fuckin impossible sometimes
H: Yeah, but I’m the best guy you got
H: We won’t have to worry about him telling anyone
H: Trust me.
H: After tonight, we can get back to making some real money
~15 Years Remaining…~