Readings

Jumbo neon signs that light up

The sky, blue haze.

Blinding and disorienting,

Buzzing and leads

You down dark alley-ways, 

Casting ominous shadows.

Blue hurts the eye and the 

Wallet stuffed in a pocket,

While girls work in the shadow

Of neon.

A halo, a spotlight, an arrow.

Blue neon leads,

And leads to unknown things

With its light.

To say goodbye is hard

When neon know who

You are.

 I carried a plate of lefse into the forest  /  I did not know the weight of those who came before me  /  my ancestors from countries across the sea  /  these people long gone  /  who make me who I am I will never get to meet  /  and I feel distant  /  removed from the traditional foods and garments and holidays  /  through mother and grandmother and aunts  /  I only get history of was through actions and cannot remember what foods would be considered Norwegian or other  /  but this plate is so vivid and the taste right on my tongue  /  sugary sweetness from childhood that has a special place  /  in the heart I carry how my great-grandmother made the journey over roaring waters language lost to foods and  /  the way culture soon becomes Americanized  /  lost to the sea water and foam lost to the forest  /  lost to old gods who hide away  /  I want to rejoice in more and carry more than a simple plate to tell my children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren  /  about the heritage they carry where they come from  /  hope they hold it close to their heart  /  open their hearts to their history as I wish to do the same.

It is said that tigers symbolize a few things:

courage, willpower, and personal strength.

And so I was ready when this tiger,

this magnificent beast stood at the edge 

of the woods in my backyard,

glowing in the full moon, almost unreal.

I met this tiger outside in the coolness of the fall weather,

and realized it was me I was staring at,

in this form of power,

and I stared at this human who was not afraid of a beast

that could rip and tear at flesh and bone

because I could do that to myself just as easily.

This rush of excitement coursed through my veins as I reached out

with my hands, palms wide,

and I walk forth on four strong legs, paws sinking into the soft dirt below

before I become one with myself under this full moon.

A cool breeze ruffles my hair and I am by myself now,

though not alone,

because the courage, the willpower, the personal strength,

The tiger,

is with me in my very core

and I am the tiger, with courage.

 It was the winter of 1977 when the incident happened. When Georgie fell off the bandwagon, so to speak, and dragged Rob, Joe, and Carter down with him. Georgie had gotten tied up with the wrong people, and ultimately angered the wrong people. Drugs, alcohol, missing money, the typical things that can get you in trouble.

It was a regular Thursday night, the four of them hanging out at Georgie’s for a few drinks and pizza. The house was of decent size, two stories and an open floor plan between the kitchen and the living room. The kitchen was a horrendous yellowish orange color, and the living room had wood paneling along the walls. Georgie never bothered to change it because what was the point if nothing needed fixing?

“Where’s Marie tonight?” Rob asked Carter, pizza grease dripping down the side of his hand. Marie was Carter’s first real girlfriend and relationship in a few years after his last relationship ended on a less than ideal note. His ex trashed his house, stole any money she could find, and then stole his car and drove it to fuck knows where. Carter had to get a new car and replace items that were broken, but otherwise he hasn’t seen her ever since.

“She’s visiting her sister who lives in Duluth,” Carter said as he picked at the label on his bottle of beer. Marie was pretty and smart and compassionate. Well, she was the one that Carter needed, the rock to finally hold him down and steady him. All of his friends had given him shit and teased him about settling down, but after a while they expressed that they were truly happy for Carter.

“Duluth’s pretty this time of year,” Rob chowed down on his slice of pizza. “How long she ‘pose to be gone?”

“Just a week, I think,” Carter said as his eyes drifted toward the windows near the front door, seeing a faint light move in the darkness. The light came back again, this time way brighter in the shape of two circles as a car pulled up. Georgie’s house was a little ways back in the woods, so it would be hard to get a hold of his neighbors.

“Georgie, are you expecting anyone else to come by?” Carter asked, eyebrows creased up. Georgie looked confused and came over to stand so the front door was in his line of sight.

“No, it’s just us,” Georgie replied and the four of them listened as the snow crunched loudly outside. 

Big tires can plow snow flat underneath them and it sends a small shiver up Carter’s back. There’s a sort of deafening silence that follows, the one that feels like there’s pressure around your body and there’s suddenly an ominous presence. There are three men that come into view through the small window left of the door, glimpses of them that pass by quickly without much detail. Silence again, but this time followed by the casual opening of Georgie’s front door.

Three men stand together on the porch just in front of the threshold. The man in the middle was obviously the one in charge, dressed nicely in a suit with a black leather jacket. His two goons wore matching outfits of white bell bottoms, boots, dress shirts, and trench coats. One tan and the other burgundy. 

“Well, Georgie! Nice night to come and collect the money that you owe us,” the man in black said with a wide smile. “How great of you to have friends over! More trouble for us to clean up if this gets messy.”

Georgie paled and licked his dry lips. “No, no trouble. They don’t know anything. I’ll go get your money,” his voice shook. He began to make his way up the stairs when the man in black told the goon in burgundy to follow Georgie up, to make sure there was no funny business. No one said a word when the man in black and his other goon made their way into the house, closing and locking the door behind them.

“Well boys, the name’s Mack,” the man in black said. “Sorry to interrupt your night, but,” Mack shrugged, “it’s business.”

Carter glanced over at Joe, who was visibly shaken beyond all hell. He felt bad for Joe. Joe had always been tall and lanky, painfully shy, and rarely went out. A moment later Georgie and the goon came back downstairs, Georgie carrying a duffle bag. Mack took the bag and had his goon in tan start counting.

Once he’s done, he puts a hand on his hip, where the holster for his gun is suddenly in plain view.

“No, it’s all there. The money’s all there,” Georgie said and put his hands up.

“Guilty,” Mack stated, throwing the bag on the ground. “You ain’t got it all. I told you I needed 25,000 and you’re just gonna cop out on me? Tie ‘em all up. No one leaves.”

Joe didn’t put up much of a fight, he coward down to his knees. Georgie did the same. Rob and Carter struggled a bit, but were forced into submission when guns were actually drawn, which then made Joe cry out and get a good punch to the nose. 

“Everyone shut your fucking mouths!” Mack yelled. Carter felt the zip tie dig into his skin. 

“Oh, please, just let us go!” Joe sobbed with blood gushing from his nose and down his chin. “We don’t-we don’t know anything!” Everyone cried out when Mack kicked Joe in the stomach, and Carter struggled to stand.

“Leave him the fuck alone!” Carter shouted. A hard fist came into contact with his cheek and nose, and he felt crackling all behind his face. The force knocked him back onto the linoleum floor.

“I’m the one in charge,” Mack seethed. “And you’re going to listen to me. Get them both off the ground.”

Carter felt someone pick him up by his shirt, his vision dancing and he could taste the gross metal tang of blood when he licked his lips. The goon in burgundy picked Joe back up roughly. Anger flared up in Carter’s gut. Mack pulled a chair over from the dining room table and sat down in front of them.

“Georgie, you’re skipping out on me. How much?” Mack asked.

Georgie hesitated. “Five thousand dollars. I was going to get it in the next few weeks.”

Carter’s face was in so much pain he couldn’t form a coherent sentence yet to express his anger. Thankfully, it seemed like Rob could read his mind.

“So we’re gonna fucking die over five thousand fucking dollars?”

Mack gazed thoughtfully at the four of them, his goons still standing on either side of him. Joe was whimpering and Carter was trying to push past the pain, and for a brief moment, Carter wanted to punch 

Georgie in the face himself for getting tied in with this bunch and for ultimately getting the three of them into this.

“Not unless we help,” Carter started to sputter, spitting blood onto the floor. “Help Georgie get the rest of the money.” Mack considered it for a moment and everyone was silent out of fear.

“Well I suppose it’s only fair since it is Georgie’s fault for getting his friends put on my list now. What do you think Georgie and friends?”

“Yes, okay,” Georgie agreed, and so did Rob. Anything to stay alive at this point. Carter nodded and it all came down to Joe for the final say. All eyes were on him. Joe looked at Rob, Georgie, and Carter with panic and shook his head.

“No, no, I am not getting further into this,” he said adamantly as he attempted to wipe his face off on his shoulder. “I would just like to go home and forget this ever happened.”

Mack clapped his hands. “Well, I guess there’s no reason to hold him further. Boys, let ‘im go.”

Rob, Georgie, and Carter all watched silently, holding their breath as the goons cut the zip tie and hauled Joe to his feet. Carter felt his gut drop, watching as Joe was escorted out. The following silence made Carter’s ears ring and he strained to hear anything that was happening outside the opened front door.

Mack watched casually as Rob, Georgie, and Carter started to panic, realization dawning on them.

There was a yell that was followed by a loud popping noise. Carter felt all the air leave him like a punch to the chest, and they were all equally terrified at the only possible outcome for their friend. But Carter really hoped that Joe was okay, some denial that had seeped into his brain because all this seemed too unreal.

Silence fell over them again like a weight. Mack picked at his nails, bored, and Carter spit out more blood onto the floor. Mack’s goons finally made their way back into the house, guns concealed beneath their jackets in their holsters. Carter looked back over at Rob and Georgie, a flood of emotions welling up deep in his chest and hot water pricked his eyes.

“Well boys, let’s show them,” Mack said as he got to his feet and grabbed the bag full of money, motioning to his goons to grab Rob and Carter. Georgie was his. 

The six of them went out in the cold darkness, and Mack’s goons pulled out flashlights from wherever to guide them. Nothing but their breathing and the snow crunching beneath their feet filled the air. It was walking through quicksand, and when Carter closed his eyes, he opened them again to the sight of Joe lying dead in the snow. There was a bullet hole in the middle of his forehead and blood pooled around his head, soaking the snow.

And then Rob, Georgie, and Carter were all screaming and yelling, hot tears streaked down their faces and warmed their cold skin. Carter fell to his knees and then the three of them were being cut loose.

“This is what happens when you don’t play along,” Mack said, face shrouded in darkness. “Get me my money or this is gonna be you. You have until Monday around this time.” With that, Mack and his goons walked away to go back to their car, leaving Rob, Carter, and Georgie to mourn the loss of their friend.

The three friends reconvene back inside Georgie’s home, seeing the mess of skewed dining room chairs and small blood pools on the floor. They all looked at each other quietly, the music of a game show played in the living room and Carter thought the whole thing felt ironic.

“What do we do now?” Georgie asked.

Rob scoffed. “You know what we have to do. We get the money and pay Mack back. But, if anything goes sideways I’m booking it back to Canada.”

“I need to step out for air,” Carter said as he brought a hand up to gingerly wipe his nose, coming away with blood slicked fingers. He wiped them on his pants and made his way back outside to the cold. Carter breathed in deeply and turned his gaze back to where Joe’s body was, slowly walking back in that direction. 

“God, Joe, I’m so sorry,” he murmured, kneeling down beside his friend, glancing through his pockets for anything that they could keep in remembrance, pulling out his keys from his front pocket. There were three keys on the ring, which was odd since Joe didn’t have a car.

Carter walked back to the house and held the ring of keys up for Rob and Georgie to see. “I don’t know what these could be for. They were in Joe’s pants pocket.”

“Well,” Georgie said as he took in the three different keys. “The middle one is for a safety deposit box, I have one too.”

“All right, well I guess we can hold on to it for safe keeping for now,” Rob said. “Let’s give him a burial of some sort. Down by the old mill.”

Rob, Carter, and Georgie laid down tarp in the back of Rob’s truck and carefully hauled Joe’s body into the bed. They also gather firewood, a big pot filled with water, a container of gasoline, and a lighter, and a shovel before making their way out. Carter cleared out an area for the firepit and the area for the grave while Rob and Georgie carried Joe’s body over. Rob started a fire to heat up the water in order to warm up the ground and soften the dirt.

“We’ll have to come back for another round,” Rob said, the amber glow of the fire casted various shadows across his face.

“That’s fine, let’s see how well this first time works,” Carter replied, keeping an eye out for anything or anyone. Rob waited a little longer until he heard the bubbles that signified the water was boiling, walking over to where Carter made the perimeters and poured the water, steaming rolling in big clouds into the air and on the ground. Carter wasted no time as he began hacking the ground, trying to make it work, but only got the very top layer to come up in clumps. 

“Ah fuck,” Carter sighed, continuing to poke at the dirt to see if any more softened up.

“Let’s go back to the house for more water and wood,” Georgie suggested. “Put some snow on the fire so it goes out faster.”

They went back to Georgie’s house, leaving behind Joe’s body and the fire pit, feeling horrible about leaving their friend behind.

Sergeant Josie and Lieutenant Bankston were called out to the old mill. An old lady called on suspicious activity and was worried, there were three men lighting a fire and there was a dark figure on the ground. Bankston said he and his partner would take a look, and when they got to the old mill, they were confused by the entire scene.

“What in the hell?” Lieutenant Bankston asked as he took in the small coal fire covered in snow, the perimeter of what was the beginning of a grave, and a human body.

“This gentleman’s been shot in the head,” Sergeant Josie said as she walked closer to the body. 

“Looks like some sort of burial. Maybe those three men shot their friend here,” Bankston said as he came closer to take a further look.

Rob, Carter, and Georgie had made their way back towards the old mill to see if they could warm the ground more, until they spotted the police car.

“Oh fuck, we can’t continue. They’ll think it’s us,” Georgie whispered, turning towards Rob and Carter. “Turn around and go back.”

“Maybe we should check out Joe’s safety deposit box before the police close it,” Carter suggested as Rob backed up his car back down the road enough before making a u-turn.

It was Friday and Marie was to return from her trip. Carter couldn’t wait to have her around again, especially after the horror of the night before. He had trouble sleeping because of the pain that kept throbbing in his face and the images of Joe lying in the snow. 

Then he came to the realization that Marie couldn’t be down here if this whole mess was happening. Carter quickly grabbed the telephone and read the note Marie left him with her sister’s home number. He dialed and listened to each ring before a voice came through on the other end.

“This is Shelly,” Shelly said, her voice nasally, but not in the grating sort of way.

“Shelly, it’s Carter. Is Marie still there?”

“Oh, hi Carter! Why yes, she’s just about to leave, let me fetch her for you.” Silence followed with faint noise in the background, the receiver clanking as it was picked up again.

“Hey Carter, what’s up darling? I’ll be home in a few hours if you miss me that much,” Marie teased. Carter couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Well, yes, I do miss you. But that’s not why I’m calling. Georgie’s in some bad shit, and now Rob and I are roped in. I need you to stay in Duluth a little longer until this blows over.”

“Oh jeez,” Marie sighed. “Nothing too serious? I hope you boys will be okay. How long do you need me to stay?”

“Just until Monday the latest,” Carter said. “And we’ll be fine.”

It was just after five o’clock when Rob and Georgie pulled up into Carter’s driveway. Carter climbed into the cab with a huff.

“Do you know which bank Joe’s safety deposit box is at?” Carter asked as Rob began reversing.

“Yeah, the key says Plainview City Bank. It’s the one a little past downtown Elk River,” Georgie explained. “I mapped it out and asked around on my lunch break.”

The three of them made their way to Plainview City Bank, their collective nervous energy growing as the truck got closer and closer to the building. They walked inside and were greeted by a pretty brunette behind the desk. Rob hung back as Georgie and Carter walked up to the desk.

“Hello, I’m here to get the safety deposit box number 105,” Carter said, unhooking the key from Joe’s ring and held it up for the girl to see. She smiled.

“Great! Let me take a look,” she said, flipping through the pages of a log book nearby. “Is Joe Stantenelli here with you today, or are you Joe?” 

“I’m Joe,” Rob spoke up, coming to stand next to Carter and Georgie.

“Sounds good, but unfortunately I can only take two of you back there.”

“I’ll hang back, you guys go ahead,” Carter nodded and watched his two friends follow the girl back to where the safety deposit boxes must have been.

The girl led Rob and Georgie down the hall to a steel door that she unlocked and proceeded to unlock the gate door, stepping aside to let them in. “105 is near the top of the eleventh row,” she said before stepping out to give them privacy. Rob looked for the box, spotting it and pulled it out of its shelving.

“I don’t know if we should steal from Joe and his family,” Rob said, setting the metal box down on the table that was in the middle of the room.

“We don’t really have another option. We’re not rich. Carter’s a carpenter, you’re an electrician, and I’m a fucking plumber,” Georgie said as he pushed the key towards Rob for him to open the box.

“I guess you’re right,” Rob unlocked the deposit box and opened the lid, finding a small, decoratively carved wooden box with STANTENELLI carved to the top. Rob opened the lid to it, finding an uncut ruby that fit perfectly inside the box.

“Oh shit, look at that,” Georgie gasped. “I know a jeweler in Duluth who could cut this for us. He’d keep it all quiet.” 

Rob shoved the wooden box into his jacket pocket with shaky hands and put the box back in its slot. The two of them left after that.

Carter stood up once he saw Rob and Georgie walk back out. “So what’d you find?”

“We’ll explain in the truck,” Rob promised, leading them all out the front door.

The plan was to leave early Saturday morning and head up to Duluth to get the ruby cut and sold in order to pay Mack back in full. Georgie called the jeweler he knew to let him know that the three of them were coming.

Carter thought about Marie, who was still in Duluth, and about Joe, who was either still lying in the snow or was taken away by the police. He shuddered. Carter hated what happened to him and just leaving him all alone out by the old mill. Georgie wasn’t truly a straight-A guy, Carter thought as he looked at his friend sleeping up against the window of the truck. Georgie was in deep shit, hidden away behind everyone’s backs, and it made Carter wonder if Joe could even be capable of doing such crime related things. Carter looked down at the box again, his stomach rolling as he knew that this was the simplest way without getting caught by the police. Still, he didn’t feel super ecstatic about it, and he could tell by Rob’s constant shifting that Rob was uncomfortable too.

Rob drove the two and a half hours up to Duluth, driving up to the Lakeside Inn and parking. Rob and Carter shared a room with two queen beds, and Georgie got his own room two doors down. They went to a small sandwich shop and got lunch.

“When did your guy want us to meet him?” Carter asked. Georgie shoved a huge bite into his mouth, following it with a few gulps of his pop.

“Well, the shop closes at three o’clock, workers leave at three-thirty, so he said to come to the back at around four,” Georgie explained. “He’ll be able to cut it and price it for us. He’s also got someone who’ll want to buy it.”

Rob and Carter shared a look of unease, it made Carter nauseous and he struggled to finish his sandwich.

Around four o’clock Rob, Carter, and Georgie were walking to the back of the jewelry store, trash littered everywhere and the dumpster smelt of something rotting. Georgie found the door and knocked three times, shivering against the cold wind, the same with Rob and Carter. After a minute, the back door swung open and a balding man with suspenders holding his pants up appeared.

“Georgie, good to see ya,” the man said. “You boys come on in.”

The back of the store was dimly lit, the smell of cigar smoke filled the air and Carter felt almost sick about this whole deal.

“So, you in trouble with Mack again, Georgie?” the man asked.

Georgie tensed up for a split second. “No,” he lied. “Just need this ruby cut.”

The man held out his hand and Carter fumbled to get the box out from his jacket pocket. “It’s in there,” he said stupidly, mentally kicking himself.

They watched as the man opened the box and pulled out the uncut ruby, looking at it in the dim light before he turned on a brighter lamp nearby. He continued to examine the quality and shape.

“I’ll be able to do it,” he hummed. “This ruby, once cut, could easily be sold for around 6,500 give or take. But it’ll be five hundred for the cut job.”

“That’s fine, just take the five hundred out of the 6,500,” Georgie said, voice tense.

“All right. You boys wait out in front. I’ll come out when I’m cutting this gem and getting a hold of my buyer.”

Rob, Carter, and Georgie sat in complete silence as they waited. Carter wanted to say something to Georgie about owing Mack money in the past, but thought against it. They sat twiddling their thumbs for what seemed like forever before the jeweler emerged from the back with another man who was nicely dressed. The jeweler held up a pristine ruby that seemed to glow, it was about the size of Carter’s palm if a little smaller.

“Here’s your ruby, boys. This is Mr. Boucher, he’s the one who’s buying this precious gem off of you for the grand price of six thousand dollars. I already grabbed my share,” the man said, exchanging the gem for the briefcase with Mr. Boucher. The man handed the briefcase to Georgie, motioning for them all to stand up. “Now get out, can’t have you mucking up my store any longer. Go out the back. And Georgie, I’ll see ya around.”

They left and went back to Rob and Carter’s hotel room to gather themselves. Carter saw that the time was nearing six o’clock. 

“Let’s order takeout and just spend another night here. We’ll leave tomorrow,” Rob heaved a sigh. Carter watched as Rob picked at his nails, and Georgie who was slowly pacing near the ends of the beds. He had so many questions about everything, but he didn’t know where to begin.

In the morning the three of them watched the ice covered Lake Superior, seeing as it expanded out so far there was no view of shoreline on the other side. Georgie was still pacing along the rocks, each step crunching and shifting the rocks around. 

Everything seemed to be going right. That is, until Georgie took a step out onto the ice. 

“Georgie?” Carter called from where he and Rob were standing, a little ways away. “What’re you doing?”

Georgie ignored him and walked out a little further.

“Georgie! Get off the ice!” Rob called, making his way closer to where the ice met the shore. Carter followed after him.

“I can’t do this anymore,” Georgie finally turned around to face his friends. “I want out.”

“Out of what? Come on stop being stupid. We’ll be leaving soon and then we’ll give Mack his money,” Carter said.

“No! No, I want out, I want out,” Georgie cried, slipping as he walked further out on the lake, ice crunching underneath his boots. 

“Georgie! Get off the fucking ice! It’s going to break!” Rob shouted, about to make his way out after him, but Carter grabbed his jacket and held him back.

“Rob, don’t be stupid!” Carter snapped. He and Rob watched as Georgie stopped running, turning back to look at them before he disappeared in the blink of an eye into the freezing water. Silence filled the space between Rob and Carter and the area where Georgie took the plunge.

Rob turned to Carter, shock like a mask on his face as he fell to his knees. Carter stumbled down next to him and they waited in false hope that Georgie would bob back up.

When it was clear that Georgie was never coming back up, and most likely drowned, Rob rose numbly to his feet. “I need a moment. I just-I need to breathe,” he murmured.

“Okay, I’ll check on you in a minute,” Carter watched as his friend walked up the rocky shore back to the hotel. Carter turned back to the lake and sighed, shaking his head at everything that had happened, and now both Joe and Georgie were gone. He wondered if Georgie’s body would wash up on shore in the spring and part of him hoped it didn’t.

Carter stood up and followed the same way Rob went, rounding around the front of the building when he noticed that Rob’s truck was running, and Rob in the driver seat. Carter waited until the reverse lights shone white before running up behind the truck, making Rob jolt to a halt, jerking his head in the rearview mirror.

“Where are you going?” Carter asked, anger bubbling up in his chest as he walked to Rob’s side of the truck.

“I have to get out of here. I didn’t expect it to go like this, with Georgie,” Rob picked at the steering wheel. 

“Carter, you have to finish this. Take the money to Mack, take the extra thousand dollars, and you and Marie just get out of here. Get away from Mack.”

“Rob-”

“No, Carter. It’s up to you, I’m sorry.”

Carter looked at his friend long and hard to remember his face. “It’s okay, Rob. I forgive you,” he said, patting Rob’s shoulder and then stepped away from the truck. “Be safe.”

Rob gave a small smile. “You too,” he bobbed his head once, this time backing out of his parking spot for real and drove off, leaving Carter by himself.

Carter called Marie from his hotel room and asked her to come pick him up. He checked out of the room and left with the briefcase to wait outside. Carter had never felt so excited in his life to see one person, and that was what he felt when he saw Marie pulling up in her car. She jumped out and ran up to him, embracing him in a tight hug, and Carter returned it. Marie’s soft hair brushed his cheek and nose, and Carter managed to get a whiff of honey and lavender.

“Oh, my God! Carter James Anders you had me scared! I called and called and called and not once did you pick up!” Marie said, worry and anger noticeable in her voice. 

“I’m sorry, Marie. I’m sorry,” he soothed her, pulling her in for another hug.

“And what the hell happened to your face?” she asked, exasperated. Carter guided her back to her car and they got in.

“It happened Thursday night when Mack and his goons came to Georgie’s house. Knocked me pretty good.”

“And where are Rob and Georgie and Joe?” Marie asked, backing out of her spot and began towards the way back home.

“It’s a long story. I’ll tell you all about it on our way back home.”

Carter and Marie got home just around dinner time. She made them meatloaf, and checked his face as their dinner cooked in the oven. Marie made Carter sit in the living room with a bag of frozen peas on his cheek, he had completely forgotten about his bruised face. The two of them ate dinner and Carter stared at Marie before sighing.

“I have to go give Mack the money tomorrow at Georgie’s house.”

Marie paused mid bite to look at him. “Okay,” she started softly. “What time?”

“Eight o’clock. And then you and I get out of here.”

“And go where?”

“I don’t know. We have an extra thousand dollars. Maybe North Dakota?”

Carter watched as Marie thought about it for a little bit, finishing her meal and her glass of water. She turned to him, reaching out to hold his hand tightly in hers.

“I’m sticking with you by your side. If this is what we have to do then okay,” she said. “Besides, I’ve always wanted to go to North Dakota,” Marie added, a smug smile coming to her lips.

Carter arrived at Georgie's house early Monday night, his whole body was shaking with nerves and he couldn’t sit still. He had taken out the thousand dollars last night, and double counted that there was, in fact, five thousand dollars in the briefcase just for Mack. Carter took in the dining space and the living room. It seemed like Georgie had cleaned up, but Carter mused that there was truly no point if any of them knew that the four of them would be disbanded. Carter thought about the postcard he and Marie received from Rob, who managed to reconstruct his life with a new job, and even a girlfriend.

Carter was ripped from his train of thought when he heard tires outside and was taken back to Thursday night. Mack and his goons made their way up to the porch, opening the front door like they owned the space. Except now it was only Carter.

“Well, where’s the rest of your gang? Georgie and that other guy?” Mack asked cooly, walking inside the quiet house.

“Rob’s gone and Georgie’s dead,” Carter said, holding the briefcase out towards the goon in burgundy. “It’s the five thousand that Georgie needed to pay you back.”

Mack’s goon opened the briefcase and took a moment to count the money inside. He closed it and Mack looked over his shoulder at him. He let out an air of surprise.

“Well, I guess it is. I don’t care how you boys did it. Pleasure doing business with you,” Mack tipped his hat with a smile. He and his goons turned and left the house with a click of the front door, and Carter was alone once again.

Carter and Marie packed everything that they needed into the three suitcases that they had, selling Carter’s car and had a small garage sale for the things they didn’t need. They sold the house and roughly a month later they were on their way to Bismarck, North Dakota, leaving Elk River, Minnesota and never looking back again.

“Are you having any regrets?” Marie asked him from the passenger seat. Carter thought for a moment. The landscape soon straightened out with farm land and it whipped by as Carter drove, the sun glaring against the whiteness of the snow.

“I regret not giving Joe a proper burial,” he said. “And using his family gem to pay Mack back.”

Marie patted his leg comfortingly. “He would’ve forgiven you all. It’s all over now, Carter. You did what you had to.”

Carter stared straight ahead, his stomach dropping as he thought of Joe, and Rob, and Georgie. They all did what they had to, but at what cost? The road and scenery continued to pass by.