Cupboard full of Surprises

I really could not have chosen the worse room to hide in to surprise him with the award he’s about to receive. Like this can’t be a standard size room for mud room, this feels more adequate for an oversized coat closet. You know what that’s I’m finna google what the dimensions are for a coat closet and a mud room.

Marty twists and turns in this narrow space to pull his phone out of his suit jacket pocket and begins typing away to compare the too. “Aha” Marty exclaims as he puts the 2 together and feels like the dimensions in this place are a little off but not exactly small enough for a coat closet but not exactly big enough for a mud room. He’ll get onto his boy about this for no reason in particular. Marty starts giggling until he hears the keys turn in the door. He silently says to himself to It’s showtime.

Marty stays quiet for what feels likes an eternity in this eerie warm house. It’s full of life, love, and good vibes with the warm colors and the time Iman put into making this house feel like a home. But when it was just one person in here and the lights were off with the colors of the furniture just a little off it gave off the vibes of museum where stuff might come alive to make anything alive part of the museum as well.

Marty pushes the door open just to peak around to get a good look at what his friend might be doing. The door squeaks a little bit but loud enough for if Iman was in the house he would go check out that sound. As Marty peaks through the opening, he sees why the scratching of keys missing the keyhole has stopped because he finds his friend asleep on the glass pane of the door.

Marty knew his friend had been working hard because every text or call would find it’s way back to work after he got done talking about his family. This was a different type of work and exhaustion to witness as he saw his friend in a zombie state trying to break into this museum of a home.

Quickly thinking, Marty gives him a call instead of opening the door and scaring him while possibly scaring him too. From his position he hears the music go off and Iman jumps up but loses his balance and smacks his head back into the position it was just in. This causes Iman temporary pain and Marty just gained a new memory to use on his boy later in life, snickering he recloses the door to get in his position. He hears the door handle twist and creak open. This feels like a scary movie and I’m the victim waiting in the closet. I always told my black brotha and sistas I would never be the one hiding in the closet. But look at me hiding in the damn closet like some fool. I guess I would be the first to go out of our friend group.

Iman glides across the floor with slow, careful steps as if he was trying to find his footing with each step. Something soft hits the floor which is out of place for Iman since he was a guy of order. That’s odd cause it sounded like his coat hit the floor. He’ll probably go pick it up in a sec. Footsteps go past the coat closet door that’s slightly ajar and Iman shuts it closes before he pulls a chair out from the dining room table to sit down. I see some habits aren’t hard to forget and others die hard obviously.

“Mhmm, Marty called I should call him back butttt it would be kind of hard to ask your friend if he would mind making sure the eulogy sounded amazing when he wrote it.” Iman says a grabs peanut butter and jelly beer from the fridge before sitting down again

Through thick ass door Marty is only catching every other 7 words but was sure he heard eulogy in there. Marty thinks it’s not only the stress of work but it’s also a death in the family that he has refused to mention or bring up. Well, the relief of seeing a friendly face and hearing the news about his award is sure to turn add a little light to his darkness.

Marty pacing around in the small mud room closet ready to bust out like a high school kid running through a banner on Friday night in front of the local hometown critics and fans. Then stopping himself short of grabbing the knob, he paints the picture in his head of what that would like. One friend obviously sad and alone or so he thinks. Drowning his thoughts and his pain in some okay beer when all of sudden the door bust open. He has no idea whether it is friend or foe and who the hell is going to think it’s a friend. It’s not his birthday. It’s obviously a time of celebration.

But if I come out a slow and all he sees is a knob slowly turning that gets stuck because it’s old and it creaks because he hasn’t put any WD40 on the hinges since he moved into the place. Now it’s going to look like killer is slowly coming out of the ominous closet looking to take and kill the poor owner in his house. The lone owner who was drinking and died of a heart attack because his friend wanted to do a silly prank.

Marty is now pacing back and forth as he pondering which is the best to let his friend know he is not a ghost, an entity, or a killer lurking in his house waiting to dismantle him.

“Iman, bruh, I wanted to play a dumb joke on you but also surprise you but as I realize I have been in here too long. Like a little too long that is borderline embarrassing. So, I’m just gonna come out now.” Marty said all this before opening the door up.

Marty puts one hand out just in case Iman thought someone had broken into his house and did an amazing impersonation of his child friend. Then he stuck his head around to give that award winning smile that his friend Iman had come to know so much. The rest of Marty comes out in some brown slacks, white tshirt, and a oversized grey cardigan.

“It’s not that I’m not excited to see you but what the hell are you doing hiding in my house. Let alone my mud room that’s not finished.” Said Iman as he takes in his friend

“Please, calling that thing a mud room when it’s barely fit for the boy who lived who has come to die.” Laughs Marty

“Hey, don’t blame me because you don’t want to listen to me about the dimensions. Which however long your ass was in there I bet you Googled it.”

“You know me too well and you bet your ass I did and based off my speculation because I didn’t have a tape measure. And before you say anything about the iphone app I’m not sure I trust that one either. But good sir you asked why I have been hiding in your closeted mud room and not how long so I will tell you why. Or better let me hand you something to let you know why I was trying to surprise you.” Marty wraps up his rambling to present Iman with a letter

“You’re not Willy Wonka and this ain’t no golden ticket so what’s up with this?”

Moving around to place the letter smack in front of him as he goes to the fridge to grab himself a beer. “You’re correct on the first part and incorrect on the second part because this is your golden ticket.”

Marty cracks open the can of beer before sitting across from Iman and watching him read the open letter. As he sees his face, he sees a handkerchief covered with red splotches that look like paint and then he goes back to his friend’s face expecting to hear a yell of praise anytime now. But nothing of the sort comes out but just a small smirk crosses his face before looking up at Marty.

“Well, some might say this couldn’t have a came at a worse time.” He gives a dry laugh then takes a sip of his beer

“Couldn’t come at the worse time? Couldn’t come at the worse time? Life has had you in a choke hold figuratively and literally killing the life out of you slowly..”

“You can say that again.” Iman chuckles again

“Literally killing the life out of you and we finally get some good news that will change the course of both of our lives and say some off the wall stuff like this. Is this about the death in your family? Did you just learn about it?”

“Death in the family? What are you talking about? Did someone die and they haven’t told me yet?” Iman now looking very concerned for the first time of the night.

“No one died that I know of but I overheard you say something about eulogy and just assumed someone asked you to write one since they know you’re a writer.”

Iman takes a long sip of his beer with both hands wrapped out the can, lets out a burp before putting it down and matching his friend’s stare. Waiting for the news of who passed.

“So, you have been here long enough to know that I mentioned a eulogy but couldn’t hear whose it was going to be for, is that correct?”

“This much we have established.”

“Well, you see it would be my eulogy that I would be honored to have you write.”

Marty slams his palms into the table causing his own beer to tumble over as he stands up. “You have to be bullshitting me right now. Do not play with me right now about this. This is not something you joke about, not even a little bit.”

“Marty I’ll joke about you with a lot of things. Like how you secretly thought you had the gusto to be a power ranger. Like Zordon was going to choose your ass ha-ha but I’m not joking to you about this.”

“Hey I was a teenager and I had attitude so it could have happened plus they needed more diversity and I would have proudly been a diversity superhero hire.”

“Are you saying you would have been a diversity hire superhero? I have heard it all?” says Iman while laughing and grabbing his sided

“But for real Iman what’s going on with you?” asks Marty somberly

“What’s going on is that I am enjoying a drink and some laughs with my favorite childhood best friend.”

“I’m not talking about tonight. I’m talking about what’s going on with the eulogy thing.”

“Oh, that thing, well I went to the doctor last year and told me I had a few months to live, and chemo would be experimental with this disease. Anyway, a few months came and went with no chemo, and everything was looking good but at the top of the year I felt my health take a sharp turn.”

Each word causes tears to fill up in Marty eyes as he basically hearing the record of his friends last words play out in front of him.

“Every day I woke up like a true fight and battle internally and externally, but I had to be strong because that’s what I always knew. That’s why basically each trip last year you invited me on I said yes because my mindset was this might be my last. But as this year my strength was leaving so that’s why I was turning down a lot of events and focusing on this book. I wanted a lasting legend. And if I don’t be damned we, did it.”

“So, you took the possibility away from me and others to get enjoy the last days of your life.”

“That’s exactly what I wanted to avoid from you guys. The “woe is me”, “take it easy now”, you would have treated me like a porcelain doll if you knew so I continued to live on my own rules. Man, it was lonely, but it was good. You know?”

Wiping tears that won’t stop coming out of his eyes Marty nods in agreement. “So, if you don’t the exact time then you have probably got a few more weeks or months?”

“Actually, Marty I have been feeling weak and tired this whole week and this seems like this might be my last day on this earth. Which was a glorious day honestly with an amazing finish as you are the ghost who has popped up to share one last drink and bunch of memories.”

“Lucky me.” Marty says sarcastically

“Haha well maybe not lucky you but I couldn’t imagine spending the last day with anyone then you. Hey you mine if we go watch the fireworks and tell dumb stories for old times’ sake.”

“Buddy for you? I’d do anything.”

“Oh, and one last thing before I go. Take the risk, talk to the girl, embarrass yourself more. It’s fun and it’s freeing.”