An old man in a ditch – Part III

Posted on January 31st, 2009 by Richard Catto 763 views

This is a short work of fiction by Richard Catto.

Despite my fears, I was not left to rot in jail. Officer Pete and a serving woman came in bearing a tray with sandwiches and coffee on it. She placed a plastic wrapped sandwich and a polysterene cup of hot coffee outside my cell then they left. I reached through and managed, with some difficulty and some spilling of coffee, to retrieve them through the bars. I felt like a monkey in a cage. All I needed was a “do not feed the animals” sign and little children pulling faces and poking sticks at me to complete my zoo experience.

I chewed the tasteless polony sandwich slowly and consumed the harsh jail house coffee brand with some distaste. They must contract to an especially tasteless Jail House caterer because I had never tasted such awful food and coffee before. Even my German Shepherd would have turned its nose up at this filth. Well, not really. Barry would eat anything I tossed at him and then look back up at me with big begging eyes and a wagging tail. I missed him now.

I had just choked back my first half of the polony sandwich and was contemplating whether to eat the second half or save it for later when Officer Pete came back in. He unlocked the cell door and beckoned me out. He did not cuff me.

“Sir, the coroner is releasing you but before you go we have some personal information for you. Please follow me.”

Intrigued, I followed Officer Pete upstairs and down the passage from the Coroner’s office into a small neat office with a comfortable leather couch. “Please wait here, sir.” said Officer Pete and he went out. I sat down on the luxurious leather couch and closed my eyes for a moment. I felt a sense of peace come over me. I opened my eyes and looked up at a short cheerful man who was going bald so that he looked like a monk. Father Patrick O’Neal smiled and said, “Bless you, my son.” I stood up and said, “Hello, Father, what is this all about?”

Father O’Neal waved me back down and sat down beside me on the couch. He said, “I have some rather sad news for you, my son.” He paused waiting for my reaction. “Go on”, I said, dreading what he was about to tell me. Father O’Neal pursed his lips and said, “Did you not know the man you found today in the ditch on Soddom’s Hill?” “No”, I replied, “I’ve never seen him before in my life.” “Ah”, said Father O’Neal, “that makes this a particularly hard bit of news to convey to you then.” He paused again, then looking me in the eye he went on, “It seems that from DNA testing done today, that the man you found and who is now deceased was your father.”

For the second time in one day, I was thunderstruck. The first words out of my mouth were, “But that can’t be! My father is alive and well and living with my mother today!” Father O’Neal said, “The DNA tests were done three times in a row to ensure no mistakes were made. According to the laboratory technicians, there is a 99.999% chance that the man you tried to help today was your biological father.” I felt a little dizzy. The room began to swim, and then turn and then I must have blacked out.

When I came to, the first hazy image I saw appeared to be that of a blonde angel’s face hovering just above mine. She smiled at me, her red lips making a sweet small bow. “Oh, there you are”, she purred. Nurse Angela Weston swept a moistened towel over my face to help revive me. However, I wasn’t ready to face reality yet. I closed my eyes and drifted back off to sleep. I dreamed I was running up Soddom’s Hill and an old homeless man was calling after me, but I didn’t want him to catch me. “I am your father!” he kept calling, and I yelled back, “No, it’s impossible! Get away from me you dirty old man!”

To be continued…

Tags: fiction, Short story, writing
Filed under fiction |

10 Responses to “An old man in a ditch – Part III”

1. Relax Max Says:
   February 4th, 2009 at 06:07

   ::standing with expectant look, palms up::

   And?

2. Richard Catto Says:
   February 4th, 2009 at 13:31

   @Relax Max: I’ll publish the next part soon.

3. Anonymous Says:
   February 6th, 2009 at 14:49

   “He unlocked the cell door and beckoned me out. He did not cuff me.” Glad to know Officer Pete didn’t slap you around the ears like so many policemen do these days.

4. Richard Catto Says:
   February 6th, 2009 at 15:21

   @Anonymous: This is a fictional story.

5. Anonymous Says:
   February 7th, 2009 at 10:55

   SANDWICH. If you don’t believe me get hold of a copy of Woody Allen’s skit on the invention of the sandwich, or google the Earl of Sandwich. Or google sandwich.

6. Richard Catto Says:
   February 7th, 2009 at 12:13

   @Anonymous: You’re correct. It is a word I often misspell.

7. Anonymous Says:
   February 8th, 2009 at 13:30

   I’ve started on a novel myself and I prefer not to show my own gaffes on the internet for people to make fun of or criticise. It ain’t that easy.

8. Richard Catto Says:
   February 8th, 2009 at 21:15

   @Anonymous: People do make fun of me on teh internets, it’s true. It’s part of being controversial.

   What’s your novel about?

9. Bobby Revell Says:
   February 14th, 2009 at 16:10

   I like this story Richard. A little twilight-zonesque icy realization–waking up to a nightmare. Good job

10. Richard Catto Says:
    February 14th, 2009 at 17:16

    @Bobby: Thanks. Hope you will be back to read more later.

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