The Lion Tamer (Completed)

Chapter Eleven - Captain America

When Leo awoke, he was greeted by streams of light that were poking around the sides of the curtains, like fingers trying to enter. He tried to judge what time it was by the angle of the sunbeams but it was near impossible. The color of the light, however, was a cool blue and it felt to him like early morning. He rolled over to find Eddie flat on his back, arms spread wide again snoring loudly. Leo blinked a few times at the blank screen of the television and swung his legs out over the floor.
Eddie snorted once and then grumbled, opening one eye toward the ceiling and licking his lips. It sounded loud and sticky to Leo and it annoyed him.
The shreds of candy wrappers littering the floor near the side of Eddie’s bed. Three empty cans occupied the small table between their beds.
“Jesus, mom’d be pissed if she found out that you been eatin’ that much candy, you know?” He walked over to the bathroom and reached down to adjust himself.
“I woke up in the middle of the night. I heard a sound and couldn’t go back to sleep. I got hungry.”
“No shit,” Leo said and shut the door to the bathroom. He pulled off his underwear and stepped into the warm shower. The television turned on in the next room and he could hear it through the door.
He lathered himself up and let the white sound of the shower drown out all other noise. He closed his eyes and the sound increased until it was almost deafening. Tommy’s face hovered in his mind and he was back sitting on the floor of Evan’s basement, his hair sticking out from the sides of his head and his eyes pleading wide and unsure. Tommy was probably the only other one on the room who knew how deep the shit was that they had just dropped themselves in.
Was Tommy dead? John was playing with words but he never said that the man was dead, just that he wasn’t around anymore…that could mean he was just busted up or maybe got sent away…it all happened so fast. Maybe John was bullshitting him when they said that they found both Tommy and Danny that same night. Maybe he thought that I knew where they were and that I’d let something slip on them?
He turned off the water and got out and dried himself with a new towel that he noticed had a small stain in the middle of it. He wrapped it around his waist and opened the door and went over to the phone that sat on the bedside table.
Eddie was sitting on the floor and watching a cartoon. He pulled his attention away from the show to see what Leo was doing.
“Are you calling ma?” he asked.
“No,” he answered and began dialing Tommy’s number.
The phone rang a few times before it was picked up and he instantly recognized Tommy’s wife’s voice. She picked up the receiver on her end quickly and it thunked a couple times.
“Tommy?” she asked quickly, her voice restrained and sounding as if she was holding back a scream. “Tommy, is that you?”
Leo waited, not sure whether to hang up or say something.
“Tommy, say something baby, please. If you’re angry at me or something we can talk, okay?” She waited a few seconds before continuing. “I know about the other girl, okay and it’s okay, really. Just come home, please.”
“Brenda?” Leo asked, regretting it instantly.
Brenda hesitated and then spoke.
“Leo? Is that you, Leo? Where is Tommy, do you know?”
“You haven’t heard from him?”
“No, not for two nights now,” she said. “Do you know where he is? Is he with that fuckin’ whore of his?”
“Brenda, I don’t know – “
“Yes you do, you bastard! You’ve known all about this woman he’s had on the side, haven’t you? Making me look like a fuckin’ fool here!”
Leo wanted to hang up. Tommy wasn’t home and Leo was sure that he wasn’t coming home.
“Please, Leo, please tell me where he is, okay?” The pleading tone had returned to her, an apologetic and sad voice. “It’s not like him to not call or something, you know?”
Leo’s mind raced. Tommy’s dead. Danny? Well, Danny boy, I hope that was the best fuck you ever had cause it sure as shit was your last.
“Leo, where is Tommy? I know you know! Listen, I’m here with two goddamn kids that are wonder-“
He hung up.
Eddie had turned back to the cartoons and was digging his hand into the last remaining potato chip bag.
John is going to make sure that one of us is dead. He won’t put this down until he hears that Eddie is dead. Or me.
He went over and turned off the television. Eddie looked up at him with a quizzical look in his soft brown eyes.
“C’mon,” Leo said. “Let’s go get some real breakfast, hey?” He jingled the car keys with his fingers and smiled. Eddie looked to the window, grinned and got up.
They drove the four miles into the nearest town, which the road signs indicated was a place called Barnington. Sitting right outside of town was another small coffee shop that had signs advertising the best breakfast on the county so Leo pulled in and stopped the car.
“I’ll wait here,” Eddie said and reached into his pocket and pulled a comic out.
“No. You’re coming in with me. We’ll sit down and have ourselves an actual breakfast. Someone as big as you is not gonna survive on chips and soda. C’mon.”
Eddie smiled and then his expression changed to one that told Leo that he suddenly remembered something.
“Hey! I keep forgetting,” he said and he opened the door to the car. “Open the trunk, Leo!”
Leo got out and opened the trunk with the key and the trunk lid swung up. Eddie pulled the duffel bag up and loosened the strings on top and shoved his arm in up to his elbow, sticking his tongue out to the side in the effort.
Leo checked his left and right out of habit, but looked back when Eddie had pulled his hand back out with a handful of comics. Leo’s face dropped without letting Eddie see it and Eddie rifled through the small stack. Most had ripped covers and bent pages from overuse. One, however, was crisp-looking and shiny in a plastic sleeve that was taped shut.
Eddie handed it to his brother. “Here,” he said with a large tooth smile.
Leo looked at it and on the cover was a man in a bright suit of red, white and blue who was bent low, protecting a woman who kneeled near him by deflecting a green beam with his round shield.

Captain America

“I thought about it when you said I should read him instead of those other comics,” Eddie said.
“You got it for me?”
“Didn’t even open it yet, see?” Eddie pointed to the book.
Leo took a look at Eddie and then a looked back to the comic and smiled.
“Thanks,” he said. “I’ll check it out. Read it tonight, okay?”
“Okay,” Eddie said and smiled wide.
They walked into the diner and saw that the place was crowded. They were directed back to a corner booth of red vinyl seats and Leo ordered a big breakfast for both of them. While they waited for their food, Eddie looked around a lot, taking in the surroundings and Leo shot back the few lengthened looks that lingered over them. People spoke in friendly and familiar tones to each other and the thought came to him that they must be quite a sight around here.
In these small towns, Leo thought, they know everyone, when they woke up and what they had for breakfast. We must make quite a pair around here.
The food was good and after they finished they got directions to an outlet mall from their waitress, who was very pleasant and helpful.
“Gotta buy my brother a coat, you know? He’s always forgetting to check the weather,” Leo said as he grabbed his coat.
“You’re a good brother,” she answered, barely containing a puzzled expression. Leo dropped a thirty dollar tip on her, smiling as they left.
They followed the woman’s direction and found that they were quite good, and, apart from one or two missed turns, they arrived at the outlet mall within an hour. They spent better part of an afternoon there, both happy to be away from the motel and the confines of their room. Eddie located a small book store that carried comics and Leo agreed to let him buy a couple of them. They found a triple-extra large down coat of deep green coat that was large enough for Eddie in a hunting supply store called Schenks and Leo dropped some more cash for it. Eddie wanted to go right outside when he had it on so they walked out into the parking lot.
“Wow, nice,” Eddie said, putting his hands on his chest and patting himself.
“Should be, with all it cost, hey? Don’t go giving it to anyone, now okay?” Leo said as they walked back to the car.
With the light of the day again fading, Eddie looked out the car window as they sped down the dry, gray road. He arched his head back so as to see up in the sky and spotted several birds soaring high in the air above them. They were large, with wings that equaled their entire body length and they silently swooped back and forth in a crossing pattern that he found fascinating.
“Wow, look at those birds, Leo,” Eddie said, his mouth hung open stupidly as he continued to stare up. Leo leaned forward and craned his head. He saw the black shapes of the birds, the jagged and cutting shapes of their wings.
“Hawks, I think, probably looking for food. I tell ya,” he said, and then leaned back again in his seat, “I wouldn’t want to be a rabbit right now, hey?”
“No way,” Eddie answered, his head now turned slightly to keep them in view. Then they sunk behind a copse of tangled trees and he turned forward again.
The light had slipped from the sky by the time they reached the motel and they decided to order a pizza and have it delivered. Eddie turned the dial on the television and was disappointed to find nothing on that he liked so he reread the two new comics that he bought. Leo sat up in his bed and flipped the pages of his Captain America comic.