Story One: Powerlessness

There wasn't a lot of stuff to pack. Jacob had a couple of sweatshirts, a pair of jeans, some underwear that had seen better days. There was a cd-walkman, metallic blue and plastered with Pokemon stickers, that he'd found on the sidewalk, and a couple of discs. He tried to keep these good by storing them between the pages of a cut-down phone book, the whole thing held together with rubber bands.

It all fit into a pillowcase.

Leslie had provided the pillowcase.

"I'm sorry, dude," Greg said, watching his buddy pack. "But you know how it is. When the old lady lays down the law, it's the law." He shrugged. "What can you do?"

"It's fine," Jacob shrugged. "Really. It was nice of you all to let me stay as long as you did." He'd been crashing on Greg's couch for almost three weeks -- which hadn't been quite long enough to help him find a job, much less his own place, but that wasn't Greg's problem. "I'm sure I'll be fine."

"Where are you going to go?" Greg had to know Jacob was running out of places to stay. He'd already crashed with Larry and Scott, Mike and Maria -- the other members of the assembly line crew from the plastics factory he used to work at. There was no one left.

Jacob shrugged. "Something will turn up." He forced a smile. "Really, I just need a place for the time Diane's is closed. That's what -- five, six hours a day?"

The joke fell flat. "You spend enough time at Diane's as it is," Greg said. "Hanging out there's not helping your situation any."

"You hang out there."

"After work. Friday nights. Not twenty-four-seven." Greg shook his head. "It's different."

"Only in degree." Jacob picked up his pillowcase. This conversation was going downhill fast. He knew from experience that once people started talking about his drinking, there wasn't much hope of it getting better. "But you don't have to worry about it. I'll be fine, really."

"I hope so, man." Greg held the door open, while Leslie pointedly didn't watch Jacob's departure. "But you're going to have to get some help."

"When it's time." The sidewalk in front of Greg's place was well maintained; smooth and swept clean. He started following it downtown.

"Dude." Greg called after him. "If it's not time now, when's it gonna be?"

Continued in First Section