Sawyer heaved a sigh as he sank into the sofa. Sure, they had machines to help with transportation, but loading and unloading them was still hard on the muscles. He'd been working in the warehouse for a few years now, ever since he flunked out of post-secondary. Sure, he could have kept at it, but classes were hell and he hated it, so why put himself through it anyway? He wasn't even sure he'd like the jobs the degree would afford him access to.
No, Sawyer preferred working his body to working his mind. So, even though it didn't pay as good as, say, being an accountant would, he thought the warehouse suited him. Just because it suited him, though, didn't mean he didn't look forward to the end of his shifts. Now he could just eat lunch while watching TV. He'd go to bed a little before most people had supper, and then wake up around 2:30 for his 4:00 start time.
His dad worked in a warehouse too. That was how Sawyer had managed to land the job without too much trouble. After all, even if he only failed by two percent, he would be looked down on for flunking. With a reference from his dad, though, the manager hired him on the spot.
All in all, Sawyer had a pretty simple life. Work, eat, watch TV, sleep, repeat. He didn't have many friends anymore, but he didn't really feel like he needed them. His coworkers were all friendly enough, and he had his dad to talk to as well.
His mom had left when he was a kid, complaining that his dad didn't work hard enough. She'd kept in touch a bit, but Sawyer himself had cut off contact with her when he was a teenager. He had no use for someone who thought so little of his father. Sure the man was a bit rough around the edges, and struggled to make ends meet some months, but he worked hard and had a good heart.
When Sawyer was a kid, his dad had made sure to go to every school event. He couldn't afford to get Sawyer into sports, but he'd always wanted to be able to. Sawyer himself didn't mind so much, since his dad spent time with him lifting weights and such, but it seemed to be his dad's biggest regret.
Sawyer and his dad both had the day off on Thursday, so they went out for supper every week on Wednesday night. Tomorrow was the day. For now, though, Sawyer just planned to take it easy. Dad was working, so he had the house to himself until about mid-afternoon.
Without much else to do, Sawyer flicked on the news. More Achilles shenanigans. He sighed and switched to an old comedy. Sure, it was thirty years old, but it was still really good. It didn't matter if he'd seen the jokes and punchlines dozens of times. They still made him laugh, and they still hit the same way they did when he'd first watched the show fifteen years ago.
His dad had been watching it when Sawyer got home from school one day. He'd sat next to his dad and watched the show, the two of them chatting casually about life and laughing at the punchlines. Maybe that was part of the reason the show held such a special place in his heart - he and his dad had spent many afternoons watching it and shooting the breeze.
Even without his dad here, Sawyer felt the same warmth from the comedy.
He didn't realize he'd fallen asleep until his dad shook him awake midway through the afternoon with a laugh.
"You can sleep in tomorrow, kiddo. For now, try to keep those sleepy eyes of yours open."
When Wednesday night came, Sawyer and his dad headed for a bar to eat and talk until late into the night. They'd go through a few drinks, then head home and sleep it off.
They sat at a corner table chewing on fried fish and potato sticks that crunched suspiciously like chips. Each had a decently stiff drink to go through, and they just talked about how things were going with each other.
"Did you hear about that new movie coming out?" Sawyer asked. "The space magic one."
"No, can't say I did." His dad grinned as he took another sip of alcohol.
"It comes out next February. Wanna go see it together?"
"Sure you wanna go with the old man?"
"Nah. The old man's the most interesting person to hang out with."
"That's a sad statement, kiddo. Most people your age have, well, friends their age."
"Who needs those? I got work, I got food, I got TV, and I got a nice bed. What else does a man need?"
"Fair enough," his dad said with a sigh. "Though sometimes I really wonder if I screwed up with you."
"No way. You taught me how to manage life on my own. Most valuable lesson I'll ever learn."
His father didn't say anything more, instead taking another sip out of his glass. Sawyer chewed a few potato sticks, then sighed.
"Do you want friends?" he asked. His dad looked at him in surprise.
"No. I have you. Don't really need much else."
"See, that's how I feel. Why don't you seem to get that?"
"I just...Sawyer, you're young. You're not like an old fuddy like me who's almost ready to retire."
"Ha. I don't think you'll retire until you physically can't walk, old man." Sawyer shot his dad a playful grin.
"I'll have some good years left in me, brat." His dad returned the banter with a smug grin of his own. "You, however, you won't even have a kid to watch you on your deathbed. You'll end up totally alone, kiddo. Now go make some friends." He pointed to another corner of the bar, where a meet-and-greet seemed to be taking place.
"No way. You go make friends, old man." Sawyer downed the last of his drink and grabbed the last piece of fried fish.
"Fine, I guess we're stuck at an impasse. I'll nag you again next week."
"And I'll shoot you down like usual."
The conversation continued for a while, then they both packed up, paid for their meal and started walking out of the bar. As they did, however, a yelp made them pause.
"Lemme go!" A young guy shoved a slightly older one away from him.
"Oh come on, you wuss. If you can't do this much, what are you even here for?"
Great. A hazing, perhaps. Another reason Sawyer never wanted anything to do with other people. Much to his dismay, his dad went to intervene. It wasn't unusual for that to happen. The old man was a meddler, for better or for worse.
"Now, calm down. What's going on here?" Sawyer moved towards the door, wanting to stay out of whatever his dad had stuck his nose into this time.
He didn't really get most of the conversation, but it took about thirty seconds before the older of the two guys started throwing punches.
Great. Couldn't they just go now? Nope, Dad had to try to deescalate. Had to try to defend the smaller guy. When words didn't work, he started throwing punches of his own.
Now, Sawyer and his dad were both relatively short. They were also built broad and muscled. Add the warehouse work to that and they were powerhouses. Not that they ever used that brawn to cause trouble. They were law-abiding citizens, albeit on the rougher side of things.
Before long, another man stepped in and started handcuffing the three involved in the fight and Sawyer felt ready to puke.
A military officer. An off-duty one, but he just had to be here. Just had to decide to intervene. Sawyer tried to talk to the officer, but he pushed him aside and said they'd talk to the three men tomorrow. Until then, they'd spend the night in jail.
Well, tomorrow came, and Sawyer tried to get ahold of his dad. The military wouldn't let him. He found out the three of them were going to be charged for the fight, and his blood boiled in anger.
His dad had spent over thirty years working in a warehouse. Honest work. Essential work. He'd tried to intervene to calm things down. They'd spiraled out of control. It probably didn't help that all three had been at least tipsy, if not outright drunk.
Where was the justice in the world? Sawyer had tried to give a statement as a witness, but nobody cared to listen to him. It was just a bar fight, after all. No need to look too deeply into it, he supposed. But that negligence was making his dad suffer needlessly.
Powerless, Sawyer racked his useless brain for ways to help his dad. The arrest had more or less cost him his job at the warehouse. Unless the military went back and said he'd done nothing wrong, the warehouse manager didn't want to see Sawyer's dad ever again.
It was then, when he felt like he was at the end of his rope, that Sawyer met that purple freak who handed out Miracles like cheap candy.
