New Years Resolved

Running around the bend, sweat beginning to trickle down his back, Alex bobbed his head back and forth to the music funneling through his earbuds. He was hitting his stride now, the best part of the run, the part that made you feel accomplished for getting out there, the part that helped you feel alive. The sun had peaked out from behind some clouds, and he almost closed his eyes, to have that moment of peace with warm rays of sun tickling his face. This was how he escaped, put aside all other thoughts except what nature provided, this was his rule when out for a run. Otherwise, he would think of law cases morning, noon, and night. Through half-closed eyelids, he just managed to spot a kid darting out into the pathway. Adjusting his trajectory Alex, shouted out, "Watch out little man; this here is a running path."

  The small boy whipped little brown puppy dog eyes over to Alex and wiped a tear from a slightly dirty cheek. Alex was good at noticing details. It is one of the reasons he made an excellent lawyer. Taking in the askew neckerchief of the young lads' cub scout uniform, the fresh scratches on his legs, probably from bushes on the sides of the path, a small thin blue leash held in his hand, and tension in the boys' posture, led Alex to investigate. Sighing inwardly, Alex slowed his run to a light jog and looped back the ten feet to stand in front of the boy. 

  "Are you lost?" Alex ventured while scanning the area nearby for some other helpful adult, kids were not in his wheelhouse, "get separated from your unit?"

  "Unit?" the boy answered quizzically.

  Alex gestured to the cub scout uniform the boy was wearing, "Group?… Club?… Friends?"

  The boy stood a little straighter, straightened his crooked blue-billed hat, looked him in the eye, and answered, "Pack."

  Already exasperated, Alex wiped some sweat off his brow, glancing around again for any other grown-up, and seeing none, he forced a smile on his face, put his hands on his hips and leaned down a little.

  "Listen, son, are you in some kind of trouble? Because you are adding a lot of time to my run if you are not. Don't you have a responsible adult with you somewhere?", with this last question, Alex stood up to full height and scanned around, shouting out," Are there any adults present?"

  "You are," said the cub scout, "Hey, Mr., I need some help, please."

  Alex pulled his phone out of his green running case, which was firmly attached to a moderately muscled ebony arm. Flicking the device on, he pulled up the dialing screen, "Okay, kid, what's your parent's number?".

  "Linus," adjusting his neckerchief with his beige shirt, he continued, "Linus Snefield."

  Slightly taken aback, Alex chuckled slightly, "Okay…Linus Snefield…can you give me a phone number for someone to come get you?"

  "Listen, Mr…?" Linus stared expectantly.

  "You can call me Alex."

  "That does not seem consistent with how I was raised. Adults are supposed to be referred to by their surname," Linus seemed to ponder this, "I don't have time to navigate social niceties right now, Alex, there is a life at stake. You need to help me."

  Alex leaned down and lowered his voice, dark brown eyes once again darted around surveying the surroundings, fingers poised over the glowing screen," Are we in danger? Maybe I'll just call the police." 

  Having inputted a 9 and a 1 Alex almost lost his grip on the phone when Linus tugged at his sleeve, "There is no time for that, Mr. Alex. Cobalt is in danger!".

  Linus pointed toward a sheer rock outcrop that was a short distance from the trail. Glancing down at the leash in Linus's hand, he put it together.

  Visibly relaxing, a small half-smile once again formed, "Okay, I see, you've lost some sort of pet, have you? Listen, kid…"

  "Linus."

  Alex sucked in a breath and fought desperately to maintain calm. Struggling to keep his smile, he sized up the small pasty-faced child in front of him. Partially talking through his teeth, he began again, "Linus. Please give me the number of some adult that is responsible for you. I have other things I need to get to today, and I suppose I can't just leave you here…" Alex waved around the empty area with his free hand," unattended." Looking desperately around again, he added, almost under his breath, "geez where are all the grown people? I could have kidnapped this kid by now."

  Linus cocked his head and furrowed his brow, meshing freckles together and causing some of the sunlight to reflect off the strands of red hair poking out from the side of his hat, "Did you say you could kidnap me?"

  "Yes. I mean no. I meant if I was wanting to do such a thing, there has been no one around to stop me. Fortunately for you, I have no interest in children." Alex cleared his phone screen and tried again, "I need a number to call."

  Linus ran three steps and pointed, "There he is, Mr. Alex! I see Cobalt. Please help me get him."

  "Someone else can help you, I really need to get going," Exasperated, Alex started redialing 9-1-1, "If you don't give me another number I'll just call the police, and they can help you."

  "Please! Cobalt could be gone by then, or injured. Don't you care?" Linus looked at him desperately. Sniffling slightly, he brought a finger to his nose and rubbed it. 

  Alex remembered someone else doing that. Years ago, Connor was trying not to cry and was rubbing his nose in the same way. Small brown arms then wrapped around his leg, "Daddy please don't go," Connor had begged him to stay.

  Alex had pushed him off," Now son, I have a great opportunity here. I can make a name for myself with this move. I'll be able to fly you out to visit all the time with all the money I'll be making. You'll see, it'll be great".

  "Mr. Alex?", Linus's voice pulled him out of his anamnesis. That had been so many years ago.

  Maybe this won't take long. 

  "Okay, Linus, where is this Cobalt?"

  Linus pointed to where he'd last been seen, and Alex started a light jog in that direction. As he jogged, he recalled his most recent conversation with Connor, now in college. It had happened over the holidays. Alex tried to get him to fly out and see the law firm where he was working. Maybe Connor would have an interest in law school. 

  "Request denied," Connor had replied," You haven't hardly seen me the entire time I was growing up. Why would I want to spend time with you now? Have you ever done anything for anyone?"

  Alex grimaced, remembering the biting tone Connor had used. He had regaled Connor with all the people he'd helped by being a lawyer. Connor had laughed in response. Not the fun jovial kind of laugh, but the bitter laugh of one who has been hurt too many times. "I meant someone who didn't have to pay you," he'd replied, "I'm not talking pro-bono either, I'm not talking law, I'm talking about just being a decent human."

  Reaching the bottom of the group of rocks, Alex peered up in time to see a tail whisk up around a boulder.

  "Linus?"

  "Yes Mr. Alex?"

  "Is Cobalt a cat?"

  "Yes he is.", Linus reached out the hand holding the leash, "He's leash trained if you catch him."

  Slowly taking the thin blue leash from Linus, he asked, "Are you sure? Because he doesn't seem to be on the leash currently."

  "Like you've never seen a dog slip a leash? Don't be a speciesist, Mr. Alex, Cobalt is a well-trained cat. He was just startled when Max lit some firecrackers."

  "Speciesist?" Alex continued shoving the leash in the pocket of his charcoal gray running shorts while looking to Linus for an answer.

  "Yes. Speciesist- one who discriminates on a species, solely due to the species. Making assumptions not based in fact but on unfounded opinion." Linus squinted his eyes at the rocks, "Boy, he sure is getting up there."

  Harrumphing Alex began the difficult task of navigating the rocks. It seemed like a strange bunch of random rocks shoved together. Some of them were much bigger than Alex, and some were the size of his fist. He climbed and scrambled around the rock tower headed in an "up" direction for a good 15 minutes before pausing. I can't believe I was lectured by a white kid about discrimination. Sweat started to drip off his head and arms. He had reached a point where more climbing was required and he was having to dig in with his fingertips. Looking around he tried to see where Cobalt had gone. Not very far from the top he saw a pile of fur laying on a small ledge. Ledge was using the term loosely, it was a small part of a bigger rock that just happened to be jutted out slightly. Looking down, Alex was surprised to see how far he'd come.

  Seeing him looking, Linus shouted up encouragement, "You've got it, Mr. Alex!", this pronouncement was followed with a double thumbs-up sign.

  What am I doing? Risking life and limb? For a cat?

  Leaning against a boulder, Alex breathed in and out slowly. Dust from the rocks went up as nose as he breathed in, almost causing him to sneeze. A faint chalky-dirt taste was forming in the back of his throat, on the back of his tongue. Gently reaching back with one arm, he released a water bottle he had secured there, popped the top and poured some water in his mouth in a well-practiced motion. He secured the pop-top with his thumb and managed to secure the bottle back in its' holder. His thoughts drifted back to Connor, the son he hardly knew. He had moved out of the house when Connor was almost four, had him one weekend a month when he wasn't busy with a case until he moved across the country when Connor was six. He'd flown him out for a week in the summer and then at Christmas. Somehow after that it was less and less. Sometimes a couple of years would go by that only had a few phone calls between the two of them. Alex was always so busy. After the call they'd shared in December, Alex had called again on New Year's Eve. He'd told Connor he wanted to start the new year off right, try and build a bridge between them. 

  "Maybe you should try and be a better human before you try being a better father." That had been the quick reply before Connor had hit the "end call" button. 

  Drinking one too many drinks that night, Alex made his first New Years Resolution ever to help the first kid that came along that really needed help. Perhaps he thought that he didn't really run into kids all that often, and it was an easy empty resolution to make. After all, if you are not requested to help, how can you? He had written a rather large check to St.Jude's the following day, but deep down, Alex knew that wasn't what he meant.

  I finally make a stupid New Year's Resolution, and now here I am, climbing up rocks, chasing a cat. 

  Alex started moving upward again. His fingers were beginning to feel a little raw, and he had more than one scrape on his legs. As he edged closer to the ledge where Cobalt was, he slowed down. It wouldn't do to startle the cat off the rocks, plummeting to its' doom. He started talking to the cat in low gentle tones as he approached the location. Leaning against the rock tower, he slowly put a hand out toward Cobalt, "Are you a friendly kitty?"

  Cobalt responded by sniffing his hand, then rubbing the side of his head against Alex's arm. To keep the cat relaxed, Alex petted the soft white, orange, and black fur running down the cat's back in multi-colored streaks. He pulled the leash out of his pocket and placed it on the ledge. Cobalt sniffed it and rubbed it with his head.

  "I" m going to assume that means you are okay with this contraption," Alex muttered as he reached out to navigate the cat into the harness part of the leash. This required both his hands, so he was making an extra effort to hang on to the rock tower with his legs, "Please don't move Cobalt, Mr. Alex doesn't want to fall to his death either."

  All in all, Cobalt seemed a calm sort. He did a bit of a prance around when the harness was firmly attached as if this was normal behavior. How am I going to get this cat down? I can't carry him with one hand and climb. Alex's legs started shaking from the strange exertion of using different leg muscles then he was used to with running. Feeling the band of the water holster around his waist he came up with an idea. He pulled the water bottle around until it was in front. Pulling his water bottle out he then used the adjustable straps and snaps to secure the cat harness to the water bottle holster. It wasn't perfect, but hopefully, it would do. For further measure, he tucked the harnessed cat under his shirt and tucked his shirt into his shorts. He poked the leash handle through the neck of his shirt and onto his wrist. Looking longingly at the fifty-dollar water bottle he was leaving on a rock ledge, he slowly began his descent. The soft timbre of Alex's voice as he talked to Cobalt the whole way down was barely heard but did seem to have the effect of keeping the kitty calm. Occasionally part of his foot or hand would slip a little, causing small rocks to fall and cat nails to embed in his abdomen. 

  Upon reaching the bottom, Linus launched himself at Alex, "Is he okay?"

  "Yes, and I'm fine as well," Alex replied while untangling the cat harness in an effort to hand Cobalt back. 

  Linus wrapped Cobalt in his arms and snuggled his face into the fur pile, "I missed you so much! Don't run off like that again, Cobalt!"

  Alex dusted some of the rock grime off his clothes, glancing at the boy and cat, he even smiled a little.

  "Why did you name him Cobalt? That's an unusual name for a cat, well for anything, really."

  Linus stopped his muttering long enough to eyeball Alex with what seemed like incredulity, "Didn't you see his eyes?", he turned Cobalt's face for Alex to see, "They are as beautiful as Cobalt! It is one of my favorite chemical elements."

  Alex burst out laughing, "That is the most interesting and cool pet name I've ever heard." He reached out for one last pet of Cobalt's head. Hearing a woman shouting Linus's name Alex determined it was time to leave. Turning back down the path, he headed home. 

  Later that day, after showering and applying the odd bandage, Alex picked up his phone and called Connor. Upon hearing him pick up, Alex started with, "Before you hang up, I want to tell you, I made a step toward being a "good human" as you call it. I want to tell you all about it, and hopefully, at the end of my story, you'll let me know about your day too."

  When the expected click to end the call didn't occur, Alex started his story. Once or twice, he heard a soft chuckle, and at the end, Connor said, "I can't believe you climbed rocks to save some strange kids' cat."

  "Believe it! I have scratch marks to prove it!"

  "Maybe you need to make resolutions more often dad." Warmth accompanied Connor's choice of words this time.

  "Maybe I do, Connor, maybe I do," Looking at his injuries in the mirror, he added, "maybe I should pick less physically demanding ones though."

  This caused another small burst of laughter, at the end of which Alex asked, "So…anything new with you?"

  After a brief hesitation, Connor began to relay a winter break ski story mishap. Grinning, Alex reached over and crossed off the New Years Resolution he had written on the dry-erase board hanging on his wall.