Runaway Bird

The scraping of silverware against plates was extremely unpleasing to the ear, but the tension in the air was too thick to try and have a conversation. Unfortunately, he either didn't care or wasn't aware of the uncomfortable atmosphere and broke the silence anyway.

"I'm sorry, what was your name again?"

I cleared my throat and forced out my name. It was painful, my throat sore from the tension that had built up in fear.

"Helen."

"Right, Helen! Did you make these sweet potatoes? They are fantastic."

I shook my head and just pointed to my husband who's eye had started to swell. He wasn't the burliest of men so when our unexpected guest forced the front door open it collided with his face. His one good eye squinted as he glared angrily.

"Well these sweet potatoes are to die for."

My heart raced at the word and I suppose my face displayed my terror. His hands waved frantically.

"That's not what I meant." He laughed and that didn't ease any of our discomfort. "Look, I understand that this is uncomfortable."

My sarcastic daughter mumbled something and then groaned as her twin brother kicked her in the shin from across the table. The sound of shoe hitting shin was easy to hear with the lack of conversation between everyone.

His patience didn’t wane though as he looked around the table. We always kept Thanksgiving small because Christmas holiday was always huge affair. Dave, my husband, and I always had a plan to keep one holiday small because family ,as great as they are, was always a lot.

"Mom, can I have my tablet please?"

Saying no was definitely going to backfire. My four year-old used all the right polite words instead of just throwing a tantrum, like he usually did.

"It's totally fine Helen, the squirt can have his tablet."

I slowly rose from my seat, nervous that if I tried anything things would get worse. He seemed to have thought the same thing as he rose from his chair.

"Why don't you just tell me where it is and I'll get it myself."

I took my seat and stammered out the location of the electronic device.  When he left the room everyone stared at each other expectantly. I knew my kids and my husband well enough that they thought now would be the best time to make a run for it. They all looked at me, everyone except Jacob, he was looking into the hallway, waiting for our “guest” to come back with his tablet. 

Before my mind could even come up with a plan, the silent room filled with the booms of his heavy boots as he bounded down the stairs. He strolled into the dining room and my youngest squealed in delight. My lips stretched into a small smile at his display of pure joy given the circumstance that had invaded our Thanksgiving dinner. As I looked at his excited face I almost forgot where I was. My mind traveled through the monotonous routine of the morning, the latter half of the day should’ve been just as mundane. But an unexpected knock changed the direction immediately. 

He smiled brightly as my son giggled at the images that flashed across the screen. He tapped his little finger against the device  and educated the man on the facts about the dinosaur had flashed across glass. I glanced at my husband and could see his jawline protrude against his skin as he clenched his teeth angrily. The peaceful exchange between my son and our “guest” made Dave angry but the flash of metal that rested against his ribs changed his demeanor. One second anger and jealousy, the next fear and desperation.  

He took his seat once again and dug his fork into the sweet potato and moaned in euphoria. He pointed his utensil at the food emphatically. 

“Dave seriously! This is amazing. You did something to it didn’t you? What’s the secret?”

Dave must’ve suffered the same bought of dry mouth I had because his mouth opened but no words came out. The man sighed in frustration. He dropped his fork against his plate, I jumped at the sound. 

“Look. I don’t want to hurt anybody. I really am sorry about your eye Dave, it was a total accident, but I had to get in the house. Let’s just pretend this is a normal family dinner and I’m just an unexpected guest. I just need a place to lie low for a few hours until my buddy picks me up.”

The silence of the room was interrupted by the animated voices of my son’s cartoon. 

“Pretend I’m a coworker of yours’ Dave, what is it that you do?”

Dave didn’t answer right away so he impatiently rapped his palm against the table.

“Come on Dave, the better you cooperate the easier this will be.”

“I’m a manager at a marketing firm.”

“That sounds terrible.” 

It was, at least that’s what Dave has told me on multiple occasions. 

“It’s alright.” 

All his answers were terse, and the man sensed that this was going to be a struggle. The fact that he wanted this to be a normal was extreme enough that what he did next shocked us all. He bent down and buried his hand into the large duffel he brought into the house with him. Several seconds later he slammed a stack of money against the table. 

“Woah!” My oldest son finally spoke. 

“This is ten grand. I don’t know how long I’m going to be here, but this silence is killing me. So for every hour that you all manage to hold a conversation with me, I’ll add another stack on top of this one.”

“We don’t want your stolen money.” 

My husband decided to show some bravery, but if I were being honest with myself I had struggled internally with my husband’s morality. 

“What makes you think this money is stolen?”

“Well, isn’t it?” 

This had been the longest conversation any of us has had since he’s shown up.

“It could be your money, I just need a normal night to take my mind off of things. Do we have a deal?”

I looked at my husband and could feel the eyes of my twins on both of us. It seems as if our prolonged telepathic conversation had been for nought as he asked my son a question. 

“What’s your name?”

All eyes were on him but he was too scared to answer. My daughter on the other had was naively brave. 

“His name’s Jonathan, I’m Julie and that’s my little brother Jacob.”

“Parents got a whole ‘J’ thing going on huh?”

She snorted and stabbed a piece of ham with her fork. I feared my daughter might be a borderline sociopath or just really good at playing it cool. Either way, she was doing exactly what he wanted it and the tension that had built up in the dining room had slowly dissipated. Mouth half full she stared at our “guest.”

“So what’s your name? What’s your deal?” 

My husband, Dave, glared at our daughter but her eyes flicked down at the stack of cash that had rested at the edge of the table. 

“My name’s Tyler. I’m just trying to escape from my old life. There was a lot of toxic situations that just weren’t working for me anymore so, I’m on the run so to speak.”

“So did you rob a bank or something?”

“Julie!” I reprimanded, and looked over at Tyler. “I’m so sorry.” My apology resonated from a place of embarrassment and fear. 

He just chuckled and waved it off. He redirected his gaze to Julie. 

“Or something.”

His lack of a distinct answer made me nervous. He looked around at the table and Julie had been the only one who had touched her plate since we sat down. 

“You guys should eat, the food is getting cold and honestly it’s too good not to. I’m sure you all worked really hard in the kitchen.”

Dave picked up his fork and silently ate, the rest of us followed his lead. 

“So Johnathan, play any sports?” 

“Lacrosse.” 

“Lacrosse? It wasn’t a big thing when I was in school, I was more of a soccer man myself.”

“Same basic concept except with sticks and a smaller ball.” 

Tyler had been asking questions nonstop, eating and passing food around and encouraging the family to eat as merrily as he had.  We almost forgot that he was an intruder. He had been extremely charming and the only thing that kept us on our toes had been the weapon nestled inside his jacket. The only person that was reluctant to engage was my husband. 

Two hours had passed and there sat on the table was twenty thousand dollars. I noticed as my husband eyed the cash. The longer it burned a hole in our table, the easier the conversation flowed for my family. It was as if the prize to a competition was at the edge of our fingertips and the task was as simple as ever. Dave, however, was not playing along as smoothly as everyone else. 

“So Dave, have you always been a sweet potato master?” 

“Why are you doing this to us? Why us?” He shouted frustrated. 

Tyler had been caught off guard. The report with all of us had mellowed slightly, at least enough to not make the circumstance as terrifying as it had been in the beginning. 

“Well. Everyone else’s house was too full. I noticed there were only two cars in your driveway and it seemed the least busy of all the homes in the area.”

“So dumb luck?”

Tyler just shrugged as he dug his hand into the duffel for a third time and rested another ten thousand dollars on top of the two that were placed on the table earlier.

“Dumb luck is about to make you thirty thousand dollars richer. You are coming off a little ungrateful Dave and I must say my feelings are a little hurt.”

“Your feelings are the least of my worries in this moment. I just want my family safe and the only way that will happen is if you get out of here.” 

The pent up anger my husband had bottled up had finally erupted as he quickly stood up and with the same quickness Tyler reached his hand into his jacket and Dave froze. 

“Dave, I don’t want to hurt your family or you! So please just sit down and enjoy this lovely meal!”

Dave slowly lowered himself down into the chair and brought his glass to his lips and nervously drank his water. Tyler sighed in relief and rubbed his hands together and looked over at me. 

“What’s for dessert?” 

Before I could answer the doorbell rang. I could hear my heart pound as the blood through my ears. Tyler stood up and motioned for my to go answer the door. He stood close behind as he followed me into the hallway. The foyer was filled with blue and red light as the lights from the top of the cop car shone into the house. Tyler positioned himself in a spot where I could see him but the officers could not. I took a deep breath as I answered the door and tried my best to convey a peaceful attitude. 

“Good evening ma’am sorry to bother you but have you seen this man?”

They handed me a photo of Tyler and my eyes flicked up at him and he shook his head no. 

“Uh, no, no I haven’t. It’s just me and my family. Is there something wrong? Is he dangerous?”

“Unfortunately ma’am I’m not at liberty to disclose any information. He’s not known to be a dangerous man but he was last seen in a vehicle that was tracked to this neighborhood. It’s parked in the area and we are just going door to door to see if he’s entered any of the homes to take refuge.” 

“Should I be worried?” 

I tried everything I could to get any information out of the officers but they were not budging. 

“Just notify the police should you see any signs of this man. It’s imperative that he be found. Sorry to disturb your evening, enjoy your holiday.” 

“You too.” 

I hadn’t realized I was holding my breath until I closed the door. Tyler seemed to have done the same as he exhaled audibly. 

“Thank you.”

I just nodded and stood in my spot and watched as he pulled out a flip phone and made a call. He was distracted and I watched as my husband grabbed the carving knife from the turkey and slowly stood up. My eyes widened in horror as he quietly made his way over to our “guest.” Tyler had noticed my face, quickly turned, dropped his phone and pulled the gun from his holster. I screamed as he pulled the trigger, Jonathan jumped from his chair in shock and Julie grabbed her little brother, Jacob, to shield him from the loud noise. 

However, there was no loud noise. There was a static noise as electricity pulsed through the two chords that were now attached to my husband. His body convulsed as several thousand currents of electricity coursed through his body. Tyler finally let go of the trigger and Dave fell onto the floor unconscious.  Jonathan ran over to his father and turned him over.

“Daddy?” Called Jacob in curiosity. 

“I’m so sorry Helen. I really did not want to have to use this.” His voice was full of remorse as he removed the used cartridge and placed another one into the weapon. 

“It was a stun gun?” Julie spoke with disdain and disappointment. 

Tyler picked up his phone and finished his call. He flipped the phone closed and walked back over to his chair. He sat down and looked up at me expectantly. 

“I’ll be here for only a little while longer. Dave will be fine, by the time he wakes up I’ll be out of your lives and you’ll be forty thousand dollars richer. No harm no foul. So, dessert?”

I just nodded and rushed into the kitchen just wanting the night to be over. I brought out the desserts and we all ate chatting fervently hoping that it would distract us from the rise of events. The cash on the table no longer as appealing as it had been before Dave had been tased. Tyler was on his second slice of upside down pineapple cake as his phone rang. 

“Hello? Yes that’s the one, great. Come on up I want you to meet everyone.” 

I glared at him as he invited his getaway driver into my home. He pointed to the door and I walked over to it and to my surprise a young pregnant woman had been on the other side.

“Hey babe!” Tyler shouted in glee as the woman stood in the doorway as she waited for me to invite her in. 

I just nodded and she carefully waddled inside, she looked down in horror at my husband’s body on the floor. 

“Oh my God, what happened!” 

“I had to tase him.” 

“Tyler!” 

“He was coming at me with a carving knife!”

“Well what did you expect you break into people’s homes, no explanation, I’m sure. The whole department is looking for you! I’ve been grilled for hours!”

“I know, I’m sorry.”

I looked back and forth between what I assumed was a couple. I was no longer scared just extremely confused. 

“Would you like to sit down?” 

I wasn’t sure what part of me asked that question. Possibly the maternal side or the side that knew what it was like to be pregnant.”

“Oh thank you that’s so kind…”

“Helen.”

“Helen, Molly. We actually do have to get going though.” 

Tyler stood up abruptly and pointed towards all the food. He looked at the pregnant woman hopefully. 

“Can we at least take some food to go? This is going to be a long plane ride.” 

I relented and hurriedly wrapped them up some food. My family and I stood at the door and watched as Tyler helped his pregnant girlfriend down the driveway into the car. His duffle bag thrown into the backseat. He walked to the other side of the car and before he got inside he waved at us. 

“Thank you for your hospitality!”  We all waved and as quickly as he entered our lives, he left in the same manner. 

The groans of Dave filled the air and we jumped and rushed to his aid. He sat up and looked around frantically. We all reassured that Tyler had left and that everyone was safe.

“Yeah! And we also have fifty thousand dollars.”

“That’s going to the police!” Dave ordered as he stood up, he rushed over to the stack of money and realized a small note on top of it. Dave looked up from what seemed to be a prewritten note, confused. The quiet room was filled with an alarming noise as Jacob's tablet gave the familiar sounds of an Amber Alert. Dave read the not out loud to his family.

“Dear Family, 

I apologize for the intrusion and the inconvenience my presence may have caused. Please understand that I just want a healthy life for myself, my fiancee and new baby and it wasn’t one I could get with my current family. Before you call the police my name is Tyler Bird, my family is substantially wealthy but all wealth comes with a price. Unfortunately, the price was too high for me as it meant giving up the woman I love and the child that she will bear. Thank you for your patience and Happy Thanksgiving!

Sincerely, 

Runaway Bird.”