Thanks, Richard

James sits in his luxurious office, in front of his laptop and rubs his head in frustration. His walls are covered with plaques and framed newspaper cutouts. They read "New York Times Bestseller" and various other positive headlines. He reads an email from his publisher, Frank, that says, "The best I can do is one week." He sighs loudly. His wife, Janet, walks in drinking coffee. "Still stuck at the same spot, honey?" Janet asks. James turns around and replies, "Yeah...It's getting annoying." Janet walks over to him and sits on his desk. She puts her hand on his shoulder and says, "I would say take your time and relax, but I know the time crunch you're on. Is there anything I can do to help?" James replies, "Unless you can come up with some pages for this character I haven't written before, no." Janet chuckles and replies, "Well...you got me there." She gets up and says, "Maybe leaving the house will help. You've been cooped up in here for a while." She lifts her eyebrows. James shrugs. "I don't want a Shining situation happening, got it? Because I know how to swing a bat," Janet says. James laughs. Janet kisses his forehead and leaves his office. James sits and stares out of the window, pondering. Suddenly, an idea comes to him. He jumps up, walks out of his office, and grabs his car keys. "Honey, you're a genius. I think a little fresh air would do me good," James says to Janet. He kisses her and leaves. Janet sips her coffee and smiles. He hops in his car and drives off. After driving for some time, he reaches a busy downtown Miami. He looks for somewhere to park. He reaches a half-full parking lot and parks. He opens his glove compartment before getting out. "Ok, let's get some ideas," he says to himself. He walks on the sidewalk with his pen and pad in hand. He inspects people walking by, looks up at the buildings, then at the cars on the street. Nothing comes to him. He reaches a cafe. He decides to go inside and order a coffee and a bite to eat. After James orders, he sits down at a table outside of the cafe. "Still...nothing," he says to himself in frustration. He sips his coffee and observes people walking by. Suddenly, from behind him, an old, smelly, dirty homeless man walks up to him. "My man, my man. Please. I just want a few dollars for some food. Help a brotha out, will ya?" the homeless man says to him. James inspects him for a few seconds. He then smiles and replies, "No problem, my man. I got you. One sec." James gets up and walks inside the cafe. After a few minutes, he walks back out, holding some food and a large coffee. He hands it to the homeless man. "Wow. Thank you, brotha! Thank you!" the homeless man says happily. James replies, "No problem, bro. I'm always down to help a brotha out." The homeless man sits down and begins to eat and drink. James sits with him and sips his coffee. He curiously stares at the homeless man as he quickly eats and drinks. "What's your name, my man?" James asks. The homeless man stops eating and looks at James in confusion. "Me?...My name is Richard," he replies. James chuckles and shakes his head. "Richard...I'm James. Nice to meet you," James replies. He reaches his hand out to Richard for a pound. Richard bumps his fist then continues to eat. James continues to stare at him in curiosity. Richard finishes eating and lets out a big sigh. "Brotha man, thank you again," he says to James. James nods. "So, what's your story, Rich?" James says. Richard pauses for a sec and looks away. He looks back at James and says, "Well...you know. The usual. Experimented with drugs. I became addicted. Alienated my family. The rest is history." Richard looks off into the distance and wiggles his nose. James looks remorseful. "Hey, sorry, Rich. I didn't mean to open old wounds. My apologies," James says. Richard looks at him and nods. "Let me make it up to you," James says. Richard looks at him, confused. "Is your family still living here?" James asks. Richard is taken aback. "Yeah...yeah. They live in South Miami," he replies. Richard smiles and gets up. "We're going to see your family, Rich. That's my gift to you today. Let's go," James says. Richard doesn't move. He replies, "No. That's too much trouble, brotha man. I appreciate it, though." James replies, "Nonsense. I can't stand to see someone separated from their family. I insist." Richard pauses for a sec and then gets up. He smiles and hugs James and cries a bit. James turns his nose up and says, "Ok, ok. You're welcome." Richard stops hugging him and wipes tears from his eyes. James starts to walk and signals for Richard to follow. Richard follows him to his car. They both get in. James starts the car and rolls down all the windows. Richard laughs, "Message received," he says. James laughs and leaves the parking lot. After driving for some time, James takes the exit to South Miami. He reaches a stoplight. "Wow. My old neighborhood. I miss this place," Richard says as he wipes a tear. James looks at him, smiles, and says, "Turn left here, right?" Richard nods. The light turns green, and James turns left. Richard is staring out of the window and reminiscing about his old neighborhood with a smile on his face. James looks at him and smiles. After a while, they reach somewhere. James parks and turns off the car. Richard looks around the place they arrived. It is a large, open field with a lake about 100 yards behind it. There are no houses in sight nor people. Richard looks around in confusion then looks at James. James is smiling and holding a pistol. Richard's eyes widen, and he tries to get out. The door is locked. "Relax, Rich. Relax. I'll make this quick. I have to get back to my wife," James says snidely. Richard trembles and begins to weep. James signals for him to leave the car. He slowly gets out. James does the same. They lock their doors. Richard stands still as James walks around to him, gun in hand. James pokes the gun in his back, and Richard begins to walk towards the lake. "Look, brotha...James. You don't want to do this. Who am I? I'm just some bum," Richard says. James stays silent and walks. "I can get you money. There's a house I always hit up for cash. They're loaded," Richard pleads. James stays silent and walks. They reach the lake and stop and stand at the edge of it. "Brotha...PLEASE! I am begging you. I won't tell a soul. I promise. PLEASE," Richard pleads. James looks at him, smiles, cocks the pistol, and replies, "I know." James pulls up in the driveway of his home. He puts the car in park and turns it off. He sits for a few seconds and lets out a big sigh. He reaches for his notepad on the passenger seat. He flips through a few pages with writing on it. "Perfect. Let's finish this book," he says to himself. He gets out of his car and walks into his house. He locks the door behind him and sees Janet sitting on the couch, watching TV, and sipping some tea. She turns to him and says, "Baby, you're back. I thought you fell in a ditch or something." James laughs and replies, "No, no. No ditch." Janet laughs, gets up, and walks over to him. They kiss and hug each other. Janet suddenly pushes herself off of him and turns her nose up. "Um, you smell horrible," she says as she shields her nose. Suddenly, she notices something on James' face. She walks up to him and inspects it. It's a small drop of blood. She wipes it with her thumb, looks at it, and looks at James questionably. James is silent and stares back. Janet stares back. After a couple of seconds of silence, Janet says, "Did they give up a fight?" James smiles and replies, "No. Not at all. I guess I didn't clean myself up as well as I thought." Janet chuckles and licks the blood from her finger. James smiles and they kiss each other. Janet sits on the couch and continues to watch TV. James pulls out his phone, makes a call, and walks to his office. He reaches the door, walks through and says, "Frank. I finally have an ending for Richard." He then slams the door shut.

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