this monkey's gone to heaven

Dayton was out of sorts as usual. Hadn't been as easy as Nancy said it would be about finding another job. He'd quit where Chris worked. He didn't say goodbye. Had to wonder if Chris had even noticed. They hadn't laid eyes on each other since that night. And his boxes were still out in the garage. He didn't even have his gaming system set up because she wouldn't let him.

"Just what am I supposed to do?" He felt like he lived in a store or something. All pristine, not a glass out of place. Sometimes, it might as well have been a jail cell, but there was art on the walls, and she only liked organic food. But it was all beginning to feel fake to him. And if that wasn't enough, she had him tied down now with her wonderful disease. Herpes.

It wasn't like something they'd show you in health class to scare the shit out of you. The only person other than Chris he'd told was his sister and she kept screaming over the phone "How could you not know!"

He couldn't really explain that. It just made him all the bitter about everything else. He was sure he could be happy right now at Chris' if he hadn't thought he might better himself somehow with Nancy.

It made him sick to his stomach everytime he thought of Chris saying, "You'll have to embrace the situation."

Some situation. It was grim and there was nothing in this world to smile about anymore because she didn't like the smell of oil on his hands, and she said she didn't want a grease monkey. That set him off. He came awful close to smacking her. She wasn't nice. What in the hell was she? He'd set around pondering, not even bothering to turn on the TV because she was pretty tight when it came to the bills. And all those meds to take now. Damn, he was going to have to find a good job just to get a good insurance.

Things had been so simple with Bex. At least he could tell her what to do, and she'd at least listen. Maybe they hadn't been good with the bills or the grocery shopping. But it really hadn't taken much to excite her. A trip the grocery store at midnight, and paying somebody extra that worked there for a bottle of cherry vodka just so they could have a silly celebration with new flavored Doritos. Yeah, he missed stuff like that.

He was awful close to joining the Marines, but he wasn't sure they'd take him. There seemed to be no end in sight. He hated himself more than he ever did so why did he care so damn much about being here? There just had to be a way to get out of this.

So he started going into other people's houses at night. Just to see if he'd get caught. It was surprising how many patio doors were left open. Sometimes, he could make himself a sandwich in somebody's kitchen while they watched television in the dark, and they'd never know it.

He never really took anything of value. Usually booze were good. He could always use a good whiskey. Snacks were nice. Apples. He stole some kid's homework once just out of spite. Dayton had no idea how good it could feel to walk into someone else's world. Take a pair glasses. Somebody's false teeth. A Precious Moment figurine.

It really wasn't a life of crime, now was it? No, he didn't believe that. He was just waiting to get caught. Waiting. He guessed he'd have to do something big before that would happen. But every little thing he could getaway with filled him up with laughter. God, it felt good to be happy. It was the only thing that made him smile.