Headspace

there’s always something to look forward to

Keep trucking, Gatsby

Jaques went down to Shreveport about two months ago and he ain’t come back yet. Stop.
I think that much you figured out. Stop.
We was watching Angels with Dirty Faces on the rabbit ears when we got the call. Stop.

He got killed by a car, run flat like a pancake. Stop.

Sorry you had to hear it like this. Stop.

I don’t know what you wanna do with the baby. Stop.

The city ain’t a proper place to raise a child even if you got someone else to raise him with and Lord knows you ain’t gonna have an easy time if you stay with no one else around. Stop.
And I figure now is a good a time as any to let you know he had another woman down there. Stop.
Word I got from Tom said he was headed back to France fore he was killed. Stop.

You remember what happened to your cousin Elise after she decided to stay. Stop.
Ain’t no one heard from here since early July. Stop.

Come on back home, Irene. Stop.
There’s nothing for you there anymore. Stop.

End of telegram, miss. You want I should read it again?

Jack,

I’m writing this from the Viking Motel in south Detroit. I don’t know when you’ll get this but you’ve probably figured by now Mario’s been busted and Beth went running back to Omaha. We’re all kind of losing our heads.

When we got here the door didn’t have any hinges so we fixed it up with a few chairs and rigged a shotgun to the doorknob. I honestly don’t think we have to worry about maids while we’re here.

Terry’s been throwing up for the last few days but we’re all afraid to take her to the hospital. Marty went over a few days ago after he cut his thumb open and the place was swarming with 5-0. No doctor’s willing to come around here. We’re all kind of worried about her. What was in that bag you gave her?

And how the hell did you get past that checkpoint on i75? That’s where they got Mario.

Anyways we’re pretty sure they’re set up in the room next door, listening to us. We write everything down that we want to say now and we’ve pretty much turned nocturnal. Whoever is in the room next to us goes out in the day. We ran out of food about two days ago and no one’s willing to chance going out for any more.

If you made it to Austin, keep going I guess. We’re trying to gather our stuff to go up through the border into Canada next week.

If we make it, don’t come looking for us.

Your partner,
Charlie

Hey, Shay,

What’d you think about all that horseshit in there, huh?

Hell they know these things ain’t gonna sell unless you know folks who got money to buy em in the first place

And you know we gotta sell a full case of em just to make the gas money back from drivin up here to this place

Could’ve picked a better place, huh, Shay? This whole town smells like a burned baked potato, specially by the Center Avenue Bridge

And hey Shay, can I bum a smoke? I know I said I quit but it’s one of those nights, y’know? I even got a light on me. Whaddaya got, lights? Ah I’ll take anything

Y’know Shay, I’m thinkin about gettin out of this town, once and for all. I’m gonna go west. Bound to still be some gold somewhere out there, right, Shay?

Maybe that’s our problem, we been stickin around here too long. You oughta pack up the kid and come. The guys at the diner’ll miss you but there’s no shortage of workers around here anymore

When you go back in there next week, Shay, you tell em I’m done with their shit. I’m goin someplace out west, you can tell em that too. And then you can tell em to fuck themselves.

Hey, Shay
Hang loose when I’m gone. You oughta quit the cancer sticks for the kid. And hey, Shay,
One last thing

If you ever make it to Helena, look me up. By Tuesday afternoon, I’ll be long gone.