Alternate Ending

The trek off the mountain was a doldrums of angry thoughts. How could someone be so inconsiderate? Edwin’s mind was racing, “That inconsiderate prick, you’d think that Jack would get over himself and realize that his book was promoted by me, not by his stupid tactics, the least he could do is give me some money!” Edwin was in such an empty anger his mind has wandered away from the fact that he had to go home to her. That prissy little thing of a person he called a wife. His hatred began to build as he neared their home. His stomach churned with the thought of little sticky notes scattered in a seemingly endless pattern around the whole house “clean houses promote good self images”; does anyone actually believe this crap? Evidently Jenni did and this was enough to make Edwin want to throw her out of a moving car. It was all the same when he meandered through the door of his under stimulating life. She came bouncing in to greet him, hair perfect as usual, with the latest of the weight loss videos blaring in the background. Without saying a word, she smiled and handed him a sticky note, it bluntly said “Upstairs, I’ll be waiting!” Cleverness, she was sure that she was going to get her away yet again, but what happened next would astonish her. After reading the note Edwin, in a vicious rage, shouted “NO! I don’t want to go upstairs, sex with you is well… just too perfect. I don’t like perfect, I HATE perfect! The way you strut around voicing how fat you are and expecting a rebuttal from me well I’ve had enough. The mere thought of you makes my blood run cold, my veins would rather tear them selves out of my body than see the sight of you. I hate your perfection and I hate your damn cat!” He left is an angry panic, he could not think straight and didn’t care about what he said. Jenni just stood there, awestruck by the man who just walked out of her life. Tears began to obliterate her mascara as she ran for the phone. Her next call would define the remainder of her once perfect life. Two rings and an answer, “Nigel?” she was greeted by nothing but silence.
“Can’t you go any faster?” Edwin threw yet another snide comment at the taxi driver. “Listen pal, you’ll get there soon enough, another outburst like that and I will dump you on the side of the street!” Edwin had not expected that kind of retaliation from a man of his stature. The cab driver looked depleted in every way. His thinning hair and sunken in eyes made him look as though an internal parasite was eagerly sucking out every ounce of integrity he had remaining and made him appear to have death following his every move. Deep wrinkles deceived his age and the constant coughing was enough to make Edwin’s teeth itch. The cab reeked of smoke; the smell crept into his cloths and laced itself within the stitching of his pressed jacket. Only two more blocks and Edwin would reach his new fait. The cold air slapped him in the face as he threw an over paid amount of money at the ghastly cab driver but he didn’t care, all he could see was the tattered steps that lead to May’s room. The thought of it being 3:30 in the morning didn’t matter, this was urgent, no way it could wait another three hours. He raced through door and up the stairs, hesitated to gather the hidden key May had long forgotten she had showed him, and burst through the door to her apartment. He let out a loud cry of her name and sprinted with incredible speed into her bedroom. He passed the couch where they had last been together, the magazines and papers have been cleaned up but memories still lingered around that couch. In a mad panic May was scrambling for any item to defend herself from the nameless, faceless intruder who beckoned her name. Unable to locate something suitable for defense, the man was upon her. The smell of forcefully smoked cigarettes, alcohol, and the outdoors loomed May to realize it was indeed Edwin. Stricken with shock she called to him, “Edwin, you are a mess what is wrong? Are you ok, how did you get in here?” She has more questions but they would not get a chance to be voiced; Edwin grabbed her face and even in the dark of night knew where to find her Crayola red lips and he passionately kissed them. Holding on to emotions long over due for expression, he began to weep. Apologies flooded out of him for hurtful times in the past, for neglect, and for the endless comparisons to his bitch of a wife. Unable to wrap her mind around it, May grabbed his hand and began to kiss him. “Perfect”, Edwin muttered out of breath and covered in a humid sweat. “What are you talking about,” May ask in disbelief. “It’s perfect, the sex, I’ve never felt that kind of emotion, ever. You are it May, the one who makes it all worth while, I’m sorry for not seeing it for so long, I’ll make it up to you, I swear.” For the first time May could see the sincerity in his eyes as he spoke of his feelings for her. This time she wouldn’t let him leave; neither from her apartment, nor her life.
It had been about three months since Edwin had seen the ex-wife he despised and the day he saw her would be her last day here. With the world in a certain nostalgic state he would be able to commit this distraught crime, plead his innocence and walk away a free man. The killing of Jenni was definitely premeditated, but the killing of Nigel was more for sport. There they were, he felt the acid building up in his stomach threatening to jump into his mouth in a spew of hatred and pure disgust. They were pining over each other, in the throws of passion, tangled sheets pinning them to the bed like chained monkeys. This was Edwin’s cue to act and he did. Years of taunting by Nigel flew out of Edwin’s fists, one blow landing on top of another. A loud shot pierced the once romantic atmosphere and shattered the night air like a baseball through a glass window. When he has finished with that little weasel, he turned to Jenni. He made her pay for all the times she made his imperfections real, the way he always felt inferior to her, and for keeping that damn cat around. Here it was, the future was in his hands, and he ended her future.
Case pled he walked away a free man, the jury was in touch with their emotional side that day and felt all the pain both inhumane individuals had caused him. But there was one more person to take care of, with Jack already dying of cancer time would take its toll. Mr. Mead, the words seemed like to pinch the corners of his brain and tangle them into the shape of the nasty mangled ponytail that Mead had always sported. Walking into Panderic that day was the first time Edwin had ever sported a smile and it was for just cause. He strutted through the halls, hunting down Mr. Mead like a pack of hungry wolves on the last remaining straggler in a herd of elk, and he was upon him. “Mr. Mead,” Edwin’s voice sported a sense of dominance and authority. “I’m going to make this short Mead, I hate your ponytail and you have been demoted. Hope you like pushing papers because that is all you are going to be doing for the remainders of your weed smoking life!” In one fell swoop, Edwin grabbed a pair of scissors, viciously cut off the long silver strands of mangled hair which faithlessly hung from the oily scalp of his former boss. With a smile of pure jubilance, Edwin handed the hair to Mead, pushed him down into his new cubical amongst all the other miserable editors and left. No more words were spoken, with a snide smile on his face he climbed into the drivers seat of his new Mercedes, kissed his Crayola queen on the lips and headed off to do what ever the hell he pleased.