Story Needs Title

            The annoying clatter of an extra loud alarm clock woke Geo from a good dream.  He dragged himself out of bed and staggered to the bathroom to get ready for work.  The sky outside was lit up with a sunrise, the beauty of a new day.  The wonders of his Geo’s life though stopped here.  Only two months ago his wife had left him, and had gotten sole custody of their son Lucas.  To make matter worse, today was Lucas’s seventh birthday, but Geo would not be part of the festivities.  His wife lived in California, and even though it was only a short plane trip away, it may as well have been a universe.  His ex-wife had provided hardly convincing evidence that Geo had been a drug user and dealer.  Her claims were specious and had absolutely no support, but for some reason the judge had taken his son away from him. 

            The chatter of birds in the backyard, and the racket of his neighbor’s lawn mower jolted Geo from his thoughts of self-pity.  What was anyone in their right mind doing cutting their lawn at this God forsaken hour?  Geo laughed, realizing who he lived next to.  Most of his neighbors were loony bin escapees, and weren’t in their right mind at all. 

            Still half asleep Geo stumbled into the kitchen to make a pot of coffee.  Just as the bitter sweet smell began to waft through the kitchen Geo heard clatter of his alarm clock again.  Had he left it on snooze?  Oh wait.  That was his new cell phone.  He’d never bothered to change the ringtone to something less annoying.  Glancing at the screen he groaned.  His sister was calling, and this could only mean nothing but trouble. 

            “What?” Geo grumbled into the mouthpiece. 

            “Um, couldja open yer door?” his sister Anna replied in her low class voice. 

            “What, did you forget how to turn a door knob?” Geo retorted. 

            “I troyed, but it waon’t turn.” 

            “Hmm, I don’t know maybe it’s locked,” said Geo, his voice dripping with condescension.  His sister had suffered one to many concussions when they were growing up, which resulted in her IQ being lower than a seven year old. 

            Geo, now fully awake due to the coffee, stomped over to the front door and looked through the window.  There lay his sister with her back to his front door, cell phone in hand. 

            Pulling open the door Geo asked, “How long have you been here?” 

            “Since two.” 

            His sister wasn’t usually this bad.  She worked at the local McDonalds, so couldn’t be completely stupid.  “Are you ok?”

            “Oh yes.  Perfectly fine.”  Anna dragged herself toward a chair, his son’s favorite rocking chair, but she tripped over chord for the coffee pot.  By some luck she landed in the chair unharmed.  The last thing she needed was another concussion. 

            “Are you sure you’re ok?”

            “Well the doctor said something about a stroke,” said Anna slurring every word.  “I wasn’t sure what he meant when….”  She trailed off.  “I got good news though!  I don’t work at McDonalds anymore.  They gave me raise.  My new job is sleeping in a sleeping bag on the side of the road.  Doesn’t that sound fun?”

            What can I do? thought Geo.  My sister had enough trouble “providing” for her twelve and seventeen year old sons, Spencer and Seth.  Seth, the oldest son, was the one who really ran the house.  The government had refused to grant any help to the unfortunate family besides letting Seth only take half his required classes in school.  Seth worked a full time job at Taco Bell, but even with all this hard work, Seth and Anna’s meager salary barely made ends meet. 

            Geo owned a bread company, but as soon as the idea of offering Anna a job their emerged in his brain, he shot it down immediately.  If she couldn’t work at McDonalds, he didn’t really want her working for him.  Geo had once hired Anna’s ex-husband Arthur.  He wasn’t sure if he’d fired Arthur because he was a bad worker, or because his ex-wife had left him for Arthur.  It didn’t matter.  His sister was the family weirdo, and for the longest time an ever widening rift had kept them apart. 

             Another rift, which Geo would do anything do destroy, was the one separating him from his son.  His thoughts returned to Lucas, and how he would have given anything to be with him on his birthday.  Just then one of his crazy neighbors started up their lawnmower again, which returned his thoughts to his mess of a sister sitting in his son’s favorite chair. 

            “Hey look it’s really nice of you to stop by, but I need to get to work, and I’m sure you do too.” 

            “Good idea,” said as she, with difficulty, staggered toward the door.  The rumble of Anna’s old car faded as she drove away, the sound to be replaced by his neighbor’s lawnmower.  Slouching down into a chair—not his son’s—Geo returned to his thoughts of self-pity.