A Tiger's Price of Admission

“You sure I can use your guest room? I’m not interrupting anybody?”

“No, Sean, you’re not bothering me. Really. Whiskers probably doesn’t like you, though.”

Jen gave Sean a warm smile that connected with him and made him feel like everything would be alright. She made a last-minute attempt to straighten the room out as Sean settled down into the bed. He loved how all the colors revolved around light blue and dark green. Seeing her lean against the wall opposite was the first time all week he felt safe.

“I appreciate this, Jen.”

“Stay as long as you want. Until this whole thing blows over, or until you’re off those meds. As long as you need.”

“Thank you.”

“Anything else? I gotta be on the L tomorrow. Nine AM”

“No, that’s all. I’ve got a little bit saved up, if you wanna talk about rent.”

“No, no. None of that yet. Get some rest. Eat well and stop thinking about what happened. Later.”

She tapped the bedside table twice before leaving.

“Yeah,” Sean grumbled.

* * *

“You take way too long to order. They probably spit into our food.”

“Relax, Dave. This meal’s on me. Zero cars in the whole drive thru. Five dollars for a foot-long. You should be jumping through the roof.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m just saying be ready, man. That’s all”

“It’s two sandwiches, how long can it take?”

“I don’t know, your ass always asks for it toasted, that brings the time up to-”

“How much? Wait- how much?”

Dave was shouting into the first window as Sean pulled out a 20. Dave then handed it to the worker who mumbled something from inside. They got their change then moved up in the line.

“Listen, Dave. I’m gonna be a security guard.”

“What? A security guard? Why would you wanna do that?”

“Listen. It pays better than other places I sent applications to, that’s all.”

“Right. Are you still gonna be living in our crib?”

“Course, man. We’ve been roommates since college, I’m not leaving.”

“Okay. Is that why we’re here? One last bite before your schedule’s flooded?”

“Something like that. I need to be saving up. Think about the future.’

“Alright, man. That’s good, though, you’ll be good at it. Where’s your first gig?”

“Mayor’s daughter’s friend is getting married. Think I got that right. Wedding at the palace.”

At the second window where customers got their food, Dave and Sean got their subs and were ignoring each other’s stomach grumbling. They continued their talk after they parked in the shade out back.

“The palace. Sounds classy. A little out of our league.”

“Yeah, I think they require you to wear a tie, which you don’t even own I bet.”

“Okay, and how stupid is it gonna look for your tie to be sticking out your bullet-proof vest like a jacka-”

“Alright, man, I get it. A job’s a job.”

“Amen. A job’s a job. Good luck. Don’t get stomped on.”

“I’ll try not to. Damn, you’re done already?”

Dave turned to Sean, and through smacking lips said, “Yeah. You just don’t order anything good.”

“That’s not the case. No one’s taking your sandwich from you.”

“Whatever. I’m taking us back. There’s a special on big cats I want to watch.”

* * *

“Sean, what do you want?”

“What’s up, Dave? Do you have a second? Can we talk?”

“No, man. You fucked up. I don’t know what happened, and I don’t wanna know. I just know I have fifty voicemails from our friends screaming in my ear about how you-”

“Okay, okay! That’s fine. I’ll explain when I get there. Five minutes is all I need.”

“No, dipshit. All your stuff’s in the hall. Slide your key under the door and get out of there as fast as possible. Bye.”

“Bro.”

* * *

“Come on, we have to talk about this at some point.”

“We have, though, Isa. We’ve been there so many times.”

“No, you can’t run away this time. Tell me, honestly, how you feel about this.”

Sean loudly burped before standing up.

“We’re not ready for something like. This. Neither me or you.”

“You know that’s not true. There something you’re not saying, Sean. Just say it.”

“What are you talking about? Stop.”

“No, I know you, There’s something you’re not telling me. Just give me the real reason.”

“If you and I bring a child into this world, and something happened to it, I could not live with myself. I’m not ruining someone’s life only because I can’t get mine together.”

“We’d be perfect, Sean. You just got that guard job, I got promoted. Why are you so nervous.”

“We’re not had-having a kid, Isa. That’s final. You’re not gonna force me.”

“Jesus, relax. I hear you.”

“That’s that,” Sean grumbled while trying to stay awake. He heard his apartment door shut, then the bang of his head against the ground as he blacked out.

* * *

Blue and red lights flashing during the early night. Ambulances speeding around while two TV camera crews pulled up at a distance. Overall vocal commotion never ceased, with constant yells being heard every minute. Mixed with sirens and police orders being barked out, the agony was strong in the air. A good portion of the community gathered around the mess, whispering to one another trying to make sense of it all.

“Mr. Rodell?”

“That’s me, sir, Sean.”

A husky, middle-aged, bald deputy pointed to Sean with a trim finger. His nostrils were flaring as he walked up to Sean at lightning speed.

“We need a quick word with you.”

“Alright, officer. What do you-”

“How did this happen?”

“Well, okay. I was at the entrance, standing there all evening until it got dark. I’ve been working as a security guard for five months now. My job is to make sure the people coming through and leaving are safe. It’s also my job to trust the trained professionals who deal with these animals on a daily basis, sir, to keep up their end of the deal. Respectfully, I don’t know how to properly sedate a lion or a bear, sir.”

“Start from the start. What happened then?”

“There hadn’t been any type of commotion all day. I was getting paid to just stand there essentially. The only danger or obstacle all day was when a kite got lost. It made some baby cry and that was it. So anyway, it’s the middle of the circus show, during the loudest part right before the big finale. There wasn't a single person outside, so I figured I could leave for a couple minutes to smoke. Next thing I knew, there were screams coming from inside the tent and then maybe fifty or sixty people came running out. There was so much noise, like screaming and crying. I thought a fire started or something. Then I froze and didn’t know what to do.”

“What to do, huh? It never occurred to you to maybe do your job and protect people?”

“I know, sir. I don’t know.”

“Looks like you’re fired from your brand, and probably every other security team in the country. No charges, however. You might be called up in front of a jury, but it’s the insurance company that has to deal with lawsuits. I imagine it’s gonna be a real hard time for you. Figure out where you’re gonna stay and we’ll be in touch if we find anything that concerns you.”

“All right, thanks for the help.”

“That’s enough.”

Officer Willis stormed off and threw his notepad to another cop. Sean sunk his head down and pretended that everyone within a mile wasn’t looking directly at him.

* * *

“You know how many lawyers I have to talk to today, Jen? How many meetings I have to attend next week? I’m knee-deep in Hell, and I would very much appreciate the smallest amount of compassion you can summon.”

“I’ve had it with you, Sean.”

“I’ll take any amount of sympathy, really.”

“You’ve been on your ass since day one and you hardly work. The first week was just a favor. I expected you to have a job, not another three lawsuits. That was two weeks ago. I’ve been plenty nice, and you need to find someplace else to stay.”

“Isa, can’t you see how hard this is for me? The guilty conscience I have when I wake up every day? And when I go to sleep? All the time in between-”

“You brought it on yourself. How many times in your wasted life have I told you to take it easy with the smoking?”

“I know, and I’m doing better.”

“Yeah, congrats, Sean. Four people dead because you couldn’t do your job.”

“Don’t say that.”

“You’re doing too much! You’re not giving me any room with this! I need space.”

“Is cause of March?”

“What?”

“When I broke up with you, it’s because of that.”

“God, Sean. You are so insufferable. Do you honestly think I resent you for that? That was the best thing you ever did for me! I would never want to stand where you are now. Begging your ex to stay with them. Practically on their knees.”

“Just let me prove it to you. I can get a job, I really can. It’s just hard.”

“Move past this however you need, just don’t do it here. I want all your stuff gone by noon tomorrow. You got that?”

“Yes, Jen. Christ.”

* * *

“Dude. Seriously? It’s 3:00 AM and you’re on Playstation?”

“Yeah, wanna join?”

“Sean. Your first day is tomorrow. No. Today.”

“I know. It’s in a couple hours. I wanted to blow some steam. Big deal.”

“I wouldn’t be messing with an opportunity like this.”

“Mind your business. I don’t give you shit about how your job requires you to walk through sewage.”

“I’m a plumber. That’s not what we do. That’s one. Two, I wasn’t giving you shit about your job. I was talking about your approach and how it could get you fired.”

“I got sleep yesterday. Relax.”

“Suit yourself. Goodnight.”

“Yeah.”

* * *

“Good evening, this is Sherri Olsen. Reporting for Channel 345 news, we’re standing right outside the circus site, where officials are investigating. Just a couple hours ago today, tragedy struck when one of the trainers lost control of an unleashed tiger. It jumped into the crowds and caused a stampede. With everyone rushing out all at once, there were over twenty injuries and four deaths, including a young couple from out-of-state, as well as their three-year-old son. We are still waiting for more information and statements from the sheriff and security present. Sherri Olsen, Channel 345.”