Drama

As Michael sat in his cell on his first day in jail, he couldn't believe how his life had led him to this moment. Just a few days earlier, he had been a normal citizen with a job and a family. Now, he was locked up and facing charges that he knew he couldn't beat.

*

He only wanted to be a good father to his children and save his rocky marriage, the juicy promotion was right at his fingertips and it all went crashing down.

Michael's life turned into a 180 when his coworker died in a crash. Rick was a rotund firecracker, but he didn't deserve to die. No matter how many times they were at each other's throats when it came to a marketing campaign, or the type of coffee that was brought to work that day, or auditing the price required to replace the AC filter and condenser that wafted in the room.

The one time Michael got a laugh out of snide Rick was how the AC filter reeked of used adult diapers. Everyone has heard shit hitting fan, but only Rick got a chuckle when it came to old man piss hitting the air conditioner.

Michael's marital disputes were heated, but wasn't as chaotic when he argued with Rick.

He considered Rick being a heavy set business rival and a frenemy.

In one of their disputes, Rick pulled out a vacuum tube and made a vulgar hand gesture. "I rather use this piece of shit than to put up with your wife. At least a vacuum does what it's supposed to do."

They had a falling out after their argument. Neither of them talked to each other unless they were obligated to work together.

The detective who arrested him for questioning said, "Well now you know why you're here." He held up a paper, "Your fingerprints are all over it."

"You can't prove anything, detective," Michael snapped. "It's not like I killed him. You don't need to charge me."

"We will if you refuse to cooperate," the detective replied. "So you better start talking."

They didn't give him much choice. They dragged him from the room by handcuffs. He felt like he was going insane; it seemed so surreal that they could just grab him.

Michael and Rick wanted the promotion and only their boss had offered the vacant position for the one who could convince the chairman of the Caiman Bank to invest in their estate.

Michael needed it more, he needed to obtain the promotion and the commission to pay off the debt, his wife was nearing on her second trimester with their third child on the way.

Michael's son was having trouble at school and there was a parent-teacher conference pending. Michael's daughter also had a dentist appointment in the following week.

All of his responsibilities were piling up and the reason that his wife was acting the way she did were the mood swings, and the fact that he wouldn't be able to attend the ultrasound was because of his work.

Michael venting his problems to Rick, and Rick being Rick gave his honest (though useless) opinion.

"That's why I never started a family, I'm better off doing things the way I want without a wife nagging for shit I should do and having whiny brats crying thier heads off all day. I'll tell you this much, the older I get, the more I understand why my mother tried to get rid of me. If she hadn't treated me like shit, I wouldn't have been able to fend for myself."

Rick on the other hand had only himself to take care of, his mother had past away at a retirement home. He inherited her snarky attitude.

One of Rick's lasts words were: "You have your family! I only have myself to take care of and I'll be damned if I don't get the promotion!"

Rick wasn't the only man who fell.
Rick passed away in a blink of an eye while Michael fell behind bars.

In the end, no one wins.
When a man falls, no one cares.
We have to pay for our sins.
Our crimes, our illicit affairs.
Our problems were always there.
In the fall of a man, they just stare.

As if he was meaningless.

They don't acknowledge his existance until his name is on the headlines.

The tragedy of one man is the gossip for many. The prisoner is just a zoo animal for the public eye to poke fun at.

And no one cares if you become that man.