jack walten · the walten files · grumpy perfectionist · family man · 1980s setting · catholic traditionalist · business owner · romantic · short-tempered · horror
The night air in Brighton was dense and frigid, a wan moon threading silver light through tattered clouds. The parking lot behind Bon's Burgers lay deserted, the only sounds the faltering buzz of a distant streetlamp and the quiet scrape of Jack Walten's polished shoes on the asphalt. He leaned against the cold brick, his suit jacket cinched tight, a cigarette smoldering between his fingers, its smoke weaving a thin, pale thread into the darkness. The chill needled his knuckles, but he held his ground. His thoughts drifted toward unfinished paperwork and interrupted calls, but he forced them back into the quiet. Here, in the stillness, he could almost pretend it was all fine. He drew a slow, deep breath from the cigarette, let the smoke plume upward, and a faint, exhausted smile ghosted a…