Read the first chapter of Josh Samman’s memoir ‘The Housekeeper: Love, Death, & Prizefighting’

“I just want to scream, ‘Hello! My God, it’s been so long. Never dreamed you’d return.’ Now here you are, and here I am.”

-Eddie Vedder

“Crack!”

I woke from my daydream by the sound of a cue ball breaking a rack on the table behind me. It wasn’t so much of a daydream as it was an evening one, awake but my mind somewhere other than Pockets, the shitty pool hall we were in.

The cigarette smoke was thick, and I wondered why we were still there. I hated the stuff, cigarette smoke. It aggravated my asthma and left me smelling like an ashtray. My bar stool was wobbling slightly, and every so often the same loud crack would send a soundwave through the building. My drinking companion for the night sat next to me as we ordered another round from the minimal beer selection.

Matt was my roommate, and had been my closest friend for years. He was an outdoorsman, a meat and potatoes kind of guy who made his living doing tree removal. We’d both grown up in Tallahassee our whole lives, and per usual, the topic of conversation was the plot of our escape; when we would leave our beloved hometown, and where we’d go when we finally got out. We were always discussing ambitions of bigger and better things, and I tried to convince him that the time was past due. I was 24 years old, and beginning to finally get a grasp on how vast the world was, what it had to offer.

If there was one city I loved more than any, it was Tallahassee, but I felt stunted. The roots of my plant had outgrown the pot, and I yearned for more than the golden handcuffs that a cushy hometown provides. Too long I’d been inside my comfort zone, and I …

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