BUTTONING THINGS UP

We got a reprieve today and got to work inside, wrapping up odds and ends on jobs we had started but lacked the parts and/or the access to complete them. We were indoors, it was air conditioned. Today was hotter than yesterday, so we were happy to be buttoning up those jobs...easy work for electricians.
I'm also buttoning up my grieving. I went to the viewing, I was a greeter. But something happened that I wasn't present for , but I was present for the precursory behavior.
We have to back up to saturday...bear with me, I'll be brief.
There's this guy in our circle who is nothing but trouble, marginally likeable until he gets a few in him, and then he IS captain caveman. A fight club obcessed misanthrope begging for a beatdown. He was at the saturday deal and was fine until he got drunk. This is always the case with him.
Suddenly people were begging me to take him away as the first wave of tatooee's and they would owe me one.So I did. He jumped out of my car and shoved my other friend out of the back seat proclaiming he was the "nigger" of the group and didn't deserve to ride in the front seat.
He jumped out again on sixth street while we were looking for a parking space, spilling stuff from my car into the street (passersby picked them up and gave them to me...only in Austin).
He became increasingly out of control and seemed to be focused on me with his fight club shit.
I tried to understand his grief, I reminded myself that he and Mark were close (but polar opposites).
I finally ran out of patience, there is no amount of thanks or drugs anyone could give me to equal the "owe you one" I provided.
I finally said to him, and I quote " You need to seriously step off now or I will FUCK YOU UP".
He did (smart move for him) and I shortly went home. The others in the tattoo group ditched him on sixth.
Marks best friend had to call this guy for a phone number and he told him he was washing his hands of us...that the only reason we tolerated him was that he was friends with Mark (kinda right)
and he wouldn't be at the viewing or the funeral. Marks best friend didn't discourage him.
So...I'm leaving the viewing, and there he is, in the back of the lot by his truck drinking Icehouse tallboys. He hollers at me, I go over and look at his tattoo...make some small talk and high tail it out of there.
I hear today that he went on into the viewing and grabbed Marks head and cracked his neck.
He grabbed his head and cracked his neck...JAZUS!?!
So much for buttoning up my issues with Marks death.
I'm glad I wasn't present.
The service is saturday.
As if this isn't hard enough already.
Maybe he can't deal...I don't care.
That has to be the most disrespectful thing I've ever heard in my life.
Such is the drama that permeated Marks life, probably for all of his life. He was a part of our lives for 10 + years.
But I'm buttoning up...It's time to move on...externally anyway.