by Oliver, Nick
“Sam, you suck at pool,” she laughed. “You never win.”
“One of these days I’m going to beat him and you’re all going to be eating your words,” I proclaimed. "I’ll just go get Sarah a drink at the bar and then we’ll settle this.”
“I’ll come with you,” Sarah said as she set her purse on the table.
I walked up to the bar and pulled a five dollar bill out of my pocket. As I waited for the bartender I caught a glimpse of Rodger, an ass hole who went to high school with all of us and used to date Sarah. He was my height, with a stockier frame. He had gained some weight in recent years. I could hear him talking to two other guys. His mere presence was enough to bring my blood to a boil. Sarah only dated him for a few months after high school, but during that time he'd been both physically and mentally abusive toward her.
“And here she is now! I knew you’d come crawling back to me Sarah.” Rodger slurred his words, he was far from sober. Sarah ignored him. He wasn’t worth the trouble, until he turned in my direction.
“Hey Sam, long time no see.” He walked over to me and placed his arm on my shoulder, leaning in and talking only inches from my ear so Sarah couldn’t hear him and said in his usual condescending way, “You know you don’t have a chance at getting in Sarah’s pants. She’s way out of your league, but she wasn’t out of mine, and let me tell you, she’s one fine piece of…”
I cut his little rant off by swinging my right hand right into his face, hitting him in the cheek and knocking him off his bar stool. “You need to shut the hell up before you say something stupid,” I said as I rubbed my knuckles.
A fist that wasn't Rodger's connected with my right jaw out of nowhere, shooting stars across my vision. Before I hit the ground, somebody caught me. I noticed it was Nick as I got back to my feet. I nodded to him as soon as I got my bearings, he responded with a nod of his own and punched The guy who must have sucker punched me. I recognized him as Dave, another alumni from our old high school. He used to play on the football team with Rodger. Unlike Rodger, he hadn't lost his football figure, luckily he was a wide receiver and not a linebacker.
I looked over at Rodger and he had also gotten back to his feet. Before I could get my hands up he ran at me and tackled me into a table knocking it over, along with the drinks that were on it. We both hit the ground and rolled in opposite directions. It took me a second to get my bearings. I stood up about the same time Rodger did. He charged me with a bar stool, but I grabbed it and used it as leverage to swing him into a wall. While I'm sure there were plenty of people near our scuffle, I had tunnel vision. If I didn't know any better 'd say Rodger and I were the only people in the room.
He was a little dazed on his knees, so I grabbed his shoulders and helped him to his feet. But it was a ruse, he punched me in my ribs. My breath was leaving me, so kneed him in the abdomen, and threw him back against the wall behind him.
I glanced over to Nick and saw he was standing over Dave who was unconscious now, staring at James, another friend of Rodger's who was shaking in his boots, too scared to get involved. I wasn't surprised. James was on the scrawny side, and couldn't have weighed more than a hundred pounds soaking wet.
“Don’t you ever talk to her, look at her, or even think about her again. You hear me?” I threatened Rodger.
He spit in my face then asked, “And what are you going to do about it?”
I punched him square in the jaw, knocking him off his feet. He hit the floor hard, and didn't try to get back up right away, just writhed around. “I’ll embarrass you in public again, you piece of shit.”
Rodger got up after a few seconds, around the same time Dave was coming to and they left the bar in a hurry. The fight only lasted a minute or so, and didn't draw as much attention as I thought it had. In fact, half the bar didn't even notice it. If Nick and I weren't so friendly with the staff we'd probably have been kicked out.
Roxie and Sarah ran over to Nick and I. “Are you guys okay?” Roxie asked. “Rodger is such an ass hole.” Both girls had really concerned looks on their faces.
I let out a long drawn out groan, hunched over, clutched my side and said, “I think I broke a rib.”
Nick was holding his right hand, flinching when he moved it. “I think I broke my hand on that guy’s face.”
“Oh my God! Did you really?” Roxie asked, and then she gave him a piece of ice to put on his hand.
“Are you going to be ok?” Sarah asked, putting her hand on my shoulder trying to comfort me.
I stood up straight and smiled. “Nah, I’m just kidding, I’m fine.”
Sarah hit me in the arm. “Why do you have to be like that?”
I let out a fake yelp of pain. “Okay, so I didn’t break a rib, but I did just get in a fight, and I am a little sore.”
Sarah’s angry look went back to sympathy. “I’m sorry, but you better not do it again.”
Roxie looked at Nick. “You’re hand better be broken.”
His painful face melted into one of fear. “Um, on second thought, I think it’s just a sprain.”
Roxie cocked an eyebrow. “Oh, so now it’s just a sprain.” She chuckled. “You’re so full of it.”
“Okay, well let’s get back to our table.” Nick cleared his throat, changing the subject. “We don’t want to lose it.”
“I’ll meet you guys there,” I said to everyone, then went back and grabbed the drinks off the bar.
When I got back to the table everyone was laughing. “What’s so funny?” I asked
“Your tough guy face,” Sarah giggled. “It’s so cute.”
Nick imitates it and deepens his voice into a mocking tone, “I’ll embarrass you in public again.”
I had to admit it was pretty funny. “Yeah, laugh it up. Now who’s ready to take me on at pool?”
Sarah jumped out off her stool and grabbed a cue. “I think the question is you ready to lose to a girl?”
I smiled and answered, “Always.”
2:00 AM June 13
My old truck rattled slightly along the old cracked road leading to Sarah’s house. The road had been on the city’s list of ‘things to take care of’ for years, but they never quite got around to it.
Sarah reached over to the radio and turned it down slightly. “I always have loved this old Ranger,” she said referring to my truck. “It may not be the flashy car that Nick drives, but it’s got that rugged reliability.”
“That’s why I bought it, rugged reliability,” I chuckled. “Even though the last few months I've spent more time under it than I have driving it, I'm sure I'll fix it like I always have. You never know when you’re going to need to haul some large pink furniture.”
“One time I asked you to help me move my cousin’s furniture, and I never hear the end of it.” She smiled. “Besides, when that cop pulled you over, the look on your face was priceless. You were more red then a tomato.”
“That’s why you don’t haul pink furniture in a man’s truck,” I jested back, “And I wasn’t blushing, I had… sunburn.”
“You had sunburn, my ass,” she responded sarcastically.
I just gave up. She got her shot in, and we were at her house now. I put the truck in park, and we got out. Her house was an old two story farm house, like something out of the Grapes of Wrath. The paint was chipping in places, the yard wasn’t in the best of shape, and the trees could use some trimming. It didn’t always look like that, it used to be well kept until Sarah’s mom passed away about six years ago, and her dad sort of lost interest in little things like that.
We walked up to the door and stood there for a second. She looked up at the top of my head. “I got it!” she exclaimed out of nowhere.
“You got what?” I asked with a perplexed look on my face. I reached up and felt the top of my head. I was wearing a camouflage baseball cap that said Remington across the front. It wasn’t anything unusual. I’d been wearing baseball caps my whole life. I almost felt uncomfortable when I didn’t have one on, almost
like I was naked.
“Hold on, I’ll be right back,” she said as she ran inside. “Stay right there!”
“Not going anywhere!” I yelled back to her as the door swung back shut.
“That girl’s been waiting for you to kiss her at that door for six years,” I heard a gruff voice utter from the corner of the front porch. I was slightly embarrassed I hadn't noticed someone else was on the porch with us.
I glanced over to see Sarah’s Father sitting in the dark with a glass in his hand, and a nearly empty bottle at his side. “I’ve been waiting to kiss her at that door for eight. How’ve you been lately Mr. W?”
“As good as one can be I suppose,” he admitted with a sip from his glass, setting a fat cigar down into an ash tray, “And I could have sworn I told you to stop calling me that.”
I walked over and sat down in the chair next to him. “Sorry Jerry. Old habits die hard.”
When Sarah’s mom passed away six years ago, her dad took it hard. He took to the bottle to try cope. He never became a violent man. He was still the gentle giant he’d been before, always with a joke or sarcastic remark. It was his coping mechanism, helping him to get through the day with a little less troubling him, and I didn’t think any less of him for it.
“You're a man now," He said as he took a puff from his cigar, "more than I ever was at your age, whether you realize it or not. While showing respect is important, I think we're beyond that bullshit at this point. You'll probably like this brand, not too harsh, got a decent flavor. Put that in your humidor."
He handed me a cigar which I accepted right away. I learned a while ago that declining gifts from Jerry was a futile attempt, he'd hunt you down to give it to you whether you wanted it or not. I wasn't sure what to say in response to that, so I took the cigar and sniffed it. It wasn't mild by my taste, but it wasn't overly harsh.
"One of these days she’ll realize you’re what she needs. I had to go through the same shit with her mother. She put up a hell of a fight,” he referred to his late wife. “But eventually we got married, and that was it. We were in love, more so then I could ever describe.”
His eyes were beginning to gloss up, and he took another sip of his drink, finishing it off. “I know exactly what you mean.” I agreed with him. “I would do anything and everything for Sarah. Even if I had to cross the country for her on foot, I would.”
A rare smile crept up the side of his face as he refilled his glass with the bottle he had at his side. “I know you would, which is why I respect the hell out of you, more so than any of the assholes and jackasses she’s gone out with before.” He sipped his fresh drink, “And if you ever learn anything from this worn out old man, let it be that if you find what you truly want, it doesn’t matter how long you have to wait for it. It’s worth it.”
“Well I’ve never been one to just give up hope, especially not when it comes to her.” I adjusted the hat on my head, “Even if it takes me another eight years of waiting, I’ll still be standing outside that door waiting.”
I heard the screen door swing open. Sarah didn’t have the huge grin she had when she ran inside, but a bit more like she was lost in her thoughts a bit. She had something in her hands. It was a worn and slightly faded black baseball cap.
I couldn’t help but smile wide. “You still got that old thing?” I asked sarcastically as she ripped the Camouflage one off the top of my head and placed the black one in its place. It fit perfectly onto my head, like I had worn it just yesterday.
“Of course I still have it!” she exclaimed. “You gave it to me when I went off to college in Oregon for that semester right out of high school, so that I could have a little piece of you to remember you by.”
I thought back to that day. She had wanted to go to the college her mom went to out in Oregon her whole life, and when she was accepted she could barely contain herself. I gave it to her when I thought she was going for the long haul, four whole years away from home, only coming back for summers and maybe the occasional holiday. It turned out a bit differently when she didn’t quite do as well as she could have, and decided to come home. She lost the hat at her aunt’s house where she was staying while attending college.
“My aunt found it when she was cleaning through the room I stayed in when I used to live there.” Her smile was back. “I couldn’t believe it, I thought it was gone forever!”
“Me too, shit I remember the day you gave me this old hat,” I reminisced. “How many years ago was that?”
She thought for a second, “We were pretty little, like twelve, thirteen maybe?”
“Seven years ago,” her dad added as he walked past us going inside the house. “I remember taking her to the store specifically to buy that hat. She used all her allowance for two weeks on it.”
“Well the old man hasn’t been wrong yet,” I said sarcastically.
“He sure hasn’t” she hugged him. “Night Daddy. I’ll be in, in a minute.”
“I’ll be right back. Just getting a refill,” he raised his bottle of whiskey slightly, showing its lack of contents.
Sarah rolled her eyes, “You would.”
After he went inside we stood there for a second, just staring at each other, with locked eyes and a smile.
“Well I’ve got to get going,” I broke the silence. “My flight is in a few hours, and you know me, still got a little last minute packing I have to do.”
She laughed, “Have you ever been prepared for anything?”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” I countered. “You just wait, one of these days I’ll be the one who is actually prepared for something rather than scrambling to get things together last minute.”
“Sure,” she responded, with little belief. “One thing though. When you get back, I think we need to talk about something, something we should have talked about a long time ago.”
I was a bit perplexed. Sure we had been friends for years, but other than when her mom died and the occasional breakup, our friendships had been nothing but one joke or tease after another.
“What is it about?” I asked. There was nothing that irritated me more than suspense, though she knew that and it wouldn’t be the first time she would make me ponder over something for days, though I could tell from the look on her face this wasn’t just gossip or a ploy to mess with me, this was something serious.
She looked down for a second, probably thinking of how to word whatever she was about to say without giving it away entirely, “It’s about us. I’ll just leave it at that.” She leaned in and hugged me, then kissed me on the cheek. Granted this wasn’t unusual, she wasn’t exactly physically shy, and a kiss on the cheek was how she usually would say goodbye whenever we wouldn’t see each other for a long period time.
Even so, this felt different. It wasn’t just a peck, and she held the hug for a lot longer then she normally did. It reminded me of when her mother died and I was really the only one she had to lean on while her dad was lost in the bottle.
When she let go I smiled a little. “Alright, we’ll talk when I get back. See you in a week or so.”
She returned the smile. “Don’t fret too much, it’ll all make sense when you get back. Bye!”
Her dad came back out with a fresh bottle of whiskey, and saw me walking down the steps back to my truck, “Tell your dad I said hi Sam.”
I looked back, “Will do Jerry. See you later.” I opened the door to my truck and got in, Sarah sat next to her dad and they started talking as I pulled out. They both waved and I returned the wave and flicked my lights on so I could see, and headed back home to finish packing for my flight.
Chapter Three: Ohio
5:00 AM, June 13
I grabbed my backpack and suitcase out of the trunk and closed it. “Thanks for the ride Roxie. I’ll give you a call when my plane lands.”
“You better,” she demanded. “Last time you forgot and I got worried sick.”
“I apologized for that about a hundred times,” I defended myself as I opened the door.
“It won’t happen again. Remind me again why you don’t have to go?”
“Because, I have these stupid nursing classes this summer,” she grimaced. “Believe me, if I had the choice I’d be up there cleaning the cabin.”
“Yeah I don’t know who you’re trying to fool,” I laughed. “If by stupid nursing classes, you mean resting around the house and laughing at my misfortune while doing one homework assignment you could be doing online at the cabin.”
“You know there’s no cell service or internet at that cabin,” she countered. “Besides, I’d just be dusting like I always do anyhow.”
“Yeah but now I’m going to have to dust,” I sighed.
“Well, have fun,” she winked. “Tell Mom and Dad I said hi!” she said as she pulled away.
I waved to her and strolled into the familiar Orlando International Airport. My father had worked for the airlines for going on thirty years now and was nearing retirement, so I’ve been flying as far back as I can remember.
I waited in the long line to the ticket counter. Luckily I’m a pretty patient person, so I didn’t really mind long lines. I usually just let my thoughts drift randomly, although I couldn’t help but notice that several people around me were discussing some kind of disease outbreak in Asia.
“Yeah apparently it makes you lose your mind and just start attacking people,” the woman behind me said to another woman next to her.
“I think it’s a form of Rabies,” the other woman replied. “That’s spread by bites too right?”
A teenager who couldn’t be older then fifteen or sixteen, about four or five people in front of me in line, turned around and said, “I heard that those people didn’t lose their minds, they die and come back to life!”
I chuckled slightly, and so did a few other people who heard him. The boy’s father shook his head and said, “Now what kind of sense does that make? Dead things can’t do anything but be dead.”
The discussion between the women continued until I finally reached the ticket counter and got my boarding pass.