“I love barbeque! You’re still friends with me on Facebook, right?”
“I should be,” said Phil, bringing up another window. He looked at a picture quite similar to the video game character she used as an avatar. The name looked a little strange. “Uh, there’s an Eleanor Chav Rng Leizl…What is this, Chinese? I can’t pronounce it.”
Crawley’s voice giggled in his ear.
“Tagalog, actually. Crawley is our Anglo approximation. Dad got sick of his mail never coming to the house a few years ago and legally changed it to Crawley. It’s close enough and easy to spell. When I started an online account, I thought I’d use the old family name.”
“That’s cool.” Phil felt foolish for mangling the name.
“I’ll message you my number…right after this raid.”
“Right!” Phil’s focus returned to the game.
Chapter 4
SUSAN BANGED on the thin door of Steve’s apartment, raising her voice to be heard above the din she was making.
“Wake up, jerk! It’s noon, for God’s sake!”
A moment later his face appeared in the doorway, still swollen with sleep. An indentation from his pillow created a comical design across his cheeks, which were covered in fine stubble.
“I don’t give a shit what time it is, I’m goddamn tired. What are you doing here?”
“Uh, duh?” She pushed past him into his tiny apartment. “We’re having lunch with dad today, remember?”
“Oh, shit…give me a minute?”
“Take two.” Susan plopped down on his sofa. She had on tight jeans and a snug-fitting T-shirt, her long, dirty-blond hair cascading down her back. Her painted thumbnail flicked through a dozen channels in a matter of seconds. “Don’t you have cable?”
“What’s the point?” he shouted from his bathroom. “Anything on cable you can watch on the Internet for free.”
“I just like to surf, sometimes. Ugh, network television.”
Steve rubbed a hand over his stubble, deciding he really didn’t have time to shave. He ran a brush through his thick head of hair, growling as he hit snarls.
“You can’t surf the web?” he called out.
“Nah, it’s just not the same. You have to type in what you’re looking for.”
Steve laughed as he spritzed on cologne from a small amber bottle. “Oh, poor baby, you have to push a few more buttons than normal.”
“I know, it’s terrible, right?”
“Where are we going to eat?” Steve rifled through the shirts hanging in the tiny chamber laughingly referred to by his landlord as a closet.
“Applebee’s, I think.”
“Good!” He grabbed a black T-shirt without taking down the hanger, which bounced crazily in the closet until its momentum played out. “I can dress casual.”
“When do you not dress casual? You even wear jeans to work!”
He came out into the living room, now clad in a pair of jeans and an Iron Maiden T-shirt that wasn’t too worn.
“Do you know how messy my kids get? ‘Dry clean only’ just isn’t an option in my profession.”
The two of them exited the apartment, Steve locking the door behind them. They trod down the noisy hallway as Susie’s face scrunched up in disgust.
“Why are you still living in this dump?”
“Rent’s cheap. Besides, I always thought…”
They walked down the short flight of narrow stairs, avoiding sticky spots on the railing. When they reached the street level, she turned to regard him.
Her tone bore some annoyance that he had left her hanging. “You always thought what?”
Steve felt quite uncomfortable. Sweat broke out on his forehead and palms, and he pursed his lips as he stared at her lovely face. When he spoke he did not meet her eyes. “I always thought, well, I thought that I’d move once I got married.”
“Well, that’s logical, at least. Don’t give up hope! Dad says he saw you with a date at the match last night. You know, he was really, really happy you showed up.”
“Yeah, well, I couldn’t keep blowing him off. And it wasn’t a date.”
“Oh, is she seeing someone else?”
“No, I don’t think so.”
“And are you seeing someone else?”
“No, you know I’m not.”
“Then it was a date.” Susan elbowed him in the ribs and gave him a wink.
Steve looked at the busy street before them as vehicles zipped past as quickly as they dared. He grimaced when he didn’t spot a taxi.
“How are we getting there? You want to split the fare on a cab?”
“Dad’s gonna pick us up on Hudson. He just bought a new Cadillac, and I think he wants to show it off.”
“Fine for him. I hate driving in the city.”
The siblings walked down the sidewalk, bathed in bright sunlight. Susan seemed to enjoy it immensely, closing her eyes and letting the warmth spread over her face. Steve squinted at the brightness, appearing quite uncomfortable. They stopped at a Kinko’s parking lot, Steve leaning against a light pole while Susan fished out her cell.
“Daddy?” she said a few moments after putting it to her ear. “Yeah, we’re in the copy shop’s parking lot, like you said.”
Susan paused for a brief moment, listening to their father. Then a smile spread across her face. “Okay, see you in a few, Daddy!”
She grinned fiercely at Steve. “So, tell me all about this new girl.”
“No. All you’ll do is make fun of me.”
Susan adopted a plaintive posture, her large eyes glistening in the sun. “C’mon, please? Or do you want to hear the most annoying sound in the world?” Susan opened her mouth and a dissonant screech emanated from her oral cavity, causing Steve to wince.
“God, you know I hate that! Fine, what do you want to know?”
“Is she cute?”
Steve smiled, eyes seeming far away. “She’s gorgeous.”
“How many tattoos does she have? She’s got at least one facial piercing, right?”
Steve’s smile faded. “Shut up.”
“Oh, I’m just messing with you, bro! We all have our types. Is this one at least out of high school?”
Steve shook his head, mouth twisting in a sneer. “One time, one time when I was in college, and you never let me hear the end of it. Besides, they don’t count as high school girls when they’re eighteen.”
“I bet she is younger than you, though.”
Steve’s head tilted to one side, eyes far away as he pondered something that he hadn’t really cared to as of yet. “I don’t know. She probably is, but she doesn’t seem that young. Kind of jaded, really. Funny, though, in a smart ass kind of way.”
He fixed her with a glare. “You’d probably love her.”
“I’m sure I will!”
“But we’re not dating. She was very adamant about that.”
“Play it cool, big bro. Don’t try to push her into anything before she’s ready.”
“Then what should I do?”
“Just be yourself,” said Susan, taking his arm in both of her hands. She leaned her head against his shoulder. “You’re a sweet guy, Steve. I really hope you find a sweet woman, because otherwise you’re in for a lot of heartache.”
“I really wouldn’t describe her as sweet per se. Yeah, I’m probably in for a bad time.”
“But you never know…” Susan released his arm and punched it solidly. “She might be the one.”
“I’m not holding my breath.” Steve’s interest was piqued by a long, royal blue Cadillac pulling into the lot. He saw his father’s great shaggy head over the steering wheel, face split in a wide grin of unconstrained pride.
“Great car, Daddy!” said Susan, opening up the passenger side door.
“Thanks, pumpkin!” He accepted her peck on the cheek. “Why don’t you get in the back seat, and let us long-legged men have the front?”
“You’re so buying me one of these when I graduate,” said Susan as she complied.
“You’re buying her a car?”
“Maybe. It depends on what her grades are like. If she gets all A’s, sure she can have a Caddy. B’s, she’ll end up with a Lexus. C’s, and she’ll get a Pontiac.”
“What do you think you’ll end up driving?” Steve, turned his head to address her in the back seat.
“An old Pinto with a headlight missing,” she said, causing all three to laugh.
“A chick?” Rex shook his head incredulously, looking at Phil as if he’d grown a second head.
“Yeah, sort of.” Phil scratched the back of his head.
“What do you mean, sort of? Either she is or she isn’t, and if she is then there’s one simple rule.”
They were in Rex’s basement, the older man wearing the same sweat pants as the night before. Phil had carefully picked out a pair of dark dress pants and a button-up collared shirt in a complementary shade of light orange. He wore black tennis shoes to complete the ensemble, apparently unaware that one of his laces was untied.
“What rule?” Phil asked.
“Easy! Either she’s ugly, in which case she can probably play, or she’s cute, in which case she won’t be able to play at all.”
“Stereotype much?”
“It’s true!” Rex was distracted by a knock at the door.
“What’s up, faggots?” said Rich from the other side.
“Oh, god,” said Phil, taking off his glasses and rubbing his eyes. “Why did you invite him?”
“Our mothers play mah-jongg together,” said Rex with a shrug. “Besides, didn’t you go to high school with him?”
“Don’t remind me.”
Rex moved to open the door. Rich appeared in the opening, wearing cargo shorts despite the cold weather. He had on a Jimmy Buffet T-shirt and flip-flops.
Rich grinned as his eyes moved up and down Phil’s form. “You dork. It’s a fucking Sunday for god’s sake, you don’t have to dress like you’re at the office.”
“I’m not taking fashion advice from a guy who looks like a homeless person,” said Phil.
“Ooooh, look who brought his big boy voice to the basement today!”
“Dumbshit here,” said Rex, indicating Phil with a jab of his fat finger, “thinks he’s found us a new guitarist. A chick.”
“You dumbass,” said Rich, laughing.
“Yeah, I was just telling him if she’s hot, she won’t be able to play.”
“Who the hell is it?” Rich asked, sitting down on a battered lounge chair and helping himself to a can of beer.
“Eleanor Crawley,” said Phil. “You remember her? We had Chem class together.”
Rich burst out laughing, almost dropping the beer he was trying to open.
“Creepy Crawley? Oh my god, Rex, you got nothing to worry about, buddy!”
“Why is that?”
“’Cause Creepy Crawley ain’t hot. Far from it!”
“She wasn’t that bad looking,” said Phil.
“Like you could tell, with those layers of wifey Mormon dresses she always wore! And do you remember her hands? They were as big as a dude’s! She could knock out Tyson with one of those things!”
“Could she play?” Rex asked, cautious optimism creeping into his voice.
“I guess so,” said Phil with a shrug. “She was always in band all the way through high school.”
“Wait a minute,” said Rich, his eyes growing thoughtful. “Where did you run into Creepy anyway? Buying razors, Band-Aids, and peroxide?”
Phil stared at him silently, eyes narrowed and brows knit, while Rex burst out laughing. “I don’t get it.”
“He’s trying to insinuate,” said Rex, “that your girlfriend cuts herself.”
“I’m just trying to feeeeel something!” said Rich, pantomiming violent slashes of his thighs.
“God, will you just let it go for a minute? You better not embarrass me when she gets here!”
“Embarrass you? Buddy, I’m just gonna sit back and watch you embarrass yourself!”
“I bet this chick is into you,” said Rex with a sly grin.
“Oh god, of course not! I haven’t even seen her since high school. We chat on WoW sometimes, sure, but—”
“Fuck no,” said Rich. “This chick is one of your role-playing geeks? You’re gonna spend all night trying to keep her tongue out of your throat!”
“Shut the fuck up!” Phil took a threatening step toward the blond man.
“And then she’ll give you a handy j,” Rich continued, eyes aglow, “and with her big, manly paws she might pull off your peter!”
Phil seemed on the verge of throttling the man. The veins stuck out near his temples, and his face was flushed. His hands grasped at his sides as his eyes narrowed to slits. Rich was saved a good smack by Phil’s phone ringing.
“Asshole!” Phil exited the garage. He stepped carefully past the oil slick and put the phone to his ear. “Hello?”
“Phillip?” came the response.
“Uh huh. Having trouble finding the place?”
“No, I Googled a map. I was just wondering if there was going to be alcohol there.”
“Oh…” Phil was taken a bit aback. “Well, Rex likes to drink, and so does my friend Steve, but I don’t think there’s going to be a bunch of drunks running around.”
Her laughter was almost musical in his ear. “No, you dummy. If there’s no booze, I was going to buy some.”
“Uh, okay. I think there’s plenty of beer here.”
“I’m not big on beer. I mean, I’ll drink it, but only if there’s nothing else available.”
“Well, if you want to get something, I can chip in on it.” Phil dug in his back pocket for his wallet.
“That’s all right, I’m not worried about money. I’ll see you soon, okay?”
“Okay.” Phil wondered why his hands were suddenly so sweaty.
“I’d invite you up,” Steve said as his father pulled the Caddy in front of his apartment building, “but there’s not much to see.”
“Don’t sweat it,” said the big man. “I’m taking Susie to see some friends of mine.”
“You mean wrestling buddies.” Steve’s blue eyes were narrowed to near slits as he glared at Susan in the back seat. “You really want that kind of life for yourself?”
Susan rolled her eyes. “Pffft.”
“What’s wrong with the life?” His father’s brow came low over his eyes.
“That’s not what I meant. It’s always the same thing. You two gang up on me and I end up looking like the bad guy.”
“No one’s ganging up on you,” Susan said.
“Then why does it feel like it?” Steve said, getting out of the car. He left the door standing open, both due to his anger and because Susan was switching to the front seat. Deathslayer watched him go, face slack and eyes seeming to be focused on something far away.
Steve fumbled with his keys, dropping them to the hallway floor several times before he managed to jam it into the lock. He shouldered the door open, cursing as it swung open too hard and banged against the wall. His upstairs neighbor stomped hard several times on the floor/ceiling.
“Yeah, yeah, sorry,” said Steve in a low growl. “Fucking asshole. I don’t complain when you listen to that fucking god-awful rap shit at top volume.”
He went to the fridge, jamming his hand up to the elbow inside the Miller Lite box, disgusted when he came back empty-handed. Heaving a sigh, he strode over to his sofa and sat down heavily on it.
Picking up his phone, he opened an app that would let him stream movies onto his TV. In short order he was watching a mindless action movie. His face remained passive as the movie changed from one violent scene to another more violent scene. At length he picked up his phone again and brought up his contacts list. Autumn’s name appeared at the top.
He sat still for a moment, finger poised over the screen. The choice was made for him when the screen flashed, heralding an incoming call. For a brief second he thought it might be Autum
n, enough that he was disappointed to see Phillip’s name come up on the screen.
“Yeah?” he said as salutation, not bothering to keep the annoyance out of his voice.
“Hey, man,” said Phil, a little abashed, “is there any way you could come out to Rex’s?”
“It’s a school night, dude. If I’m late one more time, I’m gonna get my ass chewed.”
“You don’t have to stay till two a.m.! C’mon man, I need you to do me a solid. That asshole Rich is here, and—”
“The overgrown frat boy?”
“Yeah, in all his aggravating glory. But that’s not the worst of it. There’s a chick coming here. She’s maybe going to play with us, and she, well, she—”
“You know her from somewhere, and she’s ugly, and you need me to be a buffer in case she gets clingy.”
“How’d you know I was going to—”
“It’s hardly the first time. Can you pick ’em, or what?”
“So are you coming over?” Phil’s voice had a wheedling tone.
“I’m tired, man. I have to work tomorrow. I was out late last night and had to get up early—”
“Aww, come on, man, didn’t you send me a text about some chick you met at the wrestling match? Augusta or something? You could bring her along.”
“Autumn. And I probably should wait a day or two before I call her again.”
“Why is that? Why can’t you call her right now?”
Steve sighed in exasperation. “Phil, I know you’re not all that experienced on the dating scene, but if I call her tonight, I’m gonna seem desperate.”
“And you aren’t?”
Steve choked back an angry retort, stopping himself before he had uttered a single syllable. His eyes narrowed to flinty blue slits, and he hated himself for secretly agreeing with Phil. “No promises, but I will give her a call. Or a text. Do you think I should start with a text?”
“I don’t care. Just hurry!”
“We’ll see.” Steve set down the phone. He again brought up Autumn’s name, again poised his finger over the screen. Suddenly he jabbed it down, putting the phone to his ear in a rush.
“No backing out now. Maybe she won’t answer. Maybe it’ll go to voice mail. Then I can tell Phil to go suck it.”
Forever Autumn Page 5