It was late that night. Later than Harvey had worked in a long time. And a particularly brutal shift if Harvey had anything to say about it. He took in a deep pull of breath, trying to reset. It ended with an extended sigh. Some days, decompression had to happen before the bad things would go away.
“Dude, I know,” Caleb Knight walked over to the time clock, punching out for the night. “That was rough. You know what you need, though?” Harvey grinned. “Only if you’re buying!” The two laughed, deep and clear. It was similar to the effect of skipping a stone on the lake. Harvey’s tension was broken. His attention drawn to the prospect of a cold beer. Suddenly, of course, he was hungry as well. If only that had come up earlier in the day. Caleb said, “Sure. I’ll buy you a beer. But you’ve got to sing tonight.” Harvey rolled his eyes. Caleb had been trying to get him to sing at karaoke nights for weeks. Or, hell, to even come out after work. There had always been an excuse not to go. Some reason that needed Harvey more. Maybe the kids needed something for a last-minute project, or the cats needed more food. Maybe his wife needed him to pick up lunch meat and pickles for sandwiches. “Damn, dude. You’re persistent.” “Hell yeah! You need to learn how to relax, my guy!” “I know how to relax,” Harvey protested, hoping he didn’t sound like one of the kids. Caleb appeared to ignore the half-whine as he finished clocking out. Harvey did the same, setting the alarm for the building. They walked out, Harvey locking the door behind them. A certain nervous dread prickled in his stomach as the neon lights of the bar across the street shone in the night. Across the parking lot from the bar sat a food truck. Tres Tios Taco Truck, to be precise. He’d bought from them after work from time to time, and they were pretty good. He’d need something on his stomach to keep the beer from affecting him so much. Crossing the street, Harvey veered across the parking lot. Caleb shouted something at him, but he returned the exclamation with a thumbs up. “I’ll catch up to you,” said Harvey. Approaching the window of the food truck, a guy leaned out slightly, his face smiling. “You want your usual?” Harvey chuckled. “Yeah. Eight carne asada, extra limes.” “I got you, G. Five minutes.” The guy nodded with a knowing grin. Harvey dug the wallet from his pocket and handed the guy the price of the tacos, plus a solid tip. These guys had never done him wrong yet. It was a thankfully warm night, too. Harvey put his hands in his pockets and, head down, sighed again. Three irate customers in a row was a new low for him, if he was being honest with himself. Some days, he had to admit, he’d rather be in a different place. Granted, if he was, would he still have friends like Caleb? “Yo, G!” the guy’s voice brought him out of his thoughts. Had it been five minutes already? Harvey walked back to the window and accepted the takeout container. He opened the container as he walked across the lot, the heavenly odor of grilled steak and fresh cilantro and onions filled his nostrils, making him smile despite the salivation. He squeezed a lime wedge over one of the tacos as he walked to the bar’s door, then picked up the taco and bit in. The flavors mingled in his mouth, filling him with an indescribable sensation of warmth and home. In spite of the tobacco smoke and alcohol scents that assaulted him as he came into the main room of the bar. It was a small place, to be sure. About ten or so tables sat on carpet a few feet from the bar. Across a short wooden walkway that could be used as a dancefloor, if you knew what you were doing, was a set of tables attended by a pair of plush polyester sofas. Beside the sofas was a raised, carpeted platform. The bar itself was opposite the stage and surrounded on three sides by stools. Caleb was already on stage, singing some R&B song or other. He didn’t sound half bad. Harvey laughed to himself as he put his plate down. Someone whooped at Caleb’s crooning nearby, startling Harvey a bit. He approached the bar. The bartender looked him up and down, no doubt noting the uniform. She smiled. “What’s it gonna be, love?” “Corona with lime.” She nodded appreciatively and reached down into a cooler, coming back up with a bottle of the amber lager. She popped the top and pushed a wedge of lime halfway into the neck of the bottle before handing it to him. “You starting a tab, hon?” “Nah, I’m on Caleb’s.” “I just wanted to be sure.” “Thank you. I appreciate it.” The bartender winked. “My pleasure, hon.” Harvey shoved the lime wedge the rest of the way into the bottle and took his first sip. The cold beer seemed to loosen something within. Some internal emotional net that had been stretched nearly to breaking. He took another sip, noting that the effect was not cumulative. It was just a primer. He’d have to let go the rest of the way by himself. Caleb finished his song and came down, light beer in hand. They clinked bottles, and both took a large swig. Harvey was preparing to sit, but the DJ called his and Caleb’s names, so he set his beer on the table, laughing. “Told you!” said Caleb. “Oh, and no worries. We’re doing Weird Al!” Amish Paradise ended up being three and a half minutes of pure hilarity, as the men traded off singing and rapping to the music. It certainly worked to clear Harvey’s mind. A face seemed to float nearby his table. A face he recognized. Summer Pernell. Brown hair, green eyes, and an infectious smile. His first love. Coming down from the stage, Harvey could barely hear the cheering of the patrons, or the DJ calling up the next person to sing. Harvey shook his head, thinking he was imagining Summer’s face. Her smile wasn’t as bright as it had once been. Caleb clapped Harvey on the shoulder and sauntered up to the bar, his deep, heavy laughter a nice backdrop in the din of the bar. Harvey sat in front of his beer and tacos, nodding to Summer politely as he picked up another taco and ate it, with somewhat more trepidation than the previous one. A third taco went down without so much hesitation before he washed it down with a long drink from his beer. “That was hilarious,” she said. She took a drink from something he could smell from across the table. Whatever it could be, it was much stronger than beer. Her eyes were slightly puffy and red-rimmed. “Thank you,” Harvey replied. “Still don’t know why I let that knucklehead drag me out here tonight.” “Didn’t know either of us were coming out tonight,” she said. His eyes narrowed, but he focused the look on his plate of tacos. “Neither did I. I honestly never thought I’d see you again.” “Aren’t we still friends?” “That’s up to you, Summer. That’s what you asked me for; to just be friends. I haven’t heard anything from you in over ten years, though, so I can’t say I’m exactly sure.” “To be fair, you took the breakup kind of hard. I just didn’t want to make things more awkward.” Taking another drink, Harvey swirled the bottle in front of his face for a moment. “I’ll admit, I did take it hard. It is both a blessing and a curse to feel everything so deeply.” He smiled sadly as he drained the bottle of its remaining liquid. “And I could’ve sworn you knew. Being awkward is my superpower.” She deflated. “Do you hate me for it?” That was supposed to be funny. He shrugged, “I don’t feel like I really got closure on the whole thing, but that’s on me and my whole awkwardness thing. Everything good with Spencer?” “Yeah,” she said, looking down into her glass. She took a long drink of the strong liquor. There was clapping as the person on stage finished their rendition of some Country song. Summer’s tone struck him as unconvincing, as she tucked her feet under her on the sofa. Like the way she used to sit on the sofa at his parent’s apartment when she went over with him for taco night. He smiled at the memory. She said, “Do you ever wonder what things could have been like?” “Hold that thought,” Harvey said. He hadn’t been prepared for the question and needed a moment or two to think through a response. Grateful for the accidental excuse he’d given himself, Harvey walked back over to the bar, depositing the empty in a trash bin set out for the purpose, and asked for another beer. The bartender winked at him again, handing it over, lime and all. Caleb gave him a thumbs up, and a ‘next song’ motion. Harvey chuckled and shook his head. If they only knew. Returning to the table, he sat, taking a drag on the beer. He finally said, “Occasionally. But I see why things wouldn’t have worked out that way, too.” Summer’s face twisted, “What do you mean?” Harvey pointed his bottle at her. “Forgive me for assuming, but you seem upset about something, and it’s a pretty big something. Am I wrong?” She seemed so much smaller than he remembered. “It was a pretty big argument.” He said, “Well, there’s your answer. You’re not her, and I’m not him. Of course, things would have been different. I can guarantee you we’d have had something just as big to argue about. Hell, I think my wife and I had a big blowout just a few days ago. We were able to come to terms, thankfully. After the infatuation stage, who knows if it would have even lasted between me and you, though. And then, we wouldn’t even be able to be friends.” Summer held the glass in both hands, rubbing her thumbs into the condensation on the sides. She said, “So, you’re okay with the way things are?” Harvey shrugged, “Everybody wonders, especially about their first relationships. I’m an emotional realist. Emotionally, I wonder what we could’ve been together. I consider, and question, and imagine scenario after scenario where things worked out between us. Then, the logical side kicks in. What if you never wanted kids? I’m happy as a dad. What if your parents were just like you said, and tried to drive us apart? And, what if, in spite of all that, we realized one day five years in that we just…didn’t fit?” Summer’s silence before Harvey’s string of rambling made him stop to reconsider what he meant. The words had all sounded right, but it somehow settled into a pit in his stomach. Like the way things ended had left no room for anything, forgiveness included. Harvey didn’t want that. The words didn’t match the sentiment he was trying to convey. He finally said, “Point being, I’m okay with how it turned out.” “And if I needed a place to stay tonight?” “Yeah, I got you,” he said. Her eyes widened at the quick response. “Just like that? No questions, no explanations?” “I can’t say my wife won’t have a few questions. And the kids might have a question or two in the morning. But no; you don’t need to justify yourself to me. I’m just happy to help.” She stared into her glass, face red. “Thank you. But, what about Spencer?” Harvey chuckled, “Yeah. He’ll probably have questions, too.” The DJ called Harvey and Caleb back to the stage. When he saw the song choice, he cringed. They’d be singing a rendition of Shai’s If I Ever Fall in Love. He ignored the fact Caleb called it the ‘panty dropper’ of the night over the microphone. Then rolled his eyes at the antics as they traded off the verses again. When they were done, the patrons cheered again, whooping at them. The next person up had chosen Spanish Guitar by Toni Braxton. It would have been fitting, were Harvey and Summer ten years in the past, still exploring their feelings for one another. As it was, however, it was enough to just enjoy the somewhat off-key interpretation of a woman six or seven drinks down, as she warbled out as many lyrics as she could read on the prompt screen. Summer finished her drink as Harvey got back to the table, slipped her shoes back on and went to the bar to get another. Harvey ate another taco, washing it down with a drag on the beer. It was all starting to make him rather satisfied inside. There were still four tacos. He could easily eat them all, but he suddenly felt uncertain about the situation at hand. Summer returned, slipping back out of her shoes so she could sit back on the sofa as she had been before. He glanced at the fresh glass of liquor. “If you drove here, you’re going to have a hard time after two of those. Did someone bring you here?” She shook her head. “I hadn’t really thought about it. I guess I was going to call an uber.” Harvey hated the thought in his head. “I know you asked for a place to stay, but that randomly became an option because I got lured by tacos and beer. I don’t want to pry, but I need to know, is there a reason you’d feel unsafe to go home?” Shaking her head again, she said, “No, we just… we were going to need space tonight. He’s staying over at a friend’s house tonight too. We just needed some time to calm down, and I’d rather not be there by myself.” Harvey slid the plate of tacos to her. “I’m going to bring my minivan from across the street, and we’ll go.” “I can go now,” said Summer, taking a long swig of her drink. I am not going to have her drunkenly traipsing across the damn street. Harvey pointed at her, “Finish your drink, eat some tacos. I got you.” “Look at you, going ‘dad mode’,” she laughed. He smiled, “I’ve heard I’m good at that.” As he approached the door, Caleb called out, walking over. “Yo, dude! You out?” “I’m about to be, but I need to bring my minivan over. Summer needs a ride home.” Raising an eyebrow, Caleb got a strange look to his eye. “Oh yeah? Y’all on a first name basis, I see. Ain’t you married?” Harvey rolled his eyes and walked out the door into the warm night air. A few minutes later, Harvey pulled his minivan into a spot in the bar’s parking lot. Returning to the building, everything was as it had been, but Summer had a much calmer look about her. And, the tacos were gone. Harvey nodded to her, and walked over to the bar, pushing several dollars into the tip jar. Turning, he said, “Okay, Caleb. Now I’m out.” Caleb nodded. “That was fun, homie. We gotta do this again.” “We’ll see,” said Harvey, chuckling as they shared an elaborate handshake. “Stay safe. I’ll see you at work.” “Yep,” Caleb raised the nearly empty bottle of light beer in salute. “Another wonderful day of it tomorrow.” Nothing felt different as Harvey and Summer walked out into the parking lot. And yet, somehow, everything felt different. Like some page he’d dogeared had finally been read. Granted, it was a page of the choose-your-own-adventure variety, so it still didn’t have any real closure to it. Funny how closure worked that way.
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AuthorLawrence Henry is an aspiring author with more caffeine than time. BTW, here's some of my thoughts on a few varied subjects. Archives
July 2023
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