Chapter Eleven
I whistled as I put my apron on the next morning. Even the smell of burnt popcorn that permeated the breakroom air couldn't bring me down. "Aren't we chipper today?" Marty commented as she adjusted her hair net.
"I kissed a girl and I liked it," I told her, punching in, and heading out onto the sales floor. I could feel her smiling at my retreating back.
That night, I took Kim to a Chinese restaurant and we had fun eating with the chopsticks. She had no idea how to hold them and I expertly showed her how and by the time we'd finished our dumplings, she'd got the hang of it. "Where did you learn to use chopsticks?" she demanded, laughing.
"I don't know, remember?" I said, "I just knew how to use them when I picked them up."
Kim laughed, "That must be so weird feeling."
"At this point, it's all I know," I replied.
Kim waved her chopsticks in my direction, "Want to see how I use chopsticks, generally?"
"How's that?"
She speared one of the dumplings and held it up. "It works effectively also."
"Let's see you eat the wonton soup with them," I teased.
"Let's see you eat the wonton soup with them," she answered.
There's just no way to eat soup with chopsticks, though.
Saturday morning was raining. I wondered how Brian planned to paint the trailer in the rain, but he seemed like a pretty innovative guy so I wasn't about to question it. I didn't even bother calling them to see if they still wanted me to show up. I just got on the bus and rode it to the Marietta stop for the time we'd agreed upon and when I got off the bus, sure as shootin' Leighanne's Volvo was waiting in the lot, the wipers running and lights piercing the rain, making the drops shine like falling diamonds.
I climbed into the car and pulled the door shut. "Crappy day, huh?" I asked.
"Brian pulled the trailer into the garage," she said, smiling.
"I figured he'd have a plan."
"Husband always has a plan," Leighanne replied.
We started off on our journey back to the Littrell house through the rain. I felt like I needed to uphold conversation, so I asked, "How long have you and Brian been together?"
"Married almost seventeen years, dating almost twenty."
"Wow."
"Yeah." Leighanne smiled proudly. "How about you, anyone in your life?"
"There's a girl," I replied.
We kind of chatted small-talk for a bit. Then we came to a spot where some flashing emergency lights told us there was an accident ahead and we were stuck in traffic. Leighanne sighed. "I hate weather like this," she commented, "It makes me wish we'd settled in California where the weather rarely changes. I mean we have a condo, obviously, Brian's work takes us out there way too often."
"You've been to LA then."
"That's where the condo is."
"You've seen the space structure at LAX then?"
"Ugly thing," she commented, "Yeah."
"I've always wanted to see it," I commented. I used the term always because, well, it seemed like always to me. It was the closest I had to always anyways.
She looked over at me. "You should go see it," she said. "I don't particularly love Hollywood, but I do think it's an experience everyone should have. I'm just jaded by it. We go too often and when we do go, Husband's usually stressed... you know."
"I'm saving," I answered, "At the rate the Red Hen is paying me I should be able to go within..." I paused, laughed, and said, "Well, hopefully before I kick the bucket, you know?"
"Hmm," she mused, but she didn't say anything in response.
After a bit, we passed by the accident, and Leighanne drove along until we'd reached the now familiar driveway. She parked on the far side of the loop, as close to the door as possible, cut the engine, and we both ran for the front door. "You can leave your shoes there," Leighanne said, pointing to a small rug. Brian's pink sneakers were sitting there next to a pair of Batman sneakers that must've been Baylee's. She kicked off her pumps and left them there, too. I knocked my shoes off and followed her, stocking footed, through the house.
"Husband!" she yelled as she walked along, "Ben and I are here."
Brian came bounding into the room behind us. "I got the stencils up on the trailer, all we gotta do is paint it," he said.
"Sounds good."
Brian moved through the kitchen to a door at the far end. Opening it, he revealed that the door connected to their garage. Sure enough, the trailer sat there, dripping from the rain it'd already been exposed to that morning. The light shone on it, and a huge stencil with that curly Wylee logo was mouted on the side. "Tharrr she blows," Brian said in a pirate-y voice.
"Brian," Leighanne said, coming up behind me. "Husband, I need to talk to you a second."
"What'd I do now?" Brian asked.
"Nothing, just a second."
"Um okay. Hey if you wanna get the paint cans opened...?" he asked.
"Sure thing," I answered, and I took the steps into the garage quickly, pulling the door shut behind me.
After Self by Pengi
