I've been away for a while. New job, holidays, hospital, surgery, blah blah blah. Realized I hadn't updated in about a decade or so. Also realized I gotta just finish this story already. If my calculations are correct I think I'm looking at about five-six more chapters. Most, or at least a big chunk of that, is already written so I will hopefully get more regular updates soon.
If you will, drop me a note and let me know what you think. Thanks everybody!
Emily is surprised how much she likes the Boulder area. She's always had a low tolerance for haughtiness but when one cuts through the surface pretentiousness Boulder and the surrounding area are pretty awesome. There's plenty to do - shopping, sports, concerts...and more shopping. She thinks it's obvious what Paige sees in the area and at CU specifically. It's a cyclist's paradise.
They hit a fast food drive-thru before they head into town to drop off the rental truck. They have a lot they want to do today so mulling around in local restaurants is, unfortunately, off the agenda until they're closer to home. Now that Paige's possessions are in storage the pair has no need for such a large, gas-guzzling truck. So what does Paige's father do? He rents a gas-guzzling SUV.
Paige pushes through the day on autopilot. She drives her newly-rented Expedition down the street following their U-Haul which Emily is piloting to their drop-off point. She can't get over her talks with Emily and with Liam because when conversations hit too close to home her first instinct is to get defensive. Knowing that would only lead to more conflict and more heartache she shuts down and becomes Zombie McCullers. "Z-Mac," she thinks humorlessly.
Returning the truck only takes a bit of time and before they know it the girls are on their way back to Liam's. It's a quiet ride down I-25. Emily isn't stupid or a rock so she notices Paige's withdrawal. Unfortunately she can't remember much about the night before due to her Coors Light intake so her frustration begins to percolate at her own stupidity for drinking too much and at Paige for obviously treading on a topic that must have scared her off. Briefly Emily wonders if they talked about "it"...but checks herself almost instantly. There is no way she would forget that conversation, no matter how drunk she was.
Their status in limbo is starting to make Emily physically disillusioned. Her stomach hurts. Her shoulders and neck are knotted up to the umpteenth degree. She's having weird, draining dreams. The whole situation is becoming so annoying but she doesn't have the guts to take the bull by the horns and just broach the subject of Paige's transfer and it's consequences. At least she doesn't have the guts to do it when she's sober, and judging from her headache this morning she doesn't think that would be a good routine to develop, even if the silence is killing her.
Paige's cell phone ring startles both of them from their thoughts. "It's Liam," Paige states and hits the talk button. "What do you need, Liam?"
"Stop what you're doing right now," he says.
Paige squints in confusion. "What are you talking about?"
"You're driving back to my place, right?"
"Yeah."
"Well, pull off, turn around and go back to Boulder and I'll meet you up there."
"What's going on, Liam?"
"I got tickets to see Marc Broussard at the Fox Theater tonight. So go buy something pretty or hot or both and I'll meet you there."
Paige sighs. She's tired and has no desire to deal with a crowd, with loud music, with just...ugh.
"Fine," Paige relents. Emily would kill her if they missed any kind of concert due to her crabbiness. "Give me a call when you're close."
Paige hangs up her phone and cuts to the upcoming turning lane off the interstate. Emily looks to her in confusion. "Liam got concert tickets back in Boulder," Paige states, knowing just two beats later she'll be greeted with Emily's mega-watt, perfect smile. She isn't disappointed.
Liam, Paige and Emily tumble out of the theater amongst a mass of sweaty, exhilarated concert-goers. They try and stop for a breather but the crowd pushes them down the sidewalk so they follow until peeling off at The Sink, a bar just down the street. They grab the last available table and finally take a deep breath.
There's no need to exchange words – the smiles on Paige and Emily's faces are drawn and exhausted but still happy. After a waitress take their drink order Liam says, "I'm glad you guys liked the show!" Emily nods enthusiastically. "That was a blast! He was so good!"
Paige shakes her head in amusement. "Just because the man sings a song called 'Emily' doesn't make him some kind of genius," she says.
"You're just jealous that there aren't any Paige songs out there," Emily replies with scoff. "Name one!"
Paige's face tightens in concentration. Emily laughs and gives her a playful shove on the shoulder. "Told you – you got nothin'!"
"To be fair, that's kind of odd," says Liam. "There are gobs of songs with names in them…Sara. Peggy Sue. Stacy. Well, Stacy's mom." He catches Paige's feigned sadness. "Don't worry P-Mac, I'm sure someone will write a Paige song someday," he says with a sympathetic pat on her back.
Emily is half-asleep in spite of the deafening P.A. music and press of the bar's patrons surrounding them. Hearing the opening bars of the next song over the speakers immediately perks her up, though.
"Holy shit!" Emily bursts. She grabs Paige's hand and drags her to an improvised dance floor, almost running straight over their waitress. The woman displays super-human balance by managing to save their drink orders. She approaches their table and places their beverages and a plate of nachos on the table.
"Sorry about that," Liam says. "They are, too. Or they will be." The waitress turns and looks at the girls, clearly not believing a word Liam says. Paige and Emily cut badly-executed 90's dance moves to the beat of "Aint 2 Proud 2 Beg" by TLC. The pair is having a marvelous time, singing along with the lyrics and looping their arms around each other as they move. It's personal but comfortable; a throwback to old times when things were still complicated but their optimism usually chased away the shadows.
The waitress turns back to Liam. "That's okay. They're cute," she says. "How long have they been together?"
"Oh they're not," Liam answers. The waitress lifts her eyebrow skeptically. "Seriously, they're not. I mean, they're in love and all, they just suck at the being together part."
"Don't we all," she replies and gives a Liam a short smile before going back to the bar.