WHEN Carter had finally gotten off work, it was about 6:00. That gave
him an hour to get home and make himself look presentable, which isn't
supposed to be much of a matter that would require a lot of consideration,
for he was going to have dinner with someone he had known for years. But
why now, of all times, did he feel as though he should dress in fashionable
attire? He felt a bit ridiculous, but it was of little knowledge to him
that Laura felt the exact same way. He went outside. It was about an hour
before sunset.
"Good," he thought to himself. "It'll be like old times, watching the sun
go down."
He stepped into his Jeep and turned the key as fast as he could. Then he
floored it to his house. or as much as you can possibly floor it going out
of a hospital garage in Chicago, anyway.
When he finally arrived at his house (after nearly running a red light and two stop signs) just a while later, he headed straight to his closet and rummaged his way to the back (He hadn't been there in a while, but how different could it be?). He pulled off their hangers what turned out to be about ten different combinations of suits. First, he put on black permanently pressed pants with a graphite shirt and took a glance at the mirror.
"Well, this ain't exactly a funeral, so no."
Next came a white shirt.
"Great, a chess board."
He tried the blue pants, the gray pants, the tan shirt, the black shirt (the tan shirt and the black shirt together just for kicks), and with every combination came a new self-criticism, each one progressing more in detail than the last. However, he had to try one combination that he knew wouldn't work. A plaid shirt with blue pants. He looked in the mirror, grabbed a red bow tie and held it to his neck, and burst out laughing. When he turned around, his foot became entangled with his shoe and a rejected pair of pants. This sent him face-flat on his bed, laughing hysterically when he lifted his head to realize he was in a pair of khaki cargoes. He pulled the pants off his face and looked at them with interest. He then made a mad dash for the white shirt again. He found out that khaki tan and white do go together. Unfortunately, there was no tie to match this.
"Oh well, it's Casual Friday in the Carter household now."
He buttoned the shirt and left the sleeves unbuttoned.
"Good enough," he said, reaching for a can of mousse. He did his hair like normal after playing with a spiked look (once again for kicks), put his hands in his pockets, took one last look in the mirror and at the clock, and left for the restaurant on third.
When he got there, he sat on a bench outside to wait for Laura. It was only a matter of fashionably late minutes until she walked up to him. She too had resorted to casual attire. She wore a nice pair of dark blue flared jeans, sneakers, and a black V-necked sleeveless shirt.
"Let me guess," she started. "You went to the back of your closet, only to pick something from the front. Am I right?"
"That's about right. I'm guessing you did the same."
"Yea," she said, smiling as she pulled her hair behind one ear.
"Well you look nice. Of course, the last time I saw you, you were in hospital pajamas."
They shared a laugh as they went inside and seated themselves to a table further in the restaurant near the dance floor. A soft rock band was playing on the stage.
When their waitress came, they skipped appetizers and went straight to dinner, much like they had in high school. They decided that they would try to make the night like old times, so they each ordered California cheeseburgers with milkshakes.
"Alright," she said after taking their order and putting the list in her waist apron. Before she left, she paused and said, "You two make a really good couple by the looks of it."
Carter and Laura looked at each other, then at the waitress.
"Thanks," Carter said.
He wasn't sure of what he had just implicated. Whether he had wanted to be a couple for the night or not was beyond both of them. All he knew was that it made him feel a little awkward now, not knowing what Laura thought of his answer to the compliment as well as not knowing what to think of for himself.
They talked about the days in high school and junior high while they ate their conventional dinner with a quickened pace. It was then that Carter saw the sun beginning to set in the mirror to his right that reflected the window behind him.
"Come on, I want to go do something," he said to Laura, grabbing his milkshake and laying his money on the check, obviously to keep the change. He even left a hefty tip. Laura only smiled and followed him. They went out to Carter's Jeep and he told her to get in as he held the door open.
"What about my car?" she asked.
"Don't worry, we're coming back, I just want to take you somewhere. I think you'll like it. But don't try to make me tell you. it's a surprise."
"Okay," she answered awkwardly, buckling her seatbelt.
Carter shut her door and went to the driver's side. He started the car and drove a few minutes down the road to an open park.
"We're going to have to make our exit quick because all the parks close at sunset, so let's go," he said to her as he ran to the passenger side and helped her down out of the Jeep. He grabbed her hand and they ran through a woodsy trail in the park. He led her up a steep, mulch-covered hill, through a rocky path, and onto a boulder that had to be about ten feet wide at the very least.
"What are we doing, John?" She asked almost sternly with a bit of worry in her voice.
Carter took her by the shoulders and turned her around.
"I'd like to know what we're do. wow!" she said as she saw what was in front of her. Carter sat her down and then seated himself next to her, their feet hanging over the edge of the massive rock. What Carter had shown her turned out to be the sunset. But not just an ordinary scene: There were trees in full bloom on the horizon, making a dark silhouette of themselves in the setting sun. Shades of pink, purple, orange, and red flew in the sky over the sun as it sank to its bed west of the earth. A cool, crisp air swept over them, making them move closer together. Laura leaned her head on his shoulder. As the sun dropped lower, the impact of having no lights in the park finally took its place as the stars shined themselves ritually. They stargazed for what seemed an endless time, finally striking a conversation.
"So, I guess it really is like old times now," Laura said, taking her head off his shoulder.
"Yea. Uh, Wha. What was it that you wanted to uh, tell me about?" Carter asked.
"Oh, that. I, well, I figured I might as well tell you the truth. You know, about what actually happened back in March."
"Only if you want to tell me," he told her, hoping deep down that she would continue.
"I do. I really feel I should. Well, do you remember Paul?"
"Paul. Paul.," he put one hand over his eyes as he tried to reminisce.
"Paul Glasner," she put in.
"Paul Glasner? You mean Peg Paul? That Paul?" They had always called him Peg because his full name was Paul Edward Glasner, the initials spelling out the word Peg.
"Yea, Peg."
"I remember him. he was always a dork, right? With big glasses, and people used to pick on him all the time because of it."
"And you remember what happened, right? You heard some kids making fun of him, and you snapped on them."
"Yea, I remember that," he said, laughing. "I beat on them pretty bad. They were some wise ass freshman making fun of a sophomore. And then he thanked us and we kinda became buddies, right?"
"Right. Well you won't believe this, but I ran into him. back in March. Now, you have to listen to me on this, and promise you won't say anything until I'm done."
Carter figured it would take some self-control, but he nodded in agreement.
"Okay, here it goes. We were walking along that road, and we were talking about some of the nasty pranks we used to play on each other, when I pushed him into this lamppost because of something he said. Then he decided he was going to push me, and I knew I had it coming, but he accidentally. well, you know, you must have heard the stories in the ER. Anyway, I know it was an accident because I can still remember him screaming my name as I fell. He tried to run in after me, but a truck blocked him, and, and. I know he didn't mean to hurt me!" she then started to tear nervously, not knowing what to expect of Carter.
"It's okay," he said, putting his right arm around her. "I know he would never mean to hurt you. Or any of us, for that matter, he's Peg, and Peg wouldn't hurt a fly."
"But I feel so bad because I've been putting off calling him. He probably doesn't even know I'm alive right now. But I've been so busy, trying to switch jobs so I can stay here in Chicago."
"I could tell him," Carter suggested.
"But you don't want to get into my mess, do you?"
"It's okay. Besides, I'd like to talk to Paul again. Don't worry, I'll handle it. Maybe we can even get together after I'm off work tomorrow."
Laura looked at him. "Tomorrow? But it's such short notice, I mean."
Carter cut her off. "Not to him, it's not. He has a right to know. I'm going to give him a call tonight. I want to talk to him. I miss him, too. All I need is his number."
"Alright, fine," she agreed, pulling out a piece of paper from her pocket with a number scribbled on it. She had put it here just in case Carter had wanted to call him. She could predict almost every move he made. "But only if you promise not to get mad at him, please John don't do anything to him!"
"I wouldn't dream of it," he told her with an honorable smile. "Now let's go get your car. You look a little tired."
Later that night, Carter sat down on his bed in a pair of plaid pajama pants and a white tee shirt and picked up the phone that sat on his nightstand. He slowly but surely dialed the numbers as he read them off the paper that Laura had given him. He knew she had expected him to ask for their friend's number. It was only about 10:00. Surely he would be lying in his own bed right now, watching television or something relative to that. There was a dial tone, then suddenly a voice.
"Hello?" said a man's voice from the other end.
"Hey, is this Paul?"
"Yes, who's this?" the voice asked.
"It's Carter. Long time no see!"
"Carter, John Carter from high school?" He seemed very excited.
"Yea, that's me. I was looking for someone in the phonebook when I came across your name, and I said to myself 'Wow, wouldn't it be nice to talk to Peg again?' So I tried the number, and it's obviously yours," he lied.
"Wow, I haven't seen you in so long." He left out the detail of him meeting Laura. "Well, I'm kind of tired right now, I was just watching TV hoping to fall asleep, but maybe we can get together sometime."
"Yea, I was thinking the same thing. Oh, and sorry I kind of woke you. Are you free tomorrow morning around ten-ish?"
"That's okay, I wasn't asleep yet. tomorrow? Uh, well, I guess so. What do you want to do?"
"I was thinking," Carter started, then he actually had to stop and think for a few seconds. "I was thinking maybe, uh. I know. I'll pick up some Chinese food and we can meet at."
"Let me guess," Paul said. "The restaurant on third?" he laughed.
Carter laughed, too, suddenly realizing how serious men were about this 'restaurant on third' thing. "Yea, I guess so. Maybe we can take a walk down to the picnic area at the park. I'd like to catch up on things, you know. It's been a while since the summer after twelfth grade."
"Uh, sure," Paul said. "Ten-ish." He let out a long yawn.
"Alright, I'll let you go." Carter said.
"Okay. It was really great to hear from you!" Paul said, suddenly sounding very excited. Well, that was Peg for you.
"Yea, it was nice talking hearing you again. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Bye," Paul said, holding back another yawn.
"Bye," replied Carter as he hung up the phone.
"Well," he said to himself, "I'll finally set this mistake straight."
He then turned out the light and pulled his covers over him, rolling over into his pillow like the little kid that he was deep down, and went to sleep.
When he finally arrived at his house (after nearly running a red light and two stop signs) just a while later, he headed straight to his closet and rummaged his way to the back (He hadn't been there in a while, but how different could it be?). He pulled off their hangers what turned out to be about ten different combinations of suits. First, he put on black permanently pressed pants with a graphite shirt and took a glance at the mirror.
"Well, this ain't exactly a funeral, so no."
Next came a white shirt.
"Great, a chess board."
He tried the blue pants, the gray pants, the tan shirt, the black shirt (the tan shirt and the black shirt together just for kicks), and with every combination came a new self-criticism, each one progressing more in detail than the last. However, he had to try one combination that he knew wouldn't work. A plaid shirt with blue pants. He looked in the mirror, grabbed a red bow tie and held it to his neck, and burst out laughing. When he turned around, his foot became entangled with his shoe and a rejected pair of pants. This sent him face-flat on his bed, laughing hysterically when he lifted his head to realize he was in a pair of khaki cargoes. He pulled the pants off his face and looked at them with interest. He then made a mad dash for the white shirt again. He found out that khaki tan and white do go together. Unfortunately, there was no tie to match this.
"Oh well, it's Casual Friday in the Carter household now."
He buttoned the shirt and left the sleeves unbuttoned.
"Good enough," he said, reaching for a can of mousse. He did his hair like normal after playing with a spiked look (once again for kicks), put his hands in his pockets, took one last look in the mirror and at the clock, and left for the restaurant on third.
When he got there, he sat on a bench outside to wait for Laura. It was only a matter of fashionably late minutes until she walked up to him. She too had resorted to casual attire. She wore a nice pair of dark blue flared jeans, sneakers, and a black V-necked sleeveless shirt.
"Let me guess," she started. "You went to the back of your closet, only to pick something from the front. Am I right?"
"That's about right. I'm guessing you did the same."
"Yea," she said, smiling as she pulled her hair behind one ear.
"Well you look nice. Of course, the last time I saw you, you were in hospital pajamas."
They shared a laugh as they went inside and seated themselves to a table further in the restaurant near the dance floor. A soft rock band was playing on the stage.
When their waitress came, they skipped appetizers and went straight to dinner, much like they had in high school. They decided that they would try to make the night like old times, so they each ordered California cheeseburgers with milkshakes.
"Alright," she said after taking their order and putting the list in her waist apron. Before she left, she paused and said, "You two make a really good couple by the looks of it."
Carter and Laura looked at each other, then at the waitress.
"Thanks," Carter said.
He wasn't sure of what he had just implicated. Whether he had wanted to be a couple for the night or not was beyond both of them. All he knew was that it made him feel a little awkward now, not knowing what Laura thought of his answer to the compliment as well as not knowing what to think of for himself.
They talked about the days in high school and junior high while they ate their conventional dinner with a quickened pace. It was then that Carter saw the sun beginning to set in the mirror to his right that reflected the window behind him.
"Come on, I want to go do something," he said to Laura, grabbing his milkshake and laying his money on the check, obviously to keep the change. He even left a hefty tip. Laura only smiled and followed him. They went out to Carter's Jeep and he told her to get in as he held the door open.
"What about my car?" she asked.
"Don't worry, we're coming back, I just want to take you somewhere. I think you'll like it. But don't try to make me tell you. it's a surprise."
"Okay," she answered awkwardly, buckling her seatbelt.
Carter shut her door and went to the driver's side. He started the car and drove a few minutes down the road to an open park.
"We're going to have to make our exit quick because all the parks close at sunset, so let's go," he said to her as he ran to the passenger side and helped her down out of the Jeep. He grabbed her hand and they ran through a woodsy trail in the park. He led her up a steep, mulch-covered hill, through a rocky path, and onto a boulder that had to be about ten feet wide at the very least.
"What are we doing, John?" She asked almost sternly with a bit of worry in her voice.
Carter took her by the shoulders and turned her around.
"I'd like to know what we're do. wow!" she said as she saw what was in front of her. Carter sat her down and then seated himself next to her, their feet hanging over the edge of the massive rock. What Carter had shown her turned out to be the sunset. But not just an ordinary scene: There were trees in full bloom on the horizon, making a dark silhouette of themselves in the setting sun. Shades of pink, purple, orange, and red flew in the sky over the sun as it sank to its bed west of the earth. A cool, crisp air swept over them, making them move closer together. Laura leaned her head on his shoulder. As the sun dropped lower, the impact of having no lights in the park finally took its place as the stars shined themselves ritually. They stargazed for what seemed an endless time, finally striking a conversation.
"So, I guess it really is like old times now," Laura said, taking her head off his shoulder.
"Yea. Uh, Wha. What was it that you wanted to uh, tell me about?" Carter asked.
"Oh, that. I, well, I figured I might as well tell you the truth. You know, about what actually happened back in March."
"Only if you want to tell me," he told her, hoping deep down that she would continue.
"I do. I really feel I should. Well, do you remember Paul?"
"Paul. Paul.," he put one hand over his eyes as he tried to reminisce.
"Paul Glasner," she put in.
"Paul Glasner? You mean Peg Paul? That Paul?" They had always called him Peg because his full name was Paul Edward Glasner, the initials spelling out the word Peg.
"Yea, Peg."
"I remember him. he was always a dork, right? With big glasses, and people used to pick on him all the time because of it."
"And you remember what happened, right? You heard some kids making fun of him, and you snapped on them."
"Yea, I remember that," he said, laughing. "I beat on them pretty bad. They were some wise ass freshman making fun of a sophomore. And then he thanked us and we kinda became buddies, right?"
"Right. Well you won't believe this, but I ran into him. back in March. Now, you have to listen to me on this, and promise you won't say anything until I'm done."
Carter figured it would take some self-control, but he nodded in agreement.
"Okay, here it goes. We were walking along that road, and we were talking about some of the nasty pranks we used to play on each other, when I pushed him into this lamppost because of something he said. Then he decided he was going to push me, and I knew I had it coming, but he accidentally. well, you know, you must have heard the stories in the ER. Anyway, I know it was an accident because I can still remember him screaming my name as I fell. He tried to run in after me, but a truck blocked him, and, and. I know he didn't mean to hurt me!" she then started to tear nervously, not knowing what to expect of Carter.
"It's okay," he said, putting his right arm around her. "I know he would never mean to hurt you. Or any of us, for that matter, he's Peg, and Peg wouldn't hurt a fly."
"But I feel so bad because I've been putting off calling him. He probably doesn't even know I'm alive right now. But I've been so busy, trying to switch jobs so I can stay here in Chicago."
"I could tell him," Carter suggested.
"But you don't want to get into my mess, do you?"
"It's okay. Besides, I'd like to talk to Paul again. Don't worry, I'll handle it. Maybe we can even get together after I'm off work tomorrow."
Laura looked at him. "Tomorrow? But it's such short notice, I mean."
Carter cut her off. "Not to him, it's not. He has a right to know. I'm going to give him a call tonight. I want to talk to him. I miss him, too. All I need is his number."
"Alright, fine," she agreed, pulling out a piece of paper from her pocket with a number scribbled on it. She had put it here just in case Carter had wanted to call him. She could predict almost every move he made. "But only if you promise not to get mad at him, please John don't do anything to him!"
"I wouldn't dream of it," he told her with an honorable smile. "Now let's go get your car. You look a little tired."
Later that night, Carter sat down on his bed in a pair of plaid pajama pants and a white tee shirt and picked up the phone that sat on his nightstand. He slowly but surely dialed the numbers as he read them off the paper that Laura had given him. He knew she had expected him to ask for their friend's number. It was only about 10:00. Surely he would be lying in his own bed right now, watching television or something relative to that. There was a dial tone, then suddenly a voice.
"Hello?" said a man's voice from the other end.
"Hey, is this Paul?"
"Yes, who's this?" the voice asked.
"It's Carter. Long time no see!"
"Carter, John Carter from high school?" He seemed very excited.
"Yea, that's me. I was looking for someone in the phonebook when I came across your name, and I said to myself 'Wow, wouldn't it be nice to talk to Peg again?' So I tried the number, and it's obviously yours," he lied.
"Wow, I haven't seen you in so long." He left out the detail of him meeting Laura. "Well, I'm kind of tired right now, I was just watching TV hoping to fall asleep, but maybe we can get together sometime."
"Yea, I was thinking the same thing. Oh, and sorry I kind of woke you. Are you free tomorrow morning around ten-ish?"
"That's okay, I wasn't asleep yet. tomorrow? Uh, well, I guess so. What do you want to do?"
"I was thinking," Carter started, then he actually had to stop and think for a few seconds. "I was thinking maybe, uh. I know. I'll pick up some Chinese food and we can meet at."
"Let me guess," Paul said. "The restaurant on third?" he laughed.
Carter laughed, too, suddenly realizing how serious men were about this 'restaurant on third' thing. "Yea, I guess so. Maybe we can take a walk down to the picnic area at the park. I'd like to catch up on things, you know. It's been a while since the summer after twelfth grade."
"Uh, sure," Paul said. "Ten-ish." He let out a long yawn.
"Alright, I'll let you go." Carter said.
"Okay. It was really great to hear from you!" Paul said, suddenly sounding very excited. Well, that was Peg for you.
"Yea, it was nice talking hearing you again. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Bye," Paul said, holding back another yawn.
"Bye," replied Carter as he hung up the phone.
"Well," he said to himself, "I'll finally set this mistake straight."
He then turned out the light and pulled his covers over him, rolling over into his pillow like the little kid that he was deep down, and went to sleep.