"Your weed dealer deals out of the old Food Donkey?" Mae asked.
"No," Ann replied, driving past it and onto a dirt road. "Well I mean, sometimes."
"Huh. I'm super curious to meet him. I didn't even know there were any weed dealers in Possum Springs."
"I don't think he deals to a lot of people. I was out here one time, just walking, a little before you got back home. I saw him hanging out. We got to talking. I think he could tell I was down. He had some on him, sold it to me for a pretty decent price...eh, speaking of that, I need to ask now: are you cool to buy? I'm sorry to dump this on you. I've got a little bit of cash, but not much."
"What kind of price are we looking at?" he asked.
"Maybe fifty bucks. Although he'd probably sell us more. His family grows it out on their property," Ann replied.
"Yeah, I can do that."
"Thanks, dude. Sorry again, I should've mentioned it before we got out here. I'm kinda...distracted. With everything happening."
"It's okay."
"Yeah, I get distracted even when nothing's happening," Mae said.
They drove along down the dirt road for a ways. As they got deeper into the woodlands beyond the abandoned Food Donkey, Trent noticed Mae getting nervous. At one point she reached into her pocket and shifted her hand around for a moment, then gently pulled it partway back out. He saw a flash of metal.
"Mae, do you have brass knuckles?" Trent asked.
"Whoa, you do?" Ann asked.
"Uh. Shit...yeah?" she replied, grimacing. "Is that weird?"
"...you know what? No. Not after what happened to you," Trent replied.
"Oh, yeah...what did happen? You made some references...unless you don't want to talk about?" Ann asked.
She sighed. "No, you should know, if you're gonna be my girlfriend. I'll tell you about it at home, later. It's…"
"It's really bad," Trent said.
"Oh. Well. I'm sorry something really bad happened to you, Mae."
"It's okay. I made it out alive, at least...wait, is your weed dealer Germ!?" Mae cried as they turned onto another road.
"Uh...yeah? Do you know Germ?" she asked.
"Yeah! We're friends! I guess we'll kill two birds with one stone, since he invited me and Trent over anyway. He's got a trampoline!"
Ann laughed. "Ha ha, yeah. It's fun."
The dirt road became a long driveway leading up to a hill. Trent got the impression it could handle a lot of cars, though there were only two in it at the moment. They got out and walked up an old wooden walkway to a porch. The inner door was open a crack and Trent saw someone peering out at them through the crack.
It opened up as they approached.
"Hey," Germ said, "Mae. Selma. Trent. I thought there was a decent chance of this happening."
"What happening?" Mae asked.
"All three of you coming here at the same time. Mae had mentioned that she knew you, Selma. So what's up?" Germ asked.
"I need to make a purchase," Ann replied, a little awkward.
"Ah. Come in."
"I'm sorry, I tried to call."
"It's okay. It's a no-phone day," Germ replied as they walked in.
"Is that anything more than what it sounds like?" Trent asked.
"Not really," Germ said. "I just don't answer the phone because phones kinda suck. Too much spam. So I just listen to the messages instead."
"I didn't think it'd be a good idea to leave a message," Ann said.
"Yeah, that's smart. It's legal now, but technically we're not supposed to sell it. But oh well."
"Dude, I can't believe you grow weed," Mae said, grinning big.
Germ grinned. "Well, it started with my dad and my uncles. Just a fun little thing. Then it made some money. Then it made more money. Then they almost got caught, so they reduced it down. Went dormant for a long time. Years. Like a decade. But it never actually stopped. Finally, we needed money again. Plus they decriminalized it, so we figured why not? Also, just so you know, Trent and Mae, this is privileged information. I would appreciate discretion."
"Of course," Trent said.
"Yeah, don't worry, Germ. You can trust us."
"I guess I can." He led them deeper into the house, past the kitchen, into what looked to be a reading room. There were a ton of books covering the walls and several comfortable chairs around, and one wall was basically a huge window looking out onto a vast, sweeping section of woodland. It was a stunning view.
"Germ, your house is huge and amazing," Trent said.
"Thanks. My great-grandpa built it. Then my grandpa added onto it. My dad added onto that. Don't know if I'll be adding onto it, I think it's pretty great. Though I have always wanted the basement to be a bit bigger...but anyway, what are you looking for? Also are either of you looking to get in on this?" Germ asked.
"Well, I'm kinda broke so Trent will be handling this particular deal. I guess it's up to him," Ann replied.
"Okay then. What are you looking for? We really only grow one type, what really varies is the strength of it. Got mild, medium, and powerful."
"Did you give me powerful the last time?" Ann asked.
"Yeah. Figured you could use it. You looked sadder than usual."
"I appreciate it."
"I don't actually know weed all that well," Trent replied. "But I also would like to buy for myself and Mae...if you're still into it?"
"Yeah dude. I'd super appreciate it. I'd total suck-" She hesitated, then looked around, and Trent was actually impressed with her presence of mind. "I will be very thankful if you do this for me. As your girlfriend."
"Subtle," Ann murmured with a smirk.
"You said it helps with your...problems," Trent replied.
"Yeah. It does. A lot, actually."
"Well...I guess we'll be playing the guessing game. How about you give me two hundred bucks worth of medium strength?" Trent suggested.
"Wow. Nice. Yeah I can do that. And since you're with Mae and Selma, I can give you friend prices. You got the cash right now?" Germ asked.
"I do indeed," Trent replied. He fished out his wallet and extracted a pair of hundred dollar bills, then gave them to Germ, who studied them briefly, then disappeared them into his pocket.
"Thank you much. I'll be right back."
Germ headed deeper into his house.
"Dude, holy shit, where'd you get all that cash?" Mae asked.
"Oh, right, you were asleep. Made the first sale. Sold a dresser for five hundred. Well, three seventy five for me, the rest went to Bea. Speaking of that, I should offer Germ a piece of furniture. I imagine establishing a relationship with him would be a good idea," Trent said.
"Honestly, yeah, it would be," Ann said.
"You okay Mae?" Trent asked.
She sighed. "Yeah, mostly. It's just...last time I was here, well, the only time I was actually here, in the house, Germ foisted his grandma on me. She's like...I dunno, she says prophecies or something. She told me I was doomed. Then the insane shit went down not much later. I dunno, it was creepy. She said she was joking, but...it was pretty accurate. It's just weird."
"Huh," Trent said. He was still thinking of something else to ask when Germ came back. He was holding a pair of plastic bags packed with weed.
"Here you go," he said.
"Wow, that's a lot," Ann murmured.
"Friend prices," Germ replied.
"Thank you," Trent said, accepting one gingerly while Ann took the other. After a moment of consideration, he slipped it into his hoodie pouch. "Feel awkward with this."
"Just get it home and it should be fine," Germ said.
"Okay. Also, in the interest of friendship, I'm selling off some old quality furniture. If you have access to a truck, you could swing by and pick one out for free," Trent said.
"Hmm. Okay. I don't drive, but my dad does. And my uncle has a truck. I'll talk with him about it. They're always on the lookout for good furniture. Thank you, I appreciate it."
"Not a problem. Uh...I guess that's it," Trent said. He actually had another question to ask, but he didn't want to ask it in front of Mae, since it was kind of a surprise, even though it really wasn't.
"Cool. You guys still want to jump on my trampoline?" he asked.
"I do! At least until it makes me sick," Mae replied.
"Yeah, I'd like that," Ann said.
"Okay, come on."
They all went outside, this time out the back, and came out onto a big deck. He saw Mae go running down it and jump right off the end. For a second he felt horror seize him, but her laughter was diffusing, and then she reappeared, flinging herself up into the air. She began laughing harder, and then let out a cry of happiness as Ann leaped off the end with her.
"You wanna go? It can handle three people," Germ said.
"I think I'm good, though I appreciate it," Trent replied. "Uh...I was gonna ask. Well, two things. First thing: you still good to drop by my place for Longest Night?"
"Should be. Barring bad weather or some kind of emergency, I can come over for a few hours. Actually, would it be a problem if my dad came? He knows Mae's dad, but I guess they haven't talked in forever, and I'm guessing he's gonna be there too?"
"Should be, yeah, and it won't be a problem," Trent replied.
"Cool. It's either get a ride from him or ride my bike all the way to your place. Which I will do if I have to," Germ said.
"You don't have a license?"
"Oh no, I do. Just in case of emergencies. But I don't believe in driving. I try to look out for the environment."
"Oh. I respect that."
Germ gave him a sidelong glance, then nodded. "Thought you would...what was the second thing?"
"Oh. Right. I saw a Nintendo 64 in there. Any idea where I could get one? I mean I guess I can buy one off of the internet, but they're really expensive right now."
"Actually, yeah. I can sell you one. If you come back in, I can show you some games we're willing to part with. And two controllers. All in good condition," Germ said.
"Holy shit. Yeah, awesome. Thanks. Mae!"
"Yeah, babe?!" she called. "Wee!"
"Gonna go buy a Nintendo 64 from Germ!"
"Cool! I'll be here!"
"Okay!"
They headed back inside his house and this time he took him a different route, up some stairs, down a hallway, and they ended up in what looked like a den. There was a big U-shaped couch in front of a big flat-screen TV. It, like the one he now owned, looked old. Something that was top-notch in 2006. It still probably held up pretty decently even now. It was on a huge entertainment center. While Germ walked over to a closet and disappeared into it, Trent investigated everything occupying the inner shelves of the entertainment center.
He saw another Nintendo 64, (the one he'd seen had been in the living room), a Sega Saturn, an NES and an SNES, a GameCube, a PlayStation 2, a Sega Genesis, and something else it took a moment for him to recognize. A Philips CD-i. It looked like a VCR with a controller coming out of it. All of these things looked in great condition. There were a few scuffs on them, and they'd obviously seen a lot of use, but they didn't seem much older than a few years.
"These are in remarkable condition, Germ," he said.
"Yeah, my dad's a huge gamer, has been since the eighties. He researched how to take care of them and is like super sensitive about it, always has been. We're real careful with them all and he has done a bit of touch-up work on them all over the years. We're both into computers...okay, got it," Germ said from within the closet.
He emerged holding a cardboard box with a flip-top. He set it down on the coffee table in the middle of the U couch. "That's everything on offer."
"Wow," Trent muttered, sitting down and looking inside. "Why do you have so many N64s?"
"Back in the early two thousands, we were doing pretty well. My dad and my uncles were all making good money. My dad especially. He got in early on the dot-com stuff. So we had cash to spare, and he likes to spoil me and my sisters. He bought himself an N64 in the beginning, then he got one for me, and then my sisters, some of my cousins. My sisters kind of fell out of it. Me and dad are the only ones that fire up the N64s anymore, and we could use the money, so he's given me permission to sell off the excess stuff," Germ explained.
"Huh...is the financial situation in Possum Springs bad?" Trent asked.
"Yeah. Quite bad. Opportunities have dried up. Lots of people have died or moved on. People just don't have as much money to spend. I feel kind of bad. My family is actually quite good at surviving in the margins. We've figured out a number of ways to make extra money. Not everyone else can do that," he explained. "But, that's life in the Rust Belt."
"I guess so," Trent murmured.
"What will you do? If you don't mind me asking."
"Write and sell books, hopefully. I'm a horror author, though still amateur."
"Interesting. Have you finished anything?"
"Yeah. Two novels."
"That puts you head and shoulders above most people who call themselves authors. One of my aunts is an author. She complains about it a lot."
"It sounds like it's going to be a bit of a nightmare...but what job isn't?" Trent replied. He looked through the games, pulling a few of them out, as some he didn't have interest in. But he did keep Super Mario 64, Mario Kart, Perfect Dark, GoldenEye, Blast Corps, StarFox of course, the two Zelda games, and a couple of Army Man games. It wasn't anywhere near what his preferred complete library would be, but it was a great start.
"You can keep the others to sell to other people," he said. "If you sold some of those online, they'd probably go for good money. I know for a fact I saw two of those selling for over a hundred bucks apiece."
"I've been considering it," Germ replied.
"How much?"
"Hundred bucks."
"Wow, seriously? You could definitely get more."
"Eh, honestly this thing has been waiting to be sold for like...four years. Not many retro gamers around. And you're giving me a piece of furniture and inviting me into your house. So, friend prices."
Trent closed up the box. He and Mae were going to be doing a lot of gaming. "I wanted to thank you. For this, and for inviting me to your house. I get the impression that's a rarity."
Germ nodded. "Yes. We don't let just anyone back here. But you're with Mae. And Mae...is someone special."
"Why? I mean, she is, but why is she to you?"
Germ was silent for a moment, looking out the window, considering. "I don't really know. She has an aura about her. She's strange, but in a good way. And she's troubled. I don't really know what all happened with her and Bea and Gregg and Angus. I caught some of it, but I blew up the well in my backyard for her, because she said it was absolutely necessary. We were actually arguing about it, when I asked, my dad and my uncles didn't really want to do it, but then my grandma just told everyone to shut up, and to do it. It needed to be done. They didn't argue. My grandma knows. Mae's special. And...she should have people who can help her, support her. You seem like you'd be good at that. I just get that feeling about you."
"Well, I'm still in my trial by fire, and the relationship gets more complicated by the day, it seems sometimes. But...I think you're right. I don't know, it just feels right with her. Being with her. She is special, unique," Trent murmured.
Germ looked back at him. "I think you'll do right by her."
"I hope so."
"Sometimes, that's all we can do."
"What'd you get? What'd you two talk about? I saw you upstairs in the window. Germ looked like he was talking a lot," Mae asked as they drove back into town.
"An N64, two controllers, some kickass games. And we were just talking about...the games. The weed. His family," Trent replied. It was a lie, but he didn't really know how to phrase it, that they'd been talking about her.
And either she bought it, or didn't care enough to dig deeper. "Germ's a cool dude."
"That he is," Ann agreed. "And this weed should last us, like, a month. Maybe even two if we're conservative with it."
Mae snorted. "Conservative. With weed." She giggled.
"Hey, even they're starting to come around," Ann replied.
"Bout fucking time," Mae muttered. "I wanna smoke again. Just a little. It actually does help my headaches."
"Okay. I guess we'll look at it like medication?" Trent replied.
"Yeah, I think that's smart," Ann said. "That's how I've been looking at it. Now that I'm with you, I can help keep an eye on it. Having been through rehab, I know signs of addiction." She paused. "Do I have permission to pester you about your weed usage? I feel like it could become a tension point in the relationship if I don't outright say this now."
"You have my permission," Trent said.
"Yep! I trust you, Selmers. I feel like you just wanna look out for me," Mae said.
"I do, Mae. You seem to kind of bring that out in people...I don't know if that's a good thing or not, but it's how I feel about it," Ann replied.
"I guess it's a good thing? Being taken care of is nice. I guess I just gotta take care of other people too, which I want to. I'm just so bad at it."
"I don't think you're bad at it," Trent said. "You take care of me pretty well."
"Do I? I feel like I'm not trying super hard, but you rarely ask me to actually do anything! I mean we have sex, and play video games together, and eat food together, but I already want to do those things."
"Well, look at this way: what you want and 'taking care of me' intersect nicely," Trent replied.
"Yeah, okay...what's on the agenda for today?"
"Getting Ann settled in," Trent replied.
"Yeah. Also, like, for the record, if anyone asks, I sleep on the couch." She laughed suddenly. "I can't believe I'm going to be sleeping in a bed with a hot guy and a hot girl, and having sex with both of them. That was seriously hot by the way, and awesome. That threesome? I've never had a full on threesome before."
"Same," Trent and Mae said at the same time.
"Whoa, it was our first threesome like collectively. Huh. Wild."
"Were you nervous?" Trent asked.
"Yeah, totally. But less than I thought I would be. I kinda figured, if I screwed it up, you two would be nice about it."
"We'll always be nice about it," Mae said.
"I really appreciate that. I've thought a lot about what I want out of relationships ever since I got divorced. That was something I ended up discussing in rehab. They're big on you being more, like, deliberate. Like you need to think more about the choices you make, about how you live your life, instead of just doing stuff, or letting stuff happen to you. I kinda just let Dennis happen to me, I let him run the relationship. I thought about a lot of stuff, but besides the obvious stuff, like respect and trust, I think what I want most out of a relationship is kindness. You don't gotta like smother me in gifts or attention all the time, I'm actually not a high-maintenance girlfriend. But I do want to feel like you care about me, and I like nice things," Ann said.
"We'll be so super nice to you, Selmers," Mae said. "Have Trent give you a massage! He's so good at them! He's given me a few, and Bea got one, and she loved it so much."
"I'd be down for that, if you wouldn't mind. I'm kinda tense," Ann said.
"I'd be very happy to, Ann," Trent replied.
"I really appreciate it. And I'll totally blow you, too."
Trent laughed awkwardly. "You don't have to, but...I won't say no."
"You are super cute when you get all embarrassed," Mae said, grinning at him. "It's adorable."
"Oh thanks," Trent said, rolling his eyes.
"You're welcome, loser!" Mae paused. "I mean that with, like, kindness."
He sighed and took her hand. "I know, Mae."
"Let's get, like, baked tonight! And order Taco Buck! If you don't mind, boyfriend of mine," she said, smiling at him and staring with her big red eyes.
"No, I don't mind. We can watch a movie, or hook up the N64. I wanna play Mario Kart."
"I'd be down for that," Ann said. "I've played some games, not much, but I was more active during the N64 and Sega days. I played a lot of Mario Kart."
"You're on!" Mae declared.