I walked home from work. It's almost 6AM. Jim came late today, said that his truck won't start. My back hurts. In my hands were two cups of "double extra hot chicken flavored instant ramen", freshly cooked, it even has a bit of cashews in it from the trail mix bag on clearance. I got in the house and I saw the lights still on. "Lily, you still alive?" I yelled. I suppose I owe me being happy tonight to her. Fucking hell. Well, at least tomorrow's the last day of work.
"Oh, you're back..." Lily rubbed her eyes. "I thought your shift ended at 3," She yawned.
"Supposed to be, but Jim got in late." I replied as I sat the cups on the dining table. "I got you some ramen."
"Ramen for breakfast? I'm down," She grabbed the chopsticks and sat down. It was good. No. It was great. "Fucking hell, why is it so hot?"
"Double extra hot. It's not that bad," I said as I slurped a mouthful. "It's actually pretty bland,"
"Did you fuck up your taste buds during night shift or something?" Lily slurped more of the noodles. I lit up a cigarette and sat it on my lips.
"It's not that bad, I usually eat hot pockets after work. Tell you what, ramen is better than hot pockets, a hundred percent!" I replied, trying to make conversation. I took the cigarette out and I sat it on the ashtray. "Oh yeah, I'm going back to work at 6 today." I got up, my ramen is finished. I threw the empty cup in the trash can, and I went to grab my towel. I grabbed my cigarette back and sat it on my lips. "I'm gonna take a nap after the bath, wake me up when you're hungry." I said before entering the bathroom.
"Okay!" Lily replied, her mouth still stuffed with the ramen.
"You bought a fucking car?" Lori spat her coffee at Lincoln. Disappointedly, Lincoln wiped the warm coffee off his face.
"Yes, I did, and I would appreciate it if you didn't spit your entire mug at my face," Lincoln replied, deadpan. "Aren't you supposed to be an internationally acclaimed lawyer, where the hell is your professionalism?" Lincoln asked, he's done with Lori's shit. Especially after last night's blanket robbery. They were sleeping on separate beds and she stole his blanket in the middle of the night. He's not even mad about the Camaro anymore, he's just pissed about the blanket.
"Shoved it up my ass when Lily ran off to God knows where," Lori replied as she took Lincoln's cup of coffee. "Why the fuck did you make it a double double? Did that Canadian secretary of yours fuck your taste buds?"
"Just order a new one would ya?" Lincoln sighed as he got off the chair. Lincoln wants to go back to the room. "And I wish, if Jordan found out about that her I'm dead,"
"I'd pay to watch that honestly. Shouldn't we get going? You bought the car, so the logistics issue is taken care of," Lori stood up. "What are we waiting for?"
"Not today, I paid them to service it. It'll finish tomorrow at 5." Lincoln replied.
"Damn it, why can't you just take the car as is?"
"I'd rather not get stuck in the middle of the road again,"
"Luna, wake up!" Lily shouted as I got out of the toilet.
"I was in there for like 5 minutes, how the fuck are you hungry?" I asked as I rubbed my face with the towel. I walked to the living room in a tee Lily washed and a pair of shorts I thought I lost months ago.
"I'm eating for two remember?" She looked at my legs. "What's with the barcode on your thighs?" She pointed at my right thigh. I suppose I never wore shorts in front of her before.
"Umm... Divorce can make you do dumb shit like that," I replied as I threw the towel on the dining chair. "Don't mind it, it's nothing."
"If you say so." Lily replied as she went to the kitchen. I heard her open up a few cupboards as I dried my hair. "You should really buy some snacks, the pantry is barren."
"Is it too empty?"
"Luna, I don't think you opened these cupboards before, there's literally a can of Spam from the 80s," Lily took out the can, the print had faded to an extent, but it is still visible. "This shit reeks of rat piss," Lily sniffed it.
"Why the fuck would you sniff it like that?" I asked. I looked around the house. "By the way, how did you manage to clean my house up this good? You even managed to get rid of the puke stain," I said as I took out a cigarette from the container. I lit it, and I took a long puff. I coughed. Fuck that hurts.
"That sounds like lung cancer." Lily said as she threw the can in the garbage can.
"I wish," I chuckled and coughed. "I might need to quit smoking,"
"You think?"
"Nah," I said as I took a long puff. "Diner?"
"Now? You haven't even slept,"
"I can manage,"
"Your eyes are swollen as fuck, at least one of them is swollen, the other is just bruised as hell," Lily said.
"It's alright, I'm fine, we can get some snacks, and I'll enjoy sleep after." I said. Why is my mood cheerful today?
"You look happy today, wait, forget that, I'm not gonna jinx it again." Lily said as she grabbed her jacket.
I put on my cargo pants and I buttoned up my denim jacket. I grabbed the cigarette container and I shoved it in my pocket. I grabbed my wallet and I grabbed the keys. I don't know what's going on with me today. But I'm not complaining. We got out of the house and we walked down the road. Those kids are still in front of the randown theater, jamming with their trashcan drums and guitars. I don't know why, but I felt like joining them. I hate music, but I don't know, I felt like joining them. We got in the diner and Emily was sitting there with the TV remote in her hand, switching from channel to channel. There were other people inside, must be travellers on their way to Mount Hood. She turned her head to the door and she saw us, her eyes lit up. "The Sisterhood of L is here, you two are early today?" She asked, she sat the remote down and went to us.
"What?" I asked as I sat down. "That cringy nickname aside, lots of customers today Ems?"
"Their bus broke down a mile south, so they're stuck here. What'll it be today?"
"Coffee, hot. Pancakes, and bacon." I said quickly. "Coffee with milk today," I said with a smile.
"Happy aren't you today?" Emily smiled. She looked at Lily, "Did she get laid?" Emily asked.
"Ew, Emily, what the hell is that question?" I coughed. "And why are you asking her?"
"She got mindfucked, that's for sure," Lily replied with a wink.
"Oh... I see what you're getting at," Emily winked. She looked at me and smiled.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" I asked, slightly flustered. I don't know what the hell is in her mind. I wouldn't want to know.
"My prayers have been answered, Luna is finally getting a boyfriend! Amen! Oh Lord! Thank you for listening to my prayers!" Emily yelled at the ceiling. "Lord, at first I thought that this scary ass bitch ain't gonna get laid until she's in her 60s. Thank you for blessing her with a nice young man that made her smile like a motherfucker!". The other people in the diner turned their head and looked at us. "Thank you! Or is this a sign of judgement day? Hmm... I need to prep my bunker if that happens."
"Emily, what the fuck? Stop it, you're embarrassing me." I pulled on her apron. Lily laughed like a demented hag. Fucker.
"You should see how red your face is, Luna, damn, I didn't know you can get that red." Lily chuckled.
"If the Soviet Union is still here, they'll be considered pretty pink when compared to her face right now," Emily added.
"Not helping," I said as I placed my face down on the table, covering my head with my jacket.
I could hear the people's sight. I don't know it works. But I could just hear it. Fuck.
"Okay, okay, sorry," Emily laughed. "You both eat free today, so what do you want Lily?"
"Free? You sure?" Lily asked, I know she's smiling deviously.
"Two milkshakes, and two plates of what Luna's having,"
"Bold move, can you finish it?" I could hear Emily smiling maliciously. Fuck.
"50 bucks says I can,"
"Deal."
I am regretting some choices I made this morning. Other than the embarrassing shit Emily and Lily made me go through, it was pleasant. We finished our meals, got some snacks from the grocery store, and we went back home. I don't know what Lily did, but I was smack dabbed in dreamland when I got back. Not like I give a shit though. Lily won the bet though, she got the 50 bucks.
2.43 PM
"I'm gonna go to work, if you need anything just drop by the gas station," I said as I got out of the house, Lily just replied with a thumbs up from the couch. For the first time in my entire career as a gas station clerk, my uniform is ironed today. Of course it wasn't me that ironed it, it was Lily, but still it was ironed.
Just as I got inside the gas station through the back door. I saw Jim taking out a rifle from his bag and putting it on the counter. "Oh hey, Luna! You're a bit early today. Oh wow, you ironed your shirt." He looked at my face. "Oof... the black eye's still bold huh, it'll go away on its own."
"What's with the rifle?" I asked.
"Oh sorry, I couldn't contact you to tell you about this, but, umm... no work today!" Jim said.
"What do you mean?"
"Oh, there's a manhunt going on right now, didn't you get the alert on your phone- Oh wait, you don't have one. Umm, wait here..." Jim said as he went to the office. He came back with a smart phone and a charging cable. "This is my old phone, this is the cable, just take it. Here's a SIM card from the stand. 20 bucks is enough right?" He said as he gave me the phone and a SIM card from the back of the counter and a receipt for data and calls. It's prepaid, so, if you're out of data, you can just add some more here, I trust you won't abuse the system," Jim smiled as he took out an old army helmet from the same bag.
"Oh... um... thanks Jim." I said.
"You don't need to thank me, think of it as a birthday gift from your godfather."
"Well, you're no God that's one," I chuckled. "But thanks, Jim."
"It's nothing much for a kid that's like my own daughter," He placed his hand on my shoulder.
"Oh, yeah, since I'm gonna go back to Michigan this Sunday, I should say my goodbyes today, I mean two weeks of not going to work is a long time," I said. This is awkward. "I uhh..." I gave him a hug. Why? I don't know. It felt right. "Thanks... dad."
"You don't have to thank me, now go back home. Don't forget to lock your doors." I pulled away.
"What's the manhunt for again?" I asked.
"Oh, there's a missing kid." Jim said as he buckled on an ammo pouch.
"Then why are you putting on Vietnam War gear on?" I asked.
"Oh... Yeah, why am I?" He asked himself as he took the helmet off. "This is not a manhunt, it's a kidhunt."
"That sounds so fucked up," I laughed.
"Oh fuck, yeah that sounds creepy,"
"Well, if there's nothing, I'm gonna leave now." I said as I head for the back door. "Also, umm... I'm getting help, for the thing, so you don't have to worry about it Jim," I continued. He looked at me and smiled. He didn't say anything as I left. I suppose, that's one less person worrying.
I walked back home, and I got in the house. "Lily, funny story, I'm not working today," I closed the door behind me. No answer. "Lily?" I walked in. She's not in the living room. The toilet door is wide open. The kitchen is quiet. I went to her room, she's not in. I went to the master bedroom, she's not in. Just as I got out of the room, I saw Gee sleeping on the dining table. I sat down on the chair and I scratched Gee's head. He meowed. Where the hell is that bitch?
"Where did the fucker go?" I asked the kitten. He meowed. "Out? No shit Sherlock," I smiled.
Just as I grabbed him, the door opened and in came Lily with a plastic bag. "Why aren't you at work?" she asked. I let Gee off of me.
"Station's closed for the night." I said. "What did you get there?"
"Two TV dinners. Roasted turkey with corn and mash. Just the way God intended."
"Are you not full? We had lunch at 2 sis!" I said.
"It's not for lunch moron. It's for dinner." Lily replied as she placed them on the table.
"Understandable,"
"I'm gonna leave them there, we'll eat it in a few hours anyways."
"So, umm, wanna go to the pub later?"
"I'm 15, I can't drink... not like that age limit stopped me from taking sips from time to time from mom's liquor cabinet," Lily said. "But what for?"
"I don't know, I'm bored, there isn't really much entertainment here."
"Then what the fuck do you do before I got here on boring days?" Lily asked. I took out my cigarette container from my jacket pocket. "I forgot you're an addict."
"It's an honorable pastime."
"For dead hos, yes," Lily replied. "Is there anywhere else other than the pub?"
"I can't think of any. Do you have like board games or something here?"
"I don't think so, I do have a deck of cards in the closet though." I took my jacket off. The phone Jim gave me fell out. "Fuck!" I picked it up. I turned it on.
"New phone?"
"Yeah, Jim, my boss, gave me his old phone,"
I placed the SIM card inside, and I did all the preliminary things before I can use this. It lit up. I went to the couch and I sat down beside Lily. "Wanna check out the internet?"
"Better than boredom." Lily replied.