Dairy Queen

"I don't wanna go home."

He smiled at her indulgently, but through his teeth he hissed, "We've got a six-AM call."

"NO!"

He grabbed her by the shoulder and tried to yank her through the door.

From the corner of her eye, she saw him land in a blur of vanilla blond and burgundy cherry black.

I heard that you were drunk and mean
Down at the Dairy Queen
There's just enough of you in me
For me to have this sympathy

She stomped out of the restaurant and into the parking lot, hiccuping, her eyeliner rushing down her cheekbones. She paused to take a long swig from her flask before jumping into the back of her red Corvette.

Tyson looked up from his meal, a face full of sauce greeting her.

"Where's-"

"Just. Drive."

I take it in stride
I know I had mine
And You Were As Kind
I am told

Everything looked the same to her in this hick town. Neon-clad building melted into neon-clad building until suddenly the car stopped in front of the hotel.

He was sitting at the back door.

Ain't it funny how we lose one day
And then a lifetime slips away
I'm looking back at us that way
Something I never thought I'd say

"Look at you. you're a mess."

She stood up, wove her way across the courtyard to him. "Yeah, I'm a mess. I'm a bottom-feeding trash bag ho!" The last word seemed to echo through the parking lot.

"And you're drunk...I'd better get you into bed."

"I'm not sleepy."

"So you say right now." He said. Amusement slipped through his tone, and she felt some kind of irritation prickle through her system.

But she leaned on him the entire way to her room.

it was good for a time
i am told

The quilts made a lovely weight against her skin, pulling her down into the cold of unconsciousness. He sat beside her, watching with dispassionate distance, as though he could no longer be required to care.

Until he heard her crying, saw the silken pools against her eyelids.

And found himself between the sheets with her.

the love you gave was not for free
but the price was truly fair
i never felt so glad to be so well spent, so beyond repair

She woke in the morning to a splitting headache and the silence of her own vessels throbbing.

"Chris?"

He wasn't there.

The room was dark and suede-colored. She stood and walked unsteadily to the bathroom.

She found him there, sitting against the sink, staring at the wall. He seemed startled to find her awake.

at least you were mine
if not for all time, enough to hold
oh at least enough for me to hold you

"Chris..."

"Don't say anything." He said flatly. "Last night was me being nice. That's all."

"But you..."

"I took care of you. Any man in his right mind would do the same."

"You can honestly tell me that last night didn't change anything?"

He turned and walked two steps toward her. "Can you?"

And she couldn't meet his eyes.

Now take good care that you are true
you said you found it hard to do
and take that little bit of faith that sets you free
from having everything to prove.

"Get dressed." It was an order. Dizzily, she complied.

He felt the need to explain himself as he tried to right the room. "...You'll never forget what we did...the stupid bet...Christian...where did you leave Christian? Have you even heard from him?"

"Dairy Queen." She managed to say. He gave her a cross-eyed look of annoyance.

"You left him at the Dairy Queen?"

She nodded. "Seemed like the right place to leave him."

"Better go find him, then."

"Chris, please..."

"Do you understand that it doesn't matter? Even if we got back together, you're going to have an axe to grin against me for the rest of your life. Is that the kind of relationship you want to bring children into? A marriage? Because I wouldn't even want a DOG between us at this point, Trish."

She stared at him blankly.

"Do yourself a favor." He held open the door. "Leave. And we can pretend this never happened."

She tilted her head skyward and strode through the opening.

and you take it in stride
and know you've got mine, and it's good for a lifetime or more

She found Tyson asleep in the front of the car, curled around a Sunday edition of the times. She shoved her way into the back seat and lay down, battling the pounding pain behind her eyes.

In her mind, Chris would always be there. Always be the choice she could have had. Always be the part of her that was a broken sundial, pointing toward a sun that had set long ago.

hey i love, i love you more and more

So she tried to forget him.

Nine months later, she found that impossible.



Go On