As Eddie takes the cash from Leo, something, or rather someone, catches my eye from across the street. It’s now dusk, so it is difficult to make out exactly who is standing outside, but it appears to be a man. He is wearing some sort of long coat, with an old-school top hat. The man is smoking, leaning against the lamppost that is flickering, like a cliché thriller movie. I squint to try to get a better look at him as he is just staring directly into the tattoo shop, when the register slams shut, making adingsound and startling me out of my investigative trance.
I turn back to face Eddie and thank him for the amazing work he did.
“Take care, now. Thanks again for coming in,” he says to us.
When we turn around toward the window of the shop, I am expecting to see the man still smoking and staring. But to my surprise, no one is there.
We walk back out onto the sidewalk, and now I feel like I have traded places with Leo, as I start scanning the area looking over my shoulder.
That’s impossible, he was just there.
Leo grabs my hand as we head to his car. He seems less tense, but still not overly talkative.
“That was fun,” I say as we stand outside Leo’s Cavalier.
He releases my hand and begins fumbling in the pocket of his jeans searching for his car keys. “Yep.”
Taking in a deep breath I decide that I have held my tongue long enough. I’m over having to tiptoe around Leo today, and now I’m at a breaking point with the half-assed silent treatment.
“That’s it?” I begin to move my hands up animatedly. I tend to talk with my hands often, especially when I am worked up about something. “I thought this was supposed to be a fun date. You look like you just went to a fucking funeral. What’s wrong?” I press as he retrieves his keys from his pocket.
He doesn’t respond to me right away. Instead, he unlocks the car and opens the driver side door to get in.
I roll my eyes as I get in the passenger side, slamming the door shut.
Turning the key in the ignition, Leo grabs for the stick shift as he begins to drive. “Sienna, it’s fine, I just have a lot on my mind. Quit it.”
“You know you can talk to me,” I remind him.
“It’s fine, alright? Just drop it.” He shifts gears before accelerating beyond the speed limit, making me grasp onto the passenger door handle to brace myself against the dramatic increase in speed.
Holding tight to the handlebar, I turn to look at him, but his eyes are glued to the road, as he continues to pick up speed. I’m about to tell him to slow down when he finally lets up off the gas, just as he turns onto one of the local cut-throughs that is not too far from our street. His gaze remains intense, focused on the dusk-covered road ahead of us.
He peers at the rearview mirror, then once through the side-view mirror, before shifting in his seat as he reaches for the stereo system in the center console. He turns the knob to raise the volume as “Someday” by Nickelback begins to play. He shifts gears once more as the music begins to fill the car, easing my nerves from his erratic driving. I want to say something to him, but instead, I decide to lean back in my seat and enjoy the song, since we are almost home.
I leave my hand near the gear stick, hoping that he will reach for it. I glance at him as he glides his open palm on the steering wheel, turning into the beginning of our neighborhood. His right hand moves to the gear, shifting it once before he redirects his hand to mine. In a low mumble, he then begins to sing along with the song playing through the speakers.
“Someday, somehow. Gonna make it, alright, but not right now. I know you’re wondering when …”
A smile escapes my lips. Hearing Leo sing one of my favorite Nickelback songs is the much-needed cure for the tension that has been building today. I see the stress melt off him as he finally directs his eyes to me as he slows down, parking in his Titi Rose’s driveway.
I go to grab the handle to open the door when, when Leo’s arm reaches for my hand, stopping me. I look at him, confused by the intense motion. Before I can say anything, he leans in for a deep, passionate, tongue-swirling, kiss. This is the most like us that we have felt like all day. I revel in it and try to release my anxious thoughts.
“Thank you for today,” he says.
“Of course. Never thought I was much of a tattoo girl, but I think today might have changed that.”
He ignores my tattoo comment, instead moving his hand to my chin. “I love you, Sen, so fucking much.”
“I love you, too, Leo.”
I look through the driver window and see my Titi Lana on the front porch, talking across the driveway to who I can only assume is Leo’s Titi Rose. I turn to my right and look out the passenger window when I see Rose standing right outside the car.
She begins to knock on the window, as if I could miss her pissed-off expression, standing outside the car.
Leo rolls his eyes, removing his hand from my chin as I go to roll the passenger side window down to greet his Titi. “Hi, Rose.”
“Sienna,” she nods her head, as if she is obligated to acknowledge me, when it’s clear she’d rather talk to Leo.
