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Wow…was I really there? I could potentially love this man? Really? When had this turn happened? I’d gone from being very attracted to him, to thinking that if we got closer and I spent enough time with him, within no time I might be head over heels in love with
Gary. This was so frightening.
I had to tread carefully here. I just needed to keep my head on straight and be strong. But being there with him talking, drinking, having so much fun connecting with this man was really starting to wear me down. It had been foolish of me to come there, but I wasn’t really regretting the decision. How could I regret something that felt so good?
“When did you discover your love for horror movies?” Gary asked.
I laughed. “It’s something I’m almost embarrassed about.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m a grown up. Aren’t we supposed to grow out of that stuff by age twenty?”
“What? Are you saying that only teenagers can admit to being fans of horror movies? Now, I don’t believe that for one second.”
“I guess you’re right, but I have been a fan since I was like five years old. My dad was really into them and much to my mother’s chagrin, he would let me stay up past my bedtime on weekends to watch scary movies. He tried to keep them age appropriate, but this went out the window quickly, without my mother’s knowledge. By the time I was ten I’d seen more gore and brutal murders on television to last me a lifetime of scares but they never scared me. I always just thought they were entertaining and too goofy to be realistic. They were so cheesy. I loved the more offbeat ones, the indie films, like my dad loved to watch. That was the fun part for me.”
“That’s awesome,” Gary said finishing his beer. “I’ve always been into them. And while I do love the cheesy films, there are a lot of the more serious horror movies that I love as well. I’m especially interested in paranormal films.”
“Why is that?”
“I don’t know,” he said. “Maybe it’s because I believe in the paranormal to some degree.”
“Wow, have you had experiences?”
“No,” he said. “I can’t say with a straight face that I have ever had any paranormal experiences in my life. But, I can say that I have an open mind to it, and I believe other people have had those experiences.”
“What makes you believe that?”
“Well, in our line of work, we’ve seen some frightening things. And I have to think that sometimes, if someone passes on tragically that way that the energy of who they were is left behind, stuck at the scene so to speak.”
“That’s an interesting way of looking at things,” I said.
We continued talking for a bit longer and after about three beers each we decided to say goodnight. It was getting late and we both had work the next day.
“Are you sure you are ok to drive?” Gary asked.
“What? I’ve had three beers in about three hours. I paced myself. Now, if you are unsure about yourself… I didn’t know that firemen were such lightweights who can’t hold their beer!”
Gary laughed and pretended to jab me in the belly with his finger in a teasing fashion. “That’s not fair. I’m fine. I can hold my beer with no problem. I could probably drink you under the table.”
“Oh, if that’s a challenge, then we can go right back inside and drink until they throw us out,” I said. We had made it out to the parking lot, which at this time was almost empty. The night was warm and the moon was about half, but still bright and beautiful in the black sky above us. I loved to look up and watch the galaxy outside of our own world and solar system. I wondered if there could be real life in any of the other systems. There were countless star systems and galaxies. Surely, we weren’t the only lucky planet in all of the cosmos.
“No, I surrender,” Gary said. “You have beaten me.”
“I’m glad that’s settled,” I said.
We were now standing in front of my car. It was a two thousand and five, four door sedan with almost a hundred thousand miles on it. Sometimes I felt like letting it roll into the river, but it was my car and we’d been through a lot together.
“Well, this is me,” I said.
“Thanks for coming out tonight. That support really means a lot to me, otherwise I get to thinking that I should just stay home and sing for myself.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that. You seemed to be attracting quite the fan club inside.”
He shrugged. “Thanks anyway. I guess I’ll see you at work tomorrow?”
“Sure,” I said.
