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I’d rather call a cab back to the gym where I left my rental. I make a mental note to never have Shane drive me anywhere. If I wanted to be a dick, I could leave, but I won’t. I’m as hungry as fuck.
While Shane and Joyce go back to nuzzling, Char and I chat about the weather.It’s so hot.
We then discuss the lack of rain.We need some.
Bored to the point of numbness with our small talk, I excuse myself to wash my hands. The hallway leading to the unisex bathroom is in the back, and there the chatter and country music tapers to a quiet roar.
I linger at the sink, washing and re-washing my hands, stalling for a minute. By the time I get back, it’s only a few seconds before a hostess sits us at a table.
As we wait for our server, Char tells me her life story. She’s a nurse at a doctor’s office. She has two sisters that are married, and from the way she sounds when describing their wedded bliss, she wants to be as well.
I let her prattle on, content to half-ass give her my attention as it distracts me from a certain brown-haired beauty.
Char wraps up her story of when her last niece was born just as Shane stops kissing Joyce’s neck to say, “They have great wings here, but the chili…” He kisses his fingers and flicks them open like a pretentious chef in a bad film. “The German who owns this place, had to be a Texan in his past life. Man can really make a mean bowl of beans and meat,” Shane says, traveling his hand up and down his girlfriend’s leg.
I’m saved from grunting as the server comes to our table. She takes our drink and food orders with perfect efficiency. Char and Joyce select a small bowl of extra mild chili and a side salad. I get a big bowl of medium-heat without beans, and Shane goes for the same but ups the spice to hell-fire hot. He also gets a round of wings for the entire table to share.
After we place our orders, Shane and Joyce coo as if they haven’t seen each other for weeks, instead of a few hours. Char turns to me, wrinkling her freckled nose in mock disgust. “They need to get a room, right?”
“Yeah. They’re pretty bad.”
“So, you’re from New York City, right?”
“Yeah.”
“What’s it like there?”
“Same as any other place, I guess.”
I know I’m being a prick. I just have zero interest in keeping up a conversation. I’d rather sit back, zone out, and think of last night while she talks.
To achieve this, I latch onto a subject I’m sure she won’t exhaust. “Why don’t you tell me about your nieces and nephews? You have four, right? Two boys and two girls? How old are they?”
Sure enough, Char doesn’t let up about her sibling’s kids until the food arrives, hot and piping. The delicious aroma has my mouth watering. I add a generous amount of grated cheese to my chili from the bowl provided, crumbling in a few crackers to boot. Smacking my lips in anticipation, I lift my spoon to dig in… when my phone rings in my pocket.
Damn that shit to hell.
If it weren’t Gramps’s ringtone, hungry as I am, I’d let it go to voicemail.
Fishing the phone from my gym shorts and answering it, I tell Gramps to hold on. To the table, I say, “Sorry guys, I’ve got to take this.”
Joyce nods. Char looks disappointed. Shane talks around a mouth full of chili, some of it spraying on the table. “We’ll be here. Don’t take too long cause the wings will be long gone.”
He laughs and I’m quick to walk away before some of his chewed up chili spatters onto me.
I head towards the restroom to take advantage of the quiet. Leaning against the paneled wall, I click Gramps off mute and say, “Sup?”
His chastisement is gruff and expected. “Is that how you answer the phone now? I’m not one of your friends, boy.”
“Yes, Grandfather.”
“Such a damn smart-ass. Has Texas changed you for the worst?”
If he only knew. Not for the worst, but it’s definitely got me rethinking a few things.
“Not sure. Would it be bad if it has?”
“You mixed up in something… or someone?”
