*Disclaimer*
The following tale is loosely based on a real-life story, though not about anything that has ever happened in my own life. Any similarities to real people or event is purely intentional, though many liberties were taken.
“I really don’t feel well!” her
brother told her as they walked into the bar, “I think it was something I ate,
or maybe a real bad stomach bug.”
“Well
maybe the entire bowl of Reese’s had something to do with it. I swear you
haven’t changed a bit since we were kids.”
“Can
we please go soon? My side hurts,” he whined.
“What
are you, six years old? You have a key, and I’m not your mommy. You can leave
whenever you want, but it’s Halloween and I’m staying out with the group.”
“I’m
not playing. I really feel sick and I don’t know this city. I came here to
visit you, and now you don’t care about me at all.”
She
turned to her friend who was dressed as Betty Boop and rolled her eyes, “Little
brothers, I tell you. You’d never know he’s 21.”
Her
friend looked back, “If he really doesn’t feel well, you can take him home. We
don’t mind. We can all just do brunch or something tomorrow instead. It’s
really not a big deal.”
She
sighed and glanced back to her brother, “Ok bud, give me one hour. Then I can
take you back and make you some tea and toast like the old days. Can you wait
that long?”
He
frowned pitifully and nodded his head. She patted him on the shoulder and then
headed to the bar, grabbing a cocktail for herself and a ginger ale for her
brother. Her friends ran off to the dance floor, but she had decided to sit and
keep her brother company for a while in hopes that he’d settle in so they all
could stay out for the night.
“Ow
ow, Thor! Where’s your hammer?” she hooted as a man in a long blonde wig and a red
cape walked past the table where she sat with her brother.
The
man turned back and smiled brightly at her, “Oh yea, and what are you supposed
to be?”
She
looked down at herself, “Poison Ivy, duh!”
He
flashed another smile, “Well, you’re sitting and so I can’t see you. Come dance!”
She
looked back at her brother, who had resorted to folding his arms in front of
him and resting his head on the table.
“Can’t
right now. Sick little bro,” she gestured to her brother next to her.
The
man responded with an understanding nod, and turned his head towards the dance
floor, “Go ahead, you guys! I’m gonna hang out here,” he called before joining
her at the table.
As
soon as he sat down, she noticed he had dark hair poking from underneath his
blonde wig.
“Shame
shame, you’re not a real blonde, are you?” she teased.
He
chuckled, “You’re not a real red, are you, blondie?”
She
lifted her wig to show her real hair underneath, and touched her finger to her
lips as if to say “Shhh”.
He
mimicked her and did the same, “Our secret,” he joked.
It
was then that she recognized the man. They had met before, she realized, about
year earlier. She had been in a coffee shop on her lunch break from work and he
stopped to ask her about the book she was reading. They talked for over an hour
until she had realized she was late getting back to work. She ended up leaving
the coffee shop in a hurry and never caught his name.
“Tenn
Street Café,” she told him softly.
He
cocked his head for a moment in confusion, and then his eyes brightened, “Wow!
I did not see that coming. How have you been? I mean, since the one time we
hung out?”
“Random,
right?” she smiled from ear to ear, “I’ve been well. How about you?”
He
blushed and looked down before looking back at her again, “You know, it’s sort
of weird because I uh, never got your name or number that day. I really wish I
had. I tried to find you on social media, but then I realized I knew nothing
about how to find you.”
“You
tried to find me on social media!” she exclaimed, “That’s so cute!”
“I
think I’m gonna be sick,” her brother grunted and stood up from the table before
shooting off towards the bathroom.
“Is
he ok?” the man asked.
“He’s
a crybaby, and sort of an introvert,” she told him, “He doesn’t like bars, or
alcohol… or drunk people. He’ll be ok.”
“You
sure? He looks pretty pale.”
“That’s
probably due to all the time he spends indoors playing video games. Believe me,
he’s done this before.”
“Damn,
why’d you drag him out then?” the man chuckled.
“He’s
visiting me here from Louisiana, and I figured if he came all the way out here,
I might as well show him Denver.”
The
man nodded, “So is that where you’re from? Louisiana?”
“Yep,”
she nodded back, “What about you?”
“Arkansas.”
She
gasped, “We were practically neighbors!”
“Knew
I liked you,” he winked at her, “It’s the accent. Southern kids gotta stick
together, right?”
She
blushed and looked into her lap, “So, I’m curious. How did you try and find me
on social media without my name?”
He
shook his head and sighed, “Lemme tell ya, Ivy, it wasn’t easy, but I had
this…”
She
watched closely as he grabbed his wallet and pulled out a bright yellow piece
of plastic and placed it on the table.
“A
flattened tube of Carmex?” she giggled.
“Oh
crap, this side is what I meant to show you,” he flipped over the tube to reveal
sticker.
Jillie and John 2/14/2015
“That’s
from my friend Jillie’s wedding. Where’d you get that?” she asked.
“You
left it on the table at the coffee shop that day. I figured since I didn’t
catch your name, it could maybe clue me in on how to find you.”
Her
eyes grew wide, unsure of whether the idea of someone keeping her old lip balm
in their wallet was flattering or creepy, “Um…did it work?”
“Not
at all,” he laughed silently, “Why, are you creeped out by me now? I never used
it, I swear.”
“No,
it’s actually pretty… interesting that you tried to find me. I’ve sometimes
thought about looking for you too.”
“And
how’d that work out for you?” he winked.
“Well,
you’re here aren’t you?” she teased.
“Do
you have any idea how many couples named John and Jillian got married on
Valentine’s Day last year?”
“A
lot?” she shrugged.
“Yea,
it’s a lot more than you’d think. I actually gave up pretty quickly.”
“Aww,
now I don’t feel so special anymore,” she pouted, “I guess next time you look
you should know that her full first name is actually just Jillie.”
“Jillie
and Johnny, yeehaw!” he roped an imaginary lasso above his head, “You really
are a Louisiana girl, aren’t you?”
“Sure
am,” she boasted proudly, “So uh, you ever gonna answer my first question?”
“Which
was?”
“Where’s
your hammer?” she asked.
“Oh
right!” he pulled aside his blonde wig and pulled a mallet toy about the length
of his hand from behind his ear.
She
stared blankly, “That’s your hammer?”
“This
thing is cool! It’s a pen, check it out,” he hit one side of the hammer on the
table and showed her that it released the pen tip, while hitting the other side
caused it to retract.
“That’s
like… the coolest thing I’ve ever seen,” she told him sarcastically.
“Isn’t
it,” he winked at her again before placing the pen back behind his ear.
“Totally,
but no one can even see it behind all your golden locks” she beamed back at him,
“So um, I feel bad leaving again, but I’d better get my brother home. If he’s
still in the bathroom like this, he’s probably sick for real. I left my phone
at home, but can I give you my number and you can just text me so I’ll have
yours once I get back?
“My
phone is dead,” he told her, “Wanna do this the old fashioned way?”
“I
thought you’d never ask!” she flirted as she grabbed a napkin from the caddy on
the table, “Got a pen?”
“Sure
do,” he handed her the mallet pen from behind his ear again.
She
hit the mallet pen on the table and touched it to the napkin. She had just
begun to write the first letter of her name when a high-pitched, squealing
sounded through the air around them. The two both cupped their hands over their
ears and looked around as the crowd inside the bar began to move quickly.
The
music that had been playing since they got to the bar stopped suddenly, which
only made the sound seem louder and more deafening. It was then that they could
smell smoke and see the clouds begin billowing through the bar.
“There’s
a grease fire in the kitchen!” someone shouted in a loud, clear voice,
“Everyone outside. The fire department is on their way!”
In
a hazy panic, she jumped away from the table and pushed herself against the
flow of people to the back of the bar. Her friend who had been on the dance
floor grabbed her arm.
“Where
are you going? Let’s go!” her friend shouted.
“I
have to find my brother. He’s in the bathroom and he’s sick!” she pulled her
arm back and continued to push through.
The
smoke grew thicker as she reached the back of the bar. By the time she passed
the kitchen, she had to cover her nose, mouth, and eyes with her hands. She
stumbled blindly through the hallway where the bathrooms were until she reached
the door of the men’s room and pushed it open with her elbows.
She
coughed violently as the door closed behind her and she pulled her hands away
from her face. The thick bathroom door had shielded a lot of the smoke and she
was able to pear around the bathroom and see the brown jacket that belonged to
her brother underneath one of the stall doors.
She
cried out to him and then tried to open the stall, which was locked, so she
slipped underneath the stall door. Her brother sat cross-legged and slumped
over the toilet, asleep.
“I’m
so sorry, sweetie. I am so selfish!” she cried as she tried to lift him to a
standing position, “Please wake up. Oh, why am I so stupid!”
She
folded her brother’s arms over her shoulders and lifted him to a standing
position. He finally spoke to her quiet, dull tone, “I’m really sick, sis.”
“I
know you are,” tears poured from her eyes, “I’m so sorry. Just please walk with
me. There’s a fire and we have to get you out of here now.”
“I think I can stand, but I have to walk real
slow,” he told her.
“Ok,
just cover your face, ok, like this,” she showed him and then made sure he did
it before opening the bathroom door and heading towards the front again.
“No
no! The back door!” he shouted, and he nudged her with his hip in the opposite
direction.
The
emergency exit alarm sounded as they pushed through the door and collapsed on
the asphalt lot below. A firetruck had just pulled up the back lot as well, and
two firefighters approached them immediately.
“Stay
calm, an ambulance is on the way,” one of the firefighters told them, and then
called to one of the men still inside the truck, “Tell ‘em we got two here who
need to be treated for smoke inhalation!”
“My
brother, he has appendicitis too, I think,” she told the firefighter hurriedly,
“He needs to get to a hospital right away!”
>>>>>>>
“Yes
mom, we’re both fine. I would have called you earlier but I honestly don't have your number memorized and I left my phone at
home. I had to wait for them to bring me his stuff from the OR… No, I’ve
been out for a few hours and they just told me he’s awake and stable... His
operation went fine… Yes, I’ll tell him you guys are on your way… Ok, see you in a few hours… Love you too. Bye.”
She
stood outside her brother’s hospital room and took a deep breath, “Stupid.
Selfish. I can’t believe I did that,” she whispered angrily to herself before
opening the door.
Her
brother sat up in the hospital bed, looking happier and more rosy cheeked than
he had all day, “Hi!” he smiled at her.
“Mom
and Dad are on their way and I’m so sorry I didn’t take you seriously!” she
cried as she leaned down to hug him, “I feel so stupid. I’m such a bad sister
but I’m so glad you’re ok!”
“I
get it,” he nodded, “I complain a lot and I cry wolf. You didn’t believe me.
It’s ok.”
“No,
it’s not ok. I’m so sorry.”
“I’m
fine now,” he smiled at her, “and I only survived because you came to find me.
I still feel really bad that I was being such a downer during your date.”
“You
weren’t being a downer. You were sick! And it wasn’t a date. It’s just this guy
I keep finding,” she sighed, “and who I keep losing again.”
“Well,
maybe you’ll find him again,” he shrugged, “did you exchange numbers?”
“No,”
she shook her head, “We almost did. Damn, I can’t believe we missed that part again!”
“See,
you do mind!” he rolled his eyes at her and smiled, “But if you found him twice
already, I’m sure you’ll find him again. You deserve a good Cinderella story,
sis.”
“Thanks,
lil’ bro,” she scratched the top of his head softly, “Are you hungry?”
“Yea,
but I don’t know if I’m allowed to eat yet. I keep pressing the button but no
one’s coming,” he told her.
“I’ll
go find out,” she kissed the side of his head softly, “You just stay here and
relax.”
Walking
out into the hallway, she spotted a nurse walking quickly down the hallway,
“Excuse me,” she called, “Can we get someone to answer some questions for us in
room 314, please?”
“Sure
thing!” the nurse called without stopping, “I’ll page someone for you right
now.”
“Thank
you,” she said softly and let out a sigh of relief as her hands fell to her
sides and onto a lump in the side pocket of her purse.
It
was then that she realized she had taken it. She gasped softly as she pulled
out the mallet pen and looked over it in hopes of finding some way to contact
the man to whom it belonged. She turned it over in her hand to reveal the text
Peewee’s Joke Shop – Little Rock, Arkansas
555-258-1234
Her
shouldered slumped and she let out a grunt of defeat, “You have to be kidding
me,” she whispered to herself, “What the fuck am I supposed to do with this?”
