The sounds came to him from outside, from beyond. Shouted, angry imprecations, the squeal of flesh on glass, which reminded him of Leanne’s obsessive, almost frantic cleaning of windows and table tops. Then silence, shattered by the crunch of a stone punching its way through auto glass.
“Buddy!” she yelled. “Buddy! What the fuck are you doing? Wake up!”
He felt her hand, a claw grabbing his arm, shaking fiercely, almost as if he was an enemy or a species of prey. Reluctantly, he came-to: felt a sudden intake of breath; his head turning toward her; eyes focusing.
“Can you hear me? Do you understand what I’m saying?”
“I’m okay,” he mumbled.
“Let’s get you out of here,” she reached over him, unlocked the driver-side door, then hurried round the car to open it. “Come on,” she coaxed. “Out you come. Easy!” She draped his arm over her shoulder, clung to his waist, guided Buddy to the site’s picnic table and sat him down.
“We need to get you to a hospital, Buddy. Can you make it to my car?”
“No,” he bridled.
“You can do it, man.”
“No hospital!”
Andrea stooped in front of him, staring into his eyes the way you’d look into a tropical fish tank. “Yes, hospital! Maybe we can save a few of your brain cells!”
He sighed deeply, embarrassed at first, then grateful. “Sorry,” he said.
“Later, man. Let’s just concentrate on making sure you’re okay. You know carbon monoxide poisoning can cause serious brain damage?”
“Brain’s already damaged,” he mumbled. “Didn’t want you to find me like this.”
“How did you want me to find you, Buddy?”
She waited. His silence filled in the blank.
“Well, I’m glad I did, man, before it was too late…”
They sat for a while, Buddy hunched over, Andrea beside him, her arm draped over his shoulder.
“Did something change your mind?” she asked.
“Huh?”
“The car? It wasn’t running. Did you switch it off?”
He gave her a puzzled look, then sighed sheepishly. “Must have run out of gas,” he said, thanking the gods of fuckuppedness for intervening.
“What?” she bent forward into his field of vision. “Is that some kind of crazy metaphor or something?”
“No, Andy. The tank was a bit low when I got here. Thought there’d be enough to… you know…”
She shook her head, laughing. “You mean, you came all the way out here to do yourself in, but didn’t bother to fill up en route? Jesus Bud, you’re a fuckup of the first order… I’m so fucking glad you’re such a fuckup.”
She hugged him. Hard.
“Cheapskate,” he corrected.
Andrea squeezed him again.
“How’d you know I was here?”
“I couldn’t sleep after our special night out. I wanted to check up on you. Found your note in the Looner Module. There was only one place I could think you might be. Broke the world land speed record getting out here, praying all the way.”
“Praying? Who to?”
“I never wanted a god in heaven more than I did this last hour, Bud. So if I’m a believer, man, it’s down to you. I wanted so bad to save your sorry soul.”
She rested her head on his shoulder.
“Can you make me a promise?”
“I won’t be trying again, Andy; believe me. It was stupid.”
She kissed him hard. Then relaxed.
“Can you make me a promise?” he countered.
“Nobody needs to know,” she agreed.
“And Herim?”
“She can be our little secret, too, if you want.”
“Don’t want,” he said emphatically. “She’s ours. I love her, and I love her mother.”
“I wasn’t made straight, Buddy. You know that, right?”
He nodded.
“And I don’t want to live even a semblance of a straight life, eh?”
“Me either.”
“So, we’ll just see what happens? Sort of take things as they come?”
“Sounds good.”
He leaned into her, and they sighed happily. It wasn’t glorious, Buddy reckoned, but it was a dawn of sorts.
Next: Fire & Water