It's Got a Beat, Mr. Jones

I Need Some Matches

Mary was walking beside Bobby. Bobby was proudly holding their brand new baby girl. The baby girl was completely bald with large green eyes. Her name was Odette.
Bobby and Mary had been married for six months. They had gotten married as soon as they knew Mary was pregnant. Mary and Bobby had both cut their hair to decent lengths to get jobs. Mary now wore her hair in a bun, and Bobby had his hair short enough to get a good job. They rented a small house in a medium sized Texas town.
Mary and Bobby were doing well for themselves. That was something that couldn't be said for Harvey or Heidi. Harvey was still on the road. He was usually starving. He couldn't find a job because of how little work he had done up to that point. The fact that he was high half the day didn't help. Heidi had run off with a man she had thought loved her and had given up her life for him. Unfortunately, he didn't have the same plans for her. She had gotten pregnant, and he had left her alone and penniless. Mary had tried to help Heidi, but Heidi had insisted that he would come back. He never did. The last Mary and Bobby had heard of Heidi, she had her baby, but she had put it up for adoption because she couldn't take care of it.
Odette was sleeping, her large green eyes closed. She was swaddled in a soft pink blanket. Bobby was holding Odette tightly. He was proud of how lovely she was. He could barely believe that she was his, but Odette was his. The thick brown hair Odette would start growing soon would make it obvious. Odette would grow up to be the image of his sister, except for her green eyes. Odette's green eyes were a trait she got from her mother and her paternal grandfather.
Mary and Bobby owned a Volkswagen beetle that was painted blue to cover the paint job it had had before. In certain spots you could still see through the new paint and at the patterns and peace signs and other random things Mary and Bobby had painted on the car only a year before. It had been hard to completely erase everything they had worked hard for, but Bobby and Mary knew that it was necessary for starting their new life. They had to grow up.
Mary and Bobby were planning to visit Bobby's family very soon. During that trip, Bobby wanted to stop at Mary's home town and meet Mary's mother for the first time. Mary was almost scared about going back. She wanted her mother to meet her husband and her daughter, but she was afraid that her mother would be angry with her for how she left.
Bobby tried to reassure Mary that her mother wouldn't be angry in the least, but would be extremely pleased to see her again. No matter how many times Bobby tried to reassure her, she still stayed nervous until the day that they left for the trip. She sat fidgety in the small car. Odette slept soundly in Mary's arms. Bobby was driving down the road. He had a cigarette between his lips, but it wasn't lit. He was out of matches.
The car hit a bump, and Odette woke up screaming. Mary rocked her and shushed her quietly in that magic way that only mothers know how. Odette was soon silent. Her green eyes blinked a few times.
"I need some matches," Bobby commented.
Mary looked over at him. "Is there any place to stop near here?" She asked.
"Yeah, I think there's a gas station not far from here. We'll stop there and I'll buy some matches," Bobby said.
"Can you buy me a coke?" Mary asked.
Bobby smiled. The cigarette dropped out his mouth. "Sure," He said.
They reached the gas station. Bobby stopped the car in front of the station and got out of the car. He picked up the cigarette he had dropped then walked towards the convenient store. Mary got out of the car and followed him with Odette in her arms. Odette was making silly, random baby babble. She was a talkative little baby even if her words didn't mean anything yet.
Bobby and Mary entered the small convenient store. There was a young lady behind the counter. She glanced over at them with a look of boredom.
Bobby grabbed a book of matches and Mary grabbed a coke. They set them on the counter and the young lady looked over them.
"That'll be a fifty-two cents," She said.
Bobby reached in his pocket and fished out a dollar bill. He put it on the counter and the young lady handed him his change. Bobby smiled at her. "Thank you," He said picking up his change and walking out with his matches.
Mary smiled at the young lady before walking out herself. Odette was still making random sounds. Bobby stood beside the building and lit his cigarette with one of the matches he just bought. Mary and Odette went back to the car to wait for Bobby to finish his cigarette. Bobby checked his watch.
It was five thirty.