Heaven Can Wait || Eddie Munson Story ||

'86 Baby

Every morning since graduation has been the same. Or rather I should say every afternoon since I typically don't get up until 1 pm most days anyway. I wake up to the sound of my neighbors busying themselves in their yards throughout the trailer park, dogs parking, lawn mowers cutting grass. I wipe the sleep from my eyes, get up and put on some clothes before dragging my sorry ass into the kitchen and getting a Yoo-hoo from the fridge. I make myself some cereal and watch whatever episode of He-Man is on while I roll up a joint and shovel the sugary sludge down my throat. 

Uncle Wayne has been circling jobs in the classified section of the paper and leaving it on the table for me to look through in the morning. He notates jobs he thinks I would like or do well at. I smile at his effort and brace myself for another day job hunting. Over the last month I have gone to more job interviews than I can count. Stuffing myself in too tight tucked white shirts and pressed pants and trying without any success to look the part of a respectable young man. I'm not naive enough to believe Wayne doesn't know that I am dealing and I know that the idea of me continuing bothers him. I bring in a decent amount of money for myself but now that I've graduated, I know that he worries about my future, and I'd be a fool if I tried to lie to myself and say I didn't want him to be proud of me. With a sigh, I put my empty bowl in the sink and put my newly rolled joint behind my ear, planning to stash it away in my tin box once I can find it in my room. 

After stashing away the joint, I shower and get dressed in the clothes my uncle bought me for interviews. Today I decided on black slacks and a dark green button down. I kept the first two buttons open and decided against a tie. I also rolled up the sleeves and tucked them in on themselves. Since it was the middle of summer, I needed a little breathing room. My overall outlook going into today was not looking good so I might as well be comfortable. I put my rings on and had to physically fight the urge to add my chains to the loops of my pants.

"For Uncle Wayne. For Uncle Wayne." I chanted to myself over and over again. 

My resumes were still in my van so I grabbed my keys and headed out before I could somehow convince myself to add the chains after all. I didn't even bother stopping to fix my hair knowing the mid-July humidity would do wonders to it no matter what I tried. As I walked to my van, I noticed a U-Haul outside of the trailer next to mine and I slowed my steps, being nosy. 

Two big and beefy dudes were moving furniture in and out of the trailer, but they looked like hired movers and not like they were actually moving in. I got to the van and acted like there was something wrong with my keychain, fidgeting and watching. As I watched, a girl stepped out from the back of the U-Haul and she approached both of the movers. She talked to them swiftly and seemed to be giving them precise instructions. She moved her hands when she talked and even though she was clearly bossing them around she smiled kindly at them, and they smiled back at her nodding. 

She was slightly tall for a woman, coming up to the two men at a comfortable height. I would estimate she would be just a few inches shorter than me. She has curly dirty blonde hair that falls between her shoulder blades. Her skin is pale and almost completely without blemishes. It has this almost soft appearance with a slight pink undertone. I found myself wondering what it would feel like to touch and then shook myself. At that moment, she turned and saw me staring. 

I froze for a moment, startled that I was caught and then I smiled sheepishly. I could feel myself blushing slightly as I came around the van. She stayed where she was at the back of the U-Haul as the movers moved about, continuing their work. When I made my way to the other side of my van so we only had a few feet between us I stopped and waved.

"Hello," I called. "Sorry I was just curious. I'm Eddie. Eddie Munson. I live here." I pointed at my trailer as I spoke. Her cheeks turned a slightly darker shade of pink and I realized that she was truly very pretty. She had fully turned towards me as I approached, and I realized she was wearing a Dio shirt and black shorts. I tried to not completely lose my mind, but it wasn't every day I met someone who liked the same music as me and was a good-looking girl.