wally's lament.

[ 12 ]

⫸——⫷

An hour and a half later, you left Julie's house feeling strange.

On one hand, you felt good about making a new friend. She seemed like a very kind soul, and she was super fun to hang around. But on the other hand, her warning about Wally left you feeling uneasy. What could he be hiding that was so dangerous that she could not even tell you about it?

You would just have to find out.

After the film ended back at Julie's house, she had invited you out to town again later. She was going out with Barnaby and Wally for dinner and karaoke and offered to take you with her. You accepted her offer to go into town later with them, but said that you wanted to go home first to have a minute alone. She was totally fine with that and arranged for you to meet her at Howdy's Place at 6 P.M..

Half of your conscience screamed at you to not go out to town because Wally would be there to watch you. The other half of you begged to go so that you could watch Wally back and discover his secrets.

In the end, you decided that you would follow through with the plan to go. If you did not go, it was true that you would be able to avoid Wally. However, you kind of wanted to see him. Part of you wanted to show him that you were not afraid of him, but you also just thought hanging out with the group of them would be fun. Hopefully, there would not be any interrogations directed at you.

You walked home, then took some time alone to shower and relax in the motel. Once 5:45 P.M. rolled around, you left the motel and headed to Howdy's Place, mentally preparing yourself for the night ahead.

⫸——⫷

"Hello, Charlie! Long time no see!"

You laughed.

"We're eating dinner at Javier's Grille," Julie continued. Her hair was done up nicely, and she had put a flower pin on her dress. Her shoes and stockings were different as well — she traded the teal stockings for white ones and donned black slippers. "It's really good. Some local chef owns the place. I heard he lived in Mexico before this and came here to sell his amazing food to a new crowd."

Julie started to walk back towards the train station, away from Howdy's Place. You walked next to her, listening as she continued talking about the restaurant. She seemed to know so much about everything here, which was a good thing. The more you knew about this town, the better, so you soaked up every drop of knowledge that Julie offered.

Once the two of you arrived at the restaurant, she sighed. "Okay," she said, turning to look at you. "How does my hair look?"

"Amazing, as always. Don't bat an eye about it," you replied.

Her sweet face broke into a grin. "Oh gosh, thank you! You look phenomenal as well. Let's go in." She took your hand, a friendly gesture, and led you in the restaurant.

The exterior of the restaurant held a very vintage brick-and-mortar vibe; the inside was no different. The walls were lined with red bricks and plaster, the floors were paneled with creaky, dark wood planks, and all of the tables were metal. Julie waved at someone in the distance, and you saw them: Wally and Barnaby sitting in the back of the restaurant. They were waving back at Julie.

The table had four seats. Once you and Julie got over there, you took a seat next to Wally, and she sat next to Barnaby. Barnaby looked just about as nice as a big blue dog could in a fancy, multi-colored vest. Wally was wearing a blue vest over a white button up with a red neck tie, obviously all topped off with his usual pompadour. The placemats were red flanneled cloths, and the menus were small slips of crinkly brown paper. You took a menu and gazed at it.