"Your album??" Marty said, rubbing his hair with a towel. "Really? You want me???"
He had since changed into a set of dry clothes, and was now wandering around the house with the phone clutched tightly against his right ear (his left ear was still full of water). Russ was explaining the situation to him in a very weary voice. Or maybe she was drunk, Marty couldn't tell. Either way, the proposal was so exciting that he couldn't sit still, and he ended up zooming around like maniacal housefly.
At several points during Russ' explanation, he passed through the kitchen. On his last passing trip, his mother stopped him with a hot tray of chocolate-chip cookies, fresh from the oven. He plucked one from the baking sheet in passing and stuffed it into his mouth, whispering his thanks through a mouthful of crumbs.
"Thanks mom,"
On the other end of the line, Russ had just questioned his current capabilities required for the job.
"My singing skills are still as fabulous as they were in high school," he told her. "Don't worry about that bit,"
Marty was passing the back door for the third time during his aimless buzzing. Right as he was speaking, the door popped open and Bill, Marty's very best friend in the whole wide world, stepped inside. Unlike Marty, there was a certain air about Bill that made him seem like an actual self-functioning adult. And when he saw Marty flying around with a phone pressed against his ear, he couldn't help but frown slightly.
"Hey man, who's calling you--?"
He was interrupted by Marty as he stuffed his own half-eaten cookie directly into Bill's mouth. Bill froze, chewing the invasive cookie in silence. Meanwhile, the messy conversation between Marty and Russ continued.
"Getting to California?" Marty asked. "Oh that's no problem. Yeah, I'll book a flight right now!"
Tucking his phone under his shoulder, Marty turned back to Bill.
"Marty, what're you--"
"Bill, gimmie your phone. I need your phone."
As though on autopilot, the bewildered Bill pulled the phone from his back pocket. Then he handed it to Marty without any further questions. Marty snatched it away, and immediately began researching flights to California.
"Ah, well uh... There aren't any flights left this week that aren't already full." He paused for a moment. "But that's fine, don't worry. I'll just drive there, easy peasy. More environmentally friendly, amiright?"
Bill swallowed the last of the shared cookie, staring at Marty as though he was speaking an entirely different language. Out of courtesy, he didn't interrupt the phone call again, but his eyes spoke a thousand words. Marty noticed that Bill was staring at him, and quickly broke out into a smile.
"I'll bring Bill along too!" he told Russ, "You remember Bill, you used to bully him in high school,"
"What--!?"
"Yeah, yeah. It's all good," Marty continued, ignoring him. "See you Monday morning, bright and early! Thanks so much, Russ. Love you!"
Realizing what he had just said, Marty winced at his own unfiltered words. Luckily, it sounded as though Russ had already hung up on him, so he was spared a small amount of embarrassment. With a sigh of satisfaction, he set his phone down on the nearest surface. Then he let out a wicked, excited little giggle.
"Marty, what the heck was that?" Bill asked.
"I need to borrow your car," Marty replied.
"Why?? You can't even drive!"
YOU ARE READING
Mile 15
Humor"Ridin' on down this ol' highway. Listen to what this Joe has seen. His story how he went astray, when he- Met the Devil on mile fifteen," Marty was voted "Most likely to become a pop-star" in his high school yearbook, but has yet to become anything...
