Len and Norma Lose a Body

Chapter 15

It was shortly after midnight and Mike was wondering how Sharon's night was going. He and Lauren had finished their popcorn in the first five minutes of the movie and had raided the fridge and pantry for the next hour and a half devouring everything sweet and salty they could find. They had even capped of their night with a classic - butter on salted crackers, but was now having trouble falling asleep with a stomach full of food. He worried that Lauren might end up sick. Sharon never would have let her eat that much food in one evening. He crossed his fingers that she could sleep it off without puking.

Sharon must be having a good time he thought. The morning might bring a food hangover for him and Lauren and maybe an actual hangover for Sharon. It'd be good for her to let loose a bit. She'd been wound so tight lately with all the changes coming down the pipe. She would seem excited one day, then unsure the next. He wanted to be more supportive but the flip flopping and all the emotions were exhausting. Sometimes he just wanted to say, "Don't go then," but in the next conversation he'd feel like saying, "just go get it over with already." Neither of them sounded overly supportive. He figured it was safer just to listen and nod a lot.

He briefly wondered what her plan to get home was. He had half expected a phone call by now. Ah she's a big girl he though, she'll figure it out, and besides Brian usually swings by the bar about this time to see what's available. If she was really stuck and his odds of hooking up were slim, he was sure Brian could give her a lift. No taxis in a town this size. She must have something figured out. Within a few minutes Mike fell asleep propped up on both his and Sharon's pillow so gravity would help keep the snacks in his stomach were they belonged.

...

Sharon wasn't necessarily sobering up, but she was now acutely aware that this was all playing out before and audience. She hated that she had brought attention to herself like that and wondered what she could do without it being seen under the watchful eye of the barfly herself. Bev was currently coughing up a lung behind her and Sharon secretly hoped that she must just croak and fall off her barstool. Bev was a notorious gossip, but she wasn't the whispering sort. If she had a story to tell everyone in the room was going to hear it.

She realized at this point that she didn't have a good plan to get home. There was no way she'd walk that far in the dark, she didn't have a vehicle, and there were no cabs. She scanned the bar for a face ... Brian where are you? Aaron noticed that Sharon seemed to be distracted and wasn't completely engaged with him like she always seemed to be. "What's up?" he asked her trying to sound casual, and that's when Sharon got up and walked out of the bar.

The fresh air felt good, but it was much chillier now than it had been on Elaine's deck. She immediately began to shiver and started to walk down the back alley behind the bar. There was no moon and it was incredibly dark. 'Now what?' Sharon thought as she looked around in the darkness. There was nothing she could do out here. She decided to turn around and walk back to the bar to call Mike to come and get her.

She could see the silhouettes of the garages and garbage stands in the alley and then a bobbing red dot that seemed to get closer and closer. It took her a few seconds to realize that it was a cigarette and a few more seconds to realize that the man holding it in his mouth was Facial Hair. "Good God," Sharon whispered out loud. This is just what I need. "Hey," he said blocking her path, "where you off to in such a hurry?" She tried to side step him, but he moved his body with hers so that he was still directly in her path.

Sharon was ready to say something. She was mad, she was just working up the perfect insult when a familiar voice cut through the air. "What's going on here?" Sharon could see Aaron's outline in the dark alley as he came toward them. Facial Hair turned around and didn't seem surprised to see who it was. "Relax, we're just talking here." It was dark but Sharon could tell they were staring each other down. "Come on Sharon. Let's go," Aaron said not taking his eyes off the figure in the dark.