Stop and Stare

16

"You're back." Mona said after she placed the soda in front of Mahony.

"Do I know you?" Mahony blinked at Mona. "Why do I want to call you Mona?"

"Because that's my name."

"How do I—"

"Drink your soda first, then we'll chat," Mona replied in her slightly gravelly voice before heading to serve the tables behind Mahony.

When Mona returned, Mahony eyed her, "Dammit. I messed up, didn't I? Wasted a wish."

"I wouldn't say that," Mona said and picked up the plate of grilled cheese and a bowl of tomato soup from behind her on the ledge of the window to the kitchen. She placed both in front of Mahony. "Eat. It'll settle you." She watched Mahony pulled the plate and soup closer dejectedly. "What happened after you'd returned?"

"I couldn't remember anything. How am I supposed to fix anything if I can't remember anything that'd happened before?" Mahony shot back.

"I don't think you're meant to, hon," Mona said.

"Then what is the point?" Mahony waved his hands in the air. "So ... what? We just keep on making these trips and to do what?" He wanted to slam his hands down on the counter. It's out of curtesy for the other patrons he didn't. Instead, he settled for clenched fists on the counter on either side of him.

"I don't make the rules, hon." Mona shrugged.

"If I couldn't remember Brad and Lisa were having a tryst at the office conference room, I'd inevitably trigger them to—no, it's Lisa, I'd trigger Lisa to kill me." Mahony sighed. "She had it out for me for some reason. Both times, I made it clear her affairs were her own. I have no interest in them. She didn't believe my intentions either time. I don't get it."

"May be your approach was wrong?"

"My approach?!" Mahony wanted to shout again. "What else could I have done? She just wouldn't get it through her thick skull that I don't care about her affairs—I don't care about her, period." Mahony started waving his hands in the air again, "I mean, what a waste of oxygen that woman was. The world wouldn't have felt the difference if she existed or not."

"My goodness, strong words," Mona said, looking amused.

"Sorry." Mahony's fists were back on the counter. He shook his head, "Sorry, I'm just so mad. Why won't she just leave me be?"

"Maybe she couldn't, did you ever think of that?" Mona asked.

"Something I'm not understanding?" Mahony searched Mona's face for clarifications.

"Think about it," Mona began, "an intellectually vapid woman like her still needs to survive, just like everyone else. Don't you think?"

"You're telling me, it's her survival instinct that that compelled her to kill me?"

"Fight or flight," Mona said, "Lisa is pure ego, wouldn't you say?"

"Vapid or not, ego or no ego, it was wrong of her to kill me," Mahony said.

"Right or wrong, very worldly concepts," Mona shook her head. "The universe doesn't care about right or wrong, it only cares if it is or it isn't."

"Don't give me this fortune cookie wisdom." Mahony raked his hand through his hair, making them stand up.

"Choices, hon. Choices." Mona walked away to let Mahony stew in his barely controlled emotions. Existential crisis hits hard.

Mona had no doubt that Mahony was reeling. But then everyone that passed through the in-between at some point among their numerous stop overs would hit that critical existential crisis point. What Mona was more interested in knowing was what Mahony would do with the remainder of his coins. There were only so many of these coins in circulation and in all of her years running Main Street, she'd only seen enough of them to count with her fingers. For three to be in possession in one person, that's very rare. She also wondered what the person that gave Mahony the coins wished for. Whoever that was would pass through Main Street sooner or later, she'd find out then, she just had to be patient—but then ... time had no meaning here or anywhere else but the rides themselves.