Read Between the Lines

Banjoless Car Ride

I pull into Marisa's driveway and pops out seconds later rushing to my car. She slides into the passenger seat breathing heavily.

"You alright?" I ask as I pull out of the driveway.

"Fine! I was just rushing." She pauses to regulate her breathing. "What are you listening to?"

"M&M." No, I am not listening to a bunch of life-size, sarcastic, CGI candies singing. I'm listening to sweet, sweet voices of Mumford and Sons.

"No shit! This is their new album!? Any banjo?"

I shake my head, "Sadly no."

"Dammit! The banjo was everything!"

"It seriously was!"

"Blast it anyways." I smiled and turned up the volume to 40. In my car it was loud, but not loud to the point of not hearing each other talk.

It's a Saturday and we head over to Barnes and Noble for our weekly fix of books and over priced fru-fru coffee.

We're greeted with the pleasant scent of new books and coffee beans. I head over to the graphic novel section and begin my search for Kick Ass. I've wanted to read it for a few years now, and now that I actually remember, I can buy it. Well, if I could find it.

There's a middle-aged lady, crouched down, sorting books into shelves and going back and forth in the aisle. I quickly scan the shelves for Kick Ass, but no luck. So, I rush over to the computer and type in Kick Ass and find that it is indeed in the store. I go back to the aisle and find a boy, about 14, reading a Dead Pool graphic novel and the lady still sorting books. I do another scan, and cannot find it.

"Excuse me," I say out loud. "Do you happen to know where Kick Ass is?"

She gets up and looks at the bookshelf for a second. "Do you know if it's DC or Marvel?"

"Neither."

"Hmmm, well it's sorted by DC and Marvel and each one alphabetically. It's not that big of a section so we should be able to find it."

After five minutes of searching for it, she finds it on the bottom shelf and hands it to me. I thank her ad find Mari in the young adult section.

"What are you looking for?"

"That one book with the cellist and the accident. What was it? The movie came out not too long ago."

"If I Stay?"

She snaps her finger and points it at me. "THAT'S IT! Yeah, I want that." I point to a table where it has the boxed set and she squeals with excitement. "I have it! It's mine! My precious!"

"Whoa, calm down Smeagul." She squints her eyes and me and hurries toward the front to pay for it. I follow her a few feet behind her.

After we checkout, we head over to Starbucks and out comes the phone. She is forever glued to it, talking with her girlfriend.

"How's the girlyfriend?"

A smile creeps on her face and she glances at me for a second before finishing her text. "She's amazing. Ugh, I just wish I could keep her. Can I keep her?"

"Okay, you sound like a naive child who just found a lost pet or Casper."

"That was a cute scene though! They were dancing and then he was all like: 'Can I keep you?' It still gives me chills."

Our drinks arrive a few minutes later. Two caramel fraps with cookie straws, cause why not?

"So," I say as we get into the car. "Do you want me to drive you home now, or do you want to drive around a bit?"

"Let us drive!"

We spend the next hour driving around to a banjoless Mumford and Sons. I drop her off at her girlfriend's house for her to do who knows what and I decide to spend the afternoon with my half-drunken frappucino in the park with my graphic novel. I find a nice shady place up by the field. It's usually empty except for the families who play catch and people with pets. Other than them, the other part of the park is filled with pregnant yoga moms and shady drug deals in the corner.

I stop reading to dispose of my sad empty plastic venti cup. As I'm heading over to the nearest trash can, I see a familiar person in the distance, chasing a tiny Pomeranian. Callum. I make my way over to him and the little ball of fur runs over to me. It jumps in my arms and happily licks my face.

"Macy! What are you doing on a hot, shitty day like this?" He asks with a smile on his face. "Thanks for catching Poms by the way."

"Just reading a bit and I was going to throw away that cup, but this little runt got to me first!" I nudge the cup on the grass with my foot.

He swipes it up, "I got it. Oh and uh, my dog if you please?"

"No, I'm taking her. She's mine now. You can go." I walk off and sit on a bench by the playground, thankfully out of sight from the pregnant yoga moms. "Where's her leash anyways?" I ask as he tosses the cup in the nearest trash can.

"Uhhh, I think it should be. . ." he digs through his jacket pockets, ". . . found it!!!" He pulls it out and hooks it to her collar. "There you go, Pom-Pom!" He says in baby talk.

I snort and laugh. "What's with the baby talk?"

"Oh, come on! You use baby talk too when you see a cute animal."

"Shut up."

"Well, I'm probably going to head home soon. It's hot as hell out here. Do you live near by?"

"Yeah, I just live in those houses up there." I point to a row of houses above the park.

His face lights up. "No way! I live up there. I live up at the very top of the cul-de-sac."

"So you're the one with all of those U-Haul trucks?"

He laughs. "Yup. Well, do you need a walking buddy?"

I shake my head. "I have my car." I nod my head over to the parking lot. "Would you like a ride?"

"Sure!"

We head back to my car and we're hit with a blast of hot air as I turn the key in the ignition. After a minute, the air cools down.

"Hey, is this Mumford and Sons?" He asks, pointing to the radio.

"Yeah, I got their new CD a few days ago."

"Any banjo?" I shake my head. "Dammit! They sound good though."

I drive up our street and make my way up to the cul-de-sac. "I'm guessing your house is the one with the people moving that couch inside."

"Yup. Those are my brother's Tommy and Daniel. They're twins."

"Is that your mom?" A petite lady with bright red hair comes out into the lawn.

"Yup. Would you like to meet them?"

My face turns red. "I'm not good in front of people."

"Don't worry," he turns to me. "You'll be fine!"