smokin' | louigan

thirty-three

rudy's house was large and navy blue. the windows were flanked by white shutters, the front door cherry red, the pale grey mailbox still crooked from the time louise backed her dad's van into it.

as louise stepped out of the cab she had caught across town, her eyes settled on the house. his dad had bought it recently after coming into some money. she'd only been here a handful of times, but she was usually too drunk to notice everything.

but she knew his house was never like this. horrible techno-pop-dance-crap poured out of the open windows. all the lights were on, and even some colored lights streamed through the windows.

she entered the house and was met with the usual teen party: kegs and drunk people and drunk happenings: red solo cups on the floor, falling out of overflowing trash bins; a few guys were topless (who really shouldn't have been); and the familiar stench of weed invaded louise's nose.

in her hands was a small box, wrapped in an old newspaper and tied with a piece of red and white twine. on an attached tag, scribbled in black marker, was,

cheers, dillhole
louise xx

it was sentimental and a tad sarcastic, bittersweet just like her.

"louise!" she turned quickly at the voice in her ear. rudy stood behind her, a wide smile on his face, his really drunk face.

"rudy, drunk already? it's not even ten o'clock yet!" they shared a laugh, rudy dying off into a loud giggle as he brought louise into a tight hug, simultaneously drinking from the (red solo) cup in his hand.

"happy birthday," she whispered in his ear. rudy hummed and pecked her neck before pulling his head away. their hips remained touching.

"thanks for comin', doll."

"wouldn't miss it." they shared another smile before rudy grabbed her hand, pulling her into the kitchen. the island in the center of the large room was littered with bottles and cups and spills.

"louise?"

"anita?"

"oh my g*d, hi!" anita vasquez. a spanish blossom. she was sweeter than honey, louise recalled. they had often partied together in high school, and she remembered anita's brother, miguel, always driving her back home after a wild night. he kept their secret to the grave.

"it's been too long, louise. haven't seen you much since graduation." louise poured herself a shot of rum.

"well, y'know," she downed the drink, no wince, "been busy with the restaurant." she nodded along and grabbed a beer from the cooler on the floor.

"yeah, definitely. my parents won't stop nagging me to help out at the store." anita's parents bought a small thrift store in town right after anita's brother graduated. she told her parents she was going to beauty school but found herself more inclined to the tattoo gun than hair curlers.

a loud yell came from the living room. both girls turned to see rudy giving high-fives and pats to some people that'd just walked in. they looked older and paler, like they hadn't spent their lives in a town on the coast.

"those must be rudy's friends from college, he said some were coming." louise nodded along with anita as she watched rudy kiss one girl on the cheek. she had a large silver gift bag in her hand. louise's small gift suddenly felt insignificant. anita noticed her friend's mood shift,

"let's go outside, yeah?" anita grabbed another beer and louise's arm and dragged her to the backyard. there were large lightbulbs strung on the white fence posts surrounding the large yard. there was a long swimming pool and some red plastic beach chairs. a small fire sat in the middle. they snagged seats on a log someone had brought over, anita giving louise the fresh beer.

"thanks." louise's voice was unusually dull. anita sighed, wrapping an arm over her friend's shoulders.

"rudy didn't forget about you, lou." louise snorted, taking a short sip of her beer. her face contorted into a disgusted grimace, g*d i hate this crap.

"no need to say that, nita," the old nickname brought a (sad) smile to the spanish girl's face, "i don't know, just sorta feels like it." anita nodded and sipped her own beer. she knew a bit of alcohol would do them both some good.

louise leaned forward and planters her elbows on her knees. anita saw the goosebumps on her back as she ran a hand through louise's hair, "no ears tonight?" louise shook her head with a sigh,

"rudy doesn't like my ears." louise looked unto the fire, but the harsh yellow light reminded her of logan so she looked away. her eyes found the open doors to the house, focusing on rudy's hand up another girl's dress.

the entire situation was ironic, tangibly ironic. louise wanted to laugh but she was too busy pushing tears from her eyes. she pointed to the couple, rudy's shirt now off and his belt undone, and anita gasped. she wrapped louise into a suffocating hug as the first tear slid down her face.