Private Eyes- Billy Hargrove {Stranger Things}

29

Rock quartz next to a fence with upturned faces.

On the hill, on the other side

a storm, or plausibly, you.

Time keeps its footsteps regular until it is clapped upwards:

a falcon glides into view.

Dissolving into the pool in a splash of white,

I saw you. In summer,

the town goes to the drive-in.

The edges of the coin keep moving

as I stare at images through goggles, they

fog out.

Rooms go to pieces, sometimes, quietly. Curtains

are no longer red, now they're dusty. The cat

moves. The room turns ocher

and shifts, as wind blows through.

O Brecht's sky of streaming blue. It's been days since I opened the book

my face is watching. Cupboards slam in another part

of the flat. The room reassembles,

but it's different now —

Outdated.

Marlowe:

It wasn't a dream. I am here. Billy is here. We have a house. But Billy isn't here. Is he downstairs? I walk down there and he comes marching through the door.

"So I got to thinking-" He starts.

"It's too early to think. I need coffee." I drag myself to the coffee pot. He already made coffee for me.

"Did you just wake up? M.D. it's 11 A.M."

"Uh huh, and 11 A.M. should be 11 T.E. meaning, TOO EARLY!" I joke. Billy laughs.

"Okay, so, I was thinking, we have all the furniture, books, clothes, T.V., radio... all provided by you. And you were always talking about something missing."

"Alright, what'cha got Hargrove?" I shake my head, kinda excited about whatever this is.

"You ready for cuteness overload?" He asks, walking backwards out the door.

"You are cuteness overload." I reply to someone who's not in earshot. Billy's holding something. When I can see what it is, I drop to my knees. I was a baby Corgi. And I gotta say, it's cuter than Billy. The doggy comes skating across the floor to hop into my arms, or whatever little puppies do. Oh. My. God.

"You wanna name him?" This smoky grey Corgi has one grey eye and one blue eye. Like a light, crystal blue. Cute as a button. And for some reason I feel like I have the absolute perfect name for him.

"Lobster."

"No fucking way. You are not naming a dog after seafood. It's just not happening." He rejects.

"You asked me if I wanted to name him." I charm him. He rolls his eyes, then, nodding his head.

"Really? Lobster?"

"Yes, I think it's perfect. Cuz I could just eat him up!" I take the Corgi- Lobster, in my arms and playfully chew his ear. I look up to see Billy smiling. I love to see that smile. Lobster plays back, flailing his paws every-which-way. I set him down and let him go play over to the right of the dining table. He thinks the chair is going to hurt him so he backs away slowly and then gets the nerve to attack it. How cute! "Where did you get him?" Billy drops down to the floor, sitting in front of me.

"Over at the local shelter two minutes into the city. He looked like someone you'd love. I just went there to look, not looking for anything in particular, then, there this one was."

"Aweee. Well, thank you, but you know I won't love him more than you." I bat my eyes at him.

"Yeah? Then, what was all that shit, playing with his ear, you never do that to me!" He pouts.

I crawl over to him mimicking a predator, climbing on top of him, pinning him to the ground, "Oh? Do you want me to?" I lower myself down and chew his ear softly. I kiss down his neck and to his chest. Billy grabs ahold of my head with both of his hands bringing me up so he can give me a kiss on the lips.

We are then interrupted by little paws jumping on us, "What'd you do that for? I was loving my girl." Billy says sitting up and grabbing Lobster and placing him in his lap. Billy roughouses with him a little and you can hear tiny barks come out of the little one. We both laugh looking at Lobster.

......................................................................

After we both take Lobster for a walk outside, around the neighborhood, Billy goes to the city to look for a job. I tell him goodbye. "I love you Marlowe." He says, grabbing his keys and petting Lobster, who has mischievously found his way up to the kitchen island. I pick him up.

"Say bye to daddy!" Taking his paw and waving bye to Billy.

I go outside with Lobster, with his leash, tying it to the bottom porch column. I head over to the plants that were by the driveway that Billy and I bought from an outside market that we went to while walking Lobster. I got a whole bunch of flowers that I plan on planting against the house, around the whole perimeter. I look over to our dog, who's laying down in the yard, but looks up when he sees me.

When I've been planting for an hour or so I call over to Lobster, he comes trotting along to me and sits in front of me, "Why don't you go get us some drinks?" I ask a dog that doesn't even talk. He just stares at me.

"Yeah, I didn't think so." I scratch his ears. I see a white van coming down the street, thinking back to when El talked about the bad men and her Papa. I hope she never has to go through that again now that Hopper adopted her. She seems to be happy now, with Mike and the other boys, Max. I miss them. But I'm happy here, With Billy, Lobster.

The white van stops but I go up to the porch. It's probably just electrical workers. I twist the doorknob but it can't open. I'm stopped in my tracks with a hand over my mouth.

Billy

Lobster

Mom

Dad

I black out.