ROOKIES

Guns That Shouldn't Go Off

SHERIFF

I'm cold and I'm shaking when I enter the kitchen. I don't know why I did it but I could never, with all my stars, have imagined that it would end like that. I keep my head down, my heavy eyeliner smudged, and get out a glass of water. It's then that Sheriff's voice sounds, "Who the Hell do you think you are rookie?" He's standing in the doorway and all I can do is stare, "You know Sals right, you didn't call him away because you thought that it was best for the town, you called him away because it was best for you. Because it made you happy," Sheriff's shaking now and, god, I've been witness to his anger multiple times. Now, when it's directed at me, I'm almost scared, "It doesn't make this town happy. No. I know you don't care about him but how could you do that to our town? To Sal?" I want to apologise to him- to say who deeply sorry I am from the bottom of my heart- but the one thing I can not do is reward him with lies. Instead, I turn to glance at the gun in his hand, "Give me your gun, Sheriff," I whisper. When my husband looked up at me his eyes are red. He does not hand the gun over, instead he says only this, "You don't trust me, do you? You don't trust this town. Hell, you don't even trust this yourself," With that, he turns on his heels and walks away. I see him go into our room. I see him slam the door behind him and throw himself down on the bed.

The Sheriff of Route 66 buries his face into our pillow and I know he clings onto it because it carries my scent, or rather, the scent of the person I had been before the racecar came and damaged more than just the road. The scent of the person who would never ask for his gun.

I hesitate before following him. But then my hand falls on his shoulder. It's just a light touch, just that, just a touch, but, it feels like were burning.

"I'm sorry, Sheriff," he whispers, "It was an impulse. It was done on impulse so I'll fix it on impulse." He stares at me and maybe it's the tears in my eyes. Maybe it's because I'm cold wet and tired but most of his anger fades away. The man who just cried in front of the town for a kid he didn't even know he cared about put his gun down. He moved closer and pulled me towards him.

We just held each other there, right in our crisp one-bed motel.

And now I could apoligise, not for sending the rookie away but for hurting Sheriff's feelings, for hurting Sal, "I'm sorry," I say, my hand placed against the small of my husband's back, "I'm going to make this right."

He's the first of us to step back, "Go to bed." He says.

I shake my head, "I'll fix this. I'll find a way."

"Go."

"What about you?" I ask, in the process of turning away. God, he is handsome when he's commanding.

"I'm going to see our daughter'." He says. Because he still hasn't entirely forgiven me, I know it, "I'll sleep on the couch tonight."

"Alright." I say.

And I'm taking off my coat when he steps outside.

SHERIFF

I walk through the dark.

Sal sits at the reception of the Cozy Cone, the dappled light glowing upon her form. She's wearing an elegant blue dressing gown and nursing a cup of tea in her hands.

She doesn't turn when I enter. She knows its me (who else could it be?)

I notice that there's still smoke coming from the mug in her hands - God, nice to know she drinks lava.

"Sal," I whisper, coming closer. It's only then that I realise I left my gun at the house.

"Look," I continue, "I'm sorry. I wish he hadn't called Monty away like that. I wish-,"

Sally's not even looking up when she asks, "How did it feel falling in love... With Doc?" I remember his blue coat, his hands reaching out for my gun, like he didn't trust me with it- Could never trust me, "We fought." I reply and, even though we hugged after, my lip still trembles.

Sal looks up then. There is a tiny white scar on her cheek.

"Like that matters," she says, "Good friends fight. Best friends," She nurses her mug of tea in her hands, "Husbands."

I sit down opposite her, partly because I know that she was right... Yes, we had fought... Yes, we had burned but what mattered the most was how we made up in the end.

"It was like." I paused, closing my eyes. There was a different picture in my mind. The first time he kissed me, his hair wet from the rain, "Being brought a donut." I finally said, "Suddenly your alive again. Everything bad in your life is forgotten, bad memories, bad faces, bad thoughts... All you have left is happiness and you glow in the light of it."

Sally smiles sadly. She sips at her tea, "Thanks, Sheriff." She says. I don't know what to do so I just stand awkwardly in front of her, shifting my weight from foot to foot, "Can I stay here for a while?" I ask, "I want to give Doc sometime."

Sally nods, "Of course." None of us ask the question but I know that it's pressed against her lips, 'How many bottles of whisky are there in the house?' I don't know but I think there's like ten? And it's not that my rookie's bad when he's drunk it's just-

Sally pushing her chair back and standing up cuts through my thoughts, "I'll go get you some green leaf water." She says.

"Green leaf water it is," I reply and I sit down and I wait.