After the Geek Prom
I pull into the nearly empty parking lot of the QFC and swing the car around to point at the exit for a quick get-away. I take a five-spot out of my wallet and hand it to theother-ryano, and he saunters into the store.
“What are we doing here?” asks
drowningweasel's friend who is driving the car that has been tailing me down the twisty hill.
“We got a call: we have to get
toilet paper.”
flamingweasel opens the
trunk and tries to cushion the bottles of
Matrimonial ESB from the rest of the curvy road with his and
joyquality's overnight bags. When he's done, he steps away from the car and looks as if he wished he had a
cigarette. I sneak up behind and give him a sudden hug.
“It's done,
you're married!”
“I still think I'm forgetting something.”
theother-ryano strides back across the parking lot, swinging a crinkly plastic bag, “Everyone was looking funny at me as I stood in the
express line in my suit holding tee-pee.”
We get in the car, and I drive east through the rest of the hills, through downtown, and across the
Burnside Bridge.
“Did you leave food out for
Ada?”
“Damn. We need to stop by the
apartment.”
Now I lead our tailing vehicle south and east and around. As we pass in front of the
Basement Pub, two cats are starring each other down in the middle of the street. They
circle like
samurai, oblivious to the light rain, oblivious to the cars. I would like to stop in the middle of the street and watch them,
maybe book wagers.
I pull to the curb.
flamingweasel jumps out and heads into the apartment. I step out and walk back to speak to our
tail. “What I didn't mention about the toilet paper is that it is for the
cat.”
flamingweasel returns to the car, so I start up and pull out from the curb. I was expecting a bit of blocking from my
wingman, but
drowningweasel's friend is not on the ball.
As I pull out, some guy driving slowly and safely noticed that I appeared in front of him, and he lays on the horn.
“And fuck you.”
theother-ryano says. “Drive slowly now.”
“As long as he doesn't run over the tin cans dangling from the bumper, it's festive and celebratory.”