Scene 19
Chapter 2
It has now been a few weeks. Jerry and I got closer, Austin and I got much closer as best friends, work was good, my mother only came by once to try and stir up drama, and going back and forth between Tucson and Sierra Vista wasn’t that bad. Jerry and I had even taken a spontaneous trip to Mexico, which was much needed.
It was bustling at Topgolf, Marana. One of the most popular joints in all of Tucson; work always kept me on my toes. I felt honored working there because I was original staff; watching something flourish after working from the ground up is a feeling you only get rarely. I was a drink runner, or a Caddie to be fancy with it, and Austin worked in the kitchen preparing food.
“Corner!” I yelled, banging my bus cart through big ol’ double doors.
“Ugh, why are people ordering so many big cookies!” Austin complained, seeing the huge pile of mini cast iron pans—at least 10—on my cart.
“Haha, not my fault! Why are you on dish pit anyway?”
“New guy never showed.”
“Did your new job title at least come with a pay raise?” I teased.
“Hey! I honestly don’t mind doing multiple things, just these are so annoying to clean!”
We both laughed and he grabbed all of them and dumped them into the soapy water, our moods in very good spirits after everything.
“You seeing your sugar daddy tonight?”
“Wow, scream it louder why don’t you!” I spoke, as I heard a little snicker from one of his coworkers.
“Hey! Times are hard Billy!”
“I didn’t say anything!” He replied laughing, not even peaking his eyes around the corner. I laugh and continue talking to Austin.
“Yes, yes I am. So, I won’t be home until a little later.”
It felt weird saying home. I was glad to be out of the den, but my new life was still something to get used to. Austin and I became great friends and Jerry and I have gotten much more serious. But like any relationship born out of necessity, it wasn’t real. And at the time I knew it but didn’t want to let go. It was an adventure and at some point, I was sure the universe would grant me a way out without seeming like the biggest asshole ever.
I slam the door behind me, feeling a little tipsy.
“Ali?” I heard Austin from inside our bedroom.
“Yes, Austin, it is I.”
“Oh Okay. Kinda scared me a little! That was very forceful. Thought Victor and Robin might have gone at it again.”
“I don’t even think they are here.” I come in and enter the kitchen. The bedroom door was wide open adjacent to the kitchen so we could clearly converse while I drowned myself in H2O.
“Drinking a lot again?”
“I am not going to say no. Especially with these men. They have established themselves so much so, no one cards me. Walking around the casinos was fun.”
I set my glass on the counter and take off my heels. I sigh as I slam them on the counter and walk into the bedroom. Austin playing on his digital game, he scoots over from the edge so that I could stretch out.
“Have you spoken to your parents at all?”
“Fuck no. That is the last thing I want to happen.”
“So, you’re really doing it then… breaking the tradition of ‘you have one family’ mentality.” He said in a matter-of-fact tone.
“Fuck yeah. No use of having a family when all they want to do is hurt you. Just for existing, it seems.”
“I get that. My mom, I will keep her in the background. But I am also glad not to be controlled by her anymore.”
“She’s too into God. Haha, I remember when you told me she got kicked out of her own church.”
“Hahaha, oh my god… yup! That’s my mom. Apparently, no one can stand her either.”
We both start laughing our asses off.
I few weeks go by. I am now commuting completely back and forth between boyfriend Jerry and best friend Austin, my two fur babies coming with me no matter what. Jerry and I developed a bit of a friendly relationship; two friends more than anything. I knew from the start the chemistry was out the window (but so it was with anyone I slept with those days), and we continued to do more homie-nostalgic things, like go skateboarding. He had a roommate that he complained about more often than not, but we didn’t see him that much. Who knew later this was going to be a real problem.
“I am really liking your little part of the world. Your dad seems like a dick though.” I was saying as Jerry and I were driving on a dirt road.
“Yeah, and even my mom can be kookie. My grandparents are nicer.”
“I am happy you have everyone here still.” I spoke. He then looked at me with a sad smile.
“Oh, it’s okay about me. It really is for the best.”
We kept driving. Not really sure what the destination was, but he made me grab some brewskies and food.
“Can you figure out where we are going?”
“In a town in which I’ve never been, driving down what looks like a road you see a murderer take his victim to be buried? No.” He starts to laugh.
“You’ll like it.”
We kept going a bit, the sun completely gone now, and I was happy we could laugh together. We eventually come to a little col-de-sach looking area and pull around to the where the pit of the half circle is.
“Come on, get out.” He spoke as he turned off the engine to his very old Chevy Silverado. I did what he asked and as I stepped out of the vehicle, I looked up.
“Oh my….”
“See?”
“I love it when you can see the whole galaxy!” I was very amazed that this little spot existed.
“See why I wanted it to be a surprise?”
“Absolutely.”
He grabbed a fuzzy blanket from the back of his truck and climbed to the roof. I grabbed the food and drink and started to climb to join him. The cool air now started to move around us, making the romantic scene just perfect.
“Wow, I give you points sir. This is very romantic.”
“Hehe, thank you mi lovely. I knew you’d like it. It’s one of the things I like about you—you like nature.”
“I hope I can find my own place soon. Being at the bottom kind of sucks.”
“You will, but for now, enjoy this drink, enjoy this cheese, and enjoy looking at a universe far greater than us.”
He was right. Now was not the time to ponder on such little things. We were enjoying each other on an innocent level that felt very needed. He was comfortable and everything we did reminded me of the town I grew up in and the people I used to hang around. My heart hurt for experiences like that and here he was, giving it to me just by being himself.
“You know I like you a lot, right?” He said after a bit.
“I am starting to feel it.” I spoke, looking right into his eyes.
“Oh yeah, you did tell me you have a hard time maintaining feelings for someone.”
“I just wanted to be honest. Highschool really messed me up, in a lot of ways.”
“Well, cheers to feeling something new.”
Not really knowing what that meant, but I cheersed along.
“Let’s go to Mexico.”
Jerry and I were talking on the phone. I was feeling board and desperate for something spontaneous and it just so happens, the Mexican border was only 3 hours away, if that.
“Yeah? Let’s do it, we shall make it happen! Start packing and I’ll call my mom for my birth certificate.”
“Are we taking your car?” I asked.
“No. I’ll ask my grandparents if we can take theirs.”
Now I was feeling it. We have never been to Mexico before. I was in desperate need for some drinking, good food, new experiences, and to feel like I was in control for once.
We arrived at the Mexico border around 1am. But to our surprise, and not surprise at all, it was closed until 6am.
“That’s okay.” I spoke.
“We can just pull off the side and wait. Sleep perhaps.”
“That’s another thing I really like about you; if something doesn’t go your way, you just go with the flow. Like on our way here when we thought we would be stranded due to no gas station.”
“Haha, see, have a little faith in the universe.”
We fell asleep through the noises of the border patrol, which was loud. They rode around on quads, yelling, running and shooting off a gun every now again. But once the sun came up, we woke around 6:30am and were some of the first people to drive through. The immediate culture shock was something to get used to; it looked exactly like how’d you imagine from TV.
“When TV get’s something right.” I mention.
“Yeah, unfortunately. But let’s have a great time. I’m glad we are doing this.”
“GPS says 3 hours until we reach Puerto Penasco.”
“Do you wanna try and grab something? Are you hungry?”
“No.” I responded.
“Let’s just get to our destination and see what’s around.”
“Wait, we need a bank first.”
We pulled up off the road a little ways in from the border. The currency exchange I was not expecting it to be so cheap. I brought 500 with me and he brought 800—between the both of us, we could really have a good day trip.
And we did. We spent the day enjoying the beautiful water, sun and 2-dollar Dos Equis with the sand underneath our stools. The food was to die for and once we had showered to off said sand as the evening settled in, we drove into down and found fun bars. I even discovered a new drink I enjoyed thoroughly, Micheladas. If it weren’t for the falling out, I had with my mother, this would not have happened in the way that it did. There’s just something about being brutally spontaneous that really titled my adrenaline. Still does. Once the gun shots started going off like crazy, we gathered our things and made our way back to Sierra Vista, before the border closed this time.
Chapter 1
