“Hey.” Benj threw his hands up in the air and spun around. He was a pretty good dancer.
“Hey,” I said. I backed up a little to get some space between us.
“I love this song.” Benj shoved his butt up against my hip and kept gyrating.
At that moment, I caught a glimpse of Jodie approaching the dance floor, seeing Benj’s display, and then pivoting towards the pool tables in the back. Crap!
“Hey, Benj. I think you just pissed off my girlfriend.”
“Oh, man. I’m sorry. I was just dancing.”
“I know. It’ll be okay, but I better get over there.” I grabbed my drink and headed over to the pool tables. I found her sitting on a stool in the corner. She didn’t say anything, so I sat down beside her.
“Hey.”
Nothing.
“Benj was just dancing, okay. It doesn’t mean anything.”
“I know. I’m not the jealous type, but I don’t like watching someone rub up on my girlfriend. Okay?”
“Yeah, I’m sorry. I wasn’t really keen on it either. I think Benj has had too much to drink.”
“You think?” She practically snorted at me.
“I guess I just have a lot of empathy for him.”
“And Chloe?”
“Well, not as much. Chloe is, well, Chloe.”
“That clears it up.”
“Chloe is a partier. Benj is just trying to find a place to fit in. He has so many obstacles.”
“He does that by getting high and falling down drunk? What the hell is that?
“I know, I know. Anyway, should we just go?”
“No, I don’t want to let it spoil our evening. How about we dance a little more and go get a slice of pizza?”
“Okay.”
The evening did not get any better. Benj tried to apologize to Jodie, and it came off a little fake-y. It didn’t help that Chloe could not stop giggling and made Benj giggle, too. And Jodie seemed to be taking herself way too seriously. After pizza, we walked back to the garage and piled into the car, with everyone awkwardly silent. Benj offered a joke, something about Boise sidewalk art and human secretions. Nobody laughed, and we all sank into our respective corners of the car. Before we were outside the city limits, Chloe and Benj were asleep in the back seat with their mouths open.
“I’m sorry we didn’t have a better first Pride together.” I put my hand on her knee.
“It wasn’t that bad.” She slipped her hand over mine. “You know, I did have a good time earlier. I loved being out in the sun and listening to some of the bands. I don’t know, I guess I just can’t get out of my own head. Maybe you should drop me at home.” We passed the turn off for town and were a couple of miles from the turnoff for the farm. I would have to turn the car around.
“Babe, are you sure? We can go to bed and sleep on it.” I wondered what she would do if she woke up to the dank duo trying to shag their way through the ceiling.
“No, I should probably go home. I’ll come over tomorrow, okay? Before they leave to show there’s no problem.”
I found a driveway and used it to turn around, and we drove on in silence. I glanced at Chloe and Benj in my rearview mirror. Their heads shifted with the car, but neither of them gained consciousness.
Jodie breathed a heavy sigh, closed her eyes, and laid her head back. “I’m not mad at all about Benj. I mean I don’t like all the intoxicants, but he’s okay. Billie, when I was gone, I found out how much crap Delilah has been saying about me behind my back, and I got to figure out some way to get her to shut up. She is going to make my life miserable if I - ”
By the time I saw the deer, it was too late. I swerved to avoid him but ended up clipping him with the side of the car. And then we were over the curb, and the car was moving on its own course. Everyone was screaming, and I could barely make sense of anything, as the car jolted up and down, air bags popping open all around us. The only constant was that the car was still mostly upright. I knew that any second we could all be upside down or crash into something, and any or all of us could get really hurt. I gripped the steering wheel until the skin on my knuckles lost all color. I was at least smart enough not to hit the brakes or try to steer the car out of the ditch, but now that we were in the field and starting to slow down, I did tap the brakes and bring the car to a full stop. I slammed the car into park and Jodie and I threw our doors open to get outside and away from the powder and burning smell of the car.
“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” Jodie hopped out and slammed her door behind her. “Goddammit, Billie! I can’t take any more.” I ran over to make sure she was okay. She was holding the side of her head with her sleeved arm.
“Are you alright? What happened?”
“I smashed my head on the door.” She pulled her arm away from her temple and looked at the blood on her sleeve, touched her temple again, and looked at the fresh glop of blood there. “It’s not
