A Shady Place

8

I leaned my head back against the wall, watching Marshall's retreating figure. Sucking my lip between my teeth, I lifted myself from the ground, unfolding each limb carefully. What the fuck was that? Had I accidentally confessed my undying love or something? Begged him to sign my asscheek? Whipped out a wedding ring? I couldn't find the energy in me to try to process that whole interaction, so I didn't. Just what I get for trying to reach out, I guess.

Jabbing my middle finger into the direction he'd disappeared to, I turned away. I didn't have anything I needed to do on the north side of the stadium, but putting some distance between me and that pissy, blond asswipe felt good. "Fuck him, right?" I said to one of the other stagehands as I passed, who nodded slowly, glancing around. "Yep," I confirmed with a grin.

Once I rounded the corner, I dug my phone from my coat pocket then dialed Lucy's number. She let it ring twice before picking up. "Hey. You okay?" her voice crackled as I pushed one of the side exits open with my hip.

"Yeah. Yeah, for sure. I was actually wondering what you were doing right now."

There was a pause on the other line. "Why?"

"I wanna see you. We're kinda all set up, so I can sneak out and swing by. Thought we could hang out before tomorrow, since I'm only gonna be in town for a couple days." I inhaled, mulling over the words before letting them pass through my teeth. "And I really missed you."

Again there was a brief stretch of silence, and I wondered if I'd pushed my luck too far. "Now's not a really great time, but do you wanna come over later tonight? We could catch up and, you know, talk. Or something. I could make you dinner."

"Mhm. And when you burn it on purpose, I'll pay for the pizza," I suggested, running my tongue over the edges of my teeth.

She huffed. "Just be here at ten. You remember the address and everything, right?"

I laughed, "It ain't been that long. Why ten?"

Lucy muttered something under her breath. "I just need to clean up a bit. You're such a neat freak I need a good eight hours in advance."

"Babe! Was that sarcasm?"

"I'm hanging up now. Let me know if you decide you're not gonna come. Please."

"I will. See you soon," I chirped, flipping the phone closed and stuffing it back into my pocket.

I let out a deep breath, leaning against the handrails and tilting my head up to the grey sky. Portland had always been an unsettling city to be in. I'd come here on a tour with my dad originally, but after meeting Lucy and finding a job bartending with one of my dad's friends, I'd ended up hanging around for 6 months on my own. It was a dirty, oddball city, but something about it had always felt alive. Heavy, washed-up, and humming with a kind of seedy, stinking energy. The thick trees shading avenue upon avenue of multi-family duplexes jammed between adult toy stores and mansions made the whole area feel ten degrees colder. It was like some giant being had plucked up hundreds of little pieces from the good ol' U.S. of A., squeezed them tight together in their fist, and whatever oozed out became Portland. The whole city reeked of a seemingly incessant air of agitation, as if something was always about to go off, but no one really knew where.

For me, as long as I dodged the dwindling skinhead population, it was okay. I was okay. Being a lone black woman couch-surfing with friends of friends of friends in Portland hadn't made my life simpler, but I'd gotten out more or less unscathed.