Willfully Blind

CHAPTER 7 Peace Out

"Dude, I'm not putting a dime on no short keg...yeah, I'm serious! You must've forgot I dropped $50 on the last pony at the picnic on the 4th of July. What! Man, please, you must be going senile. Hell, yeah, I'm sure! You might wanna ask Kevin."

Lisa heard Dirk entering the condo as boisterous as ever. He seemed to love coming off as hood. Just brusque and unrefined. Most people had no idea or would ever guess he graduated college cum laude. It was as if he was trying to "keep it real" at all costs. Improper verb tense use and all.

Lisa was in the condo-size laundry room transitioning clothes from the washer to the dryer. She could tell from her field of view he hadn't noticed her standing there until she slammed the dryer door closed. His head darted around in her direction and he gave her a quick acknowledgment nod, ending his call.

"Alright, man, so I'll see y'all over there."

"Hey, baby." Dirk tossed his jacket on the sofa and picked up the mail from the kitchen counter.

"Hey. Dirk, for at least the third time, please don't lay that on the couch. The natural dye in your jacket can stain the olive-green leather. Just put it on the coat rack when you come in?"

"Alright, man. Give me a second..." he trailed off, flipping through his muscle magazine. Lisa walked over to the sofa, plucked the jacket from the couch, and hung it on the coat rack, knowing full well giving him a second would end up being never.

"So, you going out tonight? Thanks for giving me the heads up," Lisa said, snapping her fingers and pointing at him.

"There you go. I just found out that Rick's in town for one night and most of us haven't seen the cat in over a year, so yeah, the fellas are getting together tonight. Sorry for the short notice."

"Who? Rick?" Lisa tilted her head to one side and furrowed her brow.

Dirk tossed the magazine on the counter and stared at Lisa, shaking his head.

"Girl, I'm almost sure you're suffering from CRS 'cause you can't remember shit. Rick...Pretty Ricky...my line brother."

"Oh, right, right." Lisa approached Dirk and wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her head against his chest.

"So, I guess I won't bother cooking dinner. Maybe I'll just go and grab something from Panera..." she spoke quietly, ending her pity-filled words with a long sigh.

"Aye, don't try to lay that guilt trip crap on me, Lisa." Squirming out of her grip, Dirk was visibly agitated. He headed to the refrigerator and snatched the door open, looking for a bottle of water. It didn't take long for him to notice the twenty-four pack they'd purchased a week ago, still sitting on the floor, unopened.

"You couldn't throw a few water bottles in the fridge? You see ain't none in here, right?"

Shrugging, Lisa leaned back against the counter and folded her arms. She watched him as he took another look inside, probably hoping to find one lone bottle in a corner somewhere.

"Man, I'll just grab one from the gas station," he said more to himself. Even before turning around, he could feel Lisa staring at him.

"Seriously, Lisa. Don't do that. Don't act like I don't spend time with you." Dismissively, Lisa went over to the couch and flopped down.

"Whatever, Dirk." She turned on the television and crossed her legs. Oblivious as ever, he couldn't see that her hurt feeling was more than anything, related to the fact that he never even considered inviting her out to any of his little "male only" gathering that always somehow ended up including other invited women. Dirk feeling a jolt of guilt, tried to do damage control. Sometimes she seemed so lonely and isolated without him.