memento vivere

chapter thirteen

"So you're telling me she got mad and complained because your truck lights reflected into her house?"

The same house that we're currently staring at from Eddie's driveway. The same house I have intentions of going inside of.. But he doesn't know that yet. At the bar, it was just a mere offer, one that even I didn't take serious but on the ride home, I quickly decided after finally hearing him speak his mind about the situation, that I'm gonna do something. What? I don't know. What I do know is that it's completely unfair to treat him how Michelle has and no one is gonna treat my friend like that.. Well, hopeful friend.

"Exactly.. I was backin' out. She said I did it deliberately but that's kinda something you can't prevent unless I turned them out.. Then I couldn't see."

"With your luck, you'd cut them out and run into her trash cans.."

"You mean the trash cans she has specifically placed an even foot from the curb?"

"Oh so you've seen that too huh?"

"The measurin' stick? Yeah.."

"Who does that? The bitch is insane.."

"Tell me about it.."

We shake our heads in mutual disbelief and all of a sudden, the only sound in the truck is the crinkling of the gummie bear bag and our smacks. The radio is on too but it's turned down just enough to hear the thumping bass line and thankfully so because it's Tom Petty. Right along side The Eagles, I think Mama would've sold her soul to meet him..

I pass the bag back to Eddie, over the mound of other snacks we bought for the stakeout he doesn't know is happening, and watch as he plunders through it for a blue. He's lucky because if he were anyone else, I would've snatched it from his hand because blue is my favorite. To be kind, I've taken all the greens. I'm violently biting the head off of mine when I hear him gasp. It makes me think that it's go time, that she's finally leaving for her and Mothers weekly yoga session downtown but I see that instead, he's staring down at the bears like they've been poisoned.

"These things don't have vanilla in em, do they?" He turns to the ingredient list on the back, his eyes squinting in the dark as he struggles to read. The bag gets closer and closer to his face before he twists it so that the street light shines and lights up the words.

"Corn Syrup, water, gelatin, citric acid.. Uh oh, it says artificial flavors.."

He looks over at me genuinely concerned and even though I'm pretty sure there's none inside, I feel my throat tightening. Suddenly I'm questioning if I really could have an allergy.. Or maybe it's because I've gotten caught.

"I didn't taste any. I think that refers to those fake fruit flavors. You don't use vanilla for fruity things." I shrug and he shakes the bag, jarring the little bears and making them fly around inside like they're in a tornado before he takes another blue and pops it into his mouth.

"Hmm, I don't know.. What if it's mixed in to make one of the flavors, then you wouldn't taste it. Maybe I should just eat the rest for good measure." That concern slowly gives way to a sneaky smirk and only then does my throat feel normal again.

"You know what, you're lucky you bought skittles too.." I start to plunder through the pile of snacks, all carefully curated to not include any vanilla courtesy of Eddie. I don't know why I didn't catch his little joke at first, since he spent a good 15 minutes reading the back of every candy and cake he picked out just to make sure he made no mistakes.. I gave him a few brownie points then but now, those points are about to be taken away because he's starting to plunder too, mimicking my movements and based on the grin on his face, I already know what he's doing.