Blind Squirrels (20 page)

I pulled the car up, and watched
for an opening in the string of cars shooting by us.  The Navy base was letting
out for the day and traffic was horrendous.  I finally saw my opening.  I sent
the gas pedal to the floor and shot out onto the highway.

“They must call you Mario
Andretti,” Josh said.  I chuckled, but Felicia just rolled her eyes.  She saw
me falling under his spell.

The Barrels bar was only about a
mile away, so we were soon pulling into the parking lot.  Felicia could stand
it no more.  “They closed that place down over a month ago.” 

“Damn, man,” Ray said.  “I mean,
what are we gonna do now, man?”

“I guess we’ll just get out
anyway.  We can’t hold these young ladies up any longer.  Felicia has to get
home.”  That was Josh.  Dang he was polite!  I couldn’t let him just slip out
of my hands.  For the first time in three years, Max was not the first thought
on my mind. 

“I’ll take you someplace else –
after I drop Felicia off.”

Felicia was not happy, but Ray
was.  “Yeah, man.  You can drop us off at my friend’s house, man.  You know
what I mean, man?”

It was a long drive to Felicia’s
house, and she gave me the cold shoulder all the way.  I stopped in her drive,
and she said, “Kat, could you help me with my school books?”

I knew she was up to something. 
“I’ll be right back,” I said to Josh.  I took some of Felicia’s books and got
out of the car.  Felicia was already on her porch.

“I can’t believe you didn’t make
them get out before.  They’ve obviously been smoking pot – I can smell it all
over them.  Aren’t you afraid to drive around with them by yourself?”

“I didn’t really think about it. 
They seem nice – at least Josh does.  I’m sure their friend lives nearby.  I’ll
be getting rid of them soon.”

Felicia shrugged as she realized
how hopeless her protests were.  “Be careful,” she said, “and call me when you
are safe at home.”

Back in the car, Josh had moved
to the front seat, and Ray was sitting in the middle of the backseat.  “Where
does your friend live?” I asked Josh as I got back in.

“He’s Ray’s friend, not mine. 
Where to, Ray?”

Ray described a place that I knew
rather well.  When I was younger, I had lived in that neighborhood for four
years.  Donna and her family had only recently moved from there.  The area was
about five miles away from Felicia’s, and it was located on the road between
Foster’s Bank and Pensacola.  It wasn’t a very pleasant area – most people
referred to it as the “Slums” –and I immediately regretted that I had promised
to take them there.  Since my family had moved away, the neighborhood had
become scary.

As we approached my old
neighborhood, Ray pointed ahead, “Yeah, man.  It’s a few more blocks, man.  I
can’t remember the name of the street.  You know what I mean, man?”

I drove past several streets, and
Ray finally said, “Yeah, man.  This one!  Turn right here, man.”

Once we were on the road, Ray
pointed out his friend’s house.  I pulled into the drive.  “Wait here, man,” Ray
instructed.  “I’ll motion for you in a minute, man.  You can bring her with
you, man.”  He headed up to the big brick house.

“I...I better get home now,
Josh.  I don’t really know you and Ray that well,” I was actually starting to
get nervous.

“Kat, please wait with me.  I
don’t know Ray’s friend either.  I was hoping you might take me back to my
friend’s house.  He lives over in Foster’s Bank.”  That voice – how could I
resist that voice?  And he remembered my name!  This was the moment for
decision.  I could escape an increasingly bad situation and laugh about it
later with Felicia, or I could continue to take chances that might lead to the
trouble Felicia had warned me about.

No choice here: I waited.  Soon,
a bearded man with long brown hair opened the door.  Ray spoke to him for a
moment and then the man disappeared into the house again.  Ray waved for us to
join him.  I stayed firmly planted in my seat.  Josh got out, but he came to my
window and leaned in it.  “Come on, Kat.  I’ll take care of you.”  Reluctantly,
I opened my door, and Josh helped me out. 

We walked up on the porch just as
the bearded man reappeared.   My eyes grew three sizes larger when I saw that
the man was holding a knife.  Josh quickly pulled me down the steps and back to
the ground. 

“Get in the car,” he said in a
commanding voice.  He didn’t need to order me.  I was already opening the car
door.

The bearded man swung the knife
at Ray, and Ray jumped down out of his way.  “Watch it, man!  I just came to
get my money, man!  I’ve got some more grass for you, man!  I ain’t after your
stash, man!  I’m your
friend
, man!”

I slowly began to grasp what was
going on here.  Ray had sold some marijuana to this guy and he was here to
collect his money.  Old Bearded One thought Ray was there to take his dope, and
he was willing to fight for his weed – to the death, if necessary.  Once the
Bearded One understood what Ray was talking about, he threw down the knife and
embraced Ray.  Did I say I grasped what was going on?  I just knew this was a
bad scene, and I needed to go.

I heard Josh saying, “Are you
staying, Ray?  I’m going back to Fresno’s pad.  Kat’s going to give me a ride.”

Ray turned to Josh, “Yeah, man. 
I’ll be okay now that he recognizes me, man.  He’s just on a bad trip.  He’ll
be fine now.  You know what I mean, man?  Say, do you need some weed, man?”

“No, I’m fine,” Josh answered. 
Turning to me, he said, “Let’s go.”

He couldn’t guess how happy I was
to oblige him.  I backed out and flew away from that house.

“Slow down, Mario,” Josh
laughed.  He was quiet for a moment.  “I’m sorry about that scene with Ray and
his friend.  If I’d known pot was involved, I wouldn’t have asked you to take
us.”

Josh seemed sincere.  The more he
talked, the more I liked him.  “Tell me about yourself, Kat,” he said.

“There’s not much to tell.  I’m a
junior in high school.  I’m sixteen.  I have one brother who is in the Navy.  I
also have a niece and a nephew.  That’s about all.”  I must have sounded
extremely boring.

“You have a beautiful Southern
drawl.  Where are you from originally?  Georgia?”

“It’s not a Southern drawl.  It’s
a country accent.  I used to live in Alabama.”  Boy how I hated to admit that. 
I hated my accent, too.  I had been trying to banish it since I moved to Foster’s
Bank.  That was seven years ago, and it was still hanging around like a stray
cat that I had fed.

“Whatever it is, I like it.  It’s
so much more delightful than my Cajun accent.  I’m from New Orleans.  My daddy
is the Chief of Police over there.”

“How old are you, Josh?”  My
parents would never let me date anyone as old as Josh must be, but I hoped he
might be younger than I thought.

“I’m twenty – almost twenty-one. 
I joined the Navy for a three year stint, and my time is up in June.  I’m on
sea duty – stationed on the Lexington.  Ray and I met about a year ago.  He’s a
little older than me, but he’s very immature.  Maybe it’s all the pot he
smokes.  I smoke, too.  Just not as much as Ray.  I like to stay in control.”

I didn’t know what to make of
Josh and Ray’s marijuana usage.  I had never smoked it, but I had smelled it on
other people.  It stunk.  Still, I kept thinking that I should try it someday. 
“I’ve never smoked,” I said, “but I like to drink.”

“Smoking pot is no worse than
drinking.  In fact, I can handle myself better when I’m high than I can when
I’m drunk.  Of course, if you don’t want to smoke, there’s nothing wrong with
that.  You need to turn here.  My friend Fresno lives on this street.  It’s
still several blocks to the apartments though.”

I turned, and I began to think
that I would never see Josh again.  He was just being kind to me.  I was much too
young and inexperienced for a guy like him.  He pointed to the apartment
complex, and I turned into the drive. 

“You can let me off here,” he
said.  “Thanks for the ride.  I’m sorry about Ray, too.”  He started to close
the door, but he seemed to want to say more.  He stuck his head back inside. 
“I don’t suppose your parents would let you date a sailor.  I’m probably too
old, right?”

He wanted to ask me out!  “I used
to date a sailor.  My mom would have to meet you, of course.”

“Well, I was going to get Fresno
to take me to this game room tonight so I could play pool.  I’d rather go with
you, but I don’t have a car.  Would she let you drive?”

I took a risk.  “I’m sure she
won’t mind.  What time?”

“Pick me up at six.  I’ll be
waiting right out here.  Is that okay?”

“I’ll be here.”  And I knew I
would – even if I had to lie.

He shut the door, and I watched
as he walked away.  As I drove away, I tried to concoct a story that my mother
would believe.  I couldn’t possibly tell her that I had picked up a hitchhiker
and expect to survive through the telling of that story.  Maybe Laura could
help me.  All I knew was that I had to go on this date. 

Laura was happy to hear my
voice.  Felicia had called her and filled her in on our little escapade, and,
of course, Laura was worried about me.  I told her about my adventure but not
about my date with Josh.  She told me that I was crazy for driving those guys
around.  “I would have thrown them out at The Barrels,” she said.  “You should
have listened to Felicia.”

“Maybe.  But I really liked
Josh.  I didn’t want to throw him out.  And Ray was his friend, so I couldn’t
just dump him.”

“Well, I’m glad you didn’t get
stopped by the cops if he had drugs on him.”  I hadn’t even thought about the
police.  I wondered what they would have done to me.

“I guess I should tell you about
my upcoming date...” I said.

“Date?  With who?  Did Wayne
finally ask you out?”

“Wayne?  Why would he ask me
out?  We’re friends, and that’s all.  I’m talking about a real date.”  I
wondered if Laura knew something about Wayne that I didn’t.

“Okay, I’ll bite.  Who’s the date
with?”

“Josh,” I answered.

“Ha-ha.  Very funny.  Even you
aren’t stupid enough to go out with one of those guys,” Laura said with
delight.

“I’m not kidding, Laura.  Josh
asked me to go play pool with him.  Now I have to come up with a story for my
mom.  I can’t tell her that I picked up a hitchhiker.  You have to help me
think of something.”

The pleading in my voice must
have won Laura over.  “I still say you’re crazy, but I guess I will help you. 
Did your mom know you were going anywhere today?”

“I told her it was Felicia’s
birthday.  I asked her if we could go to the bowling alley.  She said we could
if I got home by four.  I was home by three-thirty.” 

“That’s perfect.  Just tell her
you met him at the bowling alley.  I’m sure you can embellish the story just
fine without me.  Don’t forget to offer to bring him home to meet her.  That
will be the selling point.  If a guy is willing to meet your mom, he must be an
upstanding person.  At least that’s what my mom thinks.  Try it out anyway.  It
can’t hurt.”

Laura’s plan was great.  Why
didn’t I think of it?  Now all I had to do was wait on Mom.

My mom came home from work at
four-thirty – she was managing the shop completely now, and her hours had
changed.  I met her at the door, and she could tell that something was exciting
me.

“Give me a chance to get inside
before you start asking for favors,” she remarked.  Once inside, she put her
purse down and turned to me, “All right, what’s got you all charged up?”

I had developed my final story fifteen
minutes ago and practiced it several times.  I had even called Felicia and
tried it out on her.  She agreed that it was foolproof.  I was ready to bluff
my mom into letting me go out with a perfect stranger – emphasis on the
perfect.  “I met someone at the bowling alley today.”

“Really?  Who?”

“His name is Josh.  He asked me
out on a date.”  I was preparing for the line of questions she was formulating
in her head.

“Josh, hum?  How old is he?”  She
was just starting to warm up.

“He’s a sailor.  He’s twenty
years old, and he works on the Lexington.  Can you believe he used to work with
Greg?”  My story was good.

“Greg?  The Greg you used to
date?”

“Uh-huh.  They were friends.”

“That’s nice.  Now how did you
two figure out that you both knew Greg?”  She was getting technical now.

“We didn’t, at first.  Felicia
and I were going to bowl, but there were no empty lanes.  We went to the snack
bar to have a soda, and Josh and his friend offered to buy our drinks.  We
started talking, and they said they were on the Lex.  I mentioned Greg, and
soon we realized that we both knew him.  Greg had told Josh about me, too. 
Later, Josh asked me to go play pool with him.  Please, Mama, can I?”

“I don’t know about that.  Where
are you going – the bowling alley?  I don’t want you going into Pensacola at
night.  Is he picking you up?”