Pick-me-up (16 page)

Katelyn checked her phone: nothing.
 Another text: “wtf”.

Katelyn had had enough.  She was scared
to leave the spot.  She didn’t want Tim to get mad.  She
unconsciously touched her left ribcage.  She shook her head in
decision.  She wasn’t going to stay by herself any longer.
 Tim couldn’t expect her to wait alone this long.  

Katelyn purposely knocked the Barbie doll
girl hard with her hip.  The girl gave her a wide-eyed look
with her mouth open in shock and then a sneer with her nose
crumpled in disgust.  Then, Katelyn pushed her way back
through the crowd.

Katelyn felt smug with satisfaction.  At
least her hefty hips were good for something.  She smiled, but
only momentarily as she failed to see Tim anywhere.  She found
a place by the wall where she wouldn’t draw much attention.
 She had a good line of vision to the door.  Tim would
have to go past her if he was coming from the restrooms.  She
waited.  

A man left the table to her right and
stumbled by on his way to the restroom.  Katelyn’s eye caught
the green on his table.  The drunk had left his cash on the
table tucked under an almost empty glass.  It beckoned to her.
 His companion across the small table was turned to the women
behind him.  He had their attention and was playing up his act
with some topic that involved many hand gestures.  

Katelyn looked around.  Everyone seemed
immersed in their own activity.  The band was loud and into a
ripping song.  She eyed the money.  It wouldn’t be her
first time she took someone’s money, but this time she wouldn’t
have to lie to her mom when it came up missing.  Katelyn took
a last look at the bathroom.  Tim would have done it by now,
she thought.  

Katelyn backed closer to the table until her
hip bumped the stool.  She had the bills in her pocket within
two seconds.  She was already back to her spot by the wall
when the man passed her on the way back to his table.  Katelyn
made a point not to look his way.  

She heard the drunk guy flag his friend and
ask if he ordered more beer.  Otherwise, he went on with his
drinking and ordered more when the waitress went by.  Drunks
are easy, Katelyn thought.  She pulled the bills from her
pocket enough to make out the denominations.  $16.00.
 She’d hoped for more, but this would be enough to pay Jenny
off if she needed a ride home.  

Time crawled on and the band took a break.
 Still, no Tim.

Several guys gave her lengthy stares as they
made their way toward the restroom.  One really intoxicated
man fell into her, hitting her in her sore rib.  Katelyn held
her side and moved from the wall.  She headed for the door.
 It was clear Tim wasn’t in this side of the building.
 

Katelyn entered the entry that separated the
concert hall from the dance bar.  A bouncer stared at her
after giving her hand a glance to confirm the status of MINOR
stamped in black ink.

“Can I see if my boyfriend is in there?” She
asked timidly.

“No minors allowed,” he answered and looked
above her, dismissing her.

Katelyn sighed and fought the urge to tell
him off.  She tried again.  “Please, I just want to look
in.  He’s my ride and I can’t find him.”

The bouncer’s stance broke after a long
moment and an exaggerated inhale.  His chest filled and
bloated even more under the t-shirt, and then he stepped back one
step.  Katelyn took the chance and gave him a small smile.
 She stepped in and peered around.  The bar was not
crowded compared to the concert crowd, but she couldn’t see around
standing groups to the inner room.  The bouncer stepped back
toward her.  Her time was up apparently.  She hadn’t seen
Tim.   

She checked her phone again.  Nothing.
 She sent another message.

“Thanks,” she offered meekly to the bouncer
and turned back to the concert hall.  She stopped, though.
 She didn’t want to go back in alone.  She and Tim had
gone to a few concerts together, usually in Ames.  Katelyn
loved the atmosphere at a live performance, just like Tim said she
would, but she wasn’t used to all the people.  Christian and
Angel had gone to the other concerts with them, but tonight was
just Tim and Katelyn.  It was supposed to be a special date
for their five-month anniversary.

Katelyn knew Tim liked this band, so when she
heard an advertisement on a radio station for the concert, she made
the plan.  She had worked over the summer at two jobs.
 One involved cleaning and exercising horses on Saturdays at a
local stable and the other was a few nights a week at Scoop’s, the
ice cream shop.  She saved two paychecks despite the urge to
spend it.  But, everybody always wanted money, even Tim.
 Now that the summer jobs were done, she didn’t have any money
to give.  It was a miracle the money survived until
October.

Tim said he couldn’t get hired as easily as
her, so the only money he could get was the odd $20 from his mom
now and then.  He always seemed to be spending more than $20,
though.

Saving money around Tim was hard.  He
always asked about Katelyn’s hours and looked at her pay stubs.
 So, he knew how much money she had.   

Katelyn lied to him with the last two pay
checks.  She told him she bought some school clothes.
  Katelyn managed to save enough to buy the two concert
tickets and take him out to a fancy restaurant beforehand.
 Dinner had been strange since they normally didn’t eat at
places with bow-tied waiters.  And, the couples at tables near
them seemed to look at them with disapproval.  Katelyn and Tim
had been the only ones wearing jeans and Nikes.  And,
Katelyn’s new hair color often drew attention whether she wanted it
or not.  

Tim was edgy, too.  He seemed
uncomfortable inside his own skin.  It was strange to think
that he’d be bothered by the snobs at the restaurant.

After dinner, Tim drove to Des Moines, and
they mocked the snooty couples.

“Can you believe youth these days, dear?”
 He picked at his teeth, pretended to examine a dislodged
finding, and then turned his hand to study his nails.  

Katelyn picked up quickly on the role
playing, sitting up straight and stiff in her seat.  “Why no,
darling,” Katelyn had taken on a proud nasal toned voice.
 “Certainly they lack the ability to look like a corpse.”

Tim laughed and continued the game.
 “Yes, and, why, that young lady had just the most cleavage
I’ve ever seen.  Don’t be jealous, love.  That just would
get us in trouble and raise both our blood pressures.  Thank
goodness you’re flat as a board.”

Katelyn finished laughing before her blush
disappeared.  

“Darling, I’m blessed with such a bore as
you.  I don’t think you’d ever be able to keep up with that
lad.  Why, an original thought crosses your mind and you’re
likely to lose a handful of hair.”  Tim laughed, and Katelyn
felt good that her wit was the cause.  It had been awhile
since she had heard his true laugh.  “Now slow down, darling,”
she continued, “You know how you can’t concentrate while you’re
talking and driving at the same time.  You don’t want to lose
your license.”  

Katelyn cringed as she finished, knowing she
made a slip even as she said it.  Tim stopped laughing.
 They were in his mom’s car, a newer Honda Accord, but Katelyn
was pretty sure he didn’t have permission to be driving it.
 His license had been revoked last year after he had tried to
outrun a few cop cars.  The license was a sore subject, but it
linked to the greater crime of the stolen merchandise in the trunk
when he was surrounded and stopped by nine squad cars.  Tim
didn’t like to talk about his crimes or his time in juvenile
detention.  

Eventually, Katelyn had been able to switch
the topic over to the band they were going to see, but the moment
was ruined.  It wasn’t until the band started that he cheered
up.  

Tim left her in front of the stage 30 minutes
later.

“What’s your name, babe?”  asked a deep
voice beside her.

Katelyn looked over and up at a tall man who
had come up beside her.  

“Katelyn,” she automatically replied and
looked around him for any sign of Tim.  

Her new friend moved in closer.  “What’s
a girl like you doing out here all by yourself?”

“I have a boyfriend,”  Katelyn said
shortly.  She wished he would leave her alone.  If Tim
saw her talking to some guy, he’d go ballistic.  The man
beside her was much bigger than Tim, but that wouldn’t stop Tim
from defending some sense of honor he thought was violated.
 This guy would likely pummel Tim, but the problem was that
she would also get her share of Tim’s anger if he thought she was
flirting.

Katelyn walked away quickly, heading down the
stairs to the first floor and the door.  She heard the man
call, “Where you going so fast, Sugar?”  But, she ignored him.
 

Outside, she took a few deep breaths.
 It was cold, but refreshing.  She hugged her jacket to
her body and put her hands in her pockets.   

She was bumped from behind by a couple coming
out of the bar.  Katelyn jumped forward to avoid getting
pushed over.  Instantly, another body collided with hers as
she entered the congested flow of people smoking on the sidewalk.
 “Sorry, sorry,” she muttered again and again until she found
herself up against the building.  

She looked around, but didn’t see Tim
anywhere.  Katelyn sighed and fought back an urge to cry.
 Instead, she became mad.  If she headed into the busier
cross street to look for him, she may miss him if he came out of
the building.  Her eyes followed the groups of people and
couples moving down the street onto the busy main drag.  If
Tim had found someone he knew, she wouldn’t put it past him to
“have to talk to somebody” at one of the countless other clubs
along the street.  This often meant that he was doing
something involving some drug or something illegal.  He never
told her about it, but sometimes he’d be messed up when he’d show
back up, or there would always be a new “friend” he’d hang with for
the next week or two.  

Katelyn tried calling him on his cell, but he
didn’t answer.  She tried again and left a hasty message.
 She texted for the eighth time since he went missing.
 

Options.  She had to look at her
options.  She could call Jenny, but the blackmail and
conditions for a ride home would be heavy.  Katelyn could call
her mom, but she didn’t want to give her a reason to hate Tim.
 Her mom was having enough problems with her dad still in the
treatment center.  Better not add more men problems to her
life, Katelyn thought.  Emily was at her dad’s this weekend
and was barely talking to her anyway.  Her sister Jodi didn’t
have a car.  

The cool early October night chilled her.
 She pushed off from the building wall and headed toward where
Tim had parked the Honda.  

Two blocks away, the car still sat parked
along a side street.  Katelyn tried the door, but it was
locked.  A couple of guys were walking down the sidewalk
toward her.  Katelyn leaned against the car door and pretended
to be on the phone.  “Yeah, we’re in Des Moines.  We’re
all driving together.  Uh huh, yeah.”  Katelyn kept up
the fake conversation until they passed out of earshot.  They
had only given her slight notice anyway.  

A concrete stairway was lit by a streetlight
just a few cars away.  Katelyn headed for it and perched
herself on the top stair.  She waited.  

People had stopped paying her too much
attention.  Katelyn adopted the stare of the people from the
bar.  People looked away when she stared back at them.
 The trick was not to stare too much longer after they looked
away because they’d look back eventually.  She didn’t want to
start a fight, just be left alone.  In between the random
people walking by, she tucked into her sweater to stay warm.
 The night had cooled down and Katelyn was cold to her
bones.

She gave up.  Tim wasn’t coming back.
 Katelyn hit Jenny’s number on her phone.  Jenny picked
up on the fifth ring.  “Look, it’ssmysisster,” she slurred to
someone with her.  Katelyn couldn’t hear very well, but it was
clear there was a party going on at Jenny’s.  

“Jen, I need you to pick me up.”

“What?  I see.  Now you need me.”
Her voice lacked control and the emphasis was all wrong.  If
she was trying to pull off being pissed, she wasn’t doing it well.
 

“Come on, Jen,” Katelyn said, a little of her
panic seeping through.  “I’m alone in Des Moines.  I’m on
some street downtown.  I need you to come get me.”

Jenny kept her righteous tone.  “Where’s
your boyfriend?”

Tim and Jenny didn’t exactly get along any
more.  He challenged some of the crazy shit she’d try pass off
as fact.  Once Tim found something to not respect in a person,
he never wasted time trying to find anything else about them to
respect.

“Come on, Jen.  I have money.”

“I don’t have a car,” she spit out.

“Borrow one,” Katelyn whined.

“I ain’t driving nowhere.”  Katelyn
could hear how drunk Jen was.  It probably wasn’t a good idea
to have Jen drive, but she was desperate. “Get yourself out of this
one.  Serves you right.”  And the phone went dead.

Katelyn paced the sidewalk in anger and
realized she was warmer if she kept moving.  She walked up and
down the block until she was too tired.  She perched back on
her step and leaned into the shadow.  

It was maybe an hour later when she
recognized the lanky frame of Tim walking around the corner and
toward the car.  His walk was uncertain, like his mind was
handling too many directions at once.  

She stood up, expecting Tim to look her way.
 He didn’t.  She walked toward him and he finally spotted
her before he reached the car.  He stood motionless, except
for his thumbs beating against the side of his leg.  He seemed
to be trying to decide what reaction to give her.  He clearly
was the one in the wrong, but he’d find a way to make it her fault
that she was left alone for almost three hours in downtown Des
Moines.