Page 25 of Secondhand Smoke
Janelle had somehow managed to sneak off of his rickety old bed without waking him, which was an impressive feat.
At least he’d had the whole weekend to digest it all: the drastic change in her mellowed personality to the glimpses of the bubbly girl he recognized from high school to the realization that their stark differences had long hidden surprising similarities.
They were more alike than he’d thought.
That thought both delighted and frightened him. He didn’t like to get too close to people. Yet there he’d been, giving out one of his secrets to her like it was Halloween candy.
But hedidhave a reason. She’d shared hers.
He wouldn’t call it “getting close”, per se. More like returning a favor.
* * *
He spent the following days strumming chords of the new song Dennis had picked out for their newest gig. It was at a bar biggerthan The Pour House, some place owned by Dennis’s uncle, but it was a gig nonetheless.
When they performed on Saturday night, the crowd seemed to like them—a success in his book. Better than staying in The Pour House the entire time, not making any progress toward their dreams.
In their drunken, post-show celebrations and the subsequent drive home, he failed to mention anything about his happenings with Janelle. Partially on purpose.
He figured they might think he was pulling one on them because there was no way in hell they would believe she would givehimthe time of day. Except maybe Toni, who had witnessed a thing or two, but even he wouldn’t believe she’d willingly left her pretty two-story colonial for a night in his house.
He barely believed it had happened either, since she’d disappeared and he’d not heard a peep since.
Which was a relief, of course.
Barrett was ready for his day off from work on Monday, excited to sleep in and do a hell of a lot of nothing.
Instead, he was woken about an hour earlier than planned by the clamorous rattling ring of the telephone in the kitchen.
He groaned into his pillow and forced himself to slowly rise. Ron had left for work before sunrise, so answering phones and opening doors—if need be—was up to him.
He yawned and scratched his bare chest as he leaned against the counter and picked up the phone.
“Hello?” His greeting swirled with a leftover yawn.
“Dude, did you just wake up?”
Toni’s judgment was potent enough to reach through Barrett’s half-asleep mind. In the background of the call, he could hear the rhythm of some song playing over the store radio. Toni was obviously working.
“It’s 10:30. I shouldn’t be awake at all.” Barrett ran a hand through his hair. “Why the hell are you calling me right now?”
“Someone is looking for you here.”
“Ugh, I don’t care. Tell them I’m off until tomorrow.”
“You sure?”
“No duh. Of course I’m sure. No work calls on my days off.”
“Youreallysure?” Toni dragged out the words, and Barrett rolled his eyes. “You’re not even going to ask who?”
“I don’t give a shit who it is. I’m not coming in.”
“Okay. I’ll make sure to tell Janelle Duncan you said that.”
Barrett’s lazy slouch snapped straight, and his tired brain jumped to full alert. His teeth clanked together as his jaw snapped shut, and he hissed out his next words. “Don’t you fucking dare say anything to her. I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
He hung up the phone to the sound of Toni’s chuckling on the other end.
