01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21
"Hello?" Damn. She sounded like she had been asleep.
"Samantha?" I asked.
"Yeah," she answered, the end spilling out into a loud yawn. "Who is this?" she finally asked.
"It's Simon."
"SIMON?" she screamed, with that giddy, college-girl hyperbole in her voice, like hearing from me was absolutely the most exciting thing that had ever happened anywhere EVER! "What are you doing, BOYEE?" she howled.
"Hello," I said. "I'm actually standing outside in the cold stranded. I'm stranded over on the Westside. I think my car's been stolen or towed or something."
"Dude, that sucks," she said. "If you need someone to come and get you I can totally be right there."
"Thanks, Sam. I was..."
"DUDE! We should go to Joe's! I haven't been there in forever and there is no one around here tonight. I am so bored I was thinking about cutting off my own head just to have something to do."
"That sounds great, Sam, but, the truth is I just need a ride home. I've got a girl with me."
There was a long pause on the other end. "So, you just called me at, like, eleven thirty at night so I could give you and another girl a ride to your place?"
"No, no, it's not like that..."
"What the HELL, Simon?"
"No," I couldn't help laughing a little. "She's only eight."
Silence.
"She's a daughter of a friend of mine," I lied. "She's staying with me for a couple of days. We drove to the store and, when we came back out, the car was gone."
"Someone left an eight-year-old girl with you?" she asked with heavy sarcasm. "Wasn't there someone else who could watch her? Like a friend? Or a relative? Or maybe a seedy-looking stranger?"
"Hey, now," I laughed.
"I'm nine," said Amy. "Today is my birthday."
"She's nine," I repeated to Sam. "Apparently today is her birthday."
"APPARENTLY?" screamed Sam. "What the HELL, Simon? Please don't tell me that that little girl has been with you all day on her birthday AND YOU DIDN'T KNOW IT! PLEASE don't say that to me."
"Uh..."
"Where are you?"
"At the Texaco on Chapin, at the edge of town."
"Okay. I'll throw something on and get there as quick as I can."
"Thank you so much, Sam. I really..."
"Simon, if you ruined a little girl's ninth birthday I'm going to bitch slap you, and I am not kidding."
"She never said..." But it was too late. She had hung up. I hung up and sat down next to Amy, leaning up against the wall. The station was already closed or we'd have gone in out of the cold.
"What happened to the car?" Amy asked, leaning over into me to help bock the wind.
"I don't know," I sighed. "The owner of the place probably had it towed away."
"Is that lady coming to get us?"
"Yes," I said. "She doesn't live too far away. It should only be about fifteen or twenty minutes."
"Is she your girlfriend?"
"No. Just a friend." Amy fell silent. After a minute she closed her eyes. "Is it really your birthday, Amy?"
"Yes. I forgot," she said. "I'm nine."
"I am so sorry it wasn't a good birthday, Amy." I said. "When we figure out what's going on, I'm sure your mom will throw you a big party."
"It's okay," she said. I was afraid she would cry, but she didn't. "It was actually kind of fun," she added after a minute.
"Really?"
"Yeah. Kinda."
'Wow,' I thought. "Happy birthday, Amy," I said, and I settled in beside her to wait.
Comments