I woke up in a cold sweat, the vivid dream still fresh in my mind. As most dreams are, the events weren't quite as they had happened; taking mortar and rocket fire, yet not being seriously hurt.
I took a cold shower to try and clear my head, the images still at the forefront of my mind. 'It's gonna be a long night,' I thought.
--------
It had been 2 weeks since the bonfire. 2 long weeks at work. It was now early September and the weather was starting to cool down. I talked to Becky a few times since then, mostly at Smokey's. Those were nights I really enjoyed, nights when the only thing that mattered was her. We would joke and laugh, talk shit and swap stories but nothing of any real consequence.
I had just walked back into the operations shack at work when my phone buzzed. One long buzz, it was a text. The operations shack was just that. A shack. Actually it was a pair of sea containers that had been pushed together and had their joining walls removed to make it one big container. I sat down at my desk, turned my radio down and pulled out my phone.
From Becky:
I have a date tonight!!
To Becky:
With who?
From Becky:
With you. Be at Smokey's at 8!
To Becky:
What if I have to work tomorrow?
From Becky:
I know you don't. You told me you start your week off tomorrow remember?
She was right, our schedule was set up so we only worked 14 days a month; seven day shifts and seven nights. Sure it made having a life difficult, but the pay was well worth it.
To Becky:
Smokey's at 8? Done.
I got home at 5:34, plenty of time to shower and relax a bit. After a quick shower to wash the smell of work off of me, I put on some jeans and a black shirt and sat down on the couch. After a few minutes, my phone buzzed again. I pulled it out of my pocket and checked it.
From Carl:
Heard u have a date tonight...
To Carl:
Yea, I'm pretty excited actually. U got plans tonight?
From Carl:
Get wasted and fuck someone's daughter
To Carl:
This is why I always have to bail you out of bad spots
From Carl:
It was one time, and I could have taken him. Enjoy ur date. I'll see u at Smokey's.
I didn't reply. There was no need. I watched TV for another half hour or so, then I got dressed. As I looked through my closet I realized I had no idea what she was planning. Was it formal? Casual? Somewhere in between? I thought about texting her, but decided to just bring a few shirts with me to change on the fly if needed.
I grabbed my truck keys and looked at the clock on the stove on my way out the door. 7:38, plenty of time to get there.
When I arrived, Becky was sitting in her truck, rocking out to music. I know she didn't notice me because the music was so loud I could clearly hear it from outside. It was a song I knew, Slipknot's 'nomadic'. It's a good song, but like all good things, it had to come to n end.
After about a minute into her jamfest, I walked to the back of her truck and started rocking it up and down, using the bumper as leverage. I could see the back of her head as she looked for the source of the motion, finally seeing me from her rear view mirror.
She turned off her truck and got out. My heart skipped at least two beats when I saw her. She had a grey zip up sweater which was unzipped, showing a white shirt underneath. Her shirt was accentuated more due to the slight, womanly curves of her chest. She was around a B cup, maybe a little larger. She had faded and ripped blue jeans and her cowboy boots. My god, she was beautiful.
She walked over to me and gave me a hug. I couldn't be sure, but I think she was drawing it out longer than normal. She had to stand on her tip toes to reach around my neck.
"So, whats the plan?" I asked after she let me go.
"We are going to the county line bar, its just over in Marshal county."
"I've heard of it but never been."
"Good," she said with a grin. "Then you won't know what my plan is!" She chuckled a bit which kinda made me nervous to tell you the truth.
"OK. You drive or I drive?"
"You drive, I love your truck."
We walked back to my truck and I opened her door for her. She smiled and climbed in, using the 'oh shit' handle to pull herself up. We made a left out of the parking lot and headed toward Marshal county, bantering back and forth for a bit, then she hit me with a question that I wasn't expecting.
"Can you sing?"
"Can I? Yes. Do I sound good? No."
She gave a small laugh and left it at that. I've never been comfortable talking in front of crowds and now I have a feeling I'll be singing in front of them. This will be interesting.
We reached the county line bar at around 9, the place not totally dead, but it was slow. We ordered beers and she wanted to do shots. I can't let a lady drink alone so I took a few with her. She began talking to the bartender and I took an opportunity to really get a feel for the place.
It was much like an average bar, groups of people sitting at tables, some in the few booths that were against the far wall. We sat at the bar against the right hand wall from the entrance, and just opposite us was a stage. It was actually a rather large stage for such a small bar, probably for local bands to perform. The air smelled of smoke, sweat and liquor. This was home for a Marine like me, having spent many nights in bars very similar to this. Just as I was turning back around I saw it, sitting at the corner of the stage, a karaoke machine. Fan-fucking-tastic.
I turned back to Becky and she gave me a knowing grin, plan discovered. I smiled back as honestly as I could and ordered us another round, which we both drank and ordered another beer. If I was going to sing, I would need it.
Around 11 my phone buzzed. I checked it, figuring it must be Carl.
From Carl:
What happened to coming to Smokey's?
To Carl:
Went elsewhere. See you later.
From Carl:
Probably taking a girl home tonight, just FYI
To Carl:
Thanks, at least one of us is.
From Carl:
u never know...
I left it at that, setting my phone to silent and put it away. Just then, Becky grabbed my arm, again hitting the scars from the explosion. I winced in pain, which she clearly saw. She pulled her hand away and looked nervous.
"It's OK. Old wounds. Docs say it will probably never fully heal." I said loud enough to be heard over the cacophony of the bar.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you," her apology was genuine, a worried look about her.
"So why did we come here exactly?" I asked, trying to change the subject. Her smile returned almost instantly. She pointed to the karaoke machine.
"Sing with me!" She had to almost yell for me to hear her. The bar was packed by now.
I must have had a look of displeasure on me because she gave me the pouty lip and puppy dog eyes. How could I say no to her.
"OK OK. Let's go," she almost yanked me off the bar stool. Who knew she was so strong. She went over toward the DJ booth and flipped through the songs they had, picking one for her to sing, then she picked the duet we would sing. She pulled me down close to her and whispered, though whispering was more like regular volume at that point, "sing something for me."
A chill ran down my spine. What should I pick? Rock? I could do some rock song to impress her, or I could do something more slow and meaningful. Decisions, decisions. I told her to go put in an order for 2 beers so we could have them when we were done, hoping to get her to leave so I could pick something special. She walked off and I made my selection.
When she returned, the DJ made the announcement that Becky was going to sing. She got up on stage and sat in the stool, grabbing the mic and introducing herself and the song she was going to sing: 'All American Girl' by Carrie Underwood. The music came on and shortly afterwards the room was filled with her beautiful voice. She sounded just like an angel. I hung onto every note, every word. Each one more perfect than the last.
When the song ended, she stood and took a bow to a big round of applause. She then motioned for me to join her. I walked up on stage, pulling up the other stool. She looked at me and mouthed 'are you ready?' I nodded to her, then to the DJ. He started the next song. I recognized the tune right away and I could only smile at her. I didn't need lyrics on screen to tell me the words. I began, as best I could.
"I wanna drink that shot of whiskey
I wanna smoke that cigarette
I wanna smell that sweet addiction on my breath
I wanna ride across West Virginia in the backseat of a Cadillac
You know some cowboys like me go out like that
So I need you"
"Like a needle needs a vein
Like my Uncle Joe in Oklahoma needs the rain
I need you
Like a lighthouse on the coast
Like the father and the son need the holy ghost
I need you"
She saw me singing. Not to the audience, but to her. As far as I was concerned, the audience didn't exist. She was the only person in that room during that song, and I was content with that. Without looking at the screen, and never taking her beautiful blue eyes off me, she began her part in the song.
"I wanna get lost in some corner booth
Cantina Mexico
I wanna dance to the static of an A.M. radio
I wanna wrap the moon around us and lay beside you skin on skin
Make love 'til the sun comes up, 'til the sun goes down again
'Cause I need you"
We sang the second chorus together, like nobody else existed in the whole world.
"Like a needle needs a vein