Like I said, I grew up in a tiny town.
On its own, that was a recipe for boredom. But our little borough was particularly bad thanks to some self-inflicted wounds. It was a de facto dry town; no liquor licenses were given out to
anyone
. Arcade machines and comic book sales were banned. When I told one of my college friends about where I grew up, he said it sounded like 'the real-life town from Footloose' and he wasn't wrong.
The only things to do were go to church (Yes, we were the only Jewish family in town. No, I don't know what the hell my parents were thinking), get your hair done, or rent a movie. Thus, my Blockbuster Video was the hottest place to be. In a town with a population of a little over ten thousand,
we led the entire country
in store earnings per square foot.
Working the front on a Friday night was like standing under a typhoon with nothing between me and destruction except a scanner gun. At the end of the day, the entire system would be broken down -- candy strewn everywhere, shelves almost sideways, returns piling behind the counter till they threatened to avalanche over us. Closing the store often took hours just to make the place look like we hadn't been hosting a rave. Or the apocalypse.
I was so busy -- scanning movies, helping customers, doing returns, fighting for air -- I didn't have time to think about my relationship with Krissy. My mind didn't wander to her because there was never a moment for it to escape.
When the evening was over, I was so exhausted I could barely see. I stumbled out of the store. It was one in the morning. The downtown strip mall was completely quiet; dark except for a few flickering streetlights in the distance.
But to my surprise, standing there in the parking lot and waiting for me by my car, was Krissy herself. The blonde girl looked like a beacon in a storm. Her golden hair seemed to glow with its own, internal luminescence.
She was wearing her usual jeans, but she had on a white t-shirt (Camp for Christ, with a crude sketch of a tent and a crucifix) and a light coat. Apparently, it had started to drizzle while I was inside. Krissy gave me a short, shy wave. My other coworkers filed past her, grunting out tired goodbyes. Fortunately, the only person who would have made a big deal of Krissy, Steve, wasn't working that night.
"Hey!" I called out and raced over to Krissy, embarrassingly happy she was there. "Everything OK?"
Like I said, I wasn't expecting to see Krissy after work, or for the entire weekend. For her to be standing there in a deserted parking lot after midnight, she was either epically horny or truly upset.
Krissy shook her head, then gave me a game smile.
"Want to go for a drive?"
Krissy nodded. I unlocked my car, and we climbed in. I drove a used Saturn, a little cranberry sedan with tan seats and those seatbelts that would try to strangle you when you closed the door.
I fired up the engine and drove off. I switched on the radio and set it to 95.5 (I was more of a K-ROCK guy, but I figured Krissy would prefer PLJ). The rain got heavier, and we watched the water drip down the windshield. There was nowhere to go, really. Nothing to do. Even the town diner closed at 11pm. So, I meandered aimlessly.
Eventually, the storm settled and dried. I turned us down a quiet road that had a park at the end of it. Mostly, it was just a clearing surrounded by a thicket of tall trees. But it was at the end of an empty street, almost forgotten. My high school friends and I had used it a few times to smoke weed. It seemed like as good a place as any.
Krissy and I got out of the car and found a dryish picnic table near the back of the park, by the towering pine trees. I lay back on the table and Krissy joined me. Our shoulders touched as we stared up at the greyish sky.
"My parents got me a job at some dumb Christian camp," Krissy said, talking up to the darkness. She pointed at her own t-shirt. "Weekdays from six to two dealing with a bunch of snotty little kids."
"That doesn't sound too bad," I said. Krissy gave me a withering look.
"It's supposed to be good for my character," she said, "Whatever that means. They're punishing me, I swear."
"I'm sorry," I said.
I have to admit, I was impressed with Krissy's parents' solution. All this time I'd thought there was nothing they could do about my relationship with Krissy and so I'd discounted them. I'd clearly made a massive tactical error. Getting her a job was a masterstroke.
"I'm sorry too," Krissy said.
She kissed my cheek and it occurred to me that the aloof blonde wasn't confiding in me -- she was dumping me. After all, what was our relationship without afternoon make out sessions? I felt my heart sink far harder than I'd expected it to. I didn't know what this was, what we were, but I realized I didn't want it to end.
It's not like I actually liked Krissy. Or enjoyed her company. No more than in the basic biological sense that moving towards mating with a beautiful woman is always enjoyable. I guess some part of me knew that once Krissy was gone, that meant I had to start addressing my actual life. And I didn't have a lot of solutions for that. Wasn't it easier to fool around with this strange, serious girl and pretend that tomorrow would always stay one day away?
"It's not fair!" Krissy slapped her leg. "I always have to be so good, but it's never good enough. My grades. My chores. My 'behavior.' I do whatever they ask with a pretty little smile. It's like they want me to be a nun."
Again, it was so surprising to hear her get frustrated at her family. I won't lie, some part of me started to wonder if I was doing something wrong to Krissy. Breaking her in some way. She'd been a little frustrated when she'd been in Blockbuster that first time, but she'd been happy. Loving and loved. She had a clear path and the people to help support her on it. Now, it seemed that her central relationship was splitting at the seams. I couldn't help but feel responsible. Bad enough that I was already broken, was I ripping this poor girl apart along with me?
"I don't care anymore," Krissy said, "I really don't. They can't watch me every second, especially once I'm back at school in September. I'm a grown woman. I'll do what I want."
"We could still hang out," I said, "For now. If you want. It doesn't have to be serious. Just fun."
"Just fun," Krissy repeated.
"Right," I said, "I mean, if you don't want to upset your parents, I understand."
A little, wicked grin formed on Krissy's face. I'd said the magic words.
"Camp ends early enough," Krissy said, "I could go to your place after."
"Definitely," I said.
"We'll have to figure it out. I'll have to hide where I'm going but..." Krissy's eyes glassed over. I could tell she was thinking of the previous afternoon, in my bedroom. Picturing the peak I'd brought her to. "Yeah. That works."