The roadhouse just outside of town was again playing host to the annual "Naked Day" festivities. Never advertised, it was announced only by word of mouth. But given the content, it would be well attended. People who had left Bastionville years before returned for the event, so many so that people started putting their spare rooms on Air BnB and a tent housing an auxiliary bar went up in the parking lot. The place had originally been known as "Dirty Dingus Magees", in part because of the old Sinatra movie that was a former owners' favorite, but also because his mistress and the first topless waitress he had hired was Betty Magee. Today it just went by the name "DDM" or simply "the Roadhouse". The place showed its' age, but was well maintained and looked very much in place along the two lane road.
"You're going to Nekkid Night, ain't ya" asked Tom. He was the retired fellow who worked part time at the local store that served as the grocery, clothing and novelty store in the town. If you couldn't get it at Jackson's, you probably didn't need it. Ol' Tom also served as the towns' Old coot, although there were several others who were beginning to give him stiff competition for the title.
The object of his question was Deb Thompson, a relatively new resident having lived in Bastionville for less than five years. A nasty breakup, a generous offer for an ap she had developed had led her from the city to this small haven. She blushed slightly as she watched Tom put her groceries in the cloth bag she always brought. The habit of being somewhat environmentally responsible had stayed with her. "I really haven't decided. I know it is quite the event, but I'm not sure I am quite ready for it."
"Nothing much happens. It ain't like there is anything nobody ever seen before. Just a lot of fun and a time to cut loose a bit. Good dancing, good drinking and good scenery. You are surely welcome to attend, Miss Deb." Tom dipped his head as he finished the bagging, nodding to her as she grabbed the straps of the bags. "You need any help with them bags? You just let Ol' Tom know. I'm old, but I ain't dead." He chuckled at himself and turned to the next customer. "You're going to Nekkid Night, I know."
Deb walked to her car. "What a quaint little town to have such an event." She had heard all about it from others in the town. At first she was a little shocked, thinking "What the hell type of town did I move into? This has to be some kind of cult!" She had done a little digging and found that the event actually went back into the gold and silver rush days that had turned the area into a tent city from which Bastionville rose. It seemed that there had been a drought and with the extra miners water became a scarce commodity. The first thing to go was bathing and when the drought was broken by a torrential downpour, people poured from the tents into the streets, got buck naked, showered, shaved, danced had mud slides, cleaned up again and had quite the time. Ever since that time, the town has had a "Naked Day" celebration in honor of that drought ending deluge. Deb found herself smiling at the idea of all those smelly miners and the others from the town celebrating in the rain. Given the spirit of the event, she came closer to attending each year. It was still nearly two weeks away. Plenty of time to come up with a plausible excuse not to go.
When Deb got home, she saw she had a message on her machine. Given the remoteness of the town, she had opted to have an old fashioned landline in addition to her cell. And in keeping with the retro spirit, she had an old time answering machine as well. It also gave her a bit of control. Only a few close friends had the number, fewer still had any idea where she had relocated. She pressed the button to play the message, fully expecting some incredible offer or a robocall, but instead it was a voice from a previous life. "Deb? Deb Thompson? I am SO hoping this is the right person. It's me, Emma. Emma Davies. From High School? I know it is a long time, but thought I would catch up. Heard you had some bad times and found a simpler life. Um. I guess I am kinda there at this point in my life and wanted a little advice." The message ended with a number. Wow. Deb had a hundred things running through her head and decided the best thing was to put the groceries away and then figure out what to do. She headed off to the kitchen. Just wow.
Later that day, Deb decided she was ready to return Emma's call. She had reflected on the past the two shared and wondered what the present had done towarrant the contact. Even at her lowest point, Deb hadn't thought of rekindling the friendship with Emma. They had been inseparable, then grew apart. Who knows, maybe it was time to reconnect. It was just a phone call. Common courtesy. They had been hell on wheels back in high school. But separate colleges and finding out they shared the same boyfriend had pretty much created a divide. Still the memories of legendary pranks did bubble to the surface from time to time. Like sneaking into the boy's locker room and smearing Red Hot balm into all the jock straps had been fun. Especially when the game had the whole team up and dancing from the results.. Deb smiled and chuckled. Yes, common courtesy to call back.
"Hello?" Emma sounded just the same. Maybe not quite as confident as before, but still the same sweet voice.
"Emma, it's Deb. What a surprise hearing from you after, well, after all this time. What's up?" Deb always was the one to get to the point.
A sob came from the other end of the phone. "Shit. I swore I wouldn't do that. Damn it, give me a sec." Deb heard the sound of a good nose blowing and Emma returned. "Okay, Take two. Yeah, imagine hearing from me after all these years. Bet you think I must have hit rock bottom. Well, you're close. Let me sum it up. Man trouble, weight gain, career nose dive. But at least I have my health."
Both chuckled at that. It was an old line from their Physical Education teacher. Miss "I don't care if your Aunt Flo is visiting, run another lap!" Jenkins. She always said Men leave. Money gets spent. But if you have your health, you have it all." Wonder what happened to her. Well, back to Emma.
"I had heard about you and your husband. Nasty breakup. My guy at least left me for another woman. Not another guy. I picked up the phone to call you then, but, well, didn't follow through. Sorry." A sigh ended the thought.
"Yeah, that sucked. I did make out just fine. The software I developed was outside any agreement we had, so I got the money and he got butt fucked. Literally and figuratively. I should have known. The son of a bitch liked blow jobs and anal far more than other guy. But he could sure cook. Guess those were the clues I missed." Deb could finally make jokes about the loss of her husband to a mutual friend. She still missed her friend Bill. Talking with Emma continued, it was like they hadn't been apart for fifteen years. They chatted and gabbed for almost an hour. An idea crossed Deb's mind. She wasn't sure how Emma would take it, but if she had a chance, she might offer it up.
"So, Deb, I figured I could use some advice. Like the old saying goes, 'I'm too young to die and too old to rock 'n roll.' I need an opinion. How did you pickup and start over. It isn't about the money, I have enough for a while, but how did you do it emotionally?" Emma sounded like she was almost begging for some help. So unlike the old Emma who had a bigger set of balls than most of the guys they knew in school.
"Well, Emma, I have an idea. But how did I do it? I fucking ran away! You have to know where I am since you tracked down my number, I am in the middle of nowhere. Been here almost five years. I am finally happy with myself, but I am still nowhere near ready to get back into any type of relationship or job or even have a cat for that matter. But I do at least have my health." She paused. "I said I had an idea. How about if you came here for a while, we figure things out face to face. I've got a spare room and extra towels. That sound like a plan? Run away for a while. We always joked about doing that back in school, so what do you say?"
The silence on the line only lasted a moment. "I was hoping you would ask. I need a change of pace and a friend. Wednesday sound okay?"
That was two days off. Plenty of time to clean and dust. "Um, Wednesday. Yeah, that's the butlers' day off, but I can manage. You have the address? Here's my cell so if I am out at the shooting range you can tell me you are close." Another inside joke between the two of them. Emma was a crack shot, but Deb had never picked up a gun. Hated them. The two women chuckled and hung up their phones.
Wednesday arrived, and Deb had moved some boxes out of the guest room and tidied up some. More importantly she stocked up on wine and some of the comfort foods she knew Emma liked. Or at least she used to. Some tastes changed over time. Deb guessed that the taste for Oreos, ice cream and red fish probably lasted. Probably right down to the DNA. Oh. And whipped cream. She almost blushed when she thought of the last time they had had whipped cream. It would be a great ice breaker. Ol' Tom had noticed the increase in her shopping, which meant by Thursday, everyone in the town would know that she had company. "That shore is a lot of sugar, Miss Deb. From the look of it, you must be having a friend come visit. You be sure to have her stay for Nekkid Day, Ya hear?"
Mid afternoon and the Dodge caravan pulled into her drive. Indiana plates. Had to be Emma It was. Deb came outside to meet her. "Need help with anything? I'll have the porter come out and get the bags." She hurried over and gave the woman emerging from the van a big hug. Which was returned tenfold. "Wow. Nice ride. Rear seats fold down? We need to get shades for the back windows?"
"Hah! Yeah. A Suburban 'Mom Van'. And I'm not a mom. And these aren't the suburbs. Damn girl, that hug was nice. Thank you. Where's that porter? I thought you said it was his day off?" Emma had a tear in her eyes, but was still making jokes. "I can't begin to thank you for this."
"For what? You just got here. I haven't done anything yet. Haven't given you food poisoning or anything. Let's get you settled. Fuck the porter. I'll grab some of the stuff." Deb went to the van and grabbed a suitcase. "No bodies or body parts in this one, right?"
"To the best of my knowledge, no. And Fuck the porter? That does sound like a good idea. A really good idea." Emma grabbed a couple of boxes and headed inside. "The rest can wait. I gotta pee."
That evening was full on catharsis. The stories flowed, the wine flowed. Essentially Emma needed to tell someone about the last fifteen years and have that person listen. She knew what she had done, what the mistakes were, what had been done right. She just needed to an audible purge. The wine helped that. And the Oreos.
"So there it is. What I have done for the last fifteen years. And now I find myself back where I was when we last were together. Crying on your couch, drinking wine and eating sugar. Only forty pounds heavier and using a different hair color to hide the gray. I just needed to tell someone before I closed the book and began to build up again. I know I will, but a little self pity feels good, and who better to share it with than you. Thanks again, Deb."
"You're welcome. But really, I haven't done anything except provide a safe place an ear and some wine. The Oreos were left her by someone else. I didn't have anything to do with them. Nasty things. Any left?" Deb reached over for the bag. "It's empty. You still in the mood for something? I have ice cream and red fish. You know Swedish fish? We always just called them red fish."
"Ice cream? Hell yeah. What goes best with this white wine? Oh who cares. Surprise me!" Emma perked up, starting to forget the tale of woe she had just recited.
