The Nights Were Young (17 page)

              She smiled and wiped the tears from her face.  She started singing with him, “You could be my anything… and I would be your everything…”

              Travis was nodding off. Marie stopped singing to hear him softly utter his final words before he fell asleep. “Just come…back…around…” 

She looked upon him, and she knew what he was to her then, a beautiful, heart-broken hero, drunk and stoned and passed out in a waste land of a home.  He was not something her mother would understand, nor her father, nor anyone from her world - or ever accept. He was a mistake to them, but the truth was he was a human who had been surrounded by mistakes and had made his own ones. He wasn’t perfect, and Marie didn’t want him to be, and she didn’t want herself to be. 

She kissed his cheek. 

Marie had not even heard the car engine approach the trailer.

              The door flung open and in walked Travis’s mother and some older, mean looking man.  His mother looked almost the same as last Marie had seen her.  Maybe her shirt had changed, but her demeanor was unaltered. 

“Who the hell are you?” his mother griped. 

              Marie stood up.  She looked at Travis nervously.  He was passed out. She turned back to the woman. “I’m uh…”

              His mother’s attention quickly switched to Travis. “You little bastard!” she yelled.  “Getting into my things again?”

              She shoved Marie out of the way and started hitting Travis on his leg, screaming. “Wake up you little shit!”

              Travis came to groggily, then immediately put his hands up in defense. “Mom!  Mom, stop!”

              “Getting into all my shit again?”

              Marie tried to interrupt her. “Please, Miss --”

              His mother whipped around and pointed her finger inches from Marie’s face. “Get the hell out of here.” Her eyes were wide and crazy, full of anger and resentment to a girl she didn’t know. 

              Marie looked at Travis.  He was not sad, nor angry.  His stoic expression conveyed one message to her: he was used to this. “Get out of here, pretty girl.”

              She wanted to say something more, tell him to come with her, or tell his mother to leave him alone.  But Travis’s stared at Marie sternly, and he motioned his head towards the door. 

“Bye,” she whispered. She turned and walked out, ignoring the mean looking, older man next to the door when he winked at her.

              She got to her car and took one last look at the trailer.  The sun was all but completely gone now behind the dying trees in the distance.  There was more yelling in the trailer; this time Travis’s voice was a part of it.

             
Save him! Go back and save him!

              But she was terrified and trembling. She breathed fast, and her head was rushing. Fire – everything felt on fire, burning too fast for her to make sense of. She wasn’t ready for this; not for this, not for everything that loving Travis came with.

              Crying, she got in her car and left him.

XIX

James was talking with his “boys” from the office.  Marie’s mother was standing by Marie’s father.  They were quiet in the corner, watching others that moved around the room in some slow, half-asleep manner.  The night was late, and within the next hour guests would be leaving. 

              The bedroom door at the corner of the living room flung open wide so fast that it crashed against the wall and brought a jarring silence over the crowd.  People turned.  They stared.  They stood horrified.  Out of the bedroom came a wasted Marie, swaying left and right, her eyes half open, her posture making her body look ready to fall in on itself. 

“Hello everyone!” she screamed.  Her dress was ruffled, her blonde curls were tangled, and her make-up was smeared.  In her hand she held the guitar brought from her closet. 

She walked forward, and as she passed the coffee table the guitar knocked against the corner and the clang rang out with an ugly boom and echo. 

“Oh shit,” Marie said, looking down at the guitar.

              People gasped.  They whispered.  They moved out of her slow and unsteady way. 

              “Jesus,” James said under his breath.

              Her father’s mouth was open in the shock.  Her mother was gripping her wine glass so hard it was close to shattering in her palm. 

              “I’m uh…” Marie said, “I wanna shming you a song.  Sing – I wanna sing for all you people… that I don’t even know.” 

She sat down on the first thing she felt, the small corner table beside the couch. 

There was a lamp there that her back shoved off.  One of the guests lunged forward and caught it before it smashed on the floor. 

“Oh, sorry…” she said.  “I shouldn’t sit here.” 

She jumped to her feet. 

“Here,” she said loudly, and she nearly sat in the lap of one of James’s friends on the couch, but he quickly darted to the side and she fell down on the cushion. 

“Oh, I’m sorry,” she giggled. 

              James reached forward and grabbed her arm.  “Honey, I think you’re done for the night.”

              “Let me go,” she said. 

              He pulled harder on her arm.

              “I said let me go!” she screamed. 

He backed away; he didn’t know her.  The girl was gone, far too gone to control now. 

              Marie looked into his eyes and whispered, “I’m not perfect, honey.” She looked down. “I’m not perfect.”

Then she shook her head and said loudly, “I’m gonna sing everyone here a song… James.” Then to everyone else she exclaimed, “He told me earlier I wasn’t good at music.  Well I’ll show him.” 

She swung the guitar around into her lap and strummed a chord. 

She laughed. “Hey it’s actually in tune!  That’s not right, though.” She moved her fingers and strummed again until she found the right notes. “There we go.”

              There were two women whispering to each other in the corner near the door to the porch.  Marie noticed them. 

“Hey!” Marie yelled at them. 

They stopped and stood petrified. 

“Shut up,” Marie ordered.

They straightened up and waited. Marie was terrifying as she glared at others through smeared make up and tears.  Everyone was waiting, still and silent. 

              Marie strummed another chord.  She hummed.  She paused and turned to look towards the window in the corner of the room. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. 

She played the chord again, and began…

              If I could be…

              With you…

              Baby I would be…

              You could be my anything

              And I – I would be…be your everything

She struggled to push the words out, and when she did they were soft and shaky. 

Some guests covered their mouths, and a few others were tearing up and shaking their heads. 

“What happened to her?” someone whispered. 

              She kept playing.

              Just come…come back around…

She played the strings with barely enough energy for them to resonate into the house, the walls of which could be heard creaking lowly over the music as if its own heart was breaking for her. 

She sang more.

              I still see your face.

She looked at James.  He was dumbfounded, eyes wide and mouth ajar.  With watery, blue eyes she stared at him.

              I still your face.

              On his and his.

              We had a chance…

Her eyes closed and her head dropped. 

              Just come back around…

She played a few more chords, but her hands stopped and fell limp.  She still sang.

              Please say you’re not…

With her eyes closed, she could see him, Travis.  He was standing in front of her.  He was standing at the cliffs, how he had stood seven years ago.  His hair moved in the breeze, and it was daylight, and he was alive and beautiful. He was smiling at her - the smile she had been in love with, that she was still in love with.

              Not too far gone…

              Please say it’s not too late…

Marie opened her eyes and looked up.  She was back in James’s party.   

Marie was crying. 

The guitar fell from her lap and crashed on the floor.  Some people jumped at the violent sound, but Marie barely moved. 

“Just come back around,” she whispered, so softly no one heard it. 

She fell over on the couch and began crying louder and louder until she bawled uncontrollably.

              James came back to his senses and announced, “Alright, I think that about does it for tonight everyone.”

              People began talking again.  No one was brave enough to approach Marie.  James began herding them towards the door, thanking them all and promising them that everything would be fine.

              Marie’s father remained where he was.  His eyebrows were low in confusion. “What happened?”

Marie’s mother answered. “She’s making a fool of herself.” She walked forward and sat Marie up straight. “I told you to stay in bed and sleep,” she said sternly.

              “I loved him!” Marie shouted.

              Her mother covered her mouth. “Stop it, Marie.”

              James had heard her scream.  He pursed his lips and shook his head, and he continued ushering everyone out. 

              Marie cried through her mother’s hand.  She grabbed her shoulders and pushed her away.  Her mother fought to keep her on the couch, but Marie got up and raced passed her and to the door to the back porch.  She swung it open and barreled outside. 

“Marie!” her mother screamed after her. 

Marie’s father finally moved.  He and her mother were outside in seconds to chase after their runaway daughter. 

              Marie raced off the property and sprinted towards the hill behind the house.  Beyond it was the clear, starry sky.  The air was cold, and the moonlight was pale.  Marie reached the start of the hill and tripped.  She could not bring herself back to her feet; she lay there on the ground and sobbed, her shallow breaths showing in the chilled night. 

Her parents reached her and grabbed her; her father picked her up.  Guests who could see the scene from around the corner of the house stopped and stared.  Marie saw James under the outside lights in front of the house; he was pushing them further to leave. 

              They brought Marie back into the house and lay her on the couch.  Her father brought a blanket to cover her while her mother stood still with her arms folded.  It was only the three of them in the room now. The party had crashed and everyone had vanished.  Marie still cried. 

              “I don’t get it,” her father said.  “What’s wrong?  She seemed happy an hour ago.”

              James entered and poured himself another drink. “What the hell is going on, Marie?”

              “I loved him,” Marie groaned.

              “Loved who?  Who the hell is she talking about?” James gulped down the whiskey and slammed the glass on the coffee table.  “I want to know who the hell she’s talking about.”

              “It’s no one,” her mother said.  “She’s delirious.  I think she’s sick.”

              “He’s gone,” Marie said softly.

              “She’s talking about someone,” James said.  “Who is he?”

              “Someone she should have forgotten a long time ago,” her mother said at Marie.

              “He’s dead, Mother,” Marie cried.  “He’s dead.”

              James looked down and rubbed his forehead. “I can’t do this.” He left towards the back door.  “Look after her, because I’m sure as hell not going to.”

              “Where are you going?” Marie’s mother asked.

              “I don’t know and I don’t give a damn, as long as it’s not around your daughter.”  He slammed the door on his exit. 

              “Jesus,” her mother whispered, and then she left as well.

              “Shh…shh…” her father said.  He stroked her hair.  “It’ll be all right.”

              Marie shook her head and whispered, “No, Dad.  It won’t be.”

              “You need to go to sleep,” he said.  “You need to just sleep this off.”

              “I… I can’t,” she said. 

Her eyes had fallen closed, though, and she was quickly drifting unconscious. She tried to picture Travis like she had when she sang, but there was only black, so she started singing again. 

“If I could be…” she said softly.  “With you…I would be…” 

She could see him again.  She was in his truck.  It was at night and they were by the lake. He was smiling and holding her, saying something that made her laugh. 

“You
were
my everything…” 

She could see him kiss her, and even then she had known there would be no other night like those nights. 

“Just come back… around…”

              Marie’s head tilted to the side.  She was fast asleep on the couch, and the evening was finally over.