Some trips you can remember. Some trips you always remember. Most you just forget until something at sometime wakens the memory. If ever.
Trip # 57, that was mushrooms. Rell, Jack’s friend Rell, who it turned out was Jack’s lover, would recall his acid trips by number, his brain so fried maybe that was all that was left in there. Bill would remember how many times they’d changed together, gone skinny dipping together all the while Jack was in the closet and he and Rell were hiding that they were gay.
Not that it mattered.
Bill remembered that trip in the Rambler up to Cleveland and that reminded him of how he remembered things and why. They weren’t married yet, but everything was all set and proceeding as it was supposed to.
They did laugh about it. They laughed about it lots of times, Bill and his wife. It was a funny story.
At the time, when they got there and got out of the car, Bill was so upset he could spit. He wanted to kill someone or something. But then all his life he was wanting to kill someone or something.
His in-laws-to-be laughed. His father-in-law-to-be made him a double gin and tonic and then they sat together in the family room watching the Cleveland Browns play football, Bill petting their wonderful German Shepherd.
That night, he and his not-yet wife had a long talk about what to do. They needed a new car, that was for sure, but they couldn’t afford a new one, had no money to speak of and would need a loan just to get a used car. They decided they’d ask her father for a loan.
After the talk, Bill remembered, they made passionate love. Bill didn’t remember anything more than that they made love and it was passionate, more passionate than ordinary because he had to sneak into her room and it was all on the sly. They weren’t allowed to sleep together up there until after the ceremony.
Of course, he said no. He said no every time they asked for a loan, which was once more after they were married and didn’t have quite enough for the advance rent and deposit needed for their rental in Garfield Heights.
So, what else is new? That’s what he’d said to his wife, and to himself he’d vowed never to ask her family for anything ever again, and that was just what her father had wanted all along.
They got the spiffy Corolla fastback coupe, a nice little thing, lots of pep, lots of fun to drive, seats good enough to entertain in despite the car being small.
And he did entertain in it. It had lots of wonderful memories of those kinds, and lots of other memories too with his fiancé and then his wife.
So, not much doubt about it, it was time to start a new trip. Time to make final goodbyes on all different levels. There was Arlene and Mary, somewhat on the same level but not quite, and then there was Brooklyn who was nowhere near that level. Then there were Lorraine and Victoria and Esserine, Henry Lee and Bea. Bea was glad he was leaving because once again she could have unfettered control of what went on in the kitchen.
Slowly but surely, in the last few days Bill took care of this business. His wife would be gone that last week Bill worked. Her job required that she start on a certain date, and she could not postpone it even though she tried. So Bill spent that last week down in Columbus alone, which in and of itself became more of a convenience than anything else.
