On my way home, I pulled into the local pub and had a few drinks; then I’d gone to the store and bought a case of beer on my way back home.
When I got to my house, I went inside to find the roses I’d bought her as well as the extras I’d planned to crush and scatter the petals of were waiting on the counter like a big red sign mocking me. I shoved them to the floor where the vase didn’t even give me the satisfaction of shattering, and instead landed with a bounce on my rug and rolled over, spilling the water around the scattered flowers. I walked over them and put my beer into the fridge and grabbed two to take with me to my chair. I hadn’t gotten drunk in ages, and after my few at the bar, I was already feeling a bit lit.
I looked through my phone as I tossed back the beer, pounding it as hard as I could, and found the picture the three of us had taken at Christmas with our green mouths. We made a nice little family for sure. Having Star in my life was amazing, but I knew I needed Dream too.
I thumbed through a few more pictures and then went to my contacts where I found her new number. Then I remembered her GPS and decided to see if she’d left the diner, but found her still there.
I knew better than to call her when she was at work, but I needed to hear her voice. The phone rang and rang, so I decided I’d keep calling as long as she’d let it. Sure, it was juvenile, but I was a desperate, drunk man. I wasn’t listening much to reason.
Finally, she picked up the phone on my second beer. “You’ve got to stop calling.”
“I will when you tell me you’re coming to talk to me, Dream.” My voice slurred a bit and I down the last of my beer as she let out a long sigh.
“Are you drinking?”
“Maybe.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“Come see me, baby. I think we need to talk this out.” I tried to be as assertive as possible with a lazy tongue.
“I think you need to take a nap.” She made a sound of frustration. “I was going to come by, but I don’t want to talk when you’re drunk.”
“Please, Dream. Please talk to me.”
She was so quiet that I wondered if she’d hung up. “Are you there?”
“I’m here, but I’m getting a shit look from Liza, Chance. I’m not supposed to be on the phone, and I’ve another half hour until I’m off.”
“Fine, go.” I hung up the phone and dropped it to the floor beside my chair. I got up and went for another beer, grabbing two, so I could make fewer trips to the fridge.
By the time I was back in my chair, the phone had sent a ping. I checked the messages, and she’d sent me a text. She was going to stop by after all.
I went to the kitchen and stepped over the flowers and decided to pick them up. I had barely had a minute to pick them up when I heard her car in the drive.
She came in the house, and I took out another beer and cracked it open as she walked into the room. “Dammit, Chance. What did you do here?” She reached down and picked up a few smashed flowers and placed them on the counter next to the vase where the crumpled arrangement ended up.
“I had a whole thing planned, but then I thought you weren’t coming.”
She took off her coat and hung it in the closet next to the door. “Let’s get you something to eat. Maybe it will sober you up a bit.” She went to the fridge and took out a plate that had two steaks marinating.
“That was going to be our fancy dinner.” I gestured toward the plate. “I was going to do mushrooms and onions, with potatoes on the side.” I didn’t know why, but I just kept on babbling. “I was going to tell you how much I love you and that I want you to stay with me.” I turned around and pulled another beer from the fridge, and she shook her head and kept on preparing the meal as I walked to the living room and kicked back in my chair. Before I could say anything else to her though, I closed my eyes and passed out.
CHAPTER 30 – DREAM
I grilled the steaks to perfection even though Chance had passed out, and I had even done the mushrooms and onions along with the potatoes just like he’d wanted. I spooned them out onto a platter and wrapped them up hoping they’d still be good enough to eat whenever he woke up.