Life on Banana Street
Reunited
I woke from my dream with a startle.
Something was bothering me like…like I was missing something.
“Billie,” I whispered through the darkness.
“Mmm.” He moaned.
“Billie I’m scared,” I woosed out.
“Hmm?” He rolled over to me and let out a long sigh.
“Scared?” He mumbled.
“Yeah.”
He pulled me close to him and housed me in his arms.
“About what?” he whispered.
“I don’t know. Like something’s not right.”
“Hmm.” He paused for a moment like he went back to sleep. “Can we talk about this in the morning?”
“Sure, babe,” I said.
He found my lips in the darkness and kissed them quickly and went back to sleep, not removing me from his arms.
****
I fell asleep faster than I thought I would and I woke up later than I thought.
But, even if it was 11:00, Billie was quietly waiting for me to wake up. He hadn’t moved an inch. That I could tell.
“Good morning, scaredy head.”
Joey came in the door and jumped on the bed.
“What I gotta do ‘round here ta get some food?!” he exclaimed.
We both laughed and Billie rubbed my arm before he got out of the bed to go fix food.
“Are you coming or do you want…lunch in bed?” he asked.
I smiled and got up. “Let’s go out.”
Well what I had in mind was a nice little lunch spot. Kind of expensive, but not really. But sometimes, we don’t always get what we have in mind.
What we got was…McDonald’s.
Billie was drinking his Dr. Pepper when he took out his cell phone.
“Hello? Yeah hold on.”
He handed the phone to me and I put down my burger.
“Hello?”
“Hi Addie.”
“Oh, hey Tre. What’s up?”
“Uh something’s kinda been bothering me.”
“What?”
“Can I speak to you face to face?”
“Sure…” I said cautiously.
“Can you meet me at the park in half an hour?”
“Um…Yeah I guess so.”
“Bye,” he said then hung up.
Oh God I’m scared.
“What was that about?” Billie asked.
“Nothing.”
We got home about 20 minutes later and I took the Viper keys almost to the door.
“Where are you going?” Billie asked. Damn him and his suspicions.
“Nowhere. Just taking a drive. Clear my mind.”
“Oh…Alright. Be safe.”
Damn he was so easy to lie to. Well, it wasn’t like I was going out to have an affair or anything.
I drove up to the park and saw Tre sitting with his back to me on the bench. I pulled over and got out of the car and he looked back. He didn’t look normal, not the Tre I knew.
“Hey Tre. You wanted to see me?”
“Uh, yeah. Have a seat.”
He turned forward now and didn’t look at me even as I sat next to him.
“What’s wrong?”
“Addie, there’s something you don’t know. About us.” I was suspicious because there hadn’t been ‘us’ referring to him and me in a long time.
I was running ideas through my mind. What if he had gotten pregnant or something. Finally some pregnant men around here! No, I would have seen him get fat. Or what if it’s some guy thing where they don’t get fat. Lucky! What if he was secretly a woman? Oh my God. I made love to a woman. No, then he/she wouldn’t have had a dick. Then what if he was transsexual? Or what if he was gay while we were dating. He just dated me so he could prove he wasn’t. Or…he could have cheated.
“What about us?”
“Remember when I came back from my grandma’s house and we hadn’t really seen each other all summer?”
Still not looking at me.
“Yeah. That was one of the worst summers.”
“Well, um, Addie. Something kind of happened at my grandma’s house,” he said weirdly.
He got his dick chopped off in a severe accident and he super-glued it back on. He and his grandma got a little drunk and fucked. He’s from the south and made out with his cousin.
“Something happened like what?” I asked.
“I’m so sorry, Addie. I was so stupid. But I hadn’t seen you all summer and it was the…the sexless summer of my life. Until I saw my ex-girlfriend. We got to talking and one thing kind of led to another.”
I didn’t care. We weren’t together anymore. That’s his problem he went to some South Dakota or wherever the hell he went and got an STD from Mt. AIDS. I really didn’t care.
I guess he thought I was going to beat him because he was kind of flinching and angling his body away from me.
“Thank you.”
He stopped flinching and finally looked at me.
“What? That’s all you have to say?”
“Yes. Because you told me the truth. That’s what I’ve always admired about you.”
Fuck. I can’t stop flirting even when I’m happily married.
“Addie, I-” Tre started and his lower lip was jutted out. I could tell he wasn’t going to finish his sentence even though I knew he was going to say what he always said.
“Tre, I love you, okay? But I want you to be my best friend and make me the happiest person in the world. Billie is the one for me, but I promise, Tre. I’ll always come to you, my ex, my former neighbor, my best friend.”
Tre and I hugged for this emotional moment. And for the first time in my life, I realized why I had gone out with Tre in the first place.
Something was bothering me like…like I was missing something.
“Billie,” I whispered through the darkness.
“Mmm.” He moaned.
“Billie I’m scared,” I woosed out.
“Hmm?” He rolled over to me and let out a long sigh.
“Scared?” He mumbled.
“Yeah.”
He pulled me close to him and housed me in his arms.
“About what?” he whispered.
“I don’t know. Like something’s not right.”
“Hmm.” He paused for a moment like he went back to sleep. “Can we talk about this in the morning?”
“Sure, babe,” I said.
He found my lips in the darkness and kissed them quickly and went back to sleep, not removing me from his arms.
****
I fell asleep faster than I thought I would and I woke up later than I thought.
But, even if it was 11:00, Billie was quietly waiting for me to wake up. He hadn’t moved an inch. That I could tell.
“Good morning, scaredy head.”
Joey came in the door and jumped on the bed.
“What I gotta do ‘round here ta get some food?!” he exclaimed.
We both laughed and Billie rubbed my arm before he got out of the bed to go fix food.
“Are you coming or do you want…lunch in bed?” he asked.
I smiled and got up. “Let’s go out.”
Well what I had in mind was a nice little lunch spot. Kind of expensive, but not really. But sometimes, we don’t always get what we have in mind.
What we got was…McDonald’s.
Billie was drinking his Dr. Pepper when he took out his cell phone.
“Hello? Yeah hold on.”
He handed the phone to me and I put down my burger.
“Hello?”
“Hi Addie.”
“Oh, hey Tre. What’s up?”
“Uh something’s kinda been bothering me.”
“What?”
“Can I speak to you face to face?”
“Sure…” I said cautiously.
“Can you meet me at the park in half an hour?”
“Um…Yeah I guess so.”
“Bye,” he said then hung up.
Oh God I’m scared.
“What was that about?” Billie asked.
“Nothing.”
We got home about 20 minutes later and I took the Viper keys almost to the door.
“Where are you going?” Billie asked. Damn him and his suspicions.
“Nowhere. Just taking a drive. Clear my mind.”
“Oh…Alright. Be safe.”
Damn he was so easy to lie to. Well, it wasn’t like I was going out to have an affair or anything.
I drove up to the park and saw Tre sitting with his back to me on the bench. I pulled over and got out of the car and he looked back. He didn’t look normal, not the Tre I knew.
“Hey Tre. You wanted to see me?”
“Uh, yeah. Have a seat.”
He turned forward now and didn’t look at me even as I sat next to him.
“What’s wrong?”
“Addie, there’s something you don’t know. About us.” I was suspicious because there hadn’t been ‘us’ referring to him and me in a long time.
I was running ideas through my mind. What if he had gotten pregnant or something. Finally some pregnant men around here! No, I would have seen him get fat. Or what if it’s some guy thing where they don’t get fat. Lucky! What if he was secretly a woman? Oh my God. I made love to a woman. No, then he/she wouldn’t have had a dick. Then what if he was transsexual? Or what if he was gay while we were dating. He just dated me so he could prove he wasn’t. Or…he could have cheated.
“What about us?”
“Remember when I came back from my grandma’s house and we hadn’t really seen each other all summer?”
Still not looking at me.
“Yeah. That was one of the worst summers.”
“Well, um, Addie. Something kind of happened at my grandma’s house,” he said weirdly.
He got his dick chopped off in a severe accident and he super-glued it back on. He and his grandma got a little drunk and fucked. He’s from the south and made out with his cousin.
“Something happened like what?” I asked.
“I’m so sorry, Addie. I was so stupid. But I hadn’t seen you all summer and it was the…the sexless summer of my life. Until I saw my ex-girlfriend. We got to talking and one thing kind of led to another.”
I didn’t care. We weren’t together anymore. That’s his problem he went to some South Dakota or wherever the hell he went and got an STD from Mt. AIDS. I really didn’t care.
I guess he thought I was going to beat him because he was kind of flinching and angling his body away from me.
“Thank you.”
He stopped flinching and finally looked at me.
“What? That’s all you have to say?”
“Yes. Because you told me the truth. That’s what I’ve always admired about you.”
Fuck. I can’t stop flirting even when I’m happily married.
“Addie, I-” Tre started and his lower lip was jutted out. I could tell he wasn’t going to finish his sentence even though I knew he was going to say what he always said.
“Tre, I love you, okay? But I want you to be my best friend and make me the happiest person in the world. Billie is the one for me, but I promise, Tre. I’ll always come to you, my ex, my former neighbor, my best friend.”
Tre and I hugged for this emotional moment. And for the first time in my life, I realized why I had gone out with Tre in the first place.