Remind Me That We'll Always Have Each Other

I awoke to John gently shaking my arm.

“We’re gunna grab something to eat.”

I yawned and sat up, taking time to look around at my surroundings. We were parked outside of a Waffle House, which seemed to be in the middle of nowhere.

“How long have we been driving for?”

He smiled, “About three hours; now, how about some pancakes, babe?”

I gave him a smile as we both crawled out of the backseat of the car, and stepped onto the dusty gravel. I was hungry, I admit, but there was no way that I was going to even think about touching anything in that restaurant. One waffle alone, was somewhere around 315 calories, and that was without syrup or any additional toppings.

“Kayde?” John called my name, causing me to snap out of my daze.

“Hm?”

He reached for my hand, and laced our fingers together, “Let’s go inside?”

I laughed, “Oh, right,”

We walked inside the stuffy building, and the smell of coffee and waffle batter hit my nostrils. John led us to a booth in the back of the restaurant, and we slid in.

“Morning sleepyhead,” Pat smiled at me.

I laughed, “Morning, Pat,”

Garret let out a loud yawn and I could tell that he was the most tired out of all of us. After all, he had been the one driving.

“What’re you gunna get?” Kenny asked John.

He shrugged and picked up his menu, “Waffles?”

Kenny laughed, “Smartass,”

I picked up my menu, carefully, and felt my stomach tighten. I glanced at Jared and noticed he was pouring sugar packets into his coffee. Sixteen calories . . . 32 . . . 48 –

“Kaydence,”

I looked at John, who was holding his menu up at me.

“You know what you want?”

I nodded my head and smiled, “Yeah, I think so,”

Our waitress came to the table and took each of our orders. I was the last to tell her what I wanted.

“And for you, honey?”

“One egg, cooked over – easy, and two pieces of wheat toast.”

She wrote the order down in her pad, “Is that it?”

I nodded my head.

John looked at me, “You sure that’s all you want, babe? We probably won’t be able to stop again for awhile.”

I nodded my head again, “Positive,”

She took our menus and excused herself. John wrapped his arm around my shoulders, and I leaned my head into his neck.

“You okay?” He whispered so only I could hear him.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Why?”

He shrugged, “Just making sure. You’d tell me if something was wrong, right?”

“Of course, John; I don’t get why you’re worried, though.”

He sighed and didn’t say anything else. I felt a nauseating feeling growing in the pit of my stomach, and I knew it wasn’t from the smell of the plate of food on the table next to us; it was from knowing that I was causing John discomfort.

“Hey, Kaydence?”

I looked at Pat, “What?”

I followed his gaze and noticed it was fixed on a stuffed toy machine. I laughed, “What do you want?”

“Got fifty cents?”

I sat up straight and dug into the pockets of my jeans. I pulled out three quarters, and two dimes.

“Here,”

“You’re the best!”

I laughed, “Yeah, sure.”

Jared and Garret had to stand up, in order for him to get out of the booth, and he shot off towards the machine.

John shook his head and chuckled. It took only a few more minutes for our food to be brought out to us, and for Pat to return empty handed.

“Hell yeah! This looks delicious!” Kenny said as he gazed at his plate of waffles, eggs, bacon, and toast.

I picked up my fork slowly, and looked at my small plate. I was really going to have to do this . . .

“Aah, it’s like a little piece of Heaven!” Jared said as he chewed on his waffle.

We all laughed, and I dug my fork into my egg, watching the yolk spill itself on the plate.

“That’s disgusting,” Pat commented.

I glared at him, “It tastes good,”

He shook his head and laughed, “Whatever you say, Kaydence, whatever you say!”

I put the fork to my mouth, and closed my eyes as I took a bite of the egg. It slid down my throat with no problem, and I hated the feeling of knowing that it would soon be excess baggage on my hips and thighs.

“Want a bite?” John asked as he held a piece of his bacon up to my face.

The smell hit me like a brick, and I had to swallow hard, to resist the temptation.

“No thanks, babe,”

He shrugged, “Okay,”

I picked up a piece of my plain wheat toast, and nibbled on the edges, looking around as all of the guys stuffed their faces. Why couldn’t I do that? Why couldn’t I eat as much as I wanted, without feeling guilty?

Fifteen minutes later, everyone was finished with their food.

“We better go take a leak before we hit the road!” Garret spoke up.

All the guys nodded their head in unison and we slid out of the booth, one by one.

“You have to use the bathroom?” John asked me.

I nodded my head, “Yeah, I do.”

Perfect. This was exactly what I needed. I walked by myself to the restroom, and thank God, there was only one worker washing her hands in the sink. She gave me a small smile, which I returned, before heading into the last stall. I waited until I heard the door shut, before crouching over the toilet bowl, and closing my eyes. I raised my finger to my mouth, and slided it to the back of my throat, feeling my uvula as I did so. It took only a moment for a loud burp to escape my mouth, before my food did.

_______________________________________________

“Ready?” John asked me as soon as I came out of the bathroom.

My eyes widened in a bit of surprise.

“Yeah, let’s go.” I grabbed his hand and pulled us out of the restaurant, hoping to escape the disgusting feeling that was sweeping over me.

“Who’s driving?” Kenny asked.

“Not me!” Garret yelled and dove into the backseat.

“Not me, either!” Pat said and dove in next to Garret.

Kenny looked at Jared and John, “Paper, rock, scissors?”

They nodded their head in unison, and I watched as they played their little game.
John chose rock, Jared paper, and Kenny chose rock as well. Jared was out.

“1, 2, 3!”

This time, Kenny had scissors and John went with paper.

“Damnit!”

Kenny laughed and went to sit in the back of the van, “Kaydence, you can sit up front!”

I smiled, “Thanks,”

John mumbled profanities as he walked over to the driver’s side of the car, and I got in on the passenger’s side.

“Don’t kill us, please!” Pat yawned.

John flashed him the finger, “Shut the hell up!”

I slapped his hand, “Don’t be mean to Pat!”

“He was insulting me,”

I laughed, “Awe, poor baby.” I planted a small kiss on his cheek, and I could see the left side of his mouth slide up, no doubt, he was smiling.

“Please don’t distract John, Kay. He’s not very attentative as it is.” Kenny laughed.

I smiled, “You’re all so mean!”

John pulled out of the parking lot, and out onto the road. I turned up the radio, and ‘One Headlight’ by The Wallflowers was playing. Almost at once, we all began to sing.

“Hey, come on, try a little . . . Nothing is forever . . . There’s got to be something better than in the middle . . . But me and Cinderella, we put it all together . . . We can drive it home, with one headlight . . .”

John looked at me and smiled, causing my heart to fill with pure bliss.

“You know The Wallflowers?”

I nodded my head, “’Course, who doesn’t?”

He laughed, “Now I know you’re the perfect girl.”

I gave him a smile, but deep down, I knew those words were nothing but lies. I, was by no means, perfect at all. If I hadn’t already thrown up my food, I would’ve done so right now.