Green Beans and Reminiscent Things

Tour was over with. Well, at least for the Christmas holidays and whatnot. Tonight was the twenty-third and to celebrate the oncoming slaughter of holiday cheer, Moose threw a Christmas-themed party at his apartment in place of the usual end-of-tour, get-drunk-off-your-ass-and-do-anything-else-you-want-to-do party. There was still alcohol, soda, popcorn, chips, candy, and more alcohol present. I hadn’t taken a sip out of my own plastic cup and its contents had become less and less chilled by the minute, even with crushed ice swimming along the edges. I leaned against the island in the kitchen, staring at nothing particular in my solitude. I came in the kitchen to get away form Kennedy’s drunk pranks, Pat’s loud snoring, and every other party goers’ antics. I was only here to socialize with my sober hometown friends, whose number was getting smaller by the minute with all of the different beverages lying around.

I snapped my head to peripherally peer over my shoulder at whoever opened one of the tall, slim cabana doors and joined me in the kitchen. From what I gathered, it was a girl, but I couldn’t care less if it were someone I knew or someone I’d never shot a glance to. I gradually turned my head back and kept my bright, unaltered eyes on the shrinking ice cubes in my drink. I didn’t look up until after she spoke.

“How was tour, John?” Temperance. I should’ve guessed by the glimpse of her short stature and shoulder-length maple syrup waves. I’d already seen her earlier. What was a nod of familiarity, a hug, and a few words was all we exchanged. She was the last person I wanted to see or speak with.

“Fine,” I meekly replied. I gave a short huff and habitually brushed away my bangs from my acne-spotted face.

“You okay, Shrimp?” she asked with a slight snicker, walking over and hopping up to sit on the island. She picked up what I guessed to be a Diet Coke that she had momentarily set down and flicked the aluminum shell. I looked up and found her gaze and the brand of soda my random thoughts had suggested. She had a tiny smirk on her tiny lips… everything so tiny about her. Except her irises. Large and blue, with both its inner and outer edges shaded green. As I switched my gaze to the floor, I took a glance over her Voldemort shirt and dark blue drain pipes folded at her calves, finished with her bare feet.

“Uh…” I covered my mouth with a loose fist and cleared my throat. “Yeah, sure, Temp.”

“You don’t seem like it…” she concluded, setting her soda back on the island. I looked up from the floor and saw her eyebrows furrowed in concern and her fingers fidgeting with the promise ring on her left hand – she couldn’t keep her eyes off of it. She always did that when she felt nervous.

I set my hand on top of her habit and rubbed her twitching fingers with my thumb. “I’m good, Tempe. I promise. I’m just… tired.” I gathered up a yawn in my chest and let it out. “See? Just tired.”

“Then you shouldn’t be drinking depressants,” she added, wearily eyeing my cup.

“Nothing to worry about. I haven’t even taken a sip,” I added, catching her look of doubt. “See?” I showed her my cup, barely with an ice cube left floating, and dumped it into the sink. “I think I could use a soda anyway.”

I slid past her towards the fridge, pulled out an orange soda, turned around, and kicked the door closed, heading back to my spot next to Temperance. I cracked open the can and took a couple of large gulps of the extremely sweet drink, wiping my lips on the sleeve of my white Henley. I separated my lips from the drink for a breath, but before I could continue the cleansing of my palate, Tempe caught my arm, stole my drink, and brought down our clasped hands.

“What happened?” she asked, letting go of my hand, jumping off the island, and walking towards the sink on the other side. She took a rag hanging on the edge of the counter and ran a bit of warm water over it before ringing the excess drops out. She came back and started to dab on my sleeve where the orange of my soda had stained it above the cuff. I tugged nervously on the ends of my black vest as she continued on dabbing. “What’d they say?”

“No, it’s just…” I sighed, shrugged my shoulders, and set my unoccupied hand on the island to lean on. I made eye contact with Temp while she cleaned away, still facing forward. “You know how Pat’s just got a girlfriend?” She nodded and continued to dab. “They just started getting rowdy and stuff and asked when I was going to get one too. Well, not really asked,” I mumbled. “More like condescendingly joked.”

“Ah,” she muttered and left for the sink.

I turned my head and kept my gaze on her. “And they all know that… Y-You know.” She tossed the rag into the sink and came back to my side of the island, surprising me by slinging her arms around my neck (rather difficultly) and giving me a tight hug. I gently hugged her back and snuck in a breath of her calming scent of rain and fabric softener while my fingers automatically ran over her hair.

“You know you’re not the only one who’s never been kissed,” she mumbled into my shoulder. “And who knows, Shrimp? You might get the best-looking girlfriend that can actually cook something, like home-made casserole, or spaghetti instead of microwaveable box foods or… something.”

“But I’ve turned out fine with microwave food for about three-quarters of the year.” Tempe looked up at me and caught my eye. After a few moments of a blank stare, she smirked and set her head back on my shoulder. “Yeah, I could sure use some casserole right now…” I mumbled, remembering Tempe’s mother’s recipe for green bean casserole.

“Let’s go to my house, then,” she mutely muttered into my chest.

“W-What?” I stuttered, baffled, stepping out of the hug and placing my hands on her shoulders.

“Yeah.” She smirked. “My mother was preparing one for dinner when I left. You know how she likes to cook them during the holidays, especially when the kids are home from college.” She let out a heavy sigh while lifting her hands from my neck and setting them onto my wrists still loosely draped on her shoulders. “And I’m sure Moose wouldn’t mind.” She let out a stifled laugh and nodded towards the direction of the small back yard. “He’s currently trying to win Kenny over in beer pong.”

We both grinned, Tempe’s tiny lips thinning out and showing her teeth. “Well, I guess. I-I mean, all I’ve had today was Taco Bell for lunch.”

“Taco Bell?” she repeated in disbelief. She smirked even wider and rolled her large irises. “Oh, yeah. You definitely need some casserole in you real quick, Shrimp. I mean, it’s been, like-”

“Two years,” I quietly interrupted. I took my hands from her shoulders and stuck them into my jeans’ pockets, licking my hardly chapped lips. “Yeah, uh…” I took a hand out of my pocket and brushed the bangs from my pimpled face: my skin tended to break out more during the winter months. “Sorry I, um, you know…” I sighed and brushed my bangs again, holding them to the side. “Sorry I didn’t make it last year. Tour and such, only a couple of days-”

“John, it’s okay. Your job is music; no one expects more from you.” She gave me a half-smile. “You were missed, that’s all you need to think about.”

I licked my lips again and attempted to continue my self-depreciation. “B-But-”

“C’mon,” she said, grabbing my hand that I had left holding back my limp bangs. “Let’s eat some dinner.” Tempe led me a few steps before I stopped her from walking any further.

“B-but who’s driving?” I spit out the excuse.

“No need to worry about that. Just bring your keys so none of your drunk friends decide to go joy riding.” She then tugged harder on my hand, quickly convincing me to join her for a late dinner.

We quickly ran trough the kitchen, out into the living room, past shouts from party goers that nearly woke up Pat, and into the extremely tight foyer. Temperance slipped on her worn flip flops and unhooked her keys from her belt loop. Before we slipped out the door, she asked if I had my keys. I patted my hip where the key chain was hooked to my own belt loop and wrapped my arm around her shoulder, leading our smiles and warm bodies out to the cold Arizona air.