Take It With Me
Is There Any Way Out Of This Dream?
Twenty minutes later, Tom was sitting in a seedy dive bar, listening to bad Eagles cover tracks, sipping on a bottle of stout. The girl – Kitty, he remembered her name was – sat beside him, stirring a cold cup of coffee and muttering to herself about something. He had offered to buy her a beer, but she had declined, saying that she “wasn’t old enough”. He had told her that it didn’t matter, and that she needed a drink as much as he did, but she still refused. Well, whatever she wanted. He needed a drink. His heart was still pounding hard, and his mind spun. He didn’t think Kitty was lying. She had nothing to gain by it, and that little black phone thing spoke louder than any words. But how could she be telling the truth? How could she have come back from 2010? Hell, he couldn’t even wrap his mind around the idea of 2010. It was just too far away. And even then, what was she going to do? He could hear his mother in his mind, telling him to be a gentleman and take her in; take care of her until they figured out what they were going to do. He knew he should listen to that voice inside his head. But how could he be expected to take care of a girl while on tour? There was a reason musicians had one night stands. It was hard to take care of someone when you lived in a bus, going from hotel to hotel. He looked over at her. She was still stirring that coffee, swirling the spoon around with a small tan hand.
“So, uh… what do you do?” he asked. She was silent for a moment, and he opened his mouth to repeat his question when she answered.
“I go to college. I’m in the pre-med program at Mississippi College. I want to be an obstetrician. Before I… uh… came here, I was home for Christmas break.”
“Oh. Well, um, that’s nice. Where do you live?” he questioned her, thinking it was kind of nice to talk about something other than ‘why the hell am I here with you?’
“Jackson. It’s nice. A big city. My dad is a professor at a University there. My mom is a chef. And I have five brothers and one sister. So… yeah. There’s some information about my family, and you didn’t even have to ask.”
Tom nearly spit out his coffee.
“Five brothers and one sister? Your parents have seven kids? Wow…” he sputtered, laughing awkwardly. Kitty cut her eyes over at him.
“My parents are Catholic. No birth control allowed.”
Tom got real quiet.
“Oh.”
They both laughed a little awkwardly, at a loss for what else to do, then all was silent again. Tom went back to making rational arguments with his mother’s voice. After a few minutes, his mama’s voice came out victorious, as he knew it would.
“So… I guess you should come back with me. To the hotel, I mean. And not like that. We’ll have to find you a place to stay until we can… uh, get you back home,” Tom finally said, kicking himself for offering after he did. Kitty smiled wanly.
“Thanks. Here’s to hoping I get home soon. I just hope it's a bad dream and I find my way out soon.”
Tom didn’t have anything to say to that. He merely waved the bartender over.
“Another stout for me. And my friend here will have whatever she likes. Go on, kid,” he said, trying to smile at the girl. She shot him a look.
“A glass of Merlot, please.”
“So, uh… what do you do?” he asked. She was silent for a moment, and he opened his mouth to repeat his question when she answered.
“I go to college. I’m in the pre-med program at Mississippi College. I want to be an obstetrician. Before I… uh… came here, I was home for Christmas break.”
“Oh. Well, um, that’s nice. Where do you live?” he questioned her, thinking it was kind of nice to talk about something other than ‘why the hell am I here with you?’
“Jackson. It’s nice. A big city. My dad is a professor at a University there. My mom is a chef. And I have five brothers and one sister. So… yeah. There’s some information about my family, and you didn’t even have to ask.”
Tom nearly spit out his coffee.
“Five brothers and one sister? Your parents have seven kids? Wow…” he sputtered, laughing awkwardly. Kitty cut her eyes over at him.
“My parents are Catholic. No birth control allowed.”
Tom got real quiet.
“Oh.”
They both laughed a little awkwardly, at a loss for what else to do, then all was silent again. Tom went back to making rational arguments with his mother’s voice. After a few minutes, his mama’s voice came out victorious, as he knew it would.
“So… I guess you should come back with me. To the hotel, I mean. And not like that. We’ll have to find you a place to stay until we can… uh, get you back home,” Tom finally said, kicking himself for offering after he did. Kitty smiled wanly.
“Thanks. Here’s to hoping I get home soon. I just hope it's a bad dream and I find my way out soon.”
Tom didn’t have anything to say to that. He merely waved the bartender over.
“Another stout for me. And my friend here will have whatever she likes. Go on, kid,” he said, trying to smile at the girl. She shot him a look.
“A glass of Merlot, please.”