Like Phantoms Forever

“Emmy.” Wes dragged my name out.
“Yeeeesssss?” I said, not taking my eyes off the road. Gerard was flipping through the radio stations trying to find something decent to listen to, which wasn’t easy.
“I’m hungry. And so is Frankie.” Wes leaned forward so her head was poking between the seats. “Can we get food?”
“Yeah, we’re close to the best place to eat ever anyway.” I handed my phone to Gerard. “Press number 3 and hold it down until it starts dialing.” He did as I asked and then held the phone to my ear. “Amber? We’re stopping at Taco Spot for lunch.”
“YES THANK GOD I WAS STARVING!” Amber had to be fed regularly.
I couldn’t help but laugh at her. “See you in a bit.” I turned the corner and pulled into the back lot of the restaurant.
“What kind of Mexican joint is called Taco Spot?” Frank wanted to know.
“The best kind of Mexican joint. It’s delicious, trust me.” I led the way into the little hole in the wall that was the restaurant. Amber and I had to help them order and soon we were chowing down on the food. I’d ordered a chile relleno, which is a pepper stuffed with cheese and then fried. Yes, if I keep eating this my arteries will get clogged, but it’s soooooo good.
“So we’re going to a bar after this?” Amber asked, stealing a sip of my iced tea.
“Umm…” I glanced at Gerard. “Is that cool Gee?”
“What, going to a bar?” He said, looking up from his plate.
“Yeah. Is that gonna be okay for you?” I knew he’d gotten sober, thanks to my Google stalking.
“It’s totally fine Em.” He reached over and squeezed my hand.
“I don’t usually drink when I go either, so we can be on the sober train together.” I developed a tad of a drinking problem when I was in college. It’s like that Frida Kahlo quote: “I tried to drown my sorrows but the bastards learned to swim.”
“She’s usually my designated driver.” Amber leaned her head against my shoulder. “Unfortunately I have an early class tomorrow so I can’t drink as much.”
“What class?” Mikey asked.
“I’m a kickboxing instructor.” Amber replied. “I’ve tried to teach Emmy but all she does is dodge.”
“If you were me and you were fighting you, you’d dodge too.” That was such a tortured sentence. My professor is sensing a disturbance in the force right now probably.
“For an author, you have such a way with words.” Amber laughed.
“I saw you on TV the other day actually.” Wes said. “I’m so proud of you.”
“Thanks.” I grinned. “I’m proud of me too.”
“And oh so modest.” Amber rolled her eyes.
“Emmy, you and I are coming here to eat every day.” Ray said, leaning back in his chair. His plate was completely empty.
“I take it you liked your food.” I giggled. Bob had cleared his plate as well.
“Well duh. This food’s great.” Mikey was sitting across from me, which wasn’t helping my stuttering heart.
“Glad you like it. Now back to my house so we can relax before we go out.” I said, finishing off the last of my food. We all piled back into the cars and headed for my house.
Wes dove into my closet, seeing what clothes I had. I crossed my fingers and prayed that she wouldn’t go into the very back of my closet, where I kept the shirts Mikey had given me before I left. I hadn’t had the heart to throw them away. I still wore the lock necklace from time to time.
“Damn, pretty much everything in here is pajama pants and sweatpants.” Wes said, still in my closet.
“I don’t leave the house that much.” I shrugged, even though she couldn’t see me.
“Aha! Something sexy!” She came out, holding a dress I’d worn exactly once.
“You want me to wear that?” I said, looking up from the blog post I’d been reading. I’m a little creepy and I have a Tumblr so I can see what people say about my books on there. I actually read the fanfiction that people write about my books. It’s a good feeling, that people love what I’ve written so much that they are inspired to write their own.
“Well yeah. I’m gonna go shower and then I’ll come and do your makeup, kay?” She was out the door before I could remind her that I never wore makeup. So I opened the playlist I kept on my computer and started to read a fanfiction that I’d bookmarked.
I’d barely gotten through the third chapter when Wes busted down my door and almost dragged me over to the bathroom to do my makeup.
Ten minutes later I had one red, watery eye from where I’d moved and she’d poked me in the eye with the pencil, but some amazing eye makeup. I put my dress on, ran a comb through my hair and slipped on my favorite ballet flats.
I could not be bothered to wear heels, a sentiment that neither Wes nor Amber agreed with, but soon we were on our way to the bar. We grabbed a booth and Wes and Frank went up to the bar with the drink orders.
Gee and I were sitting on the end, drinking water while everyone else was having a beer.
“How did you know about my getting sober?” Gerard asked, leaning towards me.
“I Google stalk you guys periodically.” I shrugged. “I’m proud of you for doing it in seventeen days. Mine took four months.”
“You were an alcoholic?” He looked surprised.
“Picked up the habit in college. I wrote an entire novel drunk. I’ve never released it. The file’s just sitting on my computer.”
“I’d like to read it.”
“We’re supposed to do a graphic novel, remember?” I poked his side.
“That’s right! We should get on that soon.” He grinned. We carried our own little conversation on, separate from the others.
“How do you not have a lady friend yet Gerard?” I asked, wiping my eyes from tears of laughter.
“Haven’t met the right lady yet.” He shrugged. “Maybe she’s in California.”
“Who knows?” I changed the subject and we kept talking until Amber realized it was a little after midnight and we needed to get going.
So we went home and said our goodnights.
My mind was still on Gerard as I went to sleep.