Dynamics of Chuck

“How much further can we go before we fill up with gas?”  Christine asked suddenly into the quiet.  The bums had been silent long enough that Kyle asked her to check on them and she’d reported they’d fallen asleep.

“Probably an hour or so, I think.” he replied.

“Good,” she made a small chuckle, “I’d rather we didn’t wake them up.”

“I know what you mean,” Kyle said nodding.  They both stared out at the passing desert.  Kyle reminisced on the way it felt coming in to Vegas.  Then, he’d been alone struggling to stay awake, keep himself entertained.  Now suddenly here he was with a car packed to capacity.

Christine said, “I never would have expected to be going there like this.”

“What do you mean?”  The dog gave a tremendous yawn for it’s small body and rolled itself into a different sleeping position on Christine’s lap.  It had pretty much taken ownership of her lap for the indefinite future.

“Well,” she said, “I don’t know if you noticed, Kyle, but there are two distinctly smelling bums sleeping against each other in the back of your car.”  She glanced back and Kyle looked in the mirror to see the way their heads were leaning against one another while they slept.  ”And then there’s you, Kyle.”

He grinned self-consciously, “What about me?”

“Wow, really fishing for it, huh?” she slapped him on the thigh and it felt like an electrode through the lower half of his body.  ”I don’t know what it is about you, Kyle.  It’s like a compulsion.”  She flicked the toy on his dashboard, “What is that thing?  It looks like a white, fleshy, tentacled alien.”

“It’s something like that,” he said, “I got it from Cherry’s.  It used to glow in the dark, which was all crazy at night when I’d go driving, but it’s been there for a while, ”  Kyle thought back, “Well most of high school actually.  I got it the first night I started driving with a license.  Ed and I went to celebrate our new found freedom.  For some reason, Ed always liked getting the kid’s meals that had toys.  This was the toy.  He figured it should sit prominently.”

“It’s a good fit,” she said, flicking it again to make it wobble, “Where’s Ed now?”

“He’s back home.”

“Why didn’t he come with you?”

“The thing is,” Kyle said thinking about the phone call with Ed the night he’d left, “I think–”, Kyle was frowning hard down the road trying to understand.  Ed had been suspended.  Kyle had ditched.  Both had been chewed out by their dads.  Both had made contact with the girls of their fascination.  Ed’s had been positive; Kyle’s negative.  Kyle had felt compelled to leave.  Ed had felt compelled to stay.  But, now that Kyle was thinking about it, the day must have been just as significant for Ed as it was for himself.  Everything was different after Thursday, for Ed and for Kyle.  Suddenly, Kyle felt a very strong desire to know what it was Ed was writing in his own half-note.

“I think he just really needed to stay.  And I really needed to go,” Kyle said finally.

“But,” Christine said, leaning in on her elbow, chin in her hand and fingers at her lips.  He could feel her breath warming his shoulder.  ”Didn’t you want to be there for each other?”

Kyle laughed, “No!” he said too easily.  But when he glanced at Christine he felt it necessary to explain, “I mean, sure it would have been nice. And I’m sure while he was being suspended back at home, we could have hung out…” he trailed off.  ”Okay, how about this?” he said, nodding at her satisfied to himself, “We never had any classes together.  In school, I mean.  We were never able to hang out.  Yet, we’d always chat at a locker or hang out in lunch detention, or at home–Anyway, nevermind,” Kyle said waving his hands, “What I mean is, we were already living most of our lives not in the same space,” he said pulling his hands off the wheel to hold them apart, “But we were still friends,” he said putting his hands back together, “in the space between,” he put his hands back on the wheel.  ”We are still friends.  And we will be when we see each other again, in a few days or so when I get back home.”

“Huh,” she said around her fingers, “You think so?  You’ve got it all figured out, then?”

“Well, I hadn’t,” he chuckled, “I hadn’t really thought about it until you asked.”

“Funny how that works,” she smiled at him and then continued to look without saying anything else for a moment.  Kyle was paying too much attention to really notice her staring at him, but he jumped a little when she spoke again and it came from still very close to his ear.  ”Kyle,” she said slowly, “have you been with a woman?”

He lurched and started looking around the car like a caged animal.

“Sorry!” she exclaimed, laughing, “no, that’s fine.  That pretty much answers it.”  Kyle made a small whimper of protest and tried to ignore his embarrassment at her laughing.  ”You do like women?” she asked, wryly.

“Yes,” Kyle said nodding vigorously, “of course!”

“Just checking,” she patted him on the shoulder placatingly.  Despite his embarrassment, he couldn’t help thinking how much he liked the sound of her laugh.  It was throaty and feminine, and she ended it with a small, hoarse gasp.  Hearing it, he felt like an addict.  He really wanted to hear it again.

“What about you?” he asked defensively.

“Me?” she asked dangerously, “Have I ever been with a woman?”

“No, er,” Kyle shook his head violently. “I meant–,” he halted his voice and didn’t start it up again, just chewed his lip and continued to drive.

She laughed again.  There it was, he thought, not much caring that she was still laughing at him, so long as she was laughing near him, where he could enjoy it.  ”Sorry, Kyle.  I may feel comfortable driving around with you, but I’m not going there with you, yet,” she patted his thigh again, “Besides, I’m a bit worried about how you’d take it, honestly.”  She chuckled again.

“Aw, come on!” said Mike from the back.