Darling by Brad Hodson

accident or design.
    Maybe it is a Smart Thing, maybe it isn’t. But you need to stop getting pushed around.
    He ground his teeth together and stared into his coffee.
    It’s what Dennis would do.
    Is it? Would Dennis go in there and break that guy’s face just to prove a point? Mike doubted it. Dennis knew what a Smart Thing was. Those guys never would have talked to Dennis like that, anyway. People didn’t push Dennis around. They didn’t laugh behind his back.
    Why did he care what Dennis would do, anyway?
    Headlights blinded him. He blinked. Turned his head. A green Saturn rolled up to a stop in front of him. The trunk popped open. Someone got out. Mike rubbed his eyes and stood.
    “Hey, Mike.” It was Eileen. “Thought you might want to take a ride in the Saturn, since Dennis said you were interested in it.”
    “Oh. Yeah. Sure.”
    “Hey, man.” Dennis grabbed Mike’s things and threw them into the trunk. “Wanna talk about it?”
    “Maybe later. I’m just so goddamned pissed.”
    Dennis climbed into the backseat. “Take shotgun. Eileen can tell you about the car.”
    Mike nodded and climbed in.
    “Buckle-up,” she said. “We’ll take back roads. Nice night for it.”
    “Sure,” he said.
    As she pulled away he glanced inside of the coffee shop and saw the ballplayers laughing.
    Laughing at me behind my back.
    No one’s laughing at you, he told himself. Probably telling jokes. Calm down.
    “So it’s got eighty thousand miles on it. Air conditioner works. So does the CD player.”
    “Why are you selling it?”
    Dennis leaned forward. “She’s getting a hybrid.”
    She laughed. “It’s silly, I know. But with gas prices and everything…besides, I want to do my part for the environment, ya know?”
    He nodded agreement, but he didn’t know. In fact, Mike didn’t give two shits about the environment.
    “It’s an automatic, too,” she went on. “Dennis said you’ve never driven before, so it’ll be a lot easier to learn on.”
    Dennis said, huh? Does Dennis often talk about me when I’m not around?
    Jesus, Mike. Get a hold of yourself. The world isn’t out to get you, you know?
    It sure feels like it.
    “…and airbags.” She patted her steering wheel.
    “Cool,” he said. He’d missed most of what she’d said, but didn’t care. It had four wheels and would keep him from taking the bus or having his parents drive him everywhere. That’s all he cared about. A little autonomy. A little solitude. A little control. Not a lot of these things, just a tiny amount. That wasn’t too much to ask, was it?
    His Dad’s voice echoed in his ears: “A car’s a big responsibility for a man.” But everyone he knew had a car. How big of a responsibility could it be?
    “How do I get insurance?”
    Dennis leaned forward again, wedging himself between the seats so he could face Mike. “After you get the title and registration in your name, we’ll call my insurance company. It’s easy to set up.”
    Title and registration?
    He opened his mouth to ask, and then thought better of it. He’d ask Dennis later, when Eileen wasn’t around. No point in letting her know how unfamiliar he was with cars.
    “So, twelve hundred, huh?”
    “Yep.” She turned the radio on and tuned through several stations until she found one she liked. She tapped her fingers against the steering wheel . “Twelve hundred.”
    “Deal,” he said.
    She looked at him, her eyebrows raised. “You sure?”
    He smiled. “Yeah.”
     
    * * *
     
    Dennis flicked on a lamp and tilted it to shine on Mike’s face. “Oh, yeah. It’s swelling.”
    “Great.”
    He moved the lamp back into place and walked into the kitchen. After Eileen had left, Mike told Dennis every detail of his fight with his parents. None of it had surprised him, especially the punch. He just hoped things weren’t irreparable between Mike and his folks. He knew how bad that could feel.
    He grabbed a bag of snap peas from the freezer and tossed it to Mike.