Fly the Rain by Robert Burton Robinson Page A

trying to get her back. So, Edsel had
continued to wait.
    He tried not to dwell on the fact that they
could have had all those years together. Going to bed with her
every night. Not just for the sex. When you love someone as deeply
as he loved Angie, the physical part could be fantastic.
Mind-blowing. But as much as he wanted to make love to her, he also
wanted to just sleep in the same bed with her. Wake up every
morning with her.
    Edsel loved working on cars, but he would
have been lost without his daily dose of Angie. Even during the
years she was married to Clifford, Edsel still got to see her a few
minutes every day.
    But that wasn’t enough
anymore. It didn’t have to be enough—if he would
just tell her he loved her. And that he wanted to marry her. He
felt a chill run up his spine. He had not said it in years—even to
himself. But it was true. Edsel Torkman wanted to marry Angie
Silverstern with all his heart.
    Tomorrow would be the day. He would tell her
before they went to Ralph’s birthday party.
    **********
    “ Look at them,” said
Billy-Eye. “They’re all pushing and shoving, trying to get right up
close to the stage.”
    “ Somebody might get hurt,”
said Craig. “Maybe we’d better break it up.”
    “ I don’t think we could,
even if we wanted to. And believe me—we don’t want to. This is why they
came.”
    It was 10:55 PM, and Orange Puke was
nearly at the end of their second set. The Buttard boys had
calculated that scheduling the first set at 7:00 would get the kids
there early, and the second set at 10:00 would keep them hanging
around. Nobody wanted to miss the final song of the
night— Orange Puke’s signature song : “Puking My Guts Out (All Over
You).”
    A few of the kids were
wearing caps. One girl was in a raincoat. But most appeared ready
and willing to bear the full brunt of the inevitable vomit shower.
It might as well have been real vomit as far as many
mothers were concerned. Those orange stains would never come out in
the wash.
    “ I know how they do it,”
yelled a 14-year-old boy into his friend’s ear.
    “ How?”
    “ Remember last night when
they tilted their heads back?”
    “ Yeah.”
    “ That’s when they did it.
That’s when they poured the stuff in their mouths.”
    “ No. We would have seen
that.”
    “ I’m telling you. Watch
them. They must have a bottle hidden under their coats.”
    “ I don’t think
so.”
    The song was almost over. The three
guitarists stepped to the edge of the stage, as they swung their
guitars to their backs.
    “ Okay. Watch,” shouted the
boy. “Here they go.”
    The three women tilted their heads back.
Then they hurled on top of the crowd. Girls screamed. Boys yelled.
Everyone scattered.
    “ Yuk,” said one of the
girls.
    “ Isn’t it cool?” Her friend
wiped the orange goo off her own face.
    “ This place is a mess,” said
Billy-Eye. “Worse than last night. We’ve got coke and popcorn and
candy wrappers all over the floor. And now we’ve got puke.” He
looked around. “And I think that over there is real puke.”
    “ But it’s worth it. Right?”
Craig smiled proudly.
    “ I hope so,” said
Billy-Eye.
    “ Definitely,” said Lenny as
he walked up. We’re nearly out of candy. And we had a ton of it.
We’ll have to make a run to Sam’s tomorrow, so we’ll have some for
tomorrow night.”
    “ How about the video games?”
said Billy-Eye.
    “ I don’t how much we’ve
taken in, but the kids have been playing them non-stop. So, I think
we’re good,” said Lenny.
    “ I just hope this vomit
gimmick doesn’t wear off too soon,” said Billy-Eye. “When the kids
get tired the band throwing up on them we’ll find out if they
actually like their music. ”
    **********
    Greg was sitting on their hotel room bed in
his underwear when Cynthia emerged from the bathroom. He assumed
she would slither out into the dimly lit room wearing her most
skimpy lingerie. So, he was surprised to see her in one of