Redwood Summer Chapter 5

Jason’s eyes slowly opened in the early dawn darkness. He stared up into the dimness and began to make out a ceiling. He looked around and found himself on a living room couch with Christine huddled up against him asleep. He turned toward her, then felt the weight of a hangover and his eyes slowly shut. His alcohol blunted head drifted in and out of consciousness. He felt worn out but blissful in the hazy aftermath of the party.

An hour or two later Jason tiredly awakened and slowly looked around the living room. Silhouettes of furniture and sleeping people materialized out of the obscurity, and the image in the room gradually came into focus. People were passed out and sleeping soundly on other furniture and the floor, some with blankets or sleeping bags, others covered by their jackets, while the approaching morning light bordered the curtains.

Jason gazed at Christine as she slept. Her mouth was slightly open and hair was strewn about her face. He carefully picked up the strands of hair and brushed them back. She moved round a little and her eyes slowly opened. She looked at him and smiled sleepily. “How you feeling?” he asked quietly.

“Tired,” Christine said just as quiet.

Jason kissed her. “Even hungover you’re beautiful.”

“Thanks.”

“We need to go somewhere alone,” he said as he kissed her some more.

“Not now.” She closed her eyes and tried to sleep.

Jason continued to look upon Christine affectionately, then noticed a rhythmic sound coming from the floor. He looked down and saw Randy sleeping next to the couch. He was breathing coarsely through his mouth and a small blanket lay across him. Jason marveled at how calm and peaceful he looked as he remembered his drunken, belligerent behavior the night before.

The orange glow of the rising sun was permeating the room with increasing light. Sometime after mid morning people began to awaken. They stretched and shifted around on the furniture and the floor. A couple of people got up and began to walk around. Brian went into the kitchen and Jason could hear him looking through the cabinets and finding something. He then heard Brian move around the collection of empty bottles and cups that were covering the kitchen counter followed by the sound of the water being poured into a coffee maker. The steady flow of the water dripping into coffee enticed Jason.

“Man,” Stu said tiredly, “that was some party.”

“Oh, my head,” Mike said as his head sank into his hands.

Someone opened the curtains and a shock of light flooded the living the room. People cursed the sudden brightness as they tossed aside their covers and slowly picked themselves up from couches, chairs, and off the floor until everyone was up and slowly moving around except Randy. He crawled up off the floor and onto the couch vacated by Jason and Christine.

“Afraid of the light?” Jason said to Randy jokingly then wandered into the kitchen. Brian and Dwayne were looking through the cupboards, pulling out coffee cups, and setting them on the counter among the clutter. “Looks like another successful party,” Jason said to them.

“Sure was,” Dwayne said while he poured a cup of coffee. “Hey, did you see those girls Drew was hitting on? They looked high school age.” He put the pot back on its burner and made room for Brian and Jason.

“What were they doing at our party?” Jason asked.

“Maybe they found out from your brother,” Brian said to Jason as he poured himself a coffee.

“Probably,” Jason laughed. “But we can’t be having the jail bait. What if the cops had showed up because of the noise and saw them?”

“Drew needs to work on his approach anyhow,” Brian remarked.

“I know,” Dwayne agreed. “His approach causes women to depart.”

They laughed as Jason grabbed the pot and poured himself a coffee. He took a sip and felt the hot liquid hit go down and wake him up some more.

Stu entered the kitchen. “We made coffee,” Brian said to him.

“Tomato juice for me,” Stu said as he went to the refrigerator.

“Whatever cures you,” Brian said.

“Another beer might help,” Jason suggested.

“Yeah,” Dwayne agreed. “Hair of the dog.”

“No fuckin’ way,” Stu rejected as he poured tomato juice into an empty beer cup. “Alcohol is the last thing I need right now. I need a break from it.”

“Sure, and this time you mean it,” Dwayne kidded. Everyone laughed as Jason wandered back into the living room. People were slowly moving about, straightening up the room, and talking about the previous night.

“Man, that party was insane,” Mike reminisced.

“Yeah, a little too insane,” Andrea said.

“Did you see Eric?” Alex said. “What a mess.”

“How about Jim,” Terry said, “stumbling around all over the place.”

“As usual,” Raquel added.

“Everyone was trashed,” Stu said with a sweep of his hand, “even Greg.”

“That schoolboy?” Dwayne said with a laugh. “I don’t remember seeing him here.”

“Man, I can’t remember shit,” Curtis said.

“Weren’t you on keg duty?” Jason asked.

“Oh yeah,” Curtis recalled. “Must be why I can’t remember.”

Todd emerged from the hallway and appeared a little more awake than everyone else. “Morning, everyone,” he announced.

“Well you’re looking chipper,” Mike observed.

“Best birthday party ever I ever had,” Todd declared. He walked over to Randy on the couch and shoved him with his foot. “Wake up, you maniac!”

“In a sec,” Randy replied sleepily and turned into the couch.

“You’re lucky the neighbors didn’t call the cops on your ass,” Todd said to Randy.

“I think most of the neighbors were here,” Dwayne pointed out.

“See?” Randy said. “I wasn’t the only one being loud.”

“But you were the loudest,” Andrea reminded.

“Yeah, what a night,” Randy said as he slowly moved himself upright until he sat up.

“And then you got into a screaming match with Gina,” Andrea further accused.

“Huh?”

“You and Gina,” Raquel berated, “the two of you got into a very loud argument. Don’t you remember?”

“Really?” Randy said innocently.

“Yeah, really!” Andrea snapped. “How fucking drunk were you?”

“No more than anyone else,” Randy deflected.

“She was in tears!”

“Damn.” Randy flopped back down on the couch. “All we were doing was talking, and then out of nowhere she started tearing me a new one.”

“Talking?” Todd said. “You two were louder than the party, which was pretty loud.”

“Yeah,” Terry agreed, “our quarters game was interrupted.”

“And Gina was really hurt,” Raquel emphasized.

“Well I’m hurt, too,” Randy said pityingly.

“Please!” Andrea called out. “Can’t you think of anyone besides yourself?”

“Seriously,” Randy said as he held up his hands defensively, “she yelled at me first.”

“Well what did you say to her?” Mike asked.

Randy appeared to search his memory. “You know what, I just don’t remember,” he admitted. “I think I blacked out when she started yelling.”

“So she just started yelling out of nowhere,” Mike said skeptically.

“Maybe it’s her time of the month,” Randy supposed.

“What can she possibly see in you?” Liz said contemptuously.

“You too? Damn,” Randy said wearily. “Look, no need to stress. Gina and I will make up, we’ve been through this before.” He looked around. “So where’d she go anyways?”

“She left with Tina,” Andrea said, “bawling her head off, as if you cared.”

“Jeez, of course I care. I’m not all bad,” Randy insisted. “Speaking of balling,” he turned to Todd, “did you get your birthday gift from Lena?”

“Of course,” Todd said, “which is more than I can say for you.”

“You guys are awful,” Andrea said disgustedly.

“Yeah,” Liz agreed. “What would Lena say?”

“I think we could all use a bonghit,” Dwayne suggested.

“Amen,” Brian approved, “take the edge off these hangovers.”

Dwayne sat in front of the coffee table, pulled a worn cellophane bag from his pocket, unfolded it, and removed a chunk of cannabis. Brian placed the bong in front of Dwayne, Dwayne placed the green substance into the bowl, and then handed the bong to Andrea.

“Who has a lighter?” Andrea asked, then Stu handed her a lighter. She lit it, held the flame to the bowl, inhaled for a few seconds, then pulled the bong away while holding her breath. She passed the bong to Liz. She inhaled, then passed it to Brian. He inhaled until the bowl was finished then passed the bong back to Dwayne. Dwayne pinched off another chunk, placed it in the bowl, passed it to Alex, he took a hit, then passed it to Randy. Everyone began to gather in the living room around the bong smoking circle and continued to chat about the party. Some were sipping coffee, a couple of others were drinking cups of flat beer scavenged from the keg. Brian pulled out another bag of cannabis and contributed to the circle of smoking. Person after person inhaled from the bong and created a haze of smoke that settled over the living room.

“So what’s for breakfast,” someone finally asked.

“Is there any of that cake left?”

“All gone,” Lena said as she entered from the hallway.

“Well,” Todd began, “we might have a couple eggs in the fridge and some week old Danishes. Or, I know of this excellent breakfast place where we can go.”

“Where?” Dwayne asked.

“It’s over on The Alameda,” Todd said, “just up the street from Andy’s Pet Shop. They make the killer Bloody Marys.”

“Hope they can kill hangovers,” Randy said.

“Well let’s go,” Mike said. They finished smoking, put on their shoes and jackets, straightened themselves as best they could, left the house, and piled into their cars. They drove to a rectangular building with a band of windows around the middle and parked in the front lot. Hungover and stoned, they slowly got out of their cars and trudged into the restaurant. They waited at the cash register next to a front counter where people were eating and reading newspapers. A staircase led to an upstairs lounge.

A middle aged waitress approached them. “And how y’all doin’ this morning?” she drawled.

“Oh, all right, could be better, what a night, you know,” they all said.

“I’ll bet it was,” the waitress kidded. “How many?”

Todd tried to count everyone. “A lot,” he said. The waitress grabbed a pile of menus, and led them through the semi crowded restaurant to a large, round, smooth table surrounded by a wraparound Naugahyde seat. Everyone slid onto the seat until they were all sitting around the table. Randy placed himself in the middle. The waitress handed everyone a menu.

“And what would you all like to drink?” she asked.

“Bloody Marys all around,” Randy ordered.

“Damn, Randy. You got a cast iron liver?” Mike remarked.

“I’ll have coffee,” Raquel said.

“Same here,” Christine said. Jason turned over the upside down coffee cup in front of him as did others. A busboy came over and placed a glass of water in front of everyone.

“And who all is having a Bloody Mary?” the waitress asked.

“Me,” Randy said.

“Me too,” Todd said.

“Anyone want to split one with me?” Mike asked.

“I will,” Dwayne offered.

“I was talking to the ladies,” Mike denied

“Fine, I’ll get my own. One, please,” Dwayne said to the waitress.

“I’ll have an iced tea,” Andrea said.

“Me too,” Liz said.

“All right.” The waitress wrote onto her order pad. “I’ll be right back.” The waitress left and everyone began to look at their menus. Jason and Christine looked at the same menu.

“Sounds like she’s from Texas,” Randy said.

“Ask her,” Todd said as he opened his menu for him and Lena. “Let’s see, what do we want.”

“Something fried and greasy to soak up the alcohol,” Randy advised.

“Oh, that’s healthy,” Andrea said.

“Anything with protein,” Christine said. Randy gave Jason a knowing smile. Jason looked back at the menu in front of him and tried not to laugh.

The waitress returned with a pot of coffee and filled all the empty cups. “I’ll be right back with the drinks,” she said then left.

“They make an excellent corned beef hash here,” Todd recommended.

“That sounds good,” Curtis said.

“Anything with hash sounds good,” Brian craved.

“Did you ever notice how everything on the menu looks good when your hungover,” Alex said.

“Yep,” Randy said, “like being a kid in a candy store.”

A few minutes later the waitress came with the drinks and took their orders.

“Are you from Texas?” Randy asked her.

“No, Georgia.”

“Georgia,” Randy repeated curiously. “So how come you moved out here?”

“Why to be a movie star, hon,” the waitress answered humorously.

“See? You were way off,” Todd said.

“Yeah, but they’re close to each other, aren’t they?” Randy asked.

“Young man, there are four states and about a thousand miles between Georgia and Texas,” the waitress informed.

“Yeah, Randy,” Mike said, “don’t you know your geography?”

“Farthest east I’ve been is Nevada,” Randy replied.

“That’s because Utah won’t let you in,” Todd joked and everyone laughed.

“I’ll bet you’re just too wild for them,” the waitress kidded Randy and everyone laughed some more. She took the rest of their orders then sauntered away to the kitchen window.

“You’re in rare form this weekend, Randy,” Alex pointed out.

“This is nothing,” Randy said. “Remember that Day On The Green?” he said to Todd. “We snuck in a bottle and got so fucked up at that show it took us hours just to find our van.”

“I thought we took BART to that,” Todd recalled. “You must have crashed in some complete stranger’s van.”

“Really,” Randy said as he appeared to search his memory. “I think I scored that night.”

“Who was the lucky guy?” Mike said and everyone laughed.

“Say what you want, but you know what,” Randy said as he picked up his Bloody Mary, “I’m always happy.” He took a long drink.

They talked more then after a while the waitress returned with their orders and covered the table with plates of eggs, potatoes, bacon, toast, pancakes, and other fried foods. Jason devoured his breakfast as everyone ate, drank, and traded recollections of the previous night. Jason felt his strength returning as he nourished himself, and everyone else became less tired and more lively. Someone said how they were going to have to do it again, and everyone agreed.

After they ate, they gathered together their cash and left a pile of money on the bill tray. They got up, went to the front door, and thanked the waitress just as they were leaving. “You all stay out of trouble now,” she said amiably as they filed out the door. They chatted a bit more out in the parking lot, made tentative plans for future gatherings, then said their goodbyes and drove off to their own, separate ways. Jason and Christine left together.

“Let’s go to my place,” Christine said. “My roommates are gone so we’ll have the whole place to ourselves.”

Jason was feeling more awake as they drove to Christine’s apartment. He put his arm around her and held her close as he steered with his left hand. She rested her head on his shoulder, then softly traced her hand up and down his thigh. She smiled at him, and he felt a rush of anticipation. His right foot pushed down on the accelerator pedal and he drove a little faster.

They arrived at Christine’s, parked, and went inside. She locked the front door, then Jason took hold of her and kissed her all over. She eagerly returned his affections, then slid out of his embrace, took his hand, and led him into her bedroom. They clung to each other and kissed each other amorously as they tugged at each other’s clothes. They fell onto her bed and writhed around passionately, and he began to unbutton her blouse. She then took hold of his hands and looked keenly into his eyes. He was struck still by her suddenly serious expression.

“You know what I was just thinking about?” Christine asked softly. “Last night, seeing all our friends, everyone together, celebrating and having such a great time…everything felt so happy, so joyous, so wonderful.” She looked away dreamily as she relaxed her hold. “Everything just felt right, almost perfect. It was like no other feeling I’ve ever felt before, and I hope it never ends,” she wished. She looked back at Jason. “And then I thought about us,” she said as she placed her hand on his face. “We are so incredibly lucky, to be here in this time and in this place, with all our friends, our families, our health, living together in the most free time ever in history…and with our whole lives ahead of us.”

Jason was spellbound by Christine as they gazed deeply into each other’s eyes. He was touched by her optimism, awed by her vision, and felt surrounded by a love greater than their combined devotion. They took in the gravity of the moment, then came together again as one and rose to a new peak of ecstasy.

©2016 Robert Kirkendall

Redwood Summer Part II Chapter 6