“Very nice, Ryan.”
“Before I open it, can I have it?”
“Absolutely.”
“No matter what?” I playfully asked.
“No matter what, it’s yours.”
I pulled the paper apart carefully and took out the temporary tattoo of an animal claw.
“Well, the anticipation is killing me. What is it?” he asked.
“Wow, you’re going to be sorry you said I could have this. It’s a temporary tattoo of a claw. I think a tiger’s maybe. Or a bear. Could be a polar bear.”
“I’m heartbroken.”
I put the tattoo in the pocket of my jacket and set the opened box of Cracker Jacks in one of the cup holders. The familiar scent of McDonald’s salted fries filled my senses as soon as we opened the door.
“Want to get us a seat and I’ll order?” Russell asked.
“Yes, I’ll do that. Do you know what I want?”
Russell tilted his head to the side and smiled at me.
“Have we met?”
“Okay, okay. But don’t forget the—”
“Barbecue sauce,” Russell finished my sentence.
I gave him the thumbs-up and found us a seat near a window. It looked like storm clouds were rolling in. I opened the weather app on my phone and saw the route to Vail was full of red and purple blotches, indicating rain. I set the phone to the side when Russell set the tray down between us.
“Looking at the weather?” he asked.
“Yeah, check it out.” I held up my phone so he could see the radar. “Purple rain … get it? Like the song.”
“Very clever.” Russell laughed and handed me the cups. “Go fill these up for us, please.”
I filled the cups to the brim with Coke and returned to the table. After we ate and were back in the car, Russell pulled up the weather radar on the screen and started laughing.
“Looks like your purple rain will be with us for most of our drive this afternoon.”
We had been driving in light rain for about a half hour when I began eating Twizzlers.
“Okay, let’s play a game,” I suggested. “Who would you rather bang, Oprah or the Tesla guy?”
“Ryan—”
“No, I’m not an option for this game. Who’s it going to be? Oprah or the Tesla guy? You have to pick one.”
“Oprah.”
“Okay, would you rather work on a farm or work in a factory?”
“What kind of farm work and what kind of factory work?”
“Hmm, it’s a garlic farm and the factory job is to package tampons in boxes.”
