I retrieve my phone from the pocket of my sweater.
Texts from Rebecca and my daughter, Leah.
Esther said you met someone.
Mom said you met a man.
Esther’s gossip travels faster than a migrating hummingbird.
I laugh suddenly. And then, just as quickly, I veer into the left lane and do a U-turn.
I drive back to the library.
The digital sign and calendar of events out front of the mid-century building flashes the message:
BANNED BOOKS TO READ THIS WEEK!
I will not be banned.
I park my car and scan the lot for the woman. She is gone.
But my shoes are right where I left them, lined up in the parking lot as if they were by my bedside and I’d just slipped out of them for the night.
I step out of my car and put them back on.
“This old lady is fucking tired of running,” I say.
Barry
“Teddy, I think I’m dying.”
I am sitting on the end of a weight bench at the gym, talking to Teddy on the phone. The gym overlooks the Palm Springs Airport. Let’s just say I’ve helped a lot of men empty their pockets before they ever reach TSA.
The airport is spread out before me. As I work out, I can see the planes coming and going, a never-ending stream of visitors from across the world arriving in and exiting from our winter oasis.
I think of the guy I was with last night... Levi? Liam? Lonnie?
I know it had anLin it.
“But you can still work out even on your deathbed?” Teddy asks.
“I have to work out,” I say. “I have Nostalgia Con tonight at the convention center. That ’80s convention, remember? My agent’s assistant says it could big for me. I need to look good for producers and pictures.”
“You still have an agent?” Teddy sounds surprised.
“Oh, my head. I’m dying, Teddy. Help me.”
I hear Teddy sigh over the phone.
“What are your symptoms, Barry?” he asks. “Besides bad eye work that will always make you look perpetually surprised.”
“I have a horrible headache. When I blink, I see spots. I think it’s a brain tumor.”
“Were you on WebMD again?” he asks. “Everything ends with a brain tumor. Even a splinter.”
I don’t answer.
“I take that as a yes,” Teddy continues. “Sweetheart, you have a migraine because you’re hungover. You see spots because you’re dehydrated. I mean, I have a hangover just hearing that dreadful music at the gym and those loud planes taking off, and I only had two Rose Kennedys. If you’re really worried about your health, I’d do a spot check down south. Logan did not look like he was a poster child for abstinence.”
