Startled by the rattling and turbulence of my environment, I woke up from what seemed to be an eternal sleep. I lifted my head from its strained position as it leaned against the rear passenger window of my parent’s car. I rubbed my eyes and yawned as my ears popped, probably from the mountains we were driving through. My parents were talking about their new positions, which is why we are on this road trip in the first place. Well, more like relocation. I peered out the window to see the grey overcast sky and steady drizzle of rain. The windshield wipers providing a rhythmic tune which caused me to start bopping my head idiotically. I began looking through a bag I had near my feet which contained a bag of trail mix, a water, two books, a magazine and my iPod. I needed to drown out the parental talk and sound of the wiper blades. But my focus quickly changed as I realized I needed to go to the bathroom.
“Dad, can we stop
somewhere? I need to pee bad.” I asked him as he glanced in the rear view
mirror while he drove.
“Yeah. Sure, bud.” He said
with a smile. I didn’t see his smile, but I could tell by the tone of his voice
and the crinkle in his eyes.
I wasn’t sure why he was smiling.
But perhaps it meant we were almost there? Perhaps it was excitement? Perhaps…man
I really have to pee!
“Dad, make it quick.” I
panicked
“It’s right around the
corner, Hun.” My mom reassured me
What’s right around the
corner? A bathroom? A gas station? A restaurant?
As we pulled into the
parking lot. My mouth dropped. I was flabbergasted.
“Mom…Dad…No please.” I
pleaded
“What? I thought you liked
this place?” my mom asked
“Yeah, that was before…”
“Oh, come on Joey. Nobody
will remember that.” My dad said
“Dad that was last August.
I can’t be seen back in this place?!”
“Stop it. If you have to
pee, you better do it now. It’s another half hour or so until we get to the new
house.” My mom said
“I’ll pee in a cup, on the
side of the road.” I said
“You are being dramatic. Let’s
go inside and grab a quick bite.” My dad said
I was so desperate to
relive myself that I had no choice. I stubbornly got out of the van and
followed my parents…closely behind them like a young penguin seeking warmth
from their relentless parents. The rain was slowing down and became a light
sprinkle, almost mist like. We approached the doors. The sign above read, “Guy’s
Diner”. A host greeted us at the door, opening it for us. I looked down with
shame. We walked towards the counter.
“Hi, for two adults and
one child?” she asked with significant perkiness
“I’m 17.” I said with a
bothered tone
“Oh. Sorry. Three…adults.”
She said as she grabbed a third menu
The host sat us at a table
not too far from where the incident occurred. I flipped through the menu
quickly and told my mother my order so I could go to the bathroom.
“I want spaghetti and
meatballs. Extra sauce, garlic bread and a lemonade.” I said as I quickly
scurried to the bathroom.
I unzipped my pants as
soon as I walked in the door and headed for the nearest urinal. I felt like I hadn’t
pissed in days. I almost didn’t realize there was someone else in there with me
as I sighed with relief. I could see out of the corner of my eye a guy a little
taller than me. As soon as I finished, I washed my hands. In the reflection of
the mirror I could see the man who was at the urinal. Oh no. Please don’t let
it be. I quickly grabbed paper towels and dried my hands as I walked out of the
bathroom. I swerved through the tables towards ours. I accidentally scared my
mother as I leaned in from behind her and next to her ear whispered, “Give me
the keys.”
“Joey!” she jumped, “what
for?” she said with irritation
“Please, I just need to go
sit in the car for a bit. In fact, I’m not even hungry. I’m going to just take
a nap.”
“Joey, sit down please.
Stop acting like such a baby. Nobody is going to…” my dad was interrupted by
our server
“Hello, welcome to Guy’s
Diner. My name is Brad and I’ll be your server today. What can I get you sir?”
he said looking directly at me.
It was then I realized, it
was the same person in the bathroom, the same person that witnessed the last
incident. The smile on his face told it all.
“Um…” I hesitated, “I’ll
take the spaghetti and meatballs with…”
“Are you sure?” he asked
“What?” I said
“Well, that’s what caused
you to throw up everywhere. We wouldn’t want a repeat of that now would we?”
Oh…my…God. I slouched down
into the chair. My parents were shocked that the server even remembered.
“That won’t happen again this
time. He was sick last time, he had a fever,” my mom began
“Mom!” I snapped
“He’ll take the spaghetti
and meatballs, extra sauce, garlic bread and lemonade.” My dad finished my
order
Brad continued to take
their orders and finally left. My face was hot. I was utterly embarrassed. The
feeling eventually passed. I guess I was being over dramatic, but I’m 17. I don’t
have friends here and the last thing I would want is for my future school mates
to title me, “Vomit Boy”. The last time we were at this diner, was last August.
That’s when my parents came for a meeting with the school board and interviewed
with the school that they will both be working at. During our visit we stopped
around town to get familiar with it just in case they did get accepted and
fortunately for them, they did. Unfortunately for me, it meant I had to leave my
friends and whole social life behind. But I saw this as an adventure and I was
going to make the best of it. My dad hoped for me to get a girlfriend in this
new town. I hadn’t had a girlfriend in a long time. Well, my last girlfriend
was in 6th grade. Ah, the quaint town of Depoe Bay, Oregon. It’s a
coastal town; filled with fisherman, mom and pop shops, and seagull shit on
every roof top. Dream come true. All kidding aside, it was beautiful. I love
the coast, but I pictured a big city move. One thing that did bother me was
that the diversity of this town was…almost nonexistent. Here we were, a Hispanic
family in a town with 90% Caucasians, we didn’t speak Spanish, we didn’t know
how to fish, and we just didn’t know much of the town at all. One thing is for
sure, last time I was there, the people were actually very attractive looking.
It was like God said, “Here you go beautiful people, a quaint town just for
you.”
After we finished our
meal, I shuffled out of the diner and patiently waited outside as my parents
paid the bill. I looked up to see the clouds beginning to break. The sun
shining rays through the cracks and holes of the overcast. An opening shifted
directly over where I stood, the warmth of the sun kissed my skin. I closed my
eyes with delight and smiled. I jumped as my parents creeped up on me.
“Having a moment?” my dad
poked fun at me
“I just love when the sun
comes out after a fresh rainfall.” I said
“Okay,” he laughed, “Let’s
get going rain man.”
“Dad, that reference doesn’t
even make sense.” I said as my mother laughed
We got back into our
minivan, which was actually my mothers. My dad drove a Jeep Wrangler. The jeep
was being transported by the moving company along with much of our other
furniture later today. Finally back on the road, we headed for our destination.
I plugged my ears with my headphones and played some music. By the time I knew
it, we were in Depoe Bay. The hills, the seagulls, the smell of the ocean
breeze. Maybe this wasn’t going to be so bad.
© 2015 Copyright J.M. Casas Jr. Royalty Novels / True Love
Saga. All Rights Reserved.
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