For Reta, the Rest

Kylie, that was his name, the guy who gave me the Christmas lights. The garbage man, who was always bringing home treasures. He and his girlfriend Sarah lived two doors and one floor down from where Kelly and I lived and we floated between apartments, all of us plus whatever friends were hanging out on any given day. We were tasting freedom for the first time. Eighteen and graduated, and you couldn’t tell us anything.

Man, we were poor. I worked full time at Rax where I made $600 a month and paid my half of the rent and Kelly, she had a baby boy, lived on financial assistance, hung out with the guys from our old neighborhood all day and smoked weed. Every single one of them wanted to sleep with her and would do anything for her to get it. There was one guy in particular, Sean, who really seemed to care for her. Got her a job at his company, took her on a real date. But Kelly, she didn’t like the nice guys. She went for the tough guys. And then she always went back to her ex.

Our primary form of entertainment was playing Pictionary. Okay sometimes it was drunk Pictionary but only if Kelly could get one of her boys to buy us beer since we were always broke. To be fair she could make that happen pretty regularly because they all thought that would increase their chances of getting lucky. So much disappointment when she eventually, from the other room, called her ex to come over instead.

Kylie brought the Christmas lights over along with his Pictionary game. He strung them on the curtain rod in the living room and turned down the lights.

His girlfriend made a wisecrack about him being a dumpster diver, as if she could talk. She’d been arrested multiple times for shoplifting and I know it was her that stole my favorite dark green sweater. I don’t have any proof, but I know it.

“I think they’re nice,” Kelly said.

“Me too,” I added, “I wonder why someone would throw them away when they work fine?”

We, who could hardly afford food, could not fathom the wastefulness.

Kylie, who was blond with blue eyes and a baby face only flinched for a second when his girlfriend insulted him.

We eventually floated down to their apartment, probably for snacks, and Kylie borrowed my key to go back upstairs to our place and get the Pictionary board so we could spend the rest of the night playing.

When I finally made it to my bed in the middle of the night, on my pillow was a note from Kylie. Red ink on white paper.

Sweet dreams, the Christmas lights are for you.

I could not have been more surprised. One of the side effects of your best friend being someone everyone wants to sleep with is you get used to NEVER being the subject of anyones attention.

I showed the note to Kelly, and to Sean, who had followed us home like a puppy but was about to be once again disappointed.

“Rico Suave,” Sean said, handing the note back to me, “his girlfriend seems nice.”

“You mean hot?” I said, laughing. Sarah stood at least six inches above Kylie with stunning naturally red hair. Hair a lot like Sean’s, actually. She was a red headed fair skinned goddess.

A couple of nights later, I was getting ready to go out with another friend and Sean said, “You look nice, Nic,” and I said thanks and heard Kelly from the other room say,

“You never tell me I look nice.”

“You never get dressed up and go anywhere,” he answered.

A couple of weeks later, Kelly was working an overnight and her ex, TJ, was babysitting at our place. He and the baby were already asleep when I came home from work, showered, put on boxers and a t-shirt and lay on the couch. A soft knock got me up quickly to find Kylie at the door with an armful of beers.

We sat up late, whispering on the couch and drinking beer by the light of the dumpster Christmas lights.

Eventually we got sleepy.

“Can I stay over?” he asked.

“You have a girlfriend,” I said.

“Just here, on the couch,” he gestured, “just sleeping.”

I still could not believe he was interested in me instead of Kelly. Girlfriend or not, mortal sin or not, I was eating it up.

We slept, him big spoon, me little spoon, until almost dawn. I only woke up once, just long enough to see TJ seeing us.

Kylie crept out at first light, after a hug, presumably to sneak back into his bed before his girlfriend woke up.

Too bad it was too late.

TJ reported to Kelly what he had seen. More things were assumed than were true.

We didn’t sleep together we only slept together!

I was at work a lot while the rumor mill was going hard. I hadn’t seen Kylie since that night.

“Nic,” Kelly said to me one night when we were alone,” (Come to think of it, it was weird we were alone, that should have tipped me off.) “I have to tell you something.”

Those are just never really good words to hear. Not unless they’re accompanied by clapping and jumping up and down and SMILING.

“I don’t know if this is what’s happening but one night, me and Sean and Kylie were all here drinking and they started talking about you and they made a bet on who could sleep with you first.”

This would be the part where most people would become enraged but I was like SO YOU’RE SAYING TWO GUYS LIKE ME? Not out loud though. Out loud I was like thanks for telling me I should have figured.

Kylie’s girlfriend also heard about our night together. That’s when she stole my sweater!

They started fighting, visibly, and I made myself scarce when they came around, which wasn’t hard since I had a job. I didn’t want to be a home wrecker.

It turned out I needn’t have worried, Sarah was already screwing Sean! Kylie lost his mind about his best friend stealing his girl while he was making the moves on me and moved out shortly after.

I kept the lights.

Thanks for taking me down memory lane, Reta! Merry Christmas!

Nic