Hide and Seek

"You got to think about what you're doing, here, Danny boy. What the

fuck are you doing? You gonna up and marry the girl? Maybe chase her

back to Boston or wherever that school of hers is come September? Work

a lathe while she picks up her degree? What are you getting all

worried about? Screw her, have fun with her and let it ride."

"Sure."

"I mean it."

"Look, George. I haven't gotten it all mapped out. Things just

happen. You know that."

He looked annoyed. "Yeah, well they can just un happen too."

I didn't want to argue. Besides, he was probably right. In a lot of

ways I was walking around with blinders on when it came to Casey no

past, no future and a very narrow focus on the present. About the

length of one summer. That was okay so long as I knew it was a

temporary thing by nature, so long as I was prepared to lose it and

then go on.

I wasn't. There was a basic mistake operating and I knew it. I was

already half-committed to the girl and I didn't know a thing about her

except physical things and what you could deduce in the space of a

couple weeks, some of which wasn't very good. So what was I getting

involved in? She was rich, for god's sake. I was her summer playmate.

It wouldn't be hard to get pretty annoyed with me myself.

It seemed like a good time to tie one on. I ordered another round for

us.

"That's right, get a little sloppy. You'll feel better."

"Do me a favor, George."

"Sure."

"If she ever pushes me off a cliff somewhere, kick the shit out of

her?"

"Be glad to."

We drank our beers and watched the Caribou fill up steadily with the

after-work crowd. I was always interested to see the mix. Jeans,

dirty T-shirts, overalls, business suits from Sears. We got salesmen,

fishermen, laborers. A smattering of women. All kinds of people.

Bars up here don't cater to a single type of crowd the way they do in