thinks.”
She had another brief coughing fit.
“You’re up, Patty!” Mrs. Addison yelled.
“Well, let’s see if I can get another strike,” she said as she got out of the seat
to head to the lane.
William began daydreaming about what his grandmother said. He wondered what his
best life would be like. Him and Emily. Her career. His job. Possibly kids. A
house. Way too many loofahs. Besides the career, he didn’t know if Emily would even
want any of those things.
They never spoke about the future. He never pictured it either. He figured whatever
happened would just happen whether he wanted it or not. Emily fell into his lap.
His position at the gas station fell into his lap. William felt content enough to
ride the wave to see where he washed up.
William felt himself zoning out. He snapped back to reality, wondering how he
managed to doze off in a noisy bowling alley.
“You look like you’re having a blast,” he heard Emily’s voice coming from behind
him.
He stood up and gave her a hug.
“Always,” he told her with as much conviction as he could muster. He pulled out a
seat at the table for her and they both sat down.
“Can’t wait to see my boyfriend show these old ladies how to bowl,” she commented.
She then looked up at the scoreboard and saw WF had the least amount of pins. “Or
maybe not.”
“I’m just going easy on them,” William lied. “You know, I want them to feel good
about something since they are so old.”