Invasion of the Blatnicks by Neil S. Plakcy

Author:Neil S. Plakcy
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction & Literature
Publisher: Neil S. Plakcy
Published: 2012-01-01T05:00:00+00:00

19 – Introduction to Design

Friday night, Steve, Miranda and Brad went to happy hour at a surfer bar in Miami. The bouncer sat in a big lifeguard chair at the entrance, and all the waiters wore tight bikini bathing suits. Miranda and Brad loved it, but Steve was a little embarrassed. A surfing video played constantly on a monitor in the background, and the drinks were served in big glasses with miniature surfboards as stirrers.

Steve left after an hour or so and went home, where he fell asleep in front of the TV. He woke up at two a.m. staring at some detective movie and then stumbled into bed.

His phone rang at nine. “Hey, pal, big surprise,” the voice at the other end said. “I’m in town. Or at least I think this is a town.”

“Who is this?”

“I’m hurt that you don’t recognize me when I have been your best friend since we were twelve years old.”

“Dan? Where are you?” Steve asked.

“I have Monday off for Martin Luther King Day, so my grandmother sprang for a ticket to Florida. I’m at her condo in Deerfield Beach. You busy?”

“I was sleeping,” Steve said. “But I suppose I could motivate myself up to Deerfield Beach. How do I get there?”

“You’re asking me? If the subway doesn’t go there I don’t either. Look at a map.”

Steve wrote down the address. “I’m heading for the pool now,” Dan said. “Why don’t we do dinner?”

“This is Florida,” Steve said. “People don’t do meals here, they eat them. I’ll pick you up around six.”

He slid back under the covers but could not get back to sleep. That evening he navigated his way up the coast to Deerfield Beach, and he and Dan went bar-hopping along a stretch of U.S. 1. “It’s good to see you,” Steve said. “I’m getting accustomed to it here, I have people to hang out with, but I miss my old friends.”

Dan nodded. “It’s hard to make friends as good as the ones you left behind when you move to someplace new. It takes time.”

“Hey, why don’t you come stay at my place tonight?” Steve asked. “I can take you over and show you the site, and we can hang out in Miami. I can bring you back tomorrow night.”

Dan frowned. “I’d love to, but you know, Grandma paid for this trip, so I feel like she ought to get her money’s worth out of me. I don’t think she’d like it if I took off for a day.”

They ate burgers from McDonald’s for dinner and went to see a late movie. Driving back to his empty apartment, Steve already felt lonely, missing Dan. He didn’t get home until nearly two o’clock, and stumbled into bed again.

He didn’t get enough sleep that night, and then on Sunday night he was plagued by nightmares. He dreamed he was trapped in the mall, and the ceiling and walls were falling in on him. He tossed and turned so much that by Monday morning his arms and legs ached as if he’d spent the night in a cement mixer.

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