Sunday, March 29, 2009

Smells bells


Rain spattered the windows and he rolled up the windows. Great thought Casey, well aware of how she smelled. There was silence.
Casey was overwhelmingly aware of the smell of fermented cow that pealed in the truck like a drunken bell so loudly. How could he sit there so calmly? He should crack a joke or something to relieve the tension. She peeked at him again and again and every time his eyes were resolutely on the road. Casey felt so uncomfortable. Couldn't he say something, anything? Her level of irritation rose, he was deliberately making her feel this way, sitting like a handsome statue.
"Go ahead and say it." she said, unable to bear it a second longer.
"Say what?" he replied, smoothly negotiating the tight curves that predominated the roads in the back country.
"Something about this infernal stink, what else?" she said.
He gave her one quick assessing glance.
"Yes, well if you roll around ina pasture something might stick." he said.
"I didn't 'roll around' as you say. I fell." she popped back.
"Okay lady, you stink to high heaven. Happy now?" he said.
"The name is Casey." she said.
Evidently this handsome man went through life being unbearably rude. He hadn't asked her her name, or how she was, or where she lived, or anything at all.
"What is your name?" she asked finally. Heaven forbid she have to tell someone she was rescued by some unknown person.
"Hays" he said.
She thought she'd misheard. Hays wasn't a name.
"I've been in an accident, the least you could do is be polite." she said.
"That accident was your fault. Some imaginary animal ran in front of you you said. So, you'd went to some bar and had a few drinks and you're embarrassed, I understand that. I would lie too if I ran off the road like a slosh." he said.
"There was a cat I told you." she said.
"Lady, I didn't see no cat. If you say there was one, there was one, okay?" he said.
It was too much. Calling her a "lady" in that tone of voice was no compliment, acting like she was some hysterical female with a case of PMS and calling her a liar to boot. Her anger rose like a tidal wave, but she felt confused all of a sudden and her thoughts were all jumbled in her head. She was going to tell him off but good but she felt this peculiar floating sensation and the lights above the steering column seemed to dim and then wink at her, and then all the lights went out.

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