billy

3/20/20

The Sugar Walk began with me dropping Sonny off at home because I need two hands to type, and the Sugar Walk also had to begin with me writing about the Marmalade Walk, so I sacrificed Sonny in favor of having two hands.

Because I was writing about the Marmalade Walk, the Sugar Walk was inevitably longer than the Marmalade Walk, and it took me along the canal and down Central and then along Indian School. And, as it happens, my favorite Circle K is on Indian School, so I figured I'd stop in for a pack of cigarettes and to say goodbye to Billy.

Billy had become my favorite Circle K worker a little while ago, partly because he always gave Sonny meat sticks, and partly because he didn't mind it when Sonny jumped up on the counter, but mostly because he wanted to know Sonny's name and I became known as “Sonny's Mom” amongst the staff.

I also liked Billy because the license plate on his truck was “DM4 DND.”

And - well, I knew enough to know that Billy’s ponytail indicated that Billy’s license plate indicated that he played Dungeons and Dragons.

/

When Killian was in comm school, he'd started a DND circle. It started off as four people - Killian, and Matt, and Gentry, and someone else whose name I can't remember - but after word got out that it was actually a really good time, the circle grew until it was half full of people who took it seriously, and half full of people who were really only there to drink. And then there were Wives who mostly used it as an excuse to see other Wives.

And I guess technically I was a Wife, but I played DND with the dudes so that I didn't have to be stuck chattering about Wife Things with the Wives. But mostly I used it as an excuse to drink.

/

When Billy stepped outside I noticed that he dyed his hair. It was cute, honestly. His beard was grey and the rest of his hair was sort of brown and his roots were really, really bad.

He asked if I'd be coming back. I said I would.

Stay safe, okay? We said to one another. 

Thanks. You too. Thanks.

His truck was a Tacoma, like just about half the lieutenants in the Marine Corps had, but at least his was electric blue. Officers didn’t tend to do electric blue.