There is a moment in my recent past that makes me smile whenever it crosses my mind.
I’m at a small country fair, fifteen minutes away from my house. I’ve stayed the weekend at the fair with my livestock. It’s nighttime. Flanking me are two guys. On my right is my boyfriend, Alex. On my left is his best friend, Shane. My arms are around their waists. For some reason, I can’t stop smiling. We three walk out onto the midway.
This was two weekends ago and it’s just a very comforting moment. Those two are like my boys. In the sense of the lyric “the boys are back in town” and then a guitar rift floats into the air.
It makes me think of the short story “Another Perfect Catastrophe” by Brad Barkley. Except I’m not a PETA-loving activist like Lyndsey. Alex and Shane aren’t two thirty-five year old construction workers and Shane doesn’t have a logging leg. But we do have our own version of sneaking onto the golf course to look at the John Deeres.
We went out and spotlighted deer one night. The catch? We had no spotlight. Just the truck headlights and Shane barreling ass down a road, swerving toward the ditch to, at the last minute, direct the truck toward an open field. I wasn’t in a good state of mind that night, so I didn’t enjoy it then. Now I look back on it and realize, it may have been crazy, but it was fun. It was adventure. It was something to break the mold I’ve made myself into. I need more nights like that.
