Things Were Good When Domino’s Was a Church

*contains explicit language

Castle Loop was Josh’s favorite stretch. At sunset, paradise in any direction. Conifer trees lined both sides of the road and traces of dirt and pine tangled in the breeze. He always took a breather at Browning Bridge and watched the cars and diesels roar underneath. The burn in his thighs was welcomed. It meant his second wind would be coming. He focused on his breathing. Deep breaths with controlled release. He trained his thoughts on the coming year. Junior year was almost over and there was work to be done. His summer would consist of life-guarding part-time, running five miles a day, and cramming for his SATs. University of Arizona was his first choice and there was no time for distractions.

“Oh, Jesus’, Jeff muttered. A state trooper blew past them in the opposite direction with sirens blaring. Josh tried to forget Jeff was there. He was lagging a little ways behind. He wore the same cross country uniform as Josh except his was matted to his body. He almost tripped over his own feet when he turned to watch the trooper. In between breaths Jeff said, “Hey, man. My house is close. Let’s go there.” A chord of anger snapped inside Josh like a rubber band. Of course! Let’s do what Jeff wants. Everybody does. Josh stopped abruptly and turned to Jeff, who was already slowing.

“Fine. Do whatever, Jeff. You will anyway. You know you’re never leavin’ this town. Coolest loser in a loser town.” They stared at each other. Josh wondered for a second if he’d actually said it out loud. Jeff narrowed his eyes and wet his lips. He looked at the sirens behind them then back at Josh.

“You’re an asshole, you know that? Try not to act like a psycho at home.” He started jogging towards his neighborhood. Josh almost said something but started running again instead. An ambulance screamed past.

His second wind was pushing him. He passed the Domino’s that used to be a church he attended with his grandma when he was little. Probably his happiest times. She was proud of his singing and bragged to anyone within earshot. Then it was vacant, then it was gone. He ran by the Burger King he worked at last summer. While he was putting away deliveries in the walk-in a guy in a Halloween mask brandishing a knife robbed the place. Josh didn’t find out until he came out of the cooler. Dusk was hugging the horizon. He listened to the crickets singing with the sounds of town and started making his way home.

Before they started their run, in the school parking lot, Jeff was walking directly behind Mr. Potter, imitating him. Potter teaches Algebra and has the strangest gait. Like he’s about to start skipping. Jeff can do it perfectly. When it became too much Josh burst out laughing and Potter discovered Jeff behind him. They couldn’t make out what he yelled when they took off. Josh chuckled to himself as he got near his house. Not every one of Jeff’s ideas are funny, though.

“I’m tellin’ ya, Linda. When they find ‘em, they oughta string ‘em up by the shorthairs.” Josh’s dad lost his grip on his beer for a second when Josh bursting through the front door startled him. “Goddamnit, Josh! Bull in a China shop, I swear.” He brushed past his dad in the recliner and his sister, Summer, laid out on the couch reading. He threw open the fridge and grabbed his Dr. Pepper two-liter filled with water. He prefers his water cold but nobody fills the ice trays. They sit in the freezer storing cold air. His mother was humming behind him in chorus with the veggies sautéing in the pan. Josh gulped down half the bottle.

“String up who?”, Josh asked, out of breath. Not from running but the violence in his drinking.

“Will I still have practice tomorrow, Daddy?” It was Summer’s first softball season. She was center field at the moment but has her eye on pitching next year. The twin mattress against the shed in the back yard is beat to hell in the middle.

“Why wouldn’t you?” Josh sat at the table with his water bottle. His mom smiled warmly at him then turned her attention back to the stove.

“There was a wreck right next to the field. Bad one.” Summer had sat up and turned around to tell him the news.

“I don’t think they’ll cancel practice tomorrow for a wreck that happened today.” Josh took another healthy swig. Josh’s dad mumbled something to the television and Summer shook her head.

“Nope, a lady died.” Josh was mid-drink and coughed it back up. His mom asked if he was ok to which he nodded yes, coughing the rest of it out.

“Sorry. It went down the wrong hole.” She told him to drink slower next time. His dad cursed the television and creaked out of the recliner. He looked at Josh and snickered.

“Boy, if you think I’m eatin’ next to a sweat shop, think again. Take a shower or I hose you down. Choose.” Josh chose the former.

Dinner was like any other dinner. Josh chose to go to bed early instead of watching tv with everyone. He needed his rest. Every day was as important as the next. From here on out, no more mistakes. Nothing could keep him in this town if he could help it. Work hard, study harder. He couldn’t hang out with Jeff anymore. They’ve been best friends since second grade but Jeff didn’t have any ambitions past trying to get Josh to screw around with him. He didn’t take anything seriously and was always getting in trouble. Just like earlier at the bridge. He wouldn’t shut up. Pussy this, and pussy that, and you never do anything crazy. Josh was fed up. He picked up that huge piece of the road and concrete that was broken off and held it over the side. He tried to time it so it would miss any traffic but it was a bullseye. He stood there like a statue watching the car skidding out of control then rolling. It was like he was watching a tv show but missed the first half so he didn’t know what was going on. Nothing made sense. Jeff grabbed him by his uniform and pulled him along. He was saying something intensely but it was jumbled to Josh. He kept blinking over and over like there might be an answer there somewhere. He decided to focus on his run.

Josh pulled up his covers and turned off the lamp on his nightstand. If Jeff hadn’t been egging him on, none of this would’ve happened. The dark of his room surrounded him like a firing squad. He closed his eyes tightly. He heard sirens and a woman screaming horribly. He closed his eyes tighter, tears streaming from his crow’s feet. A woman’s face came into view. The woman in the wreck. He didn’t know what she looked like but he saw a face all the same. She was in excruciating pain. His soft cries transitioned to sobbing. He couldn’t open his eyes. If he did then it was real and a lady was dead. So keep them closed until he falls asleep and maybe…

He heard his father downstairs answer the pounding at the front door and took a deep, deep breath.