THE LAST GIG

The city lights and Christmas décor bathed the area with the intensity of the holidays. People were merrily walking in bunches on the sidewalk, mostly with their family or in pairs, carrying their unopened treasures. Nearly overloaded shopping carts exited the grocery, preparing for an incoming feast. Even the air itself seemed to dazzle.

A black, heavily tinted Civic Honda was unceremoniously parked in front of a grocery parking lot, adjacent to a line of shops filled with customers and a heavily-lined movie theater. The car looked a bit out of place with its haphazard position against the perfectly lined light-colored vehicles around it.

“Ah, fuck me,” Julius whispered to himself, breathing hard and sweating profusely. His hands firmly clutched the steering wheel. A hand touched his arm and his grip loosened.

“Nah, it’s fine, you did good,” Gwen assured him. Her face filled with beads of sweat but smiled feebly.

It was dark inside the car. A place detached from all the merriment that almost put them in a world of their own. A group of teens sang a Christmas tune. It jolted Julius and his head turned so fast, only to see the teens caroling to an old couple for a fund raiser.

“It’s fine,” Gwen repeated as she waved her hand off. “You like listening to them carols, yeah? I know you listen to ‘em in the car when you’re alone,” Gwen said fondly. Julius eased a bit.

“Yeah, how did you know?” A small grin curled on his bearded face.

“You left it there once.”

“La-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la,” Julius sang out of tune. Gwen giggled weakly.

A man dressed as Santa Clause came out of one of the stores. The kids were delighted and he started handing out small gifts. A few passers-by stopped to take a picture. Gwen looked at them with envy.

“What were you planning to give me? You know… for Christmas.” Gwen asked him sweetly.

“The Bahamas trip that you were buggin’ me about.”

“Oh, that! No way,” Gwen seemed genuinely surprised.

“I finally though that, uhm, flying ain’t really that bad,” Julius said with embarrassment.

“Ah, finally. I’ve been telling you for like… forever. Fucked up timing though, now that I’ve convinced you.’

“No, it was Vince.”

“What?”

“Vince convinced me that flyin’ ain’t that bad.”

“Vince from the barber shop?”

Julius nodded sheepishly.

“That bum don’t know shit and he was the one to convince you? Nah, you buggin’ for real. I told you many times, they say driving is more-”

Tap, tap, tap! A beggar rapped on Julius’ window side. His voice was muffled with arms stretched out for some change.

“Nah, don’t mind him, it’s fine,” Gwen said.

The beggar didn’t stop and his voice got louder. Julius gritted his teeth and lowered the window a notch. Then with a quick motion, pulled a Glock 19 and stuck it out. Blood dripping from the end of his jean jacket.  

“Back up, motherfucker!” The beggar scampered away.

“It’s fine, it doesn’t matter. Nothing matters now, only you and me," Gwen whispered.

Julius slowly pulled his hand back, wincing as he carefully touched the gunshot wound on his shoulder. Gwen saw the wound in the corner of her eye and automatically knew it was bad. The blood starting to paint the rest of his shirt dark red. She closed her eyes and tried her best to push back her tears.

“Fuck! It shouldn’t have ended like this!” Julius exclaimed. “That double-crossing son of a-”

“Shush, nah baby, you did fine. I shouldn’t have asked you to do this shit. You’ve been telling me that you want out, that you didn’t wanna do this shit no more. It’s my bad, my fault. I shouldn’t have asked you.” Gwen was losing strength every word she uttered.

“Nah, babe. I’ll do anything for ‘ya. You know that, right?”

They stare at each other sadly.

“At least, no one else got hurt,” Gwen told him reassuringly.

“What did you plan on getting’ me, though? What’s my gift?” Julius was the one trying to keep things light this time.

“I was planning on giving you somethin’ special,” Gwen said.

“That one?” Julius asked. He pointed at the back of the car. There’s a bag full of cash on the seat.

“Nah, not that,” Gwen said.

“What?”

Gwen tried to get something out of the inside jacket pocket but hesitated. She felt an immense pain on her stomach. Blood oozed out of her jacket.

“Fuck, fuck, FUCK!” Julius said in absolute despair and defeat. He knew that there’s nothing else he can do for her.

“Tell me you love me,” Gwen said weakly. “I had my eyes on you since we were four and we’ve been together for a couple of years now, but you haven’t told me that you love me.”

One of the tires gave out and they were slowly slanting on one side.

“I need to hear it.”

“I… love you.”

Tears ran down Gwen’s face. She fought the pain with a bright smile.

“I love you, too,” she replied.

They started to hear the police siren from a distance. Smoke started to come out of the hood. Holes from multiple gunshots in front of it. Julius pulled out a crooked cigarette from his pocket and tapped his pockets for a lighter. There’s none.

“Gimme some light.”

Gwen didn’t answer. Julius realized that she wasn’t moving anymore. He started to cry and puts his hands inside her jacket. He thought he got the lighter but it was a pregnancy test.

“Somethin’ special,” Julius muttered to himself. Now that he’s alone, he let his emotions go. He cried while holding the pregnancy test. He cried like he had never cried before. The tears that were held up when he was beaten up by his step-dad, when his mom died from overdose, when his best friend got shot. They’re all welcome to come out now.

His eyes locked into a family walking under a huge blinking star decor. The mom got her crying child in her arms while the dad ran back to them with ice cream. The dad wiped his child’s tears. Julius wiped his own face, gun still in hand. For a fraction of a second, he saw himself giving the ice cream to his own child in Gwen’s arms. They said your life flashes before your eyes when you’re about to die, he thought, but it actually shows you what could’ve been.

The siren got louder. Policemen herded people off the parking lot. The beggar pointed in his direction while talking to the cops. The smoke from the hood started to invade inside the car. Flashlights and guns were pointed in his direction. Julius looked back but the family were already lost in the sea of retreating crowd.

Julius finally let go of the gun. He remembered that Gwen always said that, no matter what happens, no one else need to get hurt. The gun was only to scare people away. He closed Gwen’s eyes while coughing, getting slightly choked by the smoke. He saw the cops slowly creeping nearer, shouting orders.

Julius locked the car. The hood started to burn. The flame slowly crawled up until a small fire popped out of the dashboard. He picked up a stray hundred-dollar bill and set in on fire. He used that to light his cigarette. He took an old CD from the glove compartment and shoved it in the CD player.

“La-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la.”