"When a man ruins your life," Barney began to explain to Gita, "you never forget his face."
Gita did not seem particularly interested in Barney's pontifications on life and shooed him back to his table where another steaming bucket of crawdads was waiting.
"Well, at least that little son of a bitch will finally get his due," Barney mumbled as he drifted back to his table. Gita had told him to have whatever he wanted and she would pick up the tab. So Barney flagged down the waitress and ordered another schooner of Dixie.
When he could no longer hold any more food or beer, Barney left a big tip for the waitress and made his way to the Foggy Bottom subway station. It was late and the subway trains were running their evening and weekend schedule. Barney sat on the bench in front of the tracks and kept looking over his shoulder to see if anyone else was in the station with him. He could not shake the feeling that he was being followed. But every time he looked around there was nobody else to be seen.
"This is what happens when you come to the big city," Barney thought to him self. "You start getting paranoid and thinking that somebody is trying to get you."
The orange line train finally showed up and Barney took it to Courthouse Square in Virginia where he was staying. Gita had offered to put him up at the Four Seasons which was only a block from Syncopation Nation, but Barney felt uncomfortable and out of place at fancy hotels. So he opted for the Quality Inn in Arlington. It was only a couple of subway stops from Foggy Bottom and he didn't feel like he had to be dressed up to stay there.
He was tired and a little thirsty when he arrived at his room. He wanted to get a soda, but instead, he went inside to call Connie Jean to let her know everything had gone OK.
"Hey, baby," he said, trying to be smooth when she picked up the phone.
"Hey, Barney," replied Connie Jean. "How's the big city?"
They talked for a half an hour before Connie Jean cut in with "Hey, Barney, you'll have to sell your car to pay this long distance bill. We can talk for free when you get home tomorrow. I'll be at the airport waiting for you."
Barney hung up the phone and then relaxed in front of the television. He drifted off to sleep but woke up a little later with his tongue feeling like it was swollen. All that spice on the crawdads and all that beer had left him with a world-class thirst.
He got up and went outside to the nook where the soda machine was located. Next to the soda machine was a recycle bin filled with empty soda cans. He noticed that the pull tabs were missing on all of them and thought it was odd that Virginia would have such a silly rule as to require you to remove the pull-tab before putting a soda can in the recycler bin. But, when in Rome, Barney thought and made a mental note to remove the pull-tab before discarding the soda can.
Walking back to his room he stopped in front of his door to take a long draw on the soda. His tongue was so parched he could barely stand it. It felt thick and swollen and the soda seem slow to sink in. As he tilted his head backwards he felt something strike him on the back of the head with such force that all he could see was a series of light flashes. He though he had hit his head on one of the porch pillars and was going to turn around and inspect it. But his knees buckled and he went down. He was lying face down on the porch in front of his room. A warm liquid was accumulating on the sidewalk next to his cheek. Barney felt a few warm drops on his hand and thought for a moment that he had just had to many beers and maybe he had passed out in the rain.
"I must be back in Florida," he thought to himself. "This rain feels so warm." But his thoughts were failing to connect with each other and the world around him. He felt like he was in that twilight land that you experience when falling asleep. But he couldn't sleep out here on the sidewalk even if it was Florida. In the decade between Jacksonville and Indianapolis, Barney had spent many nights sleeping on the sidewalk. But that was behind him now and he did not wish to go back there.
He tried to pull himself up but he simply had no strength. "I can't let Connie Jean see me this way," he thought and tried again to get up. But his body would not move. In the next few seconds, his cares slipped away with his consciousness and everything went black.
When Rose got home, Garner was asleep on the couch in his T-shirt and boxer shorts.
"Did you get everything done that you needed to do?" he asked sleepily.
"I sure did," she replied buoyantly. "Now I can leave in the morning free and clear with nothing to hold me back from the Big Apple." She laughed at her breezy expression but as usual, she was the only one truly on the wavelength with her humor.
"Well, wake me up before you leave," Garner insisted, "I'll help you load your stuff into your car and I want a chance to say good bye."
The next morning Garner helped Rose load all her belongings into the car. As she was getting ready to get in the car she turned to him more serious than he had ever seen her before.
"Garner," she said, "I have really enjoyed our time together."
"You make it sound like it is over," Garner interrupted.
"Let me talk," she insisted. "I have to say what I have to say"
Garner nodded.
"You came to Washington with me because you really didn't have anything else to do. I'm glad you did and, like I said, the time we have spent together has been wonderful. But now you have something to do. You have your business here. And you are a sweet wonderful guy. It wouldn't surprise me if there were a couple of girls standing in the wings waiting to take my place."
Garner began to protest, but Rose held up her hand and stopped him.
"All I want is for you to be happy," she continued. "I am not going to call you from Manhattan. I want you to decide whether of not I am the one for you. If I am the one for you, I want you to join me in Manhattan. If you decide that your future lays elsewhere, then just move on with your life. And if I don't hear from you in a few weeks, I'll know what your decision is. I don't want you to have to explain yourself to me and I don't want to force you to have to lie to me. So decide what you want and if I hear from you that's wonderful and if I don't hear from you that's OK too. I will be happy for you either way."
Garner wanted to protest. He wanted to explain the complications he would face in Manhattan. He wanted to tell her how he would do everything in his power to work them out so he could be with her. But Rose just read the confusion in his face.
"Don't say anything now," she said. "Think about it and then decide." With that she kissed him lighted, got into her car and drove away.
Garner had a sinking feeling that everything good in life had just deserted him. And in a very convoluted and perverse way, it had.