Midge glanced at the clock as she slipped into bed next to the snoring Bud. The clock read 2:18 am. Bud's weight shifted away from her slightly as she settled in next to him. She froze, waiting to see if he would awaken, worried that he would observe that her hair was soaking wet from her shower. Her pulse raced a bit, imagining that he would question why she was showering so late at night, wondering if he would catch a lingering scent of Aqua Velva on her damp skin. She forced herself to relax, take a deep breath and lie quietly, replaying the events of the evening over again in her mind. As Bud rolled to his side and quieted his snorning for a moment, she sighed, thinking about all the events that had transpired in the short 10 hours from the phone call.
The phone began ringing that afternoon as Midge was rummaging through the pantry, trying to decide what to fix for dinner. It was Bud's Moose Lodge night, and she was looking forward to getting him fed and out the door to his lodge meeting, and settling herself in front of the Tv to watch American Idol. She picked up the phone absent mindedly while reading over a recipe on a can of mushroom soup, wondering if Bud would complain about tuna casserole. She snapped herself to attention as she heard her friend Linda tell her, "So, you gotta help us out here, Midge!" Midge began to make an excuse but Linda would have none of it. An hour later, Bud was grumbling about having a frozen Healthy Choice meal for dinner as Midge gathered her bowling gear and headed out the door. She stopped to give Bud a peck on the cheek, promising him a nice roast beef dinner for the next evening, which brightened his mood considerably. She reminded him not to wait up, as tonight's league bowling schedule was a double header, leading up to a tournament to be held on the weekend. Midge was the alternate team member for Wanda's Curlery, and was rarely called upon to fill in, but Wanda herself had broken an ankle slipping in water at her own beauty parlor and would be out the rest of the season.
Parking was tight at the Troutvale Lanes. The neon sign appeard to have a short, threatening a headache as she walked beneath it. The flashing letters boasted of Troutvale's "Premiere Bowling Alley." It was the only bowling alley in the small blue collar town of Troutvale, so it wasn't a stretch of the imagination to believe it was the "Premiere" bowling alley. A few team members were gathered inside discussing Wanda's injury and stopped to greet Midge with high fives. Linda thanked her for being willing to come on short notice. She stubbed out her cigarette and popped in a stick of gum, offering Midge a stick. Midge chewed slowly, glancing around to see who all was there. Linda's husband arrived, carrying a long neck bottle for Midge, Linda and himself. Linda said, "Pace yourself tonight Dan, it's gonna be a long one." Dan, never one to let a chance pass to make a dirty joke answered back, "Now baby, you know it's always a long one when I'm around." Dan laughed loudly at his own joke while Linda and Midge rolled their eyes. Midge complained to Linda that she had done her nails that day, wouldn't you just know it, and bowling would simply ruin the cuticle and chip the polish. As Linda admired Midge's handiwork a flash of black and red polyester caught the corner of her eye.
He stood leaning against the row of bowling lockers near the bowling station. His eyes took in all the commotion as teams discussed strategy, polished already gleaming bowling balls and finished lacing up bowling shoes. He was tall and lean. He wore the red and black colors of the Troutvale Bait Shop. She couldn't make out the name stitched in cursive over the pocket on his shirt, but she noticed that his bowling shirt was a custom job. It wasn't the usually blocky, sloppy cut that most bowling shirts sported. This shirt had a western flair to it, cut slim to show off broad shoulders and slim waist, with pearl snaps in place of cheap plastic buttons. He turned to place his bag into a cubby, and she noted that the back of the shirt had a western style yoke stitched in some kind of fancy stitching. The shirt was tucked into black Wranglers. Midge could not help but notice that the Wranglers showed off the rear view quite nicely. Linda jabbed her, saying, "He ain't bad for a red head, is he?" Dan knows him from down at the fertilizer plant. His name's Wayne. Wayne must have felt the stares, as he turned, making eye contact with Midge. He grinned, flashing a silver tooth, and running his hands over his already slicked back red hair. Something about his sideburns, old fashioned as they were made her feel a little swirly in the head. She dropped her gaze and turned to place her bowling ball on the ball return.
As the evening wore on Midge found herself glancing frequently at Wayne. She tried to control her urge to swing her hips as she moved from place to place. Her bowling suffered from her distraction. Her team tried to be supportive, making excuses for her, mostly about being called in at the last minute. She drank a few more beers than she usually did, feeling a bit tipsy and distracted. She couldn't tell if Wayne was staring at her when she wasn't looking. She only knew that his team was doing well and he seemed to be focused only on bowling. Finally, round one was over and they had a 15 minute break before teams were eliminated and round two began. Midge made a visit to the ladies room, and stopped at the mirror to touch up her makeup and comb her hair. Coming out of the bathroom into the hallway she stumbled a bit at the threshold. She felt a strong grip grab her arm to keep her steady. She looked up into the greenest eyes she had ever seen. Wayne. He grinned and held onto her arm a bit longer than was necessary as she stood staring, slack jawed. When he let go she felt herself blush, and busied herself straightening out her pink bowling shirt. Wayne asked her if she was all right, and she just nodded. He made a point of staring at the pocket where her name should have been embroidered, making it clear that he enjoyed the way she filled out the garishly bright garment. She stuttered a bit as she said, "I don't have a name on my shirt because I'm just a fill in. I'm Midge." He held out his hand for her to shake and told her, "Hi Midge, I'm Wayne." All she could say was, "I know."
Later, she could not remember the walk back to her team, or much about the second round of bowling. A few more beers, a couple of strikes and a spare, some fist bumps from team members, a loud swat on the rump from Dan which earned him a playful smack and scolding from Linda, and it was time to head home. It was just after 11 o'clock when she finished packing her ball and shoes and headed for her car. She was mildly concerned about driving, but figured she would just take it slow. She slipped behind the wheel and turned the key. Click. She tried again. Click, click, click. Nothing. She smacked the steering wheel, cursing Bud for his cheapness and his refusal to buy a new battery, insisting that it would last a little while longer. She started to open the door, hoping to catch a ride home with someone, thinking that Bud would just have to deal with the dead battery the next day. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Wayne approaching, which stopped her in her tracks. "Need a lift, ma'am?" Her mouth went dry. She could only nod.
She slipped into his truck on the passenger side, pressing herself as close to the passenger door as possible. She did not understand why she felt so nervous. Nothing wrong accepting a ride home from a fellow bowler, after all. The truck was a work of art. 1956 Chevy, completely refurbished. Loud. Wayne grabbed gears, working the clutch effortlessly and they flew out of the parking lot. Midge felt a little dizzy. He didn't ask her where she lived. No words were spoken as he headed out of town and pulled off onto a little dirt road overlooking the river. She was taken by surprise when he reached out an arm and pulled her by her belt towards him on the slick leather seat. She felt his lips on her neck and the hard knob of the gearshift pressed against her thigh. The scent of sweat, beer and Aqua Velva was overwhelming to her senses. His hands slipped under her bowling shirt as she ripped open his shirt in one tug on the pearl snaps. She felt herself being pressed backwards onto the seat of the truck. She closed her eyes, swallowed her gum and wondered if she was going to have a rash from the sideburns.
The next day she was a bit hung over, moving slowly through her household chores. Bud got the promised roast beef dinner, after he delivered her car to the house with new battery installed Life assumed the usual routine until the next bowling night. She kissed Bud goodbye and left him with a plate of spaghetti as she headed out. Wished him a good Moose Lodge meeting.
As she sat chatting with Dan and Linda she spotted Wayne out of the corner of her eye. He had his arm around a brunette with her hair piled high in a loose bun on her head. A large woman with visible tattoos on her chest and a bull dog appearance, as if she had no facial expressions available other than a scowl. He did not meet Midge's eye. Midge thought to herself, "Maybe Bud would enjoy a nice roast chicken for dinner tomorrow night." And bowling began.
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