Dance Yrself Clean on the 4th July IV

She gets out of bed in a hurry, kicking the covers off you as she runs to the bathroom. You hear her vomit a few times and you smile to yourself. You slowly climb out of bed as well, making the trek to the kitchen for some water. Chad and Amy are in the living room already, and you notice that it's 2 in the afternoon.

"What's up man?" Chad asks you cheerfully.

"Water." You manage to croak, and ransack the unfamiliar cabinets before you find a glass. You are on your third glass as Lena exits the bathroom and sits down on the floor. She is wearing tiny shorts and a small tank top--showing a lot of skin--and you silently wonder how you managed to end up in bed with her last night.

She is not meeting your gaze and you assume it is par for the course.

"We should probably get food." Amy says from the couch.

"I need to go to work at 3." Chad says.

"You gotta stay here and supervise us." Lena says to Chad in a small voice.

You think for a moment, realizing the only thing you've had to eat in nearly 4 days, other than booze, has been a slice of pizza on...Saturday night. It was now Monday morning. Well, afternoon. Close to 3 pm.

"I could go for some food." You say. "And champagne."

"Yeah? I'll make an omelet. And we can have mimosas with it."

This seems like an agreeable arrangement to you, so you volunteer to take the short walk to the store with Amy to get supplies. You steal a glance at Lena as you leave and you notice her with her head down. You think she looks gorgeous in this afternoon light. On this July day. You realize suddenly that it's July 4th, Independence day.

"Shit, happy America day!" You exclaim.

Everyone laughs, the realization dawning on them as well.

"Shit, America!" Chad yells.

"We need some Budweiser!" Lena laughs.

"Happy 25th America day, Amy." You say, and she laughs. "Shit dude, I'm almost 30."

"Fuck."

"Let's go get some eggs."

You head out the door with her into the hot Texan sun, but hardly notice it. You're thankful that you have acquired a new pair of sun glasses from somewhere, and that the pain in your jaw has finally subsided. You notice the stubble there and realize that it's been days since a shower or shave. But then you remember that you went swimming yesterday afternoon. In fact, you went swimming yesterday night as well. Suddenly you recall jumping off a man made water fall into a pool. You remember it getting cold. You remember giving Lena your black t-shirt to wear when she started shivering.

You return with eggs, champagen, sausage, cheap cheese. It will have to do. Amy gets busy in the kitchen as your pour champagne and orange juice for everyone. Chad drinks a mimosa quickly then leaves for work, just as Seth walks in. You never really realized that he was neighbors with Lena and Amy and Chad. But now you know, and he lays on the carpet, petting Amy's fat cat and drinking a Budweiser--July 4th edition--complete with an American flag.

For the first time in days you are relatively sober. Amazing. You see every cat hair in the carpet and every blind in the window shudder in the breeze, every twitch of the tendons on Seth's hands as he smokes a cigarette, and every tiny hair on the back on Lena's arms as she reclines on one end of the couch, her long legs resting on your lap as you admire her beauty and can't help but believe that she knows it.

The eggs are finished and you eat a little bit, but your stomach has become so accustomed to alcohol that it can only withstand a small amount of the very light breakfast. You pour another round of mimosas as everyone tries to make plans for the day, and you vaguely wonder how you will get home. Amy is talking about how Chad lost his shoes the night before while Seth is telling Lena how her hometown is filled with fat rednecks.

Lena turns to you and tells you that her brothers are total fuck ups. Drug addicts living at home. Mid 30's, no education and no ambition. She tells you that she won't talk to her parents because they lied to her about her brothers moving back home.

Seth tells her to shut the fuck up and drink a beer.

"We don't have any beer." She wails.

"Let's get some." You suggest. It's a little past three o'clock.

"I want some wine. Boxed wine." She mumbles.

"Bota box wine!" Amy yells from the kitchen, doing the dishes. You offer to help her, but she pushes you away so instead you take out the trash. When you return, Amy is yelling at Lena for not helping with something.

"I am helping," Lena insists, "I'm sitting here making sure everything is going right."

"You're supervising." You offer.

She turns to you and smiles. "That's right, I'm supervising. Plus, we just took out the trash."

"You didn't take out the trash," Amy corrects, "he did." She points at you with a soap spoon from the sink.

Seth gets up to leave. "Call me if ya'll decided to have fun or get naked." And he walks out the door.

"Let's get some beer." You say for what feels like the hundredth time.

"Yeah, Amy calm down. We're gonna get some beer and wine." Lena stands up and takes you by the hand.

"Bota Box!" Amy screams from the kitchen as you stroll out into the sun once again.

The two of you walk the short distance to the store again, and she mentions how this is the first fourth of July she's experienced with out fire works. Because of the dry summer there is a burn ban. No fireworks this year for Central Texas residents. You enter the store and you pick out another bottle of champagne and a 12 pack of beer. Lena has several small boxes of wine with her and picks up a pack of cigarettes as you examine the newspapers to determine wether or not this latest binge has caused you to miss some kind of event of global significance.

After scanning the trivial headlines you realize that's not the case and pay for your products and leave, following Lena back to the house, generally ignoring her for reason you can't quite explain to yourself. You enter the house and Amy is laying on the floor again, and though it doesn't seems strange to you as to why everyone ignores the furniture in the apartment and chooses to instead lay on the floor, you decide to do the same, and Lena joins you on the carpet as well, her head resting on your shoulder as she smokes a cigarette and Amy anxiously cracks into a box of wine.

The sliding glass door to the porch is open, and the summer breeze pushes the cigarette smoke back inside, towards your smiling mouth as you sip a cold beer on a soft carpet on July 4th, surrounded by a couple of good looking women, one whom you managed to seduce with out realizing how, when, or why, and you think to yourself, that this must be one of those days that stumbles blindly down your path every year or so, when everything is completely alright in your life.

All three of you talk quietly for a bit, about bars you know, bars that are closed, and bars that you'd like to visit. A book or two is even mentioned, and you expel your literary knowledge as the girls ask questions until finally it seems that every topic is exhausted and it is time to go swimming again. Lena stands to change into a small two piece bathing suite--white-- while Amy does the same. You are left alone on the carpet with an empty can of beer and a half smoked cigarette, realizing that you will probably not go home today,

Someone texts your phone, and you can hear it and recognize the meaning of the noise, but you do not know where your phone is, nor do you particularly care.

The pool is like a scene out of an MTV show about spring break. Tanned bodies and bleached blonde hair contrast with the tropical blue lagoon of the artificial pool. Loud music is played from speakers somewhere, and muscle bound dudes that are taller than you spot buzz cuts and bad tattoos. Koi fish, barbed wire and butterflies scar backs, biceps, and calfs. Rose petals on obliques and hearts on feet. Big sunglasses and small bikinis dot the landscape. You are so above this, that none of them can touch you. You lead Lena and Amy to a rock in between two groups who look as though they've been drinking in the sun all day.

Lena sits beside you and lights a cigarette with a match despite the wind. You are drinking a beer and some one asks you for a cigarette. You point to Lena and she gives a short girl spilling out of a pink swimsuit a butt. You relax and take off your shirt which you have been wearing on and off for almost 4 days now. Amy is drinking wine and has red stained lips. You think it is a good look for her.