"Thank you, sir." He parked the truck in front of an old brick building. "You're welcome. Caleb's working today too. I'm taking you both out for lunch. Now let's get to work." Bon Jovi was singing something about laying someone on a bed of roses. Before that was Aerosmith screaming about not wanting to miss a thing. They were some of Rick's favorites and a must when he was working with us. I learned to live with it. Caleb sang along on top of his overdeveloped lungs. He knew all the lyrics after years of listening to them. I learned to live with that too. It wasn't so bad, I thought, grunting as I lifted the end of a toolbox, and Caleb the other, depositing it in the truck bed. Mostly it was funny. We were done for the day. Rick had been called to another site earlier so Caleb was giving me a ride. I would have asked Kara to pick me up, but I knew she was busy. My bike was now in excellent condition and safely parked in my garage for the winter, but as far as I was concerned, our deal wasn't over. At the time when she made the deal with me, she tried to wriggle out of giving me maintenance checks. I told her she could, and I'd let her know what it was. Hmm... there were too many options to choose from. A picture of her holding on to the headboard slid in my head. I made a fist and bit my knuckle. "So," Caleb said as he started the truck. "You want me to drop your ass off at Kara's new house?" "Her friend's. Kara's house sitting for a while. They're doing a reno there right now." "How'd that happen?" I shrugged. "It just did." "You could've done the reno. I'd have helped out." "Thanks, man." I would have done it for her if I knew anything about it. "Her friend hired someone else." I grabbed my phone and sent a text to Kara that I was on my way. "Stop by somewhere I can get vegetarian food." Caleb looked at me like I had turned into a bird and told him I had decided to live up in the mountains. "Bruh." "It's for Kara. She probably didn't eat yet." "Look at you. She'd tamed the wild beast." "Screw you." He chuckled, scratched his chin. "Am I supposed to know where vegetarians harvest the food they eat? Don't they eat rainbows and clouds?" "Didn't you go out with a vegan last year?" Caleb took off his beanie, shook the hair that fell on his eyes. "Yeah, you're right. I don't remember a thing." He pushed his hair back and put the beanie back on. "It was all a blur." "You're a blur. Can you at least tell where your brain is?" "Let me Google it," he said. "Don't think Google can even help you at this point." "Google says it's right in my stomach and my stomach says I'm starving to death. GPS the thing or she's getting cow burger." We were close to downtown, so it wasn't hard to find a vegetarian restaurant. The problem was we both stank from work. When he stopped in front of a café, we stared at each other. Caleb had a calculating look in his eye that I was pretty sure was reflected in mine. Nobody wanted to go inside and buy. We could've gone to a drive-through, but this area of downtown was tight, with restaurants and shops crammed together. Drive-throughs were impossible as was parking at this time of day. Someone had to stay in the car and wait. And someone had to go out and buy the food. "I'm already dropping your ass off so you're buying," he said. "I dropped your ass off last week. You're buying." "I did more work today," he retorted. "Says you. I had three splinters today." "I had five." "Shit." We paused, looked at the crowded restaurant, then looked at each other, sizing each other up. We fell silent. Then he said, "It's your girlfriend's food." I shut my eyes closed. "Shit." "Knew it." He laughed. "Get me three burgers and—" "You'll eat what I buy." I stomped out of the truck, slammed the truck door closed. I heard the window slide down, and behind me Caleb yelled, "Make 'em extra large because, unlike you, I'm still a wild beast!" I ignored him, muttered under my breath, and glared at the crowd. "The things I'll do for you, Kara." And with a resigned sigh, went inside. As soon as I got the food, I grumpily told Caleb to step on it. "Line was till kingdom fucking come. You're buying next time." I watched as he inhaled his burger with one hand, the other on the wheel. Took a sip of Coke, then unwrapped another burger. I did the same. "Is this really vegan burger? Damn. Tastes like the real thing." He was right. I took note of the restaurant, thought about bringing Kara there some other time. Preferably a weekday when there were no customers. Like at all. I was just about to eat my fries when my phone chirped a text. Spitfire: Door's open, Bigfoot. Just come in. I frowned. It was late. She'd be alone there now. Did she not watch the news? What if someone tried to break in? Sometimes she could drive me up the wall. Like that time when she stupidly hitchhiked while we were having a fight on the road. I thought of the argument we were going to have in my head, using logic why she shouldn't leave the front door open. She was a very smart woman. She'd understand. "I always knew there's always a party in your head," Caleb mumbled. "But I never heard you think. Now I always do. Is this what it's like?" "What?"