The Ride
Ray did twelve years. His friend kept the promise anyway.
Twelve years, and the gate still opened slow. Ray stood on the other side with a duffel that held everything he owned and a shirt that didn't fit right anymore.
The town was smaller than he remembered, or he was bigger. Either way, the walk to Dale's office took him past the diner where they used to eat, the lot where they used to park, and the house that used to be his mother's, which was a dentist's office now, with a sign out front that said SMILE.
Dale had done well. That was the word everyone used. Did well. The office was all glass and wood, and Dale came out from behind the desk and hugged him, and Ray stood there with his arms at his sides until Dale let go.
“You look good,” Dale said.
“I look like twelve years,” Ray said.
Dale nodded like he'd practiced it. Then he took an envelope out of the drawer and put it on the desk between them. It was thick. Ray didn't touch it.
“I kept the promise,” Dale said. “Your mother's at Cedar Hill. I paid every bill. I went to see her twice a year. She asked about you every time.”
Ray looked at the envelope. Then he looked out the window at the dentist's office that used to be his mother's house.
“I believe you,” he said. And he did. That was the worst part. He'd spent twelve years telling himself Dale would forget, that the promise was cheap, that his time bought nothing. But Dale had kept it. Every bill. Twice a year.
“So take it,” Dale said. “It's yours. I owe you.”
“Take me to see her instead.”
Dale blinked. “That's it?”
“That's it,” Ray said.
They drove in Dale's clean car and neither of them talked. Cedar Hill was a long building with a green lawn and a flag. Ray looked at his hands the whole way up the walk.
His mother didn't know him at first. Then she did. She held his face like it was made of glass and said his name twice, and Ray stood there and let her.
Dale waited by the car. When Ray came out an hour later, Dale was still there, same spot, same hands in his pockets. Ray got in.
They drove back through town, past the diner and the lot and the SMILE sign. Dale didn't take the road to his office. He took the long way, and Ray let him.
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