And the moral of the story is ...

Tommy sat staring at the wall all the while contemplating the omnipresent and oppressive silence that filled the room. The lonliness that the silence spoke of was overpowering. Tommy took another drink of his beer as the day shifted to night and the muted yellow of the street lights outside his window took the place of the sun. 'Should I do it' Tommy muttered aloud to the silent voices in his head, 'should I really do it?'

Tommy woke the next day to find a message on his answering machine notifying him that his remaining shifts at work had been canceled due to mechanical failure. Great, he thought, the one solid excuse I had is now gone. A few weeks before Tommy had been surfing the internet and had come across one of the many dating sites. He had seen them before, browsed them before, but for some reason this time he created a 'profile' and had actually begun a conversation with a woman. It felt good to have someone interested in him again. It had been over a year since his wife had left and thoughts of being in a new relationship were just starting to break through frosty layers of anguish and despair.

They had talked a few times on the computer. They had even talked a few times over the phone. He thought that she had a sexy voice and tried to picture what the rest of her might be like. They had talked about meeting and so it was that now Tommy was faced with several days off and a perfect opportunity to meet the woman with the sexy voice. After hours of mental debate Tommy decided to throw caution to the wind and hopped in his car.

The drive would take a few hours but so long as he didn't focus too much on what he was actually doing Tommy felt positive that he could make it there. Of course there was the small problem that she did not know he was coming. Tommy tried her phone a few times but only got her answering machine. Undaunted, Tommy continued his trek. He was about an hour away from his destination when she called but his cell phone was dying so he was only able to say that he was on his way and would call her from a pay phone once he got there.

Now what do I do, thought Tommy. How do I control this? I don't even know what she looks like, where she lives, anything. What have I got myself into? Once he reached her hometown he found a local coffee shop and a payphone. He called her up and was told that he could pick her up a friend's place. He knew nothing to say but ok. He followed the directions she had given and a few minutes later pulled into the driveway of a stranger's house. Within seconds a woman came around the corner introducing herself as Julie, the woman he had come to meet. Tommy's first thought was 'the audio and the visual just don't match up'. But he tried not to let his thoughts betray him as he politely greeted her and opened his car door for her.

The drive to her place was somewhat akward but polite conversation flowed and within minutes they had arrived. He pulled into the driveway and was led down to the hole of an apartment that she lived in with her sister. Things were going from bad to worse in Tommy's mind. How the fuck did I get myself into this? he wondered. He listened politely as the two sisters fought over the welfare check that had just come in. He listened silently as they talked about the two guys that the sister had fucked that day, one on the very couch that Tommy was now sitting on. He was regailed with tales of sexual exploits with one loser after another by the sister who lounged on the opposite couch wearing nothing but a threadbare night shirt which allowed Tommy to see more of more than ample body then he would have wanted.

His mind was racing. He was panicked. What have I got myself into? What the fuck am I gonna do? Julie apparently sensing that nothing was wrong, either with her conduct, her sister's or with Tommy decided to excuse herself to shower her rather large body before bed leaving Tommy alone with the questionable sister. 'How am I gonna get out of this?' Tommy wondered.

"So did you have a nice drive?" the sister asked.

"It was okay, not much traffic so it was pretty easy going" Tommy answered. His mind was racing, he had to get out. "I'm just gonna step out to the car for a second. I brought your sister a gift and I wanted it to be a suprise so I didn't bring it in with me."

"Oh, okay" replied the sister who had barely taken her eyes off of the TV.

Tommy got up and moved to the door and was putting on his shoes when he noticed that he had already brought in his bag. Fuck! How am I gonna get that out of here without raising suspicions? He took a quick glance towards the bulbous body lounging on the couch to see if she was watching. Good she wasn't. He quietly lifted his bag and carried outside with him. He got to the car and opened the door, tossed in his bag and was about to start the car when he noticed that the apartment window was open. Shit! Now what? thought Tommy.

He quickly decided to put the car in nuetral and began to push the car out of the driveway. I've got to hurry he thought I can't be caught doing this. Once the car was out of the driveway and stopped he began pushing it down the road trying to get out of earshot of the window. It wasn't until he was nearly a block away that he decided it was safe enough to hop in the car and start the engine. He tore off down the road.

Elation washed over Tommy as he sped down the street but this was fleeting. How did he get back to the highway? How would he get home? He was lost. He had no clue where he was. Luck was with Tommy for at the next stop light was a convenience store and inside a cop who gave him directions that would speed Tommy home.

Tommy drove through the night, only stopping for gas and coffee. He couldn't rest till he reached the safety of his home. At nearly 4 in the morning Tommy locked his door behind him and was once again enveloped in oppresive silence and its subsequent lonliness. He had never been happier.

And the moral of the story?

Be sure to buy a car that is light enough to be pushed by yourself because you never know when you might need to run with it in nuetral down a strange street in a strange town in order to escape two less than appealing sisters.