Dave’s Last Call

A Dialogue-Only Short Story

By Patrick Best


WARNING: This story is not for young readers. You might also want to skip this one if you're offended by crude language that's commonly used by meth heads.

Hello?

Billy?! This Billy Warren?

This is Bill Warren. Who’s this?

Hey Billy! What’s up, man?! This is Dave Messer. You member me?

Of course I remember you, Dave! How are you? God, it’s been a long time.

Hell yeah it has! Eight years. Believe that shit? Eight years?

Has it really been that long? Gosh, I guess you’re right. I was 14 and still living in Tilly Ridge the last time my dad drove me over. You still over in Berryville?

Yep. Still here, unfortunately. We were close back in the day, wasn’t we? Me, you, Cheryl, Tim, Ally and little Shane. We were tighter en hell.

Yeah, we were definitely tight. I still think about you guys all the time. How are Cheryl and Tim? And your mom? How’s everyone doing?

Whoo. Ah, let’s see. Where do I start? Well, Cheryl had a baby last year.

Are you serious?!

Baby girl named Cali. Had her last May. Cali is short for California. Member how she used to go on about how she was going to move to California when she growed up?

Oh my gosh! Yeah, I totally remember that!

Well, she got knocked up by this dude from over in Enterprise and named her daughter California instead. Ain’t that some funny shit?

That is pretty funny. Everything okay with them?

Yeah, she’s doing good. The dude that got her pregnant is named Trent. He’s an alright guy, I guess. Cali looks a lot like Cheryl and Mama, thank God. Trent ain’t exactly Bradley fuckin Cooper, if you know what I mean. He’s nice enough though, so…

They get married?

Not yet, but that’s the plan. They might as well be married though. They’re livin in a trailer together outside Montgomery somewhere. It’s close to where Trent’s workin. I haven’t gone up there to see the place, but Granny says it’s nice. Trent’s a welder. Went to school for it in Dothan. I hear he makes like 22 an hour. Believe that shit? $22 an hour for weldin?

That’s not bad. What about Tim? How’s he doing? Last time I saw him he was letting his hair grow out long and he’d just gotten both of his ears pierced.

He’s still got the long hair and the earrings. He’s alright, I guess. He was going to the community college, but he dropped out like an idiot. He’s working at a Jiffy Lube right now changin oil and shit, but he’s lookin for something else. I tried to talk him out of quittin school, but he said he wasn’t into it anymore. When Mama died he pretty much stopped going to classes anyway.

Wait. What? Your mother died? Oh my gosh. What happened, Dave?!

She got in a bad car wreck last year. I’m surprised you didn’t hear about it. 

Me too. No, I haven't heard anything about it. 

You probably won’t believe me, but she’d been clean and sober for nearly two years when it happened. No booze. No pills. Not even a joint. Cold fuckin turkey. She even got a job at the Bank of Berryville as a teller. She told me they were talkin about gettin her into doing loans for people. Houses and cars. The whole deal.

I can’t believe she’s dead, Dave. I’m just... Jesus, man, I'm so sorry.

She was doin real good, Billy. Really gettin stuff back on track.  She was still livin with Granny to help with the bills and stuff, but she was doin real good. I was prouder than hell of her. She started datin this dude named Charlie that she met at the bank. Said he was a customer that came in every couple of days to make a deposit or whatever. They hit it off and started goin out and what not, but come to find out, the dude wasn't divorced from his wife.

Oh man. No, really?

Yep. Broke Mama’s heart big-time. She was in love. He was the first guy she’d been with since she’d gotten sober, so that probably had somethin to do with it. She was goin to AA meetings and the whole deal, and they’d told her to stay out of romantic involvements until she got her head right. She did until she met that dude. She fell hard. She’s always been like that, you know? Quick to fall for people.

My mother always said that Carol was one of the most tender-hearted people she ever met.

She never met a stray dog she didn’t want to bring home. That’s what Granny always says. The Charlie dude just called her on the telephone and told her he’d decided to go home to his wife and children. Just like that. One day they’re talkin about getting married, the next day he’s going home to his wife and kids. What kind of shit is that?

That’s terrible, Dave. What a jerk.

I know, right? Granny said Mama started cryin and throwin shit all over the house. She said she thought she’d gotten her calmed down, but when she went to the kitchen to get a glass of water, Mama ran out the front door and drove off in her car. Tim came home high as a kite that night and Granny bout knocked his head off. They tried to call me, but my phone wasn’t charged or I hadn't paid my bill or somethin. I don’t remember. But, anyway, they got into Granny’s car and drove all around town trying to find her. They ended up drivin up on the wreck around midnight. Tim told me he knew it was Mama before he even saw her car. Felt it, you know? She’d run off the road and hit a pine tree going like 80 miles an hour. She’d gone straight from Granny’s house to the liquor store and bought a pint of vodka and a two-liter of Mountain Dew.

God, Dave. I’m really sorry. I loved your mother.

I know, man. I miss the hell out of her.

I’m sure you do.

That motherfucker showed up to the funeral, too.

Who? Who came to the funeral?

Charlie. The dude that went back to his wife and kids. Took everything Tim had in him to stop me from stompin his ass right out there in the cemetery. He was cryin and actin like he was the one who lost someone. Can you believe that shit? He was cryin.

I don’t know what to say, Dave.

I told him to take his sorry ass down the motherfuckin road. I told him to go home to his family and stay the hell away from ours. I told him he was the reason we was puttin our mother in the God damn ground.

What did he say?

He didn’t say shit. Fucking coward. He just got into his car and drove off. He could tell I wasn’t fuckin around. He knew that if he didn’t leave, I was goin to put his sorry ass in a casket, too.

When did this all happen?

Last March. March 19^th is the day she died. We buried her on the 21^st.

I wish I would have known. I would have come down. God, Dave. This is really awful news.

It’s alright, Billy. I know you were doin your thing. Your grandfather told me you’re about to graduate from college and go off to law school.

Yeah. I’m finishing up here in a couple of months. I start at Emory in the fall. You talked to my grandfather?

Yep. Just a few minutes ago. That’s how I got your number. I called his office. He membered me right off. We moved out of Tilly Ridge 12 years ago, but he still membered me.

Of course he remembers you, Dave. You, Tim and Cheryl practically lived at his house when you were little.  

Man, why the hell haven’t we stayed in touch? I mean, we were all so damn close. Runnin the streets. Ridin bikes. Playin ball in Ally’s yard. Member how we used to go down to that stream and catch crawdaddys and tadpoles and shit? That was fun as hell.

Heck yeah, I remember. You were the master of catching crawdaddys.

That’s right! You were fine with the tadpoles and minnows, but you never didn't like touchin the crawdaddys, did you?

Nope.

Member that time Shane stood on the bank and peed on your head? You member that shit? You chased his little ass all over the woods. Member that shit, Billy? I laughed so damn hard I bout pissed myself.

I remember. If he wasn’t so young I probably would have beaten him to a pulp. He was what? 5 or 6 then?

That sounds about right. I think we were 10. So he was probably 6. It wasn’t long before Mama moved us over to Berryville to live with Granny. Have you seen them lately? Ally and Shane?

I saw them a few months ago. When I went to visit my grandfather.

They doin alright?

They seem to be doing really well. Ally joined the Marines. She just happened to be home on leave when I was in town. She looks great. Seems to really like it.

Wait. What?! Ally joined the God damn Marines? Are you shittin me, dude?!

No, I’m totally serious. She said she wanted to get out of Tilly Ridge, and joining the service was the fastest way she could think of making that happen.

So little Ally is fuckin jarhead? I wouldn’t have guessed that shit in a million years. I could see her growin up and bein a nurse or something like that. But never a jarhead. They call girls in the Marines, jarheads, right?

I think so. I’m not really sure.

Ho-ly shit, dude. That’s crazy! How bout Shane? You gonna tell me he’s a cop or some shit like that?

Shane’s a senior in high school. He’s on the football team and he’s really good, Dave. Really good. You wouldn’t recognize him. His arms are as big as my legs. He’s been offered scholarships by Georgia, Alabama and Florida State. Isn’t that crazy? Little Shane’s going to play college football.

Whoa. That’s… that’s crazy. I member holding him down and ticklin him til he’d start cryin for Ally to come help him. Member when we used to do that?

That wouldn’t happen anymore. He could do that to us now. Probably both of us at the same time.

I bet. Well, damn dude, that’s cool as hell to hear. I’m proud of him.

Me too. I’m really sorry to hear about your Mama, Dave. How are you holding up? You okay?

Not really, Billy. Not at all, to be perfectly honest with you.

I’m sure it’s been tough.

I’ve been meanin to call you for a long time. But I figured if I didn’t do it this mornin I might not ever get the chance.

What do you mean?

I mean I won’t be makin calls to any old friends after today.

Why? What’s going on?

Well, I guess I need to just go ahead and tell ya. I hate to do it because we're having such a good talk, but I really feel like have to tell ya now.

Tell me what?

I killed a dude last night, Billy.

What? What are you talking about, Dave?

I shot a guy named Shawn in the head with a shotgun last night. Boom... and he's dead.

Why would you do something like that, Dave? Are you serious? Are you messing with me, Dave?

I’m serious as a God damn heart attack, Billy. Shot him right in front of Martin’s Convenience Store in Berryville. You member that place? We went over there and got Slurpees a couple of times when you came to stay with us.

Wha…? What are you talking about? You really killed someone? Who? Shawn?

Some black dude named Shawn. I don’t know his last name. Never met him before last night. I feel terrible about it, but there’s nothin I can do now. He’s dead and I killed him. I’m fucked - plain and simple. My life is just as over as his.

Why would you do something like that? I mean… you shot him? For what?

I don’t know. Cause I was fucked up, I guess. I’ve been fucked up bout every day since Mama died. I mean I really went after it after she died. I hooked up with this dude that sold anything and everything, and he turned me on to crystal and shit’s been bad ever since. You ever smoked that shit?

What the…? Dave, this is insane.

Have you ever smoked it?

Crystal meth? Hell no, I haven’t smoked it, Dave! Are you crazy?

Good. Don’t ever fuckin try it. I'm serious. It’s like you’re in heaven when you first take a hit, but you go straight back down to hell when the buzz wears off. 

You were on meth when you did it?

Yeah. I’ve been doin crazy shit the last six months - breaking into houses and cars. Hell, I stole some of Granny’s jewelry three weeks ago and sold it at a pawn shop.  You believe that shit? That ain’t me, Billy. I would never take anything from Granny if I was in my right mind.

Jesus, Dave. This is bad, man. Real bad.

I know. I haven’t been the same person since I started on that shit. Granny knew I stole her stuff, but she didn’t call the police on me. I wish she would’ve now.

How…? Why did you kill this Shawn guy, Dave? Shawn, right?

Yeah. Shawn. Like I said, I don’t know his last name. I’d been over at this one dude’s place for a couple of days smokin and drinkin and gettin with this girl named Mary. We were both gettin with her. Me and the other dude. To be honest, I don’t even member where I met her. She went to go buy cigarettes while me and the other dude were on his back porch shootin at cans and shit with a shotgun he had. He kinda lives back off the road a bit so you can shoot without worryin about neighbors and shit. All I could think about the whole time we were shootin was how much I could get at a pawn shop for that shotgun. I’m tellin you, crystal will really fuck up your thinkin, Billy. Don’t ever start doin it.

What happened to the Shawn guy, Dave? How did it happen?

Okay… so Mary comes back to the house with the cigarettes and says, I am never going to that fuckin store again! Every time I go up there some stupid motherfucker talks shit to me. I had just taken a hit off the pipe so I was feelin fuckin good, man. Pumped up like a damn superhero or some shit. I bet I don’t weigh 130 pounds soakin wet right now, but I was feelin like the fuckin Incredible Hulk.

130 pounds? Are you serious? You weighed more than that when you were 13.

I’m tellin you, man, this shit don’t fuck around. I look like a damn skeleton right now. I’d hate for you to even see me. My teeth are all jacked up. I'm telling you the shit is bad.

Oh Jesus, Dave. So then what happened?

I said to the Mary chick, Who was talking shit to you? And she said, Some nigger named Shawn that I went to school with. He’s always sayin some shit to me, she said. This really pissed me off. You would have thought I was some kind of KKK dude or somethin. I was runnin around the house screamin nigger this and nigger that. And you know me, Dave. I ain’t like that. I ain’t never any problems with black people. I’ve hung out with just as many black kids as I have white ones. We all did, you know?

Right. So what happened? Tell me what you did.

Right. I member I was holdin the shotgun in my hands when I was runnin around the house.  I yelled at Mary and told her to go get back in the car. I told her we were goin to go back to that God damn convenience store to find that nigger. I’m sick of it, I member yellin. The dude whose house we were at tried to stop me, but I pointed the shotgun at him and told him to back the fuck off. Can you believe that shit?  I was totally tweaked out, Billy. Tweaked the fuck out. He could tell I wasn’t screwin around, so he went into the bathroom and locked the door.

Jesus.

I know. He’s lucky I didn’t kill him, too. I grabbed my pipe and me and Mary got in her car and started ridin toward town. We hit the pipe one time on the way up there. We didn’t talk the whole way. Not one fuckin word. The convenience store wasn’t but about two miles off, so we were there in like three or four minutes. That’s Shawn, the Mary chick said right when we pulled up. He’s the tall one in the red hat, she said. He was like 6’4” or somethin. How tall are you now, Billy?

6’2”

Yeah. Then he must have been like 6’5” or 6’6”. Tall sumbitch. He was standin next to this real fat dude that looked kinda like Fat Albert.  When I saw them standin there, the first thing that popped into my head was Hey, they look like Fat Albert and Bill from the Fat Albert cartoons. Member that old cartoon, Billy? Fat Albert?

Yeah, I remember it.

Well, the headlights were beamin in their faces. The Shawn guy… he shielded his eyes and did this little twistin thing with his fingers. He was tryin to get Mary to turn off her headlights, you know what I mean?

Yeah.

But she didn’t do it. She just left them on and I sat there for a second staring at those two guys through the windshield. Fuck you, Shawn, she kept saying over and over. The next thing I know I’m jumpin out of the car pointin the shotgun at the Shawn dude’s head. He backed up toward the front of the store. There was one of those stand-up cardboard things behind him in the store window of Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Some kind of drink ad or something, you know?

Right.

I was holdin the barrel of the shotgun about four inches away from his head. I was shakin real bad, so the barrel was movin all over the place. Man, what you doin with that gun in my face, man? he said. Why you pointin that shit at me? he said. I could hear Mary yellin in the car. She hadn’t gotten out of the car, but she must have rolled down the window cause I could hear her like she was standing right next to me. What you gonna do now, stupid sumbitch? she yelled. What you gonna do now motherfucker? The Fat Albert dude had his hands up and I could tell he wasn’t no older than 15 or 16. He was wearin a Berryville High School t-shirt. That’s where I graduated from, you know? Go home, fat ass, I yelled at him. He looked sideways at the Shawn dude and then started bookin it through the parkin lot. You like talking shit to white girls? I said to the Shawn dude. You ain’t such a badass now, are you motherfucker? I could tell he was scared because he kept swallowin. His Adam’s apple was movin up and down like he was drinkin a big glass of water or somethin. His arms were straight out like he was doin some kind of cheerleadin thing, too. Man, I’ve known Mary since we was in the 5^th grade, he said. Shut your fuckin mouth! I said. Just cause you know someone doesn’t mean you can talk shit to them anytime you want. He looked at me like I was crazy. Confused. Then he said, Look man, I don’t know what you’re talkin about. I didn’t say shit to that girl. She’s just pissed off at me because I broke it off with her last month. I ain’t got no beef with you. I just came up her to meet one of my homeboys. That’s it.

Wait. What? The Mary girl was his girlfriend?

I don’t know what they were. Like I told you, I just met her a few days ago. I really don’t know if they were boyfriend, girlfriend, fuck buddies or what. All I know is that the Mary chick started really screamin then. Fuck you, Shawn! Fuck you! She said it about 10 times. Then he started yellin back, No, fuck you, crazy bitch! You just mad cause I don’t want to be with your crackhead ass no more. Then she said somethin like, I don’t want to be with you because all you like to do is hang out with your dumbass friends. Then he said, All you want to do smoke rock! I ain’t got time for that shit! Then boom.

What?! Boom?! What did you do?

I pulled the trigger. 

No, Dave! No! Why would you do that?!

I don’t know, Billy. I just did it. I don’t even member tryin to pull the trigger. Next thing I know there’s blood everywhere. All over the window. All over me. All over the concrete. The dude’s face was gone. I mean, gone, Billy.

Jesus, Dave. Oh Jesus. God, no. Why, Dave? Why?!

I don’t know why I did it. It was like a reflex or somethin. That Mary chick jumped out of the car and started screamin, but I couldn’t understand a word she was sayin. I walked around to the driver’s side of the car, threw the shotgun in the backseat and threw it into reverse The last thing I saw in my mirror was Mary runnin down the middle of the road after me. She had blood all over her hands and she was screamin and hollerin for me to stop. She looked like somethin out of fuckin horror movie or somethin.

Jesus. Where are you right now, Dave?

I’m at a buddy’s place. He doesn’t know anything about it yet. I parked my car behind his house last night, and we smoked until we ran out early this mornin. He’s passed out now, so I’m just drinkin and callin people. I already called Cheryl and Tim and Granny. Told them everything except for where I was. Then I called you. I haven’t talked to your ass in eight fuckin years, but you’re the person I wanted to talk to after I finished talkin to my family.

I want to help you, Dave, but I don’t really know how. This is bad, man. Really, really bad.

There’s nothin you can do, Billy. It’s done. I’m done.

Jesus, man. I’m... I don’t know.

We were good friends weren’t we, Billy? I mean, we had some damn good times back then, huh?

Yeah, Dave. Really good.

Those were the best days of my life. All of us together. I’d do anything to go back for one day so I could feel that way again. Light and young. That’s what I miss. That feelin. You know what I mean?

Yeah, I know.

I feel heavy now. I feel like I’ve got, you know, like anvils on my shoulders are some shit. You know those things the Coyote used to try and drop on the Roadrunner.  Anvils?

Yeah, I know what you mean.

One fuckin day. That’s all I really want.

What are you going to do, Dave?

I guess I’m just gonna wait here til they find me. I still got… one, two, four beers left. I’m going to drink these and wait til I hear sirens.

Then what?

I don’t know. That’s what I been thinkin about since my buddy crashed. I feel really bad about shootin that dude. I thought about killin myself, but I’m scared of goin to hell. I even went and grabbed the shotgun out of the car. But I can't do it. Ain’t that some stupid shit? I killed a dude for no damn reason, but I’m afraid of goin to hell for killin myself. That don’t make sense, does it?

It makes perfect sense. Don’t think like that. What did your grandmother say?

She told me to turn myself in. She said the Lord would forgive me and that she’d always love me. I kind of wish she would have screamed and yelled at me. I think I would feel better it she was pissed instead of hurtin. Ya know?

I… I can’t believe you… I can’t believe this has happened, Dave.

I know, man. But it is what it is.

You want me to talk to anybody? Call anyone for you?

Do you have Ally’s number?

I think I have it somewhere. Yeah.

I want to call her, too. I want her to know I still think about her. I still think about y’all all the time, ya know?

I still think about you, too, Dave. You and Tim and Cheryl. All the time. Dammit, Dave. I would have… I mean, what the hell were you thinking?

I wasn’t thinkin, Billy. The crazy thing about all this is that we probably wouldn’t have talked for another eight years if I didn’t shoot that dude. Isn’t that fucked up?

Hold on. Let me see if I can find Ally’s number.

Wait. Hey Billy?! Billy?!

Yeah?

Don’t worry about it. I hear sirens comin this way. Wait a second. Yeah, they’re rollin up. It's on like Donkey Kong, Billy.

I hear them. Oh God, Dave. What now?

I’m goin to down this last beer and go outside. Do me a favor and give Ally a call? Tell her that I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to call her, too. Tell her I love her. And Shane, too, alright?

What are you going to do with the shotgun, Dave?

Tell Shane I said to keep hittin them weights and playin ball.

Dave. What are you going to do with the shotgun?

Good talkin to you, Billy. Don't worry about me, man. I need to go. I don’t want the cops to bust down my buddy’s door or anything.

Dave! Don’t do anything stupid! Just go outside and do what they tell you. Okay?!

You were my best friend, Billy. I'm glad you’re doin good.

Dave?! Dave?! You there? Dave?!