Napa
Spirits Hangover
Seth started Rock Band, and selected the “random song” option from the menu. The song loaded, and the fog machine pumped a cloud into the room. Red, yellow, green, and blue lights waved around in colorful beams through the grayish air. Even with the dots on the screen obscured by the smoke, Seth saw enough to keep the beat.
Deep into the song, Seth pounded on the pads left and right. The music slurred for a second, then steadily sped up. Having a hard time keeping pace, Seth’s arms and back stiffened as he fell out of the groove. The random rays of color from the light machine turned to a dull green, stopped swirling, and aligned side by side. They formed a line on each side of Seth to the television, lighting a path like a runway at night.
The lights drew Seth’s attention and he missed a red note, but instead of the red note disappearing at the bottom of the screen like normal, it curved out away from the television, floating up into the smoky channel of light. It was followed by a blue dot. Seth watched several other dots pop off the fret and enter the living room, causing the song to abruptly end as if someone unplugged a turntable and the record wound to a stop. The fret was still on the screen, but frozen in place.
The colorful dots grouped together, forming a circle of twelve dots rotating like a Ferris wheel. Seth heard the X-Box drive spinning fast enough to shake the console. The fret on television turned a glowing metallic, and shot a note to the center of the other twelve dots. In unison, they all changed to a highly polished bronze. It looked familiar but something wasn’t right?
The formation moved closer to Seth. Their brightness made him squint, and their heat made him lean back. They spun around like a gyro, speeding up until there was one soft glowing shell with a bright star in the center. The green lights along the channel turned to a deep red, followed by a deeper purple, and finally faded to nothing.
Seth watched with his mouth hanging open. The brightness of the star cast shadows from the furniture and plants on the walls. Slowly it lost its shine and heat, fading to a cold transparent blue. The drop in room temperature sent shivers through Seth’s back. He tried to raise his hand to turn off the X-Box, but something was holding him down, pressing the coldness into his exposed arms. Laughter echoed in the background. Darkness hid everything except the fading star. Seth stared until it faded from sight, leaving him freezing in the dark. He pulled his knees to his chest, curling into a fetal position, ready for his fate.
Something clicked and a bright light flooded Seth. He was still freezing, but he managed to turn toward the light. His head pounding, his heart pounding, he tried to open his mouth but it was too dry. Dejected, he looked away from the light and tried to hide his eyes. His head pounded harder, from the inside. The sound of running water made the pounding hurt more, but his parched throat yearned for refreshment. Seth tried to swallow, but was startled halfway through when he heard Megumi. “Seth. Come to bed. It’s almost morning.”
Seth woke on the bathroom floor with two towels covering his body and legs. He took the cup of water from Megumi and drank it. “I guess we killed the bottle last night…”
Megumi flicked the light switch a few times. “No. You drank the bottle. You’re killing yourself you know.”
Seth crawled to his feet, leaned into the sink, and took a long drink of cold water. It was the last thing he remembered before he heard eggs sizzling a couple hours later.
He crawled from bed and worked his way to the kitchen, pausing at the doorway to rub his temples. He poked his head through the Japanese curtains to the kitchen. The brightness made him pull back right away. He stuck his hand through and asked. “Can I have my tea? I think I’ll sit in here for a little while.”
Megumi handed him a cup of hot tea. “Give me your other hand.” Seth stuck his other hand through the curtains. She adjusted his hand and placed some pills in it. “These will help stop the pounding. You promised me you were going to cut back… I knew you couldn’t.”
Seth popped the Advil pills in his mouth. “Thanks.” He washed them down with a sip of tea. “I know. I’m trying. Not hard enough, but I’m trying. Besides, what’s the point. It’s not like I’m going to see eighty anyway.” He took his tea and went to the couch.
Megumi brought their plates to the living room, where they ate together. Aizu constantly moved from one end of the coffee table to the other trying to be noticed, anything for a snack. Every now and then Seth broke off a piece of something and gave it to her.
“That’s why she begs!” Megumi snapped.
“I know!” Seth responded. “But look at her. That’s Aizu! Don’t you want to share with Aizu? She’s family too, and she doesn’t know the difference between breakfast or dinner time. You’d beg too if you only ate once a day.”
Megumi shook her head. “Whatever. Hey, I have to go to Target. Do you need anything?”
Seth poured maple syrup over his pancakes. “No. I’m going to chill here and read this book Angela gave me. If I push I can finish before Monday.”
Megumi reached for the Tapatio sauce. “Why the rush?”
“Oh… put some on my potatoes too please.” Seth pulled his hands back from his plate. “No rush. I just want to get back to writing my story. It’s a good book. I think you would like it too.”
Megumi laughed. “I read Japanese books. I told you English books make me sleepy.”
*****
Seth watched the Molony Zone after dinner. Outside he saw the headlights of several cars park and turn off. He nudged Megumi. “It looks like the boys are here early tonight.”
Megumi picked up her things and started for the office.
Seth got up to get some beers from the fridge. “We won’t play long tonight. My head still hurts.”
Everyone made it inside by the time Seth got the game loaded and pulled the instruments out. Jovel strapped on his guitar. He handed Cruz his, but Cruz passed it on to Marcus. “Here. You start us off tonight man.”
Marcus grabbed the guitar. “You sure?”
“Yeah. I need a song or two to clear my head. Maria hasn’t been the same since I told her I wanted to wait to get married. I swear she’s holding something back, but I don’t know what it is? I can’t read her mind… I don’t know man.”
Seth opened a beer for Cruz. “Here, have a Silver Bullet. I bet after a song or two you’ll jump in the game.”
Cruz put the beer on the table and sat on the couch. “Maybe it’s all this stuff in the skies, and those shows on TV talking about all the different ways the earth is going to end?”
Seth shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe she wants to have kids at the same time as Nico so they can grow up together? You never know how girls think. She didn’t break up with you, right?”
“We’ll always be together, but this is the longest I’ve been in the dog house. Usually I know why.”
“Check it out. I have a song for both of us tonight.” Seth scrolled down the song list until he found “My Own Worst Enemy” by Lit.