Chapter 17


“I don’t want to fight,” Tony said as he slapped the steering wheel with both hands. He did not say anything after that but, Amy could plainly see that he was more than a little agitated. He never stopped fidgeting and his nostrils were turned like they always were when he was mad.

Every single time Amy looked at him she wanted to slide that much closer to the passenger door. That only succeeded in making her feel all the more boxed in. So she forced herself to sit still and pointed out, “I just asked why it is we’re sitting here?”

There was no reply. Tony just kept looking straight ahead. He did make a sound that was kind of like a snort but, Amy was not completely sure. Then she decided to point out, “this is work Tony. We can’t keep doing this. We have to focus. We have to do what we’re told.”

“We are,” he said quickly.

Amy pointed across the street from where they were parked, “that’s the girl’s apartment, right over there, right?”

His head was bobbing now and he sounded like that was the silliest thing he had ever heard, “yeah. That would be why we’re parked here and not on the other side of town.”

“Tony,” Amy said with a little bit of her own frustration added to the mix, “you don’t have to throw it back in my face. I’m trying to get something clear about what we’re doing, you know?”

“That’s why I said I don’t want to fight,” Tony told her in a matter of fact way.

Amy burst out angrily with, “we’re not fighting damn it!” After she got her own breathing under control she tried to force herself to be calm, “I just want to know what we’re doing. What do you want?”

Tony’s head snapped around, “what’s that supposed to mean?”

Amy shrugged and mulled it over, “umm, it’s a question? It means what it says it means, I think.”

In a forceful way, Tony gestured at the apartment and said, “they told us to watch the place, so that’s what we’re doing.”

“I think,” Amy said cautiously, “Barbara wanted us to poke around some. You know? Maybe look inside?”

It was another one of those dead ends. Tony just looked back to his front and went into silent mode, yet again. Amy soured and joined him in his vigil. Then she found that she could not sit comfortably. In between shifting her weight she said, “maybe it was a mistake.”

Tony’s head snapped around again, “watching this place?”

“I mean us,” Amy did not look at him this time.

Tony did not look away, “I thought we been over this already or do you just like pouring lemon juice on open wounds?”

“Not what I mean,” Amy said pouting with crossed arms. “This is what I was trying to avoid.”

Tony was very assured when he answered that with, “I told you I didn’t want to fight, you didn’t listen.”
When Amy looked back at him her face was almost the shade of her hair, “I was trying to keep from hurting you.” Tony grunted out a laugh. Then he laughed again. After that he decided to slap the steering wheel. His laughter had quite a bite to it and, as much Amy did not wish to admit it, it hurt like hell, “it’s not funny. I really didn’t.” Then Amy just had to admit, “I honestly didn’t think I would.”

The laughter stopped and now his face was red when he looked back at her again, “and how did you figure that Amy? You couldn’t just, you know, just couldn’t…”

Amy lunged at him and got in his face, “couldn’t what Tony? Say how you feel?”
His fidgets began again in earnest. This time Tony was actually slapping the wheel like it was a drum set. After he got about half way through a song he said, “yeah!”

Since enough time had passed Amy had to honestly ask, “yeah what?”

Tony burst out with, “yeah to your question!”

Amy became reflective and asked, “to my question or my answer? Well, I don’t mean answer, answer. I mean the answer I gave for the answer I thought you meant when you wouldn’t answer. Is that what you mean?”

Tony went cross eyed, “what?”

Amy exploded in his face and screamed, “are you trying to tell me that you love me!!!”

Tony remained calm and surprisingly subdued, “whoa.”

Quickly Amy backed off, crossed her arms, pulled her feet up in the seat, and went as fetal as she could. She meekly squeaked, “can’t believe I just said that.”

The vacuum of sound was quickly filled with the strangest of all tunes. At first Amy was not even sure she was really hearing it. It would be just too bizarre and she decided that she was imagining things. Then Tony reacted to it. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone.

As Tony read the screen, Amy started to feel sick at her stomach. With no small amount of disgust she asked, “when did you change your ring tones?”

Tony finished silently mouthing the message that he had received and said, “we got to get moving.”

Amy reached over and grabbed the keys and kept her hand on them as she asked Tony, “please do not tell me that you use that as a ring tone.”

“What?” Tony seemed genuinely confused, “you mean the ring tone for my text? What’s wrong with it?”

Amy was about to spit as she said, “that is the most disgusting movie I have ever see… heard of in my life. Really Tony? Two Horses and Sister Sarah? You’ve got the theme music from that, as your ring tone?”

Tony seemed genuinely confused again, “is that what that’s from?”

“Oh don’t you even try that one mister,” Amy growled at him.

Suddenly Tony relaxed and even looked playful. He was most definitely smug, “ok Amy, here’s the thing.” He reached out and gently removed her hands from the keys. Then he said, “I had no idea what that was from. I just thought it was cool.”

Amy exploded, “it’s porno!”

He still had a very playful grin, “which makes me wonder, how do you know that?”

Amy went fetal again, “where do we have to go now?”

As Tony started the car up he did have one last thing to note before he hit the accelerator pedal, “oh and I’m not your boyfriend anymore. If I decide that I want to watch porn, it’s none of your business.”

Amy meekly mumbled just loud enough to be heard, “I’ll sleep with you again.”

Tony pulled the car out of the parking space and without missing a beat he replied, “I’ll give the video back to Chuck.”