When
we got out to the car, Ezra helped Adam into the backseat and ordered him to
buckle up. Without a word to me, he opened my door and waited for me to get in
before closing it and going around to the driver’s side.
I watched Ezra’s face as he started the car and pulled onto
the road. It seemed like he was purposely trying not to look at me. I angled so
I could see Adam in the backseat; his eyes were closed, and I thought he must
have drifted to sleep, but he called out, “Hey man, turn the radio on. You know
I like my tunes.”
Ezra finally glanced at me, shooting me an apologetic
half-smile. He flipped the radio on and turned the volume up. The sounds of
Coldplay’s ‘Paradise’ filled the car.
“Ah man, this is, like, my favourite song!” Adam shouted,
leaning forward and gripping the headrests. “Para-para-paradise! Such a great
song.” He leaned back in his seat and continued to sing along, his voice loud
and off-key.
My lips started twitching. I couldn’t help it. This was
quite possibly the most bizarre situation I’d ever been in.
“Don’t you dare start laughing,” Ezra told me quietly.
I peeked at him from under my lashes. He was staring
straight ahead at the road, but his lips were twitching too.
“I’m not sure I can help it,” I answered, my voice shaking
slightly with suppressed laughter.
The song changed and ‘Mysterious Ways’ by U2 came on.
“No, this is my favourite song,” Adam said. He leaned
forward again and suddenly his head was right between mine and Ezra’s.
I was so startled, a laugh burst from my mouth. Adam started
to laugh along with me, and his cluelessness made me laugh harder.
“What’s so funny, man?” he asked after a minute. “Oops,
sorry, lady,” he amended, smiling drunkenly.
I shook my head. “I really don’t know.”
“Put your seatbelt on, Adam,” Ezra said.
Adam slid back and I heard his seatbelt click into place. He
continued singing, giving it everything he had, waving his arms around and
rocking to the music. I soon discovered that every song was Adam’s
favourite, and each time he said it I had to bite back another laugh.
Ezra didn’t speak, but we kept exchanging glances every time
Adam hit a particularly sour note. He would cringe and look apologetic, as if
it were his fault his friend was butchering song after song. I had no idea what
was going on, but I didn’t really care.
We seemed to drive the entire length of the island before we
pulled into the driveway of a small two-story house. The porch light was on,
but the inside of the house was dark.
“I’d invite you and your lady friend in, man, but…you know
how it goes,” Adam said, struggling with his seatbelt. He finally got it undone
and he reached up to hand something to Ezra. He opened the door and stumbled
out, and a second later he was leaning in my open window. With his face so
close to mine, his beer breath made my eyes water.
“It was great seeing you again,” he told me, a goofy smile
plastered on his face. He pointed at Ezra and thumped his chest right over his
heart. “This guy…Ezra’s the best. He’s my guardian angel, you know? You two
treat each other right, you hear?” He screwed up his face and blinked his eyes
rapidly, and after a second I realized he was trying to wink, but he was too
drunk to figure it out.
Suppressing yet another laugh, I winked back at him. “Good
night, Adam.”
He waved and staggered off toward his house. He stumbled on
the front steps, and called out something that sounded like, “I’m good!” When
he had the door open, he waved again, then disappeared inside.
Without a word, Ezra put the car in drive and pulled back
onto the road.
“Well…” I ventured. “That was interesting.”
A ghost of a smile touched Ezra’s lips, but he simply shook
his head.
