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A Night Gone Wrong

Perri Bryan

    Marvin turns the key in the ignition to his dark blue Ford Galaxie. The muffler rumbled.
    “So, where are we going tonight, Marvin?”
    “I’m not sure yet. We can’t go too far tonight because I’m supposed to be home shortly. I’m thinking we’ll just go down the road. Is that okay?”
    “That’s fine with me. As long as I get time with you.”
    Marvin put the car in drive and coasted down the road. He turns right into a cul-de-sac. Helen turns and looks out the window checking her surroundings. Overgrown weeds had overtaken the sidewalk. A few rundown houses emerge from the shadows, but they are all boarded up. A pickup truck, propped up on cinder blocks, sits underneath a flickering streetlight. Marvin pulls to the side of the road and puts the car in park.
    “We’re here.”

    “Where exactly is here, Marvin?”
    “Here is where we can be alone, Helen. That is what you asked for,” Marvin says, leaning in for a kiss.
    A loud knock on the driver side window interrupts the kiss. Helen screams.
    “Roll down the window and give me your wallet,” the stranger says.
    Helen looks at Marvin. “What do we do, Marvin?”
    Marvin rolls down his window just enough to be heard. “Go on. You’re not getting anything from us.”
    The robber jabs his hand through the opened window and punches Marvin on the nose. Blood squirts from Marvin’s nose. He touches the blood with his palm so he can inspect it. Helen reaches for her keychain inside her purse. She aims a mini metallic canister that dangles from the chain at the robber and pushes down on its aerosol top. The cylinder shots a steady stream of pepper spray at the stranger’s eyes.
    “What the hell, lady,” says the stranger, crying. He bolts down the road rubbing his eyes.
    “Marvin, hurry up and get it together. We need to get out of here before he comes back.”
    Marvin snaps back to reality, throws the car and drive and speeds off. Helen looks out the window to see if she can see the man but he has disappeared into the woods.
    “I can’t believe you didn’t do anything, Marvin. We could have died and you did nothing. I’m just glad I had my pepper spray.”
    “Shut up, Helen. I froze okay. What did you expect me to do?”
    “The big, bad, football player froze? What a joke. You were supposed to protect me Marvin, and you froze, letting me fend for myself. I had to protect you. Please, just take me home.” Helen sits back in her seat and closes her eyes.
    Marvin pulls the car up to the curb in front of Helen’s house. He leans in for a goodnight kiss.
    Helen jumps back. “Are you serious?”
    “Look, Helen, I’m sorry. I didn’t know what to do. I froze. I was scared.”
    Helen gathered her belongings, and looked at Marvin. “You don’t think I was scared too, Marvin? I was terrified but I did what I had to do to protect us. If it weren’t for me we probably would have died. You clearly are not the man I thought you were.”
    She gets out of the car and slams the door behind her.

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