Earthbound Read Online Free Page B

“I see you there.
With a different girl every time.”
    That made me laugh. Becca knew what Pace was
all about. I didn’t need to worry about the two of them. Or so I
thought.
    Pace thought it was funny too. “I like the
movies, what can I say.”
    When we were younger, movie night was pretty
much the most exciting thing in our lives. It seemed like everyone
in Great Falls would get together in Town Hall on that special
night when they’d load up the equipment and show us a relic from
our past. They’d probably show it more often, but the equipment is
old and no one knows how to fix it. Plus using it takes up precious
electricity, of which we have little. Those wind generators only
crank out so much. Pace’s family could afford to keep a few working
lights in their house, but for the rest of us, daylight and
candlelight were enough to get by out of necessity. Anyway, when I
was young I never missed movie night. For about three years
straight I always went with Becca. We sat next to each other in the
dark. We were both prepubescent by the way, just so you don’t get
any ideas. I remember watching some movie about some girl who gets
swept up in a tornado and lands in some magical place. Or there was
one about this lady, she was a teacher I think of a bunch of
children, and their dad was an effing jerk, and they sang and ran
away from the Swiss or the Nazis or something like that. Boy, we’d
talk about those movies for the whole month until the next time. So
I stopped going when it was time to grow up. Eventually you realize
that life is about survival – and that’s pretty much it – so there
isn’t much time for fantasy.
    “You stopped going, Asher?” Becca asked.
    I gave her the courtesy of an honest answer.
“Those movies have nothing to do with who I am. It’s just a waste
of time.” I took a swig of whiskey and handed the flask to Becca.
Then I added, “course, if I was dating someone like Boze, I’d want
to sit in the dark with him as much as possible, so I wouldn’t need
to see his ugly face.”
    I caught Becca off guard as she was taking a
sip of whiskey. She laughed and nearly spit it out. But that stuff
is too precious. She managed to save every drop. “Yeah,” she
agreed, “not seeing his face was a bonus.”
    “I have to say,” Pace said, “I was glad to
hear you unloaded that guy. Good to see a worthy girl such as you
keeping yourself available for a better opportunity.” Pace was a
better opportunity, that’s for sure. No reason to worry about money
for a girl that married him. Maybe that’s one reason why he had no
problem with girls liking him. But was that what Becca was flirting
with Pace for? That didn’t sound like her. Of everyone I know,
she’s the one who seems best able to handle being so dirt poor.
“You’d be set if you married someone like me,” Pace continued. Now
I was pissed. I sat up and noticed my hands were clenching into
fists without me even thinking about it.
    “Oh no,” Becca said, laughing in his face.
“You’re not the marrying type!”
    Pace joined her in her laugh. “You’re right
about that.”
    My fists unclenched.
    More whiskey.
    “Boze,” Becca mused. “The only reason I dated
him was my parents thought it would be a good match that would make
fine babies. But I always knew he was an idiot.” We all laughed in
agreement. I could see Becca’s eyes darting around – she was
getting uncomfortable. She didn’t want to talk about Boze anymore.
Fine by me.
    “Relationships are a funny thing,” Pace
announced. “Our ancestors used to have the luxury of indulging in
love, if they chose to. But there wasn’t as much pressure then as
there is now. How many times do we have to hear about ‘repopulation
of the species?’ Is that really our obligation? And just because an
arrangement appears to be a strong match, like you Rebecca with
Boze, doesn’t mean it’s love. We’re living life too much for
society’s sake. We should live more for