It
took Max three failed attempts at finding the lock with his car key
before he decided that he was too drunk to drive. “Do
you...ahh...do you mind if we walk?”
Lily
grinned. Her face was deeply flushed, but whether this was from the
exertion of singing, the booze, or some other, private reason, Max
wasn’t sure. “I was just about to suggest that. It’s only a
couple of miles to my place, and it’s a warm night anyhow.”
“It
IS warm isn't it? It might even be forty.”
The
couple walked together past melting snow drifts, Lily snaking her arm
around his without a word. The evening had the smell of false spring
about it, the odor of thaw and moist earth that people desperate for
the end of winter find so alluring.
“Well,”
Lily began. “After all your complaining...be honest. You had a
good time tonight, didn’t you?”
Max
chuffed. “It wasn’t awful, I GUESS.”
“Oh
come ON,” she cried, pinching him on the forearm. “You were
going for it! I mean, you totally gave it everything you had!
Granted, you probably should have kept some of it for yourself,
but...”
He
raised his eyebrows. “What’s THAT suppose to mean?”
“You
can’t sing,” she told him, slurring her speech so the word came
out ‘sching.’ “Don’t worry about it. You’ve got other
good qualities.”
“Such
as?” he asked, glaring.
“Oh,
I'm sorry. I said you've got good qualities – I didn't mean to
imply that I knew what any of them actually WERE.” She stuck her
tongue out at him, grinning from ear to ear.
He
pulled his arm out of her grasp, the motion causing him to briefly
lose his balance. “Wow. You know what Lily? You aren’t nice.”
“Don’t
start with that again. You're way more attractive when you aren’t
acting like a little bitch.” She reached for him again.
Begrudgingly
he took her hand, though he continued to give her the evil eye. “I
don’t get it. Why always with the vitriol? You’ve been busting
my balls, like seriously, since the day we met. Now we’re on a
date, and you’re still doing it. So, seriously. Why?”
Lily
stopped. She stared up into his eyes wistfully. Then, without
pretext, she punched him in the chest. Hard.
“Hey!
What the hell?”
Another
blow came in. Max dodged.
“When
you were in pre-school, was there ever a girl that would come up and
start beating on you for no good reason?” As she spoke, Lily
continued to rain punches down upon him.
“What’s
your problem?” he yelled, blocking yet another attack. “Yeah.
Sara Cummings. The whore used to kick sand in my face on the
playground every day.”
Suddenly
Lily took a step forward and shoved him. Max tumbled backward,
landing in a wet pile of snow. She stood over him, her arms crossed
in satisfaction. “I’ve got news for you, kid. Little Sara had a
crush on you.”
Lily
reached down, and offered him her arm. He took it, and she hoisted
him to his feet. They walked on in silence. The night was
cloudless, and a half moon was just clearing the horizon, casting a
pale blue light over them. Lily shone brilliantly, her coppery skin
glowing with an electric radiance.
“Since
the day we met?” he asked, after what felt like an eternity.
She
nodded slowly.
“Did
it ever occur to you that, if you wanted me to like you back, being
NICE would've been more effective than riding my ass every day?”
Lily
spun, fixing him with a fiery glare. “Of COURSE it occurred to me!
I’m...I just....” She sighed, hanging her head. “I don’t
know how to be any other way.”
Max
shook his head. “I don’t understand you.”
She
smiled at him sadly. “Do you really want me to spell this out for
you? Fine. How long ago was it that I was walking around as some
little dwarf – just four and a half feet tall. A week? Ten days?
Do you have any idea what it's like to live your entire LIFE that
way?”
“What
are you trying to tell me? That you act like a bitch to compensate?
Do you have some sort of....”
“If
you were about to say ‘Napoleon complex….’” Lily interrupted,
pounding her fist into her hand.
“I
wasn’t.”
“Good.
My arms are too tired to keep punching you anyway.” Lily took a
deep breath, putting her hands behind her head. “To
compensate…that isn’t quite right. Maybe more like…to not get
ignored completely.”
“But
what about now?” he asked, putting his arm around her. “You
aren’t short anymore. You’re a perfectly normal height for a
woman, and so attractive that nobody could ignore you, even if they
tried.”
Lily
shrugged. “Age-old habits die hard, I guess. Or maybe I'll mellow
out a bit once I decide I'm tall enough.”
Max
coughed. “So you weren’t kidding. You really DO want to keep
growing.”
“Of
course I do! More than anything! So much that...well okay, how
about this: have you ever wondered why I let YOU hold on to what is,
after all, OUR drug? I mean, we had an agreement to split it. Why
do you think I haven’t demanded my cut?”
Max
thought about it for a moment, and shook his head. “I have no
idea.”
“Because
I don’t trust myself.” Her face broke out in a wolfish grin. “I
wouldn’t last ten minutes alone with it before I’d be dosing
myself up again. It feels incredible to be this tall, especially
after all those years looking like one of the Keebler elves. Never
mind the pleasure I get from the actual PROCESS of growing. Or what
tends to happen…afterward.” She gave him a wink.
“So,
you let me control how much you get. I’m your gatekeeper?”
“I
usually think of you more like the control rods for my nuclear
reactor. You keep me from melting down.” She stepped in front of
him, stopping with her face only inches from his. “And it’s a
good thing too. Because even right now, all I can think about is
going critical.”
Max snickered. “Okay
then, answer me this: how much is enough? Would you want to be five
foot ten? Six feet? I’m not talking about just for a night – I
mean forever.”
Lily sniffed disdainfully.
“Those numbers? They aren’t even close. Keep going.”
“Six foot six?”
She
shook her head.
“Seven?
Eight feet tall. Seriously? Okay, ten.”
Lily
was making a twirling motion with her finger. Keep going.
“That’s
bull-shit!” he exclaimed, laughing, hearing the nervousness in his
voice. “You would hate your life if you were that tall!”
“Maybe
I would at that. But right now, it sounds like the most wonderful
thing I can imagine. Except maybe being eleven feet tall.”
They
were in front of Lily’s house now. She lead him up the steps of
her front porch and stood gazing at him, her eyes polished mirrors of
moonglow. “Look Max. I don’t know if I’m ever going to stop
being this way. Acting like a total bitch, I mean. Even if the
reasons for it no longer exist. But just remember...each cutting
little remark, every time I put you down in front of your friends, or
tell you you're terrible in bed...it’s just my way of saying that I
care about you.”
Without
another word, Lily turned away. She pulled her keys from her pocket,
and began to unlock the door.
“Wow,
I don’t even get a good-night kiss?” he asked, shaking his head
in dismay.
“No,
you don’t.” Lily looked over her shoulder, smirking at him. “You
get to come in.” She held the door open.
Inside,
Lily tossed her jacket on the floor and headed for the bedroom.
“Make yourself at home. I’m going to put on my pajamas really
quick. Oh, and would you mind bringing me a glass of water? Second
cupboard on the left.”
Max
found her a cup, but then he held it in his hand, just staring at it.
Lily had given him so much to think about tonight. But at this
moment, the only thing on his mind was her insistence that, above
anything else, the thing she most desired was to be taller.
He
pulled the syringe from his pocket. Without bothering to measure, he
squeezed a huge dose into her cup – larger than he had seen anyone
take before.
There
was an instant when he wondered if this was a good idea, if he wasn't
about to make a terrible mistake. It was a serious question, with
important moral and philosophical implications, and he would have to
reflect upon when he had the time. Right now, there was a very
thirsty lady waiting for him in the next room.