A Denny's Tale

The hot sun beat down on the little white Civic parked in front of the abandoned Denny's off Highway 19. Froggie lit his third Marlboro red since he had driven out to the middle of nowhere. He looked to his left and saw a road stretch out into the endless desert. He looked right and saw the long stretch of road reach into a blanket of sand as well but with a distant glimmer of civilization in the distance, the tiny tops of downtown glinting in the sunlight.

Where was Kuno? He had called him at least an hour ago. He should be here by now. Hopefully nothing was causing his to be late...like his new wife. But he would have that conversation with Kuno later.

Froggie let the cigarette smoke slip through his dry lips. He felt the beads of sweat developing on his brow. He hated sweat. It was disgusting. He grabbed a towel from the backseat of his car and wiped his face dry but it felt dirtier now. He imagined the microscopic germs multiplying on his skin and it drove him crazy. "SHIT." He kicked his back left tire and threw the towel back into the car next to all the other towels.

"This is crazy...crazy...Whatever, it'll be ok. I had to do it. I had to. What choice did I have? This is crazy. Shit shit shit." He realized he was talking to himself and it didn't bode well. His white Armani dress shirt had become wrinkled and he didn't even want to imagine the sweat stains under his arms. He looked at his cuffs and saw the flecks of red. His fingers were antsy. He loosened his cuffs and rolled up the sleeves so he didn't have to look at those flecks.

Suddenly in the distance, he saw a shiny spot getting progressively larger. It was Kuno.

Froggie had three more cigarettes.

Kuno pulled his shiny black Lexus next to Froggie's car. His long legs spilled out of the car and his large shoes crunched on the hot sand. His 6'7" frame folded out and he made Froggie look tiny.

"What is this? Why are we here?"

"Where the fuck have you been? I called you over an hour ago! You know how freakin hot it is out here waiting on your slow ass?"

Kuno lit a cigarette and spit. "I don't know why you called me. I don't know why you dragged my ass out here in the middle of no where. We can't even get pancakes, the damn Denny's is closed down. Couldn't we have met somewhere more hospitable?"

Froggie kicked his back tire. "I didn't want anyone to see us, recognize us." He shook his head and clutched his palms to the sides of his head as if he were having a migraine. "I messed up. I messed up bad."

Kuno squinted behind his sunglasses. He could tell something was bad by the way Froggie was pacing. "Hey man, its ok. Whatever it is, I'm sure its not as bad as you think. What happened?"

Froggie shook his head and walked back and forth from Kuno and to his car. "It happened all so fast. I don't know what got over me. One moment we were having dinner, the next...the next..." He stopped in the middle of his pacing and rolled down his sleeves.

Kuno let his cigarette dangle on his lips. The dark brown spots were speckled on the white and stood out in the sunlight, almost sparkling. There was no doubt what made the stains. "Froggie. What happened?"

"Hahahaha, it was just supposed to be a nice night. Dinner. Dancing. Drinks. A late night movie, even with some wine at home before bed." He began pacing again. "She was being great until....she became a cunt like she always does."

Froggie looked straight at Kuno. "I need your help." He fumbled for his keys in his pant pockets and clicked the trunk of his car open. The trunk door softly clicked open. Kuno couldn't see anything in there other than darkness. Froggie opened the lid all the way to reveal layers of black plastic. He lifted up a sheet to reveal a pale limp hand with perfectly manicured nails.

"Fuck, Froggie! What the hell? Who is that? What did you do?"

Froggie fell to his knees. "I know I fucked up. I know its all turned to shit. But, man, this is happening, and I need your help. You have to help me get rid of the body." He slammed the trunk shut.

Kuno had known Froggie for longer than he could remember. Their moms had put them in the same daycare. They were neighbors and would ride bikes together after school. Froggie had always gotten himself into sticky situations though. Yet, Kuno was always there to pick him up. There were so many times where he was going to cut Froggie off, tell him to shape up or their friendship was over. But he could never turn his back on his best friend.

And besides, sometimes, to become a better person, you have to believe that others can be better, too.