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May. 24th, 2009 02:14 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stareanddrive[locked from everyone]
He hated Memorial Day.
Curse of living in Barstow was the look on his dad's face every Memorial Day weekend, him and his 'Nam buddies, him and his Gulf Storm buddies, and the quiet, determined way they'd drink. The stories they'd tell, while Rome locked himself in his room or went out with Brian or one of the girls from school.
His dad hadn't died in combat, not like the men and women they'd talk about. His dad had just had too much whiskey over the years, too much stress, too much of Rome being exactly the kind of son he didn't think he'd deserved.
It wasn't his best memory from prison, the phone call telling him his father had died.
He didn't like racing on Memorial Day, didn't like to go hang with Suki and her girls or Brian. Couldn't always get his dad's voice out of his head, the shit he'd say when he was just a little bit drunk. His dad had always hated Brian, always hated that Rome took orders from him. White boy whistled and Rome went. Pissed his dad off every damn time.
Tej didn't ask questions when Rome went to him. Moved over and let Rome sleep on his cot for the weekend, gave him a cigarette and a couple beers, talked shit about when he'd been a racer, laughed when Rome talked shit about old races in Barstow. Still not something that would've made his dad proud -- he'd wanted Rome to be a soldier -- but it shut the old man up.
Good enough.
He hated Memorial Day.
Curse of living in Barstow was the look on his dad's face every Memorial Day weekend, him and his 'Nam buddies, him and his Gulf Storm buddies, and the quiet, determined way they'd drink. The stories they'd tell, while Rome locked himself in his room or went out with Brian or one of the girls from school.
His dad hadn't died in combat, not like the men and women they'd talk about. His dad had just had too much whiskey over the years, too much stress, too much of Rome being exactly the kind of son he didn't think he'd deserved.
It wasn't his best memory from prison, the phone call telling him his father had died.
He didn't like racing on Memorial Day, didn't like to go hang with Suki and her girls or Brian. Couldn't always get his dad's voice out of his head, the shit he'd say when he was just a little bit drunk. His dad had always hated Brian, always hated that Rome took orders from him. White boy whistled and Rome went. Pissed his dad off every damn time.
Tej didn't ask questions when Rome went to him. Moved over and let Rome sleep on his cot for the weekend, gave him a cigarette and a couple beers, talked shit about when he'd been a racer, laughed when Rome talked shit about old races in Barstow. Still not something that would've made his dad proud -- he'd wanted Rome to be a soldier -- but it shut the old man up.
Good enough.
