Two hours later I woke up to Rudy sleep talking, sleep smoking and sleep drinking.
I yelled at him to shut up and asked him what he was talking about.
He said he was talking about his childhood and mine.
I don’t know where he got that from but it made sense.
He must’ve had a sixth sense.
It made me think of my first childhood memory.
It was the middle of the night.
My mom threw a wine glass at my stepfather which shattered on the kitchen counter and split his hand open.
She saw me hiding behind the ladder, told B to go fuck himself, grabbed my hand and walked out with me.
We ate candy, while sitting on a curb on Canal Street.
I remember her crying but holding me really closely.
It felt good to finally get to spend some time with her alone.
Room 134 at the Motel 6 reaked of smoke and booze.
I finally had enough of it, so I got up and walked around Palm Springs.
I found a nice little breakfast place called Elmer’s where I had some 6am bacon and eggs.
I felt disoriented and almost passed out in my breakfast bowl.
After breakfast I picked up Rudy who was already enjoying a half a bottle of wine.
We drove towards Los Angeles.
We listened to Pink Floyd and smoked some cigarettes.
He tried flicking one of them out of the car but it hit the edge of the window and burnt a hole in my car floor. Rudy showed me his tattoo that he got in jail and taught me how to crush beer cans with his hands.
I felt like I learned something for life.
I asked him what was nice to see in Palm Springs so he guided me to some colorful dinosaurs off the Freeway.
The night before I noticed Rudy sleeps with two pillows.
He keeps one under his head and puts one over his face.
I asked him why he does that.
He said he does it so there is absolut silence and darkness around him.
I think its the only way his mind stops racing.
It felt a bit like a little family trip.
Uncle Rudy.
Rudy walked up to a lady with a Goldendoodle and told her she should rather get a cute dog.
The lady smiled.
We made one last stop at the gas station before heading back on the Freeway where I bought an
energy drink and slid a Cliff Bar in the back of my pocket.
Rudy asked me if I stole anything in front of the cashier.
All three of us laughed.
We arrived in Beverly Hills.
Rudy got kicked out of the first party for drinking too much booze and passing out in a santa suit.
People in the Hills take themselves too seriously.
We drove downtown and went to a warehouse rave.
Rudy loved it and everyone loved Rudy.
After another long and sleepless night Rudy and I parted ways at 7am at a Starbucks on Melrose.
I gave him a hug and for some reason, it almost felt like saying bye to my mother.The last time I saw her she was crying on a curb.
I hugged her.