"...'Cause all I see are green lights."
"Like Hannibal Lecter or Jesus for fuck's sake..."
I suppose it wasn’t a shock to learn that Jules and Buttons met in rehab; but like so many things over that five day week the story went in some unexpected directions.
"I can tell you the time was 4:05 PM on my watch when I left the house* (*here Jules swung his arm so I could see his wristwatch. Not that it was the same watch; nor was it 4:05--but whatever!).
"...I did the same routine everyday and knew exactly how to time it. I had an old LeBaron back then. Piece of shit Chrysler with a bad transmission, which is probably what almost killed me. I don’t know what it was. I know I didn’t have more than 3 or 4 drinks--nothing that would have affected me. ‘Specially not back then. That was sober for me then! I might have been going a bit fast--I’ll give ‘em that; but it was more like those yokel-bumfucks where I lived didn’t know how to drive! I come down my hill like I always do and I can see down at the bottom that the light’s green. We had all these steep hills where I lived so you could see down towards the bottom even as you made your way....I don’t know. ..Maybe I saw that light and I thought I could go thru or the sunlight was in my eyes. I was sober--I know that, but that doesn’t mean you can’t space-out anyway. Assuming the bitch’s taillights in front of you are working--who even knows if they checked that cause she just drove away?! But I mean I saw that green light and...just thought I could go right through to the intersection. But then when I whipped ‘round this last blind turn there was a line of cars backed-up. I mean stopped! And here I’m going like a bat out of hell cause all I saw was that green light! So brother,..its over and I’ve just gotta react. I swerve off to what I’m thinking--or hoping! is shoulder; but there’s nothing there and my Lebaron just goes free-falling for something like..thirty feet I think they told me, ‘til I crashed nose-first like a fighter pilot. I’m out for a second or two but I remember thinking I had time. 'You’ve got time Jules,' I said that to myself, 'Get the fuck outta here and run before the police get here,' right? No problem. But so now I really take a good look around--cause I’m gonna run outta there, right?--and I realize I’m facing the God damn backseat! My head’s been turned 180 degrees like on a swivel. Not only that, but I can see my freaking feet dangling in front of me. In front of my eyes! My body’s been crunched like an accordion--get it? Like the letter ‘C’.’ My legs have flipped over my head and I’ve got my feet in front of my face! And you know what? I still tried to run! Broken neck and all. Ha! But by then my legs couldn’t listen so I had to sit there while they cut me out with the jaws of life--which meant the end of that piece of shit Chrysler! That’s one good thing."
"But oh man, Lodo. The judge knew me in that town and wasn’t gonna let me off the hook for breaking my pelvis and neck and totaling my own car. No way! That’d be letting me off too easy! So after I got out of surgery and before they even took me to a hospital bed they drove me to court and stood me up in front of the judge who’d hated my ass for fifteen years! Wouldn’t let me take any painkillers or anything ‘cause they wanted me fully conscious of my rights and wanted my plea while I was clear-headed. Are you kidding me? Clearheaded? I’d have said anything the pain was so damn bad and hell, I knew they’d done-up all the blood work anyway so I plead right then--while they had me stood-up on that gurney like Hannibal Lecter or Jesus for fuck’s sake the way that judge hung my ass out to dry when the only one I’d ever hurt was me. Schoolgirl diddlers get off easier than I did. And for what? But one thing first, they had to send me to physical therapy before I served my time and..."
“And that’s where we met!” Buttons interjected as she clinked highballs with Jules.
“That’s what you meant by rehab?” I asked.
“Yeah Lodo,” Buttons said with a laugh, “ We were at the same rehab center since we’d both broke our necks.”
“You broke your neck Buttons?”
“Oh you betcha Lodo--Rules never told you that?
"I was at a house party this one summer. I don’t remember much except dancing and barbecuing and having fun out on the deck which was like...elevated. You know? Like on the 2nd story; and we were hanging out like that drinking...I don’t know--just a few beers when somehow I leaned or fell or...I can’t remember exactly. I wasn’t even buzzed, but I’d somehow come-up against this railing that was too short or maybe...wobbly and they say I just (here Buttons made a motion with her hands) flipped right over and fell all the way to the ground. I really don’t remember it except that when I woke up I was in one of those halo’s ‘round my neck and I had to wear a body cast and had to go to rehab 4x a week. Oh I was so down Lodo! But then Jules showed up and I could hear him hollering the second he came in, saying he wanted some decent painkillers and not this low-dose shit pronto Senorita! and I knew he was gonna get out of there or die and that’s where I was at too. ‘Cause you can’t drink in those places Lodo--you really can’t!”
* NOTE: Due to the length of this post, I'm gonna split it into one final part. Next installment in a few days.
** ADDITIONAL NOTE: All pics stolen off Google Images and are used simply to enhance the story. Copyrights may exist, and I have no relation to (or knowledge of) those depicted.
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