Wayne came in that afternoon.
"Reb-uh, this your last day before you move right?"
"Yeah Wayne, it is."
"You come out to the car. Mama's got a present for you."
We walked outside where Wayne's mama was waiting. I greeted her, and she handed me a Target giftcard.
"Wayne bought this giftcard with his own money because you've been a good friend to him."
"I thought you could buy some pants," Wayne said.
"Thank you Wayne, that was very sweet. I probably will buy pants."
"OKAY! You're gonna call me right? And come back to see me? When are you coming back to see me?"
"I'm not sure Wayne. I'll keep in touch."
"Okay, Reb-uh. You make sure you call me okay. I love you."
"I love you too, Wayne."
I walked back inside, stole the Hank Williams bust, hugged my friends goodbye, and handed over my keys. All while bawling like a baby.
I did buy pants with the giftcard.
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We moved to East Texas. I wrote Wayne a letter once, and never received a response. I refused to buy a phone because I wanted to drop out of society, and I didn't want Wayne to trap me on the phone at work, so I never called him. In other words, I lied to a retarded man.
I joined myspace to keep in touch with my friends in Ft. Worth, and I would get messages from them about Wayne.
"You should really call Wayne, he asks about you all the time. Sometimes, he calls to talk about you, and we get sad because you're gone."
"Wayne says to call him."
"Wayne wants to know when you're coming to visit."
I still didn't call him. I have the capability of being an awful person.
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The first time I went home to Ft. Worth, I dropped by to visit the store. When I asked about Wayne, they were excited to tell me that he completed his numba ones collection. I was sad that I didn't get to see him achieve his dream.
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A few weeks ago, I got a message from my friend Little Bryan, Champion Bear-Hugger.
"Wayne has really been pestering me to call you. You should do that."
I decided Little B was right, so I got Wayne's number.
"Hello?"
"Hi Wayne. This is Rebel."
"REB-UH! HOW YOU BEEN DOIN'? YOU NEVER CALLED ME!"
"I'm sorry Wayne, I just got a phone."
"I GOT ALL MY NUMBA ONES!"
"I heard that you did. Congratulations."
"Wherehouse Music is closing, and me and mommy are sad. We been shopping at Sam Goody. They got country there too. Are you gonna come back to work at Wherehouse Music?"
"No Wayne, I'm gonna stay here. Did you get the letter I sent you?"
"No, did you send it for Christmas? They're late."
"Yep, they sure are."
"So, how you been doin'?"
We talked for awhile, and I promised to call him the following week. I forgot. Wayne did not. He called me.
"Hello."
"Dis da Wayne. You said you would call me and you didn't do it."
"I'm sorry Wayne, I forgot."
"Wherehouse Music closed. What store are they gonna put there?"
"I don't know Wayne."
"Do you still work with guns?"
"Yeah, I do."
"You better be careful. Guns are dangerous. Police have laws about guns, did you know that?"
"I did. I'm careful."
"You promise?"
"I promise."
"Maybe I can come spend the night at your house sometime."
"Oh, I dunno Wayne. It would take six hours for me to pick you up."
"Six hours? Dat's a long time. Mommy can't drive that far because of her neck."
We talked about the loss of Wherehouse Music, the completion of his number ones collection, and whether my area code would remain 936. As I ended the phone call, Wayne brought up the subject of an over night visit again.
"Maybe you can come get me sometime and I can stay the night at your house. You can bring me home at 10 o'clock the next morning."
"Maybe Wayne."
"Hey, do you still have friends in North Richland Hills?"
"Yes, I do."
"How many?"
"I don't know, maybe fifty.">"Fifty friends? Do they know about me?"
"Yes Wayne, they sure do."
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BONUS! My favorite Wayne story that I never managed to fit in...
Wayne and his mama came in to shop one day, and it was clear that mama was ready to leave the second they got there. She was trying to rush him, and he wanted to look at every country cd.
"Wayne, didn't you want to go buy some yogurt?"
"Yes, I did."
"Well, you better hurry up so we can go to the grocery store."
"NO MOMMY! IT DOESN'T TAKE THAT LONG TO BUY YOGURT!"
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