Previously: They stopped in South Carolina, in the middle of the night. As they set up their tent, as they unrolled their sleeping bags, they could hear the ocean.
The First Trip
After three days in South Carolina, Jody said he was ready to keep going.
Key West. All the way south. Keep going. Don’t stop till we hit the end of the road.
Why?
Why not?
‘Cause it’s a long fucking way.
It’s not that far. We’re already like over halfway there, and I don’t mind driving.
Jody was taking the tent down as he talked.
The Second Trip
Matt sat in the sun until he was dry. Even starting from South Carolina, Key West was approximately way the fuck down there, but he decided that that’s where he was going to take the ashes. He picked up the bag, hauled himself back over the dune, and walked to his car.
The First Trip
Not long after they were clear of the sprawl of Key Largo, Jody pulled the car to the side of the road. There was a small parking area, a little patch of sand, people in the water. Jody turned the car off. Are we allowed to swim here?
Why not?
Becau —
But Jody was on his way out the door. Matt stayed in the car and watched him wade into the water, up to his waist.
Jody had been in the water for at least an hour, diving under and coming up, hooting like a cowboy on the open range. There were five other people there. Then three. Then none. When they were alone, Jody pulled off his shorts and threw them to the shore. Matt had moved to the hood of the car and was looking around, nervous, certain they would be caught, and being caught meant, well, something bad, something that would embarrass him, even though he was fully clothed on dry land. He wanted Jody to stop, to get out and to get dressed, but more than that he wanted Jody to never stop, to never dry off, to always be this undressed and free.
Thank you for reading. Up next:
Matt was looking for a bar he and Jody went to the first time around, but he couldn’t remember the name.