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November 1975
“Hey, Sonny,” Lou exclaims. Karl looks up to see him approaching the table and putting down his can of beer.
“Hey, Lou. Karl.”
“How’s it goin’, kid?”
Sonny sighs. “I dunno. Linda broke it off with me today.”
“Oh, that’s too bad.” Lou frowns. “What happened? …If ya don’t mind me askin’.”
“No, it’s okay. I’m not upset. I mean I did like her a lot, but I’ll be fine on my own. She’s movin’ to Marshall, that’s why she broke up with me.”
“Well, there’s plenty’a auto shops in Marshall, if you’d wanna move with her,” Lou muses. Karl almost drops his can of beer at that. He barely just met Sonny but he already feels like they’re best friends - not that he would say it out loud.
“She said she had to go alone. But I don’t know if I’d wanna move, even if she asked me.” His eyes flit to Karl for a moment before he looks back at Lou. “I finally feel settled here after comin’ back from the war. I don’t wanna do that all over again, and in a bigger city… I like it here.”
“Well, I’ll drink to that,” Karl chimes in without really thinking about what he’s saying. “-…To Luverne.” He tilts his beer.
“To Luverne.” Sonny smiles, and clinks his beer against Karl’s.
“To Luverne. And Sonny, lemme know if you want Betsy to setcha up with one’a her friends. That’s the best way to get over a breakup, get back on the horse.”
“…I think I’ll be okay, Lou, but thanks.”
“Yeah, young buck like you doesn’t need help findin’ a lady,” Lou chuckles, and gives Sonny a playful punch to the arm.
Karl slumps back in his seat as he realizes how good he"d had it while Sonny was with Linda - she never had a problem with him hanging out at the VA almost every night. His next girlfriend probably won"t be so lenient, and if they get married and have a kid, Karl may as well wave goodbye to his best friend. He downs the rest of his beer.
October 1978
“Hello?”
“Hey, Karl. It’s Sonny.”
Karl’s heart doesn’t skip a beat, because he’s a grown man. But he is surprised to hear from his friend, who’s been out of town the last few days visiting his family. “- Hey, Sonny. How’s your trip goin’?”
“Good, everyone’s good. It’s nice to see my mom. Anythin’ goin’ on in Luverne?”
“No, not that I’m aware of.” This town is dull and dreary without you here. “I did win a prize at bingo last night.”
“Oh yeah? What was it?”
“Just a coffee mug. It’s got a fish on it.” Karl has never been a fisherman, but he picked it from the prize table because his office only has one. He knows Sonny would’ve chosen it because he’d like the fish.
“Good, now ya got another one for your office.”
Karl doesn’t respond at first, it takes him a moment to process the fact that Sonny remembered something he’d mentioned a few weeks ago, and the fact that he apparently took time out of his visit with his family just to call him and chat. He squeezes his eyes shut and sputters out, “So, ah, you and your brother go huntin’ yet?”
“No, not yet. That’s why I called - I was wonderin’ if you could do me a favor.”
Anything. “What is it?”
“…Nevermind. It’s stupid. I can just do it when I get home.”
“No, it’s okay. …I need a break from work anyway.”
“Well if ya still have the spare key to my apartment I gave ya, I left the tape I was gonna play in the car on our way to go huntin’. It’ll take a few days in the mail so it’ll be too late to play it in the car, but I was gonna loan it to my brother anyway, so if you mailed it I could give it to him. …But if it’s too much trouble, I’ll just mail it to him when I get home. I guess I called ya before I thought’a that, sorry.”
“No, I’m glad ya called. …Like I said, I needed a break from work. I’ll head over and get it in the mail for ya.”
“Okay, it’s my Kahvas Jute tape. And my mom’s address is 26 East Second Street, Cottonwood, Minnesota, 56229. Thanks, Karl.”
He scribbles down the address, but has no idea what to write for the band name. “Kava - what?”
Sonny laughs. “Must be some kinda Australian word, that’s where they’re from, I think. It’s spelled… K-a-v-a-s J-u-t-e. The album is called Wide Open. I’m pretty sure I left it on my coffee table. I know I had it out right before I left, if it’s not on the coffee table it’s gotta be out in the open somewhere.”
“Okay. I’ll go over right now, I think I can get it in before the afternoon pickup.”
“Thanks again, Karl. You’re a great friend.”
Karl purses his lips, and he’s glad Sonny can’t see the look of grief on his face. I’m such an ungrateful bastard. I should be lucky someone as sweet and kind as Sonny likes me as a friend, instead’a wishing it was something else. “- Yeah, you too. Have a good hunt, and I’ll see ya when you get back.”
“Bye, Karl.”
He sighs, and hangs up the phone.
December 1978
It’s no secret that Sonny is pretty much the most eligible bachelor his age in all of Rock County. He’s chivalrous, sweet, charming, handsome… not that Karl notices that stuff. But Sonny’s 32 years old, and hasn’t had a girlfriend since ‘75. He must have pretty high standards, because he always seems to turn down the unmarried women who set their sights on him.
Karl walks into the auto shop for his daily lunch appointment when he hears giggling coming from the bay, and then Sonny laughing. Karl looks through the window from the showroom into the garage and sees a woman about Sonny’s age who seems to be very grateful for the work he’s done fixing her car.
“So, do ya have a girlfriend, or…”
“No, I, ah - no girlfriend. Or wife, it’s just me.”
She smiles. “Ya’know, Sonny, I"ve been wantin’ to see that new Superman movie, if you were thinkin’ a goin’.”
“Oh, yeah?” Sonny gulps. “Like a date?”
“I dunno, do you wanna ask me on a date?”
He blinks and opens his mouth, but doesn’t respond.
“Sorry,” she waves her hand, as if to bat the idea away. “I shouldn’ta said anything.”
“No, I’m sorry. You’re a real nice girl, and… it’s not you. I - well, there’s someone I -” Sonny scratches the back of his head, and looks around the garage floor.
“…I get it, you like someone else. You should tell her, I’m sure she’d like ya back.”
“It’s complicated, we can’t - I’m sorry. If I went out with ya, I’d just be thinkin’ about this other person, and it wouldn’t be fair to you.”
Karl can’t quite believe what he’s hearing. …Sonny’s just fibbing, letting her down easy. Right? But he’d sounded so sincere, and Karl knows that Sonny’s a terrible liar. And he definitely noticed the way Sonny avoided using gendered language - Karl is so focused on it that he almost misses the rest of their conversation.
The woman sighs, and steps towards her driver door. “Well, good luck with your crush. And thanks for fixin’ up my car.”
Sonny smiles brightly as he looks over the vehicle. “My pleasure - she’s a beaut. Take good care’a her, she’s got another hundred thousand in’er, easy.”
“Bye, Sonny.” She smiles wearily as she backs out of the garage.
Karl gulps as he realizes Sonny is going to turn around and see him, and know he’d been listening to them. He quickly heads back into the showroom, and takes a deep breath to center himself. It doesn’t really work, because his mind doesn’t slow down. Sonny likes someone he can’t be with. It’s me, isn’t it - don’t get ahead of yourself, Weathers. Maybe he likes a married woman. Betsy? No, that can’t be it, he’d be a wreck around Lou if that were the case. Maybe John Beirstadt’s wife. She’s certainly interested in him… Or it could be that hunky volunteer fireman. He runs his hand over his face. Maybe I should eat my lunch at the office today.
He looks over his shoulder to make sure Sonny hasn’t noticed him before walking back to his car. During the drive to his office, he recalls all the little things in his interactions with Sonny that have given him hope that there could be something between them. He knows there’s a chance that he’d been talking about him. Not just a chance - if Sonny was harboring feelings for a married woman, Karl thinks he would’ve noticed, or Sonny would have confided in him about it. At least, he hopes he trusts him enough to talk to him about that kinda thing. …Unless his feelings are for another man. Karl’s gut twists at the idea that Sonny thinks Karl would judge him for that.
Maybe I should say something to him. Like, ‘you know you can tell me anything.’ …But we’ve never really talked like that before. I don’t wanna scare him off. He parks outside his office and turns off the engine, then sighs and rests his forehead on the steering wheel.
I’m closer than I’ve ever been and where am I - running in the other direction.
Karl picks himself up and starts heading inside with his bagged lunch, but he knows he’ll be too upset to eat it.