Chapter Forty-Five: Goodbye, Joy:

I ran all the way to the bus stop in the cool winter night. I stopped at the sign, panting. Damn it, this would be a good time to stop smoking. I’m getting too old for this. I shouldn’t be running so much like I was. Damn you, Duck! This better be worth calling me out here right the show. I found Duck waiting just a few steps away from me with her hands on her hips. She gave me a mischievous smirk as our eyes met.

“What took ya, Mickey?” she asked. I looked up at her, glaring. Again with that stupid nickname. Why won’t she give it up already? I hated being called “Mickey” in high school and I still hate it now.

“Why did you call me out her?” I asked once I caught my breath.

“I’m leaving,” she said. I looked as if she had slapped me across the face.

“What?!?” I asked. “You’re joking, right? Right?” Duck shook her head at me. I felt something inside of me slowly die.

“Where are you going?” I asked.

“Canada,” she said.

“But why?” I asked. Duck choked back her laughter. I stared at her like a lost, desperate man. She stared me down in the eye.

“My trope’s starting to go global,” she replied. “We just wrapped up our start in New Orleans.” I gave her blank stare.

“But why Canada?” I asked.

“Well, we have to start somewhere,” Duck pointed out. My face just dropped. She yawned and stretched out those muscled arms.

“Yep,” she said. “America was good, but it’s time for me to go.” That Irish duck looked over and saw the expression on my face. She patted me hard on the shoulder.

“Oh come on, Mickey!” she perked. “Don’t be like that. I enjoyed our time together, but we have to move on.”

“So, you’re breaking up with me in a sense?” I asked. Duck pressed her lips together as she nodded.

“The thing is,” she said, “I’ve never been good with the long-distance relationship thing. I’ve tried it twice before and it turned out to be a bloody disaster.” I gave her a strange look.

“So, we’ve been dating all this time?” I asked.

“If you want to call it that,” she replied. Her words only confused me further.

“What?” I asked.

“Joy!” one of the other dancers yelled from the bus. “Get moving! We have to go!” Duck whipped around to her.

“Wait a minute, can’t you?!?” she shouted. “I’m about done here!” That crazy Irish woman turned back to me.

“Anyway,” she said, “I had a gay time with ya, buddy!” I still tried to make sense of what was going on before me.

“So… can I at least contact you in some way?” I asked, sounding rather lost.

“You have my number,” she said. I looked at her in a daze. I nodded at her like a little doll on strings.

“Yes…” I mumbled. Duck smiled and tapped me on the cheek.

“Then, you already have the means to contact me,” she replied. I stared at her just as confused as ever.

“Huh?” I asked. Joy stood on her tip-tops and gave me a kiss on the cheek.

“Bye!” she whispered aloud. And with that, before I knew, she had walked away. I stood there just dumbfounded as the bus pulled away.

“What the hell?!?” I shouted. Suddenly, it became much quieter around me. It took me a while, but I settled down and felt ready to let the Duck go for now.

Bye-Bye, Joy O’Conner. May she stay just as crazy until kingdom come. God bless that wild Irish woman. We might meet again; probably not now, but sometime in the near future. Until now, see ya!