Matt Leppek
Columnist
The putrid smell of dog urine filled the air as my stepfather pulled into the driveway. Gravel crunched beneath his feet as he stepped out of his brother’s 1972 Dodge Pickup. The rusty door slammed behind him. He stared me down and asked “You ready to go, son?” I obliged reluctantly. We hopped into the beater, and a plume of smoke followed us out of the driveway. He apologized for the stench, saying his brother has it parked in the garage with their dogs. “I guess the smell soaks in after a while”. I nodded my head without saying anything. He looked at me with his ice blue eyes, it almost felt like he was staring right through me. “Your momma’s really going to miss you,” he said, “guess I am too.” “Thanks for taking me to get this couch,” I said, attempting to forget what he said, “my roommates will appreciate it as much as I do”.
We crawled into a long driveway, and I saw a matching couch and loveseat on a trailer. A golden retriever came running out of the garage to greet us, almost as if we were old friends. My stepfather and I looked around, and no one was in sight. The furniture was damp as fresh clothes out of the washer. “It’s nothing special, but it’s free!” a voice startles us as a shadow emerges into the figure of a girl. Her name was Amy. Her husband helped us load up the furniture. We thanked them for their kindness, and left.
“My dad said we could drop the stuff off at his place,” I told my stepdad, “He wants to take me back tomorrow.” The breaks screeched to a stop, and my stepdad slapped the shifter into park. My father and stepfather awkwardly shook hands. It wasn’t the first time they had met, but it had always seemed like it. The three of us unloaded the truck, and I could see my dad smirking at the furniture. “Quite the color scheme you got there, sonny-boy. Did they give you the matching panties to go with it?” My dad said, referring to the bright flowers that infested the couch. My stepdad and I let out a grin. The three of us shot the bull for a bit before leaving. It was nice to see them getting along.
It was an earthquake. People ran frantically in all directions as debris fell from the sky. I was shaking violently and could not stay on my feet. I awoke to my mom shaking my shoulders, snapping me back to reality. It was time to get up. Time to go back to dad’s and get the couch.
Groggily I rubbed my eyes, thinking about the weird dream. It was cold in my room, maybe I shouldn’t have left the window open overnight.
The rest of the morning whizzed by and I found myself at my dad’s house, getting ready for our three and a half hour trek to Adrian. While loading the couch into my step mom’s van, I noticed it was still wet. While wiping my hands off on my pants, my dad noticed one of the legs was busted off. It was fixable. We jumped in the van and were taken back by the smell. I said it should air out after a while.
After we were five miles down the road, the stench was unbearable. I hung my head out of the window like a dog and I still could not escape the smell. My dad stopped the car and turned around. The decision was unanimous; the couch was to be burned. On the way home, my stepmom offered me her loveseat.
“I can’t take that from you, it will throw off the living room’s feng shui!” I exclaimed. “I know, so now I can get all new furniture!” replied my stepmom, a little to excitedly. My dad rolled his eyes and let out a sigh.