Page 82 of The Girl with No Name
“Man, the thing is, you have to be able to see the reality before everyone else does,” Henry says. “You’ve got to be a little delusional. Then once it happens? It’s no longer a delusion. Now everyone thinks you’re a genius. Yet really, they’re just part of your shared delusion.”
“That’s hella deep,” Luna chimes in.
“But at the same time?” Henry continues. “Just enjoy the ride. Don’t get caught up too much in future planning. I’ve always had a problem with that. You really can only live your life one day at a time.”
“Yeah. I’ve had to make some tough decisions,” Vi says. “I was engaged to someone else. He was perfect on paper. Sometimes you’ve got to go on instinct, though, and trust it.”
Henry yawns. “Anyways, y’all, I’m dead tired, and we have a gig in Cincinnati tomorrow. Want a lift back?”
“I was kind of hoping Reed would play a couple more songs,” Luna says. “Plus it’s a full-moon night, and I’m not tired.” She glances up at the full, bright yellow moon directly above us.
We bid them adieu as they walk toward the gate, and now it’s just Luna and me. She’s my audience of one, and I’ve got the house guitar.
“One more song. One more song!” she chants, grinning.
“The request line is open.”
“Do you know ‘Harvest Moon’?”
“Sure do.”
“I love that song. Play it for me, please!”
I do as she asks, watching her the whole time. She has a glazed, happy smile on her face.
“Okay, one more,” I tell her when I’ve finished. “I like this one, and it’s actually written by Shel Silverstein.”
“Seriously? The kids’ book author?”
“The one and only.”
“I love Shel Silverstein.” She smiles. “When I was a little kid, I remember we went to the book store, and I started crying because they didn’t have any new Shel Silverstein books for me.”
“That is absolutely adorable.”
“Adorable?” She playfully fakes a frown. “It was tragic.”
I play the classic Silverstein poem made popular by Johnny Cash, “A Boy Named Sue,” and then sit down next to her.
“I love that song. Makes me think of my own daddy situation.” She giggles.
“What daddy situation?”
“So, my parents are divorced. And my mom is now married to my dad’s former best friend.”
“Damn. Okay.”
“And…I think he might be my biological father.”
“Holy shit. What do you meanmightbe? Seems like a big deal. Did you do ancestry dot com or whatever?”
“Nah. I don’t want to know. My dad raised me, and I’ll consider him my dad no matter what. I love him. I don’t want to think about my stepdad. He’s an asshole. And my relationship with my mother is strained because of that.”
I nod slowly, noting that these are the first facts Luna has ever shared with me about herself beyond the superficial. “Is that why you’re on a whole spiritual rebirth thing, Luna?” I gesture to the moon overhead.
“No. My parents have nothing to do with my current state. I’ve made peace with them.”
“So what was it?’”