Inside the concert hall we found ourselves next to two space cadets we christened Orange and Pizza. We came in when the openers were already going, a band called Yacht. They had a charming lead female vocalist who danced in a style like disco and swing mashed up together. Orange came and sat down in our row, scooting past us. She leaned over to Taylor shortly after sitting and asked if the opener was any good. Taylor looked at her and gestured helplessly at the stage. Orange seemed satisfied by this and we tried stifle our giggles. Shortly afterward she earned her namesake by pulling out a small orange. I sniffed at it longingly, since I'd been unable to stomach the vegan macaroni I'd gotten. I watched her peel it, flicking small pieces of peel into an empty beer cup. She was sitting with her knees drawn up to her chest, and I saw her feet were bare. As I watched one missed and tipped the cup over. She looked up to see me staring and I looked away, but saw her continue to stare. Then she reached out one bare foot and picked the cup up in her toes.
Her boyfriend throughout the show passed us several times and every time the smell of pizza washed over me. I nudged Taylor and told her my theory that he must have just gotten off work at a pizza place. The Postal Service came out and rocked the house. Taylor danced like a maniac, even through This Place is a Prison, which is a slow song no matter how you swing it. She was easily the highest energy person in the whole theatre. When they finished we grabbed our backpack and jackets and headed for the door. I was feeling limp after the end of day two with no food. Protein drinks keep you alive but not necessarily chipper. As we walked I stumbled more and more. We got closer to where the moped was parked and Taylor looked up at buildings we were approaching, grabbing my shoulders and moving me to the street side of the walk. I stumbled and protested, asking why.
She looked anxiously at the building we were approaching which looked like it had had its front sheared off, having open concrete rooms bared to the street. "You're tiny, if someone's hiding in there waiting to jump us I'd rather be the one who deals with it." I pretended to be affronted at her show of chivalry but the end result was us hugging in the street until Taylor insisted we get off the road.
As we neared her moped she grew more and more anxious, becoming certain it had been towed. I laughed and preceded her into the tiny closed space. "Oh look, your moped, and a man with a knife!" She was less than amused and let out a huge sigh of relief to see her moped untouched. As she pulled off the cover I opened the backpack to grab our extra jackets now that it was colder. After a moment I made a quiet "uh oh".
"What?" Taylor asked. "Your motorcycle jacket, it's not here." A look of panic crossed her face. "I thought you were grabbing it." I guiltily said that no, I'd grabbed my jacket and the drink under my seat, but I'd forgotten hers. She sighed and we headed back to the theatre on the moped. "Can you go get it?" she asked as we pulled up front. Eager to redeem myself I slid off and made eye contact with a security guard inside. She opened the door, and with no preamble I said, "We were sitting in section 6, row 28 and seat two and left a motorcycle jacket under the seat." She stepped aside grudgingly to let me in. After a quick radio call we started walking to our seats. She said I was lucky to have come when I did, and that I remembered the exact seats. She said she had a daughter about my age- wait, I was a girl in there right? She reached over like she was going to remove my motorcycle helmet and I laughed nodding that yes I was a girl.
Another guard appeared with the jacket and I thanked them profusely. The ride home was freezing. I wished desperately for a scarf. My hoodie and windbreaker kept the worst of the chill off my core but I longed desperately for a scarf, and a second pair of pants. My gloved hands were tucked into Taylor's jacket pockets but we weren't heading home yet. After the hour long drive we detoured to a special place of hers. Behind a church was a huge stack of boulders. They look too steep to climb, but at midnight in the dark we made it most of the way up before my body collapsed into shaking and we had to stop. We looked out over the city and traded kisses where both of our noses were numb from the ride.
When we climbed down my legs were numb from cold and fatigue, so Taylor kept going ahead to help me down. The last bit of the climb was loose scree. Taylor got a little way ahead of me and whipped around as I let out a high pitched meep of panic. I steadied myself and she insisted on taking my hand and leading me. I lost my footing several times and she kept catching me. Because the rocks were so loose I'd lose my traction then quickly lift my foot to try to find better footing. As we neared the end I got to a patch of scree that just pulled me down the slope. I lost and found my footing a dozen times but laughing me and Taylor were dragged down the slope until we ran down the last bit and walked arm in arm back to the moped and home and bed.
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