What They Mean

This story is inspired and based off the song: “What They Mean” by Donovan Woods

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“I don’t understand county music,” Timothy said from the backseat as he looked out the window.

Deven looked in the rear view mirror at his son and smiled. Glancing at the radio, he saw that it was on the country radio station. He was paying little attention to what was playing before but now he listened. There was silence for a moment before Timothy spoke up again.

“Why do they always say the same things?”

“What same things?” Deven asked.

“They always say ‘Baby, you’re driving me crazy.’ Why do they always say that same thing?”

Deven smiled and looked ahead at the road, thinking back to when he was sixteen.

 YEARS AGO…

 The wind blew hard and tossed the medium length, sun-bleached, blonde hair of sixteen-year-old Deven as he cruised in his first truck, a 1991 Ford F-150. It’s old rustic look and large ten-foot bed with rust marks gave the truck it’s unique sense of style. As he rounded the corner, he glanced over at the blonde fifteen-year-old girl who sat next to him. She closed her eyes in the early May sunshine and soaked up the warmth and freedom of summer. School had just let out and both were free for three months. Deven’s heartbeat wildly as he looked at her and thought about how he had gotten her right there next to him. She didn’t know how he truly felt about her since they had been childhood friends for so long. He gave her a ride home from school sometimes when her parents were working late. He knew he could never tell her.

Late that night, he sat in his room and stared out the window at the blinking cellphone tower in the distance, not the slightest bit tired. He knew that if he wanted to sleep, she would have to be right there next to him. His mournful smile remained plastered to his face while he thought about her.

 PRESENT DAY…

 “She drives you wild with a single smile. She’s so fine, you’re going out of your mind. It’ll all make sense one day. That’s what they mean when they say crazy.”

Deven finished and smiled out the window ahead of him. Timothy listened and nodded as he stared out his own little window from his booster seat.

“Dad?”

“Yes?”

“But how about when they talk about heartbreak? Somebody’s always leaving and you just can’t get them back. Have you ever felt like that?”

Deven’s smile turned down now as a sad expression took its place. Timothy looked at him now through the little rear view mirror and Deven nodded slowly.

“It happened to me when I was eighteen…”

 YEARS AGO…

 Deven put the last box in the back of the car and closed the door. He turned around as the blonde girl exited the house and stopped at the end of the driveway.

“I don’t know how I would have done all this without you,” she said.

“Packing for the Ivy League is quite the feat,” he responded coolly, although inside his heart wanted to explode.

For a moment, the two stared at each other and he saw that blonde girl, now becoming a woman, standing in front of him. She was beautiful and there was nothing he could do but let her go. He wanted to cry, beg her to stay, and tell her how he felt. He had watched the boys come and go from her life and he wished that he could be one of those boys…the final boy to ever enter her life and never leave.

“I should go,” she said finally.

The two hugged and she moved on to say goodbye to the other friends who had come to see her off.

“Good luck,” they all said with tears and smiles.

The car started and Deven watched it pull away. He knew that he loved her too much to ask her to stay.

“You gonna be alright?” his best friend asked, now standing next to him.

Late that night, he sat in his room and stared out the window at the blinking cellphone tower in the distance, not the slightest bit tired. He wondered where she was and what she was doing. He knew the only way he was going to sleep was if she were here beside him and he fought back the tears.

 PRESENT DAY…

 “I called her up a thousand times, she must of thought I was out of my mind. You’re probably gonna feel that way some day. That’s what they mean when they say heartbreak. That’s what they mean when they say crazy.”

Timothy was looking down at his lap and he looked like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. Deven smiled at the tiny and yet huge heart of his young son and looked back at the road as if he were looking into the past.

“I know you didn’t ask, but at twenty-two, I found the one and I just knew. So I bought a ring, said ‘I do’, settled down, then had you. And every day just keeps on getting better, growing old together.”

Timothy looked up and looked content as if he had discovered the mystery to all country music and it’s magic. Deven smiled as he remembered the past and thought of his son’s future. There were a few more moments of silence before Timothy spoke up once more.

“Do you ever think about that girl? The blonde-haired one?”

“Every day of my life,” Deven replied.

“Do you miss her?” Timothy asked.

“I miss those summer nights being together and being free.”

“Don’t you wish you could see her again?”

“I do see her. Every morning when I wake up and every night before I go to bed. I see her in my dreams and I see her in the afternoon when she’s lying in the hammock and reading you a story.”

The car pulled into the driveway and a blonde woman stood on the front porch with her arms crossed and smiling at her two boys.

“Mommy’s the girl?!” Timothy asked in astonishment.

“Mommy’s the girl,” Deven said, smiling at his wife.

Both boys stared for a second, each with a different type of wonder.

“That’s what they mean when they saw forever. That’s what they mean when they say crazy.”

That’s what they mean when they say crazy.