CAUGHT IN THE WEB
My parents gave me the car on the 8th of March. My birthday. I remember running my hand around the car. When I finally grabbed the door handle I felt the silky touch of a spiderweb on my fingers. That day I just threw it out.
The red color was partially peeling off, there was a crack in the back window and dents on all four sides. But it drove and on the inside the car looked well maintained. My parents had even asked a mechanic to check it out-he changed the oil and then sent them on their way. On the way to me.
Of course there was an agenda that came with the car. It was a sign that I was old enough, that I had to take care of something and organize my own life. It was an aid-a chance to find work outside our suburb.
That night I took Catriona for a ride. That night, sitting in the car with burgers and soft drinks stored between our legs, we had our first kiss.
She had to be home by 11. I dropped her off and brought the car home. It was freezing when I finally slammed the door shut and hushed inside.
It was the next morning, around 8:30am. I had offered to drive my mother to work for the week and in return she would pay the gas for the week.
We came outside. She hesitated for a moment, then made her way to the passenger side.
"Eww," she said. "You need to clean this."
A spiderweb. A bit larger than my hand, spanning between the side mirror and the passenger door. I ripped it off. She got in the car.
The next morning mom was less hesitant but I could still sense that she did not feel comfortable with me in the driver's seat.
"I'm old enough, mom."
"Yes, you are."
"Mom, don't act like that."
"Oh, look," she said. "You have another spiderweb. The thing probably lives in your mirror."
I made my way around the car.
"Wow," she said. "Look how perfect it is."
Mom was bent forward with her nose only inches away from the web.
"It's perfectly round," she said. "Like absolutely perfect."
"Don't they all look like that?"
I pulled the web off and tried to get a glimpse into the space inside the mirror. I couldn't see anything but there certainly was enough room for a spider to squeeze into the hollow area behind the glass.
I drove her to work and at night I picked Catriona up. We went to the cinema. Another kiss. We were nearly too late for her curfew.
Then I got the job. Just a print shop, but better than nothing. The pay was okay and the times were okay. Three days a week from 8 to 11. Less time to see Catriona but money to use on those nights with her.
Thinking back, for more than a month my life was just that-school during the day and nightly trips to work or with Catriona to hit the city. On most nights I was home around 11:30 and on the others long before that.
The spiderweb didn't bother me too much. It was there every morning but I never saw who built it. My mother was right, it was unusually perfect, unusually round. I felt bad for destroying it every morning but I did it consistently, always hoping that over time the web's creator would learn and move on.
Catriona was terrified of spiders. I learned that when I once forgot to remove the web fully. I stopped at her house and she came out. She smiled and waved and walked towards the door. Her hand was already grabbing the handle when she screamed and jumped back.
