The Bell

Bell was a sad small town. But you could probably already tell by the name. It had 4 stores. 4 Lonely roads. 50 families that all knew each other by name. And one school. Kara hated it. Ever since she was a kid. But she couldn’t leave. Just never felt like the right time.

Bell did have one thing though. The center of its happiness. The center of its attention. Its center. And no, it wasn’t the town hall. Or the local high school football stadium. Or the little lake at the edge of town. It was the local Taco Bell.

Everything happened there. Weddings. Prom. Drunken post-night food. Hungover post-morning food. Concerts. Baby showers. First kisses. You name it. The only thing that didn’t happen at the beloved yellow structure were birthdays. Well, except 1 — Kara’s.

Kara will never forget the day her dad took her to the BTB (what the Bell locals call their Taco Bell heaven). It was her 5th birthday and her dad sat her right on the counter and said, “Pick whatever you want my little gorditah.” He never said gordita right, but she found it endearing. She loved everything about her dad. Almost like everything she hated about the town was only because she saved up all that love for him.

She eyed the expansive menu. In her most grown up voice, she ordered “one taco please.” And that was the start. Every year, Dad would take Kara to Taco Bell for her birthday. Every year, she sat on that counter. And every year she would love him more and more. Until her 10th birthday.

That morning, Kara didn’t know what to do. Dad was gone. At least that’s what Mom said. Kara never trusted Mom, but what was she supposed to do? At 10, she already knew that she was never going to leave this town and Bell was the only place she ever knew anyway. Kara never got to say bye to him. She just assumed he didn’t have the time wherever he had to go. But it was her birthday and he couldn’t have forgotten. She threw the thoughts around in her head, picking them apart like an eggshell.

So like usual, Kara got ready for her birthday and skipped her usual routine of sitting by the window thinking about Dad. She felt a bit lighter because this would be the day she would see him again. She knew it. He never missed her birthday and had gone only some time ago. She couldn’t figure out when, but he had been here last year. They had Taco Bell and smiles, just like normal, when she turned 9.

When Kara walked into the kitchen in her standard birthday outfit: fire sauce T-shirt that was always too big; loose jeans with Taco Bell patches sewn on delicately by her dad; her favorite Nikes custom fitted with the Bell’s logo, custom made by TacoBell4life from Etsy, of course. She looked cute. At least that’s what Dad had always said. Mom thought differently.

Kara didn’t go to Taco Bell that year. She didn’t go the next year or even the one after that. Not until she turned 18. In the 9 years since her last Taco Bell birthday, her mom had told her she couldn’t leave the house. That with Dad gone, things would be far too dangerous for a little girl. That he wouldn’t know to come back and stay if she was out and about. So Kara stayed. And stayed. And stayed. Until she turned 18 and her mom said, ‘Do you want to go to BTB?’

Kara looked at her mom in shock. And skepticism. She never knew whether Mom could be trusted, but she never lost hope that Dad would always be at Taco Bell on her birthday. Putting on her fire sauce shirt (the jeans and shoes no longer fit, but that was no issue), she bounced to her mom’s car, ready for what had to be the best day of her life. Kara looked at her mom as she made the short 15 minute drive to the center of town. Mom was happy and Mom was never happy.

She must feel it too, Kara thought. Mom must finally believe that Dad would never have missed her birthday. And all these years, he was probably always at the BTB, waiting for them. Kara looked lovingly at her Mom, finally understanding that the last few years were probably just hard on her too. It must be why she was taking her. It was going to be a special 18th birthday, just like Kara always saw in the films. 18 always felt like a lucky number.

Kara looks at the Taco Bell and feels almost a sense of relief. It’s still exactly the same. Arched doorways. Green. Yellow. Red, everywhere. Beautiful, just like always. At the counter, she brushes her hands lovingly across the smooth plastic. Mom touches Kara’s shoulder gently, cups her face in her hands, and whispers, “I’ve always hated Taco Bell,” and everything goes dark. Kara screams and tries to push away what should be her mom, but is nothing.

What was a bright sunny day has transformed imperceptibly into darkness. Kara closes her eyes. She does it again. It’s still dark. Again. Still dark. And starts to quietly sob. She just wanted her dad back and a crunchy taco supreme. She cries and cries. She feels for the ground and lowers herself down. She holds her knees and closes her eyes…one…more…time.

When she opens them, she’s sitting on the Taco Bell counter. Soft, watery eyes. Fire sauce shirt. Taco Bell jeans. Custom TaceBell4Life shoes. A gentle hand behind her back. She looks up and smiles.

“Pick whatever you want my little gorditah.”