Pilgrim Life
By Taylor Antrim, first published in American Short Fiction
After a man gets into a hit-and-run accident with his girlfriend, he frantically tries to right the wrong, hoping to save both their relationship and their freedom.
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Plot Summary
A man's roommate named Rand recently sold his start-up for twelve million dollars. As they sit on their roof eating pot brownies and talking about Buddhism, the man contemplates telling Rand about the accident. His girlfriend, Claire, slammed a man into a boulder with her car the night before while he sat in the passenger seat. Claire won't return his calls, but he steals Rand's company check book to get a lawyer for Claire anyway. The next morning, he heads to his assistant editor job where his boss tells him a detective called. He calls again, and this time, the man picks up. He denies being at the scene, but since Claire won't call him back he doesn't know what else to tell the detective. Claire went back to call 911, but the man isn't sure what he's supposed to have done. He hangs up on the detective. On his way to Claire's apartment, he sees multiple police cars circling the block, only later realizing it was just one police car circling him. The night of the accident, he and Claire go to the casinos where he fake proposes to her, but Claire admits she's talking to her ex again. When they get back to the rental house, he suggests they just drive back that night. Claire takes the first shift, sobbing as she drives, when suddenly she swerves and hits a man. Claire convinces him to leave, so he hitchhikes to Sacramento and then takes a bus back to San Francisco. Now at Claire's apartment, he finds her friend Chad and then sees her: frail, matted, with bandages covering her forearms. He hears a single police siren. The man eventually moves to Florida to be with his family and work at his brother's law firm. The man Claire hit has survived, but their relationship hasn't. He hasn't heard from Claire, but he got 90 community service hours and according to his lawyer, she got a $1000 fine but no jail time.
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