Summary

The short story “Rendezvous” by Daniel Ransom follows two characters who are about to meet each other: Payton and Kim. 

Payton drives his car on the Interstate, listening to loud music and drinking beer. He loves listening to loud drums, because they make him feel full of energy. He also has a cobra tattoo on his bicep, which sometimes gets sore, as if it needs to be fed, and which he rubs from time to time.

Earlier, he visited a priest, and confessed to him about his previous rides on the Interstate. He is angry because the priest was not sympathetic and instead urged Payton to go to the police. Payton thinks that the priest should have shown sympathy when Payton told him that he sent flowers and visited the funeral home. 

Meanwhile, Kim is a 15-year-old girl who has ru...