Boyfriend From Hell (Falling Angels Saga) (4 page)

Okay, the sum of thirty-nine and twenty-one is sixty, which means… There are two Coffee Havens downtown. If she’s sitting around waiting in the wrong place, she’ll be devastated when he doesn’t show up.

“Hello?”

“Oh hey, Mom, me again.”

“You’ll be happy to know I’ve made it to the corner.”

“Terrific. Say, did you know there were two Coffee Havens down town?”

“Yes, hon, I did. I’m meeting him at the one on Main Street.”

“Good choice. That one’s quieter. Well, just making sure. Have a great date.”

This is ridiculous, I thought as I hung up. She’s a grown woman; she knows what she’s doing. I’ll just concentrate on these math problems and before you know it… Oh, no!

“Hey, hon, I’m still at the corner. Long light.”

“Good thing. I noticed Miller’s picture lying beside your computer. You forgot to take it with you. I’d hate for you to get there and not know who you were dating. You could wind up with some imposter.”

“Thanks again, but I’m pretty sure I remember how he looks. And he has my picture as well. We’ll find each other. Now stop worrying. I’ll be fine.”

“Me? Worrying?
Please!
”

It was seven-fifteen when I arrived in Erin’s bedroom the next morning. I loved Erin’s room. It was larger than mine, with a canopy bed to die for.

She was in front of the floor-length mirror trying to get ready for school, but every time she attempted to put on an article of clothing, I grabbed her arm, clutching it desperately.

“Megan, from what you’re telling me, Suze just gave the guy a little peck on the lips.”

She removed my clutching hand from her arm. There were four red marks where my fingers had pressed into her flesh.

“
Peck?
She never met the man before in her life. Do you know what kind of message she’s sending? She may as well have ripped off her bra and danced topless on the table.” I again clutched her arm.

“You’re overreacting.”

“I am
not
overreacting! That so-called innocent little peck is telling the world my mother is…
easy.
”

The word nearly caught in my throat. The dreaded label of
easy
had destroyed the reputation of many a G.U. girl. Now it had its clutches on my mother.

Erin patiently removed my hand from her arm, looked me in the eye. “Megan, are you jealous?”

“Jealous?”

It was as if she’d stabbed me in the heart with a rusty sword. How could she think I was jealous? It’s true, I didn’t want to listen to my mother talk about her dates—what fifteen- year-old would? And it was also true that I didn’t want her dating a loser—which Miller clearly was. And it was even truer that I didn’t know why she was so anxious for things around here to change.

But jealous?
Moi?

I stood staring at her, my mouth agape like a wounded fish. “That’s a ridiculous thing to say.” I could feel my temperature begin to rise.

“Is it?” Her eyes were searching mine. “Aren’t you the one who said
how’s it going to look if my mother has a boyfriend and I don’t?”

I released her arm is if it were something vile and disgusting.

“Maybe we need to concentrate on getting you a boyfriend,” she said with a smile.

“I am not jealous!” I hissed. “This just proves you don’t know anything about me. For your information,
if
my mother found the right guy, I’d be happy for her, no matter what.”

 I could no longer contain my emotions. They boiled over like a pot left on the stove too long.

“How
dare
you accuse me of being jealous of my own
mother
?” My words trembled with anger. “Later.” I was heading for the door. I could stay in the room no longer.

“Megan, wait,” she called.

I didn’t stop walking until I was at school.

#

I avoided Erin all morning, which was hard considering we both had mostly AP classes. Not only did we have the same classes, but we usually sat together.

In English that day I sat next to dowdy Maudrina Salley, who no one wanted to sit near because her clothes smelled like she borrowed them from her dog. But today I didn’t care.  I plopped myself down right next to her. When Erin entered, I avoided her gaze, burying my head in
A Tale of Two Cities
by Charles Dickens, the book we had just started reading in class.

At lunch I normally sat with Erin in the cafeteria. Some days Matt would invite us to join him at the jocks’ table, which was normally reserved for athletes and their girlfriends. Even Alonzo Briggs and Jeremy Bowen never complained, and they were the biggest jock snobs on campus. Matt’s athletic prowess pulled that kind of weight.

Having the ability to walk in Matt’s world elevated us. We were still geeks, but being friends with Matt put us a few rungs up from the bottom of the social food chain.

On the day of the argument, I sat alone on the quad. I didn’t stop by the cafeteria to pick up something to eat. I was alone and hungry, but my anger would not allow me to join my classmates inside.

The quad was a ghost town, with the occasional student tumble weed racing across, late for class or lunch.

“There you are.” Matt’s voice from behind. I turned, thankful he was alone. “What are you doing out here?” he said, his words a soft probe.

“I’m not hungry. So I thought I’d get a jump on my homework.”

“I see,” he said, eyeing the doodle I was drawing on my notebook cover. I turned the book over.

“Besides, there’s someone in there I don’t want to see. But I’m sure you already know that.”

“Yeah,” he breathed softly. He took a seat next to me on the stone bench. “She’s sorry.” He lifted my chin with his thumb and forefinger. Our eyes met.  “Megan, she didn’t—”

“Do you think I’m jealous of my own mother?” I blurted.

“Course not. Although I
do
think you’re a bit over-protective of her.”

“Over-protective!”

“Hear me out, please, before you go jumping down my throat.”

“Okay,” I said through tight lips. “Talk.” I did not promise to listen.

“Megan, I’ve known you since kindergarten. And it’s always been just you and Suze. I think maybe you’re concerned she’s making a bad decision.”

“She
is
making a bad decision. Matt, the guy’s a bonafide loser. I just want her to date the kind of guy she deserves. You know, somebody hip, and handsome, and worldly, and fashionable. The kind of man she can walk beside with her head held high. I don’t want to sound like a snob or anything, but she shouldn’t be dating beneath her. And Miller is definitely beneath her.”

“Your Mom’s smart. She’s probably just testing the waters.”

“Yeah, well, I think she should…” I was in the midst of a knee-jerk response when Matt’s words got through to me… And they made sense. “What was that again?”

“Huh?”

“What you just said.”

He thought for a moment. “Um, your mom is one of the smartest people I know—”

“No, no, something about testing the waters.”

“Oh, that. I think your mom is probably testing the waters with this guy. I’m sure Mr. Right hasn’t even shown up yet.”

I smiled. That had to be it. She was testing the waters. Miller was a warm-up boyfriend. My mother is no fool. She can spot a loser a mile away. She was using Miller for practice.

My spirits immediately brightened. “You are so right,” I said, throwing my arms around Matt’s shoulders. “I’m probably overreacting.”

“I think you’re overreacting with someone else, too.” He stood up.

“Erin?” My voice hinted shame.

“She’s been feeling horrible all day.”  

“She should. She said I was jealous.”

“Did she say you were jealous, or did she
ask
if you were jealous?”

“Um, uhh…”

He held out his hand. “Come on. She wants to buy you an ice cream to make up.”

I gripped his hand and stood. “Um, maybe she could buy me a turkey sandwich. I’m starving.”

Matt’s laughter filled the quad.

The word
boyfriend
is relatively new in the English language. It first appeared in print in 1909. I know that’s a long time ago, but when you consider how long the English language has been around, 1909 is pretty recent. Originally when people used the word, it meant something negative, like a married woman might have a secret relationship with a
boyfriend.

Boyfriend
is one of the first words I became curious about when I developed my love of trivia. I wanted to know everything about the word. I figured the more I knew about
boyfriend
, the closer I would be to having one.  Unfortunately, this flaw in logic has left me with a head full of trivia, and not one boyfriend.

However, a few days after Erin and I made up, she hit me with an interesting
boyfriend
proposition. We were once again in her bedroom, studying for a calc exam.

“So, how are things with Suze?” she asked, sipping a diet soft drink, which was something I’d never seen her do. Erin loved her sugar.

“Good.” I didn’t dare bring up Miller David and open
that
can of worms again.

“You know, Megan, once you have your own boyfriend, I’m sure Suze’s dating won’t seem so bad.”

“You’re right,” I said. Then I sighed. “Too bad I don’t even have a boyfriend prospect.”

“Well… how about Guy Matson?”

My breath caught in my chest as I recalled my double humiliation. “B… but you saw him first.”

“That’s okay,” she reassured. “I’ve got my sights set on somebody else. Guy is all yours.”

But I didn’t want him. I couldn’t imagine putting myself through a third embarrassing situation with him.

It was then I realized Erin’s eyes were avoiding mine. There was something more to her giving up the handsome boy she had first dibs on so easily.

“Okay, spill,” I said, trying to get her to look at me.

“There’s nothing to spill,” she replied coyly.

“Nothing? There’s something going down between you and Matt, isn’t there?”

Her face brightened. “Yes!” she said with delight. “It all started that day when Matt was acting really funny about me having a boyfriend. I wasn’t sure at first, but he was talking about me and him.” That explained the diet drink.

“I knew it!”

“And then when you and I had the
misunderstanding,
we seemed to grow closer.” She looked at me seriously. “I mean… it’s okay with you, isn’t it? That’s the reason we haven’t acted on our feelings yet. We wanted to make sure it was all right with you first.”

“All right? It’s excellent.” A smile blossomed on my lips. “I have to admit, though, I am a bit surprised. I mean, I love Matt, but he isn’t exactly the brightest bulb in the pack.”

Erin laughed. “I know. But that’s what’s so cool about it. I never feel like I have to compete with him. And he doesn’t mind that I’m a mathlete.” Her face was suddenly serious again. “Are you
sure
you’re okay with this?” She took another sip of her diet drink and made a face.

“Please! Matt‘s like a brother to me. You two are my best friends. Of course it’s okay. I’m happy for both of you.”

“And now you’re free to go after Guy. I know you like him, but you haven’t made a move because I saw him first.”

I could feel a knot forming in my chest. “He’s all right.”

“All right? I see the way you act when he walks into the math lab.”

Yeah. Like I want to crawl under a rock.

I hadn’t mentioned my second embarrassing encounter to Erin. It was too embarrassing. “Guy’s okay. But for now let’s just concentrate on you and Matt. I should have you guys over after school. We can toast soft drinks to your new relationship.”

“Ooh, that sounds fun.”

“But not diet,” I said.

She laughed.

#

“I think I’ve been dumped.”

Suze and I were in the kitchen preparing a light supper.  I was tossing a salad, while she was pulling together her southwestern corn chowder with poblano peppers.

“Please, Mom, dumped is such a strong word.”

“What would you call it?”

“He’s… just been really busy lately.”

“Isn’t that what guys say when they’re dumping a girl?”

“You’ve got a point.” She frowned. “I’m kidding. You haven’t been dumped. I’m sure Miller really likes you.”

“He hasn’t called.” Her voice was flat, as she put the lid on the pot to let the soup simmer.

“After dinner we should check your e-mail box to see who else has responded. Miller was okay, but you could do better.”

There was a brief, awkward silence. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, he was nice enough, but I really didn’t see him as your type.” I was careful not to mention how pleased I was that the loser was gone.

She was quiet for a long, thought-filled moment. “I liked him,” she finally said. “I thought he liked me.”

I was surprised at the gloom that colored her words.
She just met the man
. I thought she’d be willing to move on… at least that’s what I’d hoped.

Dinner was cloaked in painful silence. The light conversation we managed was surrounded by long, awkward gaps where neither of us said anything.  

Afterwards, we drove into old town to browse the many antique shops that lined the narrow streets. Old town was a historic neighborhood of turn-of-the-century buildings. Going there and browsing the shops was one of our favorite pastimes.

I loved old town because it gave me the feeling I was stepping into the past, a simpler time when life was easy. It reminded me of Main Street, Disneyland, but real.

As we shop hopped, I could tell her mind was elsewhere. I tried cheering her up by pointing to an outrageous outfit in a boutique window and saying:
You’d look great in that.
Normally this would have elicited waves of laughter. But this time she said, “Ya think?” as if I were seriously considering the ridiculous clothing.

The longer we browsed, the lousier I felt.
She really likes the guy.