Cowboy Country (50 page)

Spectra was waiting in homeroom, her sketchbook open. “Hey, Spec.”

“Word’s on the street, Jess. You’ll be ridin’ in the parade.”

“Oh, gawd, I can’t think about this, Spectra. I have a vocab test next period. I’ll let Teja and Lalinda figure it out, they’ll know what to do.”

At lunch, an overcome Teja’s hands flapped like birds wings. “The dealership in Beeville is sending over a pair of Cadillac convertibles, two girls ride in each! I wish I knew what colors we were working with! There’s no time to find a dress for tonight, Jessie, but I have an ostrich shrug that will look fabulous over jeans. Lalinda and I will do a little shopping at Goodwill, we’ll be over to do your makeup at six. I’ve spoken to Hymie, he will cover the register.”

“Sounds like you have it all under control, Teja.”

“Jessie, you will need an escort for the dance tomorrow night.”

“Say what? Isn’t this parade thing torture enough?”

“No, no and no. And you will also need a dress for the dance.”

“Teja, tomorrow I am helping Wyatt and Lance inseminate heifers at Mockingbird. I’m not getting ready for a dance.”

“Oh, yes you are, princess, yes you are. Who’s escorting you to the dance?”

“Um, no one?”

“Take a look at the football roster, Jessie, how about Ivan?”

“Teja, once Ivan discovers that I aced my pre-calc final last year, he’s gonna knock my block off. I don’t want bloodshed at a Homecoming Dance. Look, those guys are gross, I mean, I like them, but I think an entire evening with any one of them would be pretty excruciating.”

“I’m calling Wyatt.”

“No way, Teja. Wyatt does me favors all the time. You can’t ask him to do this. I’ll be mortified. He’s too old. He won’t want to be caught dead at a high school dance. No one wants to be that nice.”

“Give me the quarter, Jessie.”

“No way, Teja.”

“You simply CAN’T be the only unescorted Queen candidate in the history of the school!” Teja’s normally high pitched voice was rising an octave a minute.

“I’ll take you, Teja. And Lalinda. I’ll have two dates.”

“God have mercy on us. A threesome. Hobble Creek has never seen the likes. Well, how about we color coordinate, then?”

“Sounds like a plan.”

Friday, September 10, 2006, 6:30 PM~Okay’s Corral, Hobble Creek, TX

Teja and Lalinda arrived at Okay’s with bags and parcels, excited and out of breath. “We stopped for pizza,” Teja explained. “I needed fortification for a project of this scope. Squeeze into these jeans.”

“I don’t wear white jeans, Teja, they get dirty too easily.”

“You’re queen material, now, dammit, so get the jeans on,” Teja ordered.  Lalinda giggled.

“Can I see the whole outfit first? I think I need to prepare myself,” Jessie begged.

“Only if you promise no resistance. The hour is late, there’s no time for rebellion.” Teja opened a beef jerky swinging it around as if he were conducting the orchestra as Lalinda pulled garments on hangers out of bags, sticking them up on the chip rack.

“Oh. My. God.” Jessie said, when she saw the outfit they’d picked out.

From behind the register, Hymie gave the clothes that Lalinda had hung up a once over. “It’s a nice outfit, Jess,” Hymie said. “Go get dressed.”

Jessie’s stomach pinched.

Lalinda and Teja had gone to a lot of trouble for her. Lalinda’s face shone with pride and delight, and Teja was as perky as she’d ever seen him.  It would all be over in a few hours. Well, not counting tomorrow night’s dance.

But she couldn’t think about tomorrow night, right now.

Good thing she hadn’t eaten lunch.

“I’m ready. Let’s do this.” Jessie agreed, heading towards the ladies room.

Teja whooped and waved the beef jerky triumphantly. Lalinda clapped her hands gleefully, following behind Jessie with the white jeans and a racy red sequined top. 

Jessie inhaled to get the jeans zipped, they were so snug. Her bra straps showed under the sequined top, so she took it off.

Not like she needed support, anyway.

She never wore anything low cut, but it looked okay.

Lalinda knocked. “Ready for the boots? I think they are gonna be a little small, Jess.” The door opened a crack, and Lalinda handed in red glittering square- toed boots, with stock heels, which was good; high heels was where she would have drawn the line.

Lalinda was right, her toes hurt.

“Show us, show us!” Lalinda called.

Taking a deep breath, Jessie came out in the skin tight white jeans, snug glittery red sequin top, and red glittery low boots, put a hand on her hip, and gave a twirl. Heck, she’d seen Lalinda do it often enough. Ralph whooped. Even Hymie broke into a grin.

“Fabulous, Fabulous. You’ve clearly taken lessons from the master.” Teja chanted, waving the beef jerky. “We’ve got a white hat for you. And the ostrich shrug. But let’s do your makeup first.”

“Not too much junk on my face!” Jessie warned. “I don’t want to have to wipe it off!

When they finished, Jessie looked in the mirror. Her green eyes were lined with a thin liquid eyeliner, and frosty gold and white eyeshadow made them stand out. Teja had used pale sparkly blusher and lipgloss. Long curls framed her face. Lalinda put shimmery drop rhinestones in each ear, and a rhinestone necklace with a loop in the center around her neck. Teja curled her eyelashes and applied mascara. She looked pretty, like a country western singer, she thought, but still like herself.

Not bad.

“Okay, I can live with this.” Jessie breathed. “Thanks guys.”

Teja squealed and he and Lalinda did a little victory dance, skipping down the aisles.

Teja insisted on shot of Jess alone, under the neon ‘Okay’s Corral” sign, out by the road. She jumped up on the concrete block, and struck a pose, to make him happy. Cars on the way to the game tooted the horn, and a few wolf whistled.

The next moment, Lalinda threw herself at Jessie. Someone had snapped a picture of them, Lalinda’s taut arms gripping Jessie in fierce embrace. She’d hung it over her desk. Years later, those few snapshots, and her love for Linny, were all that remained of Jessie’s childhood.

5

HOMECOMING PARADE

Friday, September 10, 2006, 7:54 PM~Hobble Creek Consolidated High School, Hobble Creek TX

As Jessie climbed into the stadium stands, kids from school and people she knew from Okay’s leaned out to congratulate her.

“Thank you, Thank you,” she said, blushing furiously, unused to all the attention.

Teja folded the plastic cape from Lucille’s across the stand for her to sit on. “We can’t risk any smudging of the queen’s ass,” he hissed as they stood for the pledge of allegiance. “I wore this red tracksuit for us, Jessie. Red is our color tonight.” Teja had worn a Hobble Creek Diamondbacks baseball cap, a rare show of school spirit. “I got it at the Goodwill, in honor of the occasion. You’ll have to autograph it tomorrow night, after the crowning,” he said, making Jessie’s head spin.

As the only openly gay male student at Hobble Creek Consolidated, Teja took a lot of ribbing, so Jessie figured the opportunity to dress a Homecoming princess might go down as the highlight of his high school career. She’d never seen him so enthusiastic.

“Don’t look now, but Stacia’s girl posse is shooting looks of doom our way,” Spectra reported.

“It’s time to take action, how about you prance down through the stands, play Miss Popular, Jessie, pull out the big guns, show off the miracle that Teja and Lalinda have wrought,” Teja suggested, and Linny nodded agreement.

“Thanks for the sentiment, Teja, but let’s keep the big guns in our pockets. I won’t resort to catty. They can put me in the Homecoming Court, but they won’t turn me into a beeyotch of that ilk. Watch for the sign from Ms. Hortense, though, will ya? I don’t want to miss my cue,” Jessie hissed back.

But Teja had already started squealing; the convertible Cadillacs were pulling in at the gate of the track, with 8 minutes left in the second quarter, and he obviously liked what he saw. “White and red, our colors!! Oh, I’ve done well, I’ve done well!” Teja congratulated himself ecstatically.

Lance leaned forward knowingly. “I think Wyatt’s driving the red car.”

“He is not!” Jessie objected.

But Teja shrieked at the news. Drowning her out, he raised the gay-dar on all the fathers in surrounding stands. Teja didn’t care, and neither did Jessie. In fact, she was happy to let him take the spectacle up a notch; it felt just right.

“The red is our car, it’s our color!” Teja freaked ecstatically. “The red! It’s perfect with your sequins and the white hat!”

“Wyatt had the Chevy down in Beeville early this week for service. When the manager mentioned they needed drivers for this thing, he offered. I called to let him know to keep an eye out for you, after Denise told me the news,” Lance offered with a wide grin.

Teja was still shrieking, though.

Jess was all in for gay pride, but she’d need to face Wyatt in a few minutes. By the time Teja’s squeal reached a decibel pitch equivalent to that of a siren, she’d reached her limit. “Oh, calm down, already, Teja, won’t you?” she snapped, then, seeing his face crumple, she offered, “Maybe Wyatt will let you ride up front.”

A gay guy with fluttering hands would attract lots of attention, she figured, taking the pressure off of her. Teja was overcome. “My stars, I’m riding in the Hobble Creek Texas Homecoming Parade. My stars! I’m in red. And I’ve got the cap, the Hobble Creek Diamondback’s cap. Get pictures for Esmerelda, will you, Mary?” he whispered, eyes glistening, almost in tears.

Jessie started to choke up, too, but it felt more like the throat closing that happened before she barfed.

“Sure thing, Teja,” Mary answered, “I’ll take pictures. Breathe, Jessie.”

“How is my makeup?” Teja asked, batting his lashes.

“You look great,” Lalinda piped up, her bright face shining with excitement for Jessie. The knot in Jessie’s stomach had tightened, and her mouth was dry.

She might not make it down the stands, and into the convertible, behind Wyatt.

She might barf first.

Tapping Lalinda’s leg, motioning for the water bottle they’d brought from Okay’s, she tried to breathe, just like Mary said.

Lalinda handed her the water back, then the lipgloss, puckering her lips. “Reapply” she whispered.

With just four minutes left in the half, Ms. Hortense, in black jeans and a golden Hobble Creek Diamondbacks jersey gave a wave from the gate. Jessie felt the Dorito’s in her stomach jolt, acid taste flooding her mouth,

“Our cue, Jessie!” Teja was grabbing her by the hand, jerking her up, as Lalinda gave her a final big hug. “Go, sissy, you’re the sassiest Queen out there!”

“Good Luck, Jessie,” Lance and Mary said, big smiles on their faces.

“You have fun out there,” Denise added, her voice calm and reassuring.

“Don’t let Teja steal the show,” Hymie called.

Jessie was dimly aware of Ralph cackle, as she concentrated on getting to the stairs without tossing her Doritos.

Descending the steps of the grandstand nervously, she took a deep breath, bucked up, and started over towards Ms. Hortense. Stacia and Alexis and Nicole were almost there, too, and she hesitated.

She didn’t want to be the first one over.

“To the front of the line, beauty queen, we need first dibs on that red caddy,” Teja hissed from behind, taking her hand, and hustling her along.

Ms. Hortense gave Jessie a big smile and opened the gate for them.

“Can Teja ride?” Jessie pleaded his case.

“Sure, Teja, ask Wyatt if he doesn’t mind, and you can ride along. I think Stacia’s escort is riding in the white car,” Ms. Hortense offered.

Wyatt was standing at the red convertible, his fancy Stetson on his head, a wide grin of encouragement across his face. In a deep blue chambray shirt, new jeans, and brown boots and belt, he looked too good for Jessie to be scared.

He sooo handsome, she thought, looking into his warm amber eyes, feeling better.

These were her best friends, she reasoned.

Everyone liked Wyatt.

The thought calmed her.

Wyatt had spread a blanket across the white leather of the back seat, so the girls didn’t have to worry about messing it up with their shoes. He already had the passenger side for her.

Taking her hand, he helped her up onto the back of the convertible, on the side where she’d ride closest to the stands. “I figured you’re our girl, so you should have the advantage,” Wyatt whispered, squeezing her hand.

“Jessie gets every advantage,” Teja agreed, nodded approvingly.

“How you holdin’ up?”  Wyatt asked, not letting go until she’d met his eyes.

“I think I’ll make it.”

“That’s my girl.This way I can keep an eye on you.” Wyatt’s eyes gleamed approval. “Nicole can ride on my right, behind Teja. You look real pretty, Jess.”

“Thanks, Wyatt,” she whispered, barely sounding the words through her dry lips.

“You gotta loose that cow to slaughter look, babe, and have some fun, here, Jess,” he whispered, giving her hand another squeeze before turning to Nicole, who was being led over by Billy Brushwater.

Lalinda was right, a girl really did need lipgloss to survive this ordeal. She quickly reapplied, took a deep breath and decided to try to have a little fun.

After all, what did she have to lose?

She’d never cared about Homecoming in the first place, so let Stacia glare!

Besides, Nicole was nice, and Nicole was riding with Jessie.

In a short black strapless cocktail dress, her custom black fancy tall boots embossed with burgundy and peacock blue designs, Nicole’s hair was in an elaborate braided bun at her neck, and she had a little peacock feather hairpiece. Nicole’s father owned a big ranch out near Mockingbird, and he had an office in Houston.

“Hi, Jessie, You look dynamite!” Nicole said, as Wyatt opened the door and helped her in. Jess liked her.