Down 'N' Derby (7 page)

             
He reiterated, “This young man is a Hebrew and he is God’s people.  I demand that you let him go—from the table.” He added the last part for definition. His favorite movie of late was the old version of the Ten Commandments and this was that infatuation coming to fruition.

             
Mom played along and put her hands on her hips, “And what if I don’t Moses?” she asked.  Falcon raised his eyebrows and took a quick glance at Owen who was trying to scratch himself with the hoof part of his costume.  “Your first born will be smote before you.” That got Owen’s attention and he quickly stripped out of his horse/camel suit right there and walked out. “Hell no Falcon, you didn’t say anything about smoting me.”  He marched all the way upstairs in just his alien boxers.  We all cracked up and Mom relented but promised that another round of the theatrics wasn’t going to get me out of eating my vegetables next time.  Owen also got punished the next day for saying ‘hell’ and Falcon was punished as well for cutting a hole in one of her sheets.  Falcon moved on the next week to King Kong and we never saw Moses again. 

             
I took the chance and replied to him.  He wouldn’t know where I was just by replying to an e-mail.  I simply wrote that I was Ok and I loved him too.  I hit reply but it just wouldn’t send my reply.  So I refreshed the page but just as I went to re-type the message I was tapped on the shoulder by a teenager and told that my time was up.  The reply would have to wait for another time. 

             
I walked back across the street to see Nixon checking out his new ink in the mirror.  He’d gotten a Cypress tree across his chest and the girl had done a fantastic job.  She put Vaseline on him and taped the plastic wrap on top of his new body art. 

             
“It looks good Nixon, good choice.”

             
“It hurts like a mofo,” he said. We left after he reprimanded me for paying for his tattoo and went to find something to eat.  We ate greasy burgers and fries at a little shack-like stand and I pulled the flyer out of my pocket.  “Look at this, wanna go?”

             
He wiped his hands on a napkin and reached for the flyer and read over it.  “Yeah, sounds good. We should stay a few days in Vegas, we can’t get into the casinos or gamble but there’s plenty of other things to do.” 

             
I nodded, “Ok, we can head that way tomorrow.  There’s a place up the road that rents little cabins for the night.  We can stay there tonight and head towards Vegas in the morning.”

             
He looked relieved and answered, “Yeah, and I need some Tylenol.”

             
That night I called Reed and told her where we were and that I was fine.  But I knew that this would be the last time I talked to her before the wedding and her honeymoon so I took the time to tell her some things.

             
“Reed?” I said.

             
“Yeah, Mad?” I tousled my hair and wiped my palms on my jeans even though she couldn’t see me.

             
“I just—I just want you to know that I love you and I love Falcon and my brother couldn’t have found a better girl.”

             
“Thanks.  We all love you.  You know that right?”

             
I hung up before answering and felt like a complete jerk for it.  But I was afraid if I didn’t that I’d spill my soul out for her perusal—go back to the way our conversations used to be.  And she had better things to do. 

Chapter 12

Nixon

Her name was tattooed into the winding bark of the Cypress tree a
nd Maddox didn’t even notice.  Rainbow Brite nailed it.

              Maddox went to the store to get me Tylenol for my fake tattoo pain.  Honestly, after the first thirty or so jabs, the entire area went numb but I thought ahead, knowing I would need a minute to call Reed.  He finally left and I peeked through the heavy brown curtains to make sure he was gone before making the call.  The cabins he’d found earlier were all booked up for some HAM radio festival or some crap so we had to stay here.

             
“Hello?” she said and this time she didn’t whisper so I assumed she was somewhere she could actually talk. 

             
“Hey, it’s Nixon.  We are in some town outside of Vegas.  He said he’s not gonna call you anymore because y’all are prepping for the wedding.”

             
She breathed heavily into the phone and what she said next shocked the hell out of me.  “Nixon, we’re not getting married.”

             
“What? Did you guys break up?”

             
She giggled a little but answered quickly, “No, of course not.  But contrary to what Mad has probably told you, he is their brother and Falcon and I won’t get married without the entire family there.  But it’s fine.  Let him think that.  Where are you headed?”

             
“Um, we’re headed to Vegas for a few days and then we’re on to Venice Beach, California.”

             
“Ok, well, hopefully the Weiner will be in California.  Then Mad can come home.”

             
“You call him that too,” I asked her.

             
“As far as I’m concerned he is a big weiner.  So, call me when you can, I guess.”

             
“I will.  He’ll be back soon, so, I’ll talk to you later.  Take care.”

             
“Yeah, you too Nixon.”

             
I almost hung up when I heard her say, “Hey Nixon!”

             
“What?” I said thinking she had some more info for me.

             
“We want you back home too, not just Mad.”

             
“Thanks Reed.” And with that I pressed the ‘End’ button. 

              I went to the mirror and peeled the plastic wrap from my chest and cocked my head sideways to look for her name.  It was hard to find amongst the bark and Spanish moss but if you were purposefully searching for it, like I was, you could see it clearly.  The ‘J’ started at the top, at the split of the branches and the rest of the letters weaved down to the Cypress knees spelling ‘Journey.’  I’d loved her for as long as I could remember.  But she was always dating someone else or in between boyfriends, not that she would ever see me as anything but a friend anyway.  She always came to me after break-ups or fights with her boyfriends for consolation and I gave it to her freely.   How could I deny anything she sought from me? Then I would watch as the next day or the next week she dropped me for the boyfriend, or the next crush. 

             
She always went for the jocks, the team captains, the guys whose reputations made them pedestal material in her mind.  She always did that.  She put them on a pedestal so high but they always fell.  She complained that they weren’t attentive enough, didn’t remember anniversaries or her birthday but then she would groan that some of them smothered her.  They didn’t hold her hand or they showed too much PDA. They either moved too fast or not fast enough.  I thought that if I was her foundation, her constant, that eventually she would realize how much I loved her.  But she never would.  She moved to North Carolina to go to Duke.  The only reason she was going was to be near Justin, her latest conquest. 

             
She would probably marry him and they would have a La Crosse team’s worth of kids and three Doberman Pinschers. 

             
Get a grip Nixon.

             
The headlights through the window alerted me that Maddox was back and I climbed into bed quickly, still feigning pain.  He walked in and tossed the bag at me. 

             
“You’re in luck.  They had sweet tea in a bottle at the gas station.”

             
“Thanks, man.” I shook the bottle of pills but didn’t put any in my hand, faked swallowing them, and downed the bottle of semi-sweet tea.

             
And as if she heard my thoughts, she texted me.

             
Journey: Hope you’re having a fun time at your summer job. Ha ha.

             
I didn’t even bother to tell her I wasn’t working this summer, or about the road trip with Maddox.  She was already in North Carolina living it up.  She could care less what I was really doing.  And then I did something I thought I’d never do.  I pulled up her contact info and looked at her picture for the last time.  I couldn’t continue torturing myself this way.  And then I blocked her from calling or texting me ever again.  Just then my stomach rumbled and groaned something awful.

             
“Um, Maddox, I think you need to get your own room.”

Chapter 13

Reed

Why can’t they sell snowballs year ‘round?  They sell ice-cream year ‘round and
Icees.  And it would be smart.  They wouldn’t have to spend so much money keeping the ice cold.  New goal: Open a year ‘round snowball stand before I get too old.

              I loved the summer.  Snowballs, swimming, and there is no better feeling in the world than walking into an air conditioned room out of the summer swelter.  I had spent the day taking placement tests and thank God for them because as the 14
th
got closer and closer, I needed a distraction. 

             
And I was buried so deep in this hole I’d dug for myself.

             
I walked into the restaurant and sat in my place.  It was a regular Tuesday night family dinner but we all sat in front of our bowls and plates waiting for something to happen.  We talked about shallow things, weather, traffic and Nellie’s store.  We avoided the big stuff, babies, weddings, and especially, especially Maddox.

             
“Do you remember the first time you came to one of these,” Falcon asked, whispering to me.

             
“Yeah, I was humiliated beyond belief and you bought me ice-cream”

             
“You wanted me so bad after that.” He laughed trying not to alert the rest of the table.

             
“I just thought I wanted you back then.  I want you so bad now, I could climb the walls.”

             
“So let’s go get married,” he said.  I smiled down at my plate knowing that he wasn’t serious.  He was just stringing me along.

             
“Yeah, right.” I said back.  I didn’t get an immediate response, so I lifted my eyes to meet his. 

             
“You think I’m kidding?” His eyes bunched together above the bridge of his nose.

             
“No,” I took his hand under the table, “But I think you would regret it.”

             
He turned his whole body towards me and grew as serious as I’ve ever seen him. “I would never, ever regret marrying you.  How could you ever think that?”

             
I took a long, deep breath, and chose my next words carefully; we were already on such shaky ground.  “You misunderstand me.  You would regret Mad not being there.  It wouldn’t be the same without the whole family.”

             
He grew more and more tense throughout this conversation and I could see that he was about to blow. “But that’s the only thing holding us back, right?  You still plan to marry me when he gets back.”

             
I rolled my eyes at the absurdity of his suggestion. “Why are you saying that?”

             
He rubbed his hand over the stripe on his head.  As he blew out a breath his cheeks puffed out.  “I don’t know what in the Hell I’m saying.  In fact, I just need to go home.” He threw his napkin on the table and excused himself.  I turned and grabbed his hand before he got too far and asked him the question with my eyes but somehow I already knew the answer. 

             
“Not tonight.” He whispered to me and I felt one more layer of us ravel apart in front of me.  And there was nothing I could do to stop it. 

             
I looked across the table at Sylvia, the shell of Sylvia, already battered and worn, tears falling down her face.  I got up and hugged her.  “It’s gonna be fine.  We are ok.”  She nodded but I couldn’t stand being the cause of any more of her tears.  So I left, went home to an empty house.  I contemplated getting in my car and waltzing into Falcon’s apartment just to tell him how stupid he was to ever think I wouldn’t give anything to be his wife.  But it just felt like another round of first aid on a gaping wound.  I could clean it and re-bandage it all I wanted.  But until Mad came back and we stood on the altar saying the vows, it would never completely be healed, the dispute would remain unsettled, just like my mind. 

Chapter 14

Storey Delilah Kane