nowhere (9 page)

He raised one eyebrow. “Why not give him a chance? I’m sure he’s a nice fellow.”

I put it in terms he’d understand. “Let’s just say, I can’t believe they make a helmet big enough to fit his big head!”

Pops laughed heartily. I found myself joining him. “Now you’re catching on.”

Pops continued to ask me crossword puzzle questions while we finished lunch. I discovered I knew more trivia than I thought; I was actually enjoying myself. In no time, the puzzle was complete. I carried the plates to the sink and loaded them into the dishwasher. Pops should recommend that Aunt Carol get one.

“Thanks for lunch and for cleaning up too.” He smiled. Maybe he did need us here. “I’m going back to my chair. I have to a find a new puzzle to work on.”

“Okay.” I had to find something to occupy my time this afternoon.

I was about to go upstairs when he called, “Mike?”

“Yeah?” I peeped my head into the living room.

“Just so you know, Tyler and your new friend don’t get along.” Why was he telling me this? It seemed out of character. Pops didn’t strike me as someone who gossiped or meddled in other people’s business.

“Okay?” I waited for him to continue.

“Tyler likes to cause mischief for him.” He gave me a look as if to say that perhaps James could use my help. What was it with Pops and this guy?

“I’m sure James can take care of himself. He’s a big boy,” I stated, recalling his broad frame and towering height.

“He’s a good kid. Tyler gives him grief, and so does his own father. All I’m saying is maybe next time you could be a little nicer to him. You could invite him in.”

“Why would I do that?” I asked incredulously.

“I don’t know. It seems to me that both of you could use a friend.” He turned his attention to the puzzle in his hand.

“What exactly did you mean about his father?” I thought back to the excuse that James gave for blowing me off the other day. He said it was because he was too busy helping his dad. Was there more to it than that?

“Nothing.” He kept his eyes down, mumbling something about number twenty-two down. I stood in front of him and grabbed his pen off the table. I tapped it against my palm.

“Mike, don’t be difficult now. Hand me my pen.” He held out his hand.

I placed the pen behind my ear and put my hands on my hips, “Not until you tell me exactly what you meant.” 

“I can go and get another pen.”

“You can, but you won’t.”

“Let’s just say that in a small town you hear things, even when you’re not listening.”

“Like what?”

H took a deep breath and sighed. “It’s a terrible thing that your daddy died, but at least you know that he loved you.” He folded his arms across his big chest, signaling that the conversation was over. “Now, give me that pen.” He reached up and snatched it from behind my ear, filling in another answer.

I slowly climbed the stairs to my room. Flopping down on my bed, I replayed the conversation with Pops. I tried to make sense out if it, but I couldn’t. It was like trying to solve a crossword puzzle with only partial clues. I felt frustrated.

Suddenly I knew how to pass the afternoon. Drawing always calmed me. When I pulled images from my mind and put them on paper it helped me make sense of the world. I stood up and began searching the room for my backpack. I finally found it hiding under a pile of Emma’s dirty clothes. I quickly filled it with art supplies, tossed in a sketchpad and a box filled with my favorite drawing pencils.

I tore back down the stairs, anxious to get started. “I’m going for a walk. I’ll be back in a while,” I called out as I left.

I crossed the main road and entered the cemetery that had been beckoning me since we first arrived. In all of my visits I’d never set foot here. I walked around, examining the tombstones and running my hands over them. Some were crumbling and moss-covered. I brushed one off to see the name and date. Then I brushed off another and another. Some dated as far back as 1832. I stared across the street at my grandparents’ old farmhouse. According to the names on the graves and the close proximity to the farm, I concluded that all the people buried here were relatives.

I sat down with my back against the giant oak tree. Pulling out my sketchpad and pencils, I sketched the tombstone in front of me. I felt the pain of having recently lost my dad. A tear rolled down my cheek and I quickly brushed it away with the back of my hand. I wasn’t usually an emotional person.

I didn’t think while I drew. The pencil flew across the page making marks, almost as if it had a mind of its own. Often times I didn’t know what it was going to be until it was completed. The cemetery was still with only a few birds calling off in the distance from time to time. When I finished I was not at all surprised by what had taken form on my paper. It was a portrait of my dad. He was sitting behind the tombstone, using it as a desk, his laptop open in front of him. He wore a peaceful smile. I smiled, too, as another tear fell. I realized I’d dreaded moving here because I thought I’d feel so far away from my dad and the life we’d all had together in California. Now I knew that was silly. He was always with me, even here in the middle of Nowhere. It didn’t matter where we lived. My father had loved me and he lived on in my memories. I shut my notepad, feeling better than I had in months.

Dooner

Practice was hell all week. Stepping under the scalding hot shower in the locker room, I washed away a full day’s worth of sweat and dirt. The week had started off bad when I let Tyler and Casey coerce me into starting a fight, and since then nothing had improved. I was still being benched for the season’s opener. I had to do something—and fast—to change that. I mulled a plan over in my mind as I lathered shampoo into my hair. I’d do whatever it took to make sure that I played in that game. I rinsed my hair and then abruptly turned off the shower. Grabbing my towel, I quickly dried off. It was time I had a talk with Tyler and Casey.

“Tyler, we need to talk.” He was just changing out of his shoulder pads. “Tell your buddy, Casey, to join us too.”

“Sure,” he grunted. 

“Meet me outside when you guys are done getting dressed.”

“Sure,” he grunted a second time. 

I quickly pulled on a clean pair of jeans and a T-shirt. It never took me more than a few minutes to get ready. I went outside to wait for them.

A few minutes later Tyler and Casey emerged from the school. I got right down to business, “We need to stop acting like enemies. We have to put our differences aside and do what’s right for this team.” Tyler mumbled his consent. I continued my pep talk. “This is our senior year, the year we’ve been waiting for. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be on the sidelines acting as a bench warmer. I want to be playing in the game, leading the team to its fiftieth straight win.” I pounded my fist into my palm.

“Me too,” agreed Tyler. Getting Tyler to work with me, instead of against me, was going better than I could have hoped.

“I don’t know why you intentionally threw me that blind pass.” I looked angrily at Tyler. “And why you,” I said, shifting my gaze to glare at Casey, “slammed into me so hard, but I’m willing to put it behind me.” I swallowed to push back the bile that was threatening to rise. I hated giving in like this, but I couldn’t miss that game. “As long as you promise not to try anything like that again. We need to move on and work together.”

“I agree,” said Tyler.

Casey nodded.

“I’ll pretend it never happened on one condition,” amended Tyler.

“I’m not playing games with you, man. This is serious.” I scowled.

“So is this. Stay away from my cousin, Mike.”

“Mikayla...What does she have to do with anything?” 

“Just stay away from her. She’s been through a lot already and she doesn’t need a guy like you trying to get in her pants.” 

“I’m not trying to get in her pants,” I declared, outraged. I wasn’t a perfect angel, but unlike the rest of the guys on the team, I didn’t go round trying to bang every skirt I saw.

“I mean it. Stay away from her.”

“I can’t promise that.” I smiled as I remembered how soft she felt in my arms. I’d been biding my time this week until I could stop by and see her.

“Then there’s no deal.” He turned to leave.

“I don’t understand,” I called out unwilling to let Tyler leave.

He turned back around, “What?”

“You didn’t seem to have a problem the other night when you left it to me to make sure her and her sister got home okay.”

Tyler shifted uncomfortably. “Yeah, that was a bad decision on my part.”

“They made it home safe, right?”

“Yeah, they did,” he grumpily admitted.

“Okay, then. I think worrying about whom your cousin dates is the least of your problems. Mikayla seems like she’s going to do whatever she wants regardless of what you say, anyway.” Tyler grimaced, probably recalling how he couldn’t talk her out of walking home. “Can we please get back to playing football now?” I pleaded.

For once Tyler kept his mouth shut and looked ready to listen. Casey stood by his side.

I filled them in on my plan. It was especially important that, going forward, Coach saw Tyler and me connecting on the field and in the locker room. As the team captains, we set the tone.

We planned to meet every morning before practice to run drills, throwing the ball with Casey playing defense. Almost all of our opponents ran the ball; either they didn’t have a quarterback with a strong enough arm to throw down field, or they lacked a receiver who could catch it. Lucky for us, we had both. We were going to surprise everyone by perfecting our passing game. When Coach saw how serious we were, he’d change his mind about suspending us.

“Monday morning at seven?” I asked, looking at them.

“I’ll be here,” said Tyler.

“Me too.” Casey nodded.

There was a lightness in my step as I walked to where I’d parked Old Faithful. I quickly threw my gym bag in the back and started her up. I was in a hurry to get to where I was going before my luck changed.

Mike

I’d been procrastinating since I woke up. I wasn’t dressed, even though it was after noon. I was lounging on my bed in my pajamas, my hair carelessly pulled back into a ponytail, while I sketched the view from my bedroom window. It was an aerial view of the cemetery.

“Mike,” Pops yelled up the stairs. 

“What?” I yelled back.

“Come on down here.”

I looked at the clock and saw that it was almost twelve-thirty. I’d been making lunch all week and he was probably hungry. Come to think of it, I was hungry too. “Okay. I’ll be down in a sec.” I stood and stretched. I thought about getting dressed, but I didn’t really see the point. I wasn’t going anywhere and Pops couldn’t have cared less about fashion.

“Stop your stalling and get down here. You’ve slept half the day away already.” 

“Coming,” I shouted, stomping loudly down the stairs in an attempt to annoy Pops. He hated it when I walked like an elephant. “Here I am, Pops.” I raised my right hand and saluted. “Reporting for duty.”

He chuckled good-naturedly and I felt my heart soften. Like my dad, he actually understood and even appreciated my humor. Suddenly I felt bad for making so much noise when I came down the stairs.

Pops kept his voice low and pointed toward the kitchen, “You have a visitor.”

“A visitor?” Surprise filled my voice.
I couldn’t imagine who it could be
. Paige wouldn’t be here for a couple of weeks. She was coming to visit for my birthday. “Who is it?” I whispered. 

“So you do know how to be quiet.” He smiled, ignoring my question completely.

I rolled my eyes. “Pops! Who’s here?” I repeated just as James came out of the kitchen. My mouth fell to the floor. He was the last person I’d expected to see. I think I would have been less shocked if my dad had walked into the room.

“Hi,” he said, a huge smile spreading across his handsome face. I almost forgot myself as I stared into his bright green eyes. I wasn’t sure how long I’d been staring, but when Pops cleared his throat, I snapped out of it.

“What are you doing here?” I asked through gritted teeth. I quickly crossed my arms over my chest, suddenly remembering I was wearing pajamas and no bra.

“I have the afternoon free. I thought maybe we could take that hike now.”

“So you just show up, assuming that I’d drop what I was doing and go on a hike with you.” My voice rose an octave.

“I can see you’ve been busy.” James nodded at my outfit and Pops laughed. I shot him a dark look to let him know I didn’t appreciate him taking James’s side in any of this.

“I’ve been—” I was trying to think of a logical excuse for still being in my pajamas, when Pop-Pop interrupted.

“If you don’t want to go, you can help me in the garden. It needs some attention.  There are weeds to pull, plants to water, and vegetables to pick for the stand. I was waiting for you to help me replenish our supply and empty the cash box. If you’d rather stay home, you can always help me.” He grinned.

I couldn’t believe the nerve of my own grandfather, trying to set me up. He knew I loathed gardening. I glared at the two of them. I felt like I was being backed into a corner and there was no way out. 

“I need a few minutes to get ready,” I grumbled in defeat.

“Take your time. I’m not in a hurry.”

“James can keep me company,” Pops spoke up. “I have a few crossword puzzle questions that I couldn’t answer because someone was too busy this morning to help.” I watched as Pop led James toward the kitchen. He was already pulling the puzzle out of his front pocket. “Are you any good at puzzles?”

I sighed and raced up the stairs two at a time. I didn’t want them talking and comparing notes about me.

I slammed my door, rattling the windows. I dashed around my room, gathering my strewn clothes. I didn’t know what to wear for a hike. I’d noticed that James wore torn jeans, a T-shirt and sneakers. I wondered if he had on jeans because there’d be branches to scratch up his legs, or if he always wore them. I’d never seen him in anything else. Quickly, I pulled on a clean pair of jean shorts and a turquoise T-shirt. I ran into the bathroom. In record time I washed my face, brushed my teeth, and redid my ponytail. I’d been gone ten minutes, tops. As I raced back down the stairs, Pop-pop’s laughter filled the air.
Oh, no. This can’t be good.