TRISTAN: The Ruins of Emblem #1

by Brent, Cora

  In third period while a class of eleventh graders bent their heads over their letters I took note of the fact that Nesto was absent again. He might have had to take some time off because of all the recent tumult in his family but I was worried he’d fall behind.

  “Bye, Ms. Gentry.”

  “See you tomorrow, Ms. Gentry!”

  My students called their goodbyes over their shoulders as they filed out of my classroom. This was my free period and I was preparing to eat lunch at my desk when a crackling sound came over the loudspeaker and Principal Bertram’s croaky voice greeted the school.

  “Attention students and faculty. In light of new information the administration has reconsidered cancelling the homecoming dance. The dance will be held next month on its originally planned date. All other activities will be considered on a case by case basis so please check with your faculty adviser.”

  I closed my eyes when I heard the cheers echoing from classrooms up and down the corridor. The triumph might be small by a lot of standards but today here in Emblem it felt titanic.

  My chicken salad sandwich was rather limp but I ate it anyway and stared at last night’s text exchange while I chewed.

  Miss you like hell, schoolteacher.

  Miss you too, Mulligan.

  The last few nights I’d tossed and turned, having already grown used to the feel of Tristan’s arms around me as I slept. I missed him. I craved him. I needed him. I worried about him.

  I love him.

  I couldn’t stop feeling this way any more than I could stop the sun from blazing over the desert.

  Five seconds after the last bell rang my phone buzzed and I grabbed it with a smile, expecting Tristan. It wasn’t Tristan.

  “Guess who just landed in Arizona?” said a voice I used to hear every day.

  “Jake! I forgot you were coming for a visit.”

  My best friend chuckled. “Now I feel neglected.”

  “You feel neglected? Which one of us is averse to keeping in touch?”

  “Hey, I’m in touch right now.”

  I smiled. “And how long are you going to be in touch?”

  “Five days is the plan unless my folks decide to keep me captive.”

  “Any chance I get to see you while you’re captive?”

  “Sure.” He paused. “So I hear you have a boyfriend down there in Emblem.”

  “You heard right.”

  “He must be a big deal if the family knows all about him.”

  I grinned. “He’s definitely a big deal. You need to meet him.”

  “Sure I’ll meet him.”

  “We’ll make it happen. Call me when your parents give you a few minutes to breathe.”

  “Will do.”

  The instant I said goodbye to Jake the Stremich twins appeared full of squealing excitement over the dance being restored.

  “We’ll have a committee meeting today,” I told them. “Try and track down anyone you can find and I’ll meet you all in the gym after I finish parking lot duty.”

  The girls ran off on their coltish legs and I almost bumped into Aura as I was leaving my classroom.

  “I’m impressed,” she said with a laugh. “Getting Kevin to change his mind is usually an exercise in futility.”

  I crossed my arms and smugly grinned. “How do you know I had anything to do with that?”

  “Because you are your parents’ daughter.” She nodded at me. “You’d better get going if you’re on parking lot duty.”

  “Right. No telling what might happen if the English teacher isn’t there to keep everyone in line.”

  The general atmosphere was far more cheerful than it was yesterday. As I briskly walked the hallways and handed out a few pieces of advice not to smoke in the building or draw on the walls I was already thinking ahead to tonight. Tristan had promised he’d be back and I absolutely ached to be with him again.

  The front parking lot was my next stop and my eyes rebelled against the glare of the sun as I stepped outside. But after a few blinks the view was clear.

  My heart thumped the way it always did when I caught sight of him. He was out there in the same spot where I’d descended on him in a fury weeks ago when I thought he was prowling around school grounds in search of someone to corrupt. That day felt like so long ago. But only because my heart had been irrevocably altered since then. He’d found someone to corrupt all right. And I was loving every minute of it.

  Tristan moved his head and saw me, straightening up with a smile that had sealed my fate from the first time he flashed it my way. And I ran down the front steps to jump into his arms where I belonged.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Tristan

  When I was on my way back to town I called Adelson. He was as agreeable as he always was and I went straight to the truck yard to meet with him. I didn’t dance around the topic, asking straight out if the full time offer was still on the table and letting him know I’d be grateful if it was.

  Adelson was thrilled, acting like I was performing a charitable service by accepting a job. He pumped my hand and took me straight over to his wife to start the paperwork process. I knew that his enthusiasm was about more than the fact that I always showed up for work on time and volunteered for additional tasks. Adelson had known my father. Once he admitted that my dad had rescued him from a number of bully thrashings back in their school days. Now he was repaying the debt the only way he could. It was a reminder that the things we do, the kindnesses we extend, have the power to echo in unexpected ways.

  Adelson wouldn’t be sorry. I’d work hard for him. No more bullshit. I was finished doing anything that would jeopardize the future I dreamed of having with Cadence.

  Speaking of my girlfriend, I couldn’t wait to bring her up to speed on all the Mulligan male bonding that had transpired in the last twenty four hours and let her know that things were going to be different. She’d never have to worry about what side of the law I was on, never have to fear getting a painful call that I’d been arrested or worse. I’d be a motherfucking model citizen from now on. Maybe I could even convince good old Cord Gentry that I wasn’t half bad. Anything was possible.

  I was disappointed to discover that there was still over an hour left in the school day so I had to wait a little longer before I could be reunited with my girl. I slowly navigated the streets of my hometown, comparing the careworn look of Emblem to where I’d been yesterday, all that tidy suburban sprawl thick with immaculate shopping centers and prosperity.

  People left Emblem all the time and I didn’t fault them for it. My brothers would never live here again and neither would Cadence’s family. As for me, I had no plans to leave. This town was part of me and always would be. There was only one thing that could get me to leave and Cadence seemed as determined to stick around as I was. She had her own reasons for choosing Emblem and that was another reason to be indebted to my hometown. It had given me Cadence Gentry.

  A traffic light on Main Street turned yellow and I pumped the brakes. While waiting for the red light to change I looked around and noticed someone in front of the Emblem Mart. It was Nesto and he was hosing off the sidewalk even though he should have been in school right now.

  Mindful of the fact that the kid’s mother had pointed a shotgun in my general direction the last time I was nearby I decided to swing around into the parking lot anyway. Nesto noticed my truck and turned off the hose.

  My feet crunched glass as I crossed the parking lot. An eerie feeling slapped at me. I was probably walking on fragments of the same glass from when Tim Stoker had broken a bottle, intending to cut me to ribbons with it.

  “Tristan.” Nesto hailed me and I shot a quick glance to the store entrance, relieved that his overprotective mother was nowhere in sight.

  “I just stopped by to say I’m sorry to hear about Raf.”

  He slouched. Then sighed. “Yeah well, he made his own fucking bed.”

  There was no place to sit so I dropped down to have a seat on the curb. Nes
to stared for a second and then joined me.

  “Why aren’t you in school today?” I asked him.

  “Didn’t want to be.”

  I was afraid I knew what was coming next. “But you’re going back tomorrow, right?”

  He scowled and shifted. “You sound like my mother.”

  “Your mother’s got her hands full. Don’t give her anything to worry about.”

  The scowl fell away and he squinted at the boarded up salon across the street. “I think I’m going to drop out. My family needs money. I could find a way to bring some in.”

  “Rafael probably thought so too.”

  The mention of his brother made him cringe but he held his ground. “No he didn’t. He never did a thing to help us out. Did I tell you my mom found a new lawyer for my dad? They’re trying to get him parole but who knows if that’s going to pan out. In the meantime she can hardly keep this place afloat.” He shook his head. “I’ve got to do what I can. Sitting in a classroom all day isn’t going to help anyone.”

  What could I say? What could I tell this sad-eyed kid with the weight of the world on his teenage shoulders? Cadence might have some ideas if she was here but she wasn’t. I was the person he’d chosen to confide in right now. Whatever I told him might influence the decision he made so I needed to pick my argument carefully.

  “Back when I was your age I used to think that way,” I said.

  Nesto’s black eyes focused on me. He silently waited to hear what I’d say next.

  “And guess what? I came to the same conclusion. I thought what the fuck was the point of sitting in a classroom and stuffing my brain full of garbage I planned to forget when I walked out the door. So I dropped out my senior year and never thought about returning. But now I wish I’d listened when someone tried to get me to see that I was making a mistake. So I’m going to tell you the same thing and hope that you’re smarter than I was at your age. Don’t make mistakes like this Nesto, mistakes that are tough to undo or that might lead you someplace you don’t want to go.”

  His gaze returned to Main Street as he deliberated my advice.

  “So Tristan Mulligan is giving me the Stay In School lecture,” he said and gave a little snort of laughter. “Shit, dude, you sound like one of those tv dads.”

  I elbowed him. “It’s not that funny. Just trying to share some of the wisdom I’ve absorbed in my decrepit old age.”

  He sighed. “Fine. I’ll go back tomorrow.”

  The shuffling sound of nearby footsteps made me turn around. His mother was standing in the doorway and she’d been listening. She gave me a small smile of gratitude before retreating back into the store.

  I checked the time. “Why not go now? The day’s not quite over yet. You have enough time to get your homework from your teachers. I’m on my way there anyway so I’ll give you a ride.”

  He made a face. “I won’t want to answer any bullshit questions about Raf.”

  “So ignore them.” I stood up.

  “Tune them out,” he said, also climbing to his feet. “That’s what Ms. Gentry says.”

  “Smart lady.”

  “She’s, like, kind of your girlfriend isn’t she?”

  “She’s, like, totally my girlfriend.”

  He nodded. “That’s cool.”

  The high school was less than half a mile away so I glided over there and found an empty parking spot. Nesto hopped out and said not to hang around waiting for him. He was going to try and track down his teachers and also see if he’d be allowed to go to football practice. I didn’t like the idea of returning him to the sadistic care of Rod Ward but Nesto shrugged and said the team was counting on him and he wasn’t going to let them down no matter how much Rod Ward yelled his head off.

  Once he was gone I decided I might as well hang out since the last bell would be ringing pretty soon. Cadence’s car was within view and my heart raced at the prospect of being near her again. No one would have guessed that I had the ability to transform into some kind of lovesick, sentimental fool, least of all me, but I could admit to enjoying the journey. I slouched against my truck with my arms crossed in the same place I was standing the day she came barreling outside ready to strangle me.

  The dismissal bell clanged and within seconds the teenagers of Emblem came flooding through the doors. I kept scanning the crowd for Cadence and started to grow impatient as the minutes ticked by. A second before I was about to give in and send her a text there she was on the front steps. She zeroed in on me, broke into a smile that could part the clouds and ran until we collided like a scene in some dippy movie.

  “Damn, I missed you,” she murmured into my neck.

  My arms didn’t want to give an inch from the iron grip I had around her body but I needed to talk to her so I pulled back a little.

  “I told you I’d be back today.”

  She locked her arms around my waist and smiled up at me. Some of her students took a whistling interest in the sight of their teacher having a romantic moment but she didn’t pay attention.

  “How did it go?” she asked. “With Curtis and Brecken?”

  “Couldn’t have scripted it any better.” I tugged her hair band free and slid my palms down her back. “I’ll tell you all about it later. Right now I’ve got to tell you something else.”

  “What?”

  “I’m officially a full time employee of Everywhere Towing Company.”

  “Oh.” She nodded, not really getting the point. “That sounds good.”

  “And that’s my only job. I’m done with everything else.”

  Realization dawned on her face. “For good?”

  “For good. And for us.”

  She kissed me. In full view of half the student body, a considerable cross section of faculty and possibly her boss we made out until some jokers started howling and catcalling.

  “Woohoo, get all up in there!”

  “Look at Ms. Gentry getting some.”

  “He’s hot, you mind sharing?”

  She broke away, red-faced, setting her hands on her hips and shooting the kids a look until they laughed and moved on.

  “I guess we’ll have to save the best part of our reunion for later,” she said but she slipped her arms around my shoulders and rose on her tiptoes. “By the way this seems as good a time as any to make a formal request.”

  I pulled her in. “Request away.”

  “Will you break your record?”

  “What record?”

  “Of never setting foot inside a high school dance.”

  “Aren’t we a little past our expiration date when it comes to high school dances?”

  “I’ll be chaperoning homecoming and I need a date. So… will you go with me?” She became shy, like she thought there was a chance in hell I might turn her down.

  I tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. “I’d go anywhere with you. Don’t you know that?”

  She smiled. “A girl still likes to hear some confirmation.”

  I cupped my hand under her chin and drew her face closer. “You have my heart, Cadence. So the rest of me will follow you wherever you want to go.”

  “Tristan.” She was melting, dissolving, ready to let me carry her off to my bed to express our emotions more practically. But then she blinked and remembered where she was. “Crap, I need to go back inside. I’ve got a meeting with the dance committee but I’ll make it as quick as possible.” Her kiss this time was quick but she held onto my hand before slipping away. “I’ll see you later?”

  I let her go and propped myself up against my truck. “Okay. I’ll wait right here.”

  “This might take a while.”

  I shrugged. Did she really think I’d made other plans? “I’ll be here.”

  Cadence blew me a kiss and scurried back into the building to deal with her committee meeting or whatever.

  “I love you,” I said. She’d already disappeared but that was fine.

  I knew I’d be saying it again. And again.

 
; Epilogue

  Cadence

  My grandfather fumbled with Karen’s purple rhinestone-studded phone.

  “I can’t find the camera button,” he complained.

  “Grandpa,” I laughed. “You don’t need to take pictures yet.”

  He grunted. “I promised your mom I would send everything and I want to get a shot of Tristan arriving.”

  The doorbell wailed.

  “We really need to get that fixed,” I said and made a move to let Tristan in.

  Karen stopped me. “You stay put.” She eagerly opened the door to expose a very debonair Tristan Mulligan on the other side.

  I let out a wolf whistle as he stepped in, all freshly shaved and looking like he just walked off a New York City photo shoot.

  “I told you that you didn’t need to wear a suit,” I said although my belly performed an involuntary little flip while my eyes raked him over.

  “Are you complaining?”

  “No. You look crazy hot.”

  “I borrowed the suit.”

  “From who?”

  “Brecken. I took a drive up to Tempe yesterday to get it.” He gestured up and down. “So you should appreciate the effort.”

  “I appreciate it,” declared Karen, checking him out.

  “Shit,” exclaimed my grandfather. “I took a picture of my thumb.”

  “Give me that,” his girlfriend scolded and together they examined the mysteries of cell phone cameras.

  Tristan’s eyes were all over me. “Speaking of crazy hot,” he said, closing in. “Is that a new dress?”

  “You like it?” I twirled and the knee length skirt ballooned out.

  “Looks like it was made just for you.” His expression was shamelessly hungry, sweeping down over my legs and then back up.