by Charley Lynn
“We can’t take her on vacation with us,” Amy shrieked. “How would that look to people to have your mentally challenged sister with us? I know we’ll have to give her Christmas presents, but we’ll see her a few days before Christmas and give her presents. She can’t be around my parents and she won’t be around our children on holidays. She’ll never know the difference.”
“Miranda is my sister. If I have children, she’ll be my children’s aunt. She’ll be around my children all the time. Miranda is a huge part of my life and if something happens to my mom, I’ll be completely responsible for her. Mom put it in her will that way because that’s the way I want it.”
“That’s ridiculous! Your mom can’t expect us to give up our lives because she had a defective child.”
For the first time in his life, Mike understood the phrase, ‘I saw red.’ He was so angry he could actually see red all around his field of vision. Through clenched teeth, he said, “I’m going home. If you want to stay, you can find your own ride.”
“God, you are such a prima donna,” Amy repeated in a shriek. “Freaking get over yourself. I’ll ride home with Bella. You owe me flowers and chocolates after the way you’ve treated me. Got it?”
Mike grimaced. “Not happening. Not. Ever. Get over yourself, Amy. Because I’m sure over you.”
Amy ignored him and busied herself sending a text. “I think you need to be taught a lesson,” she said dismissively. “I’m going to accept my cousin’s invitation to spend the rest of the summer with them in California. You’ll miss me.”
“Enjoy yourself. Goodbye.” Mike walked away. The girl was seriously delusional.
Mike was working alongside his grandpa in the hot July sun. They had pulled down the dead tree behind the barn when Mike’s phone beeped with a text for about the twentieth time in an hour.
“Son, are you going to answer your phone?”
“That’s my text tone, Grandpa. My ex-girlfriend is blowing up my phone because she thinks I wasn’t serious about breaking up with her last night.”
“Women troubles, huh?”
“I made a mistake asking her out, Grandpa. I don’t know what I was thinking.”
“I made plenty of mistakes with women and Vince made even more than I did. Most guys do. Your dad was an exception; he was a junior in high school; a big football star at Pella who could have any girl he wanted. He walked into my class the first day of school, smiling a huge smile. He shook my hand and said, ‘Hi, Mr. Moore. I’m Mike Studor. Vince and I played baseball together and I’m going to marry your daughter.’”
“You’re kidding.”
“I’m not kidding. Not much makes me speechless, but that did. He ambled to the back row, folded himself into a desk, crossed his arms over his chest and smiled for the entire class. I’m not sure he heard any of the lecture, but I could hardly fault the boy for dreaming about my daughter.”
“He didn’t ask her out right away because she needed a little convincing, but he was patient and he talked to her a lot. And he smiled. Boy, did he smile when she was around. Your mom was a little shy; she wasn’t the girl that boys flirted with, but Mike looked at her like she held the whole world in her hand. In eighteen years, he never stopped looking at her like that.” Hap Moore cleared his throat. “I hope you find that, Mickey. The girl that you can’t stop looking at because she holds your whole world in her hand.”
“I think I have, Grandpa. I can’t stop looking at her but something tells me she’s going to need convincing.”
Chapter 16
Mike was thinking about Rosemary on the first day of school. He didn’t see her for the last four weeks of summer, but they had emailed back and forth about math. Mike didn’t want to tell her, but she didn’t need a tutor; she just needed to have more confidence about her math skills. That being said, he was grateful for the reason to talk to her, even if only through email.
She’d traveled through August and he’d gotten busier with football. The dance studio was done and he’d heard her classes were already filled and scheduled to start the second week of September. Amy had been calling and texting for the past week, but he’d ignored her. From the sound of her messages, she had now decided to ‘forgive’ him.
Mike sat down at the players’ table, sitting in a spot where he could watch Rosemary. She was sitting alone, drawing in a sketchpad while she absently ate a sandwich. She wasn’t wearing make-up; her hair was in a braid down the middle of her back and she was wearing overalls and a tee shirt.
Jake sat down next to Mike and followed his line of vision. “I was in two classes with her this morning.” Jake jerked his chin towards Rosemary. “She said one word in each class: ‘Here.’ She wears weird clothes, she doesn’t smile and she’s big.”
Mike shrugged. “She’s tall. She’s nice, but she’s shy. She hung out with Cruz this summer; Chad told us they were friends, remember? I also tutored her for an Algebra brush-up class through email.”
“Why not face to face??”
“She travelled most of July and August.”
“Travelled? Why?”
“She models.”
“Models? What kind of modeling?”
Mike didn’t have a chance to answer because Amy dropped down beside him with her lunch tray. Her group of adoring fans, six cheerleaders, sat down across from them. Mike held back a groan, because he didn’t want to deal with these women. Amy chattered at him like they were still dating, frequently touching him and batting her eyes at him. He was quiet; he didn’t want to start a fight at school, but she was acting like they were still dating. It was weird. He put his head down and ate because he was anxious to get away, and he wanted to avoid seeing Jake’s raised eyebrows.
“Mikey, honey. I filled out the application for us.”
“Application?” Mike mumbled.
“For Homecoming Court. We have to do it as a pair and there’s an application, so I filled it out and signed it for both of us.”
“Amy, you signed my name?”
“Well, of course.” She giggled and tucked her hand around his elbow. “It’s good practice for when we’re married and I sign your name on things so you don’t know how much money I’m spending!” All of the girls around the table giggled.
“Geez, bro,” Jake drawled. “Should the guys plan a bachelor party for you?”
“No, Anders,” he growled. He disengaged his arm and picked up his tray. “I’m going to class. Amy, you need to recall the conversation we had at the fair last month.”
Amy giggled again and waved Mike away. “Oh, pooh-bear, I know you were joking.”
Mike ground his teeth and walked away, grumbling. He dropped his tray on the conveyer belt and headed toward the hallway doors, not realizing that Rosemary, her eyes still on her sketchbook, was reaching the door at the same time. As irritable as he was, when he saw Rosemary, he couldn’t help but smile.
“Hey, Rosemary.” He held the door open for her.
“Hi, Mike.” Rosemary looked up, but she didn’t smile.
“Are you having a good first day?”
“It’s fine. School is just…something to get through. A necessary evil, I guess you’d say.”
“What about school activities? That’s usually fun.” He fell in beside her.
Rosemary shrugged. “I don’t do activities. I tried out for the dance team, but I didn’t make it.”
“Yeah, but Mom said they wanted you to coach the team.”
“They offered, but I didn’t like the conditions. Gotta go. Class.”
Mike watched her. He didn’t know how she did it, but she didn’t walk, really. Or maybe it was that she walked like she could hear music playing. It was graceful and rhythmic and fun to watch. He made his way to his locker, thinking about Rosemary. He didn’t hear Jake until he was right next to him.
“Bro, that was just weird. Didn’t you break up with Amy?”
“Yeah, I did. At the fair, six weeks ago.”
“She didn’t hear
you. After you left, she told her girls that you’ve been so sweet since she got back from California. She seems to think you’re buying her a promise ring soon.”
Mike rolled his eyes. “I’ve been ignoring her texts and her calls since she got back. That’s the first time I’ve even seen her since the fair. I don’t even want to talk to her, and I’m sure not buying her a promise ring.” He shook his head as he pulled his laptop out of his locker. “Heading to class.”
Mike was early the next morning. He went to his locker before he headed to Rosemary’s locker. She had her head down in the locker looking for something. When she stood up, she jumped and then frowned. “What are you doing here?”
“Just saying hi.” His eyes twinkled. “Did I scare you?”
“Startled me, that’s all. I was thinking about something else.”
“What?” Today her hair was in two braids; her tee shirt said, ‘Dance. Eat. Dance. Sleep. Repeat.’ “What were you thinking about?”
“Just stuff. Gotta go, I’ve got class.” Rosemary hitched her backpack onto her shoulder.
“Can I walk you? I’m going that way.”
“What way?”
“Towards American Lit.”
“How did you know I was going to Lit?”
“Um. I’ve seen you go in there. One of my guys has that same class.”
“One of your guys? You have guys?”
“On the team. One of the guys on the team.” Mike grinned.
“What team?” Rosemary had a tiny, adorable wrinkle of concentration between her eyes.
“The football team.” Mike grinned. “You aren’t into sports, are you?”
“Uh, no. I’m interested in dance, and I don’t mind baseball.” Rosemary nervously adjusted her backpack on her shoulder.
“Haven’t you ever seen a football game?”
Rosemary shrugged. “No. Baseball and basketball a few times.”
“Come on, I’ll walk you to class.”
“That’s okay. I’ve been finding my way on my own.”
Mike started to walk down the hall, turning expectantly when he realized she wasn’t beside him. “Okay…” Rosemary shrugged. She finally fell into step beside Mike, but she carefully stayed at least two feet away from him.
“You never told me. How come you’re just now transferring to Ivy?”
“I was on the dance team at Roosevelt.”
“Okay. So, why…”
“Hey. I barely know you. It’s not my style to spill my reasons for doing stuff to people I don’t know.”
“Rosemary, that’s how people get to know each other. By talking to each other.”
“I know that. But, now that we’re in school, I don’t have a lot of free time to chat or socialize. Bye.” Rosemary walked into her classroom without looking back.
“Wow.” He grinned at the closed door. “Good to see you, too, Rosemary.”
Chapter 17
Rosemary saw her sisters crying on the sidewalk beside the elementary school. She jumped out of the truck and knelt down beside them. “Girls, are you all right?”
“A boy was being mean to Miranda on the playground. Caleb is beating him up.” Lara gulped.
“Get in the truck with Connor, girls.” Connor jumped out and shepherded the twins into the truck.
When Rosemary ran to the playground, she saw Caleb holding a boy down as he landed a punch on him. Miranda was off to the side, crying loudly. “Caleb, stop!” Reaching between the two boys, she effortlessly lifted Caleb and gently pushed him out of the way. She lifted the other boy off the ground, holding him high enough that his feet were dangling. She glared at the boy. “Who are you?”
He gulped. “Brandon.”
Rosemary lowered Brandon to the ground. “Don’t move,” she said sternly. “I’ve got this, Caleb. Get in the truck, please.” Caleb picked up his backpack and ran.
“Come here, baby.” She picked up the little girl and wiped her tears away. “Did he hurt you, honey?”
“Said bad things to me. I’m not dumb, Roma!”
“No, baby, you aren’t dumb. You’re the loveliest person God ever made.”
“I am?” The little girl sniffed. “Pwomise?”
“I promise, Miranda.”
“Miranda!” A big body hurtled at them. Mike reached for the little girl and checked out her face, her arms and her legs. “Are you hurt, Peanut?”
“Not hurt, Mickey.”
“What happened here?” Mike barked.
“He was teasing Miranda and made her cry.” Rosemary pointed at the boy.
“Hold her, please.” Handing Miranda to Rosemary, Mike hunkered down next to the boy and looked steadily at him. “What’s your name?” His voice was quiet; almost gentle.
“Brandon.” The little boy sniffled.
“Brandon, my name is Mike and Miranda is my baby sister. Do you think I’m okay with anybody teasing my baby sister?”
“No….” The boy sniffled again.
“You’re right. It makes me pretty mad if somebody teases my sister. Do you want me to be mad at you?”
“N…no.” Tears ran down the boy’s cheeks.
“So, does that mean you’ll stop teasing Miranda and you’ll be nice to her?” The boy nodded solemnly. “I won’t have to worry about this again?”
“No.”
“I’m glad we understand each other, Brandon. Head for home.” The boy turned and ran.
“Thanks, Rosemary.” Mike held Miranda close.
“Mickey, her name is Roma.” Miranda announced.
“This is Roma?” Mike pointed at Rosemary.
“Sure. Mickey, are you a dummy or something?”
“No, sweet pea, I’m not a dummy. I thought her name was Rosemary.” Mike winked. “I hear about Miranda’s wonderful friend Roma all the time.”
“Studor!”
“Oh, geez. Coach.”
Rosemary reached for Miranda. “I’ll take her to Patty.”
“Miranda, is it okay if Roma takes you to Mom?”
“Sure. I love Roma.”
“I know you do.” Mike kissed the little girl. “Thanks, Rosemary.” He jogged back to the practice field.
“Her name is Roma!” Miranda called. Rosemary heard him chuckle, but he didn’t look back.
Rosemary ran back to the truck after she took Miranda to Patty. As she started the truck, she looked at Caleb in the rearview mirror. “Caleb, you know how Dad feels about fighting. You’re going to have to tell him. But…” Catching his eye, Rosemary winked at him. “I think, just this once, I should buy us all an ice cream cone.” Caleb grinned.
Rosemary was in the kitchen after John talked to Caleb. He kissed the top of her head. “Good job, Rosemary. I can’t condone the violence, but I’m proud of Caleb for standing up for Miranda.” He grinned. “The ice cream was a nice touch.”
Rosemary smiled. “Can I ask you a question? About something else?”
“Sure, anything.”
“Miranda’s brother—she calls him Mickey, but I know he’s Mike Studor the quarterback, right?”
“That’s right.”
“Any idea why he doesn’t ever come to church with Patty?”
“About a year before we moved to Ivy, Mike and his dad were in a car accident. Mike, Sr. was killed. Before the accident, the whole family came to church every week, but Mike has refused to come since then.”
“I just wondered. I know he worked on the studio with his uncle, and he gave me some online tutoring for my math tutorial, but I don’t know much about him. He seems like an okay guy. I just wondered if there was some mysterious reason he didn’t come to church.”
“He’s a great kid. Patty wants to let him decide on his own that he wants to come to church, but he’s very firm about not attending services.”
“That’s too bad.”
“Yes, it is. Not only for him, but for Patty and Miranda, too.”
Rosemary looked thoughtful. “When he talked to the kid who teased Miran
da, he was very calm. He got down on the kid’s level and explained that he wasn’t okay with Miranda being teased. I was impressed with how he handled it.”
“That doesn’t surprise me. He seems to have a good head on his shoulders. It’s not turning his head that he’s being heavily recruited.”
“Recruited? For the military?”
John chuckled. “No. To play football in college.”
Rosemary sighed. “Football again. I don’t get sports.”
“Sure, you do. You get dance. Football is team dancing with caveman stuff thrown in.” He ruffled her hair. “Want to help get supper started before our little group of cavemen get faint with hunger?”
“Hi.” Mike was waiting by her locker the next morning.
“Hi. How was Miranda last night?”
“She was fine. Downs’ Syndrome kids forgive easily and bounce back quickly.”
“I know. I still hate that she was teased.”
Mike studied her, a wrinkle of concentration between his eyes. “Did I see what I think I saw?”
“What do you mean?”
“Did I see you pull your brother off that kid with one hand, toss him aside and then pick the other kid up off the ground? Also with one hand?”
“Um, yeah. No big deal.” Rosemary looked away.
“Do you lift weights?”
“No…. Not really.”
“You must lift.”
“Okay.” Rosemary sighed. “Yeah, I lift weights—it helps with the dancing.” She started walking to her class, not thinking about the fact that Mike was walking beside her. Mike hid his grin, happy that she seemed to be getting more comfortable with him.
“Caleb didn’t get in trouble for going after that boy, did he?”
“No. Dad talked to him about using other ways to resolve problems, but he was proud of Caleb for defending Miranda, even though he doesn’t condone fighting.”
“John is a cool guy. I really like him.”
“Yeah, I like him, too. He’s been really good for my brothers—they have my Papa Costanzo, but otherwise, they didn’t really have a strong father figure until John married my mom. Uncle Jack and Uncle Bear are both involved as much as they can be, but they’re both in the military.”