by Randi Rigby
We made it in but just barely. And because Aunt Shae’s aisle seat next to mine was empty, Jack took it—just as he had on the way there when things were much friendlier. Resigned, I quietly pulled out my calculus take home exam and got to work. It was going to be a long flight home.
Thirty minutes of weighted silence later Jack sighed deeply and closed his laptop. “I’m sorry, Kel.” He turned to look at me, pushing a hand impatiently through his hair. “I’m being a total ass. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. You’re just a kid still, I seem to have trouble remembering that.”
I stopped writing. “Today sucked. I don’t think I’ve ever been that cold before and I grew up in Chicago. But I’ve worked with Curtis before. I don’t love that I’m just a leggy prop to him but I trust him, Jack. He’s kind of a genius. I’ll bet money the only shots they use for the campaign will be the ones we took today.” I fished a small bag of almonds out from my snack stash. “Truce?”
He took the package and tore it open, giving me half. “Eat something, McCoy. You’re too skinny.”
I popped them into my mouth. Now that the tension was gone my stomach reminded me I was starving. Emptying out my stash, I piled all my snacks on my tray. “You want to have a picnic?” I grinned.
“Yeah,” he smiled back. “I do.”
Jack dropped me off at Drew’s game. It had just started. Over the sound system, someone with some serious pipes was belting out the national anthem. “Looks like we made it in time.” I stared at the bright lights of the stadium through the passenger side window of his car. Jack hadn’t said a word since we’d left the airport. He wasn’t mad anymore, just very quiet.
He nodded. “I’ll bring the rest of your stuff over tomorrow morning.”
“Thanks for taking such good care of me today.” It was hard to pour gratitude into words and send them out with the same force that was swelling in your heart. But you still had to try. “I know you didn’t have to Jack, but you saved the day. Really. I won’t forget it.”
His expression was unreadable. “Anytime, kid. Now get out of here. You don’t want to miss the opening kick-off.”
MacArthur won their first playoff game handily. Matt and Drew were perfectly in sync tonight and they connected over and over again—Drew’s height didn’t hurt, he was a big target the opposition didn’t have an answer for. Travon churned out the yardage; his ground game kept the defense honest. Chris was good for the extra point every time. The guys were all euphoric.
“How was L.A.?” Drew asked once he was done spinning me around.
“Cold, it made me homesick.”
He hooked an arm around my neck as we started to make our way out to Betty amidst congratulations from the dispersing crowd, the bag carrying his gear slung casually over his other shoulder. “I’m glad you made it back. I missed you, Kel.” He planted a kiss on my temple and gave me a squeeze.
“Me too.” I pulled out my phone. “Once more for a selfie?” I asked, leaning into him. This one I was posting.
Drew blinked. “Wow. Jack’s really changed you.”
Yes, he had.
8
“I would rather be a comma than a full stop”
Coldplay
My dad was going on a date.
He said it was just dinner with someone he knew back in high school, but she was divorced and he was widowed and he seemed pretty nervous for something that was not a date.
“How do I look?” He was fiddling with his collar. Again.
I smoothed it down. “Really tall,” I said, running my hands down the lapels of his gray sports jacket as I stepped back. “Handsome, Dad. You look very handsome.”
“It’s not too…?”
“No. It’s perfect.” I smiled brightly and nodded because I knew that was what he needed right now. I’d cry when he was gone. “Now, go. You don’t want to be late picking her up.”
“Right.”
I almost blurted out, “Keep it classy, McCoy,” but that was one of Mom’s sayings—so not what he needed rattling around in his head right now. Instead, I substituted an earnest, “Have fun tonight, Dad,” and gave him a big hug, standing on my tiptoes to kiss his freshly shaven cheek, and cheerfully pushed him out the door.
“He’s been so lonely,” I told Charlie as we watched him drive away from our perch on the couch by the living room window. Tears spilled over and trickled down my cheeks as the leaden heaviness in my chest grew. “He deserves this.”
Drew had a group project tonight. I was on my own with this one. Swiping at my face I resolutely headed for my desk and the mountain of homework I had waiting for me. Being angry wouldn’t bring her back. If it could, Dad would’ve resurrected Mom the moment his raw heart got past imploding.
Deep into my seventh color of sticky flags and four different highlighters across two gutted plays, I was halfway through my compare and contrast of Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet when the front doorbell rang. It was Jack.
He rolled his eyes at my surprise at seeing him on my front doorstep. “Seriously, Kel? I texted you.”
I tucked a fallen tendril that had recently escaped from my messy bun back behind my ear and slid my glasses up the bridge of my nose. I definitely wasn’t expecting company tonight but Jack had seen me like this before. “My phone’s charging and I’ve been slightly preoccupied with Shakespeare. Sorry, come on in.”
“Hey Charlie.” Jack bent to scratch Charlie’s ears. “I come bearing news.”
“Would you like something to drink?” I asked. He followed me as I padded barefooted back down the hall and into the kitchen.
“Are we drinking water?”
Always. “I am. You can have whatever you want.”
“I rarely find that to be the case. But I’m good, thanks.” His hazel eyes narrowed as we sat down at the island, our stools in close proximity. “You okay, Kel?”
One of the problems with being so stinking fair was you couldn’t hide anything. Definitely not cry face without the benefit of eye drops, cold water, and a makeup kit—none of which I had the foresight to use. I was in my pajamas for heaven’s sake. “My dad’s on a date,” I sighed, staring at my long fingers folded in front of me on the marble counter top and idly twisting around the wide silver band I frequently wore on my middle finger. “His first since my mom died.”
“Ah.”
“It’s time, I guess. He needs to move on—he deserves that. He deserves to be happy.”
“Yeah. He does. What’s she like?”
“I don’t know; I haven’t met her yet. Her name’s Erin Caffrey. They went to high school together. They used to date. She’s probably lovely.”
“Probably.” His voice was unbearably gentle. “But she’s not your mom.”
Appallingly, fresh tears filled my eyes. “No. She’s not.”
Jack muttered something unintelligible under his breath and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “Sorry, Kel. That was clumsy of me.”
Shaking my head, I cleared my throat. “I’m good.” I gave him a watery smile. “You said you had news?”
He handed me several tissues from the box by the fruit bowl. “I do. Fit wants to feature you in a spread.”
“Are you serious?” I stopped dabbing at my eyes. “Who told you? Did Kirstie send you?”
“She doesn’t know yet.” Jack looked smug. “I’ve been working some of my contacts. The feature editor just called me late this afternoon with the green light.”
“You got me this?”
“You got you this. I just pointed them in the right direction.”
“This is insane! I can’t believe it. I don’t know what to say.” I beamed at him as I give him a big hug. “Thank you, Jack.”
“No thanks necessary. Unless it’s more cookies. Then, please, thank me all you want.”
I grinned. “Done.”
“Good. So, what were you doing before I showed up at your doorstep unannounced?”
“You mean besides sitting here feeling sorry for m
yself? Homework. I’ve got an essay due tomorrow.”
He shook his head in disbelief. “You’re always doing homework. I swear I don’t remember my senior year being this hard.”
“Maybe it wasn’t. I’m always playing catch up.”
Jack got to his feet. “No, I think I just spent all my time playing.”
“And now you work all the time.”
“Do I?”
I looked at the kitchen clock. “It’s after 8:00, Jack.”
He shrugged. “This isn’t work.”
“What is it?”
“Indentured servitude. Don’t get up. I’ll see myself out. See you tomorrow, Kel.”
“Tomorrow?” I called out. I didn’t have anything agency related on my calendar.
He smiled at me over his shoulder. “After Kirstie finds out about the shoot.”
Since the homecoming dance I’d managed to somewhat thaw through the ice at Barton—not entirely, Whitney and her posse still treated me like a communicable disease, but everyone else at least talked to me now.
“You’re practically famous,” Becca shrugged and sounded slightly disgusted as we stretched out lazily on a bench outside at lunch. She lifted her cat eye sunglasses up off the tip of her nose so I could see the disdain in her pale blue eyes. “Carter Vandenberg has a Tropically Kissed ad of you in a bikini hanging in his locker.”
“Carter Vandenberg? Isn’t he a sophomore? And like 5'6"?”
“Exactly. He knows we’re friends. He’s always hanging around and asking about you. It’s really annoying.”
I grinned. “I hope you’re nice to him.”
“I’m not.”
You had to give her credit. She did ornery like no one I knew. I raised a water bottle to her. “Never change, Bec.”
She shifted slightly and pulled up the legs of her shorts to expose more of her pasty white skin to the sun. “Ugh. Is this year just dragging or what?”
“Is it?” To me it felt like it was approaching light speed and I was strapped in, slammed back in my seat with G forces sucking at my face, holding on for dear life.
“You’re lucky. You’re never here. I wish I had a legitimate Get Out of Jail card.”
I wasn’t dumb enough to point out I didn’t have a life because I constantly had to make that time up. Becca already scorched me once for complaining about it. She kind of had a point. “Be an actor,” I said, looking up at the cottony white clouds and then closing my eyes and just enjoying the sensation of the sun’s warmth on my face. She definitely had a flair for the dramatic.
“I’d have a better chance at being a pop star.”
I opened one eye. “Do you sing?”
“Not at all. But that doesn’t seem to stop anyone else.”
My phone was still on vibrate from being in class. It was buzzing in my purse. I didn’t even have to look to know who it was. “Hey Kirstie.”
“Can you stop by the office after your last class this afternoon?”
“Sure.” I waited for her to break the big news but she didn’t.
“Good. I’ll see you then.”
“The agency?” Becca said, sitting up as I tossed my phone back into my bag. “Let me guess, Sports Illustrated wants you for their swimsuit edition? It must really suck to be you.”
“You’re funny.” I made a face as I studied her. “What do you want to do, Bec?”
“What do I want to be when I grow up?”
“Exactly.”
She moistened her lips. “A life coach.”
I laughed. And then realized too late that she was being serious.
“What?” She bristled. “Not everyone has your golden life, Kel. You wake up and roll out of bed looking like that. I know. I subscribe to your YouTube channel. Guys throw themselves at you. People pay you money just to wear their clothes. Maybe people don’t want to be me but at least they can relate. I’m living proof that you can actually survive pain and isolation—and in the world we live in that’s a life skill you can take to the bank.”
If only Charlie could talk, I thought, throwing my long arms around her and giving her an affectionate squeeze. “Sorry Bec, I didn’t mean to laugh. I bet you change a lot of lives. You’ve absolutely changed mine.”
Muttering, she leaned into me. “You start singing anything from Wicked right now and I’ll end you.”
As instructed, I headed straight to the agency after school. Rosie hurried to hold Adderson’s glass door open for me the moment she spotted me stepping out of the elevator. She looked anxious as she ushered me inside. “Kirstie’s waiting.”
“Seriously? I came as soon as I could.” That woman needed to cut back on her caffeine. Running a quick hand through my hair, I smoothed my skirt, straightened my top and with an approving nod from Rosie, sailed into Kirstie’s office. “Jack. What a lovely surprise.”
He winked at me and got to his feet. “Nice to see you, Kel.” He kissed my cheek. That was new. “Act surprised,” he whispered, his breath tickling my ear.
“What’s this about?” I said, taking the chair Kirstie indicated was mine with a royal wave of her French tips.
“As you know, we’ve been getting some serious mileage with your Tropically Kissed campaign. Between your Texas Tall vlog and the considerable boost in your online presence, people in the industry are starting to sit up and take notice.” Kirstie’s eyes gleamed expectantly. “Fit wants you for a feature spread.”
“Really?!” My grin was real, Jack was about to make me laugh out loud. I hope it came across as giddy. “That’s amazing, Kirstie. Did they say when?”
“They want to capture a bit of your school life since they’re hitting the teen angle hard. I’ve been given permission from your Head of School to schedule the shoot a few days before school lets out for winter break.”
That wiped the smile off my face. “They want to shoot at my school?”
“Is that a problem?” Kirstie frowned.
Absolutely. I closed my eyes. “I guess not.”
“Good.” Kirstie leaned forward in her leather chair. “I don’t need to tell you what this could mean for your career and the agency. I’m really proud of you, Kel. You’ve completely justified my well-placed faith in you. You’ve worked incredibly hard for this. You both have. Congratulations.”
Jack bowed his head. I guess that was all the public acknowledgement he was going to get for landing this monster fish. I gave him my best apology face. It was one he knew well.
“One more thing.” Fingertips from both her hands met in a mirror reflection, her elbows were on the table, her chin tilted slightly, and those brilliant blue eyes were x-raying me. That was never a good sign. I shot a nervous look at Jack: What now?
He shrugged: You’re overreacting.
Kirstie continued, “I would like you to start working out with a trainer, Kel.”
I raised an eyebrow at Jack: Who called it?
She handed me a business card. “Tony is expecting your call. Set something up as soon as you can. Let’s see what he can do for you.”
Tony Ardestrani – Personal Trainer, Fitness Coach. Shaping lives one session at a time. The “T” in Tony was a stick figure man holding dumbbells. Blech. In what I considered an Oscar worthy performance, I smiled at her. “Okay. Sure,” I said, tucking the card serenely into my purse.
“Do NOT mock me right now,” I fumed as Jack followed me, close at my heels, down three flights of stairs out to the parking lot and the Mini. “Why am I being punished for this? It’s supposed to be a good thing.”
“It’s not like you weren’t already working out.” He got out of my way as I threw open the car door and stormily tossed my bag onto the passenger seat. “This will just be with someone watching, possibly yelling at you, to make you do more.”
“Fine. Whatever. Still not loving it. But they’re coming to my school.”
Jack scratched at his perpetual five o’clock stubble and crossed his arms as he leaned against the hood, getting comfortably situ
ated for the coming rant. “I thought I caught some discontent when Kirstie dropped that bomb.”
“I was finally starting to fit in, Jack. They got over my freakish height and the fact that people take pictures of me.” Now I was just whining. “I don’t want people taking pictures of me there.”
“So what are you going to do about it?”
“I don’t know. SOMETHING.” I opened the trunk, pulled out the container of cookies I’d made for him earlier that morning, and abruptly pushed it against his chest. “Here…thank you.”
“For me? You shouldn’t have.”
“I need to go.”
“Hot date?”
“You could say that. Drew has a game.” I slid in behind the wheel. His football season ended last weekend in a heartbreaking loss in the state finals. Monday the basketball coach had him running wind sprints in preparation for their first game with the team this Friday.
“McDreamy, still?”
“I knew I was going to regret introducing you to Uncle Bryce.”
Jack shrugged. “He your Disney prince, Kel?”
Despite the recent storm cloud, a reluctant smile made an appearance. “Yes. He is.”
“Cheer loud,” he said and he closed my door.
I sat with Ginny and Tanika, Travon’s new girlfriend, on the bleachers in MacArthur’s packed and spirited student section—they were already on their feet chanting and cheering and the game hadn’t even started yet. I’d zipped home from the agency and changed into a white shirt, skinny jeans and Drew’s away jersey, but by now everyone knew I was Drew’s girlfriend. They even knew my name, which I couldn’t quite get used to, but Drew was in the popular crowd at his school. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.
He was out on the floor warming up with the team but he busted out his heartbreaker smile when he spotted me in the stands. We could be the only two people in the room. I smiled back at him with my heart in my eyes. Yeah, I loved that boy.
At half-time, Ginny went with me to help navigate MacArthur’s hallways and show me where I could find a restroom in her school. Then she patiently waited with me while I filled my water bottle back up at the water fountain so we could do this all again just as soon as the game was over because that was my life.