by Holly Hood
“Isn’t Tatiana wondering where you are by now?” She bit her tongue before she said any more.
“Tatiana wasn’t allowed to come. She’s grounded.” He ran a hand through his hair, his tan torso gleaming with sweat. Maven looked past his fit physique disgusted at the sight of him anymore. At one time she found herself lusting over his body, but not anymore. It meant nothing to her.
“That’s right, she’s a junior,” she said under her breath. Jake and she were officially out of high school and he was dating Tatiana who would be a junior when they were off at college. He sure knew how to pick them.
“Her parents sort of walked in on us. You know…bad timing.” He stepped closer whispering in her ear. “Remember that night you snuck me in your bedroom and your parents almost found out?”
Maven looked away, pushing into Jake. “No, I don’t.” She lied. It was now nothing more than the biggest mistake of her life—the night she slept with Jake and many times thereafter. She turned away before he could see how upset he was making her.
“Those were great times, Maves,” he said from behind her.
“Go away, Jake.”
Jake smirked. “You can’t tell me you don’t think about you and me anymore.”
Maven pulled it together turning to face Jake again. “No. I don’t think about you and me anymore. There’s nothing to think about. You’re a big fat mistake, a regret I wish I could totally remove from my memory.” She kept a straight face daring him to say anything more.
“You moved on huh?” Jake shot a look in Henri’s direction. Henri was fast approaching with a gallon of paint and two brushes. “He’s kind of scrawny. A bit weird too. Doesn’t seem like your type.”
Maven ignored him. She had nothing to say nor did she feel like she had to defend Henri or any guy to Jake. Jake meant nothing.
“I hear the kid has issues.” Jake really knew how to get under somebody’s skin. “I wonder what’s wrong with him. I’m sure it’s something dreadful.”
Maven slapped Jake in the arm. She pushed him next, almost taking down a group of girls walking behind them. “Just get the hell out of here, Jake!”
He stared at Maven, shocked she was lashing out at him. It wasn’t like her. He opened his mouth to speak.
“Nobody cares what you have to say!” She screamed before he could form words. “You cheated on me and lied to me our entire relationship. Why do you think I care what you have to say?”
Jake shook his head. The crowd gathered had heard every word and he felt stupid now. He didn’t like looking like an idiot. He pushed through the gawking crowd taking off.
Henri dropped the paint at his feet, watching Jake hightailing it down the middle of the street, his tail between his legs. Whatever Maven had said really did a number on him. He carefully looked over at her, careful not to step in her space. He knew Jake was a sensitive issue for her.
Maven brushed her bangs from her eyes, sniffling. She was crying. Crying like an idiot, and doing a wretched job at hiding behind her hair so that the crowd couldn’t see her misery.
“I’m sorry. He just really knows how to get to me.” She lifted the paint. “I would think I would know how to ignore him by now. But he always is right there in my face.”
Henri shrugged. “No worries, looks like he is long gone now.” He kneeled down, dipping a paint brush into the black paint.
“I swear this isn’t the way I usually am.” She took a deep breath, trying to smile in spite of all the tears that just kept fighting to come out.
Henri dropped his paintbrush. He took her face in his hands staring deeply into her eyes. Not uttering a sound just watching her emotions seep out in front of him. His thumbs dragging under her eyes taking care of every tear that escaped.
Maven squeezed his arm. “Thanks.”
Henri shook his head. “Don’t thank me. That guy is an idiot. Anyone who treats a girl like you badly is an idiot. And he doesn’t deserve your tears, so just turn them off and we’ll paint. But I’m not letting you go until all the tears are gone.”
Maven’s eyes fluttered, she took a deep cleansing breath. Several girls from her school off in the distance watching Henri and her. Henri gained her attention again. “Forget about everyone. They don’t matter. Who cares if you cried, so what? Everyone cries. Just close your eyes.”
Maven did as he asked. “Okay.”
Henri looked over at the girl’s giving Maven dirty looks. It was amusing to all these people to see Maven’s unhappiness play out in public. He lifted her chin, placing a kiss on her lips. The world suddenly didn’t matter as he kissed her. Maven didn’t feel panicked any longer. She opened her eyes.
“Henri, you didn’t have to do that.” She touched his face. “I’m okay now.”
“I didn’t have to. I just wanted to.” He pushed her hair behind her ear for her. “They are not going to ruin your day.”
Maven nodded. It was hard to accept that anyone other than her family was willing to stand up for her, willing to be part of the gossip that seemed to always swirl around her.
“You ready to paint?” Henri said, kissing her cheek. He grinned, ignoring the shocked stares. Ignoring the whispers and every other detail, none of it mattered to him.
“Yes.” For once she didn’t drop her gaze to the ground. She looked the girls straight in the eye. She wasn’t going to back down. She was going to make them. They quickly dropped their stares, turning back to their projects leaving Maven and Henri to enjoy the day without judgment for once.
Feelings
Maven and Henri as well as the rest of the volunteers packed it up and called it a night. Every decoration now was wearing a fresh coat of black, turquoise or white paint—the colors of the hop this year.
Colors that were beautiful to Maven, even before it was all set up. Ms. Lisa even admitted that this year she was hoping to string lights from the willows.
“Tired?” Henri asked Maven. He smiled at the soft shake of her head. She had worked harder than anyone else, doing each and everything asked of her.
“What about you?”
Henri considered being honest. Truthfully he was worn out from standing all day painting huge backdrops. His entire body hurt, more than usual even. But instead he just said, “Just fine. Nothing sleep won’t cure.”
Maven slipped her fingers in between his. “Thanks again for today. You saved me.”
Henri shrugged, humble like usual. “Don’t exaggerate.”
“I’m not. That was a really nice thing you did for me.” She brushed some messy hair behind her ear. Her fingers flecked with teal paint. “It was sweet.”
Henri looked away. It was hard to know what to say next. She wasn’t letting him off the hook for doing such a kind deed, but the deed was nothing more than who he was. It didn’t feel like anything other than that. He didn’t like to see anyone hurt. It hurt more to watch someone miserable when you knew you could make them feel better. Maybe one day that would be his one true flaw he thought to himself. He always regretted it later because a lot of the time people didn’t appreciate it. But Maven was different, he knew she did.
Henri looked at her. “Do you want me to walk you home?” The night was over, people were settling into their homes for the night. The stars were bright overhead guiding them down the cobblestone. Tiny bugs buzzing and whirring around.
Maven ignored his question, taking off across the stones and quickly she was disappearing down the hill, the last bit of her dress vanishing. Henri laughed, the girl never wanted to go home it seemed.
He let out a ragged breath of air, tired from the jog. She was sitting on the dock, her shoes besides her. The moonlight reflecting off the water as she stared at it, her feet skimming the surface as she watched rings spilled outward where her toes touched.
“I take it you don’t want to go home.” Henri sat down beside her. He too was barefoot, his shoes behind them a few feet. He was more aggressive with the water kicking it off into the distance time and tim
e again.
“No, I don’t.” She gripped the dock with her hands, watching their feet gliding through the water together.
“Why’s that?” Henri asked, slowing his movement, enjoying the cool feel against his skin.
“Because I enjoy your company.” Maven grinned, leaning into him. She scooted closer, her eyes glistening against the moonlight.
Henri searched her eyes. “Is that so?”
“It is.” She leaned in, snagging the back of his head with her hand, their foreheads meeting up. Henri lifted his head, catching her lips that were so eagerly heading for his. He closed his eyes, enjoying the feel of her lips. The gentle way she slipped her fingertips through his hair.
Maven moved closer, wanting more from their encounter, but to afraid to take it herself. She wanted Henri to make the next move. She pulled away.
“I always have a nice time when I’m with you.” She sliced through the water with her foot waiting for Henri to get the hint that she liked him. She stared at the water waiting patiently.
Henri pursed his lips. “Anymore it’s the only thing I look forward to with such excitement. It’s almost like nothing else compares.”
Maven completely agreed. “What do you think that means? You said you never get to know many people.” Maven knew she was waiting to hear the words every girl wanted to hear—that the guy that stayed on her mind was totally smitten by her.
“I don’t know…” Henri said, trailing off until there was a soft silence all around them. They both stared at the water.
Henri liked Maven a lot. But he wasn’t so brave that he could admit it. He was afraid to admit that he liked her—more afraid than most things in his life.
Hours rolled on. And they sat under the stars sharing the important things in their lives, being open and honest like no other time before. Maven could tell Henri anything. And he loved the way she laughed when he told her stories about his life back home—the good parts. Her laugh was remarkable and always produced a smile on his face.
She loved the way he stroked her arm and listened without judgment about her feelings toward Jake after he hurt her so badly. He loved her honesty and how she wasn’t afraid to admit that she felt crushed.
He wanted to make her happy. He knew she needed to be, she was such a beautiful human being and Henri saw that in her every moment they shared.
She rested her head on his chest counting the stars in the sky. Listening to his voice echo in her ears as he told her old stories that he remembered when he was little, stories about fantasy worlds and things that only someone with a lot of hope could ever believe.
“Do you really believe in the afterlife?” Maven asked at the end of Henri’s story. She lifted her head from his chest. He closed his eyes.
“I believe it.” And he did. “There’s got to be more to life than just this.”
“I think so too.” Maven rested her head and smiled. She liked that Henri believed in the afterlife it almost made her feel better for a moment.
“If not, than what a cruel joke,” Henri said more to himself, he opened his eyes again counting each luminous star that he saw in the sky, Maven’s giggling returning as they started talking about less serious subjects—like the night he toilet papered his own house on Halloween in Tennessee.
Horrible Gossip
Maven stared up at the bad lighting in the dressing room. She gracelessly shimmied into the first dress she had picked out.
“How’s it look, Maves?” Her mother called from the other side of the door.
Maven rolled her eyes. She swatted her bangs away staring at herself in the mirror. It was too long—long was never her thing.
The hop wasn’t formal. It was a laidback dance where girls found cute summer dresses to wear and boys wore a nice pair of slacks and a dress shirt. Some wore ties, others kept it simple.
She gave herself a useless smirk and unlatched the door so her mother could invade her space.
“I don’t really think it’s your color.” Her mom bit her thumbnail as she studied her in the long flowing number. “What about the pink one?”
Maven looked over at Maggie. There she sat in a chair arms crossed, ear buds in, ignoring the whole excursion. “I don’t like pink remember?”
Her mother sighed, shaking her head in exasperation that Maven wanted to dispute the shade. Ever since she could remember Maven refused to wear anything pink. She said it was to girly and made her look too goody goody. She realized it was a lost cause and yanked the hot pink dress out of the dressing room.
Maven shut the door, slipping out of the tawdry gown. She let it fall to her feet just as her phone vibrated. She gave herself a brief glance in the mirror before digging her phone from the pocket of her shorts.
It was a text from Henri. Thinking of you. She smiled.
I am trapped at the mall with my mother and Maggie trying to find a dress for the hop. Torture!
She set the phone on the tiny shelf by the mirror and studied herself. Fingering the strap of her lacy bra, she drifted to the night her and Henri sat by the water talking for hours. The sun made it back before she even pulled herself away from Henri and the water.
She forever was thinking about his kisses. The way his lips made her entire body shiver with something she never felt before. Her heart never slowed when he touched her. And the moment at the water when Henri finally let his lips venture to her neck and further down to her collarbone had her ready to go nuts, she would have allowed him to go further, but he wasn’t like most guys, he would never disrespect her. But that didn’t take away from the ache that filled her mind every time he kissed her. She wondered if Henri felt that way about her or if she was just out of control.
As they got closer to her house that night Henri grew more and more quiet. She started to worry he was upset with her, because he never was so tranquil. That was when it happened. When he asked her to the hop, the happiness she felt was beyond words. It seemed like a silly thing to get so excited over, but she was.
Her phone chirped alerting her to another text.
I can’t believe it’s taking so long you look beautiful in anything.
She grinned, plucking the sunny yellow dress off its hanger. But before she could put it on she scrunched her nose at the broken strap. “Guess this one wasn’t meant to be.”
Her mother tapped on the door. “I think I found it.”
Maven cracked the door, peering out. In her mother’s grasp was the most amazing thing she ever seen. She immediately grabbed for it, her mother’s smile from ear to ear, glad she finally satisfied her daughter.
Maven quickly slipped into the strapless turquoise dress her smile never leaving her face. It was right out of a fairy tale. Three different lengths of sheer turquoise fabric made the skirt. It even had a shiny satin belt that formed into a graceful bow around the waist. She opened the door watching her mother’s eyes light up with approval. They high fived, giggling like two teenage girls heading to prom. Maggie groaned, sinking farther down in her seat trying to disappear.
“You look beautiful. That’s definitely the one.” Her mother gave her arm a squeeze and let her slip back into the dressing room to undress.
Shopping wasn’t over with. After forcing Maggie to pick a dress—which ended up being black with a dreadful looking tutu style skirt that she said she was wearing with combat boots or converse. They headed to the woman’s section so their mother could find something appropriate for the night.
It wasn’t often she dressed up. Both her parents worked a lot of hours—even in the summer.
“I’m going over to the food court,” Maggie announced, taking off before anyone could say otherwise.
Maven circled the racks of dresses, watching her mother work her way from one rack to the next. She was fussy yet uncomplicated.
“What do you think Henri will wear?” Her mother asked her eyes glued to a simple white sundress.
“I’m not sure.” She imagined Henri in a fancy tie.
; “He’s a handsome guy.” Her mother told her. “He doesn’t look like all these guys running around with the beaver haircut.”
Maven laughed at her mother’s poor pop culture knowledge. “It’s not beaver.” She shook her head, unable to correct her misusage because she was laughing so hard.
“Well, I just mean he has the hair of a refined actor from my time.” She smiled.
Maven scrunched her nose. “He gets cuter every time he speaks.”
Her mother’s eyes widened. “That’s not something I ever thought my teenage daughter would say. Those are the words of a woman in love.”
Maven’s cheeks grew warm. She looked away. “There is no such thing as love, Mother.”
Her mother smirked. “I beg to differ. Your father and I fell into it a very long time ago. And I have been falling ever since.”
Maven loved hearing about her mother’s undying love for her father. But it wasn’t normal. Most people fell in and out of love their whole life. Her parents were a very rare thing.
“Henri is never going to love me.” She shook her head at the thought of it. “He has much bigger things to deal with than falling in love.”
This disappointed her mother. It was horrible that her daughter would think such a thing. Love wasn’t something you decided. It was thrust upon you at the most inopportune times in your life. You didn’t choose when or who to love, love chose you.
Maven sighed. She hated to be so open about Henri’s health. It made it more real. It was illogical, but she thought if she ignored it that he would always be there. But other times it was hard to make it through a day knowing, she felt like she was going to burst if she didn’t talk about it. “I don’t think Henri will ever admit he cares about me because he doesn’t want to hurt me. He’s not selfish.”