Hopelessly Perfect

by S. E. Rose

  “Talk to me,” she demands.

  I look up into her eyes, wondering how we got here, how I found her amongst all the people in the world.

  “Do you ever just think of your life and wonder how you got to where you are?”

  “OK, that is actually deep. Like, why are we sitting here right now?”

  I shrug. “Sort of.”

  Lanie scoots over and jumps off the counter. She takes a seat next to me.

  “When I was sick in the hospital, I always wondered what my future would be like if I survived being sick. And trust me, there were some days that I wasn’t quite sure I wanted to live because it hurt so bad. I would watch my siblings. They just ran around being normal kids. Part of me wanted to be normal, too, but they were always thinking about the future. Every third sentence was always about ‘when I grow up’, and I decided then and there that I was going to live in the present. If I only focused on the present, controlled what I could, then I never had to worry about the future, if there would be a future. So, I guess my short answer is . . . no. I don’t think about my life and how I got here on this stool in my kitchen talking to you because I’m not thinking about my past, just the ‘now.’”

  “Have you ever dealt with the past?” I ask her, curious if she had counseling.

  “Yeah, I suppose I have. But how does one mentally overcome what they don’t understand? I was little. That baggage will always be with me. I’ll always be fucked up.”

  I reach out and caress her cheek. “We’re all a little fucked up.”

  “Are we?”

  I nod. “I am.”

  “What’s ‘fucked up’ mean?” Ash’s voice comes from the kitchen doorway.

  Lanie’s face turns red. “Nothing. It’s a bad word that I shouldn’t have used. What’s up, Ash?”

  “You didn’t bring me the hot cocoa.”

  “Right, I didn’t. Sorry, I got busy getting Dr. Brix his dinner. Let’s go get that hot cocoa. How many marshmallows do you think you need?”

  “Twenty!” he says. He runs back out of the room. “I’ll make a pillow fort.”

  A minute later, there’s a crash, and we go running.

  A lamp is on the floor with the lampshade broken. I look over at Ash, and his bottom lip trembles.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Are you OK?” Lanie rushes to his side just as I notice some blood on his lip.

  “I was trying to grab the cushion, but it was too big,” he starts explaining, and as soon as the first word is out of his mouth, I know where the blood is from. I look around and spot it.

  Leaning down, I pick up his tooth. “Ash, you lost a tooth!” I exclaim, holding it up for him to see.

  He pauses and stares at it, the tears streaming faster down his cheeks. “I don’t want to lose a tooth!” he screams and runs upstairs.

  Lanie looks at me. “What in the heck was that about?”

  “I don’t know. I’ll go talk to him.”

  She sighs. “I’ll clean this up and join you in a moment.”

  I head upstairs and find Ash crying on his bed. Sandy is lying with him, and he absentmindedly pets her back.

  I sit down next to Ash, and he rolls away from me.

  “Ash, it’s OK. It was an accident. And this is a baby tooth. It’s supposed to fall out. You’ll grow a new adult tooth soon. I bet you can feel it coming in now.”

  He doesn’t move, but I see his jaw flex, so I know he’s testing my statement by running his tongue over his gum.

  “You know, this means that the Tooth Fairy is going to visit.”

  He slowly turns over. “Tooth Fairies aren’t real.”

  I feign shock. “Yes, they are.”

  He rolls his eyes. “No, they aren’t.”

  “And how do you know?”

  “At my old, old foster home, Brad lost his tooth and no tooth fairy came. The older kids said it was make-believe.”

  “Well, I have it on good authority as a doctor that the Tooth Fairy is real and she does come to Miss Lanie’s house.”

  “How do you know?”

  I’m about to concoct the story of all stories when Lanie appears at the door with a mug.

  “Here’s some hot cocoa with ten marshmallows because I couldn’t fit any more.” She sets the mug down on the nightstand. “And I can tell you that Dr. Brix is right. I’ve seen the Tooth Fairy.”

  “You have?” Ash’s eyes go wide.

  She nods. “She’ll only come if you are sleeping, but sometimes, if you haven’t fallen asleep yet, you might see her checking in on you.”

  “Really? What does she look like?”

  “Small, she sort of lights up, and she has wings.”

  “You’re making that up!” Ash protests as he picks up the mug.

  “Blow on that; it’s still hot,” Lanie instructs. “Well, let’s test the theory, shall we? After you finish that, you can brush your teeth and get on your jammies and we can all lie in here and see if we see her.”

  “OK,” he replies slowly as he sips his hot cocoa.

  Lanie pulls a book off the bookshelf and settles onto the bed. “Let’s pick up where we left off,” she says as she starts reading the book. I give her a look, and she winks at me.

  Lanie

  I have never been so happy to have a little brother that lives nearby in my whole life. I texted Kent while making the hot cocoa. Last year for Halloween, he had dressed up as a college student with a good angel and a bad angel on his shoulders. He also has a drone and a light-up ring I brought him from Mardi Gras. So, fifteen minutes later, my little brother is about to do a drone fly-by in front of Ash’s window with a good angel slash Tooth Fairy.

  I won’t lie when I say I’m sort of excited to tell Brix my plan but even more excited that he’s going to be surprised by it.

  After finishing the chapter in the book, Ash scurries to the bathroom to brush his teeth, and Brix gives me a look. “I called in a favor; the Tooth Fairy is on her way,” I announce with a wink. I don’t have time to say anything else because Ash sprints back into the room and jumps in bed.

  “Did you really brush your teeth?” I ask him. He blows minty breath at me, and I shrug, turning off the light, which is the signal to my brother. We all lie side-by-side in the bed and stare at the window. Two minutes later, the Tooth Fairy flies by the window.

  “Did you see that?!” Ash says excitedly. “I saw her! She’s real!”

  “I told you,” I reply. “Now, you better get to bed, or she won’t come back and take your tooth. You do want money, don’t you?”

  He nods and slides under his covers.

  “OK, off to bed,” I say as I kiss his forehead.

  “Goodnight,” he says.

  “Goodnight,” Brix says to him.

  We leave after he’s secured his tooth under his pillow.

  “What in the world was that?” Brix asks when we are back in the kitchen.

  I grin and text my brother a ‘thank you.’

  “That was part of KJ’s Halloween costume on his drone with a light-up ring,” I explain as I rinse out Ash’s mug and place it in the dishwasher.

  Brix chuckles. “Wow, that is . . . uh . . . wow.”

  “Hey, desperate times call for desperate measures. Now to wait and hope he falls asleep soon so we can get him the money. Thank God that I have five dollars in my purse.”

  “That would have made things harder to explain if we didn’t have any cash, huh? Does the Tooth Fairy do IOU’s?”

  I giggle. “Let’s hope we never have to find out.”

  My phone buzzes.

  KJ: Did it work?

  Me: Yep.

  KJ: Sweet! I hope the Tooth Fairy gives him some serious cash.

  Me: Seriously.

  KJ: What? First tooth! That’s like a big deal.

  Me: Goodnight.

  KJ: Whatever, you are welcome.

  Me: I already thanked you.

  KJ: I know. I’m the best.

  Me: (eye rolli
ng emoji)

  KJ: (angel emoji)

  Me: GOODNIGHT

  KJ: You owe me! When we have kids, just remember this!!

  Me: I have a feeling that you won’t let me forget it.

  KJ: True that

  I toss my phone down. “You are lucky that you only have one little sister.”

  “Come on, your family is amazing, and you know it.”

  I sigh. “I know. They just drive me crazy sometimes.”

  “Did you get the family room cleaned up?”

  “Yeah. It’s all good,” I reply.

  “Well, let’s go see if he’s fallen asleep yet.”

  I laugh. “Maybe we can watch one show and then check. He’s likely going to try to stay awake.”

  “Good point. Although I doubt it will take too long; he was yawning a lot while you were reading to him.”

  “I need to start working with him on his reading.”

  Brix takes my hand in his. “You’ll have plenty of time for that.”

  “Come on,” I say as I turn my hand over and grab his, leading him into the family room. We settle on the sofa and turn on a show we had started watching earlier in the week. It doesn’t take long for us to get antsy and sneak upstairs to check on Ash, who is fast asleep. Mission Tooth Fairy goes off without a hitch.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  KJ: Why am I so freaking nervous?

  C-Dog: Uh, because you are about to pop the question in front of like every person we know.

  KJ: Not helping

  Kyles: Dude, you got this. Tabby’s a sure thing.

  Lanie: What she means is, Tabby is going to say yes.

  Di: Duh, of course, she is.

  KJ: OK, I’m slightly hyperventilating, but I think if I do one more shot . . .

  Di: NO! Stop while you’re ahead.

  Me: KJ – seriously!!?

  C-Dog: I’d do two more and one to grow on

  Kyles: Don’t listen to C-Dog, I had to go pick his ass up from a frat party last weekend

  C-Dog: Shhh . . . don’t listen to Kylie . . . she’s delirious

  Me: Clark – we will talk later, KJ – see you soon

  I put my phone in my pocket and turn to Brix. “He’s nervous, but he’s ready.”

  “You think? I mean, is anyone ever actually ready for this? It’s a big step.”

  “Oh God, do you think she’ll say no?”

  Brix rolls his eyes. “Of course not. My sister is completely head-over-heels infatuated with him. She loves that guy.”

  I let my shoulders relax. “OK, good. Let’s grab Ash and head over to the coffee shop.” In my non-existent spare time over the past few weeks, I helped Kent plan his proposal. We arranged for the mayor, a woman named Karen Henderson, to give a speech marking the celebration of when Benjamin Banneker, the man our town is named for, was hired to survey what would become Washington D.C. The park at the edge of town by the river has a gazebo that is used for town festivals and such. Di and Kylie decorated it with beautiful flowers and twinkling lights. The whole town closed up early to go and attend. Yes, Di can be very persuasive when she wants to be, and Karen is her best friend’s mother, so that helps too.

  KJ had to tell Tabby that he was invited to attend and say some words about the town and its history. It’s not an unusual occurrence, as he’s sort of our local town celebrity. The hard part was getting Tabby to agree to attend. This is not her scene typically, but when the town’s website needs some photos taken, then why not use their local photographer? Voila!

  Now, the one thing we did not see coming . . . happens next.

  “T-minus three hours,” Brix says as he looks out the window and frowns.

  Ash, who has been sitting at the kitchen island coloring for the last hour, looks up. “Uh oh.”

  I turn to look out the window. “Fuck,” I mutter. Ash and Brix both turn to look at me in surprise.

  “Miss Lanie! Did you just say a bad word?”

  I bite my lip. “Uhhh . . . nope. Fudge. That snow is going to be a big problem.”

  My phone pings, and I look down to see a text from Di.

  Di: 999! I repeat 999!

  I sigh. Nine-nine-nine is our twin code for an emergency. We started using it after going to London with our family as kids and learning that other countries have emergency lines but they aren’t the same number as ours.

  I hit call, and Di picks up on the first ring.

  “We are seriously screwed! Like, totally screwed! It’s snowing! Like, real snow, not that fake shit, but real effing snow! We’ve been living in spring weather for weeks—weeks! And now it snows! What the hell? What are we going to do?”

  “Calm down. We’ll have to think of Plan B.”

  “Lanie! There is no Plan B; there is only Plan A!”

  I purse my lips and contemplate what we could do.

  “Hello?!” Di screeches.

  “I’m thinking.”

  “Well, think faster!”

  “Have you called Kent?”

  “No . . . cause he’ll freak the fuck out!”

  I nod to myself. “Good point.” I’m tapping my fingers on the counter, staring at my hallway. I have various family photos hanging there. My eyes lock on one.

  “I’ve . . . got . . . a . . . plan,” I say, quoting a line from Tommy Boy, one of my favorite movies.

  “Oh God, this ought to be good. What’s the plan, genius?”

  “Remember when we were supposed to have that town craft festival and we got a freak late-April snowstorm?” I ask.

  Di’s quiet for a minute. “Oh yeah . . . the bowling alley.”

  “Exactly! Call Mr. Potts!”

  “On it . . .” she says and hangs up.

  “What was that about?” Brix asks.

  “Snow’s coming down too hard. We can’t do it outside. But we can do it at the bowling alley.”

  “The bowling alley?”

  “Well, it’s that or the school gym. They are the two largest gathering spots in the town.”

  “Seriously?”

  I shrug. “I mean, there’s the gathering room at the church on Walnut Street, but it’s not big enough for what we have planned.”

  “Define . . . big enough.”

  I grin. “There are more people in Banneker than you would think.”

  “How many people are coming to this . . . event?”

  I giggle. “More than attend Father Quincy’s service on Sundays.”

  Brix groans. “Are we talking like one hundred people, two hundred people?”

  I nod and shrug.

  “Wow, well we should probably go get it set up,” Brix suggests as my phone pings again.

  Di: Potts is in. He’s shutting down now. Meet me there in thirty minutes.

  Thankfully, Tabby and Kent have a history at Banneker Bowling. That’s where they celebrate their annual dating anniversary. Mr. Potts always shuts it down and lets them have the whole place for the night.

  “Come on, Ash! We have some bowling alley decorating to do,” I announce.

  My phone pings again.

  KJ: OH GOD! This is not what we planned! What if she says no?

  Me: Calm your jets. This is gonna be great.

  KJ: Right . . . ugh!

  Me: I think Clark is right for once. Have one more shot. See you in about two hours.

  KJ: OK

  I look to Ash and Brix. “We need to stop by the high school.”

  Brix gives me a curious look but doesn’t ask why.

  Ten minutes later, Mrs. Gannett is standing at the entrance to the high school auditorium. She’s the drama teacher.

  “Here you go. I’m sorry I can’t help, but I have to pick up Macy from piano practice before we head over to the bowling alley.”

  Brix stares at me. “How does she know?”

  I open the door, and Brix and Ash follow me inside. We head to the storage closet, which is more like a giant room behind the stage.

  “We have a town phone tree,” I say, finally
answering Brix’s question.

  “You have a what?” Brix asks.

  “Phone tree.”

  “You’re joking, right?”

  I shake my head and start passing them decorations. “Here take these outside. Kylie has her friend’s truck, and she’ll be here in a minute. And I think another teacher is going to help, too.”

  We start carrying decorations outside, waiting under the cover of the awning.

  A minute later, Garrett Henley, who works with Di, shows up and puts some in his truck. Then Kylie pulls up and takes the rest.

  “Time to make the bowling alley into something cool!” I announce, and we head back downtown.

  The bowling alley is just a block off Main Street, toward the interstate and the new grocery shopping plaza.

  We pull up to the parking lot, and Brix’s eyes go wide.

  “What is going on?”

  “Can you guess Tabby’s favorite play?”

  He shakes his head and frowns. “My sister has a favorite play?”

  I laugh. “Going for the ‘world’s worst brother award?’”

  “Maybe.” He frowns. “Oh, wait. I know. She was in it in high school. A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”

  “Exactly.” The local tree farm and nursery are hauling potted trees and shrubbery inside, along with flowers, as we start to unload the decorations, complete with fairy lights.

  “This is going to be epic!” Di says, clapping her hands as we begin to transform the bowling alley.

  Frankie, the kid who works at the ice cream shop, is getting his band set up on a small stage at the back of the bowling alley. There’s a little dance floor there. One hour later, about one hundred people are milling around and helping to place decorations and lights. The private party room has been turned into a buffet, with several restaurants setting up food.

  “I will say this: Banneker knows how to throw a party,” Brix announces.

  I grin. “Yes, we certainly do.”

  Brixton

  I have never seen anything quite like this. Imagine a bowling alley . . . only it’s a magical forest. There are little lights that look like fairies decorating the sides of the room, surrounded by trees, shrubbery, and flowers.

  “This is going to take forever to break down,” I point out as I help set out tables in the room that will double as the food truck station.