I approached the fence. “Frankie let me off to watch your game.”
“I’m going to have to step it up a notch then.” He winked and jogged back to the dugout.
I spent my Saturday afternoon sitting on the bleachers, baking in the direct sun. It felt glorious. Weston made it to third base once, and the next time hit a home run. He played first base and got three players on the opposite team out. Once he even caught the ball right as it careened off the bat. The popping sound the ball made when it hit Weston’s glove made my hand hurt, but he was all smiles, and they all ran in off the field.
When they got their things together and listened to the coach speak, Weston made his way up to the bleachers and gave me a peck, sitting next to me. It was the first time he’d kissed me in public, and I didn’t miss the stares it garnered.
“What?”
“People are looking at us.”
“Good.”
“I’m going to go back and help Frankie. It’ll get busy since the game is over.
Weston kissed me goodbye, and I walked across the street, bursting into the back door and tying on my apron with a big grin.
“Was it fun?” Frankie asked.
“It was amazing. They won! Weston was great.”
Frankie nodded, and we worked without a break until close. We cleaned up quickly, because I would have to hurry and change and make it downstairs by the time Sam and Julianne brought over dinner at seven. I encouraged Weston to hurry as soon as I climbed up into the truck, and the second Weston pulled into the garage, I let go of his hand and darted up the stairs.
Thirty minutes later, I emerged, showered, shaven, and lotioned. Weston was sitting on the top stair, waiting for me. He stood when I walked out of Whitney’s room. I smiled at him, but he didn’t smile back.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” he said, finally forcing a smile. He leaned down and kissed my cheek, and then we walked downstairs together. Peter and Veronica were setting the table while Sam and Julianne were uncovering dishes and setting them in the center.
Julianne and Sam’s eyes lit up when they saw me, and they both came over to give me a hug. We sat down to eat, and Weston and I chatted about our day. The adults asked us more specific questions about our assignments, and how we felt about certain school policies, which brought us to Weston’s art project. It could have been small talk, but Sam and Julianne seemed genuinely interested and hung on to my every word.
“I would love to see it sometime,” Julianne said.
“It’s up in my room.”
“The one you had framed?” Veronica said, a little surprised.
“Yeah,” Weston said.
“But you’d been working on that for months, hadn’t you?” his mother asked.
Weston looked over at me. “Yes.”
Recognition lit Veronica’s eyes, and she stifled a grin. She seemed to want to ask more, but didn’t. We were all stuck in this strange situation. Weston’s ex-girlfriend was Sam and Julianne’s faux-daughter, who also happened to be recently deceased. It was hard to know what appropriate conversation was.
“This is . . . uncomfortable,” I said.
Sam’s eyebrows pulled in. “It’s okay. This is such a rare circumstance, Erin. There’s just no room for judgment. We’re just happy that you’re happy. That’s all that matters to us.”
By the time we finished the chocolate cheesecake, Julianne seemed nervous. During a lull in conversation, Sam took Julianne’s hand, and her eyes glossed over.
“Erin,” Sam said. “Julianne and I have been talking quite a bit this week, and although we know everything has happened very fast for all of us, we want to ask you if you would come and live in our home . . . until you go to college, or until you want to live on your own. We just feel we have a lot of catching up to do, and we’d love it if we could do it as a family.”
My eyes danced between the both of them. They watched me with desperate hope in their eyes.
“You’ll have your own room,” Julianne said. “We’ve already gotten you a new bed, dresser, and linens. But we thought you might want to make it yours by choosing your own comforter and things, so I left a few catalogs on the bed,” Julianne said. She held up her hand. “Not that I’m assuming you’ll come to live with us. I just . . . didn’t want you to think we’d offer you Alder’s room. You’ll have your own room, your own clothes, and your own things.”
Sam leaned forward a bit and pushed up his glasses. “You don’t have to make a decision tonight. We just want you to know the offer is there. And we’re not doing anything at all this weekend, just in case you want to, you know, move in. But again, no pressure.”
“It’s okay. I think it’d be good,” I said.
“You do?” Julianne said, in shock.
I nodded.
Julianne clapped excitedly and they both stood, rushing around the table to hug me. Veronica and Peter congratulated us, and happy embraces were given all around, except for Weston.
I sat down, next to him. “Everything okay?” I asked.
“I’m just going to miss seeing you every day,” he said.
“Weston, honey, she’s right down the street!” Veronica said, laughing.
“I know,” he said, still unhappy.
“I promise we’ll be considerate of your time with her,” Julianne assured him.
That seemed to cheer Weston up a bit, and he took my hand in his.
Sam and Julianne returned to their seats.
“When?” I asked. “I don’t really have a lot to bring over.”
“Tomorrow?” Julianne asked.
“Tomorrow?” I echoed.
“Or not,” Sam sat, patting Julianne’s knee. “When you’re ready.”
“I guess tomorrow is as good a time as any. If you’re sure . . .”
Julianne didn’t hesitate. “We’re sure.”
“Okay, then,” I said with a small smile.
“Perfect!” Julianne said. “We’ll take care of everything. If there is something you need that we don’t have, you just let us know.”
“So … to tomorrow?” Sam said, holding up his nearly empty wineglass. The other adults in the room held up their glasses, and Weston and I held up our glasses of Cherry Coke.
“To tomorrow,” we all said in unison.
Chapter Twelve
Sam and Julianne returned home, anxious to finish up a few things before I moved in the next day. Peter and Veronica retreated to their bedroom, and Weston asked me to take a drive. We held hands while he drove out to his favorite spot, the overpass, and we lay in the bed of the truck, looking up at the stars.
“I’m a little nervous. I just got you, and I’ve had you all to myself until now,” he said, leaning over to kiss my hair.
I leaned into his kiss, my head resting on his arm. “I’m just around the corner, and I’ll still need a ride to school every morning. I don’t think things will be that different.”
“I don’t know. You have eighteen years of making up to do, and I would be a complete ass if I begrudged you getting to know your parents. I feel like I should step aside, but I don’t want to.”
“I don’t want you to step aside,” I said, thinking over his last words. “My parents. Wow. It’s just . . . crazy. I keep thinking I’m going to wake up, or someone’s going to tell me this was a cruel prank.”
“A cruel prank? You’ve just hit the lottery. Not only are your bullies gone, but you have two of the best people in town as your parents.”
“It feels wrong to celebrate it.”
“You didn’t steal them, Erin. They’re yours. Kind of like me.”
I looked over at him, and I could see his amazing smile in the dim light of the moon. “It’s just too much good luck all at once for someone who hasn’t had any. I feel like it’s all going to be ripped away from me at any moment.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” he said. “I promise.”
I turned onto my side, leaning over him, and touc
hed my lips to his. It was a chilly night, but something deep inside of me felt warm, and the warmth spread throughout my body. Weston felt it, too, because his fingers pressed into my skin, and he made that little sound that I loved. I pulled away, and bit my lip, a little nervous about what I was about to do.
I sat up, and slipped my shirt over my head. Weston didn’t move until I reached back to unsnap my bra, and then he sat up, grabbing my arms. He kissed me once, whispering against my lips.
“What are you doing?” His eyes were closed, but the tension of restraint was evident in every muscle of his body.
“What does it look like I’m doing?”
“Not here.”
“What?”
“You don’t want your first time to be in the back of my truck.”
“Why not? My favorite memories are here.”
He thought about it for a moment. When I kissed him, he kissed me back, hard. His fingers touched the top of my shoulders, and he pulled down the white straps of my bra. The second it was lying next to us, he ripped his shirt over his head and pulled me against him. His warm chest against my bare breasts created a tingling between my thighs, and it was my turn to make that low humming sound.
Weston turned me onto my back, undid my jeans, and pulled them down, past my ankles, and set them in the pile with the rest of our clothes. It didn’t take long for both of us to be naked, and then Weston was above me, his mouth on mine, his bare skin against mine.
I squeezed his hips between my thighs while he slipped on a condom, but when he was finished and perfectly positioned to take my virginity, he paused.
“Are you sure?” he asked. “I mean completely sure. You can say wait right now, and I’d be okay with it. I’ll wait.”
I reached down to his bare backside, and with my fingers, pushed him into me. He buried his face in my neck as he worked his way in, gentle and slow. I was glad he wasn’t kissing me, because I was unable to focus on anything but the uncomfortable burning. After a few minutes, though, we seemed to fit together perfectly, and I relaxed. Weston’s mouth returned to mine, and we touched and tasted each other until we were spent.
Just before sunrise, Weston reached for his jeans pocket. He pulled out his inhaler and took a puff. He stared at me, exhausted and happy. We settled on our backs, looking up at the stars. Weston kissed my forehead and reached over to his jacket, covering me. He reached for his jeans pocket, pulling out a long, black box.
“I got you something,” he said.
“For what?”
“Your birthday.”
“My birthday was in September,” I said.
He chuckled. “It’s a belated birthday gift. I wanted to wait until graduation, but I couldn’t. Now feels like the perfect moment.”
The box creaked when I peeled it apart, and my hands trembled with excitement. It had been a long time since anyone had given me anything. The lid flipped open, revealing a silver heart. It was nearly identical to the one in the charcoal drawing, complete with Happenstance etched across it. I gasped.
“Do you like it?” he asked.
“Like it? It’s the same necklace, isn’t it?”
He beamed. “You remembered.”
“Of course I remembered, how did you find this?”
We both sat up. Weston pulled the necklace from the box and fastened the clasp behind my neck. “I have connections. I’m a good person to know, you know.”
“I know,” I said, wrapping my arms around him.
He kissed me once. “I didn’t know that when I saw it on you, it would be the only thing you were wearing. This is a definite bonus.”
I giggled.
He looked at the heart, then back up at me. “It’s perfect. Like the girl in the window.”
“She’s not perfect,” I said, shaking my head.
“She’s perfect for me.” He touched his lips to mine, and just when that warm, tingling feeling began to spread throughout my body, he pulled away.
“We’d better get dressed and get you back to the house so we can get a few hours of sleep. We’ve got to get you moved today.”
“I’m moving in with the Aldermans,” I said, thinking out loud.
“You are an Alderman.”
I shook my head, in complete disbelief. “This is going to mess with my head if I think about it too hard.”
Weston helped me from the tailgate, and again to the passenger side of his truck. It was beginning to feel like my side, and I liked that. He held my hand as he drove me back to his house, and I felt at ease knowing that even though I was leaving that day, I would be only a few houses away.
Weston noticed that I was lost in thought and squeezed my hand. “Try not to overthink it. It is what it is.”
I touched the necklace that hung perfectly against the little indention between my collar bones, and wondered what it would be like to live as Erin Alderman.
“It’s happenstance,” I whispered.
Coming July 1, 2014
Excerpt from Beautiful Oblivion
Chapter One
His words hung there, in the darkness between our voices. I sometimes found comfort in that space, but in three months, I’d only found unrest. That space became more like a convenient place to hide. Not for me, for him. My fingers ached, so I allowed them to relax, not realizing how hard I’d been gripping my cell phone.
My roommate, Raegan, was sitting next to my open suitcase on the bed, her legs crisscrossed. Whatever look was on my face prompted her to take my hand. T.J.? she mouthed.
I nodded.
“Will you please say something?” T.J. asked.
“What do you want me to say? I’m packed. I took vacation time. Hank has already given Jorie my shifts.”
“I feel like a huge asshole. I wish I didn’t have to go, but I warned you. When I have an ongoing project, I can be called out at any time. If you need help with rent or anything . . .”
“I don’t want your money,” I said, rubbing my eyes.
“I thought this would be a good weekend. I swear to God I did.”
“I thought I’d be getting on a plane tomorrow morning, and instead you’re calling me to say I can’t come. Again.”
“I know this seems like a dick move. I swear to you I told them I had important plans. But when things come up, Cami . . . I have to do my job.”
I wiped a tear from my cheek, but I refused to let him hear me cry. I kept the trembling from my voice. “Are you coming home for Thanksgiving, then?”
He sighed. “I want to. But I don’t know if I can. It depends on if this is wrapped up. I do miss you. A lot. I don’t like this, either.”
“Will your schedule ever get better?” I asked. It took him longer than it should to answer.
“What if I said probably not?”
I lifted my eyebrows. I expected that answer but didn’t expect him to be so . . . truthful.
“I’m sorry,” he said. I imagined him cringing. “I just pulled into the airport. I have to go.”
“Yeah, okay. Talk to you later.” I forced my voice to stay level. I didn’t want to sound upset. I didn’t want him to think I was weak or emotional. He was strong, and self-reliant, and did what had to be done without complaint. I tried to be that for him. Whining about something out of his control wouldn’t help anything.
He sighed again. “I know you don’t believe me, but I do love you.”
“I believe you,” I said, and I meant it.
I pressed the red button on the screen and let my phone fall to the bed.
Raegan was already in damage control mode. “He was called into work?”
I nodded.
“Okay, well, maybe you guys will just have to be more spontaneous. Maybe you can just show up, and if he’s called out while you’re there, you wait on him. When he gets back, you pick up where you left off.”
“Maybe.”
She squeezed my hand. “Or maybe he’s a tool who should stop choosing his job over you?”
I shook m
y head. “He’s worked really hard for this position.”
“You don’t even know what position it is.”
“I told you. He’s utilizing his degree. He specializes in statistical analysis and data reconfiguration, whatever that means.”
She shot me a dubious look. “Yeah, you also told me to keep it all a secret. Which makes me think he’s not being completely honest with you.”
I stood up and dumped out my suitcase, letting all the contents spill onto my comforter. Usually I only made my bed when I was packing, so I could now see the comforter’s light blue fabric with a few navy blue octopus tentacles reaching across it. T.J. hated it, but it made me feel like I was being hugged while I slept. My room was made up of strange, random things, but then, so was I.
Raegan rummaged through the pile of clothes, and held up a black top with the shoulders and front strategically ripped. “We both have the night off. We should go out. Get drinks served to us for once.”
I grabbed the shirt from her hands and inspected it while I mulled over Raegan’s suggestion. “You’re right. We should. Are we taking your car, or the Smurf?”
Raegan shrugged. “I’m almost on empty and we don’t get paid until tomorrow.”
“Looks like it’s the Smurf, then.”
After a crash session in the bathroom, Raegan and I jumped up into my light blue, modified CJ Jeep. It wasn’t in the best of shape, but at one time, someone had enough vision and love to mold it into a Jeep/truck hybrid. The spoiled college dropout who owned the Smurf between that owner and me didn’t love it as much. The seat cushions were exposed in some places where the black leather seats were torn, the carpet had cigarette holes and stains, and the hard top needed to be replaced, but that neglect meant that I could pay for it in full, and a payment-free vehicle was the best kind to own.
I buckled my seat belt, and stabbed the key into the ignition.
“Should I pray?” Raegan asked.
I turned the key, and the Smurf made a sickly whirring noise. The engine sputtered, and then purred, and we both clapped. My parents raised four children on a factory worker’s salary. They didn’t buy a vehicle for any of my brothers, despite their appeals, so I knew it was the right choice not to even bother asking. I got a job at the local ice cream shop when I was fifteen, and saved $557.11. The Smurf wasn’t the vehicle I dreamed about when I was little, but 550 bucks bought me independence, and that was priceless.
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