“You know how they are. Grams is sitting in front of the TV and Pop is out in the woods somewhere with Uncle Fred working on something. You'd think at his age, he'd maybe want to think about slowing down and taking a break every once in a while, but no, not him.” She sighed dramatically then smiled.
“Some things just never change, do they?” He turned the knob on the old red door that had been there as long as he could remember. As the door opened, they were greeted by a very familiar smell. It was a strange mix of Vicks Vapor Rub, moth balls and lemon Pledge. Such a smell would be off putting to anyone else, but to Calvin, it smelled like home. Once inside, they had to pass through the kitchen in order to get to the living room. There was a residual smell of catfish and used oil on the old green stove meaning that Grams had already eaten assuming that he wouldn't be hungry, or maybe she was just tired of waiting. You never knew with Grams.
“Grams, look who's here.” Layla said as they entered the living room, the same old furniture still there, dust gently accentuating walls of pictures and knick knacks. Grams slowly turned her swivel chair away from Wheel of Fortune and smiled a huge smile, revealing she didn't have her dentures in.
“Well, would you look at what the cat dragged in.” Grams said with the same endearing drawl Calvin had always loved about her. “Get your little ass over here, boy, and give your Grams some love.”
“Hi, Grams,” was all he could think to say before he entered her embrace. He’d never loved the smell of catfish on anybody's breath more than in that moment. It was like the past five months of rolling around in dirt and dodging bullets was worth it for just this. She pushed him away to arm's length.
“Boy, look at you. You look like you ain't eaten in days, all thin and what-not. I bet you have to beat all them little ladies off with a Louisville Slugger, don't ya?” He shook his head and laughed.
“Not really something I had to worry about over in the dust bowl, Grams.” He replied. “I haven't dated anyone since Callie. God, that was high school.”
“Good, damn trollop, you shouldn't have been with her little skanky ass anyway.” Grams snickered.
“Really, Grams?” He shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose.
“Well it's true,” Layla chimed in. “She's the town bicycle now. Everybody's had at least one ride. 'Cum Sponge Callie' is what they're calling her now.”
“Come on, Layla. I know you never really liked her, but that's just mean.” He couldn't stifle a smile.
“It ain't mean when it's the truth, boy.” Grams said. “Weren't long after you left that she installed that open sign between her legs and the shop ain't closed since!”
“Yeah,” Layla chimed in. “Last I heard she was caught getting plowed on the hood of a car in broad daylight in the middle of the beach. You know how news spreads around here, Cal. People don't make this stuff up, they just accentuate a little.”
“Damn,” he replied in shock. “That's not really the Callie I remembered. I mean, she was a freak, but I didn't think she was that freaky.”
“Hmmph, forget about her.” Grams said grabbing his arm. “You are gonna find someone much better. We ate already, but let me cook you something up real quick. Some good old fashioned home cooking.” She stood and moved to the kitchen.
“That sounds real good, Grams, but I think I'd rather us all do something like that together. I think I'll just run down to the Quickie Burger or something. I'm not that hungry.” He shrugged and pointed for her to sit. “Just rest, no need in getting crazy over me being home.”
“Hush boy, there ain't no sense in that no how. That place's been closed for a while now.” She waved at him in irritation.
“Really? Why'd it close?” He frowned, digesting the information.
“We don't really know for sure,” Layla answered, “But there's a ton of rumors why. Failed health inspections, body parts in food, roaches, a dead guy in the freezer.”
“What?” His brow crinkled in confusion before laughing.
“Seriously, but anyway, don't worry about it Grams. In an hour Calvin will be taking me to the beach anyway. We got shrimp, crabs and craw fish we're gonna be boiling up.” Layla clapped happily.
“Nah, I'm good. I think I'd rather just stay here and rest up from the long flight back here.” He stretched his arms over his head and flopped out on the couch, still in uniform. “I'm beat.”
“Um, no you won't because I put this thing together for you. We can't have a welcome home celebration without the guest of honor, can we? So, guess what, asshole, you can't back out.” She crossed her thin arms and smirked.
“Damn it, Layla.” He grimaced in irritation.
“Oh, please, I'm sure there's a ton of people who can't wait to see how bony you've gotten.” She grinned.
“They have all of two weeks to do that.” He sighed and rubbed his dry eyes.
“Yeah, starting tonight. We'll be leaving in like an hour. I need to go finish getting everything ready, no backing out jackass.” Layla cracked a smile as she ran down the hallway back to her room.
“Don't be like that boy; you know as well as I do it'll be nice to see all your friends again.” Grams said attempting to make him like the idea. “Now, go on and get yourself ready, you look like hell.”
He did as they all asked, finally plopping down on the old plaid couch again and waiting another forty-five minutes before his drag ass sister was done primping. She was wearing a bikini that looked two sizes too small and little cut off shorts. “Uh, you need to put clothes on,” he muttered.
She raised her eyebrow and looked down at herself, running a hand absentmindedly down her flat stomach. “I am, Calvin.”
His eyebrow went up as he looked at Grams. “You let her walk out the door like this?”
“Hell, boy if I looked that good I'd be wearing a lot less than that. Leave her alone, she's a good girl.” Grams turned back to the TV. The discussion was over.
He shrugged, knowing he couldn't win. Layla grinned and pulled him up from the couch. “Come on, asshole. Let's go have fun.”
He reluctantly followed her out the door to the little car and they drove off to the secluded beach. He could already smell a bonfire and hear bad music. “You know, they are gonna have to turn that damn Nicki Minaj crap off. I will lose it.”
Layla giggled. “I brought some good stuff, man. Calm down, Cal.”
They parked and got out of the car. The overwhelming scent of salt hit his nostrils and he breathed deep. Nothing smelled better than salt air. The sand crunched under their flip flops and Layla darted ahead of him, presumably to get better music playing. He came around the bend and there stood at least a hundred of Major's finest teens and young adults, with a huge banner that said, 'Welcome Home Calvin Hall, Major's Hero'.
Shit.
Chapter Five – Together
After a very long and awkward pause, Calvin took a step forward, the deafening sound of cheers and clapping almost more than he could stand. He had forgotten how nice the sand felt slipping through his toes as he walked. Afghanistan had plenty of sand, but nothing can compare to the feel of beach sand. You know what, he thought closing his eyes and taking in a gentle breeze that blew by, Layla had a damn good idea. I'm kinda glad I came.
“Calvin!” He heard a voice call. He opened his eyes. All but a few of the members of the old high school soccer team were ambushing him. He was met with arms wide open, and punches to the chest and stomach. “Look at you, man, all grown up and sophisticated and shit,” One lanky, dark haired guy said when the group backed off. One guy offered him a beer and he declined, taking a water instead.
“I could say the same to you, Lucas.” Calvin responded. “But I won't, because you haven't changed. Not a damn bit. What the hell you been doin' all these years?”
“Aw, man, you know how it is. Little bit of schooling online. Gotta better myself, y'know.” He puffed out his chest in pride.
“I thought you had that scholarship, what happened there?�
� He took a drink of his bottled water and waited for him to respond.
A dark cloud came over Lucas' face. “Yeah, I actually did, and I was all ready to go, bags packed and everything, but if you remember, my mom was an alcoholic back then.”
“Oh, yeah, I remember that.” Calvin said looking up at a bird flying by, then back down to Lucas. “Wait, what do you mean 'was'?”
“Yeah, about two years ago, she went to a party, right, got shitfaced and tried to drive home. The next morning, I woke up in the hospital.” He shrugged, trying to make light of the situation.
“Wait, what? You were with her?” Calvin shook his head and toed the sand.
“No, dude, that's the fucked up part. I was actually coming home from Randy's house. I kid you not, I pulled out of his driveway, right, the coast was fucking clear, like not a damn car in the road, I looked again, there's mom's car doing like 65 down Shutter Lane.” He stuck his hands in his pockets.
“Oh, fuck.” Calvin replied, shaking his head. “Visibility's shit on that road, you can't go above 35 there.”
“Yeah, that's my point. She t-boned my car, I got a concussion and a broken leg. There goes my soccer game, there goes my scholarship.” Lucas waved to the sky.
“Fuck, dude, I'm sorry.” Calvin touched his shoulder in sympathy.
“Nah, man, it's cool, it's cool. This is your party, this is your night. We'll catch up on the heavy shit later.” Lucas' tan face cracked into a half ass excuse for a smile and he backed away, heading for a volleyball game that was going on.
“Oh, yeah, definitely.” He smiled, watching him leave. He sighed deeply. It was nice seeing his friends again. Before he could take it all in, there were some arms wrapping around him. The overwhelming scent of bad perfume almost made him gag.
“Hi, Calvin!” The girl cooed in his ear. He recognized her voice and quickly pulled her arms off him. She took a step back, confused. “What's that about, hon? Ain't you glad to see me? It's been five long years and I was hoping to rekindle what we had.”
“You know, I'm so uninterested. Especially after what I have heard about you in the last few hours.” He shoved his free hand into his pocket.
“What? What did you hear?” She tried her best to hide her guilt behind light blue eyes. Calvin shook his head.
“You know, it doesn't even really matter. I thought that when I left five years ago there might have been a chance of us getting back together, then I found out the real reason you wanted to leave me. You wanted to play the field, fuck anything with two legs. It's always been all about sex with you, hasn't it? Well, you know what, I'm not interested. Last thing I need is a little whore following me around while I'm trying to enjoy my R&R. Go find someone else's dick to suck on, I'm not interested.” He walked away from her, pleased to have finally gotten that off his chest.
Calvin continued to walk, kicking sand with every step he took. He remembered being so full of Callie, he didn't take much notice of anything or anyone else. As he looked at the bonfire for a few minutes, letting his anger cool, he noticed that there was a log on the other side of it, most likely brought in by his soccer team. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw that someone was already sitting on the log. Wait a minute, he thought, No, no way that's her, he tried to convince himself, but he was wrong. He was looking at the girl from the airport. She tucked her raven hair behind her ear and her dimples were barely visible as she smiled and blushed. As he stared, he remembered a soccer game back in high school. As he scored the first game of the match, he looked back to the bleachers to Callie who was on her feet, cheering wildly. Beside her was a girl with the same raven hair, but shorter, the same dimples when she smiled. His baby sister had been sitting with them. He suddenly remembered exactly who this raven haired beauty was. She was Callie's best friend, Zoe. Why have I never noticed her before? He asked himself as he watched the shadows dance on her face.
She looked so different from high school. She'd grown up. Five years changes people, Calvin, he thought to himself. Damn, it's been good to her. He had to stop for moment and regain control of his breathing and wipe the nervous sweat from his brow. It took him a moment to realize that as he stared, her eyes never left him and they were mesmerizing in their intensity. He took a few steps towards her, and suddenly his legs started getting hotter. He didn't realize that he had almost walked into the flames until he heard a twig pop, bringing him back down to Earth. He shook his head, and awkwardly walked around the fire and took a seat next to her. He glanced over at her, her eyes shifted to the ground in front of her.
“Um, hi,” He said awkwardly. “I'm Calvin.”
“Yeah,” she answered. “I know who you are. Aside from not recognizing you at the airport and not piecing together the fact that this whole thing was for you, I've always known who you were.”
“Well, damn, I sound like an ass when you say it like that.” He rested his elbows on his knees and leaned forward, glancing at her.
“You kinda were an ass.” She began drawing X's in the sand with the tip of her flip flop. “Even if it wasn't intentional, you were always being an ass to me.”
“I'm sorry.” Calvin said dropping his head and letting it hang in shame.
“Ain't your fault. Next to Callie, I ain't much to look at.” She sighed. “It was even worse in high school.”
“I was a different guy in high school. I was still a kid, and I've grown up a lot in the last five years. I'm sorry, and you're wrong about not being much to look at.” His eyes were warm in the firelight.
“Don't sit here and lie to me to try to make me feel better, or whatever the fuck it is you're trying to do.” She looked over at him in anger. “She's got everything every boy in this town wants, she's even dumb as a damn log. Plus she's skinny as hell and has those damn blue eyes, plus being pretty doesn't hurt matters.”
“Yeah, she's all of that, but she's got nothing I want.” Calvin looked back at her. “I feel like a fucking dumb ass now, you have no idea. You know what, fuck her. I don't want somebody else's sloppy seconds. Speaking of her, shouldn't you be over there picking up the broken pieces of your best friend?”
“Fuck that bitch,” she growled.
“I see.” An awkward silence followed as the two of them locked eyes again. He wasn't sure at all what to do or what to say. Finally he murmured, “Did she screw you over too?”
A harsh laugh escaped her lips, her mouth turning down into a grimace. “Yeah if you call being boned by my boyfriend on the hood of his car in public screwing me over.” She pitched her red cup into the fire and it sizzled as it melted.
“Oh shit, then Layla wasn't lying.”
“Yeah, no.” She looked into the fire and was silent for a few minutes. Finally she peeked over at him. “You know, I really didn't know you at the airport. You look good Cal. You always have, but I mean... You look good. I'm glad you are home.”
He grinned in an embarrassed way and replied, “You look good too, Zoe, and I'm only home for two weeks.”
“Oh,” she said quietly. He noted the sadness in her voice. The pause became pregnant between them again.
He leaned over and murmured, “Hey, let's get the fuck out of here.”
Her chocolate eyes went dark. “Where you wanna go?”
“Somewhere with you.” His shoulder brushed hers and she shivered.
“I drove.”
“Yeah, so did I. Leave your car here, I'll shoot Layla a text, she can ride back with... What was her name?” He pointed across the way to Amy, who was grinding her willowy body against a white guy who was immensely enjoying himself.
“Amy.” She shook her head and laughed.
“Yeah, her. Come on.” He stood and held out his hand. She paused for a second before sliding her hand into his and standing. She walked across the beach to Amy, handing her the keys. Amy glanced at Calvin, her eyebrow going up before a grin spread across her face. She nodded and pocketed the keys. Zoe turned back to him, the wind catching her hair and making it f
lutter around her face.
He motioned for her to follow him and he opened the passenger side door of the little blue car. She grinned and quipped, “What a gentleman.”
“I aim to please,” he smirked as he closed the door and circled around to the driver's side. He climbed in and the car purred to life. “So, what the fuck is there to do around here anymore?”
She shrugged, her profile pale in the moonlight filtering through the windows. “Not a whole lot. Quickie Burger shut down. Piggly Wiggly is open, if you wanted to get some wine coolers or something, I mean, I don't know if you drink. There is the old bowling alley, but they are probably closed by now.”
“Depends on who I'm drinking with,” he replied quietly, navigating the road back toward town.
Her breath caught and he could sense her desire. “Oh yeah? What if it was me you were drinking with?”
“Then I'd be honored, if you'd like the company.” He drummed his thumb on the steering wheel to some nonexistent music.
“Oh, so put the ball back in my court. I see how it is. Fine, get me a Coke. I don't do wine coolers. Amy got me drunk on blue ones once and I puked blue for two days. Never again.” She laughed, the sound filling his ears with something he hadn't heard in a long time.
“I take it you're not too fond of having a ball in your court.” He grinned, his teeth flashing white in the low light.
She snorted. “Depends on whose ball it is, I guess.”
“What if it was mine?”
She looked over. “Are you saying you want to screw me?”
“If that's the way you take it.” He laughed.
“I see, keeping the ball in my court as always. So basically it's up to me? Can you make no decisions on your own, Cal?” Her voice was soft.
He looked away from the road for a split second, his eyes solemn and he replied, “My grandmother raised me to be a gentleman.”
September Tango Page 3