I Just Got a Letter from Allyson Pringle

by Anya Bateman

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  That next day, Thursday, Alysse was back in school in her standard red glasses and carrying her Minnie Mouse bag. She was wearing a neon green shirt with bright pink flamingos printed on it. When I caught a glimpse of her from half a hall away, my insides leaped. By second period everybody in the school seemed to know she was back.

  “Maybe this means she’ll be in the play,” Carolee Pruitt, who had a bit part in the fainting scene, speculated. “Cross your fingers.”

  All day long I wondered if Alysse would show up at the dress rehearsal. I polished my trombone during lunch and went into the rest room to practice a few measures from the introduction. I wasn’t quite warmed up and consequently played the same few notes several times in a row. “Man, I thought someone had a real problem,” a guy with a big tattoo of a spider on his forearm said when he came out of one of the stalls.

  After school I stayed in the orchestra room and practiced again, working on a section of “One Boy.” Then I hurried to the auditorium. I headed straight to the pit, but not before I spotted Alysse up on the stage.

  “Yeeees, she’s gonna do it,” one of our violinists whispered excitedly. In fact, everyone seemed to be whispering about the fact that Alysse was there, yet nobody said anything to Alysse herself. When Alysse called out something to Tyrone, a crack about his costume, kids finally relaxed and started joking with her.

  Because Alysse was there, the dress rehearsal went far better than the rehearsal the night before had gone. And when it was her turn, Alysse performed her lines flawlessly—even the longest portion, where Mama Peterson tells her son that it’s confirmed she has a “condition,” and that one thing doctors can’t cure is a “condition.”

  “Aaalbert!” she screeched out a line or two later. I thought Alysse captured the role even better than either actress in the movie versions had. Cast members, including orchestra members, applauded, cheered, and hooted at her.

  We’d been instructed not to stop for any reason during this rehearsal, but Mrs. Dallask, still laughing, broke her own rule and said, “Sorry, I can’t help it. I need to tell you, Allyson, that was wonderful. Thank you for your courage.”

  Alysse bowed and smiled. “I didn’t bring all my costume. I’ll have it ready by tomorrow.”

  “That would be perfect.” Mrs. Dallask looked stage right. “Okay, Act Three. No more stops.” A few scenes later, our dress rehearsal was over and I was playing my trombone with emotion and full power during the finale.

  “Excellent, excellent job,” said Mrs. Dallask, a ring of excitement in her voice. She clapped her hands together. “Folks, I think we’ve got a hit on our hands! Now, remember to be here by six p.m. sharp tomorrow. I’ll say it again: Excellent! Bravo! Good work!”

  While a few orchestra members visited with cast members, and others congregated in the far section of the pit, I opted to get my trombone put away and was busy adjusting the mouthpiece when I sensed someone directly above me. Glancing up, I saw that it was Alysse looking down at me. “Oh, hi,” I said, jerking up.

  Supporting herself with one hand, she lowered herself to the stage floor. “I . . . umm . . . wondered if I could talk to you about something.”

  I grabbed my music. “Sure, right now?”

  “No, it’s too late now. I need to get home and you probably do too.” She lifted her eyebrows and tried to smile. “Homework, right?”

  I nodded.

  Her smile evaporated. “How about tomorrow right after school?”

  “Sure, yeah—sure. Where?”

  “I’ll meet you at the big oak next to the gym building.”

  “We’re on.”

  I was still nodding when Jake, who was waiting for friends, called to her. “Whooo, Alysse, you make one hot old Mama.”

  “Well, you look like an old bag yourself, hotshot!” she called back.

  Jake chortled; Tyrone did an Elvis hip thrust, Mitzi snorted; and several others hooted once again, obviously relieved to have good old Alysse back.

  But when Alysse turned toward me, her eyes were serious again. “The big oak,” she repeated almost fiercely. “I’ll see you there.”

  “I’ll be there,” I said. Double promise.

  The next afternoon after school I got out of seventh period plenty fast enough, but then I just couldn’t seem to get out the school door. First Mrs. Bertrand, my physics teacher, cornered me in the hall. She’d nominated me to the newspaper’s academic awards and wanted to talk to me about my portfolio. She was ecstatic that I’d been able to raise my score on the ACT two points the final time I had taken it. “Excuse me, ma’am, but I have an appointment,” I said when I finally got a word in.

  “Oh, yes, yes, go right ahead,” said Mrs. Bertrand. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow after class.” She was rubbing her hands together as she walked away.

  When I got to my locker, Arnold wanted to tell me all about what had happened in band. Trumpet player A had broken the nose of trumpet player B when he’d “accidentally” smacked him with his horn. Since both musicians liked the same flag twirler, the circumstances looked suspicious. “You know what?” I interrupted Arnold. “I’m gonna have to hear this later. I’ve got to get out of here. I’ve got to meet somebody.”

  Arnold’s eyebrows popped up. “Who? What’s going on, bloke?”

  “I’ll tell you later.” As I pulled around him and hurried down the hall, I could feel his eyes on my back.

  When I saw Mrs. Carru coming toward me, I quickly flipped a right turn and hurried to the closest exit. Even though I owed the woman big-time, I couldn’t afford to have her stop me to chat as well. But it wasn’t the best door to go out, and I was out of breath by the time I got around the far corner of the school.

  At first I didn’t see Alysse. “Oh, maaaan!” I sighed. I swung my arms over my head, thinking that because I had taken so long to get all the way around the school, she’d given up on me. I should have grabbed my phone from my car, I chastised myself. I could have let her know I would be a few minutes. I had walked right past the parking lot. Now I was sure I’d missed her.

  But then the Beal twins, who were walking their bicycles past the tree, stopped and waved at someone behind it. When they laughed heartily at the person’s response, and one of them moved her cycle forward and called something in that direction, I moved slightly to my left a ways, hopeful. Sure enough, after several steps I spotted the edge of the familiar Minnie Mouse book bag and the tip of a bright yellow tennis shoe. Alysse was still there!

  “Hi,” I said quietly when I reached her. “Sorry it took me so long. I was afraid you’d left. You wanna talk here, or should we go somewhere?”

  Alysse flashed me the required smile. “I think I’d rather we got out of here. Do you mind?”

  “Not at all. How about the park?”

  “You’re on. We can take my car; I’m really close.”

  “And your car probably runs. You never know with mine,” I said, trying to joke. Actually, the van had been running fairly well since we got it tuned up. I wasn’t sure I was glad about that, but it was just as well, since the wedding had eaten up our new-car money.

  As we came out from behind the tree, a jeep swung by, honking, with Dee Dee Smit practically falling out of it. Alysse lifted her fingers into a V. “Do you mind driving?” she asked quietly, as she grinned and waved at someone in a Camry.

  “You sure?”

  “Yeah, I’d rather you drove.” She pulled the keys out of her bag and pushed the unlock button, then handed them to me, the car key extended.

  In a few minutes, I was backing her Ford Fusion out of her parking stall. I carefully pulled through the school lot as Alysse continued waving at people, giving herself rabbit ears, lifting her thumb, smiling and nodding. We’d barely hit Pine Avenue when Tyrone Brown and some of his friends started following us, honking loudly.

  “Why don’t you turn left here?” Alysse said. “Maybe we can lose them.”

  “Okay.”
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br />   The turning lane was clear and I carefully pulled in, just making the arrow. Had this been a movie chase scene, Tyrone would have screeched from his lane to ours and followed on our tail, sparks flying. But since there was a truck that had turned into the lane before him and a car right behind him, he and his friends just honked one last time, waved, and headed straight.

  A block later I turned right, then drove west on Maddington until we got to the park on Autumn Street that I’d visited just two nights before. I pulled into a parking stall and turned off the ignition.

  After all that honking and traffic, it seemed really quiet. Alysse took a deep breath as she stared out the passenger window. “You wanna get out?” I asked.

  “Sure, why don’t we get out and walk around a little bit?”

  A minute or two later we were walking along the lane by the duck pond toward the picnic area on the opposite side of the ball fields. It had rained earlier, but had cleared up since, and there was still a little moisture in the air. At least it wasn’t cold. Like I said, you never know in April, and we were lucky it wasn’t storming. “Sorry to put you to this trouble,” Alysse said. “I’m sure you have better things to do.” Her voice sounded like it was coming from a cavern inside her.

  “It’s no trouble at all. Is this area okay?”

  “Maybe over there. It’s more secluded,” she said, pointing toward a section with trees. As we headed toward them to some tables and a bench, Alysse kept her eyes on the ground. I couldn’t see her face because of her hair, but then she sniffed, and a tear dripped down to the grass.

  Grateful that my mother always made sure family members were supplied with tissue packets, I reached into the pocket of my jacket and handed her the entire packet.

  “Thanks. Sorry.” Alysse pulled out a tissue and wiped her eyes. As we sat down on the bench, Alysse pushed the tissue against one eye and then the other.

  “I appreciate your driving us here,” she said. “I needed to get away from school.” She paused and inhaled. “Everybody there expects me to joke around, and it’s not all that easy being funny all the time. It’s a lot of pressure.” She laughed a little. “That sounds weird, doesn’t it?” Alysse pulled the tissue down to her nose, sniffed, pushed back some strands of her hair, and glanced up long enough for me to see that her eyes were trimmed in red.

  “I think I understand what you’re saying.”

  She stared down at the hand not gripping the tissues, and stretched her delicate fingers. It was easy to forget how small-boned she was. Finally she looked up. “You’re actually one of the few people who sees me as more than just funny. The problem is that a person doesn’t always feel like being funny. Like today. I didn’t feel like joking around, but nobody knows how to react to an unfunny Alysse.” She sniffed again. “But it’s like I’m letting people down if I don’t play my usual role.” Her bottom lip began to tremble, and she pulled it in and scraped over it with her top teeth. “You know what they say: the show must go on.” I knew she wasn’t just talking about the play.

  “You go ahead and cry if you need to, Alysse,” I said. “I don’t mind at all. I can handle that just fine.”

  “You . . . I . . .” It was as if my making that statement gave her permission to unleash the tears, and sure enough, Allyson’s shoulders and back started jerking up and down. I felt helpless and inadequate. “I’m sorry,” she said with a swallow. “I feel so stupid. I’m so sorry.”

  “No, it’s fine.” I put my hand on hers and pressed gently. “It’s totally all right. You’re among friends.”

  Alysse hiccupped, half laughed, then hiccupped again. “Okay,” she said as she struggled to regain control of herself. “Okey-dokey!” She laughed nervously again, took a deep breath, and tried to smile. “So, I suppose you’re wondering why I called this little meeting, huh?” But then she turned serious again. “Well, I’ll tell you.” Her chin was trembling now. “It was that card you gave me.” Alysse drew in a deep breath. “You said something on it that I memorized. You said . . .” She paused and swallowed again. “You said, ‘I have strong faith that Pete still lives.’”

  Alysse pulled in her bottom lip and then began whispering hoarsely. “I’ve got to know more about that. Nobody in my family has ever been very religious. I’m not sure why. Pete was the closest to being religious. He actually went to church a few times—the Lutheran, I think it was, or maybe the Methodist.” She was losing control again and paused once more. “I’ve never really even thought about any of it that much—religion, I mean—spiritual things. But now I really need to know.” She half snorted. “I don’t think I can get through this if I don’t. I just . . . I need to know where Pete is right now.” Alysse pressed the back of her hand against her mouth and looked into my eyes, then down again quickly. “That’s why I wanted to talk to you.” After a few seconds she managed to grin and punch me in the arm. “Let me put it this way, hombre: If you say something is true, then I can believe it.” She laughed a little. “Because you’ve got to be the doggoned most honest person I’ve ever met.” Alysse turned serious again. “And I know I can trust you, Kendall.”

  Now I felt my bottom lip begin to shake. “I’m glad you feel that way, Alysse,” I said softly but emphatically. “I’m really glad because I meant what I said on my card.” I tapped my chest. “I believe—in fact, I know, right in here, right down to my core, that your brother is in a good place.” This time I sniffed. “And I’d be glad to tell you more.” Now I felt my eyes beginning to well up, because I really did have so much to tell her about the Restoration and families being together and about Christ’s Resurrection and Atonement that made it possible for us not only to be with our loved ones but with Christ and our Father in Heaven someday. There was a lot to cover, yet I wanted to keep it simple so as not to overwhelm her. I knew one thing for sure: I would really need to rely on the Spirit to guide me through it all. In the meantime, old Kendall-Wendall was struggling himself to keep control. I cleared my throat and sniffed again. “But first, could I borrow back some of those tissues?” I asked. “It looks like I might be needing them before our little meeting is over.”

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  That night in our school play, Allyson Pringle, jester of Hollenda High, put on the performance of her life. The instant she tromped on the stage wearing an old housedress, ugly hiking boots, and a small hat perched atop a raggedy wig, the audience went crazy. I was laughing so hard from the orchestra pit that I was fearful I wouldn’t have enough air left when it came time to play the numbers that followed.

  In the finale, people jumped up, lifted their hands, and cheered for all the performers, especially the main stars, but most of all for Alysse. “Pringle! Pringle!” they shouted.

  It was pretty much the same scenario at the matinee performance on Saturday, and again Saturday night. In fact, Mitzi and Parry and Carlin and Tyrone, the leads, graciously stepped back to give Alysse center stage.

  At the party afterwards, I wanted to congratulate Alysse in person, tell her how great she’d done, but she was surrounded by fans all evening. Our eyes did meet at one point, and she smiled and lifted her chin at me, but then several more people rushed in.

  Since Alysse wasn’t in any of my classes that semester, and since things got pretty crazy those last few weeks of school, we didn’t talk again. Oh, we said hi to each other, but that was about it. Generally, she was with people again, laughing and joking. That was okay because I was busy myself, getting ready for my interview with the judges for the academic awards finals—which, by the way, I didn’t even come close to winning. It wasn’t that many weeks later that I got my mission call to the Brazil Porto Alegre North Mission and was informed there would be no flight to Provo because Brazil had its own Missionary Training Center. You learn your geography when you get a mission call, and our globe showed that Brazil was far bigger than I’d realized, and a long, long way from Kalamazoo. I was excited, yes, but also scared spitless.

  Alysse, I heard from g
ood sources, left not long after graduation for New York, where she planned to start school in the fall. She’d been accepted into a decent performing arts school, according to Parry’s girlfriend, Tanny. I was relieved and happy for Alysse. I asked Tanny to give me her address as soon as she got it. I didn’t tell her it was because I planned to have the missionaries in New York look her up. But then Tanny headed for the British Isles with Rhonda and Dee Dee and Tallulah. I heard through the grapevine that Allyson’s father and his new wife and kids had moved to Connecticut, so I couldn’t even go that route.

  I didn’t try to squeeze in any college myself but worked full-time for my father all summer and almost all of September and part of October. I wanted to do everything I could to get the finance end of his business completely updated and organized for him. I left clear instructions for Dad on how to get where he needed to be on the computer. Time went fast, and the next thing I knew I was on that plane.

  I’d only been out a couple of months when I found myself dealing with some pretty major knee issues. It’s amazing how fast a little problem can magnify when you agitate it on a daily basis. It ticked me off that, as bad as I was at sports, those few games I’d played at church and in our driveway would affect me to the extent they had. That was what I got for trying to keep up with my brother. I knew within just a few weeks of being out in the field that it had been a big mistake not to get a relatively minor knee problem taken care of before I left. Not telling my doctor or even my parents about it had been just plain dumb. Soon I was paying the price.