Me & Timothy Cooper

by Suzanne D. Williams

  I listened to my own breaths race faster and faster. I didn’t want to hear this. I didn’t. But he had to tell it. I braced myself.

  “The ball hit him square in the head. Killed him instantly.” He glanced away. “It was determined after that the helmet wasn’t put on correctly.”

  His voice was bitter. “Mom had to tell Dad, who was far away, and he had to fly all the way home to bury his son.”

  I licked my lips. “I’m sorry.” Which sounded really rotten given the size of what he’d just told me.

  “Thanks.” He turned to me. “I’ve never told anybody that.”

  “So wh-why me?”

  “Come here.” He tugged me across the vinyl seats to his side, and I buried my head in his shoulder. He didn’t speak for several minutes, but ran his thumb back and forth over my hand. “Is it crazy that I like you so much?” he asked.

  “No crazier than me liking you so much.” I raised my face to his, and he smiled at me.

  “You are crazy, but I like you that way.” He lowered his mouth to mine and kissed me gently.

  My insides went all swirly.

  CHAPTER 10

  “You sure I have to do this?” I asked. But he was grinning again. He’d make me. I pulled the towel tighter about my body.

  Me swim with Timothy Cooper? We’d made a deal, and I had to keep my part of it. He did wait until Saturday though. Thursday and Friday were boring, old school. We watched TV in the evenings and talked. I felt like I knew all there was to know about him now.

  And I admitted my dad was not really my dad. Well, he was. He’d raised me, and I loved him like my dad. But he married my mom when she was expecting, my real dad having run out on her. She’d never seen him again after that either. Tim said that was real sorry, and I agreed. But being as I’d never met him and knew nothing about him, it didn’t really hurt any.

  However, when Saturday rolled around and my ankle was quite a bit better, I knew, just knew, he’d make me pay up. So I put my suit on like he asked, but found the biggest towel in the house to conceal myself.

  He pushed me out the French doors onto the patio, the heat from his naked chest resting so close to mine confusing my thinking.

  “How about we make a new deal?” I asked.

  He laughed in my ear, his breath warm. “No new deals.”

  I planted my feet at the edge of the pool, self-consciousness flooding over me. I swam well enough. Take me to the beach or a public pool, and I’d enjoy myself. But this wasn’t about swimming, and I knew that. Worse, I knew he knew that. This was about him seeing me in the suit.

  Stupid me. Why’d I make the deal? If only I could be thinner, like those models on TV, and not have my every hill and arch strain to get out of things. If only I had a one piece with one of those Granny cover-ups.

  “You swear you’re not gonna tell anyone about this?” I was begging, but I was desperate.

  “I swear I’m not going to tell many people about this.”

  I curled my toes over the pool’s edge. “Many people? But …”

  He laughed again. “You have to give me something, Southern. Let me enjoy the moment.”

  But what was there to enjoy? Me all lumpy and bumpy? No thanks.

  He grasped my shoulders and turned me around. Then he seated himself on the edge of a patio chair. I stood there doing some staring of my own. Timothy Cooper with his shirt off was a pleasant sight. Not to mention the legs.

  The Good Lord made him beautiful. That’s for sure.

  He hung his hands over his knees. “Well, go ahead.”

  Go ahead. Go ahead and do what? Drop the towel.

  “Can I get one more question in?” I asked. Delay. That was my tactic.

  His mouth curled up on one side. “Okay, one more question. But then I get to ask one too.”

  I didn’t like that thought, but if he asked a question that was that much longer I put this off. I nodded. “Okay. Me first.”

  He leaned back in the chair, folding his arms behind his head. “Go ahead. I’m ready.”

  “You joinin’ the army after high school?” He’d indicated such, but it was the one thing we’d never talked about.

  His eyes took on a curious daze. “Yeah. Why? You object to your boyfriend being a soldier?”

  I smiled. “No. You think you’ll still be my boyfriend then?”

  “That’s two questions,” he said, “but I’ll answer because I want to.”

  I tightened my grip on the bath towel.

  “We talked about this already, the first night you were here.”

  That seemed like ages ago now. I could barely recall the moment, much less our conversation. “What did we say?” I asked.

  He shook his head. “I said in two years I’d propose.”

  I sucked in a breath to still the fluttering in my heart. “I thought that was … was …” Just a conversation.

  “Was what?”

  “Us talking.”

  He lowered his arms. “No, it wasn’t. You thinking about getting tired of me?”

  That made me smile. Get tired of Timothy Cooper? Not a chance.

  “No.”

  “Well then.” He clapped his hands. “My turn.”

  I threw my weight onto my good leg. My ankle still ached sometimes. “Okay.”

  “What is the one thing you’d change about your life as it is right now, today?”

  I considered his questions with two thoughts in mind. One, why did he ask it? It was a deep question for him, but then he had his moments. Two, what would I change? I liked my life fine. School was good. My parents and I got along. My boyfriend was Timothy Cooper. I couldn’t think of anything I’d want different.

  I opened my mouth to say so and subsequently shut it. A thought lit in my brain, and a slow smile crept onto my face. I crossed my arms over my chest.

  “One thing, huh?”

  He nodded. “Yes.”

  “I’d get outta doing this.”

  And throwing his head back, he roared.

  I took that instant to shed the towel and dive in. He missed the whole thing. Next I know, I am in the pool, my hair streaming about my face, and he’s looking at me.

  Boy did his face turn funny. He was all jittery and sweating, his eyes locked onto mine.

  I swept my hands through the water. “What?” I asked.

  He coughed and cleared his throat. “N-nothing. You look … uhm …”

  Now, who wasn’t finishing their sentences?

  “I look what?”

  Weird? Plump? Tubby?

  “Sexy.”

  I think I inhaled all the pool water at that point. Was he nuts? Did Timothy Cooper just call me sexy? But from the looks of things that’s exactly what he meant to say because he was about to slide out of his chair.

  And an evil little voice in my brain begged me to test the whole thing. I really shouldn’t. It’s horrible to listen to the evil little voice. But then this was Timothy Cooper and he always made me lose my sense of reason.

  I moved to the side of the pool and placed my good foot on the step. His eyes grew huge. I hauled myself up one level. I then shuffled my weight to climb the next step and rose yet again.

  I swear he was panting now. The evil little voice told me to keep going. I climbed another step and another and another, until sopping wet, water slithering over my curves I stood right at his feet.

  He threw a hand to his chest. “I’ve died,” he said.

  I wrinkled my brow. That wasn’t the reaction I wanted.

  He slid to the end of the chair and gazed up at me from below. “I’ve died because this can’t be Taylor Lawton standing in a swimsuit at the edge of my pool.”

  I smiled. “But it is.”

  He’d called me Taylor, which must mean something. He soon proved that it did. He stood to his feet and taking hold of my face, kissed me. His hands stuck to my skin, my skin stuck to his chest, and we stood there, not caring about anything in the world but each other.

 
; He pulled away, and it took me a minute for my head to clear. I then glanced back at the pool. “Seeing as I didn’t scare you off,” I said, “You wanna swim?”

  I pulled him toward the pool, a goofy grin all over his face.

  CHAPTER 11

  “I don’t want to go home.” Taylor wedged herself tighter in Tim’s arms. He sighed. Sunday already, and their week together was finished. Her parents had called. They’d be home in an hour.

  Waking up in the morning with her not there would drive him cuckoo. But all the promises of phone calls and texts and visits didn’t help. Not for him. Not for her. She had to go home, and they’d simply have to get over it.

  He kissed the top of her head. “I know.”

  She encircled his waist with her arms, and a sob tore from her throat.

  Oh gees. Crying?

  He attempted to comfort her, patting her back, but her tears only worsened. Putting her in the car for the drive to her house was like walking the plank. Yet one foot before the other, he nudged her that direction. The car roared to life, and she glued herself to his side. Laying one arm over her shoulders, he backed out of the drive. Neither one spoke a word as they drove, and once they arrived, neither one made any effort to climb out.

  A car was in the driveway, a blue Ford Focus.

  “We should get out,” he said.

  But she sniffled and snuggled tighter. “No. I’m running away.” Her voice was petulant, bratty.

  He chuckled. “Running away, huh? And how do I fit into this?”

  “You’re coming with me.” She curved an arm over his chest.

  “Where are we going?”

  She toyed with his shirt. “Somewhere tropical where I can wear a swimsuit all day.”

  He laughed then. He wouldn’t mind that a bit, nevermind he’d get no sleep at night.

  She tipped back her head. “Kiss me.”

  He glanced toward the house. Surely, they were seen by now. “What if your parents are watching?”

  She pursed her lips. “They are. But kiss me anyway. Then I’ll introduce you and it’ll be all right.”

  He brushed his lips over hers and drew away. “How was that?”

  “Cheap,” she said.

  A hand shifted the curtain back into place, and he smiled. “We have viewers. I’m afraid that’s all you get.” He opened the door and pulled her out, then reached for her bag. She limped along behind him up the long concrete walkway to the front door.

  He took her key and unlocked the door. She then preceded him into a small foyer. Her father stood there smiling.

  “Taylor,” he said.

  “Daddy, this is Timothy Cooper.”

  Her father crossed his arms. “Mr. Cooper, it’s good to meet you.”

  “And you, sir,” Tim said.

  Backing up in the entrance, her father gestured them inside. He turned his back briefly as they walked through the foyer and into the living room. A woman looking remarkably like Taylor stood before the couch.

  “Mama, this is Timothy Cooper,” Taylor said.

  The woman stepped forward and took his hand. “Thank you for taking care of her.”

  “It was no problem,” he said.

  Her mother’s gaze traveled down to their clasped hands. “Tell me, Timothy,” she said, “what are your intentions with our daughter?”

  He held back a smile. Maybe Taylor’s inquisitiveness came from her mother. Or maybe he was on the hot seat.

  “Mama,” Taylor whined.

  He squeezed her hand. “No, it’s all right. They should ask.” He set her bag on the floor.

  “Ma’am … Sir,” he said, “I intend to date your daughter. She’s …” He glanced down at her, “So beautiful inside and out. I’d like to do so with your permission.”

  His nerves pulled tight as they stood there. Taylor’s hands became damp, and his grip slipped.

  “I think that will be just fine,” her father said. “Any young man who will take care of her as you did has to be good.” He crossed the room and stopped in front of Taylor. “Poppet, we’re sorry for leaving you alone like that. We …” He glanced back at his wife, “We won’t do it again.”

  She extracted her hand from Tim’s and hugged her father. “It’s okay, Daddy. I know you didn’t mean any harm. Besides, if you hadn’t then Tim would never have spoken to me.”

  Her father smiled. “Tim would have been a fool. Now,” he looked straight at Tim. “Tell me about this car of yours …”

  ***

  I had my paper ready. I worked on it until well after midnight, my thoughts falling over each other to get out, then I put it inside my English book and went to sleep. The next morning, I dressed carefully. After all, I was dating Timothy Cooper. And fairly flew out of the house into his arms when he picked me up.

  “It’s been hours and hours,” I gushed.

  He laughed as he always did and kissed my head. “I know. Get in.”

  We drove to school talking about inconsequential things, and he walked me to class, though now he didn’t have to. He showed up again after first period and every class after that.

  Lisa Maiton said I was lucky because she’d never seen a guy so devoted. I liked that he was devoted.

  When Mrs. Walker’s class finally rolled around, I was already looking ahead to the afternoon. Mom and Dad said it was okay if I went to Tim’s house until Dad got off work. It saved Mom the gas picking me up from school, and it gave us time together.

  Tim said we might plan out our upcoming Spring Break.

  So my head was completely in the clouds when Mrs. Walker made her announcement.

  “Class, I have decided we might read a few of the reports out loud.”

  My throat clogged. Read? Out loud? Oh no. I glanced at Tim, who simply smiled.

  “I have picked names at random. These are the students who will participate.” She picked up a piece of paper. “Mark Smith.” A groan erupted from the second seat, first row. “Barbara Davidson.” Barbara actually cheered, which was like her. “And Taylor Lawton.”

  No. No. No. No. I could not. I would not read my paper out loud to this class. I’d worked hard at it; I was proud of what I’d written, but it was … was … personal. Only Mrs. Walker was supposed to read it.

  My eyes burned, but I refused to cry. I wouldn’t cry. I wouldn’t. I also wouldn’t look at Tim again. That’d only make me nervous.

  Mark Smith went first. His paper was on Susan Fenton, and it actually was kinda funny. Susan Fenton even laughed, which was good because he mostly poked fun at her. Barbara’s paper, on the other hand, was more boring than spit. She’d been given Jose Jimendez, and she’d written it so clinical. Half the class was asleep by the time she was done.

  Then Mrs. Walker looked at me, and I knew my time was up. I dragged myself from the desk and down the aisle. I accidently bumped Lisa Maiton on the way and stopped to apologize. When I looked at her, her face told it all. She was thinking what everyone else in the class was thinking.

  This is gonna be good.

  They thought it would be all mushy and gushy about how wonderful Tim was. And I did feel that way. About how I’d fallen in love with him. And I had. I could just hear their remarks in my head.

  But they were way wrong.

  The paper shook in my fingers as I stood there. I scanned across the classroom, all eyes on my face, and ended up looking right where I needed to. At Tim. His blue eyes pierced into my heart, and I knew this was right.

  I cleared my throat. I didn’t really need the paper to read. My thoughts were memorized by now, as much a part of me as my next breath, so it was gazing at Tim that I began.

  “When asked to write about Timothy Cooper, I couldn’t believe my luck. Timothy Cooper is, after all, a very popular person, and I figured this would be easy. But you know, they say nothing is as it seems.”

  “What would I put into a novel about Timothy Cooper? I think everyone in the class knows the answer to that.”

  There were snic
kers across the room.

  “So perhaps the better question is what would I change? Not what you think. You see, Timothy Cooper’s dad is never home. For three years now he’s been in Afghanistan. They only talk to him on Skype or by phone. He’s given only a couple days at home on holidays now and then. The first thing I would change is I’d bring his father home.”

  Tim’s face straightened. He wasn’t smiling anymore.

  “Nobody needs to live without their father. Mine took off on me before I was born, but I was blessed to have another man step in to fill his place. And I love my dad, despite all his faults and flaws. But Timothy’s dad is doing a service for all of us. He’s out there risking his life so that Tim and I can be together, so that Lisa Maiton can throw paper at Mrs. Walker’s butt.”

  There were smiles all around at that.

  “So that Felix Henderson can play video games from dawn to dusk.” Felix gave me a thumbs up.

  “So that Tim can drive a nice car, live in a nice house, and swim in a nice pool. And that is far more valuable than anything else. But that’s not all I would change.”

  The room was extremely quiet, the only noise the purr of the air conditioner units situated right outside.

  “I would bring his little brother back. You see, while Tim’s dad was away, fighting for all of us, his brother died. Just like that and he didn’t get to see him again, to hold him, to tell him how much he loved him. He was only able to attend his funeral and go back to work. That left Tim and his mom here to deal with their grief, and even after all these years, the pain is still fresh.”

  Tears slipped down Tim’s cheeks unchecked. I kept going.

  “I slept in his room, Justin Cooper. I lay in his bed. I handled his things. I felt like I was intruding, being where I should not. Except then I realized I was given the best thing, the very thing Justin would have wanted his brother to have. Love.”