by Avery Kirk
I looked back at Dave. He stirred and opened his eyes. They were open only for a moment before he closed them and fell back to sleep, but it was such a great relief to see him open them on his own without someone opening them to pass a flashlight over them. I thought back to the paramedics screaming his name to try to get him back to consciousness.
We left after about an hour of my Grampa talking to his parents and after Dave opened his eyes. His father didn’t say much while we were there; he sat in the corner of the room looking pissed with his arms crossed. His mother cried almost the entire time and asked my Grampa a bunch of questions that he would have no way of answering. They rehashed the story of what had happened about six times adding new details each time. Dave’s mother kissed me on my hands for pulling him out of the water. Then, she hugged my head against her stomach which I found odd.
It was on the way home that I remembered Kevin. He had been waiting for me. I explained our plans to my Grampa and what happened with Lanie. I figured he would be understanding about it, especially after what had happened. Plus, he liked Kevin so even if he didn’t understand, he still probably wouldn’t object to me spending time with him. As soon as we got home, I called Kevin and told him what happened with Dave. He understood, of course and wasn’t mad. It also explained why I didn’t answer his repeated phone calls.
I decided to grab the original Superman movie since I owned it, and see if we could salvage any part of the morning’s plan to veg all day. I pulled up into the driveway of Kevin’s house and suddenly felt sad. I was replaying the events of the afternoon in my head and kept picturing the slow image of Dave when I flipped him face first into the water to try and pull him out. His relaxed features and vulnerable body at my mercy as I did my best to get him out of the water. The image played over and over in my mind. It haunted me.
After I was able to dull the image or at least distract myself from it, I walked to Kevin’s door and knocked. He opened it and walked back into the kitchen, still in his black pajama pants and gray T-shirt even though it was just about three in the afternoon. His T-shirt was partially stuck in the waistband of his pants. He had dark circles under his puffy eyes and his hair was sticking up in every direction. I let the screen door close behind me.
“I wanted to ask you if you’d go to California with me. I’m buying. You know, paying. On me.” I blurted out.
Kevin turned his head toward me before he spun around slowly.
“Huh?” he said. “Wait, how is Dave?”
“He looked OK” I said, instantly sad as I remembered. “He's stable, they said.” I didn’t bother to tell him that I pulled him out.
“Why the hell would he take the boat out on his own?” Kevin asked.
“I dunno. I mean, he’s an adult. We treat him like he’s younger but he’s not. He knows how old he is. Anyway, he got into a fight with his parents about that very topic. I’m guessing that was why.”
Kevin nodded. “Now what is this other thing you’re talking about? California?” he rubbed his forehead back and forth with this open hand.
“I have tickets to go. Random, right? I am going to go either way-but I wondered if you might want to go-you know, with me. It’s in like a week and a half. And I’m probably crazy. But, I’ve just decided to go. I actually put a ticket in your name. That part doesn’t really matter. It’s not to pressure you. But It’s just for a long weekend. Not like a week or anything. Quick trip. I still have to mention it to Murray, actually. Well, and my Grampa.” I rambled, looking down.
“Is this about the dreams?” he asked, sounding totally lost. He looked exhausted and with all that had happened today, I forgot about his breakup with Lanie. I paused, realizing that I shouldn’t have dropped this on him.
“You know what? Let’s watch the movie. We can talk about it after. OK?” I wasn’t waiting for a response. I walked toward the TV and popped the movie on, feeling pretty bad that he’d just dealt with female drama the night before and here I’d just doubled it.
We were sitting next to each other on the sofa in the first and third cushion. Kevin’s sofa was a honey colored thick-ribbed corduroy sofa. I had pulled the ottoman from the other sitting area over so we could use it. Given the way the day had gone, that was the extent of our veg day.
About a third of the way through the movie, Kevin grabbed the remote and paused the movie. It was the part where Lois, who has the worst luck ever, is about to fall out of the helicopter. He looked over at me.
“I’ll go.” He said.
“Huh?” I said.
“To California. I’ll go with you.”
“You don’t even know when.”
“It doesn’t matter.” He said, stretching and making his voice sound funny.
“Why?”
“I haven’t had a vacation in a while, I have flexibility in my work schedule right now and I don’t have a girlfriend to explain it to. And I like hanging out with you. Nothing else matters, especially if you’re going to go either way. So, I’m in. When do we leave?”
“Next week, Thursday.” I said. My heart swelled with happiness. “Thank you.” I told him. I gave him a big bear hug while Superman stood frozen on the screen.
I spent the next half hour talking to Kevin about the trip. He said he wanted to reserve the hotel. I was fine with it as long as he used my credit card for it. We planned to rent a car which he insisted on paying for. Apart from that, he didn’t ask much about my reasons-yet-and I didn’t volunteer to tell him. We talked a lot about Dave too.
It wasn’t the veg day I was planning and I was bummed about that. But, I was able to get my friend out of the water and talk to my Grampa a little. And, Kevin said he would go with me to California. Turned out to be a pretty good day.
Chapter 11: Two Signs
I worked in the morning at the house in Bingham Farms only for a few hours. I’d planned to tell Murray about my trip, thinking I would see him at the house, but he let me finish the job on my own so I didn’t see him.
I’d never finished a job on my own before, but I remembered to leave the customer recommendations sheet on the counter and the How to care for your new wood cabinets sheet with two bottles of our recommended cleaner and contact info for any questions. I’d gone through to ensure that the cabinet doors were all the same distance apart, flush with the edges and closed at the same depth. They were very nicely made so I had to adjust very few.
The kitchen was perfectly square at about 20 feet per side. The cabinets were white with classic half-moon cupped pulls and a butcher block counter top on the wall cabinets and recycled glass counters in brown and blue on the island. There were glass door fronts on the corner cabinets and open shelves for display on the wall next to the gigantic stove and oven combo. I grabbed my glass cleaner and gave them a final cleaning. Then, I made my way to the fireplace to set a second leaflet on the new mantel and leave a bottle of wood conditioner for them. I didn’t want to rush through the job but it was hard not to because I really wanted to get to the grocery store and get the stuff for Grampa’s dinner and try to visit Dave in the hospital on the way home.
By about 3:30, I had all my groceries waiting in the car while I rushed into the hospital to see Dave. In the hallway, outside his room, I heard his signature hollow sounding voice irritated with the man next to him for snoring. I laughed to myself.
I walked into the room. Dave had been attempting to play cards with a man I’d never seen before.
“Hi Dave!” I said. I brought him a dancing flower toy that I found at the grocery store and set it on his table, turning it on. He laughed.
“That’s awesome! Thanks Melia.” He said. The man stood up, extending his hand to me. I shook it although he grabbed only my fingers which I hated. He was a short man in his 50s, maybe. He wore a plaid shirt and a burgundy V-neck sweater vest over it. He had a diamond stud earring in his left ear and a little bit of curly gray hair left.
“I’m Tom, I work at the school Dave attends. I came to visi
t him after I heard what had happened. We’ve been trying to play Euchre, but it just isn’t the same with two non-existent players.” He laughed and pointed to the face down cards where he and Dave must have been trying to play the other two players’ hands.
I smiled. The man’s face grew serious just as something seemed to occur to him.
“Oh my goodness-this is Melia?” he looked at Dave.
Dave nodded proudly.
Tom leaned over and shook my hand again. I was prepared this time and slid my hand into his farther for a proper handshake, no fingers-only crap.
“I’ve heard so much about you. And your recent heroics too, of course. What an excellent person Dave has as his neighbor. I told him that he’s very lucky for many reasons.” Tom said.
“Oh thank you.” I said.
“Melia, you saved me.” Dave said, his eyes watering. He still had a cough, a bandage on his head, and an oxygen tube in his nose but looked fine otherwise. I was desperate for him not to cry.
“Yep, I scooped you out.” I said, rubbing his shoulder. I wanted to ask what the hell he was thinking taking the boat out, but I didn’t want to embarrass him in front of his teacher. Plus, it didn’t seem like something he would be doing again anytime soon.
Dave put his hands out and seemed to want my hand so I held it out to him. He scooted more upright in his bed and waited for me to give him both hands. His hands were super soft and fluffy in comparison to mine. He took my first two fingers in both of my hands and laid them across each other. Then he flipped my left hand so my wrist faced the ceiling, curling my fingers into each other. He took his hands away and made the same symbol with his hands.
“Friend.” he said, his voice strangled with emotion.
I looked up at him and tears were streaming down his face. His upper eyelashes stuck together where they were soaked with tears. I was leaning down toward him and he put his hands on both sides of my face and stared at me for a few seconds. He didn’t have to say anything. I knew he was grateful and I swallowed hard. I studied his features. His soft round eyes, pale skin, unevenly shaven face, and eyes as dark as night with short and black wet eyelashes. Yes, he was my friend-ever since I could remember. He let go of my face and wiped his nose with the back of his hand. I stood up, swallowing back my tears again and trying not to think about the image that had haunted me before. I replaced it with the newer image of Dave’s face filled with gratitude as he held mine and the new sign he’d taught me. We were quiet for a moment and Dave spoke first.
“Oh hey Mr. Tom. I forgot. Melia wanted to know a sign. Remember Melia? Do it for Mr. Tom. Please.”
I had forgotten about that. I felt a little sheepish and I’m sure my body language showed it, but I did ask Dave to check for me. So, I did the sign from my dream for the man on the other side of the bed. The crossed wrists in front of my face. I fully expected him to say ‘it doesn’t mean anything.’ He didn’t.
“Oh, um. That means ‘protect’ I think. Yes, protect.” Tom said, doing the sign with his arms.
“Cool.” Dave said. “Like a shield.”
No way. Adrenaline rushed through me. I nodded and stood up.
“Dave, I’m sorry I only had a few minutes. I have to get home I’m making a big dinner for my Grampa for his birthday. All his favorite stuff.” I said. “I’ll see you soon, OK?”
“Aww….OK Melia. That’s so nice. See you.” Dave said, waving.
Tom shook my hand again as I rushed past him.
After I got home, I was able to make all the recipes that I could remember my Grampa liking. Perch with lemon, blueberry muffins, green beans with almonds, waldorf salad, and spoon rolls. Each recipe was easy to follow because my Gramma typed them up on a typewriter. There were a few White-Out blobs. On the perch recipe, she’d written in pencil: Don’t flip too much or it won’t brown right. I remembered my Gramma saying ‘the secret is really the butter’.
I smiled as I realized that the same foil under the gas burners had been there since she last cooked. I guess that was proof that we made a little too much food in the microwave.
I washed each pan as soon as I was done using it. My Grampa tried to help when he got home, but I wouldn’t allow it. I asked him to set the table with the orange mushroom plates that my Gramma bought when I was little. She had told me that there were probably fairies hidden behind the mushrooms in an effort to get me to eat my food.
After dinner, I gave my Grampa his gift. I’d wrapped it in the comics section of the Sunday newspaper. My mom always did that with our gifts.
“I thought this dinner was my gift!” he said, clearly surprised. “Honey, really. This is too much.”
“Open it, I’m excited.” I said.
He very carefully unwrapped the box and admired the picture on the cardboard sleeve, nodding the whole time. ‘Will ya look at that’ he kept saying. I just watched him. He had an argyle sweater on that he usually wore for special occasions. It made me smile that he thought my dinner was a special occasion. His nose had been broken twice when he was in the service so it was almost cartoon character large. He had his coffee cup next to him. He drank coffee all day every day. I smiled.
“Slide it off, check them out.” I said to him.
He gently slid the cardboard sleeve off and ran his hands over the smooth wooden case.
“Oak?” he said, looking at me.
I smiled. “Think so.”
He carefully unlatched the box and opened it up to reveal the router bits.
For a moment of terror, I realized that I should’ve opened the box because this is the shipment where the blue Temecula shirt came. I was intensely afraid suddenly that there was a new message inside the router bits. I panicked since I couldn’t see inside and my Grampa’s expression had changed. Oh God, what. What else could possibly be sent to me? I already booked the damn trip. I was going. Please don’t bring my Grampa into this. I couldn’t bear explaining the whole thing to him. He looked up at me and it felt like my heart stopped.
“Carbide coated, my word. These are just beautiful, honey. Thank you.” He said, picking one up to examine it.
I smiled mechanically and stood up abruptly to get a better look over the opened lid. There was nothing in the box other than the router bits. I sighed deeply.
“You’re welcome.”
I ran my fingers across them just to ensure that they were all there and I wasn’t insane. I sat down again.
“Mel, thank you for all of this. What a great gift-all of it. I want to take a minute and talk with you since I have you all to myself tonight, he said as he re-closed the case.
“What about?” I said. I was still not fully relaxed.
“I don’t want you to get upset with me. I’m only bringing it up because I care. But, there are some things I see in you that worry me a bit. Behaviors that worry me. I want to ask you to deal with some of them and I can help you if you need me to. I just want you to know that I think you are-well, I think you’re wonderful and I’m very proud of you. You’ve had it rough the last few years, and well, I’d move mountains for you. I just want you to know that.”
“Thanks Gramps.” I said in a whisper. “I’m sure things will get better after my trip.” I hoped those words were true.
My Grampa looked at me, his head leaned to the side.
“What trip?” he asked.
Crap. I’d totally forgotten to tell him. How could I forget?
“Oh. I can’t believe I didn’t mention it.” I shook my head.
I took my time to answer. Every spin I ran through in my mind wasn’t quite right. If I led with ‘Kevin broke up with his girlfriend’ then he might think I was going there for very different reasons. I couldn’t mention my crazy stuff because any rational person would conclude that I was insane if they hadn’t witnessed the stuff happening. I pictured him blocking the doors if I went that route. It just wasn’t going to be easy.
“I was-well-Kevin and I planned a trip to California-just for a long weeke
nd. He broke up with Lanie so you don’t have to ask how she feels about it. But, it doesn’t change anything. We’re just going as friends. You know, to check stuff out. I’m sorry I didn’t mention it before. I don’t know where my head has been.”
My Grampa was quiet for a couple of minutes. He sat jabbing at his dinner when I interrupted.
“Grampa, I’m not going to be doing anything wrong. Just checking stuff out. Just a quick trip.”
He nodded. “You are twenty four years old now. Not much I can do about it. I just wish you’d thought enough to tell me.”
“I’m sorry.”
“How long you been planning this?” he asked a little louder.
“Not long at all. About a week or so ago.” I said, feeling like a terrible person.
He nodded again. “Will you please leave me your itinerary?”
“For sure.”
“Your Gramma’s yellow suitcase is in the closet in the hall if you need it.”
“OK thank you. It’s in about a week and a half so I’ll pull it out in a few days.”
“I hear it’s real pretty there.” He said. “Should bring the camera.”
I nodded. “Yeah, I hear that too. I’m kind of excited.” I might have lied. I’m sure what I felt was anxiety, not excitement.
He stood up with his plate in his hand and kissed me on top of my head.
“Now then,” he said, looking at his watch, “How’s about a little Wheel of Fortune?”
“Deal.” I said.
Chapter 12: Loose Ends
It was Saturday. The trip was less than a week away. It was time to tell Murray. I wanted to be sure I told him before he and my Grampa got to talking too much about it before I went. I didn’t want anyone trying to talk me out of anything. My mind was made up.
I had to meet with Murray to give him the keys to the Bloomfield house since he was seeing the contractor. The homeowner was weird about a lock box and insisted that the contractor manage just a few sets of keys. Stupid if you ask me.