An Ordinary Me

by Brooklyn Taylor

  “Ya, when Dylan was telling me I felt really bad for Garrison.”

  “I wish I could talk to him about it.”

  “NO! You are not supposed to know anything. I wouldn’t have even told you but I wanted you to know since you were giving yourself a hernia trying to figure it out. Now we know why he is different. Not many people know and it is never talked about. Dylan said some jocks were joking around one time with him over it and asking him if he could hook them up with some weed and Garrison lost it. He apparently beat the shit out of one of them. He got into some big trouble but the counselor and principal know the deets of the parents so they didn’t put him through what they normally would have in these circumstances.”

  I didn’t feel like studying anymore so I started to close up all the books and stood up to put them up.

  “Are you okay, Reese?”

  “Yeah, I just feel bad.”

  “Anyone would that knew what happened. It sucks.”

  “That’s one way of putting it.”

  “Does it make you feel differently about him?”

  “Yeah it does. I like him even more now.”

  Garrison wasn’t ordinary. He was even more gorgeous inside than he was on the outside to make it alive out of that horrible situation of something I couldn’t even imagine. Was it just the fact that I couldn’t have him making me like him so much more?

  ~ ~ ~

  Garrison always seems so happy to hear about my family life. I started to think after our walk earlier, and maybe he is right, maybe I am luckier than I thought and took it for granted more than I had noticed.

  I walked through the house looking for Mom to ask her a question.

  I found her in the laundry room sorting clothes for wash day.

  “Mom, do you think I could invite Garrison over for dinner?”

  “Garrison who?”

  “Just a guy I know. He doesn’t live too far from here, a couple of streets over. He doesn’t have the type of family that sits down for dinner. He’s a really nice guy.”

  “Boyfriend?”

  “No! Just a friend.”

  “Sure, you can invite him to taco night.”

  “Thanks, Mom, not sure he’ll come but I’ll invite him.”

  “You’re welcome. The more the merrier. Foxy will probably be jealous since she won’t get as many leftovers.”

  “She’ll get over it. I’ll just cook her come extra bacon this weekend.”

  I walk back to my room and text him inviting him to join us.

  Reese: Hey! We are having taco night on Thursday. You think you might want to come over?

  Reese: You can meet my family. My dad makes the best hot sauce around. I guarantee you will be tasting it for a minimum of two days. J/K LOL!

  Garrison: What time?

  Reese: Six.

  Garrison: I’ll be there. I love tacos!

  Reese: YAY! I’ll let them know. Mom loves to have dinner guests over.

  Okay, small white lie. Mom stressed when we had company over wanting everyone to be happy, but nevertheless I’m glad he accepted.

  Garrison

  I show up at Reese’s a little early at 5:45. I haven’t had a home cooked meal since my aunt came over a couple of months ago. Normally I live off macaroni and cheese, grilled cheese and pizza. I don’t remember the last time I had tacos. My dad used to love them, though, before he was locked up.

  Reese was in the front yard playing with Foxy and a younger girl that looked just like her but with dark hair.

  Reese walks up and gives me her sweet grin. She is wearing a sundress that accented her tan. She looks cute as hell in it. It’s red and matches her brown hair perfectly.

  “Hi, Garrison.”

  “Hi, Reese. Thanks for inviting me.”

  “You bet. This is my little sister Natalie.” She put out her hand for me to shake it, and I leaned down to kiss it instead. She blushed and smiled.

  “Nice to meet you, Natalie.”

  “Dinner should be ready in just a bit. You want to go in and meet my parents?”

  “That sentence is not something I would normally say yes to but if they are anything like you, I think I am going to like them.”

  “Thanks, and you will. They are pretty cool.”

  I follow Reese into her home and to the kitchen. Her parents are in there cooking together laughing and listening to music. Her mom tastes something off a spoon that he is holding to her mouth and she is laughing.

  “Mom, Dad, this is Garrison Davis. Garrison, these are my parents.”

  I shake her father’s hand first and then her mother’s. Reese looked just like her mother. They could in fact be sisters. The exact same smile and beautiful dark eyes.

  “Nice to meet you both. Reese has told me a lot about you.”

  “So nice to have you here with us for tacos. I hope you survive my husband’s hot sauce. It is super spicy tonight. I think he’s trying to kill me.” She winked at me.

  “Thank you for having me. I’m sure I’ll love it. It’s nice just to have a home cooked meal.”

  “You’re welcome anytime, sweetie,” her mother replied.

  “Go ahead and help yourself to something to drink. We have tea, Dr. Pepper, which is Reese’s fave, water or milk.”

  “Thank you, ma’am.”

  I grabbed myself some tea and sat down at the table. Dinner was laid out all in front of me like a little taco buffet. It was the best meal I had seen in a long time.

  I was nervous sitting at the dinner table since I normally eat standing up at the kitchen counter or in my bedroom. It was really nice and they made me feel welcome which was a first. I could totally see where Reese got her personality from. The environment was very easygoing, with easy conversation and just enjoying each other’s company.

  When we finished dinner, Reese started to clear the table with Natalie and I tried to stand up to help, but Mr. Owens asked me to sit back down.

  “You’re a guest you don’t have to do that.”

  “I don’t mind. Mrs. Owens cooked a delicious meal. Thank ya’ll again for having me.”

  The girls were in the kitchen doing dishes and it got suddenly quiet between Mr. Owens and me.

  I don’t have the best report with men so I was starting to feel uncomfortable.

  “Are you related to Ellen Davis by any chance?”

  Crap. This is what I did not want to deal with. If he knows my aunt he knows my father.

  “Yes, sir, I am. She is my aunt.”

  “I know your aunt Ellen. We all went to high school together.”

  “I love my aunt Ellen. I would not be here today if it wasn’t for her. She is an angel. I am very thankful for her.”

  “She is a wonderful woman. Always was. She had a caring spirit even in school. She loved her brother dearly but knew there was no saving him.” He had apparently already connected the dots.

  “I know. I wish it could have been different.”

  “Well, everyone is responsible for their own decisions. There was nothing her parents could have done or her, for that matter, once he made up his mind.”

  I shrugged my head and bowed my head in shame of my dad. I understand clearly what he was saying. I didn’t want him to look at me differently knowing who my father was. I felt ashamed, a feeling I knew all too well. He must have sensed it because he cleared the air as quickly as he could.

  “Garrison, I don’t come from the happiest of homes. It is one of the reasons I am the father I am today. I was judged all my life by my father’s actions. I hope you know and I speak for Mrs. Owens as well we would never judge you by decisions you had no part in. Do you understand what I am saying?”

  I nodded my head confirming I was listening but rendered speechless.

  Mr. Owens continued, “My dad was a horrible alcoholic. He was either telling me how useless I was or slapping me around. Reese knows very little about my father, and I want to keep it that way. I will say that the miserable life I had growing up only
made me a better man. Your parents are kind of the luck of the draw if you will. Some people get good parents, some don’t. If you get the parents who aren’t good, then still love yourself enough to go after what you want out of life. Sometimes the only connection with your parents is that they gave you life. There is a lot more to a parent than just giving life, but too many parents don’t understand that. I didn’t let what my father had told me all my life stick in my head. I survived. And you can too. I’m not saying it wasn’t hard as hell, it was, but it can be done.”

  “Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.” Well that makes two people that may possibly understand where I am coming from. I let out a deep breath.

  Reese

  Mom, Natalie and I are in the kitchen doing the dishes and Dad and Garrison are in the dining room eating. I’m a little worried about what they are discussing and wonder if I should go check on him. My dad is always a gentleman so I know he would never do anything to make him uncomfortable. Maybe they are talking football? Or colleges?

  Natalie starts giggling. “I think you like him.”

  “What?” I laugh.

  “I agree,” Mom chimes in.

  “Why is that?”

  “You keep messing with your hair and you smile at him when he talks,” Natalie said matter of fact.

  “Maybe I do a little. But he doesn’t like me that way. We are just friends.”

  “That can always change…” Mom stated.

  “I doubt it. He is a senior and he is gorgeous, incredibly talented…”

  “And?” Mom asked.

  “I’m ordinary.”

  “That’s absurd. You are beautiful. You are smart. You’re an amazing dancer. You are full of life, and I could go on and on.”

  “You’re my mom and you have to say that.”

  Natalie laughed. “I think he likes you too.”

  “No, he doesn’t, not like that.”

  Mom backs her up. “I’m pretty sure your little sister is right. I’ve seen the way he looks at you.”

  “I don’t think so…”

  “Well, time will tell.” Mom was sure of her statement.

  Did she see something I didn’t? Surely not… we are just friends, aren’t we?

  Chapter 9

  Reese

  I asked Garrison if he could give me a ride home when I saw him in the hall this morning. He agreed but said he would have to stop by his house to run in real quick to get his drum gear otherwise he would be late. I was already breaking a strict rule of riding with a teenager and I knew if I got caught doing it I would be grounded again. I informed Garrison of the rule, and he said he would drop me off a street over. Sounded like a plan to me.

  I met Garrison at his truck and only had to wait a few minutes. I had never been in Garrison’s truck, and I thought for a minute how odd that was since we were such good friends. He unlocked the passenger door for me and held it open for me. He turned the radio up singing along to some song I couldn't identify. He accented the parts of the song he liked and I couldn't help but laugh out loud. He had his arm up over the back off the seat, and I wondered what it would be like to be the lucky girl who sat in the middle of the truck right beside him where his arm cradled. To be in his nook like I was on the Ferris wheel.

  We pulled up to his house and for the first time I saw a car at his home. It was an

  old four door family car. “I’ll be right back.”

  ‘“K.”

  I turned the music back up and listened while waiting for him. I waited for about ten minutes and then checked my phone for the time wondering what was keeping him.

  I waited another ten minutes and decided to take my chances and went up to the house. I knocked on the front glass door and looked in but didn’t see anything. I knocked again.

  I opened the door just a crack. “Garrison…”

  I waited a few minutes listening but heard nothing.

  “Garrison…”

  I hear a voice from a back room. “Go home, Reese. I’m sorry.”

  “What’s wrong? Do you need help?”

  “No! No! I don’t need anything.”

  “Garrison…”

  “Go!”

  “I am not going until I know you are okay.”

  “Just, please go outside and I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

  I paced the porch back and forth a hundred times waiting for him to come out. Should I just leave and walk home?

  Garrison came out and his shirt was soaked. He stood at the end of the porch looking at out in the yard in a blank stare.

  “I really think it is best that you go, Reese.”

  I walk over to him and put my hand on his shoulder. “Are you okay?”

  He pulled back. “No, I am not okay.”

  He sat on the step and put his hands on his head. “Please, Reese, please just go and I’ll explain later.”

  I sat beside him and held his hand. I could hear him taking deep breaths and noticed tears rolling down his face from under his hands.

  “My mom was here. She was passed out on the living room floor, covered in vomit.”

  He turned and looked at me. “Don’t you get it? I AM NO GOOD FOR YOU! Just look at me. Look what I come from. Even as a friend. My dad is in prison for dealing drugs and my mom is an addict. This is my life. I am sick of it. I am sick of what I deal with everyday.”

  “I’m sorry, Gar…”

  He stood up. “Stop! I don’t want to hear it. Now do you see?”

  “I don’t know what you mean?”

  “PLEASE LEAVE, Reese, please…” I could see the look of scared desperation on his face so I got up and without saying a word, I walked to the truck to get my bag and then walked home. There was nothing left for me to say.

  ~ ~ ~

  I felt like I was in a trance walking home.

  The first thing I did when I got home was go to the kitchen to hug my mom. She was shocked and teared up.

  “Is everything okay, Reese? Not that I’m complaining.”

  “No… for me yes everything is okay but not for Garrison.”

  “Sit and talk to me.”

  She got me a Dr. Pepper and a bag of barbeque chips she buys just for me and sat at the table.

  I sat and took a drink of my Dr. Pepper. “Mom, you can’t imagine what he has to go through.” I start to tear up.

  Mom didn’t say anything but instead held my hand.

  “I know I’m not supposed to ride home with a teenager but I asked him to give me a ride because I had to stay late to correct a paper in math.”

  “I know.”

  “You know what?”

  “I might be old now, honey, but I haven’t always been. You pulling the “around the block crap” with me?”

  I couldn’t say anything. I was busted.

  “Reese, I did the same thing. I have to trust you now. I hope you have the judgment not to ride with someone you shouldn’t. I have to trust you are going to make the right choices.”

  “Mom…”

  “Go on.”

  “I waited in his truck as he had to run by his house to get drum gear for practice.”

  “And…”

  “I waited and waited. And nothing… I started to get worried he wasn’t coming out so I went to his door and knocked. Again, nothing. I cracked the door and yelled his name and he told me to go away.”

  She was silent. I know she tried to protect me from anything bad.

  “I told him I wasn’t leaving till I knew what was going on and that he was okay. He came out on the porch wet like he showered with his shirt on. Mom, he told me that his mom had passed out. I think on drugs or drinking… he didn’t say.” I stared at my hands that were holding my canned soda.

  “He said his dad was in prison for drugs. He said that he was not even good enough to be my friend. That he was bad for me…”

  I started to cry. She put her hand on my back to calm me. She had done this all my life rubbing soft circles on it.

  “Reese, the worl
d is ugly. You are about to be a junior in high school. You are going to unfortunately see more and more bad the older you get.”

  “I just feel so bad for him. I have these feelings for him but he won’t let us be anything more than friends. I get it all now… I already knew his dad was in prison. Dylan, his friend had told Autumn and she told me.”