Permanent Adhesives

by Melissa T. Liban

  “Yeah,” my team said.

  “Winning is the prize,” Brian said.

  “In a way, it would be a prize for everybody.”

  “What do you want?”

  “The shway faind in the garage.”

  “What?” Brian asked. That time I was pretty sure Brian wasn’t being a total jerk because it took me a sec to figure out what shway faind was.

  “The ssssshway…” Elias started. He then tried again. “The sssshpp…” He gave up trying to say spray and made like he was spray painting with his hand.

  Brian looked like he was still trying to process what Elias was getting at. His mouth was partially parted and his eyebrows slightly drawn in.

  “Are you really that dense? He wants the spray paint ya dumb nut,” Kate said.

  Brain put his hands on his hips. “Be nice to me. I’m letting you paint me naked.” Brian gave Kate a toothy grin and rubbed the palms of his hands together.

  A cry of ewws rung out from everybody in the yard.

  “Kate, Elias can talk for himself,” I said.

  Kate looked and pointed the foam sword she held at me. “You’re talking for him right now.”

  Elias fake coughed, raising his hand, letting us know he was still there.

  “Hey,” Brian said to Elias. “Can you talk normal if you tried?”

  “Brian!” Kate and I both shouted.

  Elias’ face turned about fifty shades of red. He then reached into his pocket, pulled out his phone, and started a text.

  “Look man, I’m sorry,” Brian said. “You don’t have to resort to non-verbal communication because of me, but seriously.”

  I would have told Brian to fuck off, but Elias was too nice. Elias sighed and started talking very slowly. He then explained that if he concentrates and tries hard, he can say some words properly, but then it would take him forever to say a sentence, and with some words, no matter how hard he tries, they just don’t come out right.

  Brian pursed his lips together. “Okay, I think I got it. You need to talk more, so I can get used to, uh, you know.”

  Elias responded with a shrug.

  “You can have the spray paint. I don’t think my mom would care. She used it to color a couple of lawn chairs and hasn’t touched it since.”

  “What do you want the spray paint for?” Nicki asked, coming over and sitting on the ground next to where Elias was standing. This prompted Elias to sit and everybody else followed suit.

  Elias seemed hesitant to answer at first. He looked down at his phone gripped in his hand, but with a sigh he responded. “Well, one, it’s not sold in the city and two, if you go to the burbs to buy it, you have to be eighteen, but I figured we can make stencils, like ones that say The Society of Prodigious Superbness.”

  “Ah, like an expansion of the stickers and your guys’ wheat pasting,” Kate said.

  “Yes and we could use some extra help. Get more coverage across the city and we could definitely use some lookouts too,” Elias said with a little more confidence in his voice.

  “Totally in,” Kate said.

  “Me too,” chimed in others.

  “Oh, Molly, with our get together tomorrow, song recording and what not, we should move it to your house,” Kate said.

  “Why?” Red flags shot up in my brain.

  “Doesn’t Elias live across from you?”

  “Yeah.”

  “You two are the head honchos, and then we don’t have to drag all the stuff to my house. We can just help Elias bring it across the street.”

  “I dunno.”

  “C’mon Molly.”

  I sighed.

  “It’s settled then,” Kate said, throwing me a smile even though I didn’t even agree to it. She took my sigh as if I was giving into her, like a hey fine whatever, but it was really a sigh of dear lord, do not let this happen.

  I looked over at Elias, and he gave me a slight nod. It was like he was trying to let me know it was going to be okay. “Oh, and something else,” Elias said.

  “What?” Kate and Brian asked.

  “Maybe we should have a Sunday morning meeting at Quirks for everybody else. We can toss around ideas. Make a schedule for those others who want to help.”

  “What more ideas do you have because you’re kinda the one with all of them,” Anna said.

  “They’re not all my ideas, but if we keep with the theme of our campaign so far, there are so many other forms of street art to explore. Like there’s this one guy somewhere and he makes these statues of people out of tape, and they look pretty real, and he puts them like standing on ledges of buildings and sticking outta pipes and stuff.”

  “Hey,” Dean said. “The tape thing would be cool.”

  “And we could move past the street art thing or even pass it on to a like a street team we could put together and then focus on other stuff,” Elias said.

  “We could do more street corner dance parties,” Nicki said. “Oh my gosh, we could organize a flash mob. We could put it together online even, or have a couple meet ups where we show everybody the dance moves.”

  “That is brilliant,” Kate said with a smile. “We could dance to the song we record tomorrow. This could be epic.”

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down guys. One thing at a time, okay?” I said. It all seemed like so much. It was that frickin self-doubt kicking in again.

  “Oh, this is out of your hands now Molly. The Society of Prodigious Superbness is going to turn into a revolution of superbness,” Kate said.

  “Okay, sure.”

  “Molly, this is just the beginning,” Kate said, stretching up her lip and exposing her teeth in some sort of frightful looking smile.

  “Okay, a revolution of superbness, just please stop making that face.”

  Kate put on a sweet smile and batted her lashes.

  “Wait, what are we revolting against?” Brian asked.

  “Yeah, what?” I asked. Brian posed a legitimate question.

  Kate shrugged. “I dunno. It just sounds good.”

  *************************

  Kate gave Elias and me a ride home. We threw his bike in the trunk. It kind of hung out partially, but Kate had a bungee cord, so that helped a bit. Kate gave a wave and drove off. I walked down the gangway to Elias’ backdoor.

  “You can just dump me here,” Elias said, leaning his bike against the building.

  “Elias?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Sorry about me speaking for you. I hope I didn’t make you feel…” My brain was searching for a word.

  “Don’t worry ‘bout it.”

  “Next time just tell me to shut up.”

  Elias smiled and scratched his nose.

  “Okay, see ya tomorrow.”

  “Okay.”

  “Oh, hey, how’s your head doing by the way?”

  Elias pushed back his hair to show me. His lump was still quite egg-shaped and a variety of colors: purple, yellow, blue.

  “Oh Jesus, that still looks bad.”

  “It’s okay.”

  I kissed the tip of two of my fingers and placed them over his bump. Elias grabbed my fingers and looked me in the eyes. “You sure ‘bout wanting to go out with me?”

  “Yes, after our get together tomorrow at my place, it will be just me and you.”

  “Okay,” Elias said, giving my fingers a little squeeze.

  “Tomorrow then.”

  Elias gave a half-crooked smile and waved.

  I walked home across the street and had a light happy feeling in my heart. It seemed it had a tendency to feel that way when I was around Elias. I’m glad I finally listened to it. Listening to my heart was something I needed to do more often.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Kate showed up at my apartment the next evening with a huge smile on her face. Roberto walked up behind her shaking his head. “Hey Roberto.”

  He smiled, gave me a fist bump, and went inside.

  Kate stayed in the hall smiling at me. “So, I paint
ed a naked nerd.”

  “Oh my gosh, I forgot all about that.”

  “Wow, is what I have to say.”

  “I don’t want to hear anymore,” I said, sticking out my tongue, pretending a fake retch.

  “You sure? Oh boy, it was wonderful. I plan on seeing Brian naked again, just not in the same context.”

  “Please stop or I will never be able to look at him again.”

  Kate chuckled and grinned. I shook my head, and we went inside. We had stuff to do.

  *************************

  After agreeing that we were all getting together for a secret midnight mission Monday night, we all got busy. Brian, Anna, Clark, and Dean worked on processing the orders. Tee-shirts, bubble mailers, pins, stickers, invoices, and hand written thank-you notes were strewn in a flood around them. We were shipping tee-shirts to a town in Iowa—seriously, Iowa. I know it’s not like some awesome destination, but our tee-shirts and pins were leaving our state; people from different states were actually reading my comic. I think in part because Elias registered my comic with Comic Planet. It’s this site with the top-rated webcomics, and people can vote on them and stuff; mine was currently ranked at fifty-two. I was happy that it even made it into the top one hundred, but through the days it just kept slowly rising in the ranks.

  While Brian, Anna, Clark, and Dean were working with the orders and such, Roberto, Nicki, and Reynaldo were working on making pins/buttons—whatever you want to call them—and cutting out stickers. Elias was teaching Kate his song. They were in my room, on my bed. With Elias’ phone, I recorded some of the activity out in the dining room and of Elias playing the keyboard and Kate signing; the song sounded pretty darn good. Elias was going to help me make some kind of video with the song and assorted footage of our workings and dancing on the corner and our art in various locations. Once Elias and Kate were done, they emerged from the room. Kate went and sat next to Brian, and Elias went and sprawled himself out on his back in the front room.

  “You guys sound great together,” I said, joining Elias on the floor with some scissors and stickers.

  “Ya think?”

  “Sure do.”

  Elias tried to stifle a yawn.

  “Tired?”

  “Not really.”

  “We’re just that dull?”

  “Exactly.”

  “You know what? I don’t think a kiss needs to wait for our date. I was wrong.” I leaned forward and was about to kiss him when the doorbell rang. I sighed and put my finger on his lips. “Hold that kiss.” I was assuming it was probably Janie, and she forgot her keys or was too lazy to dig them out of her bag, so I opened the front door that led out to the hallway and then without looking, opened the front door to the building while turning back to go inside. I just wanted at Elias’ beautiful lips at that moment, so I was trying to hurry, but then I smelled a stank musty odor and realized it wasn’t Janie.

  My dad shoved his way into the front hall with me. I turned, put my hands on my hips, and threw out a scowl.

  “Hello darling,” he said in a drunken slur.

  My brain immediately started screaming Oh holy crap, Oh holy crap! Seriously, out of all the times in the world, he had to pick that moment to show up. The one time I had people over. The one time I decided to take a chance. What was I thinking letting Kate talk me into having people over? God I was an idiot.

  “What?” I snapped.

  “I’m here to see your mother.”

  “She’s not home.”

  “She will be soon. I’m supposed to meet her.”

  “Well, come back later.”

  “No, I’ll just wait inside for her.”

  “You can’t.”

  “Oh, I can daughter.” I so did not want him entering the apartment. He stank to high heaven, his eyes were bloodshot, and he had his stupid shit-eating grin across his face.

  “No, I said no. Wait on the porch.”

  “Don’t you want to spend time with your dear old dad?”

  “I’m busy,” I said, even though deep down somewhere I wish I did have a decent dad to spend time with. One who wouldn’t be drunk and would come over for dinner, and we’d be like a normal family where we talk about our day or our plans for the weekend. Instead, I had my dad with whom I was holding a snide conversation with there in the hall.

  He ignored me and pushed pass down the hall and entered the apartment. Everybody kind of looked up when my dad walked in. I stood behind him probably looking kind of dumb because I’m sure I was frozen with my mouth hanging open. Kate looked at me and scrunched up her nose and mouthed, “What’s your dad doing here?”

  I put my hands up, shrugged my shoulders, and shook my head. “In the kitchen,” I whispered to my dad’s back.

  He turned towards me with his stupid grin. “Are these your friends?”

  “They were just leaving, right guys?”

  “They don’t have to leave on account of me,” my dad said with fake sweetness in his voice. He then spotted Elias, who sat up and was pretending the carpet was somehow very interesting.

  “Oh, it’s Ewiash,” my dad said.

  “Stop,” I murmured through my teeth.

  Elias didn’t look up. He just sucked on his bottom lip.

  “What Molly, that’s his name isn’t it? That’s how he says it himself is it not? Ewiash and his baby talk.”

  Elias clasped his hands behind his head and drew his elbows in so they were covering the sides of his face. I guess it was a version of hiding without going anywhere. Everybody else sat there not saying anything and looking very uncomfortable. My dad crossed his arms, tilted his head, and just stared at Elias. It was almost as if he was challenging him, but Elias didn’t look up. I then heard the jangling of keys, and my mom appeared behind me in the doorway.

  “What’s going on?” I asked my mom before she could say anything or take off her coat.

  “I’m glad you’re home,” she said.

  I didn’t like it already. Somehow I had a sneaking suspicion why my mom and dad were getting together and talking.

  She looked all around the dining room and into the front room. “I didn’t know you were having friends over.”

  “I didn’t know he was going to be here,” I retorted, pointing a finger at my dad.

  “We have some things to discuss with your father.”

  “Oh no,” I said. “I’m not discussing anything involving him.”

  “Molly Astrid Pearson,” my mom said sternly.

  I put my hands over my face. “Ahhh,” I screamed into them.

  “Let’s just all go in the kitchen, huh?” my mom said, like it was going to magically cure the situation.

  I shook my head no.

  “Listen to your mother Molly,” my dad said.

  “Excuse me?” I said about fifty octaves too high. Oh, he so had no right to tell me what to do, none whatsoever. He lost that privilege long ago. I then felt a gentle touch on my shoulder. I looked behind me to see Elias.

  “We’re gonna go. I’ll wait outside, okay?” Elias said in a barely audible tone.

  My dad looked at Elias with a nefarious grin. Before my dad could insult him, Elias slipped out the door, with everybody else getting up. Nicki, Roberto, and Kate were trying to clean up our mess. “Just leave it guys,” I said, feeling tears starting to build.

  “We’ll be in the kitchen,” my mom said.

  I ignored her and talked to Kate. “Yeah, it’s fine.”

  “You gonna be okay?” Kate asked.

  I shrugged because I really had the slightest idea.

  “Bye Molly,” Nicki said, waving and exiting.

  I waved and then Roberto came and threw out a quick hug. Before Kate left she stuck her hands on my shoulders. “You’ll be fine. You’re strong. I think I’ll wait outside with Elias.”

  I was going to tell her no, don’t worry about it, but I couldn’t get the words out because I was trying to hold my tears in. After Kate and the rest left, I stood in the
middle of the dining room. My heart was racing, my tears were threatening, and I was feeling anxious all over. I pressed my tongue to the roof of my mouth to try to hold it all in.

  “Molly!” my mom yelled from the kitchen.

  I dropped my shoulders, sighed, and trudged into the kitchen. My mom was making coffee, and my dad was sitting with his arms crossed. He tilted his head and smiled. It made me instantly want to bolt, but before I could my mom said, “Have a seat Molly.”

  “”I’m standing,” I said, shifting from foot-to-foot.

  “So, you friends with Laura’s kid now?” my dad asked.

  “Yeah, and?”

  “There’s something wrong with him.”

  “No there’s not. He’s perfectly fine. He just has a speech disorder.”

  “Call it what you want, there’s still something wrong with him, up here too,” my dad said, tapping the side of his head.

  “Probably cuz you’re so mean to him.”

  “Me, you should hear his mother. I’m mild in comparison.”

  “That still doesn’t give you the right.”

  “I’m just messing with him.”

  “I doubt that. What’s this all about anyways?”

  My mom finished her coffee preparation and sat down. She still had on what she wore to work—a snowman sweater, black knit pants, and some taupe shoes that looked pretty orthopedic. “We were thinking about letting your dad move in.”

  “What!” I shrieked so loud I’m sure the residents a few blocks over heard.

  “Molly,” my mom said calmly.

  “No, no, this is not happening.” I could feel my face turn a bright red. “No, no, no, no!” I shouted. I thought we were done with all that. My mom broke free, or so I believed. I swallowed down my heart. It was trying to beat itself out of my body by way of my esophagus.

  “Janie and I were talking…”

  “Janie, she agreed to this!” I yelled.

  “Molly, stop yelling. It isn’t necessary,” my mom said.

  “Yes, it is! This isn’t going to happen.”

  “We have no money Molly. We need help.”

  “Mother, it’s called child support. I’m still a minor, file for divorce and collect.”

  “It’s not that easy Molly.”

  “Yes, it is. You shouldn’t even be married to him still. He’s across the street living with his girlfriend.”