Never Forgotten

by Kelly Risser

  ***

  “Can I get you something?” Evan shouted so I could hear him above the thumping music. The house was filled with the players, their friends, and random acquaintances. We were in the living room, sitting on the couch.

  “What are you having?” So far, Evan had only drunk a Coke, although there was plenty of beer and bottles of liquor.

  “I’ll probably get a beer.”

  I didn’t know what I wanted, but I knew I didn’t like beer. “I’ll come with you,” I said, following him to the kitchen.

  Katie and Jen sat at the table with Brian and Peter. They were playing some kind of drinking game with cards. They both looked happy already.

  “Is she going to be okay to drive?” I asked Evan.

  He frowned at his sister. “I’d say ‘no’ if she continues at her current pace.”

  “I’ll just have a Diet Coke then,” I told him. “I can drive Katie’s car back to your house.”

  “You sure?”

  “Yeah. I’ll follow you, if that’s all right. My mom okay’d me staying over.” I felt strange telling him this, since it was his house, too. Until the words came out of my mouth, I hadn’t considered the implication. I felt my cheeks warming.

  If Evan noticed my discomfort, he didn’t say anything. He reached into the cooler for the Diet Coke and handed me the can. Taking a cup, he filled it at the beer keg. “Do you want to go outside for a bit?” He motioned to the patio door. “At least it will be quieter.”

  “Sure.” Once again, I let him lead the way. We had to go by the table. As we passed, Katie grabbed my hand and pulled me closer.

  “Isn’t Brian cute?” I’m sure she meant to whisper it in my ear, but it came out as more of a slurred shout. He was not as drunk as she was, and it was obvious he heard her, too. He grinned at us.

  Katie opened her eyes wider and pouted at me. “I’m sorry, Meara. I don’t think I should drive us home. Maybe we can leave my car here and ride with Evan? Mom won’t be happy…”

  I patted her shoulder. “It’s okay, Katie. Evan and I talked about this already. I’ll drive your car home.”

  “You sure?”

  “Yes.”

  She jumped up, knocking her chair over in the process, and threw her arms around me. “You’re the best! Jen, isn’t she the best?”

  Jen raised her glass at us and nodded enthusiastically. “The best!” She polished off whatever was in there, and Peter quickly refilled it.

  “Are you okay?” I asked Jen. Her eyes were glassy, and her face flushed.

  She waved off my concern. “I’m good. I’m…I’m great!”

  She took another big gulp. At this rate, they would be throwing up within the hour. I looked at Evan, unsure of what to do. He was talking to Brian and Peter, but when I caught his eye, he nodded. He must have been listening to our conversation, too. He excused himself, went around the table, and grabbed a bowl of pretzels from the counter. He placed it between Katie and Jen.

  “Have something to eat,” I told them. “And maybe slow down a little.”

  Jen pouted. “We’re fine, Party Pooper.”

  “Listen to her,” Evan said. “You are both going to be hurting tomorrow.”

  “Hey, Mitchell, can we please get back to our game?” This came from Peter, who was pretty wasted himself. He threw a pretzel at Evan.

  Evan took my hand and led me outside. The apartment had a small patio, but their unit faced a courtyard with a path that circled an in-ground pool. The few chairs on the patio were already taken, and by the looks of things, the couples sitting in them paid us no attention.

  “Should we go for a walk?” Evan asked.

  “I’d like that,” I said. Anything was better than hanging with the make-out couples. They appeared to be on the verge of moving beyond, and I didn’t want to stick around for that. Apparently, you lost your inhibitions with alcohol. I wasn’t the world’s most experienced partier, but the events at Kevin’s house sure opened my eyes.

  Evan took my hand again, and we walked to the pool.

  “Some party, huh?” He looked back at the apartment and shook his head.

  “Do you usually have parties like this after your games?” I wondered if this was something he did a lot. Did he crash at the party house? Did he meet girls? What would happen if he was drunk, and I wasn’t around? There were lots of pretty girls in the house.

  “Someone usually has something, but Kev’s house is always a big one. Sometimes, we just hang out and order pizza. Just the guys. It’s not always so many people.” He stopped talking and scratched his head.

  “Oh,” I said.

  “I don’t always go either,” he went on to add. “With school starting, I’ll probably just head back to the dorm. Or if it’s a weekend, come see you.”

  He smiled at me, and I returned it. I was happy that he would choose to see me over partying with his friends. On the other hand, I planned to go to more of his games, so maybe we could do both sometimes.

  “What happened to your friend that was with you at the game? Ula?” He said it like you-lah, so I felt the need to correct him.

  “Ula? Oh, she had to go home.”

  “She’s the one you met at the clinic, right?”

  “Yeah. She’s homeschooled. I don’t think she gets out much.”

  “She seemed nice.” Evan opened the gate by the pool. I thought we were going to continue on the path around it.

  “Where are you going?” I asked.

  He turned back and raised an eyebrow. “Don’t you trust me?”

  “It’s a little late for a swim, and I don’t have a suit.”

  He laughed. “We’re not going to swim. I just thought we could sit and put our feet in the water.” He held up his hand. “Scout’s honor. I promise not to push you in.”

  “You were a Boy Scout?”

  “Of course. Weren’t you in Girl Scouts?”

  “Not so much,” I said. “Didn’t care for the uniforms.”

  I could tell Evan didn’t know whether to take me seriously or not, but I didn’t expand. I sat by the water’s edge and debated about showing Evan my feet. Reluctantly, I pulled off my socks and tennis shoes. I tried to put my feet in before Evan sat down, but it was too late.

  “Your toes,” he said as he sat next to me.

  I looked away, embarrassed. “I know. They’re so ugly.”

  “Let me see.” He wrapped his hand around my calf and lifted my foot out of the water. “I don’t think they’re ugly. They’re fascinating.”

  I turned at looked at him then. Was he crazy? “They’re disgusting. I always tried to get out of swimming lessons, but my mom insisted. The kids laughed.”

  “Kids are mean,” Evan said. “Webbed toes aren’t common, but people have them. They’re like flippers.”

  “Very funny,” I muttered.

  He lowered my leg into the water and removed his hand. My calf tingled from where he had touched me. He took my hand in his and looked into my eyes.

  “I’m sorry that kids made fun of you, Meara. You shouldn’t be ashamed of anything about you. You’re beautiful from head to toe, inside and out.”

  I didn’t know what to say, but my heart responded by leaping in my chest. He took off his shoes and socks, rolled his jeans up a few times, and placed his feet in the water next to mine. He entwined his right foot with my left, and somewhere, inside of me, some of the hurt from all those years ago began to fade.