Girls, Gifted

by E K Ballard

  “Are you warm enough?” Jamie asked.

  “Uh-huh,” said Kristin.

  “So what did you guys do tonight?” Jamie asked Lissy and Sam.

  “We went to Farley’s for a little while, but that sucked, so we left and came over here.”

  “Why did it suck?” asked Jamie.

  “Well, you know that crazy girl Paige? Right before we got there she freaked out because Hank brought some other girl to the party, some new girl, and when Paige saw her she started a fight with her.”

  “Really?” asked Jamie. She looked at Kristin, who pressed herself tighter into Jamie’s body.

  “Yeah, we weren’t there yet, but we heard about it. I guess Paige pushed her down and she spilled her drink all over the Farley’s nice Oriental rug and Paige threatened her and wouldn’t let her get her coat, she just told her to leave. Then after she left, someone told Paige that Hank told the girl he brought that Paige had dumped him, and she freaked out on him, calling him a cheating asshole and breaking stuff, so Farley threw her out.”

  Jamie pulled the blanket back.

  “Is that why you weren’t wearing a coat?” she asked Kristin.

  Getting no answer, she continued. “Did Paige push you down and throw you out because you were there with Hank?”

  “Was that you?” asked Lissy.

  Kristin looked at Lissy and gave her a wry smile. “That was me, trying to take Hank from Paige, because, you know, he’s such a catch.”

  “Hank’s an asshole, no doubt, but Paige is a psychopath,” said Sam. “How’d you get into that mix?”

  Kristin saw the anger on Jamie’s face and had to smile.

  “He asked me to go to the party and since I didn’t know how to get there, I said yes. I was hoping I’d run into Jamie since she doesn’t have a phone.” Jamie just stared at her, her eyebrows scrunched together. “Paige saw me talking to Hank and, well, you know the rest of the story.”

  Jamie propped herself up on her elbows. “So Paige pushed you?” she asked again.

  “Yes, she pushed me, I fell, I spilled my drink all over the carpet and my pants, and I got out of there.”

  “And she wouldn’t let you get your coat?” Jamie asked again.

  “No.”

  Jamie lay back on the pillows and looked up at the ceiling, seething.

  “You should have told me,” she said.

  “It wasn’t a big deal. It all worked out.” Kristin smiled at Jamie and squeezed Jamie’s hand under the blanket.

  Jamie just glowered into space.

  “I’m starving,” announced Sam. “Anyone want to order pizza?”

  * * *

  Before they put a movie in, Kristin got up and put the ice back on Jamie’s knee.

  “Hey, let’s see,” said Lissy. “That looks like it really hurts.”

  “It’s okay. It will get better after I ice it.”

  They threw more wood on the fire, turned off the lights, and started the movie. Kristin’s fingers intertwined with Jamie’s and soon the rising and falling of their chests matched and they were both asleep. Kristin woke and tended Jamie’s knee with ice while Jamie slept.

  At 11:30, Kristin shook Jamie.

  “Hey, we need to get going. I don’t want to be late.” Jamie opened her eyes and stretched. She sat up and wiped her eyes. Lissy and Sam were both asleep in the love seat.

  “Okay.”

  Kristin knew she needed to take off Jamie’s sweats and give them back to her, but she didn’t want to. “I’ll go get changed,” Kristin said.

  “No.” Jamie said quickly. “Keep them on, they’ll keep you warm. “

  Kristin explained, “Jamie, if we want to fly under the radar, I shouldn’t be showing up at my house wearing your clothes and not my coat.”

  “Well, you don’t have your coat, so just change back into your jeans. Tell them you left your coat at school and I loaned you my sweatshirt...if they ask,” Jamie said.

  “Okay.” Kristin changed back into her cold jeans. “See you guys,” she said to Lissy and Sam. They were still both asleep.

  “Let’s take my aunt’s car. I don’t feel up to using a clutch.”

  Jamie started it up and cranked the heat. She adjusted the seat so it was all the way back, backed out, and started to drive Kristin home. She reached over and took Kristin’s hand.

  “How are you doing?” Jamie asked.

  “I have never been better. You?”

  “Same.” Jamie drove carefully down the roads with wet leaves on them.

  “When should I come over tomorrow?”

  “As soon as you can,” Jamie said. “When can you get here?”

  “It depends on my dad’s work schedule.”

  “Why don’t I just come and get you at noon?” Jamie asked.

  “Call me when you want to come get me and I’ll tell you if it’s a good time.”

  “Why don’t you call me when it’s a good time?” Jamie asked.

  “Because I don’t have a number to reach you.” Kristin replied.

  Jamie lifted Kristin’s hand to her mouth and kissed it. “I am going to take care of that soon,” she promised.

  Jamie pulled over a half-mile away from Kristin’s house and turned off the lights. She held Kristin’s hands in hers and said, “Thank you.”

  “For what?” Kristin asked. “For treating you like crap this past week?”

  “No, for being there for me. For coming by foot to see me. For icing my knee. For caring.” Jamie leaned over and gave Kristin a long kiss. Kristin kissed Jamie back.

  “Thank you for forgiving me and giving me a chance to show you how much I love you.”

  Jamie turned the lights back on. It was ten minutes to twelve and she wanted to get Kristin home on time. She pulled back out into the road and took Kristin to her house.

  * * *

  When Jamie pulled up to the house, she saw Kristin’s mother look out the upstairs window. Rob came outside to see who was dropping Kristin off. Jamie rolled down her window and Rob leaned in. Jamie thought he might be checking to see if he smelled alcohol on her.

  “Hey, Jamie, I didn’t recognize the car.”

  “Hi, Mr. Olson. Yeah, I drive a lot of different cars.”

  “I suppose that’s one of the perks of your dad owning an auto shop. Thanks for bringing her home safely.”

  “You’re welcome. Have a good night,” she called out to both of them.

  “Good night,” said Kristin and waved. Rob simply waved.

  * * *

  Kristin said good night to her parents and headed off to bed. Neither of them said anything about what she was wearing, and Kristin took her jeans off and put on pajama bottoms and kept Jamie’s team shirt and sweatshirt on. She pulled the fabric over her nose and inhaled, smelling Jamie as she did. She hugged a pillow and pretended it was Jamie she was holding onto. She replayed every moment she spent with Jamie over and over in her head and finally fell asleep dreaming of lying in Jamie’s arms.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  After Lissy and Sam left, Jamie took care of the dogs, cleaned the kitchen, and got a hot shower. Her knee had stiffened up overnight and the hot shower helped loosen it up. The swelling had gone down considerably.

  She slept soundly last night and she couldn’t wait to see Kristin again.

  At 9:30, the phone rang. It was Jack, so Jamie answered.

  “Hey, kid, how are you doing this morning?”

  “Good. Better.”

  “You sound better. Did you ice your knee last night?”

  “Yes.”

  “Did you really? You aren’t lying to your brother are you?”

  Jamie laughed a little. “No, I’m not lying. Kristin, Lissy, and Sam came over and made sure I did.”

  “Good. I just wanted to check in on you, you seemed so down last night.”

  “I’m fine. Jack?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Do you know how you said whenever I wanted a phone again you would put me on
your plan?”

  “Yes.”

  “Can I still do that?”

  “Sure. That’s no problem,” Jack said, sounding surprised. “It’s about time.”

  “I know, I know.”

  “I am coming to your game tomorrow, but then I have plans. Why don’t you come over here Sunday morning and we can go get you set up at the store in Weymouth. The Patriots play early, so if you want you can stay and watch the game.”

  “That sounds good. I’ll see you tomorrow at the game. Thanks,” said Jamie.

  * * *

  At 10:30, the phone rang again. It was John.

  “Hey, Dad,” said Jamie cheerfully.

  “How are you feeling this morning? How is the knee?”

  “Much better.”

  “Good. Listen; Jeff Detmer left a message for you.”

  “What did he want?” Jamie asked scornfully.

  “Two things: he wanted you to know you are playing Middleton tomorrow and he wanted you and Celeste to call a captain’s practice today.”

  “Well, I’m not doing it.” Jamie said stubbornly. “I have already made plans to get work done.”

  John surprised Jamie by saying, “I don’t blame you, Jamie. Stay there and get your work done. Rest your knee so you’re ready to go tomorrow.”

  “Thanks.”

  “As far as I am concerned, you didn’t get the message until it was too late. Do you need anything?” he asked.

  “No, thanks, I am fine. We might go to the game tonight.”

  “Your mother and I might see you there,” John said.

  * * *

  Jamie waited until 11:00 before she called Kristin. Kristin answered on the third ring.

  “Hi,” she said.

  “Good morning. Are you coming over to study?” Jamie asked.

  “Umm…not yet.” Kristin sounded distracted.

  “What’s going on?” asked Jamie.

  Kristin walked outside to talk. “Well, my mom doesn’t want me to spend the night and my dad doesn’t see why I shouldn’t. She says that there is no adult supervision there and he said that we’re adults ourselves. He promised he would do whatever it took so I could get my school work done. He is going to win, but I think he wants to drop me off and come in the house.”

  “How do you know he’ll win?” Jamie asked.

  “Because, in her mind, he is the head of the household and as his wife, she is supposed to let him make the decisions,” Kristin said.

  “Well, in some crazy way, that’s good…I guess,” said Jamie.

  “He isn’t really like that, though,” said Kristin. “She is.”

  “When will you know?”

  “Soon. I’ll call you back on this number when I know, okay?”

  Jamie paced the house. She went outside with the dogs and walked around with the phone in her hand. She went and got her books out of the Jeep and spread them out on top of the coffee table. She plugged in her laptop and turned it on so she could get signed in to the wireless signal. She checked to see when she made the call to Kristin. Forty-five minutes had gone by. What was taking her so long? Maybe she had changed her mind again.

  Jamie got the icepack out and turned on the TV, laying down on the sofa and elevating her knee. She held the phone in her hands, trying to will it to ring. She thought of Kristin laying on her last night and she held a pillow to her chest, pretending it was Kristin. She turned a music channel on and waited for her to call.

  Jamie thought she heard a car door slam just as the dogs ran to the door, barking. Jamie sat up and went and looked out the door. Kristin and her dad were bringing some bags up the steps.

  “I am going to let them out, so just come in.”

  Rob Olson looked at the barking dogs and didn’t seem too sure of that plan, but Jamie opened the door and after a cursory sniff, they barreled past him and ran out to the yard. Rob and Kristin came in, carrying Kristin’s backpack, computer bag, and what resembled an overnight bag. Jamie felt her heart beat faster. Kristin was staying over!

  “Come on in,” Jamie said. “Hi, Mr. Olson.”

  “Hi, Jamie.” He looked around the expansive living room and the windows looking out over the woods. “Nice place.”

  “Thank you. Do you want to sit down?” Jamie was trying to be polite as she could without overdoing it.

  “Sure, for a minute.” Rob sat down.

  “How is your knee?” Kristin asked. She wished her dad would leave so she and Jamie could be alone.

  Jamie rolled up her pants leg and showed them. It was still discolored, but the swelling was down significantly.

  “That looks much better,” said Kristin.

  “If that looks better, I am glad I didn’t see it when it looked worse,” said Rob.

  Jamie put the ice back on it and elevated her knee on the pillows.

  “So, I understand you have a big game tomorrow,” said Rob.

  “Yes, sir, it is the first game of the playoffs. Lose and the season is over.”

  “What time does the game start?” he asked.

  “Noon, but I need to get to the field by 10:30.”

  “Do you mind taking Kristin to the field with you?” he asked. “I may swing home and get Lucas when I am done and come see the game.”

  “I emailed my journalism teacher and asked if he had anyone covering the game tomorrow and he asked if I could do it, so, I am officially on duty tomorrow,” said Kristin.

  “Sure, I can take you.”

  Rob said, “Lucas sure thinks highly of you. You’ve made quite an impression on him.”

  Jamie laughed. “He’s a smart kid with good taste.”

  Rob laughed, too. “Yeah, he’s a good kid.” He stood up. “I don’t have to worry about anyone breaking in with those two dogs here. Are they going to bite me when I go to leave?”

  “No, just open the door. When they run in, you go out.”

  Rob gave Kristin a hug and told her to get her work done and he’d see her tomorrow. He opened the door, the dogs ran in, he stepped out and shut the door, waved, and went to his car.

  Jamie and Kristin didn’t move until they heard the car start. Kristin went and looked out the door and saw the car back out. She turned and Jamie was standing right in front of her. They finally were alone and they stood kissing each other hungrily. Jamie pulled away after a few minutes and embraced Kristin.

  “I missed you,” she said.

  “And I you,” Kristin murmured into Jamie’s shoulder.

  Jamie led Kristin over to the sofa and put the ice back on. Kristin lay down with Jamie and put her head on Jamie’s chest. She nuzzled the side of her face against Jamie, and Jamie caressed Kristin’s arms.

  “I thought about doing this all night,” said Kristin sleepily. Jamie hugged her.

  Kristin got up. “Come on, let’s get some work done.”

  Jamie got up, too, knowing she had to tackle her mounting pile of work. Kristin checked over her Algebra homework and re-taught the material Jamie got wrong. They created study guides for Jamie’s two tests and together they crafted their assignment for Lit and were ready to submit it electronically. Kristin got her homework done while Jamie wrote a paper for Economics. They took a break at 4:30 when Jamie made them sandwiches.

  “Do you want to go to the football game tonight?” asked Jamie.

  “God, no,” said Kristin, wrinkling her nose. “Why would I want to go see them?”

  “Not all the kids on the team are jerks,” said Jamie. “A few of those kids’ older brothers played with my brother, Jason, and they don’t all act like Hank. You just haven’t met them.”

  “Still, I’d rather stay here with you. Are you done your paper?”

  “Almost. If I finish, will you go to the game with me?”

  “I just don’t understand why you want to go so badly,” said Kristin.

  “For a lot of reasons. I like football. It’s important for our stands to be full for home games. They go to our games. My brother played on the te
am for four years. I want to catch up with Paige. She and I need to have a talk.”

  “So that’s what this about? You want to pick a fight with Paige?” Kristin poked her in her side with her finger.

  Jamie jumped. “I just want to talk to her, that’s all.”

  “Okay, okay. Only if you promise me you will not start anything with Paige.”

  Jamie thought about it. “Deal.”

  Jamie called Lissy and told her they were going to the game and Lissy said she and Sam might see them there. Jamie fed the dogs and let them out, and Kristin went to put on some warmer clothes.

  “I washed them,” she said to Jamie as she went to hand back Jamie’s shirt and sweatshirt. Jamie recoiled from them.

  “No, you put them on so you stay warm,” she insisted.

  “Won’t you need them for tomorrow’s game?” Kristin asked.

  “I’m not wearing them. I’ll wear last year’s stuff. I want you to wear those clothes and stay warm.”

  Kristin loved Jamie’s clothes so she didn’t argue. The only thing that would raise eyebrows was Kristin wearing Jamie’s team shirt that had Jamie’s name and number on the back. Kristin wore it under Jamie’s generic school sweatshirt. Jamie gave her a knit hat and some gloves to put on.

  Chapter Thirty

  They drove to school and parked in the stadium parking lot. People were just starting to arrive, so they had a spot close to the gate. Jamie reached into the back of the Jeep and pulled out the three blankets she had put there when they hiked up Red Hill. She shook one out, looked around quickly, draped it up over Kristin’s head, and gave her a quick kiss. Kristin’s eyes went wide. “Jamie!” she scolded.

  Jamie shot her a playful grin. Kristin looked around. No one saw them.

  They went to the ticket gate and Kristin felt her stomach fall. She didn’t have any money. Suddenly she felt ashamed for not being able to afford something as simple as a ticket to a high school football game.