Forever This Summer

by Leslie C. Youngblood

  The sadness in Markie’s voice made my knees tremble. Once I put the canister in the backpack, I was going to wrap my arms around her. But Ms. Hannah was there. She had her arms around Markie and eased her to the door. I followed.

  “Georgie, please, let me talk to her alone for a bit. We’ll be out as soon as we can.”

  “Okay,” I said. I couldn’t imagine feeling Markie’s pain without bowling over with tears. When I shared that bird image with Markie I didn’t know that I was hurting her. I didn’t even think that Markie wanted to be one of those baby birds, too.

  Though I couldn’t see her face, I didn’t hear anything but an occasional sniffling. I didn’t ever want to know what it felt like to have to be so strong that you couldn’t cry when you needed to. I used the edge of my T-shirt to wipe the tears from my eyes and sat down on the steps and waited. Bessie stood there attentive like she was waiting for Ms. Hannah to return, too. I stood to go rub her mane again but thought to look at my cell phone. Good. No messages.

  Stroking Bessie made me think what it would be like to ride her across the land like Ms. Hannah. I wondered if Aunt Vie rode horses, too. A few minutes later, Markie and Ms. Hannah came out. From what I could tell, Markie had something in her hand and put it in the pocket of her shorts. But unlike when I’d seen her put other things in her pockets, she buttoned the flap.

  “Wish I could stay out here with you,” Markie said.

  “We tried that and what happened?”

  “I kept running away,” Markie said.

  “That didn’t help, but the DCFS people didn’t think an ‘old, crazy horse lady’ was your best guardian. Time heals some wounds, only prolongs others. You have to give yourself a chance to learn which one it will do for you.” Like me, Markie widened her eyes trying to decipher the meaning. “Some hurts will heal. Some may not. But we have to be open and continue doing the best we can, not limit ourselves.”

  “I understand,” Markie said. “When I’m ready, I don’t have to look through the box alone.”

  Poking my thumb to my chest, I said, “I’ll be there if you want.”

  “See,” Ms. Hannah said. “And you’re always welcome here.”

  “Thank you,” Markie said to both of us. “I guess we need to get back to town.”

  “I’ll be happy to drive you two.”

  “Think that’ll be cool, Markie?” I said.

  She shrugged. “I rather just go back the way we came.”

  “As long as we make it back before late, that’s fine.”

  “We will,” Markie said.

  Ms. Hannah watched us prepare to leave. “You two sharing a bike?”

  “Georgie is riding the bike, and I have these.” Markie pointed to the Rollerblades that she’d dropped near the porch.

  “We can do better than that. I got about three bikes in the shed. Keep one for the rest of the summer. Leave it at your aunt Vie’s for when you come back again.”

  “Thank you, Ms. Hannah,” we said.

  Markie and I followed her to the shed. We waited at the door and she rolled out an older bike but with a near perfect yellow finish. It had a brown wicker basket attached to the front.

  “This is the one Vie loved to ride when she was out here. This should get you home quicker.”

  The thought of Aunt Vie and Ms. Hannah riding around like Markie and me made me smile.

  “Thank you,” we said.

  I took a second to call Nikki. No answer. That may have been usual for some people to let a call go unanswered in the library, but Nikki once got grounded for texting during Sunday service. So I waited for a text back. Nothing.

  Ms. Hannah trotted Bessie alongside her as we headed out to the front of Spirit Farms. “You two go straight back now. And give Vie my love.”

  “Wait one second, Markie,” I said. I turned back and rode until I was in front of Ms. Hannah. “She misses you. I know things aren’t good with my aunt Essie and my grandma, but I hope that doesn’t keep you away for long.” The way Ms. Hannah gently touched my face and rubbed my cheek I just couldn’t bring myself to tell her about the slap.

  “Thank you for that, Georgie. That means more than you know. You get on back now.”

  Markie and I waved and set off on the main road.

  Once we were on our way, I thought the ride back would give us time to let it all roll around in our heads, sink in.

  I just couldn’t imagine how Markie could ride with that mystery box in her backpack. Just the thought of it was weighing on my mind like the thousands of rocks on the road. But I started to really panic when my thoughts flashed forward to Nikki waiting for us at the library. Patience wasn’t high on her list of attributes.

  “Slow up,” Markie called out, but beating the sun going down was one issue. Nikki was the other. Maybe I should have convinced Markie that Ms. Hannah’s offer to give us a ride was best.

  “We gotta get back soon. You don’t know Nikki. This whole thing will backfire. I don’t even want to think about what would happen if my mama found out.” So I kept pedaling as fast as I could.

  “It’s not dark yet.”

  “Yeah but the library is closing. And we need to get back before dark. Way before.”

  I was standing up and pedaling like time itself was chasing me and I was determined to beat it.

  “C’mon, you need to slow down… please,” Markie said again. “This bike doesn’t handle so well on this road.”

  Then there was a sound like Markie’s bike was doing doughnuts. I turned in time to see the bike splayed out and Markie sailing across the sky like a low-flying kite.

  18

  OMW

  We made it back to Nettie’s shop before I realized how banged up Markie was.

  When Nettie saw us, she scurried from behind the register. “My word, what happen to you?”

  “My word. My word,” the parrot mimicked Nettie.

  “Oh, now you want to talk today,” Nettie said to parrot Nettie.

  “She fell off…”

  “Fell off… fell off,” parrot Nettie said.

  “I didn’t fall.… I hit a rock. There was a huge rock on the road,” Markie said.

  “However it happened, let’s get you patched up.” Nettie pulled out a chair from behind the register and helped me ease Markie down into it. Blood started streaming faster from one gash. Nettie pulled what looked like a metal toolbox from behind the register. She opened the register and removed a tiny key to open the box. When she flipped it open, there was a roll of gauze, a gleaming knife, a ruby bracelet that sparkled, and at the back of the box was a handle of a gun, as black and smooth as Bessie. The barrel of it was buried under rolls of quarters and a stack of money. My eyes bulged.

  Nettie noticed and said, “A woman can’t be too careful running a store alone,” and pulled out a roll of gauze, two Band-Aids, and a travel-size bottle of alcohol.

  “Is that gonna sting?” Markie said and seized up like a potato bug.

  “Yeah, it is. And it’s gonna hurt you more than it hurts me, so let’s get it over with as soon as we can. You don’t want an infection.”

  Markie’s right leg had the deepest gash. She didn’t bend her leg and walked on it like it was wooden. Nettie sent me to get us some waters. When I came back, I asked Markie was she going to be able to ride the rest of the way.

  “I know you’re not talking about a bike. Plenty of pain if you do,” Nettie said.

  “Plenty of pain. Plenty of pain,” the parrot emphasized.

  Markie stood up and shook her leg like it had fallen asleep. “I’ll be okay. I’ve been through worse.”

  “How far you have to go?”

  “Sweetings,” I volunteered.

  My phone rang. I yanked it from my purse. It was Nikki but she was whispering.

  “Where are you?” she said.

  I pressed the phone closer to my ear. “On our way. We had a spill on the bike.”

  “She’s here. At the library.”

  “Who
are you talking about?”

  “Your mom is in the library. She’s sitting at the Kiddie Corner with Peaches and another little girl. I can’t go to the restroom or leave. There’s no way she can see me without you.”

  Panic swirled in my voice.

  “I’ll text you when we’re closer to see what’s happening.”

  “What if she spots me?”

  “Plan B.”

  “Got it. Bye,” she said.

  “No good news,” Markie said.

  “Nada,” I said.

  I had to think about Markie and the fact that she’d learned a little more about her background. Maybe not the outcome we wanted, but it was better than nothing. But I’d dragged Nikki into all of this. If Mama spotted her, she’d have to lie to cover for me. I felt guilty about that. I’d already used my “get-out-of-being-grounded card” with the Peanut Man incident. I could kiss our talent show goodbye. Mama wouldn’t believe that I came up with the idea before Nikki got here. She’d think it was a scheme to avoid staying in the house. It was more than that. Much more.

  The way I envisioned it would be good for all of us. The entire town. But I could hear Mama’s voice: “You should have thought about that before you went traipsing through Bogalusa without telling a soul.” I’d never want her to think that I’d stoop as low as to come up with the show to raise money for Alzheimer’s as a way to avoid trouble. One thing for sure, she’d send Nikki packing back to Atlanta for her part in the cover-up. The other thing is that Nikki would be doubly mad at me because she’d missed the cheerleading camp.

  A car pulled up in front of the store and a lady and two teenaged boys walked in. Nettie sent us on our way with two pineapple sodas and chips.

  “Come back and visit again, now,” she said to us as we left. “And slow down.”

  Markie tried not to hobble, but she grimaced each time she bent her knee. Maybe it was to prove me wrong, but she got on her bike and rode without complaint. She set the pace and we didn’t talk. The good news was that just like with most trips, the travel home seemed shorter than the travel to the original destination. The bad news was that less than a few blocks from the library, I got another text.

  We pulled over for a minute.

  “It’s closing. She’s still here,” Nikki texted. “Hurry… I think Peaches spotted me. I shushed her but you never know.”

  “OMW.”

  “There’s a path to come up on the back of the library,” Markie said. “Then we can just connect with her out front and act like we were together all the time.”

  Riding as fast as we could, it still took us about fifteen minutes to see the library. My phone didn’t beep. No new text from Nikki. After coming up to the rear of the library, I realized it was too late to hide from anyone. Not a bike was on the rack, not a car in the tiny lot. It was closed.

  “We’re too late,” I said.

  Nikki texted. “At Aunt Vie’s. Hurry.”

  Markie and I could have both rode to Aunt Vie’s, but if I was already in trouble, the last thing I needed was for Mama to see me with Markie.

  “I best ride back to Aunt Vie’s alone.”

  “Good call. I’ll ride up to the diner and leave the bike there.”

  As we were parting, I said, “I hope… I hope there’s something in that box that you love.”

  Markie nodded. “Thanks for coming with me. Sorry we haven’t used your detective skills yet. I appreciate the support, though.”

  “That’s what friends do,” I said and shrugged.

  Markie nodded and adjusted her backpack. “You better get home,” she said with a softness that made me want to cry. “Hug her for me, please.”

  “I will,” I said.

  With gullies to the left and right of me, I rode so fast that I paid them no mind, not even the barking dogs. As I got the house in view, I didn’t know exactly what to expect. Peaches was playing with the same little girl she’d met the first day. And sitting in the chair, wiping her eyes, was Nikki. We were officially in Plan B: the fake cry. Whenever we’d gotten ourselves in a bind, or needed time to think, we had to pull the cord on the “fake cry.” Nikki was giving it her all. It felt like I was riding straight into a wind tunnel. But I kept going.

  “Where have you been?” Mama’s voiced echoed throughout the entire street.

  Now, it wasn’t an issue of whether I was in trouble but how much. Judging by Nikki’s crocodile tears—a ton.

  19

  HEEBIE-JEEBIES

  My feet hitting the sidewalk sounded hard enough to cave in the cement. Nikki glanced up and wiped her eyes. Mama rubbed her arms the soothing way she does when someone is hurt or upset.

  “Georgiana Elizabeth Matthews,” Mama said.

  “Uh-oh,” Peaches said.

  “First, you’re lucky you got yourself here before dark. Roll that bike right to the backyard. We’ll get it to Markie, but you, young lady, won’t be on that bike or any other.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” I said, trying to get some clue from Nikki what story she’d used. I leaned the bike against the back of the house and slinked around to the porch.

  “Explain yourself. Why didn’t you stay with Nikki? You two have been friends for too long to abandon her.”

  Nikki folded her arms and cut in. “I didn’t want to stay with her, Auntie Trina. All they wanted to do was ride that bike and stuff. It was too hot. I was scared that my… my asthma would flare up, so I found the library.”

  Okay, good. That’s close to the Plan B story.

  “I would have gone with you,” I said, trying to do my part.

  “I just think I want to go back to Atlanta,” Nikki said.

  Nikki, you’re overdoing it. We have a whole talent show to put on. Take it down a notch.

  “Is that how you want your best friend to feel, Georgie? She traveled all this way to spend time with you and you pretty much ditched her for someone who’s already gotten you in trouble.”

  “You can stay and play with us, Nikki. Nobody wants to be around G-baby’s meanie friend,” Peaches said.

  “Georgie, you and Nikki go on inside and see if you can come to some type of agreement.” Then she zeroed in on me. “If you were home, you’d be begging for Nikki to come over, and now that she’s here, you toss her aside. I’m not sure what’s getting into you. You need an attitude adjustment and quick. That Markie is gonna get you in something you can’t get out of.” Then she spoke directly to Nikki. “I’d planned for us to all eat together at the diner this evening to celebrate you being here. Even if you want to go home, we can do that anyway.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” she said. “Thank you. I’d like that.”

  “Go talk it out. I’ll be up in a little while,” Mama added.

  Nikki walked in without me and didn’t hold the door. She was the best at all the finishing touches.

  “She can’t always have everything her way,” I said to Mama to add to the tension.

  “Just go on inside and talk to her,” Mama said.

  Nikki had already gone up the stairs when I came in. I followed up after her and closed the bedroom door.

  “Whew.” She wiped her forehead.

  I shushed her and pointed to the window. Nikki turned on one of her music apps and Chance the Rapper rang out.

  “I’m not sure what favor I’m calling in for all that, Georgie. But you better believe I’m going to think of something.”

  And she’d earned it. In Mama’s world, there is absolutely no excuse for us losing track of each other when we’re supposed to be together.

  “Name the favor. You got it. So what happened?” I said, unable to sit.

  “More like what didn’t happen—you and I aren’t grounded for all eternity. Thanks to me.” She held her index finger above her head and pointed. Then did a quick shimmy move. And adjusted an imaginary crown.

  “C’mon, tell me.” I peeked out the window to see Mama still on the porch. “Obviously, my mama spotted you in the library.”

 
; “Maybe that’s what you and your little friend Markie would have let happen. But I took control of the situation. Got in front of it—I ‘found’ her. Then went on to tell her how you and Markie were all about that tomboy life and I wasn’t having it.”

  “So you told her we left you at the library?”

  “Have I not taught you a thing? Ugh. That would have still gotten you in more trouble than you are now. I put it all on me. Me going to the library without you was never going to get me in as much trouble as you riding to the unknown ‘outskirts of town’ was going to get you.”

  I rolled my eyes upward. “That is so true.”

  “So right now, I’m upset with you because you were showing Markie more attention than me. I was so angry that I left and found the library. Instead of petrified when I saw your mom, she thinks I was relieved.… And the Oscar goes to…”

  “Nicole Denise Shepard for Best Supporting Actress…”

  Nikki put her hand to her forehead and fell back on the bed. A dramatic fainting spell. Then she popped up. “Supporting? Really?”

  “Okay, Best Actress,” I said.

  “Forget the jokes, Georgie. That could have really been a mess. I hope it was all worth it.”

  “I think so. Ms. Hannah gave Markie a box with some belongings from her mama. She hasn’t opened it yet. Things got a little emotional,” I said. “But I’m glad you were on the case with the talent show. It was a good decision for us to split up. How did you do at the library?”

  “It was busy. I could only stay on the computer for thirty minutes. But that was more than I needed, really.” Then she held up her phone. “Took mega notes and even borrowed some paper from the Frog Lady librarian. I’ll email them to you.”

  “No biggie. You’ll be here helping me put the show together. Thanks to you, I’m not grounded, so it is still a go. Time to ramp things up. Think it can be bigger than I thought at first.”