Amanda Vs The Universe

by Patricia B Tighe

  I tried not to smile. “Kyle. We’re never gonna finish our work if you don’t stop being sweet.”

  “I can’t help it,” he said with a grin that lit up his eyes. “I’m naturally sweet.”

  “I’ll remember you said that when you get all grumpy on me.”

  “What? I’m never grumpy.”

  I slipped around him and headed back to tape the box for Matilda closed. “You seemed pretty cranky when I first met you.”

  “We’ve already been through this,” he said, holding down the sides of the box while I taped. “And which is it, anyway? Cranky or grumpy? I can’t be both.”

  I laughed. “Absolutely you can.”

  He snorted. “All right, all right.” He left the box by the door. “Time to clean up the show room?”

  “Don’t you have to glaze your miniatures?”

  “I can do that later when you’re gone.”

  “Okay.” I didn’t want to think about being gone, so I planted a smile on my face. “Let’s go clean, and after that we can do the delivery.”

  “And maybe get lunch?” he asked.

  “Sure.”

  So we did.

  After lunch, we strolled hand in hand among the tourists in Midtown, the warm sunshine making the day perfect. We talked about random stuff and found more things in common. We both loved to go to the movies and hated Chinese fast food. Loved being in the mountains, but hated hiking. We put on our shoes the same way—sock-shoe, sock-shoe, not sock-sock, shoe-shoe.

  It was after laughing about the green chainsaw aliens displayed next to the chainsaw bears in one of the store windows that I noticed a person up ahead who looked familiar. I couldn’t tell who it was, so I started walking faster.

  “What’s going on?” Kyle asked.

  “Um, there’s a person up there I think I know.”

  We wound through groups of tourists until we were about twenty feet back from a short guy in baggy jeans that had pink paintball splatters on the lower legs.

  “Hey,” Kyle said. “Do you see that?”

  “Yeah.” I kept my voice low. “Do you think that’s the kid who was working on the sun in the corner? He seems shorter than the other two.”

  “There’s a good chance. What do you say we go talk to him?”

  “Won’t he run?”

  “Maybe. But we can keep up, right?”

  I lifted a flip-flop clad foot. “In these?”

  He exhaled a laugh. “Okay. I may be able to keep up.”

  I eyed his Converse sneakers skeptically. “Right. Just let me do the talking.” The kid turned onto a side street, and I hurried forward.

  “Why?” Kyle asked.

  “Because, Mr. Cranky, you might scare him off.”

  “You might scare him off.”

  I grinned at him. “Just come on.”

  “Mr. Cranky,” he grumbled under his breath.

  We caught up to the boy, and I slowed my pace. “Hi,” I said. The kid didn’t turn around. He didn’t even flinch. Kyle pointed at the earbud wires hanging from the guy’s ears. I made a face, and he covered his mouth, probably so he wouldn’t laugh. I didn’t want to freak the kid out, but it looked like I had to.

  I tapped him on the shoulder. The boy jumped, then wheeled around, his eyes wide.

  “Hi,” I said, as brightly as I could manage.

  He yanked out his earbuds. “What?” His round face wore a wary expression.

  I gave him a closed-mouth smile. “I said hi. You look familiar. I was wondering if you know a woman named Cady Sanders.”

  His gaze went from Kyle to me, and he stepped back. “I don’t think so.”

  “Really? She’s a local potter. I thought you might’ve heard of her. Anyway, there’s some tagger who she thinks has a lot of talent and she wants to talk to him about art. I thought it might be you.”

  He took two more steps back but couldn’t hide the interest in his green eyes. “Nope. Not me.”

  “Oh, well,” I said. “Never mind. Guess I was wrong.”

  He shrugged, stuck his earbuds in, and walked off.

  Kyle and I went back the other way. “Good try,” he said.

  “Thanks.” I looked over my shoulder. The boy stuck his hands in his pockets and continued down the hill without looking back. “I hope he thinks about it and goes to see Cady.”

  “She’d love that. But it’ll make me feel like I need to hide the valuables.” He widened in eyes in mock fear.

  I laughed, and when he grinned back, I couldn’t help myself. I grabbed his shirt and pulled him in for a kiss.

  When we finally came up for air, he said, “What did I do to deserve that?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Seriously? Nothing?” He put his arm around me as we meandered on. “You’d tell me if I actually did something, right? Because I’d love to get that reaction from you all the time.”

  I went up on my toes and kissed his cheek. “You don’t have to do anything for me to want to kiss you.”

  He dropped a kiss on top of my head. “Just when I thought the day couldn’t get any better.”

  ***

  Back at Cady’s house, the rich smell of chocolate-chip cookies filled the kitchen. “There you two are,” she said, sitting at the table with her foot propped up on the bench seat. “I was afraid I was going to have to ask Geoff and Molly to search for you.”

  Kyle shuddered. “I’m so glad you didn’t.”

  I chuckled and gave him a little push. Then I joined Cady at the table. “So guess what?”

  “Let’s see. You and Kyle aren’t fighting anymore.”

  “I wouldn’t put it that way,” I said, just as Kyle spoke.

  “We’ll always fight.” He balanced a plate of cookies on top of a glass of milk and set another glass of milk in front of me.

  “Thanks,” I said with a brief smile. He squished onto the bench next to me and bit into a cookie.

  “Hmm,” Cady said, her eyes narrowing. “Something has changed.” She studied us.

  I chewed on my lip, trying not to squirm. Would it upset her if Kyle and I dated? Would she worry? Maybe I should just admit it. “Well—”

  “Amanda and I are together,” Kyle said, taking a huge swallow of milk.

  I just sat there with my mouth hanging open.

  Cady, on the other hand, looked amused. “Are you? You might want to ask her.” She indicated me with a nod of her head.

  Kyle thunked his glass onto the table. The milk sloshed but didn’t spill. He had the cutest little milk mustache, despite his worried expression. “We are, aren’t we?”

  I handed him a napkin and said, as strongly as I knew how, “We are.”

  “Whew,” he said. “You scared me for a minute.”

  Cady watched us over the brim of her tea cup, then sipped slowly before setting the cup in its saucer. “There are a few things that concern me about you being a couple, foremost of which is I don’t want either of you to get hurt. But it’s your relationship. I trust you to take care of it.”

  Okay, so, that was amazing. How many times had an adult said something like that?

  “Thanks,” Kyle said. “But Amanda didn’t tell you the big news.”

  “Oh?” she asked.

  “We talked to a kid who might be your sun artist,” I said and picked up a cookie.

  Cady’s whole face lit up. “You did? When? Where?”

  “In Midtown,” Kyle said. “Amanda spotted him. We caught up, and she basically told him that you’d like to talk to him about art.”

  “What did he say?” she asked.

  “That he wasn’t the tagger,” I said. “But he had paintball stains on his pants.”

  She clapped her hands together. “This is such wonderful news. I didn’t think there was going to be any way to find him. I’m just so glad.”

  I realized I was eating my cookie without tasting it. I set it on a napkin. “But we don’t know whether he’ll come see you or not.”

  “Or ev
en what his name is,” Kyle said.

  “Doesn’t matter,” Cady said. “If he’s as interested in art as I think he is, then he’ll come.” She let out a happy sigh. “You know what this means, don’t you?”

  Kyle and I looked at each other. “Uh, no,” I said.

  “It means that, as of today, I love Amanda more.”

  “Yay!” I said.

  Kyle erupted in laughter and leaned against the cushioned seat back. “I knew this was gonna happen. My aunt loves Miss Helpful more than she loves her favorite nephew.”

  Her lips twitched. “Did I ever say you were my favorite nephew?”

  “No, but come on. My only competition is A.J., and we both know what a—”

  “Don’t say it,” Cady said with the raise of an eyebrow. “It’s true I’m closer to you than A.J., but I don’t play favorites.”

  “Except for today,” Kyle said.

  I pretended to dance in my seat. “I win, I win.”

  He shook his head at me. “Aunt Cady, look what you’ve done.”

  She patted his hand. “Don’t worry. I’ll probably love you more tomorrow.”

  “Probably?” he said, leaning forward.

  I happy-danced again. “Only probably, only probably.”

  Kyle hugged me. “And you can stop that right now.”

  I giggled. “Probably I can.” A buzzing sounded, making all three of us check our phones. “It’s me,” I said. “From my mom. I have to go. It’s family time.”

  Kyle scowled. “Seriously? You barely ate one cookie.”

  I nudged him so I could get up. “Yeah, but my mother often says, ‘Family time beats cookie time.’”

  “No, she doesn’t,” Kyle said, steadying me as I stretched.

  “She does,” Cady said nodding. “Very often.”

  “Y’all are joking, right?” He looked back and forth between us.

  Cady and I started laughing. Then I leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. “Thanks for loving me more.”

  “Any time,” she said.

  Kyle and I headed outside. “‘Thanks for loving me more,’” he said in an obnoxious singsong.

  I just grinned.

  When we got to the car, he slipped his arms around me. “Let me know as soon as you find out how your Gamma is doing.”

  I twined my fingers behind his neck. This guy was so freaking amazing. I didn’t want to ever let go. “I will. Oh, I forgot. Tell Cady that my parents were glad y’all could do the big event with us last night.”

  He pressed a brief kiss to my lips. “I will.” Some emotion darkened his brown eyes.

  “You okay?” I asked.

  He played with a strand of my hair, twirling it around his index finger. “Yeah, I guess. I’m just afraid you’re gonna leave tomorrow.”

  “I know. Me too. But as soon as you get back to San Antonio, we can see each other again.” I frowned. “When will that be, anyway? I don’t even know.”

  “Two weeks.” He kissed me. “Two long, agonizing weeks.”

  “Or,” I said against his lips, “maybe Gamma will be fine, and we won’t leave for another four days.”

  He didn’t say anything, just kissed me in that leisurely way he had. When my knees went weak, I pulled back. “Hey, gotta go.” I got in the car quickly because I was shaking. Once I started the engine, I rolled down the window. “By the way, you won that one. My lips are tingling like crazy.”

  He smiled. “Just call me.”

  I nodded and drove down the driveway with a twinge near my heart. And I had no idea why.

  Twenty-One

  The phone call from the retirement home director came just as we were finishing up dinner. Thank goodness. The whole time we ate, an undercurrent of tension put everyone on edge. We all cared about Gamma and needed to know what was happening, but we had to wait for the results of a chest X-ray.

  Dad took the call in the kitchen. I almost wished he would go in the other room, so we could talk about something to distract ourselves, but the call turned out to be short.

  My father’s end of the conversation was taken up with one-word replies. “Yes, right, okay, good,” and then he repeated it all again. The rest of us waited more or less quietly.

  Geoff spun the ice in his glass. Kenzie turned a spoon over and over on her placemat. Noah’s gaze followed my dad wherever he went. Mom ran her thumb up and down her glass of iced tea. After a few moments of looking around the table, I couldn’t do anything but stare at my half-eaten barbecue sandwich.

  When Dad said goodbye, all eyes focused on him. “The good news is that it’s not pneumonia,” he said.

  Mom let out a huge sigh. “Thank God.”

  “It’s bronchitis. They’re keeping her overnight in the hospital just to make sure she gets enough fluid. They plan to release her tomorrow.”

  “That’s good,” Geoff said.

  “Yes,” Dad said. “But your Mom, Amanda, and I will leave tomorrow. We need to keep an eye on her. Geoff, y’all can close down the house in a few days, right?”

  “Of course.”

  “Good.” He turned to me. “Amanda, you actually don’t have to go with us. You can fly back in a few days if you’d rather stay.”

  “You sure she’s going to be okay?” I asked.

  “That’s what the doctor says. But we need to make sure Gamma follows her instructions. And she’s going to have that cough for probably a few more weeks.”

  My heart felt torn. I’d miss Kyle like crazy. But this was Gamma we were talking about. “Could I have about an hour to think about it?”

  “Sure,” Mom said. “Kenzie, could you oversee dinner cleanup so I can start packing?”

  “Absolutely,” Kenzie said, getting to her feet. “Okay, guys, the sooner we get this done, the sooner we can have dessert.”

  “You heard her,” Dylan said. “Let’s go. I want my pie.”

  Kenzie laughed. “We’re having leftover birthday cake.”

  Dylan made a sad face. “Oh, dang.”

  “You don’t need to eat any of it,” Geoff said. “I’m happy to keep hoarding my cake.”

  “Enough crazy talk,” Dylan said, and Kenzie laughed.

  I took my plate to the counter and wrapped up my sandwich. I could probably eat it in the car tomorrow if I went with my parents. People bustled all around me. Putting plates in the dishwasher, wiping down the table, cutting pieces of cake.

  “How big a piece do you want?” Gabby asked me.

  It was chocolate cake with white icing—Geoff’s favorite—but somehow I couldn’t even think of eating anything. “None for me.”

  I needed to get out of there. I threw away the dirty napkins from the table and went out onto the front porch. What was I going to do? Dad and Mom could obviously take care of Gamma perfectly well. They didn’t need me. But maybe Gamma did. At least, she needed me to make faces with when my parents’ backs were turned. I really should go.

  But what about Kyle? Our relationship was brand new. Would he think I was abandoning him? He already seemed kind of insecure about the whole thing. Ha! As if you’re not. I shook my head. No, Kyle and I should be able to handle some separation. And if we couldn’t, then maybe it was better to know now. I wanted to take a giant eraser and remove those words from my mind. There was no use in expecting the worst.

  The door clicked shut behind me. Funny, I hadn’t even heard it open. Geoff walked up, his face hidden by darkness. “You seem still as a statue,” he said. “What’s going on?”

  “Just trying to decide if I’m leaving tomorrow or not.”

  He sat sideways on the railing and folded his arms. “What’s to decide? You hang around with us for a few days, or you sit in a sick room with our great-grandmother. Oh, wait. You like doing that.”

  “Ha, ha. But yeah, I do like it. Gamma’s awesome.”

  “I know. But she’ll have plenty of people taking care of her.”

  “I guess.”

  He grunted and repositioned himself. “
It’s probably better that you go. I don’t want to have to worry about you and Kyle sneaking off together.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Isn’t that why you keep going to Cady’s? To make out with her nephew?”

  If he only knew. “Shut up.”

  “So, it’s true? Seriously, Amanda. How you can keep going from one guy to the next so fast? It’s crazy.”

  So fast? What was he talking about? It had been over three months since Alex dumped me. I let the irritation in me bubble over. “Not that you care, but it’s been months since Alex and I were through. Months of hurt and pain. So if I decide to go out with a really sweet guy, it’s completely my business, not yours.”

  He lifted his palms toward me. “Whoa. I didn’t mean you shouldn’t date. I just meant you might want to slow it down, that’s all. You just met him last week.”

  But now that I’d gotten started, I wasn’t ready to stop. “Thanks for the input, but I don’t need it. I also don’t need you dissing me or making fun of me in front of people just so they’ll laugh at your jokes. Or teasing me about boys and treating me like I’m thirteen years old. I’m so done with all of it.”

  Geoff stared like he’d never seen me before. “I don’t—”

  “Yes, you do, Geoff. If you think about it long enough, you’ll realize it’s true. So, just stop, okay?”

  “Uh, okay.”

  “I mean it.”

  “I can tell. What brought this on?”

  I shook my head and turned away. Wind rustled the pines, reminding me of summer nights when were little and were here without friends or cousins. Just Geoff and I eating ice cream outside with our parents or snuggling into sleeping bags for an hour and then having to haul them inside when a forest noise scared us. And the laughing, and fighting, and then bonding again over popcorn and a Disney movie. Those days seemed like a million years ago.

  Geoff’s voice came out low in the darkness. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize it bothered you so much.”

  “Well, it does.”

  He came to stand next to me and stared out across the dark front lawn and driveway. He didn’t speak for several long moments. “You’re my little sister—”