Pick-me-up

by Cecilia La France

  Chapter 11: The Date

  Katelyn giggled nervously as they ran down the street and then slowed to a walk around the corner. Sneaking out would award her another level of punishment if she were to get caught. But, Tim held her hand and led the way. Because of her excitement, she was able to keep up with his quick stride. Normal height people didn’t understand that shorter people had to walk faster to keep up with them, but, at the moment, she wasn’t about to complain.

  Tim led her into backyards and across open fields as they neared the edge of town. It didn’t take long. Northrup only had 7,000 people. Katelyn wondered where Tim was taking her and asked. He just smiled and said, “It wouldn’t be a surprise if I told you.” He waited a moment and added, “Not much farther.”

  They were coming to the highway that ran through town. The cops made a fortune in speeding fines here. Commuters coasted into the outskirts after speeding through the miles of cornfield-lined roads, never suspecting the beehive of cops here.

  Tim stopped short and pressed Katelyn back behind the bushes they were about to clear before crossing the sidewalk. A Northrup Police cruiser made its way slowly down the road. She was violating the eleven o’clock curfew.

  Once the squad car was out of sight, they made their way across the street and ran down the walk which connected with a short recreational trail through a prairie. Katelyn knew it well; one of her friends from seventh grade used to live on the other side of the prairie. She used to ride her bike through the trail almost daily during the summer to see her. The girl barely talked to her anymore now. Katelyn felt a small tug of sadness and her step slowed momentarily. Tim noticed.

  “What’s up?”

  “Nothing,” she replied.

  “Don’t be like that. Don’t be like everyone else.” He dropped her hand and jumped out in front of her, walking backward in pace with her slow steps. She could make out most of his features in the light of the moon. As usual, his attention was fully tuned to her. “Everyone’s so private and scared to talk to other people.”

  “Well, sometimes there’s a reason, maybe.” Katelyn searched for the words she needed. Tim still stayed in front of her, his lanky walk awkward in reverse, but still keeping pace with Katelyn. He stayed quiet, but from what she could make from his expression, he expected her to say more. She continued, “Okay, like, sometimes a person can talk to someone, thinking that there’s no harm, but later wish they hadn’t.”

  “What does it matter?”

  “A lot. It matters a lot. I mean, when you talk to someone, you trust them in a way.” Katelyn added, “Sometimes they don’t deserve that trust. So why not be a little scared to talk to someone?”

  Tim slowed gradually so that Katelyn merged naturally into his body and was quickly embraced. He held her by the sides of her arms, his head tilted down to meet hers. “Katelyn, you can’t live that way. Life’s all about risk.” He leaned in closer and gave her a lingering kiss. He pulled away slowly and she could see his grin, a feature becoming expected and familiar to her. She found herself smiling in return. He touched the dimple on her right cheek. “Besides, you’ll never know if you can trust someone until you try.”

  Katelyn opened up to him then. They walked along the path with the insects and frogs silencing ahead of them as they neared. She talked about Emily and the rumor Maci was spreading. She talked about her family—her sisters dropping out and the reputation they’d left her at the school. About their kids who were often left in her mother’s care.

  Katelyn held back telling him her dad’s full history and her feelings about it. Somehow it felt like a bigger chapter, a whole separate addition to a house of pain.

  He let her talk. He sympathized with losing friends—his mom had moved around a lot after her divorce, and being the new kid didn’t win him any popularity contests, especially when kids quickly judged him.

  “What is the goal of homework anyway?” he agreed with her after she told him about the stack of work in Gorman’s office.

  “Yeah, I know how to open a book and find bold print. Big deal.” Katelyn joked and then frowned. “I don’t see why he’s even making an issue about me anyway. He never did with my sisters. I don’t think he ever called home when Jenny quit.”

  Tim asked, “How long ago was that?”

  Katelyn thought about Kayla’s age and did the math. “Over three years ago.”

  “Well,” Tim said like he won a bet, “that explains it.”

  “What?”

  “Ever heard of No Child Left Behind or Race to the Top?”

  “Um,” Katelyn didn’t want to appear dumb. Tim had been interested in everything else she’d talked about so far. She opted for humor, “Is it related to why I have to change my sister’s kids’ diapers?”

  He laughed, and she felt a small victory inside.

  “It’s full of shit, for sure.” He paused and then went into explanation. “Schools are under pressure for kids to pass. Schools that don’t make the grade get in trouble. You are their homework.”

  Katelyn frowned.

  “Plus, Chiquita, you cost that school district some money if you leave.”

  “Huh?” She wished she could take back the expression and say something more intelligent, but she was struggling to understand all he was saying. How does he know so much about this? she wondered.

  “Schools get a certain amount of tax money for each student in their enrollment. I may be somewhat new in town, but I don’t see a line at the door of people dying to go to school here.”

  “So, how do you work. I mean, who gets your money’s worth?”

  He laughed. “There’s the kicker.” His voice turned wicked in tone. “Your school has to pay for me to go to my school.” He let the thought sink in. “They contract with the alternative school for kids like me.”

  “What do you mean?”

  He didn’t respond immediately. He shrugged and in a dismissive voice said, “They can’t leave me behind, but they can toss me off to someone else.”

  Katelyn sensed he didn’t want to talk about it, and she didn’t push. She switched the topic, asking about his old school and which classes he liked. They continued talking about likes and dislikes, funny stories and embarrassing moments, and anything that popped up because of each other’s stories.

  But, he always ended his side of the conversation with a question or inquiry into her life. It was strange to be questioned so directly, but it was welcome. Katelyn wasn’t used to someone who thought she had this many things to talk about. He wanted to know about her, and Katelyn found herself willing to share.

  The trail met up with a bridge near the county fairgrounds. Tim let go of her hand and ran up under the bridge, concealed momentarily in the shadows. He emerged with a small cooler bag. He opened it, removed two beers and handed her one. Katelyn saw two more in the pouch before he zipped it closed and slung the strap over his shoulder. “I’d have more, but my mom is starting to believe how much of an alcoholic she really is.” He laughed at his own joke, grabbed her hand again, and headed off the trail. “Come on.” They were back on street sidewalks. Both stayed quiet and alert, but no headlight ever announced an oncoming car.

  He pointed down a side street as they passed by. In a tour guide voice he announced, “And just eight houses east is Casa Felske, a humble two-bedroom, full basement ranch.” Katelyn made a mental note of the street. She wanted to see it in the daylight.

  Another five minutes of walking brought them to the south railroad line. Trains were second nature to people who lived in Northrup. On a busy day, 64 trains passed through the town, blaring their horn at each of the eight intersections as mandated. The south railroad line wasn’t as busy, but it also had fewer intersections, so trains would often speed through faster.

  Tim took another long drink from his beer, finishing it off. He shook the can to confirm its emptiness in a show to Kately
n and then threw it onto the tracks where it hit a rail and dropped down between the rocks and wood rail ties. Katelyn lifted hers and took another drink, but it was still over half full.

  “Ready for another?” he asked as he unzipped the cooler.

  “Um,” Katelyn considered. She didn’t really like beer, but drank it because her friends offered. “No, I’m a slow drinker.”

  He smiled and opened his new beer. He took another drink and then started off, except he turned onto the railroad tracks instead of following the sidewalk. He turned back to her. “Come on,” he beckoned with a coy invitation and his sly smile.

  Katelyn looked to the road and then back to him. She hesitated. “This is railroad property,” she warned from a fear burned into her as a child through multiple safety talks at the school. “If we get caught, . . .”

  Tim cut her off. “Come on,” he said with an exaggerated impatience. “I’ll hold your hand, little girl,” he mocked and held his hand out to her.

  For the third time of the night, she threw her caution aside. She shrugged her shoulders and quickly caught up with him.

  “There’s my girl,” he said as he gripped her hand. And they walked, aiming their steps to land on the ties instead of the jagged rocks in between. Katelyn prayed that no train would come while they were on the tracks. Someone in Northrup always ended up on the news each year in some near tragedy or tragic accident related to a train. Life may suck, but she wasn’t ready to die.

  They didn’t go far when the sloping rock began to transition into a small bridge over a creek. Katelyn looked ahead with a feeling of dread. The bridge was short, but it was still a bridge, still empty underneath and fully reliant on the steel supports.

  “We’re here,” Tim stopped and stepped off the track and started to descend the hill to the creek. He turned to her. Momentary relief flooded her, releasing her anxiety of any possible bridge crossing. She followed him to the creek bed. The spring rains had filled the creek and it spilled by with a healthy flow.

  The sound of the water amplified her senses, and Katelyn felt cold. She hadn’t needed her jacket earlier that day when playing with Kayla at the park, but was glad for it now. She pulled its zipper higher.

  Tim noticed and stepped back to put his arm around her. “I’ll keep you warm.” She leaned into him, and he turned her to give her another kiss. Goosebumps traveled up her neck and she shivered involuntarily. He hugged her close. She shut her eyes and gave herself over to the moment.

  This is like a romance scene in a movie, she thought, except she was the star for once. She didn’t want to move, didn’t want the moment to end. She breathed into his shoulder, smelling a combination of both the moist earth smell of the night and his body. A faint cologne lingered with a day’s worth of wear, a salty, male scent. She breathed it in, linking it to the rest of what she knew of him in her mind.

  Katelyn heard a familiar rumbling sound. She pulled away from him when her suspicion was confirmed by the horn of an oncoming train.

  She looked up to Tim to find him grinning at her like he was about to deliver a punch line. “Come on,” he said. He grabbed her hand and pulled her so she couldn’t hesitate. They headed up the bank, not to the tracks, but under the bridge! Katelyn started to protest, but he said louder, both for authority’s sake and to be heard over the increasing noise of the approaching train, “Come on! Trust me!”

  She ducked after him now as he crawled underneath the darker shadow of the trestles of the bridge. Time pulled her up to the highest point. Larger rocks met with a concrete base, so they could go no farther. He sat down on the cement and pulled her down to sit between his legs in front of her. She could do nothing else. The noise of the approaching train and darkness under the bridge caused a fear that robbed her of self-direction. With her back to him, he easily reached his arms around her middle and held her close.

  The train was speeding. This late at night, the engineers didn’t have to contend with much traffic. Within seconds, the lights from its engine filled the spaces of the exposed tracks and frame above them, looking like a ladder fallen flat, only feet away. The ground rumbled around them; the vibrations shook the flesh of her legs. The light grew narrow and brighter. With a deafening roar, the engine burst onto the bridge above them. In that instant, Tim pulled himself and Katelyn back so that they faced the underside of the bridge, the underside of the crushing train. A blast of wind hit her face.

  Katelyn’s yell lost out to the powered scream of the train until the engine cleared and continued its way into the town. The horn whistle blew and died out just as Katelyn’s lungs emptied the last of her sound. She felt Tim’s body shaking below her. He still had her pulled tightly to him. She realized it was laughter that was causing him to shake. His face was beside hers now and he said loudly so she could hear, “Open your eyes.”

  Katelyn didn’t realize her eyes were closed, but she had automatically pinched them shut as the engine had passed over her head. Katelyn slowly released her eyelids, squinting up until she was sure the sight wouldn’t cause her death. The train was a running black shadow now. Its shape was only fragmented momentarily by indirect light from the moonlit sky. The bridge creaked in answer to the clanging sways of cars. An occasional metallic scraping pealed from the wheels, causing Katelyn to wince.

  She concentrated on separating the shadow, making the darkness a train rather than the optical snake racing above them. It didn’t work. She closed her eyes again.

  Finally, after another minute or so, the bridge was silent. The earth was still, and the train cars’ rhythm grew distant. Katelyn let her mind release, and her body followed. It was then that she realized she had been gripping Tim’s arms like an animal strangling its prey. The chewed edges of her fingernails popped from his skin. Her heart pounded in her chest.

  She jumped up and ran out from under the bridge. Tim was quick to follow. She heard him laughing, a fun amused laugh. Her hands turned to fists and she turned and pummeled him. “You asshole!”

  Tim laughed and grabbed her hands. She pulled them away and took a few determined steps away from him.

  Katelyn started laughing. Relief, excitement, and anger surged through her. Thrill. Thrill was the only word she could use to describe the experience. Blood pulsed with fresh energy and she shook with excitement. She jumped forward to Tim and grabbed him. He played into the move and braced himself to counter her force. In a move more forward than Katelyn ever though herself capable, she grasped his head in both hands and brought her own up to kiss him. She let his hands run the length of her back and leaned into him as he brought them around the sides of her torso, eventually cupping her breasts. She didn’t pull away, but caution crept into her conscience. She slowed her kisses and turned her head into his shoulder, signaling a limit of how far she was willing to go.

  Finally, she spoke. “That was . . . totally insane!” She laughed.

  “A rush, huh?” he said, holding her and rubbing her back with one palm. “Better than drugs.”

  Katelyn stiffened, unsure of what he meant and how to reply. Did he do drugs? Or, was he against them? “Yeah,” she agreed, “I mean, not that I know or anything.”

  Tim moved her back and gave her a quizzical look, making some judgment in silence. “Trust me,” he said.

  But, the trust Katelyn had felt moments ago wasn’t as strong. She didn’t want the evening to change, so she ignored a question she couldn’t find a way to ask, one she wasn’t sure she wanted to hear the answer.

  A small splash in the creek behind them made her jump. She laughed at her own edginess. The creek’s running water caught her attention. Its sounds were hypnotic, and she stifled a yawn.

  “What time is it?” she asked, still annoyed that she didn’t have her phone to check for herself.

  “Aw, is my girl tired? Don’t tell me, you have to get up for Gorman, right?”
Katelyn didn’t respond, but smiled at the teasing. Tim pulled out his own phone and turned it to face her.

  “Holy crap!” Katelyn burst out. “I gotta go.” By the time she’d get home, she’d only have three hours of sleep, four if she could manage to fall asleep right away.

  They headed back on the tracks and made it to the trail without seeing any cars. She tensed, hoping he wasn’t going to leave her to walk through the dark prairie on her own. But, he didn’t even slow. Tim turned without pause with her into the prairie.

  They made the trip quicker and quieter than before. At the corner of her street, he stopped her under the darker shadow of a tree and pulled her to him. “Just in case,” he said, glancing down the street toward her house. She understood that this was goodbye. He pushed her hair behind her shoulders and then cocked his head slightly. “You’re alright, Katelyn Wells.” Then he leaned down to kiss her.

  Katelyn pulled her head back, dodging his kiss. “Alright?” she acted offended. “Just alright?”

  He smiled, “Yeah, you’re worth keeping around.” And he kissed her. Katelyn contented herself with his teasing.

  They said goodnight and she walked into the street, turning around twice to see him watching her. When she reached her yard, she turned once again, but she could no longer see Tim.

  Once back safely in her room, she confirmed her door was still locked before she fell into bed. She didn’t bother changing into pajamas. Instead, Katelyn inhaled her sweatshirt and smelled the lingering scent of Tim. “Worth keeping around,” she mumbled to herself before she fell asleep.