by Deena Bright
“You wouldn’t!” she said, smiling.
“Try me. Hey Avery, Austin, I’ve got great news—”
“Okay, okay. You win. I’ll play nice… for now,” she said, eyeing me up and down.
The kids came bounding over, armed with croquet sticks. “Hey guys, meet my friend, Janelle,” Leo said, kneeling down to talk to them. Avery was around 7 was my guess and Austin about 5. I hated myself for never bothering to ask him. Austin looked a lot like Leo and Megan; he had their dimples. Avery was a dark contrast to Austin, looking much like Cliff with her dark hair and eyes.
“She’s pretty U-Lo,” Avery said.
“Thank you,” I smiled.
“Yes, she is,” Leo agreed. “She calls me ‘U-lo,’ because she couldn’t say “Uncle Leo” when she was little,” he explained.
“I can say ‘Uncle Leo,’ now though,” she said. “See.”
I laughed, nodding, “Yes, perfectly. You have beautiful hair, Avery.”
“Thanks, I use a brush,” she said as she ran back to the croquet game.
“Want to see my penis?” Austin asked.
“Austin!” came the voices again.
“What? I just asked,” he said, shrugging and following his sister.
Chuckling, Megan said, “Can’t blame a kid for trying. You never know how young Janelle here is willing to go,” she said sardonically.
“Megan!” came the voices again.
Holy mother fucking son of a cock sucking shit. How was I going to get through this? Megan already hated me. It wasn’t like I could stick up for myself. I’m sure that there was an extra hot and fiery place in Hell for someone who argued with a dying Cancer patient. But man, she was brutal. How was I expected to win her favor if she hated me on the spot?
Just then, the cutest, tiniest little woman came bee-bopping out of the French doors onto the deck, carrying flutes of champion on a tray. She made walking seem effortless, like she was gliding through the air. This woman looked ancient, but was so full of vitality and life. She had to be Leo’s grandmother. This was exactly how he’d described her. I couldn’t believe that I misjudged before and thought that she was the woman in the wheelchair, as if I hadn’t been listening to him this past month. Well one thing was for sure, he certainly hadn’t said one word about Megan being sick. Leo had definitely not been honest and forthcoming with me.
“Ahhh, you must be the beautiful Janelle Garrity,” she said, handing me a glass of champagne. “You’re even more lovely than Leon described,” she smiled at me.
I could not get used to this “Leon” business. I kept going back to that dude on Roseanne who owned that loose meat sandwich shop with Jackie and Roseanne. Hot, sexy, men were certainly not named “Leon.” That would not be a name I could scream in the throes of passion.
“Yes Mimi, this is Janelle,” Leo said, coming up beside me. “Janelle, this is my Mimi, Sofia Rose.” Leo took the tray from her and handed out the rest of the flutes to his family.
“It is so nice to meet you, Mrs.—” I started.
“No darling, you call me ‘Mimi’ or ‘Sofia.’ I haven’t been a ‘Mrs.’ in ages,” she explained. “I had a dog of a husband too—that prick had way too many places to bury his bone and forgot which one of those places filled his bowl.”
“Mimi!” came all the voices around me.
“Don’t ‘Mimi’ me. Leon’s told me all about her dog. I can share my woes too,” she said, putting her little arm around me. “Right honey?”
I downed my champagne in one long chug-a-lug, and nodded my consent.
“Mimi, let’s let Janelle sit down before we bombard her with anything more,” Leo said, directing me to the empty chair, farthest away from Megan. “She just got here, and I feel like she hasn’t had one second to breathe.” Leo handed me his glass and nodded for me to take it.
“I’m so sorry,” he whispered under his breath. I downed that glass in seconds too, hoping he was the only one who noticed.
“I want to propose a toast,” Mimi announced. “Lonnie, fill Leon and Janelle’s glasses, so it’s a proper toast.” Apparently, I wasn’t quite so discreet. We all waited as Leo’s dad ran back into the kitchen to grab another bottle of champagne. I glanced at my watch, realizing that I had only been there for 18 minutes. Holy Mary Mother of God, it was going to be one long-ass afternoon.
After all the glasses were filled back up, Leo’s grandmother began to speak, “I’m an old lady, but I know love when I see it. Cliff, thank you for taking care of my granddaughter when she needed someone to hold her and protect her. You love her more than I ever thought you could,” she said, taking a breath and wiping her eyes. “To be honest, I thought you were a self-centered donkey’s ass—”
“Mimi!” came all the voices again.
“Hear me out, but what I’ve witnessed with you and Megan and how you’ve taken care of her these past two years, reminded me that even an ass can be judged wrong. You’re a good guy. Meg’s lucky to have you,” she explained. She looked around and then continued, “Megan, baby girl, death is making you bitchy, but I also think that’s what’s keeping you so strong. You amaze me little one. You’re a fighter. Thank God you’re a fighter, because our lives are so much better with you in it,” she said, as tears streamed down her cheeks. “Look around at all the love we have here… all of it centers around you, Honey. You keep fighting.” She paused for a moment, seeming to weigh her words. “But fight the right fight. Look at your brother, he loves you, but he so obviously loves someone else too. So shut your chemo-crap talking mouth and love what he loves, welcome what he loves. We’re all in this together,” she said, raising her glass. “To the good fight!”
And that was really all it took. Mimi was the matriarch of that family and when she spoke, everyone listened as if the good Lord himself came down and gave a command to each and every one of those crazy Cling-a-lings. The afternoon went rather smoothly after the ice-breaking, brutally honest toast.
All of us played a pretty intense game of croquet, girls against the boys. I was a little leery about being on a team with Megan, but she pretty much kept away from me and didn’t say anything rude or belittling. I sucked at the game. My knowledge of croquet didn’t go much beyond the movie Heathers. I was worried that Megan was going to pull a “Heather” and just knock my ball right down my throat at some point in the game. Therefore, I just kept my ball as far from hers as I could. We lost to the boys, which meant we had to carry all the dishes in from the patio and clean the kitchen. Megan loaded dishes onto her lap, so I offered to wheel her inside. The glare I received after my offer told me quite clearly that I would be wheeling her nowhere.
Once inside, I began to run the water to pre-rinse the dishes. I unhooked my bracelet and put it on the counter, as not to get it wet. “Oh. My. God. You still have that? Still wear it?” Leo’s mom asked, excitedly.
“This bracelet?” I asked, as I started rinsing the dishes. “I don’t wear it much, only when I wear gold. I’m usually a silver girl, but today, gold was on my shirt and shoes,” I explained. “My students got me this my first year teaching. They all put in money and bought this as a ‘thank you’ gift. It was so sweet.”
“Your students,” she asked, “pooled their money and bought that for you?”
“Yes, Leo was in that class,” I said. “It’s really the only gift I’ve ever gotten from my students. You don’t tend to get a lot of gifts from students when you teach high school seniors,” I lamented. “I was so excited though. It really does mean a lot to me.”
She smiled, nodding, “I’m sure it does, honey.” Then she grabbed a few dessert plates and desserts and went back out on the patio.
“You’re so fucking dumb,” Megan said from behind me.
I turned around and looked at her. “Me?” I asked.
“You’re the only other person in the room, Miss Garrity.” Megan spat at me. When she said my name, it was filled with disgust and hatred.
“Okay, Megan, I
get it. You don’t want me with your brother,” I said turning back around to the sink.
“Oh no, that’s not at all what I have a problem with,” she said. “My problem is that he’s tag-teaming with some other guy. How could you do that to him? My brother is the greatest guy in this world; to string him along is a fucking sin,” she argued. “Just cut him loose, let him get on with his life.” She started to back up, hitting the counter with her wheelchair.
“Let me—”
“Touch this chair, and I will snap your fingers in two,” she threatened. “He’s in love with you, you know that? And I’m not going be around when you break his heart. I won’t be there to help him pick up the pieces of his shattered heart,” she said, her voice cracking.
“I’m not going to break his heart,” I said quietly, not able to look her in the eye as I said so. Could I really look a dying woman in the eyes and make that promise?
“Don’t you see how he looks at you? Has always looked at you? You don’t have that look,” she declared as she finally turned her chair and was able to get to the sliding glass door. “Oh and Miss Garrity, that bracelet that all your students bought you, that was our other grandmother’s. It was the only piece of jewelry she left to Leo,” she said, before she wheeled out the sliding glass door, leaving it open after she left.
It was Teacher Appreciation Week my first year at my school. After school that Friday, I went to the restroom, and when I returned, there was a small gift-wrapped box on my desk with a thank you card. The card merely read, “Thank you for a great senior year. From: Your first set of seniors.” I opened the box and found a small, delicate gold bracelet with a four-leaf clover charm on it.
On Monday, I asked my classes, and they all just said “You’re welcome.”
I wore the bracelet so proudly for the rest of the year, thanking my students every day. I even threw them a pizza party to show my gratitude. Nobody ever said that they hadn’t chipped in to buy it. Granted, I never really fished for who the “organizer” of the gift was. I was just so touched by the gesture that I spent my days boasting about how kind and thoughtful my students were. Never, not once, had I thought the gift came from one specific student. I’d worn the bracelet one other time around Leo last month, and he never said a word. Not once. What the fuck?
“Mmm, there you are,” Leo said, coming through the door that Megan left open. “They’re devouring that dessert out there. I came in to get you, so you didn’t miss out… But, you’re looking much tastier,” he said, wrapping his arms around my waist, nuzzling the back of my neck. I turned off the water and turned to face him, rubbing my wet hands up and down the back of his shirt to dry them.
“Leo, can we talk?” I asked.
Leo nodded and dropped his eyes. “I know. I’m sorry. I should’ve told you everything about Meg. I shouldn’t have let you find out this way,” he said, pulling me closer, resting his chin on the top of my head. “It was just so much easier not telling you. You never gave me that look of pity or sympathy that everyone seems to walk around with after they know you have a sister who’s dying from skin cancer.”
“Skin? She has skin cancer?” I asked incredulously, finally realizing why Leo was so freaking neurotic about sunscreen.
“Yep, advanced stages of melanoma,” he admitted, shaking his head. “Do you know how many times when we were growing up that I watched her as she slathered up her body with baby oil or dark-tanning accelerator?” he asked. “If I would’ve known then—”
I kissed him, cutting him off. Leo carried too much guilt and self-blame around. I couldn’t let him blame himself for his sister’s illness too. Leo Cling was a saint, beautiful inside and certainly out.
“Hey you two, Mimi’s leaving,” Leo’s dad announced at the door. “Come say ‘goodbye,’ and Leon, help me carry some stuff to her car.”
“Sure dad,” Leo said as he led me to the door. “Janelle, I think it’s funny that my family also has a thing with alliteration—just like yours.” Jeez. Now, that was the mother of all subject changes. I guess we weren’t going to talk about the bracelet or Megan. They were off the table. Alliteration was on it.
“Yeah, I thought we were bad with Janelle, Jasper, and Jocelyn, and then Jocelyn named her kids Darren and Donavan and Carlee and Kara,” I said giggling. “But y’all are pretty bad too with Lonnie and LeON and Avery and Austin,” I joked, as I emphasized his real name. “I still think we have you beat though.”
Once Mimi was in the car and all of the leftovers were packed inside with her, Leo leaned in and kissed her goodbye. “I love you, Mimi,” he said before she backed out of the driveway. “That woman is going to outlive us all.”
I couldn’t believe that less than five hours ago I was planning on fighting with Leo, because he wanted to spend time with his family. I needed to go to church, or confession, or help in some soup kitchen. My soul needed some serious cleansing, complete with bleach and ammonia. I sucked. Christ, what could Leo see in me? I was certainly not worthy of him. He was too pure and genuine for me.
Leo and I spent the rest of my time there, playing yard games with Avery and Austin. Avery was a diva; Austin was an inappropriate trip. I kept thinking about how much fun Carlee and Kara would have with them if they ever got to meet them. Then, I felt sad as I realized that I didn’t know if I’d ever see them again.
If Megan…
Would they visit the area again without her? Would Leo’s family just visit them? Cliff’s family lived in Arizona, so he wouldn’t have a reason to come to Ohio. I felt terribly for the Clings, all of them. Glancing over at Megan, she stared at us, teary-eyed. Catching her eye, she wiped her cheeks and looked away.
I didn’t know how to rectify this mess with his sister, but I also knew that if someone were stringing Jasper along, I’d roast her tits over an open flame on a tit-kabob without feeling an inkling of remorse. And I was Jasper’s younger sister. I know I’d feel much more protective if I were his older sister and knew I wouldn’t be around to see how the rest of it all panned out. The Megan and Janelle “Best Friends Forever” banners were obviously not going to be ordered any time soon.
When it was time for me to go, I stood up and started saying all of my “Thank Yous” and “Goodbyes.” Megan watched my every move as I hugged each of her kids and shook her husband’s hand. Leo’s mom and dad both hugged me and told me to stop over any time for dinner and drinks.
Just as I was about to approach her, Megan said, “It’s still early. We’re going to roast marshmallows and tell ghost stories around the fire. Sure you don’t want to stay?”
I was surprised by her hospitality and pleasantries. “I’d love to, really I would, but I’ve—”
“Got other plans? Right, Briggs gets you at night,” she said, staring me down. “See you around Miss Garrity… or not.” Then, she wheeled herself up the ramp of the deck and into the house as all eyes watched her go.
Fan-fucking-tastic.
Apparently, Leo told his family everything… everything. I couldn’t get out of there and into my car fast enough to dial Jocelyn’s number. She had no time to talk since the soccer soiree was still going strong. I couldn’t call Char. She’d just say that it was one more reason to dump Leo and focus only on Briggs, Briggs who was picking me up in exactly one hour to go to Cleveland to watch fireworks when all I really wanted to do was go straight to bed and sleep this horrific day away.
How could Leo be so open and upfront with his family? Did my privacy, my feelings, mean nothing to him? Was I being selfish for wanting to keep him a secret, keep us a secret? I wish I had the luxury of calling my mom and talking to her about this. She’d know exactly what to say. But she was in some crazy country, giving to those less fortunate. I decided that I’d just wait and talk to Jocelyn tomorrow and focus on Briggs and the fireworks tonight.
“BABE, IS EVERYTHING okay?” Briggs asked. “You’ve barely said two words since I picked you up.”
We’d been in the car for nearly 45
minutes, almost to Cleveland, and he was right. I’d been distracted since he got to my house. I’d quickly changed when I’d gotten home, feeling sticky and sweaty in my peasant shirt and shorts. I was flattered when he whistled and clapped when he saw me in my red and white striped, sexy (not parentally-approved) sundress. Briggs always made me feel good about myself and relaxed me. But once we’d gotten into the car and started driving north, my mind wandered back to the day’s events and everything that had happened earlier with Megan and with the bracelet.
“I’m sorry. It’s just been a long day out in the sun all day,” I lied.
“Right. With Leo,” Briggs said with a hitch in his voice. “I guess I didn’t know he had it in him… to wear you out, I mean.” Briggs glanced over at me. I looked away, rolling my eyes. I certainly was in no mood for a jealous, territorial talk.
“We spent the day playing outside yard games with his whole family, Briggs,” I said, annoyed with his assumptions. “We had a grand total of 12 seconds alone together. And for your information, we had about 12 seconds of alone time yesterday too. So if you’re keeping score, and I know you are. It’s you 3 or 4; Leo nada,” I snapped. Then, I put my sunglasses over my eyes, something I never did, and reclined my chair all the way back in his car. I stayed that way for the rest of the ride.
I must have dozed off, because I startled when he touched my thigh, and said, “Babe, we’re here.” As I sat up, I realized we were at a marina with houseboats all around.
“Where’s ‘here,’ Briggs?” I asked, looking at all the boats.
“We’re taking a boat out on the lake to watch the fireworks,” he explained.
“You have a boat?” I asked. He’d never mentioned it before.
“Nah, I know a guy,” he stated.
“You know a guy with a boat? He just so happened to let you use it today?” I pried more.
“This dude’s been all over me to buy a boat. I’ve been thinking about it. We’re taking it for a test drive tonight,” he said.
“Do you know how to drive a boat?” I asked.
