by Debra Dixon
That’s when Wolfman Washington’s grader lurched forward. The machine threw a football-sized lump of hard mud toward them.
Will pulled me and Monica out of the way, though there really hadn’t been much danger of us being hit. He’d learned the manners of a Southern Good Ol’ Boy young.
“Nice save,” I said with just the right a touch of teasing sarcasm.
“Ah, Wolfman doesn’t know how to throw.” He grinned. “If I head for the Citadel like Dad’s pushing for, I’ll show those guys how to shoot.”
“You’re going to be a soldier?” Monica asked, dismay clear in her voice.
“No, I’m planning on becoming a cop. The cop in Mossy Creek. Amos, get ready to retire!” He placed an arm around my waist. “But I’d rather give Miss Christie the best guy in Georgia’s freshman class. Of course, that means I’d have go to Georgia. But that’s what I want, not my Dad.”
Feeling uncomfortable in front of Monica both with Will’s words and his loose embrace, I stepped away and headed for the Mustang. “Come on, Monica. We’d better get on home and get dressed. I’ll bet my Mom and your Aunt LuLynn are having a cow...each.”
Monica was quiet on the drive to her house. I knew she was upset because of Will’s behavior.
Both of us liked him, though my feelings went beyond like. In fact, the first time he’d kissed me, I didn’t think I’d be able to breathe the entire rest of the day. But I had. But when I told Monica about it, the jealousy had emerged full force.
I never thought that we’d argue over a boy. All our arguments through the years had been minor and brief. Even now, everything was still okay between us—unless Will was around. When he’d asked me to be his date for the Homecoming Dance, Monica had been astonished and then livid. When he’d given me a wink at Homecoming court practice that afternoon, I saw flash of pain shoot across her face.
I wish I knew how to tell Monica that I wanted her to be Queen, in a way she’d believe me. But she might know that I wanted to give her that because I didn’t want to give her Will. And it was the truth.
But I also wanted LuLynn McClure to see her niece crowned and perhaps, begin to let go of her resentment. One way or another, LuLynn would finally have a crown in the family.
“Here you are,” I said as we pulled up at her house. “I’ll see you at the game. Don’t let your mother use too much hair spray. You don’t want your hair to stand up like a sail tonight.”
Monica was clearly not amused. “Thanks for the ride.” She exited the car and closed the door a little too hard.
“Bye,” I called, but there was no reply. So I drove home, my emotions torn in two directions.
I was estatic that Will clearly returned my feelings. We’d become a couple and it just felt right. But I hated what this stupid competition was doing to my friendship with Monica. History seemed to be repeating itself. Jealousy loomed over us. Who would become Homecoming Queen? She cared about it, and I didn’t. And I had no control over the outcome.
Three hours later, the Homecoming Court was lined up in full regalia at one end of the Bigelow Stadium parking lot. We were waiting for Aunt Adele’s carriages. Someone—probably Aunt Adele—had suggested the Homecoming Court ride into the stadium in the harness carriages she and some of her friends drove.
Our parents, who’d brought us, stood around in a group a little ways off, snapping pictures and generally looking proud and happy. Principal Blank stood with them, looking just as proud.
“Stand by me,” I said to Monica, reaching for her hand. At least we were speaking again. That was one thing about Monica, she never could hold onto a mad.
She lifted the skirt of her evening gown with one hand and grabbed my hand with the other.
Will, dressed in his football uniform, smiled at them. “The prettiest girls in the whole state!”
The boys were lined up behind the girls. Each girl would ride with her escort in one of the carriages. Will was my escort. Tater Townsend was Monica’s.
The first of the harness carriages pulled up then, and Aunt Adele said, “Hey, girls. You’re all so beautiful! We’re going to show you how to mount and dismount, so it won’t look so clumsy at half-time.”
“We’re not going to be clumsy at half-time, Aunt Adele,” I said with forced hauteur. “We’re Princesses.”
“Yes, you most certainly are.” She leaned over with an admiring smile. “Still, even Princesses can fall on their faces when they’re wearing long dresses. Even though you’re only dismounting on the field, you need to practice getting in and out. One of you lucky girls will have to get back in for your triumphant Queenly circle of the field.” She looked directly at me as she spoke, then glanced behind her as the rest of the carriages pulled up. “Let’s do it! Men, your job is to help your lovely lady look good as she steps into her carriage. Then you have to follow her without falling on your faces. Your shoulder pads are as awkward as her high heels.”
The first girl in line stepped carefully toward the mounting pad.
“Get in, ladies,” Will called, taking my hand. “We’ve got to do this quick. Coach needs us in the locker room.”
Monica pushed at the errant strands flying wildly about her face. Evidently she’d listened to my jesting advice and had forgone the hairspray. “Whoever came up with the idea we’d ride these harness thingies was nuts.” She noticed Aunt Adele’s glare. “Oh, sorry, Miss Adele. Your idea? Great!”
“Don’t worry, Monica,” Will said. “You’ll be fine.”
“Yeah, well, you know Aunt LuLynn. I’m her last chance to wear the crown.”
“My Dad’s the same way. He might not say so, but he wants me to be King as bad as your aunt wants you to be Queen.”
“Whoever wins will have to parade around the stadium in an onion with a seat!” I frowned as Aunt Adele’s horse skittered, making the tiny harness carriage skitter and bounce right along with it.
All the horses seemed skittish with the teenaged group jostling around to find their carriage and practice entering and exiting gracefully.
The principal showed up then and added his instructions to those of the carriage drivers.
Will put a hand around my waist as I stepped onto the stool by Aunt Adele’s carriage. He whispered softly, “That’s it, my lovely Lady Christina.”
We practiced getting in and out several times. It wasn’t easy, but Will helped with his strong arms and easy manners. When we felt we’d mastered it, we stood back to watch the others.
Tater and Monica weren’t having such an easy time. Tater looked awkward as a Knight in Shining Armor and Monica was getting frustrated with him.
Suddenly their four legged stool twisted, throwing Monica onto the carriage bench in a frothy heap. She screamed. The carriage careened forward and Monica tumbled off behind it. She hit the pavement with a thud and rolled under the body of a pickup truck parked on the other side.
Will rushed over and dragged Monica from beneath the truck.
“Somebody call an ambulance,” the principal yelled, “Monica’s hurt.”
A dozen cell phones snapped open.
“Christie?” I heard Monica call weakly.
“I’m coming!” I ran to her side.
“Help me, Tater,” Will called to his friend, who’d been thrown back by the carriage lurching forward.
Tater helped Will lift the bleeding Monica onto the tailgate of the pickup truck, which someone had let down.
“Christie,” Monica grabbed my hand. I was relieved that her grip was strong, but there seemed to be an awful lot of blood. “You didn’t have to go to this much trouble to win a crown.”
“Oh, hush.” I tried to hold back tears of panic. Reaching down, I grabbed the hem of my gown and tore off a strip a yard wide. I wrapped Monica’s arm with a fat swath of cloth just as her mother and Aunt LuL
ynn rushed up.
“Are you okay?” her mother cried. “Monica, you’re bleeding!”
“Look at your dress!” LuLynn said. “Oh my! Oh my!”
“Me?” Monica managed to say through the sobs wracking her slender body. “Look at Christie! Christie, you ruined your dress! For me!”
“Shut up!” Tears ran down my face as I gave way to her mother and Aunt. “Who cares about a silly old dress?”
I could hear the ambulance siren coming closer. I had no idea how badly Monica was injured, but one of the bones in her arm was poking through the skin. It wouldn’t be long before the blood soaked through the satin. “Hold your arm as tight as you can to help stop the bleeding.”
Monica was trying hard not to cry, but tears were streaming down her cheeks. “Christie... Mama... Aunt LuLynn...”
“Shhh,” LuLynn said. “Don’t talk. The EMTs are almost here.”
“I have to,” Monica insisted. “Christie, listen! I don’t want anyone to blame you.”
“Why would anyone blame me?”
“Because of the crown, you know.”
I glanced over as the ambulance screeched to a halt. Everyone in the parking lot had parted like the Red Sea to let it through.
“Monica, be still,” I told her. “I’m not interested in any crown. The emergency guys are here. Hang in there!”
But Monica didn’t answer. I peered between her mother and aunt’s arms at my best friend. She’d passed out.
After that, everything was a blur. Even though I tried to insist on following the ambulance to the hospital, everyone insisted that I stay. Will was the one who convinced me.
“I want to go with her, too, but we can’t do anything for her right now,” he said. “We’d just be in the waiting room for no telling how long. Might as well give the folks here their Homecoming show. I promise I’ll take you to the hospital as soon as the game is over and I can change.”
He was right, I knew. Monica’s mother and aunt were with her. They wouldn’t let me back into the room with her, so I couldn’t do anything.
“I’m sure they’ll call as soon as they know something,” Will added.
I took a deep breath. “You’re right. Okay, let’s do Homecoming.”
Three hours later, I got a call from LuLynn. Monica was okay. It was just a broken arm, but they were keeping her overnight because she’d bumped her head, too, and they wanted to make sure she was okay. She would be in Room 257 in an hour.
I closed my phone with relief.
“Monica is okay,” I told everyone around me. “She just has a broken arm.”
They all cheered, still basking in the easy win over Harrington Academy. The game had ended twenty minutes earlier and I was waiting for Will to come out of the locker room. Ten minutes later, he came out.
“I heard about Monica. You ready to go see her?” he asked.
I nodded.
“Want to go home and change first?”
He had on the jeans he’d brought to change into after the game. I’d been planning to go home before going to post-game parties.
“No, please, let’s go. I can’t be certain until I lay eyes on her. Besides,” I smiled. “We have a delivery to make.”
He returned my smile and added a conspiratorial wink. “Let’s go, then.”
Tater stopped us at Will’s car. “Did you say LuLynn’s at the hospital?”
“Yes, why?”
“Oh, it’s a secret.” He waved as he walked away. “I’ll see y’all there.”
Arriving on the second floor of the hospital in Bigelow, we met Dr. Champion in the hall. “Christie, I’m glad you’re here. Monica’s been asking for you.”
We followed him into Monica’s room. She lay back against the pillows, her Homecoming Queen formal swapped for a hospital gown. Her face was ashen and her left arm was wrapped in a sling. Her obvious pain broke my heart.
I rushed to her side. “Oh, Monica, I’m so sorry this happened to you.”
Monica’s eyes opened slowly, glittering with tears. “You’re sorry? Don’t be. It’s my fault. I’m such a failure.”
I grabbed my best friend’s good hand. “No! How can you say that?”
“I am. This is all my own fault.” Monica’s chin quivered and she turned her head, facing away from me. “I wanted that crown so bad for Aunt LuLynn. Too bad, maybe.”
“So you don’t know who won?” Will asked.
Monica shook her head. “Aunt LuLynn went home for some clothes, and Mom is downstairs getting something to eat. I haven’t talked to anyone else. But I know you must’ve won, Christie. I hope you did.”
“I won,” Will said. “I was crowned Homecoming King at halftime. How about that?”
“And the Queen?” Monica asked him, since I wasn’t telling her. “Don’t tell me it was Ashley.”
“No,” I said. “Oh, we won the game. The team looked great against Harr—“
“Tell me!” Monica demanded.
I looked at Will. “Should we?”
“Don’t you think we should wait until her mother and aunt get back?”
“No!” Monica wailed. “Please!”
“Well...”
Suddenly tears welled up in Monica’s eyes. “No, you’re right. I deserve this. Christie, I’m sorry. I’ve been so mean to you lately.”
“Mean? Well, our relationship has been a bit strained lately, but...we’ll always be best friends. We won’t let what happened to our mothers and aunts happen to us. Promise?”
“Aunt LuLynn can be so selfish sometimes. She should have dropped this crown thing a long time ago.”
I laughed. “Aren’t they silly? You’d think after twenty years, they’d get over themselves. It’s not as if they can change anything.”
A commotion arose in the hallway. I looked at Will and Monica, who shrugged. Before anybody could stop them, three women strode in: Monica’s mother and aunt, and my mother.
“Monica, are you all right?” Mom said, setting down a huge vase of flowers she’d no doubt purchased at the hospital flower shop. “I’m so sorry. We saw everything, you poor dear.”
“I’m all right, Mrs. Ridgeway. Just a broken arm.”
Just then I noticed that LuLynn was wearing a crown on her head. “Monica, look at that!”
Monica nearly leaped out of bed with joy. “I won? Give me my crown.” The cast caught on the bed rail and twisted her arm as she tried to rise. “Ow!”
“Not so fast, Monica.” LuLynn smiled broadly. “Be careful. Don’t worry about this old crown. We want to make sure that cast is set all right.”
“Right, Monica.” My Mom slid her arm around Monica’s shoulders. “You don’t understand. That’s your aunt’s crown!”
“Hers? How? What?” Monica and I chorused, stunned.
LuLynn nodded enthusiastically. “Apparently Tater and some of the other boys had been tossing mud clods around on the new field yesterday afternoon. Well, he dropped it onto the concrete sidewalk outside the stadium and it broke. When it did, a piece of metal was exposed.”
Monica’s mother took up the story. “He threw it in the back of his car, intending to take it home and wash it off, but didn’t remember to do that until today, just before the game.”
“He scrubbed it, is more like it,” LuLynn said
“Well, he had to scrub it. Vigorously, I might add.” Mom chuckled. “Imagine him in his mama’s kitchen trying to clean up a crown. Well, he did the best he could and then went to find Sandy Crane.”
“Sandy about slugged him.” LuLynn laughed. “She knows home economics as well as police work. She grabbed the crown, scrubbed it with a toothbrush and Ajax and got it sparkling clean. Then just before half-time, Sandy found out about the accident and you being in the hospita
l. She started plotting.”
“You know Sandy,” Mom said, talking about her good friend Sandy Crane, officer and dispatcher for the Mossy Creek Police Department. “She swung into action. Found LuLynn at your house, grabbed her and took her to the party at Mayor Walker’s house. Since you girls weren’t there, Ida crowned LuLynn. Everybody just went wild.”
I glanced from my mother to Monica’s mother to LuLynn. “So, you guys are all friends again? Finally?”
LuLynn looked a little abashed. “Yes. I’ve been so stupid. All over something that was really nobody’s fault. I thought all these years that Abby—my very best friend in all the world—had been so jealous, she stole my crown. When all the time, it had gotten trampled and then buried in the Mossy Creek Football field.”
“So, if that’s your crown,” Monica said. “Who won tonight?”
LuLynn gasped. “My dear, darling girl, you don’t know?”
“No!”
LuLynn looked at Will and me.
I grinned. “We were just about to tell her when y’all came in. Will?”
Will reached into his backpack and drew out a crown. He placed it on his head. “I’m King, you know.”
Then he pulled out another one. “A king who has to crown his queen. A little drum roll please.”
The two mothers banged their fingers on the rollaway table beside the bed.
Will started toward me, winked, then turned, walked over to the bed and gently placed the crown on Monica’s head. “It is my honor to crown this year’s Mossy Creek High School Homecoming Queen.”
Her eyes were wide and round. “Me?”
“All hail Queen Monica!” I shouted.
Then Will took the crown off of Monica’s head and placed it on mine.
“All hail Queen Christie!” he called.
Monica placed her good hand on her hip. “What’s going on? Is Christie Homecoming Queen or am I?”
LuLynn looked at me, then Monica, her eyes sparkling with fun. “The most wonderful thing happened. You both won. First time in Mossy Creek history there was a tie.”
