by Kim Hunter
She clenched his hand tight and began to cry tears of joy. She felt like a little child again, full of hope and joy in her heart, with someone by her side who truly loved her.
They strolled up the street and stopped outside Dacy's.
“I've never been inside,” Leaf said. “I walk past here all the time, just to remember my Nanna, but I've never gone inside myself.”
Jay pushed the door open, “There's a first time for everything.”
When they walked in they were met by a gray haired, elegantly dressed lady.
“May I help you?” she asked.
“Yes, Ma'am. I'd like to buy my friend a new dress, new socks and new shoes.”
The lady looked troubled. She stared at him a moment, then at Leaf.
“Is everything all right?” Jay asked.
She turned to him and smiled. “Oh, yes. Please excuse me, it's just that I haven't heard that phrase in a long time. It brought back a very old memory.”
“Of whom?” Leaf asked.
The lady smiled politely. “Just an old customer of mine. One of the most amazing customers I've ever had.”
“My Nanna,” Leaf said, stepping forward, “always bought me a new dress, new socks and new shoes from your store. Every year for the first four years of my schooling. Is that who you're thinking of?”
“Oh, my,” the lady said. “So you're Leaf.”
19.
Football practice had just finished and the team was in the locker room getting changed. Berkley took off his training gear. He'd always waited until everyone was finished with their showers before he took his.
“Make way,” he said. “I don't want to knock you over with my Beast.” He took off his towel and quickly showered. When he was finished he was quick to cover himself up.
As he was getting dressed Brick drifted over and began talking with him.
“You got your suit ready for the Ball tonight?”
“Yeah, same one as last year.” He flexed his biceps, “When you've got puppies like these,” and he pointed to his groin, “and a Beast like this, you don't need a new suit to pull the ladies.”
“What are we going to do if New Guy shows up with Leaf? You going to squash him?” Brick smiled his goof ball smile.
“If I beat him up,” Berkley said, “Leaf will just feel sorry for him. I don't want that. I want her to see him for what he really is. A coward. That way she'll turn back to me, looking for a hero.”
Brick looked rather relieved.
“So no head cracking?”
“No. We need to use some wisdom. Outsmart him. Make him look like a fool.”
“What do you suggest we do?”
“I suggest we intimidate him. Make him afraid, make him run—like he always does. Like the scared little weasel he is.”
Brick wiped the sweat beads off his forehead with his giant forearm and produced another goofy smile.
“It's good that we don't beat him up. I don't want my brother getting pissed that I beat up one of his friends.”
Berkley turned to Brick with a confused look on his face.
“New Guy and Brad are friends?”
“Yeah, of course they are,” he lifted his hand and began to swirling it around his ear. “They're both from New York, dummy.”
“Dude, there are 19 million people living in New York.”
“I know that. What do you think, I'm stupid or something?”
20.
The three stood in Dacy's and talked. It turned out the lady's name actually was Dacy. She had been selling clothing there for twenty years.
“I remember the first day your grandmother walked in here,” she said. “To my shame, I wanted her out as soon as she entered. She walked in here, just like you did, and said she wanted to buy 'a new dress, new socks and new shoes.'” Dacy laughed. “I found it amusing because at the time I assumed anything anyone ever bought was new,” she smiled at her two customers, “but obviously that's not true for everyone. I realized that later.” She walked the counter. “I didn't know what to do. It was obvious to me she couldn't afford to shop here, and I'd never had to throw anyone out before, so I just let her browse. Finally, she came over to the counter and pulled out $400 cash, looked at me a second time and said, 'I want to buy my granddaughter a new dress, new socks and new shoes—and I want the very best you have!'”
She glanced over at Leaf, “And you got the best.”
Leaf smiled. So did Jay.
“Well, one year later she walked in again. This time she just put her money on the counter and said the same line: a new dress, new socks, and new shoes. The following year, right on time, she came again, but this time we also talked briefly.”
She looked at Leaf and her own eyes began to moisten. “My, did she ever love you! When she started talking about you, her hard exterior melted away. She looked like a different person. I was touched by that meeting so much, I really looked forward to seeing her again each new year.
"The next year she came in she was quite withdrawn at first, but once she started talking she didn't want to stop. I was more than happy to listen to her beautiful stories about her wonderful granddaughter. She told me about your name, 'Leaf.' She told me she'd named you Leaf to remind her of the second chance at life you had given her. Like a long winter finally gone, the first glimpse of new life was alway a green leaf beginning to sprout. That was what you were to her. The end of a long winter, the beginning of a new life. A chance to love again.”
Dacy began to cry. She turned and searched for a tissue behind the counter. She dried her eyes and let out a small laugh. “My Lord, I had never heard anything so touching! She told me all about you. It felt like I was the first person she had opened up to in a long time, the poor dear. We talked for over an hour. She just talked and talked and talked. I realized she never got the chance, you know, to talk to others. She never got to share how proud she was of you with anyone else. That final year, after she had poured her heart out to me, she told me how she had saved every year, putting money away every Sunday, so she could buy you new clothes for school, the very best. She bought them here because she wanted you to know how valuable you were, that you were worthy of the very best.”
Dacy passed Leaf a tissue.
“As she walked out of my shop that year, I promised myself the next time she came to buy a new dress, new socks, and new shoes for her granddaughter I'd give them to her for free.”
Dacy sighed. “But she never came back. I found out some time later that she had passed away. I felt so sorry for you. You lost a grandmother who was such a beautiful woman. She loved you so much, so very much.”
Leaf turned to Dacy and threw her hands around her. Both of them burst into tears again.
“Thank you,” Leaf said, “No one has ever spoken of my Nanna the way she truly was. That she was a beautiful person, with a loving heart. That she was special—thank you.”
“Oh, you poor thing,” Dacy said. “She was. I'm so sorry you've never heard anyone talk about her that way, but she was a lovely woman, that's how I remember her; she was a kind hearted woman.” She leaned back and looked into Leaf's eyes, “She loved you dearly.”
Suddenly, Dacy snapped out of her sentimental state, spun around and began looking frantically through the dress rack. “Now,” she said, “I never thought I'd have to keep my promise, but I'm certainly not going to go against my word now. Come on, girl—let's find you a new dress!” She turned to Jay, “And you keep your money. This is one promise I'm determined to fulfill.”
After 45 minutes had passed Leaf had her dress, her socks, and her shoes. She stood before Jay wearing her new outfit. She looked stunning. She looked divine.
“What do you think?”
Jay stood there, amazed. “A masterpiece. You're a masterpiece.”
“Now!” Dacy declared, snapping her fingers at Jay, “I certainly hope you have an outfit to match our little masterpiece over here.”
“Oh,” Jay said. “I don't think it's so
important what I wear.”
“No, no, no!” Dacy said. “If we're going to do this, let's do it right. Come here!” she grabbed him with one hand and grabbed a suit from the rack with her other. “Go, try this on,” she said. “I'll bring you some new socks and new shoes.”
21.
By the time they arrived at the school hall the Ball was already well underway. They could hear the music blaring inside.
“How do you feel?” Leaf asked.
“By your side, I feel like the luckiest man in the world.”
“When we enter, Berkley is going to be watching.”
Jay took a deep breath and nodded.
“Just keep your eyes on me,” Leaf said.
“No,” Jay replied. Smiling at Leaf, he said, “Sometimes the only way to overcome your fears is by looking them in the face. I'm not afraid of him. No matter what he says or does.”
They held each other's hand tight and walked in.
Brick nudged Berkley as soon as they entered.
“Look who just showed up.”
Berkley turned and saw Jay staring directly at him.
“He's a dead man,” he said to Brick. He plowed his way over to them, walking right up to Jay.
“Get out. Now.”
“Get lost,” Jay replied. “Now!”
“Oh, tough guy all of a sudden, are we?” Berkley glanced over to the door and saw one of the teachers eyeballing him. He turned back to Jay. “You got 30 seconds to run. If you're still here, I'm going to crack your head open. Understood?”
“Do it now. Save yourself the 30 seconds,” Jay replied. “I'm not going anywhere.”
Berkley took a few steps back, grinning like a oversized circus monkey.
“OK, tough guy, have it your way.”
He walked back over to where his date was sitting. Before he reached her Lucy jumped in front of him. “Forget about Leaf already,” she said. She looked at him seductively as she reached out and grabbed his hand. “There's better fish in Jacksonville—and trust me, I can give you more than she can.”
“More?” Berkley said bitterly. “You've given me nothing but blue balls!” He pulled his hand free then looked into her eyes. With a great deal of meanness in his voice, he whispered: “I'll have Leaf again, be sure of that—but I'll never have you, because I don't want you. I've never wanted you.”
He turned away with a disgusted look in his face and walked to where his date was sitting.
The Terminator remained calm. Her pupils flashed red.
She was still in control; however, now the game had changed.
Berkley picked up his date and pulled her on the dance floor. Time to intimidate, he thought.
Jay and Leaf also took to the dance floor.
As they held each other and danced, Berkley maneuvered himself closer to them, and bumped into the back of Jay.
“Don't worry about him,” Leaf said. “Keep your eyes on me.”
Again Berkley moved closer and bumped Jay. The other couples on the dance floor began to notice what was happening and started to move away.
Jay continued to look into Leaf's eyes. He smiled. He felt his own heart at peace. It wasn't racing. It wasn't scared.
The other couples had moved to the side of the dance floor and only Jay, Leaf, Berkley and his blonde dance partner were left.
“I'm going to destroy you.” Berkley called out. “You better run now, because if you don't I'm going to humiliate you.”
“I'm not running. Not now, not ever,” Jay replied. He turned back to Leaf. God, she was beautiful. She was everything he dreamed of. She was the reason he was no longer afraid. “They say perfect love drives out all fear,” he said, smiling at her. He moved closer and kissed her gently on the lips. “I've got my perfect love in my arms.”
“You're a dead man, New Guy,” Berkley hissed again.
Jay just smiled at him. Looking back at Leaf, he said, “Now we just have to wait for fear to realize the game is over and leave.”
“Perfect love drives out all fear,” Leaf repeated, “It's very poetic, and I believe it's also true . . . but I do believe that sometimes—” she swung around to face Berkley just as he was maneuvering to bump Jay once more, “even perfect love needs a little help.”
With lightning speed plowed her knee into his crotch. Berkley squealed in pain and plummeted to the dance floor, groping at his groin.
It caused such a scene even the DJ stopped playing. Everyone piled onto the dance floor and surrounded Berkley as he continued to moan on the floor.
“Out of my way, out of my way,” someone yelled as she pushed through the crowd. It was V.P. Hopkins. She looked at Berkley holding his groin then looked around at the entire senior year watching the spectacle.
“What happened here?” She asked, but no one answered.
“Are you OK?” She asked Berkley.
At the same time, Rick quickly knelt down next to her.
“I think he was bitten, Ms. Hopkins,” he said, sounding very serious. “I think I saw a spider crawling on his pants just before he fell.”
Ms. Hopkins, visualizing a major lawsuit, began to freak out.
“Nurse!” she cried out. The school nurse plowed through the crowd. Ms. Hopkins grabbed her and whispered in her ear, “Spider bite—no time to waste—do something!” The nurse, in a mad panic, immediately pulled down Berkley's pants with lightning speed, but then she froze, unwilling to take his pants off. There was only so much she was prepared to do for her job. She turned to the crowd, “Can someone who knows this young man please take his underpants off? I need to check if he was bitten!” she cried out.
Nobody moved.
No one said a word.
Suddenly, the crowd parted as Lucy pushed her way through. The Terminator didn't say a word, she just bent down and ripped off Berkley's underpants with one hand, like a machine.
The entire crowd went silent—then all at once they burst into laughter.
Even Ms. Hopkins stopped dead and stared in shock.
“No bite marks there, Ms. Hopkins,” Rick said, trying to sound serious in the midst of all the laughter. Ms. Hopkins went bright red.
Before them, for all to see, was Berkley's Beast in all its glory.
Even his friends couldn't help but laugh.
“That's your Beast, is it?” Brick said, laughing with the other goons standing around him.
“For the love of decency, somebody pull his pants up!” Ms. Hopkins cried out. But nobody volunteered.
A few moments later Berkley came to his senses and realized he was lying there with his pants around his ankles and the entire student body standing around him laughing. He pulled his pants up, horrified, and ran as fast as he could out of the school, utterly humiliated.
One of the students, a long time sufferer of Berkley's bulling, turned and ran as fast as he could out of the hall, darting down the hallway to Berkley's locker. He pulled out a felt tip marker and wrote in large letters: TINY.
At least ten other victims of Berkley's bulling also began planning their own payback, and payback he would receive. For the next six months, all the way to graduation, he would walk around school being heckled: Little man, tiny, peewee, pinky, string—the list went on. Every once in a while one of his previous victims would even call out Beast in the cafeteria, to the laughter of the rest of the school.
Vice Principle Hopkins and the school nurse broke through the crowd and chased after Berkley, carrying a bucket of ice, still worried about the small chance he actually did get bitten by a spider.
Slowly the crowd began to mingle again.
Rick blew his hair out of his face and shot Jay a smile from across the room, nodding at his friend with pride. He turned and gestured to the DJ to start playing some tunes again. A slow love song began to play and all the guys wasted no time pulling their date into a slow dance.
Jay took Leaf's hand.
“May I have this dance.”
“Not just this one,” she said. “E
very dance. Every day. Everything.”
“Everything?” Jay said. “Can I have your heart, too?”
She smiled.
“You already have it.”
He placed his hand gently on the back of her neck, drew her closer, and kissed her.
It was a beautiful, soft kiss.
He kissed her with all the courage in his heart. She kissed him with all the purity in hers.
Together, they felt fully alive.
THE END
From the Author
If you enjoyed this novella and would like to share your thoughts for others to read it would be great if you could write an amazon review for the Red Fox. You can write a review here. Thanks for reading!
Love rocks,
Kim Hunter
