Life in the No-Dating Zone

by Patricia B Tighe

I came up on my elbows. “Narrow? Five hours is narrow?”

  Rose laughed. “It is when you’re bowling.”

  I bolted upright. “Really?” Yeah, I actually squeaked that word out. I love bowling. When I was in fifth grade, I bowled in a league and got pretty good. But of course, most of the people I knew thought bowling was lame. Especially Rose and Lindsey. They only agreed to it occasionally. After tons of begging on my part. So naturally I became suspicious. “Why?”

  “Why what?” Rose asked.

  “Why do you want to go bowling?”

  “Because we’re sorry we changed the movie plans on you the other day,” Lindsey said.

  Lindsey apologizing? That was rare. “Oh. Thanks.”

  “And,” Rose said, “both of us have plans that are going to keep us busy for the next couple of days and we wanted to do something with you first.”

  Huh. That was nice. Maybe I should keep these friends after all. “Hang on. I need to pee.”

  When I got back from the bathroom, Lindsey was stretched out on my bed, making Henrietta pig dance on her stomach. I plopped down beside her. “Okay, what are these so-called plans y’all have?”

  “Adam has to go to a funeral in some piddly town in south Texas,” Lindsey said. “He leaves early tomorrow, so I’m going out with him tonight.”

  “How long will he be gone?” I said, hoping for forever.

  “He’ll be back late Sunday night, so … five full days.” She frowned. “And I’ve got Dramadary at school tomorrow. I get to help all the little kiddies do skits. Henrietta feels sorry for me. Don’t you, Henrietta?”

  Rose laughed. “And Sam’s cousins are coming in town tonight for a couple of days. I can’t wait to see them.”

  “The ones you met on the cruise?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I’m still mad at Sam for not having boy cousins,” Lindsey said.

  Rose looked at the ceiling and then at me. I smiled.

  “You have plenty of boys to keep you occupied,” Rose said.

  Lindsey sighed. Dramatically, of course. “I guess.”

  Rose stood. “Let’s go downstairs,” she said to Lindsey. “Claire needs to get dressed. And I want to play with Baby Jack.”

  “Oh, all right,” Lindsey said, rolling off my bed. “Hurry up, Claire. I don’t want baby drool all over me.”

  I placed Henrietta pig carefully against my pillow, then ran to my top dresser drawer. “Get ready, y’all. I’m gonna wear my bowling glasses!”

  They left my room with Lindsey mumbling about glasses all the way down the stairs. I normally wore my basic black rectangular frames. They were sturdy and darkened when I went outside, which was totally convenient. But I also had three other pairs of glasses I saved for special occasions.

  A delicate rimless pair I used when I had to dress up.

  A dark purple pair with a lavender inner rim I wore when I was angry. Although I didn’t often have them with me when I got angry, which kind of defeated the purpose. It was a rare day when I put them on in the morning.

  And for bowling, because it was nerdy and I wanted to look the part—a pair of yellow with white polka dots in a retro style. For some reason, they always made me smile. It had been a long time since I’d worn them.

  I popped open the case, slid the glasses on, and went to the mirror. Oh yeah. Super nerd. Perfect. I sensed a great day ahead.

  Boy, was I wrong.

  Ten

  Claire

  Lindsey wiggled her hips in time to the background music as she sashayed down the approach. Rose laughed. “Work it, sister!”

  When she reached the foul line, Lindsey swung her arm back, then forward and released the bowling ball. Which promptly rolled into the gutter. She turned and curtseyed to us.

  Rose clapped.

  “I don’t know why you don’t want me to teach you,” I said. “Because, you know, I have bowled a perfect game so far.”

  “Oh, brother,” Rose said.

  “Because then I’d be taking it seriously,” Lindsey said. “And there’s no way I’m ever taking this game seriously.”

  “Your loss,” I said, but it didn’t really bother me. I knew neither of them liked to bowl. It took forever for us to get through even one game, what with Lindsey goofing around and Rose running off to get drinks and snacks. But what great friends I had.

  Rose nudged Lindsey. “Your turn’s not over.”

  “Oh, right.” She hoisted a red ball from the return.

  “That’s not your ball,” I said.

  She cradled the ball against her stomach. “Claire. Really. You think it matters?”

  I laughed. “I think that one’s a sixteen-pounder.”

  “So? I’m buff.”

  Hooboy. This ought to be interesting. Lindsey strode up to the line with an air of purpose and drew her arm back. The ball slipped from her fingers, banging against the approach like she’d dropped an anvil. “Oops,” she said and smiled prettily.

  Two middle-aged guys from the next lane over grinned at her. If I’d done that, they probably would have shaken their heads or maybe even scolded me.

  “Hey, babe!” Adam’s voice came from behind us. “You trying to destroy the place?”

  I twisted around and my happiness drained out through the toes of my green and red bowling shoes. Adam strolled over, followed by Sam. Boys. Again.

  “Adam!” Lindsey said. She rushed up, wrapped her arms around him, and planted a big one on him.

  Sam greeted Rose with a brief kiss, then looked at me. “Nice glasses. How’s bowling?”

  “Interesting,” I said.

  “Eventful,” Rose said with a laugh.

  Sam slid onto the bench beside Rose and draped his arm over her shoulders.

  “What’re you doing here?” she asked.

  “Adam was on his lunch break and saw me filling up my car with gas, so he stopped. Said he was gonna come over here for about twenty minutes. So I decided to come, too. I mean, I know it’s girl time and everything—”

  “And you’re definitely not a girl,” I said, but sweetly because he’s nice.

  His mouth curved up on one side. “Yeah, last time I checked.”

  Rose elbowed him, but they both laughed.

  I turned away to give them a little private time. Who knew what was going to happen now? Twenty minutes I could handle, but what if the guys stayed longer? My hand had flown to the green gem of my necklace, but I made myself let go. Instead, I seized a piece of lint from my shorts and flicked it away. I hated this whiny sensation I had going on inside. It made me want to get up and walk out, or better yet, demand the guys leave. That would go over well.

  I pressed the reset button, picked up the red bowling ball, and placed it back on the rack. Resetting the whole day might be the best plan. Lindsey and Adam waddled over, their arms wrapped around each other. How could people walk and hug at the same time?

  Adam detached himself from Lindsey and went down on his hands and knees on the approach. “What’re you doing?” she asked.

  “Looking for the dent you made.”

  She bonked him on the head and laughed. “I didn’t make a dent.”

  I walked away from the laugh fest and sat across from Sam and Rose. “So, Sam,” I said, “I haven’t really asked you before. How are you liking Eastridge?”

  “I love it. A lot smaller than Houston, but I love it.”

  “Are you sure it’s not just the girl you love?” I asked.

  Rose blushed her famous bright red. “Way to embarrass me, Claire.”

  Sam grinned at her. “No. Now that you mention it, I’m not sure at all.”

  If it was possible, Rose turned even brighter red. The two of them sitting there looking a little awkward, but happy, made me smile. They really were cute together. But my smile faded when I heard Adam’s voice.

  “Let me show you how it’s done, babe.” He snatched up the red bowling ball from the rack, and before I could register what was happening, he’d
stumbled—no bowling shoes—down the approach and sent the ball into the lane.

  My game! Heat burst in my chest and raced up my face. I jumped to my feet. “What are you doing?”

  The ball struck the pins like an exclamation mark to my yell.

  All four of them looked at me as if someone had replaced sweet, easy-going Claire with a screeching snake-headed gorgon. Because I had screeched. Or maybe it was a shriek. I’d never made that noise in public before. I might not ever have made it at home either, unless it happened when I was a baby.

  Rose touched my arm. “What’s wrong?”

  “My game,” I whispered. It was my turn. The arrival of the guys had distracted me from taking my turn. We were in the sixth frame. My perfect game had been murdered. Now I was staring at a seven-ten split. In other words, the farthest apart two pins could get. And I sucked at picking up splits.

  “What?” Adam asked, sounding defensive.

  “It was Claire’s turn,” Rose said.

  “Oh,” he said. “Sorry. I thought I was finishing off Lindsey’s turn.” He didn’t look sorry at all. In fact, he folded his arms across his chest and grinned at Lindsey.

  I twisted the hem of my T-shirt. “I’d pressed the reset button.”

  “Oh, wow,” Sam said, “look at the score. You had a perfect game going.”

  “Oops,” Adam said.

  Lindsey giggled.

  Killing both of them seemed too nice. I hadn’t bowled a perfect game ever. I’d come close, and there was no way of knowing if I would have made it this time, but it would’ve been nice to try. Sure Adam said it was a mistake, but I wouldn’t put it past him to have done it deliberately. We were not each other’s favorite person.

  “Here,” Adam said, sweeping his arm out in an expansive gesture, “I guess you’ll want to finish up.”

  I slumped into a seat. “No, I don’t think I do.”

  “Oh, c’mon, Claire,” Lindsey said, “it’s just a stupid game.”

  Adam shrugged, then sent the ball straight down the center of the lane again.

  Lindsey scowled at me like all of this tension in the air was my fault. I don’t know, maybe it was. But if the guys hadn’t shown up, there would be no tension. That, I knew. I had to get away, at least for a few minutes. I stood and faced Sam and Rose. “Bathroom. Back in a minute.”

  I walked off but could still hear Adam. “What’s her problem anyway?”

  Lindsey said something back, but I was too far away by then. In the bathroom, I slammed into a stall and sat. I didn’t have to pee. I just needed to think. Why did I have such a hard time getting along with Adam? Other than the fact that he was an ass. I’d never had much trouble with any of Lindsey’s previous boyfriends. Of course, most of them hadn’t lasted more than a month or so. Adam and Lindsey had been together almost four months now. Four lovely, glorious months. I couldn’t wait for it to be over.

  But maybe I didn’t have to wait.

  My so-called plan to shake things up had kind of fizzled just as it had started. Time to rev it back up and kick it into high gear. Adam was leaving tomorrow for five days. Not much time to do everything I could to shove Lindsey and Gray together. I’d have to work fast.

  Eleven

  Gray

  Parents and little kids filtered out of the theater building into the glare of the noon sun. The morning session of Dramadary had ended. I still didn’t want to get out of the car with its blasting AC, cushy cloth seats, and a girl I wasn’t afraid of.

  “Gray,” Claire said from the passenger seat. “Are you going to turn off the car? Or do I have to do some voodoo magic thing to get you to?”

  “I’m thinking about it.”

  She unbuckled her seat belt. “Stop thinking and turn it off. We need to go in before Lindsey’s drink melts.”

  “Right.” I cut the engine. We got out and headed across the parking lot before I could change my mind. Heat blazed up from the pavement practically singing the hair off my arms and legs.

  “Remember, this is the easiest one we thought of,” she said. “You won’t have to do much talking.”

  “I know. I’m being stupid.”

  Sadly, she didn’t disagree, just yanked the door open. “I’ll send a quick text.” She tapped away on her phone.

  In the foyer, people milled around, and kids whined. What was wrong with me? I’d already talked to Lindsey successfully just a few days ago. And all Claire and I were doing was bringing her some weird lemonade-tea slushy drink. Supposedly her favorite.

  So why did I want to go home and babysit my little brothers? Who wanted to break up fights with his siblings instead of talk to a gorgeous girl? I had to face it. I was a loser with a bizarre fantasy I might have a chance with Lindsey Taylor.

  “She’s on her way,” Claire said. I must’ve looked like I was about to pass out because she squeezed my elbow. “C’mon, champ, you can do this.”

  I switched the big cup from one hand to the other and wiped my newly free hand on my shorts. “Are you patronizing me?”

  She grinned. “Completely.”

  Claire Gardner was pretty cute when she smiled, but I still wanted to give her a shove. A friendly shove, but one she might remember. The impulse died when Lindsey appeared, winding her way through the crowd. A look of surprise crossed her face when she saw me, but she masked it quickly.

  “Hey, guys,” she said. “What’s going on?”

  “Gray and I ran into each other at Sonic,” Claire lied. “He suggested we get you something to drink, too. So, here we are!”

  That last sentence was a little too enthusiastic. I’d noticed Claire did stuff like that when she was nervous. It made me feel a lot better about my own social awkwardness.

  Lindsey looked from one of us to the other without saying anything. Even with her hair pulled back and no makeup on, she was still stunning. Claire brushed my elbow with hers. “Oh, right,” I said and shoved the drink toward Lindsey.

  “Thanks,” she said. “Is it—”

  “Yup,” Claire said.

  “Lemonade iced tea,” Lindsey said, then smiled at me. Oh yeah, babysitting your brothers could go suck it. “Thanks so much, y’all. I can really use it after this morning.”

  The irritated look on her face surprised words out of me. “Didn’t go well?”

  She sipped her drink. “Ah. That’s good. It was fine, I guess.” She leaned closer and lowered her voice. “Little kids aren’t really my thing.”

  “Oh.” I couldn’t think of anything else to say with her face so near mine.

  She straightened. “I really need to get back in there. We have to eat before the next group shows up.”

  “Okay,” Claire said.

  “Oh, hey,” Lindsey said, “the theater peeps and I are hanging out at the gazebo tonight if you want to come.”

  “I have to work,” I said.

  “Too bad,” she said. “Claire?”

  “Don’t know. I might be able to.”

  “Lindsey!” a girl called from across the room.

  “Gotta go. Thanks for the drink,” she said and squeezed my forearm.

  “No problem,” I said, but she was already weaving through the crowd.

  “C’mon,” Claire said.

  I followed her outside into the glaring sunshine.

  “Not bad, sugar lump,” Claire said.

  “Shut up.”

  “No, really. It didn’t completely suck.”

  This time I did shove her. Not hard, just enough to make her waver.

  She just laughed. “Let’s get something to eat. Whataburger okay?”

  “Perfect. I could use some cow.”

  ***

  Claire held her Whataburger Jr. with one pinky sticking out. Did she realize she was doing it? Probably not. For such a forceful person, she was an amazingly delicate eater. No crumbs, no slurping sounds, no tomato sliding out of her burger. She’d even cut the little thing in half.

  She put down her food and wiped her mouth w
ith a napkin. “You’re sure you can get someone to watch your brothers tomorrow morning?”

  “Yeah, I can take them next door. I mean, it won’t take long, right?”

  “Shouldn’t. Lindsey’ll be at the grocery store around ten. It’s the one major chore she does for her parents. Probably because it gets her out of the house every week—even if she’s grounded.”

  “So when do we go?”

  “Ten thirty or so, just in case she’s really fast. I think she’s usually done by about a quarter till.”

  Man, I hoped I wouldn’t freeze up and just stare at her. I sipped my drink, and then lied. “Sounds good.”

  “Really? Because you sound like you need me to hold your hand.”

  “Don’t be snarky.”

  “But I like being snarky.”

  I bit into my burger. “Do it some other time then.”

  “Gross. Do you have to talk with food in your mouth?”

  I swallowed. “Do you have to cut your hamburger into tiny little bites?”

  “A half does not make tiny little bites. Is there something wrong with the way I eat?”

  “Not if you’re in a five-star rest—”

  “Hey, guys!”

  Oh, no. Amy Acton trailed by Nyssa Staphos. And now at our table. I forced a smile onto my face.

  “Hi,” Claire said. “How’re y’all?”

  “Good,” Amy said. “What’re y’all doing here?”

  Claire looked over at me. But there was no way I was jumping into this conversation. She was doing just fine. She motioned to her food. “Having lunch?”

  Nyssa let out a nervous laugh, but Amy pressed on. “I can see that. I meant I’ve never seen you here together before.”

  Nice. Very subtle. Why didn’t she just say, Are you two going out?

  “That’s because it’s never happened before,” Claire said, perfectly calm, but I could tell her brain was whirring. The distant look in her eyes signaled a plan. But if it included winging it, I’d better get ready. “Gray, would you mind getting me some more Sprite?”

  And there it was. She was sending me away from the table, which probably meant she was going to concoct some wild story and didn’t want me around to give it away. Fine with me. “Sure.” I grabbed her cup and headed for the soda refill station.