Leaving Serenity

by Alle Wells

  “Don’t forget to use sunscreen, dear.”

  I started clearing away the breakfast dishes. Helping Mama in the kitchen was the only thing I knew to do to get on her good side. She started washing, and I grabbed a towel.

  “Mama, do you think I could get a summer job?”

  Mama chuckled. “Annette, you have the strangest ideas. Why on earth do you want to do that?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know. Just something to do, I guess.”

  Mama looked out the window over the sink. “Do you have something in mind?”

  I tried to play it cool. “I don’t know. There’s the Bluebird Café near the school. Maybe I could get a job there.”

  Mama drained the water out of the sink. “Well, I’ll speak to your father about it.”

  I jumped up and down inside. That was as good as a yes!

  That night, I crouched behind the living room couch and listened to Mama and Daddy in the kitchen. I heard Mama say, “She’s good help in the kitchen.”

  “Her grades are horrible,” Daddy said.

  Mama sighed. “I know. Surely, there’s something she can do.”

  “She barely made it through this year. Her teachers tell me that she shows no initiative in class. Well, maybe she should get a summer job and learn some sort of trade. The others do well in school. I have high hopes for them. I just don’t understand that girl.”

  Mama massaged her temples and sighed again. “I guess you’re right, dear. If she gets a job, at least she’ll be good for something!”

  When I heard my parents’ decision, I silently cried, Yippee! I didn’t care that my parents were disappointed in me or that they didn’t understand me. Going to work at the Bluebird was all that mattered to me. I wanted to jump and shout, but crawled quietly to my bedroom.

  I was up and ready at six o’clock on my first day of work. I sat at the breakfast table while Daddy read the morning paper. Mama stood over a frying pan, tending to the eggs. I was so excited that I could hardly sit still.

  I looked at Daddy hopefully. “Daddy, will you drive me to work early?”

  He stared at his paper. “Nope.”

  I panicked and looked at Mama’s back at the kitchen sink. Her movements told me that she was in a bad mood.

  I looked back at Daddy. “But I have to be there at nine. How will I get there?”

  He put his paper down. He reached in his pocket and pulled out a key hanging from a white AAA key ring. I glanced at the strange key lying on the table.

  “You’ll drive yourself.”

  I searched his face. “What?”

  Daddy’s face softened, and his eyes twinkled. “I’m pulling your leg, Trooper. Those are the keys to your car.”

  I felt the blood drain from my face and my mouth fly open. “A car, for me? For real?”

  Daddy looked at me and grinned. I ran to look out the living room window. A Ford Mustang sat in the driveway. Even Beth doesn’t have her own car. I guessed she didn’t need one since she was always riding with Jeff in his truck. Adam had a brand new Charger, but then, he was Adam. The shock was sinking into my head when Daddy walked up behind me.

  I turned and threw my arms around him. “Oh, Daddy, I love it! Is it all mine?”

  Daddy held on for just a second and then let go. “Yes, it’s all yours. You’ve had a hard patch lately. I’m proud of you for getting a job.”

  He pulled an envelope from his back pocket. “Here’s the title in your name, the registration, and insurance information. You buy the gas and pay the insurance. It will last you a long time if you take care of it.”

  My face beamed through the tears in my eyes. “It’s beautiful! That’s the nicest surprise I’ve ever had! Thank you, thank you! I’m going to thank Mama.”

  I ran back to the kitchen, but Mama was outside feeding the cat. She didn’t turn around when I came out the back door. I approached her quietly, uncertain of her mood.

  “Thanks for the car, Mama. It’s really great.”

  She gave me a sour look. “No doing of mine. It was your daddy’s idea. You better be getting off to work now.”

  I backed away from her. Sometimes Mama’s looks could sting like a bee. Sometimes I felt like those looks are intended especially for me.

  “Okay, I’ll see ya later.”

  I could tell that Mama was mad because Daddy gave me the car. She didn’t turn as I opened the gate to the chain link fence that led to the front yard. Underneath my excitement, I wondered why he did it. I felt his body stiffen when I threw my arms around him, but I could tell that he was happy for me.

  The sun bounced off the windshield of my new car and wiped away my worries. My fingertips tingled when I ran them over the shiny, gold surface of the hood. I named her Goldie. Inside, the interior was gold like the outside. A faint whiff of cigarette smoke lingered inside, and there was a small cigarette burn in the back seat. I turned the key, and Goldie came to life. I was in love with her. I’d never loved anything as much as I loved her. She was beautiful, and she was mine!

  The clock on the dashboard said seven-thirty. I drove real slow to work, not only because I was early, but so that nothing would happen to Goldie. The streets I’d known my whole life looked brighter than usual as I tasted the sweetness of freedom. Along with freedom, I got a taste of my summer vacation as the smell of coffee and country ham greeted me inside the café.

  Rosie attended to the line of people standing at the cash register. Andy was running from table to table like a chicken with its head chopped off. I walked to the other end of the counter and tried to blend into the wall. I didn’t know what to do, and the others were too busy to direct me. Andy flew by me.

  “You’re not due until nine. Why are you here now?”

  I shrugged.

  Andy leaned closer and whispered in my ear, “Go back outside until the crowd clears out.”

  I squeezed between the customers standing in line at the cash register. Rosie cut her eyes at me as I walked out the door. I sat in Goldie and waited. To pass the time, I turned on the radio and listened to Paul Harvey because that’s what was on. Just like Andy said, cars pulled out of the parking lot, and the crowd thinned out. Only a couple of cars remained in front of the café when I stuck my head in the door an hour later.

  Rosie broke open a roll of pennies as I walked in.

  Giving her a weak smile, I said, “Sorry, I was too early.”

  “It’s all right, better than being late, I reckon. We can’t train you when it’s busy. You need to start out slow.”

  I nodded, remembering how intimidated I felt during the breakfast rush. Andy came out of the kitchen door, carrying a crate of soft drinks.

  “Come on, Annette. I’ll show you how to pack the drink box.”

  After that, I refilled the napkin dispensers, filled the mustard and ketchup bottles, and swept the floor. By eleven o’clock, Andy let me take my first order. They took it easy on me the first day. By the time I left that day, I felt like a Bluebird pro.

  Andy and I became fast friends. We worked hard when the crowds came in, and we played hard when Rosie stepped out to get her hair done. I laughed so hard that I couldn’t breathe when Andy soaked my hair in whipped cream. When business was slow, we passed the time playing Yahtzee and Crazy Eights.

  Neither of us ever wanted to go home. Andy’s mother worked at the shirt factory and drank the rest of the time. Most nights, Andy slept on a cot in the storage room behind the Bluebird. I spent most of my time at home sleeping until it was time to go to work again. I left home at seven in the morning and came home around nine in the evening.

  Having my own transportation gave me the freedom to come and go as I pleased. Mama complained that I reeked of fried food. Daddy asked for reports on the bank account that I added to each week. One day led to another until half the summer was gone. One day in mid-July, a crazy guy walked into the Bluebird Café and my life.

  Chapter 5Leaving Serenity

  July 1971

  M
y heart skipped a beat when he casually walked through the door. He was even taller than me, clean-shaven with a trace of sun-kissed freckles across his face. Dark ringlets flowed freely around his relaxed shoulders. He wore tiny wire-rimmed glasses, gently worn bell bottom jeans, and an African print dashiki shirt. A strand of colorful beads fell just below his Adam’s apple. Images of Jim Morrison, lead singer of The Doors who died the week before, popped into my head.

  Andy spun around on the counter stool and raised his hand.

  “Jack, my man!”

  The guy called Jack brushed his palm lightly over Andy’s hand. “What’s hangin’, Bro?”

  Andy ran around the counter and fished two Mountain Dews from the drink box. Andy’s reaction to this guy told me that he was as special as he looked. I watched his every move from the corner of the dining room where I filled the salt and pepper shakers. I’d never seen a real live hippy before. I wondered where he came from, if he went to Woodstock, and if he did drugs. Most of the guys at school had shaggy hair just above the collar, but none dared to have hair as long as his. And nobody in Serenity dressed like that except Kizzie when she was here. I was fascinated by him and couldn’t pull my eyes away.

  “So, Jack, my man, what’s goin’ down?”

  “Ah, Man, I’m so mad I could spit nails! That hillbilly construction foreman canned me. He claimed I ripped him off.”

  Jack pointed a long, tanned finger in Andy’s face. “I said to him, ‘Dude! How dare you have the audacity to question my veracity?’ ”

  I pictured the irony of a construction worker spitting nails and held in a giggle. The whole room seemed to light up when he spoke. His accent was smooth, not flat and southern like everybody else around here. He sounded really smart, too. I wondered if he was in college, like Adam.

  Andy took a swig from his drink bottle. “Bummer, Man, but you sure told him, for sure.”

  Jack held a Marlboro between his lips, lighting it with a quick flick of the wrist. The sharp knuckles on his large, lean hands caught my eye.

  “Right on, Dude! He’ll be sorry he messed with Jack, the man!”

  Andy glanced at me and cocked his head, inviting me over. I shook my head at him and straightened my hair that looked like yesterday’s dough burger. I wanted to run and hide, but it was too late.

  Andy called out, “Hey, Jack, I want you to meet a friend of mine.”

  I wiped my hands on my jeans. My knees felt like jelly as I walked across the dining room that seemed to get bigger as I approached the counter. Jack swirled around on the stool and smiled at me. “Well, hello there, pretty lady.”

  No one had ever called me pretty or a lady. I imagined my whole body melting into the floor like the wicked witch on The Wizard of Oz. I managed a weak smile to match my jellified knees. No words came from my mouth as I swooned over his sculptured face.

  Andy spoke for me. “This is Annette.”

  Jack pointed toward me with the hand holding the cigarette. “Yeah, far out! I remember you. You’re sister to that Ken Doll…” Jack pinched his nose with two fingers on his other hand. “Ah, Adam…something.”

  The thought of someone making fun of Adam made me laugh. A giggle slipped from my throat. “Ken Doll?”

  Jack looked at me, amused. “Yeah, you know, all up-tight and stiff-like. He’s your brother, right?”

  I hid the grin behind my hand. “Yeah, I guess so.”

  Jack patted the stool next to him. “Here, pretty lady, take a load off.”

  He said it again. Jack’s charm drew me in as he looked at me sideways.

  “You don’t remember me, do you? I’m the guy who used to wink at you in the drug store.”

  Suddenly, I recognized the freckle-faced boy behind the lunch counter who made me laugh. Heat trickled over my face. “Oh yeah, I remember you now.”

  His beautiful green eyes studied my face. “You want a drink or something?”

  I shook my head. “Nah, I’m supposed to be working.”

  Jack turned back to the counter. “Hey, Bro, how about getting me one of Rosie’s famous dough burgers?”

  “Sure thing, Man.” Andy disappeared behind the kitchen door.

  Jack turned his drink bottle up and put it back down. “Yeah, I remember you coming in on Saturdays with your mama. How many sisters and brothers do you have?”

  “One sister, two brothers.”

  Jack lit another cigarette. “Yeah, right on. I remember you, for sure. Of course, that was before I went to Nam.”

  My eyes nearly popped out of my head when I realized that I was talking to someone who had fought in a war clear on the other side of the world. “You were in Vietnam?”

  Jack took a drag from his cigarette and said, “Yep. I was waiting to hear from the Navy Seals. Special Forces like that need smart guys like me, you know. So, I was just sitting around waiting to be called, and damn if the Army didn’t get me first. Drafted. Bummer, Man!”

  “For real, did you like being in the Army?”

  Jack laughed. “Hell-blazes, no! The army is nothing but one big hassle. I don’t like hassles. I’m cool. I like taking it easy, see?”

  Andy came back and put the sandwich on the counter, but Jack was way too wound up to eat. Andy leaned on the counter to hear Jack’s war story.

  “I had this sergeant, see. He was the meanest son of a you-know-what you ever saw. He was always yelling right up in your face. I didn’t feel so bad for myself because I’m a pretty tough dude. It was the other guys I felt sorry for. So this sergeant starts cussing and raising all kinds of Cain at us, orders us to get in the trenches, you know, like nasty swamps. Well, I’m cool and down for just about anything, but snakes and such…no way, Buddy. I don’t want no part of that. You know what I mean?”

  Jack jumped off the stool and threw in a few hand gestures to punctuate his story.

  “Well, so this high and mighty dude says for me to get my –uh, you know what – down in that swamp. I said, ‘Well the hell no!’ He said to me, ‘Boy, you’re gettin’ in that swamp, or I’ll write you up and have you thrown in the brig.’ Now, that really pissed me off ’cause I don’t take too kindly to getting snake bit. So he starts walking back to his tent to write me up, like he said. I take that big gun I’ve been carrying around for days but never got a chance to use and BAM! I shoot his ass!”

  Andy’s eyebrows shot up. “Did you kill him?”

  Jack waved his hand. “Nah, Man. I mean I literally shot the guy in the ass.”

  I was engrossed in the story, staring wide-eyed at the ringlets falling freely around his manly face. “Wow, he’s okay, right?” I asked.

  “Aw, yeah. He just couldn’t sit down for a month.”

  We all laughed at that until Andy asked, “What did they do to you? I mean, did you get in trouble?”

  Jack took another swig from his drink bottle and sat back down to eat his burger. “They threw me in the brig for six months, and then I got a discharge. Being here is a lot better than being over there, that’s for sure.”

  Andy shook his head. “Hey, that’s a real drag. What was it like in the brig? Was it bad?”

  Jack pondered over the question. “Far out, enlightening, Man. You find out all kinds of stuff in prison that you’d never learn about out here in real life. I met some really smart dudes in there, Man. Dudes that know about things you and me would never dream of, like conspiracy. Do you know what conspiracy is?”

  Andy and I shook our heads.

  Jack pushed his empty plate away and explained. “Conspiracy is what the establishment is all about, Man! The politicians, the bankers, everybody over thirty, they all want to turn us into a controlled society. You know, like we’re nothing but a bunch of worker bees while the fat cats sit back and tell us what to do. It’s been going on for years. The establishment has your whole life all planned out for you, even before you get a chance to live it.”

  Jack shook his head. “I’m telling you, Man, never trust anybody over thirty!”

&
nbsp; Andy scratched his chin and answered quietly, “Yeah, I see what you mean.”

  Jack stood up. “Well, Dude, I gotta jet, places to go and people to see.”

  Jack reached over the counter and shook Andy’s hand like a real grown-up. Andy nodded and smiled at him. I nearly fell through the floor when he turned to me, stared directly into my eyes, and actually kissed my hand!

  “Until we meet again, my pretty lady.”

  Then he dashed out the door. My heart felt like it jumped out of my chest and ran out the door behind him. He was the most beautiful man I’d ever seen in real life or on TV.

  “Oh God, Andy, did you see that? He kissed my hand like I was some kind of princess.”

  Andy smiled. “Yeah, Jack’s all right, a real straight up guy.”

  “Yeah, cute too, and so smart! But you know what? He didn’t pay!”

  Andy leaned over the counter and whispered, “Yes he did.”

  He opened his hand and revealed the marijuana joint. Then I knew why Jack shook Andy’s hand.

  Andy gave me a half-smile. “If you want, we can smoke this tonight after work.”

  “I don’t know, Andy. Smoking’s not really my thing.”

  “This is different. Trust me, you’ll like it.”

  ***

  Business was dead, so we closed the café early. Andy showed me a quiet hillside just outside of town where we could watch the sun go down. I coughed and sputtered when the harsh smoke hit my throat. But the weed (that’s what Andy said to call it) smelled good and made my mouth water. We talked about how pretty the sunset was and how we wished we were somewhere other than Serenity. Afterwards, we stopped by the 7-Eleven. I picked up three candy bars and a Dr. Pepper. Andy made me nervous when he laughed so hard at every little thing. I dropped Andy off at the café and ate the candy bars on the way home. By the time I walked in the front door, the effects of the joint were gone.

  I slipped through the foyer and turned toward the hallway. Mama was sitting on the couch in the den watching The Carol Burnett Show. “Is that you, Annette?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  She didn’t turn around, but said, “You’re coming in later every night. You know you have to be up in time to go to church tomorrow.”