The door finally opened but it was Gus, not Sadie, who appeared on the other side. “Nate,” he said, “come in. Sadie is just running a little slow but she’ll be down in a moment.”
I thanked him and stepped inside the house. I was uncomfortably aware that the last time I had been inside was when I broke in.
“I bet you’re glad you don’t have to mow our lawn anymore,” Gus said. “It’s the one benefit of the cool air, I suppose.”
“It wasn’t a problem,” I said. “Actually, I sort of like mowing lawns. It’s relaxing.”
“Coffee?” Gus asked as he walked to the kitchen and poured himself a cup. I shook my head no. Gus walked back, took a sip from his cup, and looked at me. “Speaking of relaxing,” he said, “how’s the stress level over at your house? We haven’t had a chance to catch up in a while. You’re not having any problems at home, are you?”
“No,” I said. “The opposite, actually. Jerry sort of encouraged me to reach out to Matt Reagan. I assume Sadie told you that I finally found my real father?”
“She did,” Gus said. He pursed his lips. “I’m glad to hear that Jerry is coming around,” he said. “I don’t think he’s a bad man. Fundamentally good people can lose themselves sometimes. The important thing is that he’s supporting you.”
“Well, he’s not in this instance,” I said. “I don’t want to talk to my father. I’ve got nothing to say to him.”
“I can understand that,” Gus said. “I think you should hear him out, though. Not because you owe him anything but because you might never forgive yourself if you don’t. The one thing my cancer has taught is that life is precious and delicate. If you wait too long to do something, you could end up being too late. I wouldn’t want you to regret never having had a chance to get to know your father.”
I opened my mouth to reply but just then Sadie walked down the stairs and my mind immediately blanked on everything but her. She was dressed in stylish blue jeans and a soft black jacket. She had an oversized burgundy scarf slung around her neck, giving her and artistic look. The outfit made Sadie appear sophisticated and beautiful at the same time. It seemed casual and yet something about the way Sadie fidgeted with it nervously told me that she had agonized over it. In fact, the clothes looked new. I began to think that she had bought them in the hopes of making herself seem older and more intriguing to her college boyfriend.
“You know Aaron couldn’t get back, right?” I said, trying to make sure she didn’t get her hopes up. “He really wanted to be here. He just has a soccer game today and…”
“I know, I know,” Sadie said. “Don’t worry, I didn’t dress up like this just for him. Well? Should we go? I don’t suppose you’re ready to tell me what this surprise is?”
“Not a chance,” I said.
We said goodbye to Gus. As we left the house I saw Caroline poke her head around the corner and smile at me. I had told her what the surprise was and she approved.
We got into Aaron’s car. As I drove I could see Sadie’s head swiveling back and forth, trying to figure out where we were going. An expression of confusion and consternation crossed her face when we pulled into the parking lot of Sanders Park.
“What are we doing here?” she asked. “If you want me to kick your butt in soccer, let’s come back tomorrow when it’s light out.”
“Just be quiet and do what you’re told,” I said. I enjoyed seeing the look of annoyance that flashed across Sadie’s face. She did not like letting me be in charge.
We got out of the car and walked deep into the park. We passed the soccer fields and the hill and continued along the dirt path that led into the woods.
“Wait, I hear something,” Sadie said suddenly.
Sure enough, the soft sounds of classical music wafted through the air.
I didn’t say anything. Instead, I led her farther along the trail until we reached a little wooden bridge that arched over a picturesque creek.
“Where is that coming from?” Sadie asked, looking around for the source of the music
“I don’t know,” I said innocently. I darn well did know because Dylan and I and a bunch of the other soccer guys had sped over here after practice and had hung an old CD player under the bridge in a grocery bag. It had been no small effort and several of us – including myself – had gotten caked with mud and filthy water. Aaron definitely owed me. I wondered what walkers in the park thought as the music had played on for hours until Sadie and I arrived.
“It’s kinda dark,” I said, looking around. Night had descended quickly on the park. It was difficult to make out anything. “Here, I think I’ve got a light,” I said. I pulled out a little metal saucer and set it on the railing of the bridge. Then I put a candle on top of it and pulled a lighter out of my pocket. As I did that, I stuck my other hand in my other pocket and hit the send button on my phone.
“You just happened to have all that in your pocket?” Sadie asked skeptically.
“Hush up,” I said. “I’m just following orders.”
“What orders… oh my…”
Just as Sadie started to talk, dozens of little flickers of light appeared in the creek. The little flickers floated slowly closer to us.
“What… what are they?” Sadie asked in a hushed voice.
They were little ice cubes. Hundreds of them. Aaron had bought 20 ice trays capable of holding 15 ice cubes each. Noah Cafferty had taken them to his dad’s restaurant, filled them with water, and then left them in the restaurant’s walk-in freezer. Then Aaron had come by and painstakingly drilled holes into each ice cube and inserted tiny little birthday cake-style candles. Thanks to the soccer guys, who sitting along the bank of the creek just around the bend and furiously lighting candles, 300 glowing ice cubes now slowly floated down the creek towards us. The flickering light seemed to dance to the sounds of Bach’s Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major being played by Yo-Yo Ma from underneath the bridge.
I looked at Sadie’s face and saw a mixture of awe and happiness on it. Time for phase two. I quietly pulled my phone out of my pocket and, holding it down by my hip so Sadie wouldn’t see, pressed a few more buttons. When my brother’s face came on the screen, I handed the phone to Sadie. “Here, I think someone wants to talk to you.”
Sadie looked down and saw Aaron. “Aaron,” she said breathlessly. “This is so beautiful. How did you…”
“Look up,” I heard Aaron say. Sadie looked up and, just then, perfectly timed, all the trees lining the creek lit up in brilliant white lights.
Aaron had taken all of our Christmas lights and borrowed every string of white lights from his friends that he could get his hands on. Then he had lined dozens of trees along the creek with them solely for this moment. It must have taken him weeks of work to accomplish.
I slowly backed away and waited down the path a ways to give Aaron and Sadie space to talk without being overheard. I walked around behind the bridge like Aaron had instructed me to make sure that the candles were not getting caught up in brush along the banks of the creek and starting a fire. I needed have bothered. As Aaron had planned, each candle winked out as the ice cube melted. Aaron claimed he had gotten special eco-friendly candles as well so I supposed that no harm was being done, aside from the massive blow to masculinity caused by all this lovey-dovey crap.
I walked back to the path by the bridge. As I waited, I shook my head at absurd effort Aaron had made to surprise Sadie. It was certifiably insane. He had actually planned this all out months ago over the summer when he was still here, realizing that Sadie would probably feel lonely around the time of the homecoming weekend. Well, she wasn’t going to be lonely. It was Thursday, a day before the homecoming game and two days before the homecoming dance. Aaron had given me strict instructions to let Sadie borrow the car so she could drive to meet him for the weekend. He even had the nerve to work with her dad to arrange it all with her teachers. If a girl had just done that to arrange a hookup with me I would have been ecstatic. The lights and the candles, though�
�� that was nuts. Ugh. Love could be sickening at times.
I don’t know what Aaron and Sadie talked about but when she finally walked down off the bridge to join me she had tears in her eyes.
“Are you alright?” I asked.
“Yes,” Sadie said. “I’m just so happy.”
She wrapped her arms around me and hugged me tightly. I knew she wasn’t hugging me. I was just the thing that most resembled Aaron in the immediate vicinity. If I hadn’t been here she probably would have found a tree that looked like him and hugged it.
Sadie finally let me go and then looked up at me with wet eyes. “You’re brother is the sweetest, most amazing guy I’ve ever met… in the world even! He is so thoughtful. My knees literally go weak just looking at him…”
“Okay,” I said. “I get it…”
“And when he smiles it’s like the sun has come out and we’re together on a beautiful beach…” Sadie continued enthusiastically.”
“That’s really nice…”
“And when I’m with him it just feels like everything is right with the world, you know?” Sadie continued. Her eyes were unfocused and she seemed to not even notice that I was still there. “Then he puts his arms around me and I feel his body…”
“Yup, okay, got the picture. We should probably…”
“And his body, well, oh my,” Sadie said. “He’s the hottest boy I’ve even seen. Do you know what his abs feel like when I…”
“Okay! Okay! That’s good,” I said desperately. “Got to go. Got to go. Let’s go now. No time to talk.”
Sadie blinked and then looked at me and laughed. She rose onto her tip toes and gave me quick kiss on the cheek.
“What was that for?” I asked.
“For being such a good brother and friend,” Sadie answered.
I sighed. “Fine,” I said. “Just don’t tell anyone, okay? It seems like I’m getting new siblings every day and with my luck they’re all going to start wanting the royal treatment.”
Sadie’s face seemed to glow as we walked back through the dark park towards the car. She was so happy. I wondered if I would ever find a girl who would make me as happy as Sadie seemed right now. Probably not. Loved seemed reserved only for the good and lucky people in the world. It didn’t waste itself on people like me.
Chapter 38 – Homecoming Game
The homecoming game at Southcrest military academy was always fun. Alumni from around the country would come back to watch and we’d always try to see what mischief we could get away with on them and the other team under the watchful eyes of the teachers and school administration. Still, Southcrest was located in a relatively secluded area and the crowds never got too big. That left me wholly unprepared for the crowd at Lakeville High School on Friday night.
The streets all around the school were jammed with traffic. Parking was impossible. Mothers and children wearing red poured out of cars to walk the rest of the way to the school while frustrated fathers drove miles to find a parking spot. Thankfully, I had agreed to go the game with some of the guys from the soccer team and they knew what to expect. After the half day of the school we were obliged to attend was over, we had gone to a teammate’s house that was close to the school. We spent the rest of the day there throwing footballs and discs around. When the time for the game came, we just had to walk a couple hundred yards to the football field.
Of course, as usually happened when a group of guys got together, social shyness quickly gave way to a desire to show off. 10 guys were chosen to get their chests painted red with “Go Pirates!” spelled out in white letters. Dylan immediately volunteered me and, teasing me about my unfortunate membership to the Hottie List and therefore the need for me to be shirtless as much as possible, the rest of the guys refused to let me decline the honor.
We put shirts on so that we would be let into the stadium. As we were walking down to the front row of the stands I spotted Payton, Alyssa, and the rest of their friends in the fourth row. I smiled and nodded to them. Payton saw me and nodded back but did not smile. She returned her gaze to a third girl whom Alyssa appeared to be trying to comfort. The girl had her head buried in her hands as if she was crying.
There wasn’t much I could do about the crying girl so I took my place with the guys. I was the “R” in the word “Pirate.”
The game started badly. Our opponents, the Hammond Eagles, were good. Very good. They quickly scored two touchdowns before we could get in a single point.
The soccer guys were undeterred, however. They insisted on raucous chants that kept the spirits of the crowd high. I had to admit that their energy was infectious. I found myself screaming and proudly showing off the letter painted across my bare upper body along with them.
By halftime my throat was killing me. My voice was nearly gone and I sank back down onto the metal bench, savoring the rest it gave my legs. I turned to my head to respond to a comment from one of the guys when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I looked up and saw Payton staring down at me.
“Hey, how’s it going?” I asked in a strained voice. The sound was low and raspy.
“Wow, sexy voice,” Payton said. “You should scream yourself hoarse more often. Listen, I couldn’t help but noticing your letter is a little off.”
It took me a moment to realize what she was talking about. When I did, I looked down at my chest. It was hard to tell looking upside down but the R did look a little funny, almost more like a P.
“Let me guess. You let Noah Cafferty do the paint job?” Payton asked.
“Yeah, how did you know?” I said.
“He gave your brother a similar paint job at the girls’ state soccer meet last year,” Payton said. “It made for a rather interesting encounter between Aaron and Sadie.” Then she stopped and pursed her lips as if she had suddenly thought of something. She gave me a strange look.
“What?” I asked.
“Hmm… you see that girl over there who’s crying?” Payton asked. She pointed to the girl who had her head buried in her hands. Alyssa was still trying to comfort the girl.
“Yeah,” I said.
“That’s my friend Olivia,” Payton said. “She just broke up with her boyfriend, Ryan. Ryan’s a great guy but it just wasn’t working for them with him so far away at college.”
“Okay,” I said, not sure what this had to do with me.
“Anyway, someone needs to fix that R or it’s going to look like you’re cheering on the ‘Pipates’, right?” Payton said. “I’m thinking that maybe that someone can be Olivia.”
“Really? It doesn’t seem like she’d want to do that right now,” I said, looking at the crying girl. Then my eyes widened. “Wait a sec, you’re trying to fix me up as her rebound guy!”
“Maybe,” Payton admitted. “What do you care? You get to hook up with a pretty cool chick. Plus, you owe me for agreeing to go with you to homecoming.”
“I owe you?” I said. “Oh man. Okay, fine. I’ll help you out. Dude, give me the paint,” I said, calling out to Noah. I looked back at Payton. “So you’re just going to ask her to…”
“Oh no, you need to be the one to ask her,” Payton said. “Flirt with her a little. It’ll make her feel better.”
I rolled my eyes. “So I’m just supposed to go up to a random girl and ask her to fix my body paint?” I said in a sarcastic tone that clearly indicated how believable I thought that ruse would be.
“Exactly, thanks,” Payton said. She marched back up to rejoin her friends.
I glared at her back in annoyance and then decided it was hopeless. I was going to have to do what she asked. Girls had a remarkable knack for being infuriating at times.
I waited a few minutes and then left my place in the shirtless lineup and walked up the stands to where Payton and her friends were. The marching band was still in the middle of its halftime show and I judged that I had probably 5 or 10 minutes left before the game restarted. Long enough for a quick hook up.
Payton’s eyes flickered up to me as I ap
proached but she quickly looked away. Alyssa gave me a bemused expression but I honed in on Olivia. Please let her look up. This would be extremely awkward if I had to tap her on the shoulder to get her attention.
Thankfully, Olivia looked up at the last moment. I stared at the girls and then cleared my throat. “Hey girls,” I said. “I’ve got a little problem.”
“You look like a tool?” Payton suggested.
“No,” I said, gritting my teeth. For a girl who wanted a favor, she sure wasn’t making this easy for me. “I am trying to cheer our school on and it looks like my paint job has gotten a little distorted.”
“It looks like a deranged person did it,” Payton observed.
“Right, well, thanks,” I said. “Anyway, I was wondering if any of you could help me fix it. Maybe you, perhaps?” I said, looking at Olivia.
Alyssa’s eyes narrowed. They darted back and forth from Payton to me suspiciously. Olivia just looked at me with red, swollen eyes. “I don’t think I can,” she sniffled. “Why doesn’t Payton help you? Aren’t you two going to homecoming together?”
“Yes but Payton has large, manly hands,” I said. Payton glared at me and I struggled to suppress a pleased smile. “It would just be weird. Could you help? I promise it won’t take long.”
Alyssa opened her mouth to say something but Olivia quietly said, “Okay.”
“Thanks!” I said. I looked around, faking concern. “Oh, maybe not in front of all these people, though. That might be a little weird. Perhaps just around the back of the stands? There’s a light down there.”
Olivia nodded and I offered her my hand. I led her back down the stands and past the soccer guys. Several of the guys looked at me with raised eyebrows and smirks. They knew what taking a girl out around the back of the stands meant.
When we got to the appointed spot I carefully avoided looking at the area where I had hidden in the panda suit. Recalling that humiliation would be unpleasant. Instead, I focused on Olivia.
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