Last Train Home

by Megan Nugen Isbell

  “How’s it going?” Holly asked as Laura and Mandy smiled to me and then I saw Jesse and Brandon approaching.

  “You,” Laura said, pointing to Brandon once they were at the table. “You are not welcome here anymore.”

  “I’m sorry about yesterday,” he said sarcastically looking over each girl.

  “You’re so full of crap, Brandon. Why don’t you go sit with Adrienne since she’s so much cooler than us? Go ahead. Let’s see how well that goes.”

  “Give it a rest, Laura,” he said, taking a seat. She just rolled her eyes and turned her attention to Jesse.

  “What time are we coming over?” she asked as she took a bite of her sandwich.

  “Around seven or so. Whenever,” he said, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly. “I was gonna throw some burgers on the grill so don’t eat before you come,” and then he stopped and looked at me. “You’re still coming, aren’t you, Boston…I mean, Riley?” He widened his eyes and grinned at me when he said my actual name and I just smirked back.

  “Yeah, I was planning on it. I need directions though.”

  “Why don’t we ride together? Jesse lives out in the sticks. You’d probably get lost,” Holly suggested.

  “Sure,” I agreed. “Do you want to take your car or mine?”

  “I share my car with my little brother, but I don’t think he needs it tonight.”

  “How about I drive then?”

  “You sure?” she asked.

  “Yeah. It’s not a problem at all. Just give me your address.”

  Holly nodded and then pulled out a pen and a notebook from her backpack and began scribbling on it.

  “What’s going on?” Mandy whispered to us.

  “What are you talking about?” Laura said, asking the question we were all thinking.

  “Alex Bettencourt. Why is he coming over here?” she said and all of our eyes drifted to where hers were focused. Sure enough, he was walking towards us. His dusty hair hung in his eyes and he reached up and brushed it out of his face.

  “Hey, Riley Regas,” he said, stopping at the end of the table where I was sitting and looking down at me, but seeming to ignore everyone else.

  “Hi Alex.”

  “You got a minute?”

  “Um, yeah,” I said, looking around the table. The girls were looking at me with wide eyes and Jesse and Brandon seemed uneasy.

  “I was wondering if we could talk.”

  “Sure,” I said, gathering my things and standing up next to him. I looked at my friends who were still silent. “I’ll be right back,” I told them.

  I followed Alex across the cafeteria and we stood facing each other, away from the crowds.

  “You look cute today,” he said, and again I felt my cheeks redden.

  “Thanks.” I nervously brushed my hair behind my ear while waiting for him to speak..

  “Well,” he began a moment later and a slow smile spread across his face. “I wanted to talk about Saturday.”

  “Saturday? I didn’t think we had any set plans for Saturday.”

  “Which is exactly what I want to talk about. I think we need to set our plans for Saturday.”

  “Oh yeah?” I asked, raising my eyebrows at him flirtatiously.

  “Yeah, I do.”

  “And why would that be?” I teased.

  “Because I would like to take you out.”

  “I said we could go if I was free. I told you I’d give you a call.”

  “I know you did,” he said as a playful grin spread across his face. “But, I would like to know ahead of time, if you would be so kind, Miss Regas.”

  I’d been playing a game with Alex, a game I’d obviously won since he clearly couldn’t stop thinking about me. And since I’d won, I figured I’d let him off the hook.

  “Fine,” I relented.

  “Fine what?”

  “Fine, we can go out Saturday night.”

  The grin on his face grew wider and had turned confident. Perhaps I hadn’t completely won the game. He seemed like he might be a worthy opponent.

  “I knew you couldn’t resist,” he said slyly and I blushed. I felt myself reach up and tuck my hair behind my ear again, a nervous habit I needed to break.

  “You’re pushing your luck, you know that don’t you?” I said once I’d composed myself.

  “Yeah, I know,” he said, looking up at me. “But, now that you’ve agreed to go out with me, I was thinking we could go to the batting cages. There’s mini-golf there and stuff too. Whaddya think?”

  “Yeah, sure. Sounds good.” I smiled at the simplicity of it and thought it might be refreshing.

  “Are you sure? You don’t think it’s lame?” he said as his confidence seemed to waver.

  “No. It sounds fun.”

  “Cool,” he said and I saw his confidence return full force. “I’ll pick you up at six o’clock if, that’s okay.”

  “Yeah, that sounds good.”

  “Can I get your info?” he said as he pulled out his phone. I gave him the number and my address and he punched it into his contacts. “Excellent,” he said, looking up at me with that half-smile and we began walking back to our respective lunch tables. “I’ll see you in English,” Alex said as we parted ways.

  I sat back down next to Holly and I watched Alex as he returned to his group. Adrienne was glaring at me and she tossed her hair again and then turned back to her disciples.

  “What. Was. That?” Mandy asked slowly.

  “What was what?” I asked as I pulled out my apple and took a bite.

  “What did Alex want?” Laura asked, joining in the inquisition.

  “What’s the big deal? He just wanted to talk to me.”

  “You don’t understand. Alex Bettencourt doesn’t ever leave that table to come talk to the commoners,” Holly said sarcastically.

  “He’s nice,” I said.

  “No, he’s not. He’s one of them,” Holly said, motioning towards his lunch table. “How do you even know him?”

  “They met in our English class,” Jesse answered.

  “Yes, we met in English, but I think I can answer for myself, Jesse.”

  “Sorry, Boston,” he said with a grin.

  “What did he want though? What were you talking about?” Mandy asked excitedly.

  “We’re going out Saturday night. We were making plans.”

  “What?” Mandy gasped. “You’re going out with Alex?”

  “Yeah. What’s the big deal?”

  “The big deal? The big deal is he’s incredibly hot,” Mandy continued.

  “I’m just going out with him. No big deal.”

  “I disagree with that. It’s a very big deal,” Holly said. “You just moved here. You don’t know them.”

  “Which is exactly why I shouldn’t have preconceived notions about Alex, or any of them,” I said, gesturing over to the table. “Well, maybe about Adrienne, but that’s only because she’s shown me what a witch she is, but everyone else has been fine, so why shouldn’t I go out with Alex?”

  “It’s not that Alex isn’t okay, I guess he’s not that bad. I mean, he’s never really been a jerk to me personally, but,” Laura began and then she hesitated for a second.

  “But what?” I asked.

  “Well,” Laura continued, but then stopped again.

  “Well what?” I demanded, and a moment later she finally spoke again.

  “If you think Adrienne’s a bitch now, just wait till she sees you with Alex.”

  “Why?”

  “Adrienne and Alex used to go out.”

  “So? Are they together now?”

  “Well…no, but I’m just saying she might get upset or something,” Laura added.

  “C’mon, you’re kidding, right?” I said as I laughed. “I don’t care about her. I’m certainly not not going to go out with Alex because they used to go out. That’s absurd.”

  “I’m not saying you shouldn’t go out with him, I’m just telling you that Adrienne might have
something to say about it,” Laura said and as I looked around at everyone, they all seemed to agree with her.

  “So? Let her say something. I don’t care,” I said and I discreetly looked over to Adrienne who was staring around the cafeteria as if she were too good to even be in our presence. She made me laugh. Her arrogance was comical.

  ****

  Alex wasn’t in English class when I got there, but Jesse was. I walked past Karen, whose nose was buried so deep in The Scarlet Letter, I could hardly see her face. I prayed I didn’t get stuck doing group work today, at least not with her or the mime twins anyway. Karen looked up as I walked by and I smiled at her, but was grateful she didn’t talk to me. I feared if I engaged in a conversation with her, she’d never shut up. I sat down at my desk, resting my backpack against the leg of the chair and pulled out my book.

  “I thought you already read The Scarlet Letter,” Jesse said, leaning closer to my desk.

  “I have,” I said as I continued skimming through it.

  “Then why are you still reading it?”

  “Got nothing better to do,” I said, looking over the top of my book at him.

  “Oh, that’s right. Alex’s not here yet. Whatever will you do?”

  I put my book down, choosing to ignore his remark.

  “I guess I could talk to you,” I said, matching his sarcasm.

  “That won’t be necessary. Alex just walked in,” he whispered and pointed to the door. “Are you ready? Oh wait, you’ve got a piece of lettuce in your teeth.”

  “What?” I said as I instantly began digging through my backpack for my compact.

  “Calm down. I’m kidding. You look fine,” he laughed and then turned back to face the front.

  “Jerk,” I mumbled and Jesse turned and grinned at me before he began writing something in his notebook.

  My heart, which had started pounding when I thought I’d been walking around with green guck stuck in my teeth, began to settle and I looked up just in time to see Alex walk past me. He smiled and knocked lightly on the top of my desk as he walked to his seat. He was followed a minute later by the boy who separated our desks. I still hadn’t learned his name yet, but I wondered if he wasn’t sitting there if Alex would’ve talked to me. I dismissed the thought though and began doodling in my notebook. We’d have plenty of time to talk on Saturday night.

  My wish was granted. No group work, just a class discussion and a video clip from the movie adaptation of The Scarlet Letter. I’d hoped it would be the version with Demi Moore, but instead Mrs. Davenport showed the Masterpiece Theater production. I wasn’t going to complain though. Any chance to veg out in class was always welcome.

  When the bell rang, the class began shoving their books and pencils into their backpacks, myself included.

  “See you tonight, Boston,” Jesse said to me as I brushed by his desk.

  “Yeah. See you tonight,” I said to him and left the classroom and headed to my locker.

  I was maneuvering through the crowd when I heard Alex’s voice calling from behind me.

  “Riley,” he said again as he stepped in stride with me.

  “Oh, hey, Alex,” I said trying to sound surprised. It was key to keep my eagerness to myself to avoid looking desperate.

  “I was hoping you’d wait for me.”

  “Sorry. I’m just anxious to get outta here.”

  “It’s only your second day. It’s been that bad?”

  “No. It’s been fine. I just have some things to do before I go out tonight.”

  “That’s right. Your plans. So are you going to tell me where you’re going?”

  “You’re awfully nosey,” I said, stopping once we’d reached my locker.

  “Don’t tell me then. I don’t care,” he said playfully, but as I looked into those dark eyes of his, I didn’t want the conversation to end.

  “I’m just going to a friend’s house to hang out,” I said, shrugging my shoulders and shutting my locker.

  “I wasn’t aware you’d made friends already,” he said with his half-grin.

  “Oh, I have friends alright.”

  “You mean that crew you sit with at lunch? Holly and Laura and Mandy?”

  “Yeah. Do you approve?”

  “They’re not bad. That Mandy one’s a little yippy though, like a Chihuahua…has been since kindergarten,” he said and I couldn’t help but laugh because it was so true. “What are you guys doing?”

  “We’re going over to Jesse’s house. I guess we’re going to ride four-wheelers, stuff you guys do for fun around here. I don’t know.”

  “Jesse Baylor?” he asked, looking over at me and I nodded.

  “You know him?”

  “Of course I do. You forget this is Carver. We all know each other. We may not hang out, but there’s very little that’s anonymous here.”

  We kept walking, in silence this time, until I saw Holly waiting by the doors. I noticed the way she looked first at me and then at Alex. The same distain she’d shown earlier was still on her face. I didn’t fault her though. She had a history here. She knew these people, I didn’t. But, I wasn’t going to take her word for anything until I’d had a chance to judge for myself.

  “I’ll see you on Saturday then,” Alex said, gently touching my arm as we neared the door. “Hey, Holly,” he said smiling at her and then walked out the doors toward the parking lot.

  “That was weird,” she said, watching him for a second before turning back to me.

  “What?”

  “I don’t think Alex Bettencourt has said a word to me since sixth grade. I figured he’d forgotten my name.”

  “Maybe he’s not as bad as you think,” I suggested and she looked at me doubtfully.

  “Baby steps, Riley. Baby steps.”

  Chapter Five

  When I got home, my mom was reading in the recliner and my grandma was on the couch watching her stories. Her stories. That cracked me up. Back in Boston, we just called them soap operas. They both looked up when I walked in. My grandma smiled and my mom made an attempt to smile. I hadn’t seen her when I left for school in the morning and we hadn’t said much to each other since the blowout in my room the day before. Things were still tense between us. I was still mad.

  “Riley!” my grandma said when I walked inside. Just like my uncle, my name crawled out of her mouth. I was beginning to think I should just change my name to Raleigh if that’s the way everyone was going to pronounce it. I shook my head though. I was not the capital of North Carolina.

  “Hi, Grandma,” I said, walking over and giving her a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

  “How was your day, Honey?”

  I looked over to my mother who was peering at me over the top of her book. She reminded me of Karen from my English class and I wanted to speak to her about as much as I’d wanted to speak to Karen.

  “It was good, Grandma. How was yours?”

  “Fine, just fine,” she said cheerfully. “Lizzie took me to the doctor and then the store.” I was still trying to get used to people calling my mom Lizzie. I’d only ever heard her referred to as Liz.

  “The doctor?” I asked curiously. “Is everything okay, Grandma?”

  “Oh, yes. I’m fine,” she reassured me, taking my hand and patting it gently. “I’m making pork chops for supper.”

  I cringed and I felt bad having to tell her I had to skip dinner.

  “I’m sorry, Grandma, but I’m going out tonight,” I said apologetically, but then she smiled.

  “You’ve already got a boyfriend then? I’m not surprised. You’re simply gorgeous. I’m sure all the boys are admiring you,” she said, smiling from ear to ear. I wished I’d known my grandmother more. I wished we hadn’t lived so far away. She was such a funny, happy woman. Always smiling, always positive. She seemed the complete opposite of my mom and I figured my grandpa must’ve been more reserved and had passed it on to her.

  I started laughing and sat down beside her on the couch.

  “No, Gr
andma. I don’t have a boyfriend.”

  “It won’t be long though,” she interrupted.

  “I’m just going over to someone’s house. We’re having hamburgers and riding four-wheelers. I wouldn’t be booking any reception halls just yet.”

  “Who’s house are you going to?” my mom said, speaking her first words to me since I walked in. I turned my head abruptly to meet her blue eyes with my nearly black ones. We looked nothing alike. My mom was pretty. She always had been, but in the last couple of years, she seemed to have aged. I’m sure it was the stress of the divorce from my dad that had added the gray strands into her ash blonde hair that she kept covered by visits to Sonja, her beautician. The hairs were creeping back though. She’d need to find a new hair dresser soon. She was shorter than me too, a trait she got from my grandma. Sometimes I wondered if I was switched at birth. She and I couldn’t be more different. I had to dismiss the notion though because I possessed many of the attributes of my father. There was no doubt I was the daughter of Stephen and Liz Regas…well, not Stephen and Liz Regas anymore. I was the daughter of Stephen Regas and Liz Smollet Regas. I wondered if she would ever drop my dad’s last name. Probably, I guessed. Why wouldn’t she? They weren’t together anymore. They were two separate people with two separate lives and I was the only reminder that they had ever shared one.

  “You wouldn’t know him,” I said, finally answering her question.

  “Maybe not,” she said and I could tell she was biting her tongue at my shortness. “But, I still want to know where you’re going to be.”

  “His name’s Jesse.”

  “Does Jesse have a last name?”

  “Baylor. I’m going to Jesse Baylor’s house with Holly Taft, Laura Logan, Mandy Dalton and Brandon Seaver. Is there any other information you require?” I said sarcastically.

  We locked eyes and in that moment I wished it wasn’t like this between us…the tension, the resentment. I wished I could let it go. I wished I could understand why she had come here, why she needed to come here. Why couldn’t she stay in Boston where her life had been for the past twenty years? She had a job there. She had friends there, like me; she had a life there, like me. Why had she given it all up? How could she give it all up?