Leaving Paradise

Page 13

I didnt have the heart to tell her a pretty dress cant erase the ugly scars hiding underneath.

We head over to the Paradise County Fairgrounds. Theyve transformed the fairgrounds into an amusement park, complete with a Ferris wheel and dunking booth.

The Ladies Auxiliary sponsors the festival each year. Usually the entire town attends.

The food pavilion is covered in twinkling lights, reminding me of Christmas.

Mom puts down the brownies she made on the pot-luck table, then scans the crowd. "Look, theres Lou," she says, pointing.

Sitting next to him is his mother, my boss. "Should we go say hi?" I ask.

Mom shrugs. "It would be nice. "

When we reach the table, Mr. Reynolds stands up and smiles. "Linda, glad you made it. Hi, Maggie. "

"Hi, Mr. Reynolds. Hi, Mrs. Reynolds. "

Mr. Reynolds leans close and whispers in my ear, "Were not at the diner. You can call me Lou. "

"Thatd be weird," I say. Calling Moms boss by his first name is just too . . . I dont know . . . familiar.

"Okay, well, when you dont feel weird about it give it a try.

Mom sits next to her boss and I walk around the table and plop down next to Mrs. Reynolds.

"Mrs. Reynolds, it was so generous of you to give my daughter a job," Mom says. "As I told you on the phone, Im very grateful. "

"Im the grateful one," Mrs. Reynolds says. "Weve had a productive first week. Havent we, Margaret?"

My fingernails still have dirt under them that I havent been able to scrape out. "Mrs. Reynolds is an expert on daffodils, Mom. "

"When you get back from Spain theyll be up and blooming," Mrs. Reynolds says.

I smile, thinking about leaving for Spain. Its about the only thing making me smile lately.

Mrs. Reynolds looks longingly at the buffet table. "Im famished," she says. "How about we take a gander at the food and see if theres anything worthwhile. "

"Mom, dont stuff yourself," Mr. Reynolds says over the loud dance music the band just started to play on the makeshift stage in front of the Fun House.

Mrs. Reynolds rolls her eyes. "My son thinks Im a child. "

"Mom, you know what the--" Mr. Reynolds gruff voice chimes in.

Mrs. Reynolds silences her son with a single stare. Mom looks kind of nervous and I feel the same way. I dont want to get involved in this. Its clearly out of my jurisdiction as companion.

Mr. Reynolds turns to my mom. "Linda, how about showing the teens some old dance moves?"

Wow, that came out of left field. Mom never dances. She and my dad would come to the festival year after year and I never once saw them sway to the music, let alone dance.

"Id love to," Mom says. "Maggie, you dont mind, do you?

When I shake my head, she takes Mr. Reynolds outstretched hand and he leads her away from the food pavilion.

Im sitting here with my eyes wide open. What just happened? Did my mom accept a dance with her boss? Isnt that illegal?

I can see the dance floor from where Im sitting. Right away, Mom is wiggling her body and moving around like a teenager. I scan the fairgrounds to see if anyone else is paying attention. Sure enough, a group of kids from school are watching her.

I want to die.

Why would Mom want to dance in the first place? Shes making a spectacle of herself, jumping around as if she doesnt care people are staring. Isnt it bad enough people stare at me?

"Margaret, Im ready to load up my plate now that my son who thinks hes a doctor is out of my hair. Will you help me?"

I tear my gaze away from the dancing queen. "Uh, yeah, sure. "

Mrs. Reynolds leans on her cane as we head to the food line. I hold her plate and pile food on as she points to various dishes. The old lady is totally oblivious to the scene on the dance floor.

"What do you keep staring at?" Mrs. Reynolds asks.

"Nothing. "

"That nothings getting a lot of attention. "

I make a harrumph and move down the line. But when I get to Mrs. Beckers famous Spaghetti Spectacular, I freeze and wonder if Leah and Caleb are here.

"This one looks good," Mrs. Reynolds says, referring to the spaghetti dish.

"It tastes good, too," I admit. "But can you eat it? Mr. Reynolds said--"

"Margaret, Im an old lady who enjoys her food. If I cant eat what I want, you might as well bury me six feet under right here and now. "

"Okaay," I say warily. "If you insist. " I place a small spoonful on Mrs. Reynolds plate, but she raises her eyebrows and urges me to heap on another spoonful. When we get to the end of the buffet line, Im afraid to take another glance at the dance floor.

Its like a car wreck. You know what youre going to see is bad, but you cant help it. I wonder if thats how people felt when they saw me lying on the ground after the accident.

Okay, so Im just like everyone else. I check out the dance floor and, thankfully, my mom is nowhere to be found. But I do see Kendra Greene. Shes slow dancing with Brian Newcomb as if he were the love of her life.

My dream is to find a guy wholl love me despite my flaws and wont turn away from me when a perfect girl walks by. Maybe a boy like that doesnt even exist.

Im sitting at the table watching Mrs. Reynolds eat. I have no clue how she packs it all in for such a small woman. She takes a small bite of the Spaghetti Spectacular and gives me a nod. "Its like a burst of flavor and different textures making it taste . . . "

"Spectacular?" I say.

"Quite," she agrees, and we both laugh. Mom comes sidling over to the table. Was that a shimmy I just saw her do as she sat down? "Whats so funny?" Mom asks.

"The spaghetti dish," Mrs. Reynolds says. "It is spectacular. "

Theres silence now, because Mom immediately knows were talking about Mrs. Beckers award-winning specialty.

Mr. Reynolds is sweating and takes a sip of water. "Is something wrong?"

Mom shakes her head.

The band guy is yelling for the over-twenty-one crowd to get on the dance floor. Parents flock to the middle of the floor, ready to show off their moves.

I watch the other kids in my grade running around and enjoying themselves. Brian and Kendra enter the Fun House. Drew Rudolph is trying to coax Brianne onto the Tilt-A-Whirl. My cousin Sabrina is sitting next to her sister on the Ferris wheel.

"Go on," Mrs. Reynolds says. "Join your friends. "

"I dont have friends," I admit. "Im what you call a loser. Or a loner. Take your pick. "

"Pshaw. "

"Huh?"

"Pshaw. Hogwash. Youre a smart, pretty young lady. Girls like you are not losers. Or loners. "

"Im not pretty, thats for sure. And I limp. "

She looks me up and down. "You may lack fashion sense, but you have fine features when youre not pouting or looking startled. And the limp . . . as long as it doesnt bother you, it shouldnt matter what people think. "

I believe I have that startled look on my face right now.

"And whats this nonsense about you not having any friends? Everyone should have at least one friend. "

I glance around and spot Leah Becker, sitting alone at one of the tables. Her parents are in a deep conversation with another couple a few feet away. I would walk up to her, but shed probably ignore me.

Mrs. Reynolds puts her hand on mine. "Is she a friend?"

"Used to be. "

"Go talk to her. "

"I wouldnt even know what to say. "

Mrs. Reynolds lets out a frustrated breath. "Suit yourself, child. But when youre an old bird like me youll be wishing you had more friends in your life. Being alone isnt fun, is it?"

"No. Being alone isnt fun. "

I look over at my mom, who is now line dancing. She doesnt look alone. In fact, she hasnt looked this happy for a long time. Mom smiles at Mr. Reynolds and he smiles back.

Mr. Reynolds. Lou. My moms boss. My boss son. Well, whatever his name is, its clear to me he has the hots for my mom.

I dont know if I should be embarrassed, angry, or happy for her.

NINETEEN

Caleb

My pants are too fucking tight and this shirt has so much starch in it I feel like a mannequin. But Im here, at the Fall Festival. Once Im done acting like the model son, Im outta here.

I spot my parents by the food pavilion, talking with another couple. Nothing has changed since Ive been back. My sister is still a zombie, but its worse now, because since she ran out of the lunchroom Monday, shes ignored me. My parents havent brought up the accident since Ive been back. I tried to talk about it, but Ive been shut down.

When I walk up to my parents, my mom smiles. "We were waiting for you, Caleb. "

"Well, Im here," I say unenthusiastically, not in the least ready to put on this show.

My dad looks tired; there are circles under his eyes and hes not walking as tall and straight as I remember. "Caleb, do you remember Dr. and Mrs. Tremont? Dr. Tremont owns a dental practice in Denton, and just opened one up in Paradise now that Dr. Kryzanowich retired. "

"Really?"

Dr. Tremont points to the east. "Over by Central and Carriagedale Roads. You know, the new building next to the Paradise cinemas. "

I shake my head. "I havent seen it yet. "

"Where have you been hiding out?" Dr. Tremont says, laughing. "Its the building with the big tooth out front. "

My dad is turning red under his collar. "Im starving," he says before I tell Dr. Tremont that I havent seen his big toothed building because Ive been locked up in jail for the past year. "Why dont you taste some of my wifes dish while Caleb finds his friends. "

Mom does a really good job of directing the Tremonts to the buffet table and away from me. Do you think Mom realizes it wasnt the best idea to try and pretend like Im a perfect son? My sister joins them, totally ignoring me.

The Fall Festival is a zoo. Its hard to believe Paradise is a small town when there are so many people around. Brian and the guys are hanging out near the parking lot.

"Wow, Caleb, who dressed you?" Brian quips, shaking his head in disbelief.

I grimace. "Would you believe it if I told you my mother did?"

Brian nods. "Yeah. Paradise wasnt the same without you, man. But those clothes have got to go. "

Drew chuckles while he lights a cigarette. "Youre right, Brian. Paradise isnt the same. I saw Mrs. Armstrong dancing with that guy from the diner. They looked pretty tight. Do you think theyre . . . you, know? God knows Maggies not gettin any. That girl needs a bunch more surgeries before shell attract any dude. Maybe she could get a prom date over the internet. "

Nobody laughs, because Drew is not funny. Hes been a jerk ever since I came back, trying his best to piss me off on purpose.

Tristan throws a football in the air. "Were heading over to the field to play ball. Lets go before our moms try to make us dance with them. "

I take off the ridiculous shirt while I play, but my balls are being strangled by the pants Im wearing. After forty-five minutes, we head back. But when Tristan and Brian are ahead of us, I grab Drew by the shoulder and push him back into a tree. I take him completely off guard. He has no clue Im tempted to kick his ass. One thing I learned at the DOC from the inmates . . . take them when they least expect it.