“Don’t worry, Maggie, things come up. Is everything okay?”
“Ah, yeah, everything is fine, really.” I debated for a moment about whether to tell him, finally deciding against it. Too humiliating. Instead, I changed the subject. “Did Mr. McSheehy ask about the shoes?”
“Yes. I thought he was going to start dancing when he found out you bought two pairs." We both laughed as Seth did a dead-on imitation of Mr. McSheehy. It felt nice to be distracted, even if it was for only a brief moment.
“Well,” Seth said, getting out of the car, “I’ll see you at lunch.” He started to leave, then turned back. “Are you sure everything’s okay? You look upset, and I won’t even mention the dark circles around your eyes.” He ran his index finger softly under my eyes.
“Thanks for pointing out how bad I look.” I playfully pushed his hands away.
“Sure, what are friends for?”
“I had a ton of Calculus homework last night, and I think I have the wrong book. Mine’s written entirely in Japanese.”
“I love Calculus! I’ll help you with it.”
“Nobody loves Calculus, at least nobody normal does.”
He chuckled. “You’ll love it by the time I’m done helping you, you’ll see. If not, I’ll kiss you so long and hard, you won’t care about Calculus anymore.”
“I don’t care about Calculus now. And for the record, that was definitely flirting.”
He grinned innocently and left for his class.
Between my lack of sleep and worrying about my mother, I had a difficult time concentrating on school. By lunchtime, my nerves were frazzled. Normally the cafeteria was filled with loud shouts and laughter. Today, however, the room gave way to low whispers and murmurings. I nervously sat down and waited for Seth.
“Hello, Maggot.” I cringed. Apparently, the silent treatment Zack had been giving me was over. He dropped into the seat across the table from me.
“Hi.” I swallowed a less civil reply. He had a stupid grin smeared across his face, looking as if he were bursting to say something.
“What?” I spit out impatiently. I may as well let him say whatever he was dying to say, maybe he’d go away sooner.
“I hear your drunkard mother’s in Detox at the hospital.”
Before I could react, Zack flew out of his chair with the assistance of Seth, who had lifted him up into the air. He dropped him forcibly onto his feet, causing Zack to stumble and fall back a few steps. Seth followed. He arched his arm back before throwing his fist straight into Zack’s jaw, sending him flying across a table before he landed on his rear. To my surprise, several people in the immediate vicinity cheered.
“Her name is Maggie,” Seth said before spinning back to me. “We need to talk—outside.” I slipped on my coat as he placed his hand on the small of my back, guiding me out into the parking lot.
“I thought we were friends.” His eyes were glowing.
“We are.”
“You have a pretty warped idea of what friendship is, Maggie. I walked into my first period and was cornered by Melody, who blabbered on and on about how my friend spent the past day and a half in the hospital with her sick mother. You couldn’t let me know?” He stood only inches from me, his breath beating against my face as he lectured.
“You could have mentioned it this morning when I picked you up, Maggie, but no, you sat there in silence, never saying a word.” He turned away and ran his fingers through his hair before circling back around and continuing.
“This isn’t my idea of friendship. I don’t know what you would call it, a convenience for you, maybe, but friendship, no! Whatever it is, it certainly isn’t what I want it to be. Maybe we shouldn’t be at all.”
I couldn’t take it, not on top of everything else. My eyes filled with tears and I snapped. “Wait here. I’ll go get a knife and you can plunge it into my chest and finish me off!” Not expecting my reaction, his eyes flew open widely. “Sorry I’m not one of your little cheerleader friends who can pour their guts out to anyone who’ll listen.” My tears were flowing wildly, dang it, and my entire body shook with anger. I needed to leave and turned to do so when Seth stopped me, cradling me into the warmth of his chest. It caused me to cry harder.
“I’m sorry.” His voice was now contrite as his hands stroked my hair. “I didn’t mean to add to your problems. If you want to talk, I’m here. I’m done acting like the village idiot.”
It was nice to be in his arms, it felt as if someone actually cared about me. He listened, never judging, nor criticizing, just listening as I told him what had happened with my mom.
“Do you want me to take you over to the hospital after school to see her?”
“That’d be great, thanks.” The bell rang as he wiped a few stray tears off my face.
“Did you know Hillary and Zack broke up?” he said, taking my hand. “They dated for a total of one week. It seems she wouldn’t sleep with him so he dumped her. She’s so upset she’s telling all the girls he’s gay.” He chuckled. “He can’t get a date, not with a girl anyway. I did hear Rick Thompson from his science class wants to ask him out.”
“Ugh, I thought Rick had better taste than that,” I said.
“We’d better hurry to culinary class. Hopefully we’re cooking something delicious. I didn’t have time to eat lunch you know. I decided acting like a fool and harassing a friend was more important.” He pulled my hand to his lips and kissed it softly. I faked an exaggerated shudder. He laughed and kissed my hand again.
“You know this could be considered flirting.”
My warning fell on deaf ears as he answered, “It sure could.”
Rounded the corner, we were greeted by an ominous welcoming committee. “Mr. Prescott.” It was Vice Principal Volkel, and Zack was standing next to her nursing a large red mark on his chin. “Zack Finkle has accused you of punching him, but it seems no one in the entire cafeteria saw what happened. Is this true?” She looked at Seth in disbelief, only before he could answer, Hillary appeared out of nowhere.
“I saw the whole thing, Mrs. Volkel.” Uh-oh, I remembered how much Mrs. Volkel worshipped Hillary, Seth was toast. “Zack began clowning around in the cafeteria, flirting with his girlfriend Maggo—ie here,” she pointed at me with a brutal look in her eyes. “He tripped over his own two feet, and Seth tried to catch him, accidentally hitting him in the face. Zack made this whole thing up because he was embarrassed.”
Mrs. Volkel turned to Zack. “Mr. Finkle, that will be a week’s worth of detention for lying.” He began to protest, as did Seth, except she ignored them both and escorted Zack to her office by the scruff of his shirt. Hillary didn’t say a word to us as she turned and walked away. I had little doubt she was trying to score points with Seth.
“Weird,” Seth said. We walked down the hall, joking about the expression on Zack’s face as he flew across the table. I laughed so hard my side ached. Once inside the classroom we had a pop quiz, but no food. I slipped my lunch out of my book bag and split the sandwich with him, along with half the cookies. He tried refusing until I gave him a hard glare. He drew a panic-stricken expression on his face and took the sandwich, his hand shaking in mocked terror. What a goofball.
***
My lack of sleep caught up with me on the drive over to the hospital after school, and I fell asleep in his car.
“Maggie.” Something warm brushed against my cheek, I awoke to see Seth’s face only inches from mine. I looked into his eyes, down at his mouth and back to his eyes. One more time my stupid eyes dipped to his mouth.
“Sorry.” I shifted away from him. “I haven’t slept much the past few nights.” I scooted out of the car and sucked in a lung full of cold crisp air to clear my head.
Walking into my mom’s room a few minutes later, I recognized the expression on her face instantly; she wanted a drink.
“Hi, Mom, how’re you doing?” I leaned in awkwardly to hug her, and true to form, she shoved me away.
“How does it l
ook like I’m doing, you stupid girl.” Her insults were commonplace to me, but I felt embarrassed having Seth hear them. I had hoped she’d play nice if she knew we had company.
“Mom, do you remember Seth?”
She stared at him for a moment before nodding. “Yes, yes, the handsome boy. What are you doing here?”
“I brought Maggie to see you. She’s been worried.”
“I wonder what this random act of kindness is going to cost her. Wait, let me guess, you brought her here purely out of the goodness of your heart.” She was beyond sarcastic now, she was behaving downright rude.
“Mother,” I said, shame washing over me.
“I have homework to do, Maggie. I’ll be in the waiting area studying until you’re ready to go. No rush” he said, walking out the door. My mother didn’t wait for it to close before she started up again.
“Maggie, he’s much too handsome. Mark my words, he’s only after one thing.”
Thanks, Mom. You sure know how to build me up. I walked over to the window and leaned against the sill. “When are they going to let you leave?”
“Tomorrow. Why? Are you planning on letting him into my house while I’m gone?” She narrowed her eyes. “You stupid—” Doctor Colter came in cutting off her insult. I noticed he was walking with a slight limp.
“Good afternoon, Maggie, how are you doing?” He smiled warmly and limped over to my mom.
“Hello, Dr. Colter. I’m fine, thanks. Did you hurt your leg?”
“Oh, well, yes. It’s nothing. I twisted my ankle getting out of bed this morning,” he said, his ears now bright red. “Just one of those freak accidents.” He turned to my mother. “Mrs. Brown, how are you feeling?” He was being polite; my mother never married, she was Miss Brown, same as me.
“I want a drink, that’s how I’m feeling.” The agitation in her voice was tangible.
“Mrs. Brown, we’ve talked about this. The drinking has to stop, your body can’t take much more. Think about Maggie.”
“Why do you think I drink?” she said, folding her arms tightly across her body.
The warm smile abruptly left Dr. Colter’s handsome face. “Your blood count is increasing.” His tone had turned cold and formal. “If you continue to improve we may send you home as early as tomorrow.”
“I want to go now!”
“Not a wise choice, Mrs. Brown. You may need another transfusion, and if you go home now you’ll be back in here by the end of the week.” She grumbled something under her breath I couldn’t quite hear. Judging from the way Dr. Colter’s jaw clinched, he heard it just fine. “You should reconsider going into our Rehab program. We have an excellent unit here at—”
“I already told you I’m not going into Rehab. There’s nothing wrong with me. Get out!”
He didn’t fight her, what would be the point? If she wouldn’t help herself, there was no Rehab program in the world that could help her. “Good afternoon, ladies.” As soon as he left, my mom started on me again.
“This doesn’t mean you and that boy can go into my hou—”
“Time for your medicine, Mrs. Brown.” A perky young nurse came in with a syringe full of something and injected it into the IV tubing. “Hello, I’m Natalie DeLyzer, and I’ll be taking care of your mother tonight. I’m afraid this medication is going to make her sleepy. You may want to say your goodbyes quickly.” My mom’s eyelids were already drooping as I brushed the hair off her forehead.
She shoved me back without opening her eyes. “Go away, brat.”
“It’s the medication, honey, she doesn’t mean what she’s saying.” Not having the heart to disagree with her, I left.
I was tired of loving a woman who didn’t love me back.
I made my way over to Seth. He and Dr. Colter were talking in the lounge area. “Hey, that didn’t take long, no need to rush on my account.” Seth’s eyes were filled with kindness even after the terrible way my mom had acted.
“They gave her something to help her sleep.”
“This is who you’re waiting for?” Dr. Colter smiled widely at Seth.
“This is the girl I was telling you about, Maggie Brown. Maggie, this is Cole.”
“Yes, her mother’s a patient of mine. You should take this pretty young lady home, she needs some sleep. She’s hardly left her mother’s side.”
“I will. See you later, Cole.”
“Do you know everyone in town?” I asked, walking to the car.
“I know one doctor and suddenly I know everyone?”
“Booker Gatto?”
“That still hardly constitutes everyone, Maggie.”
“Speaking of Booker, he gave me a ride home from the hospital last night. Why didn’t you tell me Lunch Swap is your charity?”
“I don’t know,” he shrugged modestly.
“Are you going to tell me about it?”
“Fine, while I make us some dinner.” We drove to the local Wegman’s grocery store. He filled the small cart with an assortment of foods, including, red, green and yellow peppers, scallions, boneless chicken breast, Jasmine rice, and stewed tomatoes, to name a few.
“All this for one meal?” I tried not scowling at the huge bulb of garlic he sat on the checkout counter.
“A lot of this is for the Spanish rice, it’s my favorite. And remember, you like this now,” he said, pointing to the garlic.
Back at my house, he had me mix up some honey and butter for the brown bread he bought, while he worked feverishly over the rice dish.
“Where is your garlic press?” I handed him a knife, he rolled his eyes. A few minutes later he asked for our cheese grater, I again handed him a knife. He shook his head. “We should have done this at my house.”
I set the table as he added sautéed chicken breast to the rice. It sizzled deliciously in the pan, and my stomach quivered in anticipation.
“Okay, enough stalling, Mr. Double standard. Spill it.” I said, sitting down to the feast.
“Double standard? How do you figure?” He sprinkled a minuscule amount of salt on his rice after taking a small bite.
“You want me to tell you about everything going on in my life, yet you neglect to mention we’ve been delivering lunches for your charity.”
“Maggie, holding everything inside because you don’t trust anyone, and not bragging about a charity you run are two totally different things.”
“Possibly.” It was amazing how well he knew me already.
“Don’t let the left hand know what the right hand is doing, sound familiar?”
“Fine, the left hand just found out about the right hand, so tell me.”
“My dad started the Lunch Swap, wanting to give back to the community, and I think he wanted me to be aware of the needs of others around me.” Seth sliced each of us a piece of bread before continuing.
“He believed there were those who didn’t want a handout and if offered a free lunch they wouldn’t accept it, which is why the Lunch Swap isn’t free.
“For example, Mr. McSheehy lectures at local schools and organizations a couple of times a year about his experiences in World War II. Instead of paying him, the groups who schedule him donate the money to Lunch Swap, which helps defray the cost of the lunches.
“Miss Ethel crochets baby blankets. I take them to a local thrift store, and whatever money they make on the blankets, they donate to the Lunch Swap.
“Some of our clients do services for each other,” he said, spreading honey butter on his bread. “Others help out by coming into the shop and preparing the lunches. To be part of the Lunch Swap family you have to donate time, or a service to someone within the community. It’s unimportant how small the act is, it’s the act itself that matters. We’re helping each other, no one has ever been turned away because there’s always something a person can do to qualify.”
“It's a great idea,” I said, slathering a large chunk of honey butter on my bread; it was delicious.
“The senior citizens love it because they feel
useful again, and they don’t feel guilty for taking a handout because it’s not. I learned a lot while working with my dad, and after he died, the best way I could show my appreciation for all he’d taught me was to continue with the Lunch Swap.”
I looked at him in awe; he was an amazing guy. “What’s the matter?”
“Nothing,” I said with a smile.
He reached across the table, touching my hand. “I thought we were past the whole blocking me out thing.”
“A leopard doesn’t change its spots overnight.”
“As far as I know you’re not a leopard.” He raised his brow at me.
“I was thinking you’re an amazing person. There, happy now?”
“Yes,” he said, grinning smugly. “Did that hurt?”
“Horribly!” I grimaced in mock pain.
“Do you want me to kiss it better?”
“Amazing, yet still a hopeless flirt.”
“Only with you, Mags,” he said. “Only with you.
After dinner, he took my hand while we walked out to his car, and my heart skipped a beat, or maybe three, I hardly noticed anymore. I’d grown accustomed to my body’s over-reaction to him.
“Dinner was wonderful, thank you. Are you sure you don’t want to take some home? There’s enough left to feed a small army,” I said, pulling my hand away to help steady my heart. Okay, maybe I still noticed.
“Positive, you keep it.” I slid my hands into my pockets, it was exceptionally cold out tonight. Seth reached over, zipped my jacket, and tugged the hood up.
“Maggie, I don’t like the idea of you sleeping here alone, not with these killings going on.”
“Seth, I’ll be fine. I stay here every night and nothing has ever happened.”
“Why don’t you spend the night at my hou—?”
“No!” My heart leapt into my throat. I knew it. We hadn’t even dated and it was already starting.
“Maggie, I didn’t mean anything by it, don’t overreact. If it makes you feel better, you can stay at my house, and I’ll come back here and sleep.”
“That’d be silly, I’d be alone there too. Why does it matter whose house I’m alone at?”