pretty things,” I say.
Rodney nods his head. “She was a fine old woman. I’ll miss her.” He closes the closet door and turns to me.
“And you’re a fine young woman, Andi, and I’ll miss you, too.”
The word woman grabs my heart and says, Here! Have a little more happiness! He called me a woman. For sure he is falling under my spell. And he will miss me. When will this missing part start? When does he have to return to Iraq? I hate that war worse than before, but I only say, “You will?”
Rodney nods his head and smiles and reaches over and ruffles the top of my hair. And my head starts shouting, this is great! And my future is screaming, Andi, you are right! And my lungs forget they’re supposed to breathe. And my heart beats faster than it’s meant to. And my feet are no longer on the ground—they’re doing a little two-step. And entire world is spinning around me. And there it is again, that feeling that I don’t want this to end. I want to grab time and hold it tight and make it stop.
Chapter Thirty-five
I know I have to carry on with my life while Rodney’s gone. It’s the only way, so I resign myself to everyday things. Here’s how it goes with Joey and David. I decide to call David and ask him to go with me to the dance, and then ask him to ask Joey if he would like to go with Bridget. Calling them on the phone means I won’t be as embarrassed if he says no, or if they both say no. At least they won’t see that I’m embarrassed. If my face turns red they’ll never know.
I make the call, but it’s Joey that answers the phone when I call. That’s where the trouble begins. Why can’t this be easy? It’s a stupid dance, not a marriage proposal. I’m already covered in that regard.
“What do you want David for?” Joey says.
“Ah, well,” I say. Already I’m bungling this phone call. “It’s kind of personal,” I say.
“You’re gonna ask him to the dance, aren’t you?” Joey says.
“No, that’s not it,” I say, hitting the side of my head with the palm of my hand.
“Why’d you call then?” he says.
Silence. During a phone call, silence is even louder than it normally sounds.
“I’m calling to ask David if he wants to go to the dance with Bridget. She’s got laryngitis.”
One lie after another jumps out of my mouth. Just like that. I could win the shot put of lying in the Olympics. The problem with this lie is now Bridget will be stuck with David, if Joey agrees to ask David and David tells Joey to say yes for him, and it’s Joey that Bridget wanted me to ask in the first place.
“I don’t know,” Joey says. “Hey, David. Andi St. James wants to know if you want to go to the dance with Bridget Harman! Can you hear me?” His voice is a loudspeaker. Everyone on the block can hear him.
Joey comes back on the line.
“Tell her yes,” he says.
“Yes?” I repeat.
“Yeah, David will go.”
Here we go, just like I figured.
“Actually, Joey,” I say. “Bridget wanted me to ask you to go and I was supposed to ask David. I got it all mixed up.”
“Oh,” Joey says.
“So, you want to?”
“Go with Bridget?”
“Yes,” I say
“Sure. It doesn’t matter to me.”
Great, Bridget and I are interchangeable, like Tupperware lids.
“And David? He’ll go with me?”
I hear a muffling over the mouthpiece on Joey’s end. The phone piece is being dragged over some type of hard surface. He’s back on the line three minutes later. I timed it.
“Yeah,” Joey says.
“David will go?”
“Uh-huh.”
I won’t tell Bridget it took so long for David to decide on me. It’s bad enough Joey didn’t care who went with who. The important thing is they said yes. But I’m glad I’m marrying an older man. They make more sense.
Chapter Thirty-six
Bridget and I are at her house, doing nothing really when we get this great idea. When we were at Table Grace Kitchen this morning this girl came in with her mother and she was just waiting around for her
Rodney nods his head. “She was a fine old woman. I’ll miss her.” He closes the closet door and turns to me.
“And you’re a fine young woman, Andi, and I’ll miss you, too.”
The word woman grabs my heart and says, Here! Have a little more happiness! He called me a woman. For sure he is falling under my spell. And he will miss me. When will this missing part start? When does he have to return to Iraq? I hate that war worse than before, but I only say, “You will?”
Rodney nods his head and smiles and reaches over and ruffles the top of my hair. And my head starts shouting, this is great! And my future is screaming, Andi, you are right! And my lungs forget they’re supposed to breathe. And my heart beats faster than it’s meant to. And my feet are no longer on the ground—they’re doing a little two-step. And entire world is spinning around me. And there it is again, that feeling that I don’t want this to end. I want to grab time and hold it tight and make it stop.
Chapter Thirty-five
I know I have to carry on with my life while Rodney’s gone. It’s the only way, so I resign myself to everyday things. Here’s how it goes with Joey and David. I decide to call David and ask him to go with me to the dance, and then ask him to ask Joey if he would like to go with Bridget. Calling them on the phone means I won’t be as embarrassed if he says no, or if they both say no. At least they won’t see that I’m embarrassed. If my face turns red they’ll never know.
I make the call, but it’s Joey that answers the phone when I call. That’s where the trouble begins. Why can’t this be easy? It’s a stupid dance, not a marriage proposal. I’m already covered in that regard.
“What do you want David for?” Joey says.
“Ah, well,” I say. Already I’m bungling this phone call. “It’s kind of personal,” I say.
“You’re gonna ask him to the dance, aren’t you?” Joey says.
“No, that’s not it,” I say, hitting the side of my head with the palm of my hand.
“Why’d you call then?” he says.
Silence. During a phone call, silence is even louder than it normally sounds.
“I’m calling to ask David if he wants to go to the dance with Bridget. She’s got laryngitis.”
One lie after another jumps out of my mouth. Just like that. I could win the shot put of lying in the Olympics. The problem with this lie is now Bridget will be stuck with David, if Joey agrees to ask David and David tells Joey to say yes for him, and it’s Joey that Bridget wanted me to ask in the first place.
“I don’t know,” Joey says. “Hey, David. Andi St. James wants to know if you want to go to the dance with Bridget Harman! Can you hear me?” His voice is a loudspeaker. Everyone on the block can hear him.
Joey comes back on the line.
“Tell her yes,” he says.
“Yes?” I repeat.
“Yeah, David will go.”
Here we go, just like I figured.
“Actually, Joey,” I say. “Bridget wanted me to ask you to go and I was supposed to ask David. I got it all mixed up.”
“Oh,” Joey says.
“So, you want to?”
“Go with Bridget?”
“Yes,” I say
“Sure. It doesn’t matter to me.”
Great, Bridget and I are interchangeable, like Tupperware lids.
“And David? He’ll go with me?”
I hear a muffling over the mouthpiece on Joey’s end. The phone piece is being dragged over some type of hard surface. He’s back on the line three minutes later. I timed it.
“Yeah,” Joey says.
“David will go?”
“Uh-huh.”
I won’t tell Bridget it took so long for David to decide on me. It’s bad enough Joey didn’t care who went with who. The important thing is they said yes. But I’m glad I’m marrying an older man. They make more sense.
Chapter Thirty-six
Bridget and I are at her house, doing nothing really when we get this great idea. When we were at Table Grace Kitchen this morning this girl came in with her mother and she was just waiting around for her
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