“I’m not lying. I just don’t have an answer, so it’s the only
thing I know to say.”
“So you
don’t know?”
“No,” he
mutters. My father stands up from the chair. He sits down next to me on the
bed, pulling me against his shoulder. “I would tell you if I did. I won’t
keep it from you.”
“Promise?”
Two tears slip down my cheeks upon hearing that word. Those two syllables
represent something powerful in my world, the very one that spins in a perilous
orbit.
“I
promise, Pumpkin.”
Chapter 16
When
I was fourteen…
Arlis. Not
big enough to spit on , according to those passing through the
hole-in-the-wall Texas town. It didn’t take long for me to know exactly what
Jess meant when I arrived at Sprayberry. Arlis was not a wealthy place, which
made the Masons stand out as local royalty among the gossipmongers and
coat-tailers.
My
involvement with the family became fodder of many dinner table discussions.
The snippets of our legendary scandal caught my ear through the years. How’d
those con-artist Tanners wiggle their way in with the Masons? You know they
pay for everything. Bought the dad another new truck just last year.
For Jess
and me, those wild days at Sprayberry made the rest disappear into oblivion. A
bubble built by children destined to burst, but we lived every moment happy and
together. That worked until this summer. In a few weeks, high school would
start, bringing the full world of Arlis right to my doorstep. It was an
understatement to say I was worried. Those thoughts plagued my subconscious as
I sat sketching poolside at the Masons.
“When are
you getting your ass in the pool?” Natalie demanded from the cool, blue water.
I looked up at my only other friend besides Jess. She’d spent the last hour
floating around on a reclining raft in his pool while I sketched in my notepad.
“Um,
maybe later. I want to finish this and then I’ll jump in before we head
back.”
“Good
luck, Nat. She’s not gettin’ in unless you push her.”
Hearing
his deep voice from the white lounge chair, I tilted my eyes up long enough for
a nonverbal, shut up! Jess winked back.
“Jerk,” I
mouthed at him.
I met
Natalie when she moved to town during seventh grade. The school board members,
who graduated high school with Moses, thought junior high students still needed
a jungle gym. This just drove some kids to hang out behind the bus barn
smoking whatever they could rustle up, and the rest to stand around with petty
stares of social-ranking popularity.
One lunch
period, while trying to escape the courtyard of fake smiles, I found a girl
kicking the crap out of the Dr Pepper machine with her laced up Dr. Martens.
She wore a black ruffled skirt and a tight, Nine Inch Nails t-shirt. As I
watched the strange girl, she turned and gave me a twisted smile that screamed, back the hell up!
That was
the day I met Natalie, the most unique person I’d ever seen. She came to Arlis
kicking and screaming louder than me with a family-forced move, courtesy of her
grandfather’s dementia. I understood and accepted the fellow outsider to this
place. Despise plus despise equaled a match made in despicable heaven.
Hearing a
splash, I glanced up again over my paper. Jess slipped in the deep end and
surfaced close to Natalie. He slicked the dark hair back off his forehead.
Swimming up to the raft, he grinned close to her face. “You wanna play
volleyball?”
Seeing
Natalie’s hateful snarl, I chuckled to myself. Those two basically tolerated
each other because of me. I don’t think Jess disliked Natalie; he just didn’t
understand her harsh personality or love of black clothing. On the other hand
Natalie, saw Jess as the spoiled rich kid.
Jess
assembled the net across a corner section of the pool. Natalie reluctantly
climbed off the raft to play with him. Sitting under the large
thing I know to say.”
“So you
don’t know?”
“No,” he
mutters. My father stands up from the chair. He sits down next to me on the
bed, pulling me against his shoulder. “I would tell you if I did. I won’t
keep it from you.”
“Promise?”
Two tears slip down my cheeks upon hearing that word. Those two syllables
represent something powerful in my world, the very one that spins in a perilous
orbit.
“I
promise, Pumpkin.”
Chapter 16
When
I was fourteen…
Arlis. Not
big enough to spit on , according to those passing through the
hole-in-the-wall Texas town. It didn’t take long for me to know exactly what
Jess meant when I arrived at Sprayberry. Arlis was not a wealthy place, which
made the Masons stand out as local royalty among the gossipmongers and
coat-tailers.
My
involvement with the family became fodder of many dinner table discussions.
The snippets of our legendary scandal caught my ear through the years. How’d
those con-artist Tanners wiggle their way in with the Masons? You know they
pay for everything. Bought the dad another new truck just last year.
For Jess
and me, those wild days at Sprayberry made the rest disappear into oblivion. A
bubble built by children destined to burst, but we lived every moment happy and
together. That worked until this summer. In a few weeks, high school would
start, bringing the full world of Arlis right to my doorstep. It was an
understatement to say I was worried. Those thoughts plagued my subconscious as
I sat sketching poolside at the Masons.
“When are
you getting your ass in the pool?” Natalie demanded from the cool, blue water.
I looked up at my only other friend besides Jess. She’d spent the last hour
floating around on a reclining raft in his pool while I sketched in my notepad.
“Um,
maybe later. I want to finish this and then I’ll jump in before we head
back.”
“Good
luck, Nat. She’s not gettin’ in unless you push her.”
Hearing
his deep voice from the white lounge chair, I tilted my eyes up long enough for
a nonverbal, shut up! Jess winked back.
“Jerk,” I
mouthed at him.
I met
Natalie when she moved to town during seventh grade. The school board members,
who graduated high school with Moses, thought junior high students still needed
a jungle gym. This just drove some kids to hang out behind the bus barn
smoking whatever they could rustle up, and the rest to stand around with petty
stares of social-ranking popularity.
One lunch
period, while trying to escape the courtyard of fake smiles, I found a girl
kicking the crap out of the Dr Pepper machine with her laced up Dr. Martens.
She wore a black ruffled skirt and a tight, Nine Inch Nails t-shirt. As I
watched the strange girl, she turned and gave me a twisted smile that screamed, back the hell up!
That was
the day I met Natalie, the most unique person I’d ever seen. She came to Arlis
kicking and screaming louder than me with a family-forced move, courtesy of her
grandfather’s dementia. I understood and accepted the fellow outsider to this
place. Despise plus despise equaled a match made in despicable heaven.
Hearing a
splash, I glanced up again over my paper. Jess slipped in the deep end and
surfaced close to Natalie. He slicked the dark hair back off his forehead.
Swimming up to the raft, he grinned close to her face. “You wanna play
volleyball?”
Seeing
Natalie’s hateful snarl, I chuckled to myself. Those two basically tolerated
each other because of me. I don’t think Jess disliked Natalie; he just didn’t
understand her harsh personality or love of black clothing. On the other hand
Natalie, saw Jess as the spoiled rich kid.
Jess
assembled the net across a corner section of the pool. Natalie reluctantly
climbed off the raft to play with him. Sitting under the large
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