her mind since yesterday.
“Hi, me.”
“It’s Jared, sorry.”
“Yeah, I know, silly. What’s up? You weren’t at school today.”
“Eh, a little under the weather. I’m better now, though. I’m going over to Duke’s house tomorrow night to shoot off fireworks. You wanna come with me?”
“To Duke’s? Nah, he’s not on my favorites list at the moment.”
“Why’s that?”
She wanted to tell him about what happened to Dylan, but a part of her thought he might know already.
“Ah, sorry. Your brother. I’ll have a talk with Duke and straighten this out. He’s my best buddy and sometimes I have to put him on a leash so he’ll behave. Kind of a job his parents put me up to. For his own good, of course.”
Gina laughed. “I’ll think about it,” she said, turning to see her mother and Dylan, both standing behind the automatic doors with their arms folded. “I’ll call you tonight. I have your number now.”
“Don’t keep me waiting. I’ll track you down.” He said it with gentle humor, but there was the slightest glimmer of something else, too. It wasn’t threatening, just different––like he had changed a little bit in the past twenty-four hours.
She considered asking him to go on a proper date, but she didn’t think that was her little red wagon. He should ask her .
Just wait. You have all the time in the world.
Gina said goodbye and got into the Buick. After her mother made a few snide remarks, they squeezed through the red light and into the McDonald’s drive-thru. Perhaps a milkshake would settle the heat rising in her chest, that prickly sensation that came when her man-cravings got to jiving.
Her mother was staring at her. It wasn’t a look of disappointment or contempt, which was what she expected. This was more like the way you looked at someone when you knew they were about to go away for a really long time. Her mother finally broke her trance and rolled down the window.
“What do you want to eat?”
6
Jared had just finished dinner when the phone rang. He recognized the number. It was the Army recruiting office. A guy named Stone called every other day or so to deliver his good-buddy spiel and ask if he could send some more brochures in the mail, which would go straight from the box to the trashcan under the sink. Well, Jared couldn’t put them there for his mother to find, so he would put them in his backpack and toss them into the school dumpster after football practice.
Football was his first love. He and Duke had spent countless hours dreaming of making it to the NFL someday. Together, though. They had to do it together. All or nothing, baby. But they both knew if one of them made it and the other didn’t, there’d be no hard feelings. Right? But this new gig threw a wrench into those plans. He couldn’t do both, and if this began to overshadow his first love, well, he had things to think about.
He waiting until the phone fell silent before sneaking across the living room with the morning paper. Jared wasn’t one to enjoy the fruitless gossip and trivial headlines in the Hemming Herald–– SAND MOUNTAIN BAKE SALE SATURDAY , PUBLIC LIBRARY ADDITION UNDERWAY, REAPING SEASON BEGINS: TWO DEAD .
He stopped at the last one. His throat went dry and his hands began to shake. His mother was asleep on the couch. Light from the television splashed over her bulbous form covered with a patchwork quilt. Rivera Marquez on “Shop from Home” was demonstrating an electric-powered tie rack. Only $39.99 if you call within the next ten minutes!
Jared padded up to his room and closed the door. A thin film of sweat had glued his shirt to his back. He lost the shirt and ran a hand through his hair. A Judas Priest song played quietly on his stereo. He cranked the volume and stretched out on the bed with the newspaper open to page two. He read the column carefully:
REAPING SEASON BEGINS: TWO DEAD
by Kay Daniels
Ashley Monroe, 17, and Susan Lubbock, 17,
“Hi, me.”
“It’s Jared, sorry.”
“Yeah, I know, silly. What’s up? You weren’t at school today.”
“Eh, a little under the weather. I’m better now, though. I’m going over to Duke’s house tomorrow night to shoot off fireworks. You wanna come with me?”
“To Duke’s? Nah, he’s not on my favorites list at the moment.”
“Why’s that?”
She wanted to tell him about what happened to Dylan, but a part of her thought he might know already.
“Ah, sorry. Your brother. I’ll have a talk with Duke and straighten this out. He’s my best buddy and sometimes I have to put him on a leash so he’ll behave. Kind of a job his parents put me up to. For his own good, of course.”
Gina laughed. “I’ll think about it,” she said, turning to see her mother and Dylan, both standing behind the automatic doors with their arms folded. “I’ll call you tonight. I have your number now.”
“Don’t keep me waiting. I’ll track you down.” He said it with gentle humor, but there was the slightest glimmer of something else, too. It wasn’t threatening, just different––like he had changed a little bit in the past twenty-four hours.
She considered asking him to go on a proper date, but she didn’t think that was her little red wagon. He should ask her .
Just wait. You have all the time in the world.
Gina said goodbye and got into the Buick. After her mother made a few snide remarks, they squeezed through the red light and into the McDonald’s drive-thru. Perhaps a milkshake would settle the heat rising in her chest, that prickly sensation that came when her man-cravings got to jiving.
Her mother was staring at her. It wasn’t a look of disappointment or contempt, which was what she expected. This was more like the way you looked at someone when you knew they were about to go away for a really long time. Her mother finally broke her trance and rolled down the window.
“What do you want to eat?”
6
Jared had just finished dinner when the phone rang. He recognized the number. It was the Army recruiting office. A guy named Stone called every other day or so to deliver his good-buddy spiel and ask if he could send some more brochures in the mail, which would go straight from the box to the trashcan under the sink. Well, Jared couldn’t put them there for his mother to find, so he would put them in his backpack and toss them into the school dumpster after football practice.
Football was his first love. He and Duke had spent countless hours dreaming of making it to the NFL someday. Together, though. They had to do it together. All or nothing, baby. But they both knew if one of them made it and the other didn’t, there’d be no hard feelings. Right? But this new gig threw a wrench into those plans. He couldn’t do both, and if this began to overshadow his first love, well, he had things to think about.
He waiting until the phone fell silent before sneaking across the living room with the morning paper. Jared wasn’t one to enjoy the fruitless gossip and trivial headlines in the Hemming Herald–– SAND MOUNTAIN BAKE SALE SATURDAY , PUBLIC LIBRARY ADDITION UNDERWAY, REAPING SEASON BEGINS: TWO DEAD .
He stopped at the last one. His throat went dry and his hands began to shake. His mother was asleep on the couch. Light from the television splashed over her bulbous form covered with a patchwork quilt. Rivera Marquez on “Shop from Home” was demonstrating an electric-powered tie rack. Only $39.99 if you call within the next ten minutes!
Jared padded up to his room and closed the door. A thin film of sweat had glued his shirt to his back. He lost the shirt and ran a hand through his hair. A Judas Priest song played quietly on his stereo. He cranked the volume and stretched out on the bed with the newspaper open to page two. He read the column carefully:
REAPING SEASON BEGINS: TWO DEAD
by Kay Daniels
Ashley Monroe, 17, and Susan Lubbock, 17,
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