We both looked at him. I knew that tone of voice. “It’s never a good thing when you have a good idea of something to do,” I said.
He grinned winningly. That’s usually when he says something that gets me in trouble.
He reached into his pocket and pulled a key ring out, twirling it on his finger. His grin got wider as he placed them on the table in front of me, shoving my tray out of the way. He flicked them toward me with his finger.
I looked at them and then looked back at him, raising my eyebrow. He raised his in return to me, his grin getting so wide that I was surprised his face didn’t split in two.
He leaned closer to me and Fannie Mae. She pressed in on my back, sliding her arm around my side. I sighed and chose to ignore it. “Well,” he said, licking his lips, “my parents are out of town, too. And my dad didn’t take his car. He still thinks I don’t know where he keeps the spare keys.”
“The convertible?” I whispered, my throat suddenly dry.
“Yep,” he nodded. “I was thinking,” he said, “that maybe we could take it out for a spin and then maybe take it out somewhere I could teach you how to drive a stick and then you could drive us around a little bit if you want.”
Silence reigned at our table. “Really? You’d let me do that?” I asked.
“Sure,” he shrugged, leaning back. “You are my best bud, after all. Someone’s got to teach you how to drive.”
“Can I come, too?” Fannie Mae said excitedly. “I’ve always wanted to go in your dad’s car.”
He looked at me, a smile twitching across his lips. “That’s up to Duke.”
My eyes were riveted to his. I couldn’t believe he was doing this. He knew how much I loved his dad’s car. I waved my hand in her direction. “Sure. Sure. That’s cool.” My hand hovered over the keys, not wanting to believe my luck. “Where can we go?”
“I was thinking we could go back behind the old Pleasant Rest Cemetery. There’s a good dirt field back there that’d be perfect for it. Should be pretty quiet back there, too. Once you get the hang of it maybe you could drive us back home.”
My hand twitched possessively over the car keys as my eyes swiveled back to look at Tamara. The keys felt a little bit like freedom.
“Thanks, Barrett,” I said. “You’re almost not half bad.” I pulled Fannie Mae’s hand off my side as Barrett snorted and went back to eating.
This was going to be the best birthday ever.
2.
Ever have one of those perfect days? One where everything just goes completely perfect and all is right with the world? Birds are singing and the sky is a perfect shade of blue and everything is just the way it should be?
Yeah, me neither.
The skies were dark and the clouds were so full of unfallen rain that they looked pregnant. I stared sullenly at them while Fannie Mae and I sat on her porch. There was a slight chill in the air, too, but I stubbornly refused to go back to my trailer for my jacket. Mom was finally up and in rare form. God knows where Dad was. Mom said he’d come home just long enough to change his clothes and then he’d taken off again. He was probably at the bar or at a girlfriend’s house. It was unlikely we’d see him all weekend. I didn’t really blame him for staying away as much as possible. I would too, if I were him.
Fannie Mae was wearing one of her dad’s old army jackets. It was about ten times too big for her but it’s what she always wore whenever she could. He’d died a few years back in some freak accident at the plant. His arm got pulled into a machine. Apparently the safety inspector forgot to inspect the machine for safety cause the automatic shutoff didn’t automatically shut off and half his arm got yanked in before anybody noticed. By the time they got the machine shut off the only thing left was the glistening knob of his shoulder bone. He’d bled out right there on the floor.
According to my dad, anyway. He was the safety inspector.
She didn’t hold that against me, but Fannie Mae really didn’t like being around my parents. Not that she did before that, anyway. I didn’t either, obviously.
She tried to huddle up against me for warmth but every time she did I kept scooting my butt a couple inches away. If she kept this up I’d have to get up or I’d run out of porch. Barrett was late, of course. He was one of those people who had no sense of time. Tell him to be somewhere at 7 P.M. and he’d show up right on time at 8:30. Grinning that shameless grin and shrugging his shoulders and not even acknowledging his lateness. I’d long ago given up on yelling at him about it.
It was only a week to Halloween and usually we could count on it being warm for at least a little bit longer. But there was just something in the air that promised change. A taste of something on the back of my tongue. Change was coming and I could feel it my bones. The pregnant clouds made my head hurt with anticipation.
Barrett roared up in the convertible with the radio blaring rap and the top down. He skidded to a stop in front of us, spitting gravel in the air. You could hear it pinging off the metal side of the trailer. Fortunately they all missed me and Fannie Mae. He grinned and waved us to the car.
“Are you nuts?” I yelled at him. “Turn that shit down before someone calls the cops.”
“If it’s too loud you’re too old!”
I put my hand on the passenger door and yelled at him again. “Turn it off!”
“What?” He said, turning it down. “Come on, Duke, get into the spirit of things. It’s your 16 birthday, we’ve got a hot car, and it’s time to go celebrate.”
I leaned forward, “And if one of the old biddies around here gets upset by your music and calls the cops on you, so much for my birthday and my driving lessons, dumb ass. Come on. Please?”
