Chapter 9 #4
Quick as a finger snap, he twisted around and kissed her, and when he pulled back, he smiled. “BlueWallace in a shirt and tie. You’ll have to take a picture or nobody will believe you.”
A couple of the guys at work had daughters, and Blue picked their brains. He wanted something special for Polly as a graduation gift. One of them had made a suggestion, and he thought it was pretty good, so he got online, placed an order, and hoped it showed up in time.
The graduation was nice, and so was the reception afterward. As soon as they walked in, Anne had leaned in toward him and whispered, “I can feel them staring at us.”
“Let ’em stare,” he whispered back and dropped a soft little kiss on her forehead.
He got one helluva smile out of her for that!
They took their seats in the bleachers and when it was over, they were expected to mingle with the other parents.
He wouldn’t exactly call it awkward, but it wasn’t the most comfortable thing he’d ever done.
There were a few people he recognized from some of the bars the band played in, but he was pretty sure they wouldn’t want him pointing that out.
They’d been a little afraid to bring Indie for fear she’d make a fuss during the ceremony, but the only thing she’d done was clap and yell when Polly walked across the stage to get her diploma.
That made everyone laugh, so it was perfectly okay, he was sure.
“Well, well, well! Who do we have here?” a lady asked and reached for Indie.
Without hesitating, the little one let herself be taken from Blue’s arms, and she immediately started playing with the lady’s earring.
“Oh, you like shiny things! What’s her name? ”
“Indigo.”
“What a pretty name! I’m CarlaPatrick. I teach English here. Do you have a child here?”
“Polly Black.”
“Polly! She’s an exceptional young lady!” Blue wasn’t quite sure what she meant by that. “I didn’t know you lived here.” He could feel his eyebrows tipping toward the bridge of his nose until she said, “She always told everyone that her dad lives out of town. Glad you got to come.”
“Oh! No, um, I’m not… Her mom and I are, um, friends. I’m not her dad.”
“Oh my! I’m so sorry! I feel like an idiot.”
“No, don’t. It’s okay. If somebody had to make a mistake and think a kid was mine, I’d be happy for it to be Polly or Toady. They’re great kids.”
“Toady?”
Blue laughed. “Yeah. Toby, but he couldn’t say his name right when he was little and it came out that way. And it stuck.”
“Toady! That’s cute.” She handed Indie back and smiled. “Well, it was nice meeting you, Mr.Black.”
“Not black. Blue.”
She gave him a funny look and he tried not to laugh. “Oh, right. You’re not Mr.Black. You’re Mr.Blue?”
He couldn’t help it. That deserved a laugh. “No! I’m sorry. BlueWallace. Everybody calls me Blue.”
“Those eyes. Yes. I see that now. Well, nice to meet you,” she said again and leaned in to add, “Blue.”
“And you too.” Standing there watching her go, he couldn’t help but notice her turn and look back at him twice as she made her way across the room.
“Bitch,” a voice hissed behind him, and he turned to find Anne standing there, her cheeks bloodred.
“What?”
“I said bitch. Stay away from her.”
“She just wanted to hold Indie and we were talking and―”
“Yeah, well, she got the principal fired for sleeping with her, and rumor has it she’s bedding the superintendent.”
“So if I want a free piece of ass, that’s where I should look?” he said and turned to get another glimpse of her.
Those arms folded across her chest and she tapped one toe. “What did you say?”
Blue snickered. “Babe! I was kidding! I’m not interested! Sheesh, get a sense of humor, wouldja?”
“Nobody has a sense of humor where she’s concerned. Trust me on that.”
Indie reached for Anne and Blue handed her over. “You about ready to go?”
“Yeah. Let’s round up Polly and Toady. You need to get to the bar.”
Blue fell into step beside her. “You do realize there are women at the bar, right?”
“You know, I’m not nearly as worried about the ones you see there as I am about the ones who come on to you with me standing right here.”
“Yeah. That is pretty ballsy, I gotta say.”
“If she’d reached out and touched you, I would’ve snatched her baldheaded,” Anne muttered.
“Whoa! Down, girl! It’s okay. No harm, no foul.” He leaned down to her ear. “Do I need to take you home and remind you who it is I’m in love with?”
She grinned. “That would help.”
“Well, okay then. Polly! Hey, come here,” Blue called to her from about twenty feet away. “You about ready to go?”
“I guess so. Toady’s right there,” she said, pointing to her little brother. He’d found the brother of a classmate and they were laughing and playing.
“I’ve got a present for you. A graduation present. Turn around,” Blue said and waited.
“Turn around?”
“Yeah. Turn around. Go on.” He waited until her back was to him, then reached into his pocket, pulled out the box and opened it, and drew out the chain. Very carefully, he drew the chain around her neck and clasped it in the back. “So? Do you like it?”
Polly looked down and gasped. “Is that a real diamond?”
“Yes, ma’am, it is. I wanted to get you something special, something you could enjoy for years. But do you like it?”
“I love it. Thank you, Blue!” Polly spun and threw her arms around his neck. It was the first time she’d done that, and Blue wrapped his around her waist and hugged her tight. “I’ll never take it off.”
“I wish you would when you shower!” he said, laughing. “The chain will last a lot longer that way!”
“Wow. I feel old. I have a kid in high school,” Anne said when they were all settled in the car.
“Yep. I’m a high schooler now.” Polly started talking about her class schedule and the things she’d need for biology class when she asked out of the blue, “I know where Mom went to high school. Blue, where did you go?”
“I, uh…” That was hard to talk about, but she’d asked, and he wanted to be honest with her. Wasn’t that what relationships were about, getting to know the other person? “I, um, I didn’t get to go to high school.”
“How could you not go to high school? It’s a law!”
“Because the foster people I lived with didn’t care if I went or not. They were really, really mean to me.” He didn’t want to get too graphic. It would just scare her.
“Mom told me. And I saw you in the bathroom.”
As soon as she said the words, he saw Toady’s head pop up in the rearview mirror. Blue’s heart almost stopped. “What?”
“I saw you in the bathroom. Before you got in the shower the other day. You didn’t have a shirt on and I saw your back. Did they do that to you?”
A tiny voice in his head whispered, Hold it together, Wallace. “Uh, yeah. Over the years. It wasn’t just one person. It was several as I was growing up.”
“What happened to your parents?”
He shrugged. “I have no idea. Never knew.”
“Wouldn’t you like to know? I mean, wouldn’t you like to find out?”
“No.” He shook his head decisively. “Not at all. They abandoned me. I don’t want to know where they are.”
She sat quietly for a few more minutes before she said, “School. Why don’t you go to school?”
“I can’t go to school. I have to work.”
“But you could go at night. You could get your GED.”
“I’d have to take the classes.”
She grinned. “You can do all of that online! It’s easy.”
“Is it expensive?” He’d never given that any thought, but wouldn’t it be nice?
“I don’t think so. We can check. But I’ll be in high school, and you can be studying with me! It’ll be fun! I can help you with your homework!”
“Polly, I think that’s an excellent idea. The two of you will be in high school together!” Anne said with a huge smile on her face.
That wasn’t an entirely bad idea. He’d thought about getting his GED many times, but he hadn’t had the money or the time. But if he could work at his own pace and have Polly and Anne to help him, he could do it. “You know, I think I want to do that.”
Polly laughed. “You’re welcome!”
“Oh! Thank you! Yeah. Thanks.” BlueWallace with a GED. He’d never expected that to come up, but he was excited at the prospect.
It would be hard, but he’d make it. As long as he had them in his corner, he could do anything.
The summer went by without a hitch. Blue was excited about work, and he sold seven more songs to Tidal Wave.
Everything was good. Between Blue and Anne, both houses were clean all the time, the laundry was always done, the kids got their homework finished on time, and Anne didn’t have to worry about where they were or what they were doing.
They were with Blue in the evenings, and they seemed happy with the arrangement.
And on the weekends, when they were both off work, they were at Anne’s house.
They’d even gotten a second set of nursery furniture and turned her dining room into a makeshift nursery so Indie would be comfortable when they were there.
Then Blue noticed something odd. Polly hadn’t spoken to him in days.
Matter of fact, she’d barely look at him.
He thought back and couldn’t remember doing anything that would’ve upset her or hurt her feelings.
If he asked her a question, he’d barely get a yes or no.
Toady seemed his same old self, so it didn’t make sense.
Finally, on Tuesday night, Blue had enough. “Hey, Polly, is something wrong?” he asked as he put away the dishes from the dishwasher.
“No.” She didn’t say another word, just headed to her bedroom, and he didn’t know if he should go after her and force her to talk to him, or just leave it alone. Then he decided maybe he’d ask Anne what she thought.
Her answer was a big surprise. “She started her period last Friday,” she explained as they lay side by side in her big bed. It was new―Blue had bought a queen bed for them to have at her house, and he’d decided it was worth every penny he’d spent.
“So now she’s a woman?” he asked, and he wasn’t kidding. Wasn’t that what it meant?