6. Leo
Ithought about Mari for the rest of the day. The sharpness of her stare. The defiant way she held her own to me. Her takedown was a little bit sexy...
I admired her but wouldn’t be going to the game, no matter what. The whole thought of it made my stomach turn. Just imagining what the people of Green Valley would say if I showed up in blue and gold to cheer on the Black Bears.
No way.
Let her blast the music until the neighbors called the cops or the parents realized their kids were off school property. She was all talk and a bullhorn. I didn’t need her approval or her guilt anyway.
I had everything I needed right here. Thursday nights were for bunco. Janice and I set up card tables in the back garden. I’d hung string lights and had enough of those mosquito machines circling the perimeter that I could potentially wipe out the entire species. There was a nice breeze wafting the sweet smell of flowers toward the guests. I curated a selection of delicate, easy-to-eat snacks—like caprese salad kabobs—and tangy cocktails/mocktails made of fresh citrus. I was absolutely killing it here with my people. Who needed overcrowded tour buses and screaming fans when I had all the wisest matrons of Green Valley passing down generations of knowledge?
I smiled at the collection of Bunco Broads at my table.
“What’s wrong with your son?” Maxine Barton asked, glaring at me over the rim of her glass.
Janice glanced at me quickly before returning to her rapid rolling of three dice. “He’s happy.”
I grinned at the rest of the table, feeling the threat of a blush, but forced it away. Even if most of the town hadn’t accepted me, at least these ladies had let me into their circuit.
Maxine grunted.
The bunco rules were unclear, but I got the gist. And quite frankly, I was too afraid to ask any clarifying questions at this point. I rolled the three dice when they were passed to me and passed them to the left when I was told. I enjoyed the cadence of the rapid-rolling game pieces and the fast-paced play. I did not care for how intense the women got, especially if I took too long to go. I used to be able to drum roll faster than any other drummer I’d met, but apparently, when it came to dice, I was glacial.
The yard was set up today with three tables, each with four ever-rotating people. Twelve of us total. At my table, I had the pleasure of Janice across from me, and Maxine and Becky Lee Monroe, Maxine’s current partner for the round, to my right and left, respectively.
I looked longingly to the other tables where Belle Cooper, Julianne McIntyre, Faye Brentmore, and Daisy Payton played with a few other women I only recognized in passing. It wasn’t that I didn’t like this group, but Maxine was harder to win over than the others. She didn’t have the sweet Southern charm known in these parts, like Belle, my mother’s ex-stepmom. Belle Cooper had eight ex-husbands, but her maternal care for me kept me safe from her grabby hands. She often checked in on my mom and me, even though all we shared now was a last name.
I widened my smile at Maxine until my cheeks hurt when I looked up to find her narrowing her eyes at me.
Daisy snorted as she shared a look with Belle Cooper at the head table.
“You need a job,” Maxine said.
Guess who won’t be getting sugar on her rim next round.
“Oh, you shush, Maxine,” Faye said. “It’s nice having young blood around here.”
Maxine grunted as I tilted my head graciously at Faye. She was newest to bunco, newer than me, but she was quickly becoming my favorite.
“Young blood? My social life is more active than his,” Maxine said. “He needs a job.”
Janice remained awfully quiet at my side.
“I have the garden. Those plants won’t grow themselves.” I frowned and reached for my sweet tea. “Well, technically they do. Still.”
“Less talking. Hurry and roll.”
We went silent as Janice rolled for twos. She managed four points.
“It’s not healthy for a young buck your age to be hanging with a bunch of old biddies,” Belle Cooper added above the sound of dice clanging. “Bunco!”
Various sounds of displeasure went up from the other tables.
“Speak for yourself. I’m at the peak of my life,” Daisy called, and several ladies cheered.
“This is fun. Everybody talking about me like I’m not here,” I said.
“He needs friends. It’s weird.” Maxine was getting the spicy dip next time too. “He’s too young to be hiding out like this.”
“Hiding? Who said I was hiding? I’m having a social night right now. Who would I learn more from than the matriarchs of Green Valley?” I asked.
“Don’t suck up.”
“You don’t want me here?” I gestured to the decked-out snack table. My years of providing the band with healthy alternatives on the road led to a secret calling of game snackage curation.
I kept my tone light, but with every comment, I grew more tense and too conspicuous in my big body. Maybe this wasn’t the refuge in Green Valley I’d hoped for. Right now, it was feeling more like a pit of vipers.
“Your mother comes here to get away from you,” Maxine said. “And now you’ve infiltrated here.”
My heart sank.
“Mom?” I looked at Janice, unable to hide the worry that contorted my eyebrows.
The matrons of Green Valley did not appreciate me calling my mom by her first name, even though I always had. It was one of those inside signs of our close relationship that nobody else understood.
“Maxine!” she chastised the woman before focusing on the rolling dice, not quite meeting my gaze. “That’s not true, honey. I love spending time with you. All day. Every day.”
“Bunco!” yelled someone at another table, and Maxine cursed under her breath.
“Good,” I said, then frowned in confusion. Why had she said it like that?
“I do think it might be good for you to get out of the house more. Maybe a hobby?” She focused on the scoring card.
“But. The garden.” I gestured toward the yard. “Did I tell you about the bees?”
“Yes, love. You told me about the bees. But maybe something outside the property? Go into town?”
“I thought you loved me being back home?” I glanced at the others; this wasn’t a private conversation, but they all looked away. Embarrassment burned the back of my neck.
Janice glanced nervously at the other ladies, Faye nodded subtly at her for encouragement. Had this been discussed before? Did nobody want me around? “Of course I do, sweetie. Of course. But you used to be so...driven. Music was your passion. I just hope you aren’t hiding out here instead of living your life. You’re so young.”
“Hiding? I’m not hiding. Why does everyone keep saying that?”
“You hardly go into town,” Maxine said. “You have a reputation.”
Why would I go into town when I felt the judgment of every person who looked at me? Half of them thought I was still the weird punk who used to get beat up in high school for wearing eyeliner and black nail polish, and the other half thought I was a snooty musician. Nobody knew me. Except for Janice.
Except for now, it would seem that even she was eager to get rid of me.
“I guess...if I’m not wanted.” I stood. I was all too aware of this familiar feeling.
Vander and the members of The Burnouts all staring at me. My chest heaving, hands fisted after throwing my sticks. Their exchanged glances, like they’d been talking about me...
“Honey,” my mom cajoled.
“Sit down. We can’t be down a person. Three more rounds.” Maxine whacked my knees, and I collapsed back into the chair.
“I don’t want you to leave,” my mom said, holding my gaze. “I do think that helping other people can be healing. Stops you from dwelling on your own problems.”
“You think I should help Mari?” I asked. “That’s what your ganging up is all about?”
“I think you should help Cath. Imagine what a mentor could do at that age. You know how big everything feels at seventeen. I think it would be a lovely way to help the community and get out a little. Connect with some locals. Green Valley has changed a lot since you were in high school.”
“We have a pole dancing studio now!” Belle said.
I wouldn’t be thinking about the implications of that statement.
“All right, ladies, I’m getting older with every roll. Can we focus?” Maxine smacked the table, shaking the drinks. Around me, the game continued as I dwelled on my public razing. What was so bad about enjoying time off? I had been driven for most of my life, and look where that got me.
I was happy now. Or at least...content? No. Something else. It would come to me.
That wasn’t what stopped me, but I certainly couldn’t tell that to my mom, who only ever supported me. I had to keep the truth about what happened with the band to myself. I couldn’t handle her reaction.
When I said nobody could make me go to the game, I hadn’t considered that my own mother was sick of me being here. If the wisest set of the population thought I needed to leave the house, what did that say about me?
I would go to the high school football game just to show Janice that I was perfectly capable of leaving the house, even if it was my idea of hell. Just to show that I was well-adjusted and doing just fine.
I would hide under the bleachers like I used to. I wasn’t going to talk to anybody. I would go for her. But only because Janice devoted her life to teaching kids, and I wouldn’t besmirch the Cooper name. At least not in that regard.