Chapter 37
“Now kiss the princess!” Izzy says.
“STOP. That’s not what you say,” Livy complains.
“Livy...” Connor whines.
“You say, ‘Now do the kiss!’” Livy exclaims.
We’ve played wedding every recess this week. Livy was the flower girl in her cousin’s wedding and now all she wants to do is play wedding.
Connor’s my bestest friend. I love him so much. Almost as much as I love Izzy. Connor doesn’t want to play-marry Livy, and Izzy doesn’t want to play-marry Connor.
I want to play-marry Connor a lot. I want to real-marry Connor when we grow up like a mommy and a daddy. Not like my mommy and daddy since they’re mean and make a lot of noise at night.
But like Connor’s mommy and daddy. His mommy is the prettiest lady and she’s so nice to me. Sometimes she brings me a treat after school and on the best days, me and Izzy get to go home with them, and we get real dinner.
Mommy says mean things about Connor’s mommy when we get home from his house. I don’t know why…she’s so nice.
Livy’s mommy and daddy are nice too. Her house is always clean and warm, and there’s so much food to eat they throw lots away.
Maybe having a wedding is a happy thing if the people getting married are happy and make each other happy. Mommy and Daddy are never happy and yell at each other.
The bell rings and recess is over.
After school, Izzy and I wait with Livy and Connor for their mommies to pick them up. Sometimes they drive us, but Daddy threw a beer can at the car last time we got dropped off, so me and Izzy are gonna walk.
Livy and Izzy are playing with a bright pink bouncy ball, and Connor’s sitting with me on the grass.
“I don’t want to play wedding anymore,” I say, plucking pieces of grass and ripping them apart.
“I like playing wedding. You smile at me a whole bunch. Maybe someday you’ll marry me, and we’ll have a for-real wedding.
My mom and dad have a whole book of pictures from their wedding, so I know all the stuff.
You’ll wear the prettiest dress, and I’ll wear the outfit that looks like a penguin.
We’ll have a big, tall cake, and soda pop, and dance till bedtime. ”
He paints a beautiful picture, one I’ll remember forever, but Mommy says good things don’t happen to people like us. I have a pile of shredded grass on my lap, and I hope I can scrub the green off because this is my nicest dress I got from the donation bin.
Izzy plops down in the grass next to me, Livy’s mommy took her home. A car horn beep-beeps and it’s Connor’s mommy.
“Bye Izzy, bye Delilah-doll! See you Monday!” Connor hollers as he skips to his mommy’s shiny blue car.
“Miss you already!” I holler.
Izzy helps me up and I brush the grass pieces off my dress.
We hold hands on the way home, but we don’t talk much.
Weekends are a bad time at our house. The trailer’s so small and so many people come to our house on the weekends to play cards with Daddy, and it smells like smoke and sour beer.
It’s loud and I don’t sleep good. Izzy and I share her bed since her door locks.
My tummy grumbles loudly, and Izzy makes a sad face. We won’t eat much till school Monday. The teachers give us free breakfast, and Connor packs extra snacks and always gives me some.
At bedtime, I stare at the ceiling in Izzy’s room and imagine what it’d be like to for-real marry Connor when I grow up.