Chapter 5 #2
The mood was American, with a menu that offered everything from burgers, steaks, seafood, and even pizza. I went with their lemon and herb roasted chicken and Scott chose a steak, medium rare.
Together we sat across from each other at a table while the perimeter of the restaurant held booths other parties were seated at. The place, Hughes Restaurant, wasn’t too packed for a Monday evening. There was chatter in the air, but not enough to where we couldn’t carry a conversation.
If I still had friends, or a life back in LA, I would’ve spent the wait on our meals texting. Rude or not.
Scott gathered his glass of water and took a sip. “How was school?”
“School was fine. I’m not behind or anything, so that’s good. I don’t have to kill myself to catch up.”
“If you do need any help, Cameron’s a smart girl,” Scott said.
I bet she was. “Okay.”
“You ever been a cheerleader?”
“Not happening ever, Scott.”
My tone of voice caused him to laugh, but I was serious. I wouldn’t be caught dead in a short skirt waving pom-poms and giving off pep.
“I’m just trying to find some activities you can fall into,” Scott explained. “One of my buddies owns a farm and could teach you to ride horses.”
I frowned. “I don’t think horses should be ridden.” The way Scott gazed at me had me explaining my point further. “I think it’s sorta cruel, you know? The whole headgear thing they wear and the fact that people are yanking on it. Horses should be free, and people should ride bikes.”
Scott sat across from me studying me, making me feel out of place.
“What?” I demanded to know.
“That’s interesting,” he said. “It’s different, but I like it.”
I could be weird like that. I ate meat, but I was against things like riding horses, hunting deer or rabbit, or any baby animal. Hypocritical to some, which was why I didn’t deem myself any sort of activist.
“So,” I moved on as our food finally arrived. “What was it like growing up here?”
Scott buttered his potato as he gave his answer some thought. “We weren’t exactly poor, but we had some tight times. My father worked day in and day out to provide for my sister and me, along with our mother.”
Right, I had an aunt on his side. “Where’s your sister again?”
“Florida, she’s on a permanent vacation,” Scott joked. “She married a nice guy and they have a bundle of children.”
“And you have me.” Now.
“Yeah.” A twinkle lit Scott’s dark eyes. “When I was twenty I had enough and took off to LA, I wanted to be a rock star, I wanted to play in the best band and tour the world.”
“And then what happened?”
“I crashed and burned.” His defeated laugh was kind of sad really.
“I ended up in this really small one-bedroom apartment, working tables at this country club for the rich and snotty. I played in a band at night at some cheap bar. It didn’t bring in any income, mostly thirty bucks I had to split with three other guys. ”
Times had been more than rough in Scott’s life.
“That had to suck,” I said.
Scott agreed as he cut into his steak. He took a bite and moaned out his enjoyment. “This place makes the best food.”
I was only a few bites into my chicken and I had to agree.
“So, what was the highlight of your short time in LA?” I wondered.
The sad smile on Scott’s face almost made me think the whole trip had been an utter failure for him, but then he spoke up.
“Meeting your mom.” He took a break from his food and looked off at nothing in particular.
“Working at the country club had always been pure hell. Those people and their kids were awful. But Mads was different.”
He was off in his own little world it seemed as he spoke of his encounter with my mother.
“Yeah,” he decided to say next as he sat up, coming back from his reverie. “Your mother was the best part of LA.”
Ironic, she was my worst memory, seeing how she shipped me off.
I didn’t want to talk about “Mads” any more. “So, you’re single?”
Scott’s brows rose as he cut more into his steak. “Uh, yeah, yeah I am.”
He needed someone, and I needed someone to distract him while I lived my life in this godawful town.
“Is Cas single?” I asked.
“Uh, yeah.” Scott poked at his steak, his forehead now creasing. “Her husband left her last year, you’d never know it, though. Cas is strong. She’s always been a fighter.”
“Would you go for it?”
Scott took a long sip of his water, taking more time to respond. “I’m much too busy for a love life, Saylor.”
“Busy? How?” Work couldn’t be that demanding at a grocery store.
“I’ve got work, hobbies, and you just came back into my life.”
Only temporarily. “Don’t use me as an excuse not to get out there. Next year I’ll be gone.”
“Geez.” Scott sat back in his seat. “You’re already thinking about leaving? You just got here. I was hoping this place would grow on ya.”
“It’s not my style.”
“It could be,” he insisted. “This place will ground you eventually.”
“I don’t need to be grounded.”
“Yes,” he disagreed. “You do.”
“Scott—”
“Sex, drugs, and alcohol isn’t the life a seventeen-year-old should be leading.”
“And what, I should sober up and just be dull?” I challenged. “Life happens, Scott. I can’t be a nun.”
“No one says you have to be. Why not make nice friends? Why not meet a nice guy?”
“A nice guy?” I repeated.
“Yeah, hey, Dreux’s a great kid,” Scott suggested.
Not happening. “He’s not my type.”
“Well you’ll meet someone else. The point, Saylor, is that you need structure.
That’s what this move is about. Los Angeles has not been good for you.
This place can really bring out the Saylor you truly are.
You can join a club or start one, excel in school, and just leave all that bad stuff behind you. ”
He didn’t know me, and yet he already had plans for me. Plans I had no intention on seeing through.
I shut him out, just like everyone else.
People were funny. The people I knew, they had their own special way of telling me I wasn’t good enough. That I was wrong.
I was like a dandelion. You don’t go to people’s houses and see bouquets of weeds, but something more colorful like a rose or tulip. Nobody wanted a dandelion.
Everyone wanted to change me. Put me into their neat little box to fit their own mold. And when I couldn’t satisfy their idea of me, they left me.
If there was one consistent pattern in my life, it was that people always left.