Chapter 3 #4
Cassie had had a rough night, needing my help several times. I looked in the mirror and saw the dark circles under my eyes that never seemed to fade.
It didn’t matter. The customers at the NGS didn’t mind how ugly I looked.
I hadn’t heard from Martha’s cousin, and when she came in to the store, I asked if she knew anything about my car.
I could tell immediately that she had bad news. When Martha got nervous, she did a little head twitch, and she was twitching like a chicken now.
“Well, honey, I did hear from him. He wasn’t wanting to tell you…but he doesn’t think it’s worth it to fix the car.”
I sat down at the stool behind the register. “What do you mean?”
“Well, honey, it’s more than thirty years old. It needs more work than would be worth to put into it.” She twitched.
I started shaking my head. “I don’t need it to be perfect, just running. I’m sure—” She looked grim. “Oh. Ok.” Breathe, I reminded myself.
“You can keep the Bronco until Carl’s brother comes back from Florida. That will give you some time,” Martha said. “I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news.”
“Not your fault,” I mumbled.
“He’ll pay you some for the scrap,” she assured me.
“How much?”
She twitched hard. “He said maybe as much as a hundred.”
A hundred dollars. That would be my budget for a new car. “Martha, it’s ok. I owe you big for loaning the Bronco to me and I owe your cousin too. I’ll figure it out.”
So it was the perfect afternoon to go for a run.
I had the car anxiety to work off, and I had Cassie’s oncology appointment the next day to anticipate.
I changed quickly in the ladies’ locker room, then checked on Charlie before heading to the track.
Darby looked up into the bleachers at me and gave me a thumbs-up.
She and Tara had chatted the night before and she was going to be Charlie’s wing-man at practice. Wing-girl.
Annie was already there waiting beside the track, twisting herself into a crazy stretch. “Hi, Emily! I did yoga today and I’m feeling sooo limber.” She grabbed her ankle and put it somewhere near her ear. “You should come with me some day. The teacher is awesome.”
Sure, I had a lot of time for yoga. “That sounds fun,” I answered. “How far do you usually run?”
“I just go as far as I can in the time we have. I should warn you, I’m really slow!”
I was terrified that her idea of slow was a six-minute mile, but we actually did well pacing together.
It had been about seven months since I had run, but all that time on my feet at Roy’s had apparently helped me to stay in shape, and I managed to keep up the whole practice.
It helped that Annie kept up a running stream of conversation to distract me from the pain.
She was fun to talk to, even as it became clear that we really had nothing in common.
She talked about her kitchen renovation, planning a trip to the Caribbean, mean moms at school (we did actually share that problem), swim team responsibilities, her killer Pilates instructor.
The demands on her time, which mostly seemed to be exercise classes, driving Macdara to her activities, and supervising the housekeeper.
But despite all our differences, she had such a cheerful, happy way about her—she was easy to like.
She told me about moving back to northern Michigan after being away to a boarding school for high school out east, then in California to college at Pepperdine.
“I had only lived here during the summers for so many years, and I still feel like I don’t really know anyone that well.
All my besties are in New York and Connecticut and LA.
It’s a little…isolated up here. But I stay really busy,” she assured me.
“I know what you mean,” I huffed. “I didn’t have a lot of friends in high school here, and they’ve moved away. But there are some really nice people in town.” As I said that, I tried to imagine her hanging out with Martha, or listening to Tara’s foul-mouthed stories. I didn’t see it happening.
“My husband travels a lot for—for business.” Her voice sounded funny and I peeked at her. “He’s from Chicago originally and he’s only here for me. And I’m only here to be near Daddy, because he needs me.”
That’s what Luke had said too. George Whitaker seemed like he was a tough old geezer who would be ok on his own, but how was I to know?
“My mom was a lot younger, and he had us late in life,” she explained, as we completed another lap. “So he’s quite a bit older than your parents are, I’m sure.”
That was no doubt true, since my dad was dead and my mom had been eighteen when she had me.
“Tell me about you!” she urged. “I’ve been yapping your ear off.”
“Not much to say,” I panted. “I’m busy too, working, mostly.”
“Luke told me about your sister. I’m sorry to hear she’s not well.”
I nodded, my head bobbing up and down and I bounced around the track.
“He said they used to date in high school. Isn’t that funny!”
“Yeah, funny,” I answered. Ha ha.
“He said she was so pretty. Really a, um, fun girl.”
I looked at her sideways. What was that supposed to mean?
“Anyway, one of my friends from Pepperdine just got diagnosed with cancer. She’s doing an experimental treatment at UCLA. Want me to find out more about it for your sister?”
“Sure, thanks,” I said, knowing it probably wouldn’t matter.
Most people didn’t realize that there were a lot of variations of the sucky disease and that they all had separate treatment plans and protocols.
I had researched a ton of different treatments, and experimental trials.
Most were as far out of reach as the stars for us.
By the time swim practice was wrapping up, I was done. “Thanks for the run,” I gasped at her, dragging a towel over my face.
Annie did not have a single hair out of place. “It was so fun! Thank YOU,” she said. “Um, are you ok? You’re really red.”
I could feel the heat pounding from my face. “I just need some water,” I told her, and we walked over to the row of drinking fountains.
“Oh hey, Lukie!” I heard her say as I slurped up some water. Oh, my Lord. No. Sweat was literally pouring from my body.
“Hey, Annie,” he answered.
I stood up slowly, and turned around. His eyes were right on me. Luke Whitaker in a fitted white t-shirt and workout shorts. Oh man, his legs.
“Are you all right, Emily?” he asked. “You’re really red.”
“Just hot from the run,” I assured him. “Great to see you.” Holy Moses, would he ever see me when I looked like a normal person? Filthy dirty, a slutty t-shirt, a price tag stuck to my face, and now this? Why?
“We’re going down to the pool to get the kids,” Annie told him. “Come say hi to Mackie.”
We started to walk together but someone called to Annie. “I’ll meet you,” she told us. “Don’t let her leave without her swim bag!”
“How’s the Bronco working out?” Luke asked me.
“Great,” I said, then sucked in a deep breath. I had managed to forget about the car.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing!” I pasted on a smile. He narrowed his eyes, probably out of disgust at my sweaty self.
The kids were just coming out of practice. “Charlie, Macdara!” I called. They trotted over, neither with a swim bag. “Go back and get your stuff, please.”
Ellis walked by and I debated tripping him. Instead I said, “Oh, Ellis?”
He turned. “Yeah?”
“I’m Charlie’s aunt. I just wanted you to know something.” I dropped my voice low. “I’m watching you. All the time.” We stared at each other for a few moments, then he visibly swallowed and backed off down the hall.
Luke gaped at me. “Did you just threaten a child?”
“That wasn’t a threat. I just told him I was watching him. He was picking on Charlie, and if he does it again, I’ll make him regret it.” Somehow. That part wasn’t clear.
Charlie and Macdara emerged again from the pool, this time with their equipment bags and other gear. “Hi, Uncle Luke!” Macdara wrapped her arms around him.
“I just worked out,” he warned her. “This could be a foul hug.”
He had just worked out? He was pristine! I thought he had just gotten out of the shower or something.
“I don’t care, I’m getting you all wet! Are you coming to my meet this weekend?” she demanded. Luke pulled up his shirt and wiped his forehead, giving me a straight-shot look at his stomach. Oh, mother of pearl, he still had the six pack.
Luke looked at me with raised eyebrows. “What meet?
“The Mid-Michigan Invitational. Charlie and I are driving down Saturday early,” I explained.
“You’re not staying in the hotel with everybody Friday night?” Macdara asked. “Why? It’s going to be fun! We get to have the breakfast buffet all to ourselves in the mornings, just the team!”
Charlie looked at me with big eyes. “That would be fun, Em!”
My chest tightened. “Nope, we’re driving down Saturday morning, pal. And we’re only staying one day.” I felt bad enough about putting all the miles on the Bronco. And now Charlie was disappointed too.
“Oh.” His head drooped.
“Maybe I could catch a ride with you and Charlie,” Luke said casually. “Would that be ok?”
I looked at him. “Seriously?”
“If that’s ok.”
“Um, sure…”
“Great,” he said. “I’ll text you and we can work out the details. Let’s go, Mackie.”
They waved and I was left with my little wet pal. “Let’s hit the road, too, sweat pea. Your mom needs some dinner.”
The days were getting longer, and there was enough light for Charlie to work on his homework in the car. “Emmy, do you have a glue stick?”
“Not on me, pal. Can you glue it when we get home?”
“I guess.”
He was quiet while working, and I was left to endlessly replay my interaction with Luke.
The meet was about two hours away by normal car, three in the Bronco that I was afraid to push above fifty.
Three hours in the car with Luke? What would we talk about?
Would I manage not to have something gross on my face or body?
I would need to get up at about four to leave myself enough prep time.