Chapter 33
If I'm going to find Roland a boyfriend, maybe I should start with the obvious question: Whatever happened to Adam?
I do some internet sleuthing and find his social media channels.
He's handsome. In one photo he's at Barnes & Noble holding up some of the books IntegriTruth has banned while brandishing a rainbow flag on an apron.
So not only is he probably fully out now, but also he works at the bookstore in the mall between Oyster Pit and McMurtry.
I know exactly what I need to do. And if I can pull it off, I deserve my own Marvel superhero movie. I'd get my own special mask, of course.
___________
It's Black Friday, so crowds are thronging around the entire mall, which smells like perfume samples and cinnamon rolls.
A man dressed as Santa Claus plays a country song on his acoustic guitar while flocks of people of all ages play Pokémon Go around him.
The bookstore is brightly lit and smells like coffee. Inside, I immediately spot Adam.
I keep walking up to him and turning back the other way, abandoning the plan.
He's in one aisle doing inventory. I swallow and poke him from behind.
“Hi!”
He turns around with the solid disinterest of a retail employee. “How can I help you?”
It's weird to meet somebody in person after internet stalking them. I twirl my finger around a string from my jacket. “I'm looking for a gift for a friend who got out of the hospital. He loves anything weather-related.”
“Sure, I can take you over to the nature section,” he says. “We also have some cool weather calendars. Those are always a popular gift.”
Almost immediately, I spot a big, thick book with a skinny tornado on the cover.
(Please make it go away)
I swallow hard and grab it without looking at it. Fate is helping me out here, so I'll be grateful.
“Roland loves tornadoes,” I say. “Something like this will work.”
Adam's face loosens a little. Aha! He's thinking of a little ghosty from the past.
“Well, if you got what you needed, I'll get back to inventory. Let me know when you're ready to check out,” he says.
I pretend to nose around some more before getting in line at the counter. When Adam scans my book, he looks me up and down.
“What school do you go to?” he asks.
“Oyster Pit High,” I say.
“You said Roland. You wouldn't mean Roland Greenway by chance?”
“That's him!”
“So why are you buying him a children's book?” he asks. Crap. He's right. That probably explains why the title of the book is Tornadoes: A Kids' Guide to Nature's Fury.
“Yikes. Thanks for the catch,” I say, pushing the book to the side. “How do you know Roland?”
“I used to hang out with him. As soon as you said the words ‘Roland' and ‘weather,' that's when I knew,” Adam says.
“You don't see him anymore?”
“Are you kidding me? He's all hardline anti-gay and so is his family. He lost the plot when his brother died. Why was he in the hospital?”
“He got hit by a car. Paralyzed for life,” I say.
He squats down in surprise. “Shut up! Seriously?”
The lady behind us stamps her feet. “Could you boys save your conversation for another time? Some of us have places to be.” She looks like she's about to have a fit that will make us all go viral, so I back away.
“Coffee after your shift?” I ask Adam, and he nods, looking back mournfully at the long line of customers that awaits him.
___________
Adam finishes his shift and meets me at the coffee shop on the other side of the mall. I order us both a pumpkin spice mocha and pay for it, insisting over his objections. I have to start the charm offensive somewhere.
“Tell me about the accident,” he says, leading me to a small table for two by the window.
“He was, uh, walking home from school,” I tell him as I wrap my jacket over the back of my seat.
“There was a little girl playing with her ball in the middle of the street.
A drunk driver ran a stop sign and plowed toward her.
Roland pushed her out of the way and got hit instead.
He didn't even think about it. He just did it.” I can't believe I just pulled that out of my ass.
I know I shouldn't lie, but I can feel the energy in Adam change.
He's looking down and tapping his fingers against the table.
I clear my throat to make the next move. “So if you knew him, maybe you should send him a card. That would mean a lot to him.”
He sips his coffee and looks at the crowd of Pokémon Go players, then sets the cup down and shakes his head. “No, he hates me,” Adam says. “He punched me.”
“Why?”
“Because I kissed him. He was the first guy I ever had a crush on.”
“No way,” I say. “I mean, maybe he was like that in the past. All I know is after the accident he's done a lot of reflecting and he told me he's gay.”
“I don't believe it. Not with his parents.”
I finish my drink and start to put my jacket back on.
“You should reach out to him. He's changed. I swear on my life,” I say. I write down Roland's number on a napkin and slide it over to him.
“I'll think about it,” he says.
“Don't overthink it. Go for it!” I shoot him a wink and smile before disappearing into the crowd outside the shop. I wish I had some sunglasses to slip on, because I'm feeling really smooth right now.
I think this deserves a celebratory Whataburger run.