Davis
October 2014
We didn't talk about what happened, but we were better friends. She talked to me more at school. She laughed, walked with me when we were going in the same direction. I was no longer background noise in Ropyr's life.
It was just the two of us at lunch one day, the others hadn't shown up yet. She picked at her chicken salad sandwich, never taking an actual substantial bite. "Hey," I tossed a piece of pizza crust at her, hitting her right on the nose. "where's your head?"
"Florida," she said with a small smile. "Coral Wind goes all out for Halloween. Costumes, decorations, a party in the plaza. Khouri's mom makes this apple flavored punch in a huge cauldron with a smoke machine. It's so cool. I'm missing it this year."
"Halloween is like two weeks away. You can't go visit for a weekend? I could take you."
She shook her head. "Nah. I appreciate the offer, but my mom would lose her mind if I showed up in town. I talked to her yesterday and she wanted to know if she could donate my old costumes. I let her know that I really hated to miss it, and she completely blew me off."
"Halloween here isn't so bad," I said as Kenny and Jeremy joined us at the table. Jeremy kissed the side of Ropyr's head then went right back to his conversation with K.
"It's really not," Neve said, sitting on Ropyr's other side. "The gym gets a complete makeover, and all the little kids get to dress up. They go around to all the classrooms to trick-or-treat. We get a big bouncy house and slide. It's definitely for the kids, but it's still fun."
"Speaking of Halloween," Jeremy interjected. "I'm taking Reggie and Leo trick-or-treating around town before bringing them here. Reggie is requesting your presence. He already has your costume picked out."
Ropyr's cheeks flushed. "Really? I've only been around him a couple of times."
Jeremy shrugged a shoulder, popped a fry into his mouth. "He loves you." None of us missed what he was really trying to say. "So, what do you say?"
She glanced at me, then back at him. "Yeah, sure. Sounds fun."
My next class was with Dawson. He had been noticeably absent from lunch and quiet during practice. He wasn't the guy that wore his heart on his sleeve, but he talked to me. Something was up and I finally decided to talk to him about it. This had more to do with Ropyr and I knew that.
"What's up?" I asked, sliding into the seat beside him. He had his hood pulled over his head, chewing on the end of his pen.
"I hate this time of year," he said.
"School? We all do."
He shook his head. "October. Tomorrow is the thirteenth," he said.
I didn't know what he was getting at. October thirteenth? That meant something to him, and I felt stupid about not knowing what was important about it. Then it hit me. His sister's birthday.
"Let's go out. I can get some beer, and we can chill at the lake. Or we can go to the batting cages. Whatever you want."
He seemed to think it over. "Yeah. Yeah, that might be a good idea. I can't be in that house. Mom and Dad walk around like everything is fine. I can't do that."
Douglas and Trina were nice; they were my second family. I could only go by what I saw when I was around. They didn't exactly talk to me about serious subjects, so I didn't know how they acted after losing Hazel. They seemed fine to me, but people grieved in their own way. I know Trina left for a few months. My mom helped her. I don't know where she went and I never asked. It wasn't my business.
Dawson didn't seem to know either. He used to have a great relationship with his dad. Douglas never missed a game or a practice until losing Hazel. He started working all the time and sleeping when he wasn't working. I didn't know what was normal. I couldn't judge either one of them because I couldn't imagine losing a kid. I don't know how I would handle a grief like that.
The two of us walked to the diamond together to get ready for practice. By that time, he was acting like himself again. I was sure it was just so the others wouldn't know he wasn't okay. That must be a Woods thing, putting a mask on for others. I'd caught Ropyr doing it more than once.
"Are y'all finally together, or still just playing around?" Ty was asking Jeremy.
I was curious about that myself, but her relationship was one thing Ropyr wouldn't talk to me about. Jeremy and Miranda were off limits, even though we never verbally agreed to that.
"We haven't put a label on it, if that's what you're asking," he said, his face turning the same shade as his hair. "I want to, but I don't know what she wants."
"Just tell her how you feel," I spoke up, tying my cleats. All eyes were on me and none of them seemed like they were expecting me to say anything at all. "She likes you. You're good for her."
Dawson gave me a what the hell look and I shrugged one shoulder. I don't know why I said it, why I was encouraging Jeremy to go after Ropyr. Her words from that day in September played in my head; she told me that she felt I didn't really want her, I just wanted a distraction. Maybe she was right. I needed to sort my stuff out, but now wasn't the time.
I drove by my mom's store on the way home. Her car was there so I pulled in beside her and went inside. I didn't visit her much when she was at work. She sold clothes and accessories for girls, so I didn't have any reason to come in here.
The bell above the door dinged and the employee behind the counter smiled at me. I didn't know her name. I don't think she went to Honey Bell High, she looked older than us. "Good afternoon," she said.
"Hey there, how's it going?" I asked. "Is my mom here?"
"Who's your mom?" she asked. Her auburn hair was in a French braid, and she was playing with the end of it.
"Jodie Lewis," I answered in a way that sounded like the answer should have been obvious. I've never been asked who my mother was. People knew who we were.
"Oh! You're Davis! She talks about you all the time. I should've known. I'm sorry. She's in the office finishing payroll."
I knew not to bother my mom when she was in the office. Serious Jodie was in the office. The women who was no nonsense and all business was in the office. I decided to wait out there in the store for her. "How long have you worked here?" I asked, making small talk.
"About a year," she answered with an awkward laugh. "I moved here from Georgia after college."
"Most people don't move here; they usually move away the first chance they have." All my teammates talked about their plans for after graduation and not a single of them wanted to stick around Honey Bell. "What made you pick this place?"
"My boyfriend accepted a job at the elementary school. He teaches the special needs class. I'm more of a big city girl, but I didn't want to tell him no. Honey Bell isn't too bad. I'm still getting used to it."
"It grows on you," I promised her. I couldn't tell if she was enjoying talking to me or just being nice. My mom came out from the office with her purse over her shoulder then. "Hey, Ma," I grinned at her.
"Hey, honey, I thought I heard you out here." She gave me a hug then looked at the cashier. She never gave me her name. "Evie, I'm heading out for the day. Payroll is in and next week's schedule is in the break room. Call me if you need anything."
I held the door for her and we walked out together.
"What brings you by here?" she asked.
"I thought we could get dinner. Dad's in Tennessee for a couple days."
She eyed me closely. "You never want to have dinner with me. When your dad is out of town you encourage me to join him so your friends can raid the liquor cabinet."
"You know about that?"
"The vodka is mostly water at this point. Yes, we both know." She smirked. I've never seen either one of my parents mad about anything. "So, what's going on, Davis?"
I had a close relationship with my mom. We talked about everything, nothing was off-limits. "I'm worried about Dawson. Tomorrow is the thirteenth."
Realization dawned on her. Something close to guilt flashed in her eyes. "Right. I didn't notice the date. All my days seem to run together lately. Why don't you have him and some of the other guys come over? He's been through a lot and, well, he's a Woods, he keeps things to himself. I'm sure he could use his friends."
"Are you sure that's okay? You usually have your book club on Saturday. I was thinking we could go to the cages or something like that."
"It's fine. You know we love Dawson. His parents, too. In fact, I think I'll invite Trina out. Dinner and a movie or something. They need to know we're still here for them. Time does not heal wounds. I don't even know who came up with that saying, but they're an idiot."
"Go ahead and invite Trina out. I think I'm just gonna head over there and hang out for a while. See you at home?"
"I'll be there." I kissed her cheek. "Be safe."
Dawson's truck wasn't in the driveway when I pulled in, but that wasn't unusual. He rarely came straight home after practice. He was probably with Belle. I sent him a text letting him know I was here and I went inside.