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“Well, if you say so,” I said, disappointed, “but if it makes you feel any better, her entire family will be there, including her extended family. We’d be chaperoned well and her parents are comfortable with it.” Please say yes.
“Oh let him go Shelby,” my dad said hoping we’d shut up so he could catch the end of his program.
“Hmm,” she deliberated, “I’ll call her mama in the morning and get the details. As long as it will be as well chaperoned as you claim it will be I don’t have a problem with it. Are you okay with being away from the family on such a holiday?”
“I’ll miss you very much mom,” I got up and kissed her forehead.
That made her more comfortable. She made me promise that, if I went, I’d call her the day of and I crossed my heart that I would.
“Y’all are stupid,” Maddy said with audacity, eyes still focused on her worksheet. “I would never let my boy do something like that.”
All three of us stared at the pre-teen lounging in all her false glory. I left the room so I wouldn’t have to witness the disrespect smacked out of her knowing I would hear it through the walls as it was.
“Maddy check your tone before you find yourself grounded the entire Thanksgiving break,” my dad said.
“Imagine that Mark!” My mom said. “Maddy giving us advice! We’re so lucky to have birthed her and raised her to be more intelligent than us. Wouldn’t you agree Mark?”
“You’re right Shelby. Where would we be without her?”
I couldn’t see it but I’m sure my mom had a look of disgust on her face and I couldn’t help but chuckle at the thought of it. I bounded up the stairs to my room and went to sleep happily dreaming of turkeys.
The next morning I was really excited to pick Jules up for school. When I got there, I bounded up the smallish incline to the bottom of the steps of the covered porch just as she was locking the door.
“You didn’t!” She squealed with delight when she turned around and met my eyes.
“What are you talking about?” I said.
“I can feel it in your chest Elliott Gray. You asked and they said yes!”
It was handy, most of the time. I had a feeling I’d never be able to surprise her again though. She dropped her bag on the wood porch with a loud thud and she leaped into my arms from the top step in excitement.
“You’re gonna’ love Mauch Chunk,” she said.
“I’ve been there before Jules. Granted, I was pretty little and don’t remember much, but I have been there.”
“Oh, you’ll remember this trip,” she flirted.
“I bet I will,” I teased.
“We’re going to have to start picking out our road trip music starting today,” she said, gesturing excitedly with her hands. “We only have a week!”
Jules took forever to pick out music. She said there was an art to choosing the correct songs, to provide diverse choices that would suit any mood. I had to admit she was pretty good at it.
“Should we ditch today and stay here?” She asked. “I bet we could get a lot more done if we did.”
“Whoa! We just got stow away privileges and you already want to rock the boat? Any minute now we could capsize and never make our destination.”
“You’re right,” she sagged with a sigh. “Let’s get to school.”
“Aye, aye, cap’n!” I said with a salute.
That day was a B day and I’d only have fourth period Chemistry with her. I didn’t get to see her that morning but at least we got to eat lunch together and I was able to finish the day with her.
The hours ticked by so slowly but I absorbed the little information I didn’t already know in Economics and Algebra and ran to the cafeteria to see my Jules. I saw her sitting at our usual table but didn’t see what I had imagined all morning. She had her arms folded across her stomach as if in pain and a look of panic strewn about her perfect face. I instantly ran to her and pleaded to know what was wrong.
“Jules! What happened?”
The tears were just beginning to flow. I guess they had unconsciously been waiting for me. They knew how much I hated them. They were a sign of pain in Jules and that was unacceptable to me. She tried to speak but couldn’t and instead just handed me, with trembling hands, a folded piece of notebook paper torn from a binder. It was a printed note and read,
