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“Really?”
“Oh, yeah. Brilliant stuff, this goof here cried like a baby when he heard about the whole bat incident. They were one of the main things that got him through after, Julia-that was his mother, died.”
The facepalm was epic, echoing through the small kitchen. It was heard more than seen, my eyes closed tight to hold back the tears. Tears for what I wasn’t clear. Daddy most likely, though maybe a bit for Nate, who I had much more in common with then I ever thought I did.
But when I opened my eyes, I could see Nate’s forehead buried in his palm. The urge was sudden as it was strange. A driving need to hug Nate, who I’d considered an enemy for so long. We might never be what Hank and Mom clearly wanted, but there was a chance of us being friends. Something that once seemed about as likely as pigs flying.
Chapter Eight - Nate
Disaster loomed. Like a dark storm cloud on a sun-drenched horizon, the toll of doom not far behind. I would have been worried, if not for that damnable sense of perspective. Certainly, it would be unpleasant, for Elise and me, if not all concerned, but then it would be over.
I reminded myself that this was just one more droplet of time in the rest of eternity. Referred once again to my secret tattoo. The one I’d gotten as soon as I was old enough, and put in a place I could see it, but few others could: THIS TOO SHALL PASS.
It looked like a second me. The clothes laid out in order on the bed, ready and waiting. They’d been there a while, as soon as it was agreed, though not by me, that we would be dining next door that night. Not quite the same as ‘tonight we dine in Hell’ but close.
I’d only really met Sara once. She’d moved in while I was away, but she seemed nice enough. Very much like a mom. A comfort in a small, strange way.
The shower sprayed me anew. Washing away the past, leaving me cleansed. Tucking the end of the towel in, so it was secure, I briskly returned to my room to get my glad rags on.
“Wow.”
“Should I change?”
“Not at all, you look great, son.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
Hank Gattis was not a cuddly sort. Nice enough, when you were on his good side, but unqualified compliments did not often come, making them precious in their rarity.
The night cooled my senses, like it often did. While brief, I was going to need all the help I could get.
The younger Vaughn greeted us with what easily passed for courtesy, nearly curtsying in the door frame. Not quite the reception I’d expected but welcome just the same. Dad diverted attention before I could do anything foolish.
She really had changed. The gentle sway of her hips, her jeans caressing the lovely curve of her ass as she went to the table, one of the most erotic things I’d ever witnessed. It was just a shame about her personality.
I knew it was wrong. Not only morally but factually. Ogling a girl’s chest was considered pretty low at the best of times. Never mind who owned the chest in question. Yet, try as I might, I couldn’t keep my gaze away from the sweet fullness of her tits, as they strained against her sweater.
They were round and perky, and moved in all the right ways to show they were all natural. For a brief moment, it seemed possible she’d gotten surgery. Possibly as a result of the relentless teasing. I’d certainly known people to do crazier things for less.
I’d never really had a problem with her body. Not even when we were young, and such things seemed so important. The teasing was to fit in. My teammates didn’t like Elise, so I didn’t either. It was a survival strategy to keep them from turning on me.
My issue with Vaughn the younger was a bit more personal, rooted mostly in the way she dismissed me. I knew what she likely thought. One of the two things most people thought. Either I was a hero that helped the team win four consecutive championships, or a dim-witted meathead who would peak in high school with no long-term potential. Neither were true of course.
Football was very much a team sport and a team effort. I never ‘played dumb’ but also did little to disprove the assumption. Had Elise been like everyone else, it wouldn’t have been a problem. I probably would have left her alone, but it was like she actually thought she was better than me. Flaunting her knowledge at every chance, signing up for extra-credit presentations, always conspiring with her two friends. She couldn’t get into any of the regular cliques, so they started their own. It shouldn’t have bothered me so much, but I didn’t have the same sense of perspective then.
