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Frankie pipes up with his mouth full. “Can’t go. I promised Aiden and Henry we’d hang out this afternoon.”
His mother responds with a pointed look. Frankie wilts and swallows his food.
“You know what? The guys will be fine without me. My sister doesn’t turn eighteen every day.”
Adela is having a good day today. She’s not as tired as she often is and she eats the breakfast prepared by my father without being coaxed. After breakfast I retreat to my room to try on my new clothes and I know the soft knock on the door is her.
“Oh, you look so pretty,” she says, her eyes shining when she sees me in the navy blue vintage style dress. Months earlier I’d shown her a picture of it on my phone and then forgotten about it but somehow she’d discovered a similar pattern and found the energy to sew it herself.
I twirl so the skirt fans out. “The length is perfect. Store bought dresses aren’t designed for tall girls.”
Adela sits down on my bed. Her hands automatically drift to her head to ensure that the soft wrap circling her bare scalp is in place. It’s something she does automatically and self-consciously.
“You start Christmas break next week, don’t you?”
“Yup. Tuesday is the last day of school until after the holidays.”
She shoots me a sly look. “You haven’t mentioned any boys lately.”
I snort and sit down beside her on the bed. “There aren’t any worth mentioning.”
Despite the words coming out of my mouth my brain insists on thinking of Ben Beltran and I don’t want to think about Ben in that way. I don’t like Ben. Ben is impossible. Ben is unworthy of a crush.
Adela sighs. “You work too hard I think. Between school and the newspaper and your job you have no time for fun. You need to have fun.”
I’ve seen ‘fun’. At least, I’ve seen what qualifies as ‘fun’ among people my age. It seems to involve lots of people and endless liquor and humping in a corner with some random slob. No thanks.
After I assure my stepmother that I’m not yearning for the contemporary version of fun she decides she’d like to curl my hair like she used to do when I was younger. Of course I’m perfectly capable of using a curling iron myself but I would never refuse her and obediently sit in my desk chair while she hums softly and produces cascades of curls.
“Beautiful.” Adela is pleased with the results and even I can admit that I look pretty good.
The morning has worn her out a little and she decides to take a nap before lunch. My phone buzzes and I’m happy to see there’s a message from Trina wishing me a happy birthday. Ben’s comment about my lack of a social circle stung more than I wanted it to.
I’ve said nothing to Trina about my plan to write an article about Ben Beltran but now I’m thinking about the fact that her boyfriend, Kent Dresher, hangs around with Ben all the time. In all likelihood Kent knows a thing or two.
Trina is puzzled by my sudden interest. She wants to know why I don’t just ask Ben myself. It’s not my style to be secretive. But in the end she promises to discreetly ask her boyfriend some questions.
Later, my dad drives us all to Imogen’s Diner, which has been around for three generations and has seen better days but still serves great hamburgers with fat wedge fries. I’m not expecting Ben’s mother to be our waitress and I find myself staring at her while she scribbles down our orders. She’s very thin and deep worry lines are etched into her forehead but she has a lovely smile and compliments me on my dress.
I’ve worn my dress to lunch with the intention of stopping at home to change before clocking in at Dee’s but by the time my dad is settling the check I’ve only got fifteen minutes until I’m supposed to be at work. I’ll be damned if I set myself up for a lecture on punctuality from Ben Beltran.
My dad wants to drop me off at Dee’s but it’s just down the street so after promising to call if I need a ride later I wave goodbye to my loving family and cover the few hundred yards at a brisk pace. I’m not enthusiastic about working with Ben all evening but I’m not going to let his shitty behavior put a dent in my day. After he blew up last night we didn’t say another two words to each other and I won’t be the one to go out of my way to change that.
Ben Beltran has managed to earn two things. My contempt. And my certainty that he’s definitely hiding something. There’s no other reason he’d get so bent out of shape when faced with simple questions.
I’m so preoccupied that I don’t even notice the McGill brothers are propped up against the side of the building in the midst of vaping their lungs away. I freeze for a second but they simply nudge each other and smirk. Alex, the oldest, begins to make some crude blow job motions and I lower my head before hurrying inside.
Ben is dealing with customers at the register and does not even signal that he’s seen me walk through the door. I head for the stockroom where there’s a tiny closet. I hang up my warm winter jacket and exchange it for my Dee’s Gas and Goods vest. Last night I succeeded in getting all the stockroom inventory straightened out and I’m pleased to see how neat and uncluttered the area is.
There’s now a line of customers up front but with Ben occupying the only working register there’s not much I can do to help. Instead I add ingredients to the soda machine, make some more coffee, and place additional hot dogs on the warming rack. All the napkin, straw and condiment dispensers need to be refilled as well and by the time I’m finished taking care of everything the line has disappeared and I’m left alone with Ben.
“Diane Cushing stopped by to leave this for you,” he says without a trace of the anger that was so thick in his voice yesterday. He pushes a small silver box across the counter.
The tag reads ‘Happy Birthday Camden! Love, Dee and Diane’. Inside the box is a delicate silver charm bracelet. My initials and a zircon birthstone gem dangle from it. It’s a lovely gift and I’m so touched that the Cushings would go to this much trouble that a tear threatens to spill.
“Are you crying?” Ben asks.
“No.” I scowl at him. The bracelet isn’t quite large enough to push over my hand so I’m struggling with the clasp when Ben reaches over the counter.
