Chapter Thirteen
Liam
“Good morning,” Bill called to me as I stepped onto the front porch.
“Good morning,” I replied, lifting my coffee cup towards him as I sat down on the steps.
I hadn’t talked to my neighbor much since I’d arrived home, but I knew he’d been watching me. He was one of them that knew about Holly. His behavior when I first arrived made more sense once I knew.
“Looks like you’ve been pretty busy,” Bill said, looking towards the painted boards lining our fence.
“Yeah,” I smiled, looking up at the old man as he stood above me.
“All this for the carnival?” he questioned.
I nodded. “Have a seat,” I offered, scooting over on the steps to make room.
“Things look like they’ve been going really well with Holly,” he said softly, taking the seat offered to him.
“They have,” I agreed.
I wanted to say something about him knowing, but I didn’t see what difference it would make now. I needed to let it all go and just enjoy the fact that I knew now.
“Good,” he reached out, resting his hand on my shoulder.
His approval felt good, father-like.
“There’s our girl now,” he said, lifting his hand from my shoulder to point towards the sidewalk.
Holly ran towards the house, her purple backpack bouncing past her shoulders as she neared.
“Aren’t you supposed to be in school?” I questioned.
Wow, I sounded like a real father for a moment. It was eerie.
“My bus doesn’t come for twenty minutes,” she gasped, partially out of breath.
“Good to see you, Holly,” Bill smiled.
Holly nodded in his direction, and then placed her eyes on me. She looked like she was upset but reluctant to speak.
“You doing okay, kiddo?” I questioned.
A sigh escaped her lips, and then she plopped down on the bottom step at mine and Bill’s feet.
“What is it?” I asked, placing my hand on the top of her head.
“Mom has a date with Bruce tonight,” she grumbled.
My stomach let out a growl, one loud enough I was certain it was heard.
“That man’s an idiot,” Bill spat.
I was surprised by his interjection, and by the look on Holly’s face, she was too.
“I know. I want them to break up,” Holly admitted.
That’s what I wanted as well, but I didn’t say it aloud.
“Adults don’t always do what’s best for them,” Bill groaned.
“She didn’t even care about the name being misspelled; she blamed it on the florist,” Holly rambled.
Bill looked confused as his eyes landed on mine.
“We tried,” I shrugged.
“Name misspelled?” Bill asked.
I felt foolish for taking part in such childish pranks and was certain Bill would find me to be an idiot, just like Bruce, when he found out what we’d done.
“Yeah. We sent flowers to Mom, from Bruce, but with the wrong name,” Holly confessed to my neighbor.
“Wow,” Bill chuckled.
“I guess I shouldn’t have made the name so close to hers,” I laughed nervously, still unsure what Bill was thinking about me and my immature prank.
“What name did you use?” Bill asked.
“Althea,” I sighed.
Bill laughed a loud, belly laugh that echoed into the still morning on our quiet street.
“Yeah, maybe Betty would have been better,” he grinned devilishly in my direction.
“Oh well. Now she thinks Bruce is sweet, and she made a date with him for tonight,” Holly grumbled.
“I’m sorry, pipsqueak. We tried,” I apologized.
“Maybe he’ll stand her up,” Bill offered.
“No chance. It’s a free meal and someone to drive him around while he drinks,” Holly growled.
That was true. I couldn’t see Bruce passing up the chance at a designated driver and a night out with Alyssa, his sugar momma.
“I heard sugar in the gas tank can disable a car pretty quick,” Bill smirked.
Holly stared at the old man, her eyes lighting up, and her lips curling into a devilish smile.
“Is that true?” she quickly turned to me.
“It turns the gasoline to goo, but it doesn’t always disable the car,” I admitted what I knew to be true.
“Let’s do that,” she said excitedly.
“I don’t want to destroy a man’s vehicle,” I retreated.
“He’s a mechanic. He can fix it, just maybe not quick enough to get to his date,” Bill smiled.
Why was all of this sounding perfectly fine to me? I knew I wanted Alyssa, but was this the way to do it?
“Yes,” Holly squeaked.
She’d already bounced to her feet, her eyes lingering heavily on mine while awaiting an answer, a go-ahead on the plan.
“Well, I don’t start work for another few weeks, so it’s not like I’ve got anything better to do,” I laughed.
Holly’s arms reached around my neck, squeezing tightly as her tender lips pressed into my cheek. I loved seeing her so happy.
“Like I said, there’s no guarantee it’ll work,” I sighed.
“It’ll work,” Holly exclaimed and then rushed back down the sidewalk, towards her bus stop.
“It’s good to see you two found something to do together,” Bill laughed.
“Yeah,” I chuckled, still feeling foolish.
“I’d like to see Bruce out of Alyssa and Holly’s lives. I think the entire town would,” Bill stated, slapping me on the back as he stood.
“Is this really the way to do it?” I questioned.
“When it comes to love, there are no rules,” Bill grinned and then walked away.
After school, Holly rushed into the house, slamming the front door. I stuck my head into the living room, watching as she tossed her backpack onto the floor, and then stood with her hands on her small hips.
“So?” she questioned.
“I did it,” I grinned.
She jumped up in the air as if she’d just won the super bowl. I still didn’t feel good about what I’d done, at least not entirely. I’d driven over to the next town where Bruce worked, parked a few blocks from his shop, and then snuck the sugar into his gas tank while he was underneath a Jeep Cherokee.
“I told Mom I was staying with you tonight since she had a date,” Holly grinned.
“How will we know if he stands her up?” I asked.
“I’ll know. She always complains to Grandma whenever Bruce does something stupid, and he always does something stupid,” Holly announced.
“Well, how about we go into town, buy a few more supplies, and get some food,” I suggested.
It was nice having Holly around all the time. She lived so close, she could just walk to my house now that Alyssa seemed more comfortable with the arrangement. Maria had stopped complaining so much as well and appeared to be happy that Holly had her dad in her life. Everything was working out great, expcet for Bruce being in the picture, and hopefully that would change soon.
Holly and I walked around the craft store, tossing items into the wobbly cart. Maria had helped make one of the game boards and stacked supplies into Alyssa’s garage for her to complete the rest. She hadn’t had time, and Holly thought it was a good idea if we did it ourselves to surprise her. We had the boards all cut, painted, and mostly decorated, and now we just needed the final touches.
I was delighted with how creative Holly was and let her lead the way on what games to make, how to decorate, and even what prizes should be awarded.
It was after six o’clock when we left the craft store, and my stomach was grumbling with hunger and anticipation of what the night would bring.
I looked at my watch as we checked out. It was six forty-five, only fifteen minutes until Bruce was supposed to arrive to pick Alyssa up for their date.
“You hungry?” I asked Holly.
She rubbed her belly, smiled widely, and nodded.
“Pizza,” she blurted out excitedly, causing the cashier to smile.
“Pizza it is,” I agreed, paid for the items, and then pushed the cart towards the store’s exit.
“Do you think he’s called and canceled yet?” Holly asked as I loaded the truck.
“Probably,” I replied, concealing my own excitement.
“I’ll call her to check in after we eat,” Holly smiled.
The pizza place was packed as we made our way to the only open booth in the back. Holly squeezed in beside me, instead of taking the seat across the table. Her small frame pressed into mine, warm, comfortable, loving.
We ordered a large Hawaiian pizza, something I’d never tried before. Holly snickered as I wrinkled my nose at the pineapple on my pizza.
“Try it,” she pushed.
I pushed the first bite into my mouth and was surprised at how much I enjoyed it.
“I told ya,” she boasted.
The waitress returned to the table with another pitcher of Pepsi and left a box for our leftovers. There was half a pizza still untouched.
“I think our eyes were bigger than our stomachs,” I chuckled as I loaded the leftovers into the small cardboard box.
“Mom might want it,” Holly grinned.
Shit. I looked at my watch again; it was eight o’clock already.
“You want to call and check in?” I asked, just as my phone started to ring.
It was Alyssa.
I winced in Holly’s direction as I showed her the phone. I slid my thumb across the answer button and took a quick breath before greeting the woman I loved.
“Hey, what’s up?” I asked as casually as I could muster.
“Where are you and Holly?” Alyssa asked, her tone sounded short and irritable.
“We’re just leaving the pizza joint,” I replied.
“Okay. I was going to pick Holly up if that’s okay,” she said.
“I thought you had a date,” I played it cool.
Her sigh was long and deep on the other end of the phone.
“I just want to pick her up. Where can I meet you?” she asked.
“I can drop her to you,” I offered.
“I’m already out. I picked up a movie,” she stated.
“Okay. Well, how about meeting us for ice cream? I’ll buy you a banana split,” I offered, remembering that was her favorite.
“Okay,” she replied, although somewhat reluctantly.
Holly was grinning from ear to ear when I hung up the phone.
“I guess it worked,” I shrugged.
The ice cream shop was just as packed as the pizza parlor had been. It was a beautiful night, warmer than usual, so everyone was out.
“You want to get a table out here?” I asked Holly, who was already sliding into the concrete seat.
“Your mother’s pulling up now, so I’ll go ahead and order,” I said, quickly gathering Holly’s order.
I watched over my shoulder as I waited in the line for the outside window. Alyssa sat beside Holly, giving her a quick hug. She didn’t look too upset, too hurt. I hated to think I caused her more pain.
“What can I get ya?” the young boy at the window asked.
“Three banana splits,” I ordered, still watching the two girls behind me.
A few minutes later, and the ice creams were done. I paid and took them on a tray to the table.
“You don’t like banana splits,” Alyssa said as I placed them on the table.
“People can change,” I smirked.
It was killing me not to ask about her date, but I knew she wouldn’t want to talk about in front of Holly, and probably not to me, even if we were alone.
Holly didn’t ask; she just scooped up her ice cream and started eating.
“So, what movie did you get?” I asked.
“Urban Cowboy,” she responded, and then chuckled.
“Uh-oh,” I teased.
She gave me a look, one that I’d missed for years. Her nose wrinkled, and her eyes squinted as she shook her head.
“You only watch that movie when you’re pissed off,” I laughed.
“I’m not pissed off,” she laughed sweetly.
“Uh-huh,” I chuckled.
Holly seemed to be enjoying our banter, but she didn’t stop shoveling the ice cream into her mouth.
“What the fuck is this?” a loud male voice pulled our attention.
“Bruce? I thought your truck was messed up,” Alyssa gasped.
“Yeah, some idiot put sugar in the tank. I just got the tank tore out and borrowed my roommate’s car,” he growled.
His eyes were dark, judgmental, and aimed right at me. I was still dealing with the fact he had a roommate. He was a grown man. Wow, what did Alyssa see in this guy?
“I was picking Holly up,” Alyssa stammered.
“Yeah. Looks like you’re having a nice little evening,” he growled.
“It’s just ice cream, man; you want one?” I offered, my tone sarcastic, but still polite.
“I don’t want any fuckin’ ice cream. Come on, Alyssa,” Bruce ordered, his hand reaching for Alyssa’s arm.
“I’m not going anywhere with you. Have you been drinking already?” she questioned.
Bruce laughed but not a pleasant laugh. He reached for her arm still, this time gripping it in his giant paw. He jerked her towards him, causing her to knock her banana split onto the ground at her feet.
I quickly stood, taking my place between them. “Let go of her arm,” I ordered.
“Why don’t you shut the fuck up and go back home,” he spat.
Holly’s eyes were wide, filled with fear.
“I am home,” I insisted.
“Let me go,” Alyssa jerked her arm free.
“This is bullshit,” Bruce growled.
“You’re acting like an ass,” Alyssa scolded Bruce.
“Your little boyfriend probably spiked my gas tank,” Bruce glared in my direction.
“Don’t be a fool,” Alyssa came to my defense.
Holly stood, finding refuge under my arm as Bruce continued to toss obscenities through the air.
“You girls go on home,” I ordered, ushering Alyssa towards her car.
Bruce followed behind us, not giving up his argument. “You two planned this. You wanted him back, well, now ya got him…hope he doesn’t leave you, again!”
Alyssa tried to turn around—to argue with Bruce, confront him, I don’t know—but I didn’t let her.
“Just go on home. I’ll follow you,” I instructed.