Twenty-Six

Josh

There was my girl, stepping up when times got hard. I knew it would take her a little bit, but that she’d see that helping was the right thing to do. Normally it would be the other way around, and she’d have to convince me, but Garrett was a good friend to me. I wanted to do something to help.

I’d talked my dad into letting me use the 4x4 truck to haul all of our supplies to the lake. He was okay with it, but it took a little more arm-twisting to get him to make the first donation. He told me to have Mom write out a check, which I was thankful for. Mom was far more generous than he ever would’ve been. She may have been flawed in many ways, but that woman loved her charity work. 

She wrote me out a check for five thousand dollars and I tucked it away in my wallet. I knew that if we raised nothing else, that the five grand was a damn good donation. 

I loaded up the truck with the coolers, the grill, and all the camping supplies. I even loaded up the two canopies we had stored away. Mom said there was a chance of rain, and I was hoping it would stay away, but we had to be prepared for anything. I didn’t want everyone’s night ruined because of a storm. 

Lee jumped right into planning mode when I told her what I needed her to do. She said she’d meet me later at the lake. I needed her to pick up some food, and a few supplies from the store. Garrett was bringing the alcohol of course, but I told him beer only. We didn’t need a bunch of different shit. All I wanted was a good party with beer and burgers, nothing more, nothing less. 

The truck was loaded down, and I backed it in as close as I could to the docks. The party was starting at four and we only had a few hours to get things set up. 

“This is going to be great. Thanks for putting all of this together, Josh,” Garrett said as he grabbed a cooler from the back of the truck.

“No problem, Buddy. I’m here to help,” I replied. “Did you tell Tex?”

“Yeah. He didn’t take it too well.”

I nodded. “I get it. It can’t be easy to take handouts from people.”

Garrett grunted as he lifted one side of the canopy off the truck. “I don’t know if it was the fact that we were helping or if it was because you were helping.”

That shit was done and over with a long time ago, and I wanted us all to get over it. There was no sense in him hating me. “Look, I’ll talk to him about it. I don’t hate the guy. I was more pissed off at myself than anything.”

“I get it,” Garrett agreed. “I’m not sure why he’s still upset about that mess anyway. I think he’s just trying to deal with everything that’s going on with his folks, and that he’s just carrying around all this weight on his shoulders. You know?”

“Yeah. That’s a lot to have to worry about when you’re just a college kid,” I admitted. He handled things better than I ever could. 

“He really does appreciate the help, even if he doesn’t say it. I know he does, and I tried to explain to him that we were just helping him stay afloat until he could get the house started back up. I know he’s been staying in that shit ass cabin for the past couple of days, and I’m not sure it even has running water back there. I told him that this way he could get a hotel, or hell even live at the dorms with us if he had to. All we’re trying to do is help. Whatever way that we can,” he said.

“Right.” I shook my head. “Is he coming tonight?” I asked. I really hoped that he would so that I’d get a chance to make things right with him, and tell him just how wrong he was about Lee.

“I don’t know.” He wiped the sweat from his forehead. “I hope that he does. He needs a minute to just let off some steam, and get away from that house. My parents were leaving town this morning, and I know he’s going to feel lost. I don’t want him being by himself.”

“Why don’t you text him and tell him that I’d really like to talk to him tonight. Tell him I want to apologize. Maybe then he’ll come, and if he doesn’t…” I shrugged. “We’ll have a good time, and tomorrow you can deliver him some money,” I suggested. 

“Good deal, Man.”

Obi and a couple of the other guys showed up about a half an hour after we did, so we had plenty of hands to help set up. 

We went ahead and put up the canopies because the clouds were thick and dark. We needed protection from the rain in case it decided to happen on a whim. Well, some of us needed protection. Every crack of thunder brought a new smile to Lee’s face. 

Her only request for the party was that she be the one to cook the burgers, so she didn’t have to socialize too much. Little did she know, I had tracked down Letty and got her a ride to the lake, so I was sure that she wouldn’t want to cook once she saw her.

I told her yes, though, just to appease her. Her grilling skills weren’t bad. I was still alive, so that was something.

I sat down on one of the lawn chairs and rested my feet. I was already tired, and the party hadn’t even started yet. Lee stood next to the grill and smiled at me. It made me feel so good to see her like that. It had been days since or weeks even since she’d really let herself relax. Her loveable smile was all I needed to see for me to feel like things were getting better. Things were starting to look up. 

High school problems compared to college seemed to be crazy different. We never used to have to deal with things on this grown up level. Maybe we weren’t prepared. Thinking back to a year ago, I couldn’t believe how much simpler things were. 

I guess you could say that we’ve changed in a lot of ways, but we had some good friends to show for it. 

After firing up the grill, I led people over to the grassy area where they could set up their tents. It wasn’t a very big place and it was sort of going down hill, but no one seemed to mind. We passed around the donation bucket, several times and watched as it filled up quickly. It wasn’t about a set number or dollar amount. We just asked that people donated what they could in hopes that we could raise as much money as possible. Every little thing counted. 

It seemed like most everyone was able to set up their tent before it got dark, but more people kept dropping in as the hours went on. Garrett had set up his Ipod to a dock that was connected to two massive speakers. The music could be heard for miles. 

“How you holding up chef?” I squeezed Lee from behind. 

“Good.” She smiled at me over her shoulder. “I’m almost done.”

Where the hell was Letty? I was hoping she was going to get there before Lee had to cook all the food. She wasn’t about to let me help.

“I can’t believe the turnout. This is amazing, Josh.” Her eyes stared into mine, and she had a pleasing grin on her face. 

I shook my head. “I wasn’t expecting this many. I guess word travels fast. I figured more people would’ve had plans for spring break.”

“They’re broke college students. This is probably all the fun they can afford.”

Good point. 

“So,” she peered up at me. “Is he coming?”

She didn’t have to say his name for me to know whom she was talking about. “I don’t know. It’s up in the air right now. He might, or he might not.”

There was an understanding look in her eyes, but she didn’t say anymore. I rubbed her back gently and looked out into the crowd. That’s when I spotted Letty coming toward us. I put my finger over my lips so that she would know to be quiet when she came up, and she played along. 

I leaned down to whisper in Lee’s ear. “I’ve got a surprise for you though, and I think you’re going to like it.” Grabbing her shoulders, I spun her around quickly so that she was face to face with Letty. 

That girl let out a squeal that would call the dogs from neighboring counties. Sheesh.

The two of them nearly tackled each other to the ground. I’d never seen two people become such fast friends. Lee wasn’t really a girlfriend kind of gal. She was always just one of the guys. 

I guess Letty was different and Lee was a magnet for all things different.

“Don’t worry. I got the grill,” I waved her off. Finally, I could feel a little less like a woman, and I could get my man on in front of the grill. There was nothing like a spatula, and the smell of burgers on the grill to get your testosterone up. 

“Someone bring me a beer!” I yelled. 

Lee had nearly all the burgers finished. I just had to take the last ones off the grill, and then everyone could eat. I stacked them neatly in the pan and opened the buns. I made Garrett make the food announcement since he had a much bigger mouth. That was like calling a pack of wolves. People came running. 

A loud bang of thunder cracked across the sky, and I peeked out from under the canopy. It was too dark to see the clouds but I had a bad feeling it was about to rain on us. 

I was about to go find Lee when I spotted a cowboy hat in the distance. 

He made it, and I wasn’t the only one that noticed. I spotted Lee close to the lake and her eyes were on Tex. 

I was ultimately going to make things right. The two of us were going to have a talk whether he wanted to or not. That was one thing my Dad taught me that always stuck. Don’t let business go unfinished, because someone always gets screwed in the end. 

He was certainly right about that. Only the main person getting screwed was Lee, and I wasn’t going to watch it happen anymore. If he didn’t want to be with her then fine, but if this was about me then we were going to settle it once and for all. 

After walking through the crowds of people, I found Tex standing next to Garrett and Obi. I couldn’t tell you what they were talking about, but the discussion seemed light. 

“Hey,” I said as I walked up to them. I looked right at Tex. “Can we talk?” 

He tipped his head. “Yeah.” 

The first step was a good one. I didn’t have to twist his arm to make him talk. He was willing. He probably wasn’t going to like what I had to say, but it needed to be done.

I nodded my head towards the dock, and the two of us walked down. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Lee watching us from the waters edge. She and Letty were standing there with their feet in the water. They had a clean view of Tex and me from where they were. I swear I could feel her eyes burning holes into me as we made our way down to the end of the dock.

“You probably already know what I want to talk to you about, but I needed to tell you face to face,” I started. 

He must’ve known that our talk was going to take a while as he sat down on the edge of the dock and let his feet hang over the side. I took a spot next to him, and I could see Lee as plain as day from where we were sitting.

“I want to apologize first for hitting you. If you’re holding a grudge against Lee for that, then I’m sorry. It was just hard to hear some of the things you said, and it pissed me off.”

He looked over at me. “Yeah,” he nodded. “The truth really hurts.” 

I could still see the hurt on his face. “She said she tried to talk to you, but you wouldn’t listen and that you left her when she kissed you. I don’t know what made you think you could treat her like shit. I mean, I get that you’ve had a lot of shit going on, but you upset her.” I tried to explain. 

He scoffed and shook his head. “I told her I didn’t want to talk about it, and I didn’t. We weren’t serious or nothing, so it shouldn’t have been that big of a deal. I don’t even know why we’re even talking about it.”

“It was a big deal, man.” My voice rose. “It was a big deal to her. We’re both finding it a little hard to understand. I’m the one that threw that punch at you, but you’re taking out all the anger on her. It ain’t right.” I was starting to get upset, which I was trying very hard not to do. 

He leaned his head back so far that his hat fell off behind him. When he reached back for it, he looked at me. “It’s not about the punch. She loves you. I’m not trying to compete with that.”

“You’re right. That girl over there does love me,” I pointed to her and she turned away quickly so that she wasn’t caught staring. “But she loves me like her best friend, like her brother,” I told him.

“Right,” he laughed. “Then why the fuck were you kissing her.”

Whoa. My eyes grew wide.

“I saw you. You were right outside the dorm.”

I had to laugh, even though I knew I shouldn’t. I couldn’t stop myself. Why did he not say anything until now?

“You think this is funny?” He gave me an odd stare, but I could see the pain in his face. It wasn’t right for me to laugh, but every time I thought about that night it just happened. We were both so innocent in the whole damn thing, which makes even that much more funny. If only I could make him understand. I should’ve known there was something more to this mess than just my punching him in the face. 

“You’re right. We kissed,” I admitted. “It was something we had to do, but we learned very quickly that we should never do that again.” I laughed again.

“I don’t understand.” He put his hat back on his head.

“You should have let her explain, because everything you think happened after that, didn’t. After your stupid love speech at the restaurant, I found her outside the dorm. My adrenaline was over the top, and when I saw her I knew I had to kiss her. Both of us had this weird thing going on between us, and we just had to see how real it was. So I kissed her. And Dude, it was like kissing my sister.”

“What about her?” 

“She felt the same way. We laughed about it for the longest time. The two of us were just meant to be best friends, and I had her convinced that she should get to know you a little better. I told her to follow her heart, but I wish I hadn’t. She followed it right to you, and you fucking broke it.” I stated matter of fact. “And truthfully, if I’d known about it sooner I would have beat your ass.”

His eyes met mine, and we stared at each other like the battle was on. When it came to Lee, I’d fight an army. I didn’t care. 

“Damn,” he half smiled at me. “I feel like such an ass. No wonder she smacked me in the face. I deserved it.” His shoulders dropped in defeat. It served him right. We were all cool, but if I didn’t think he’d come up swinging, I would’ve already pushed his ass into the lake. 

It was just an idea.

“I need to talk to her,” he said. “I’m sorry about everything.” He held out his hand. 

I shook it. We were cool. Really. “We’re good,” I assured him. “But I want you to know that when it comes to that girl, I am more than protective. I love her to death, and I’m not going to let anyone hurt her and get away with it.”

He nodded. “I’m glad she has you.”

We sat there for a few more minutes, and dammit if it didn’t start to rain. It was like someone broke a dam. 

“Shit!” We climbed up from the dock and the two of us took off running toward the canopy. We were drenched before we made it there, but it felt good to be under something. 

He grabbed my shoulder. “I really should go talk to Paislee.”

“Yeah,” I agreed. 

“Thanks for everything,” he pulled me into a big hug, and I got a little soft inside for a moment there. It was a definite woman moment. When he pulled back he asked, “Where is she?”

I leaned over to him. “Know your girl, Man. When it’s raining, she’s always dancing in it.” I pointed to the lawn where Lee was twirling around. She was the only crazy person out in it, but I didn’t expect her to be anywhere else.