I woke up the next morning to a very quiet Friday. I was finally walking around in my walking boot without using my crutches. Aunt Julia had gone home and Mom was at work. She told me I could stay home. I slowly got out of bed and started my routine of trying to get showered and dressed. Walking to the kitchen for some cereal, I saw a note from Mom.
Have a great day, Sweetie.
Please take it easy today and call Mrs. Walker if you need anything.
Love, Mom
P.S. Tyler called for you last night.
My mind went racing. "That's it! Tyler left a message." I needed more details, so I called the store.
"Hey, Mom."
"Hi, Sweetie. You are up early. Did you sleep well?"
"Yeah. I feel fine. How is it going up there?"
"Good. I can't talk now. We are getting ready for inventory tomorrow and the monthly order."
"Oh, right. I will let you go. Oh yeah...by the way, did Tyler say anything in his message?"
"Nope. He just said he wanted to check on you."
"Did he say if he was going to call back?"
"No, Honey. Really, I have to go." I hung up the phone, sat on the sofa with my cheerios and turned on the TV.
After I finished my bowl of cereal, I switched through the channels. Nothing was on, so I went out the door and got into my car. I was not sure where to go. I was told I could drive, but I hadn't driven yet with my boot. It was too early for stores to be open, so I headed down to see my grandparents' house. Surely they were awake. I parked in the driveway and noticed their cars were gone. Then I remembered it was Friday. Nana always got her hair done on Friday and Pa goes out with the other husbands for breakfast at the Bluebonnet Cafe. It was a tradition for all of them.
I walked into the house and opened the fridge. I was not hungry, but it was a habit to look for food at their house. I walked through the yonder room and went down to the wading pool.
It was a nice, summer day. The heat would come later, but for a little while, it was mild. I sat down, took off my boot and put my feet in the water. For part of my physical therapy I was so supposed to swirl my foot around in the water and write my ABCs with my ankle. The water felt nice to soak my foot in as I watched the wading pool come to life.
I was daydreaming about when I could walk again without the boot and wondering if I would be able to dance again in high heels and if I would be able to go to prom. I was lost in the land of prom and thinking about what kind of dress I would wear when I was interrupted.
Not knowing what it was that snapped me out of my daydream, I looked right and left and nothing seemed out of the usual. I looked over my left shoulder toward the lake and focused on a small movement on the railroad tie next to me. A tarantula was making its way toward me, moving slowly, but heading my way just the same.
I looked around for something to throw at it to make it switch directions. I found a small pebble and quickly threw it. I missed, and it ran closer to me. Knowing I could not get up and get out of its way fast enough, I immediately looked for something bigger to throw. Someone was coming, but I was so focused on the spider and finding a weapon, I didn't look up. Suddenly, a large stick came down with a jolt to the railroad tie and squashed the tarantula. I jerked and looked up. Tyler was standing there with the sun behind him. I squinted and raised my hand above my eyes. "What are you doing here?"
"'Thank you' would be nice. I just saved you from that hairy guy. What was your plan?"
"I guess if I hadn't found something to hit him with, I would have jumped into the water and scooted on my butt to another place."
"What about your boot?"
"I guess Mrs. Tarantula would have had a new home."
He laughed, "May I sit?"
"Um, yeah." He sat beside me and then saw I was squinting at him.
"Should we move to another spot that is not so sunny?"
"Sure. We could go sit on the swing."
"To the swing, my Lady. Let me help you." He took my hands and helped me to my feet, then put his arm around my shoulders and walked me to the swing.
"Shouldn't your ankle still be elevated?" he asked as he reached down and lifted my legs as he sat down and pulled them onto his lap.
"Uh huh," I said, even though it didn't. I was positioned looking right at him with his hand on my knee and my legs on his lap. I looked around to see if there was anyone else around. I felt like I was doing something I wasn't supposed to.
He looked at me and smiled, "Well this is cozy."
"Thanks for getting that big hairy guy for me."
"You're welcome."
"I am not sure what I would have done if..."
"You're welcome. It's all right. You don't have to talk right now. I'm not going anywhere for a little while. We can just sit and watch the sun dance on the lake."
"I really can't believe that you are here. I mean, the other night, and that you called last night, and that you are here . . . like, now. Why are you being so nice to me? I mean, I know during school we talk in study hall and all, but mostly that is joking around and you being really silly. Why are you here now and being so nice? Um . . . you are being really kind to me. I guess I am just not that used to it. Mom and my grandparents love me and all, but I am not really used to being looked after or cared for."
He sat quietly and I continued to ramble.
"I am kind of on my own a lot and learned to take care of myself. Luckily, my Aunt Julia stayed to help take care of me... I'm rambling aren't I?"
"Yep," he said, smiling. "Well, my life is a lot like yours. My Dad died and Mom remarried and she had my younger brother with him. They seem more interested in his eight-year-old stuff than the fact that this is my senior year and last one at home. As for being nice to you," he said, hesitating. "You are a really nice person, Cricket. I like sitting here swinging with you."
We say there for another hour, until my grandparents returned from their Friday outings. Since I knew they were coming home soon, I asked Tyler if he would please pull over a chair for my leg and help me put my boot back on so that they would not see us sitting that way when they came home.
"I mean, not that I don't like sitting here with you like this, but I think it would be best to be sitting beside each other. They are not used to me hanging out with many friends here at the lake, especially boys."
"Cricket, has another boy hung out here with you?"
"No," I said. "Nobody. You are the first. So I have no benchmark for their reaction."
"I will move to the chair. I do not want to get shooed away before we even get started hanging out."
He pulled over the chair and then asked if he could go in the house and get us some glasses of water. I felt like I had been rude. I had not thought to offer him something to drink. It wasn't like I could go up and get us some water, but still, I should have offered.
Tyler went into the house, and I heard Nana and Pa's car on the bumpy road. They saw me sitting alone, parked and headed down to see me.
"Hi, Sweetie. How are you doing? Do you need anything?" Pa asked, and looked up at the house after he heard the screen door close. He looked at Tyler and winked at me. "I see you have some company."
"Yes, Pa." Pa and Nana looked at each other smiling then looked back at me and waited for Tyler to reach us. "Pa, Nana, this is Tyler. He is the friend who came over on the 4th of July and watched fireworks with me."
Nana spoke first. "Yes, Honey, we remember. It is nice to meet you in person. Cricket talked all about you the next day and, well, every day since." I rolled me eyes, shook my head and looked away.
"I hope it was all good," Tyler said with a smile.
Pa nodded his head, "Yep, all good."
"I came over to keep her company."
"Yes, and it was a good thing he did. I was sitting by the water and he saved me from a huge tarantula." I pointed over to the area where the dead spider still lay squashed.
"Well thank you, Son, for saving our granddaughter. We had better get inside and start some lunch. Don't you agree, Bea?"
My Nana was holding her hands to her chest and smiling at me. She snapped out of it and answered Pa.
"Oh yes. I am making pimento cheese sandwiches today. Would you care for one, Tyler? I know that Cricket will eat two at least. Right, Honey?"
"Yep. Nana that would be great."
"Good. I am going to make them now."
"That'll keep her busy for a little bit," Pa said, as he held out his arm for her and winked at me over his shoulder.
When they had gone in, Tyler came back to sit down beside me and handed me a glass of water. I drank it all, and Tyler took my glass and set it aside with his. We talked until Nana arrived with the toasted sandwiches about twenty minutes later.
They were delicious, and Tyler had three. When lunch was over, I asked if he wanted to go down to the boathouse and fish.
We walked down to the boathouse and opened the tackle shed. I pulled out two fishing poles, opened the mini fridge, and grabbed a Styrofoam cup of worms. Then I reached over the side of the dock and pulled up the minnow can and moved it to the edge of the dock in the shade. I set everything down and went back to get some chairs.
"Let me get those. I thought you were going to show me the fishing stuff, but you are the real deal. You know how to fish."
I sat in my chair and asked, "Are you a worm or minnow guy?"
"I think I am a little bit of both."
"All right. How about we take turns using the same kind of bait and see who can catch the most."
"You're on," he said as he sat down beside me.
"Worms first," I said and opened the worm cup and put it in my cup holder.
He dug in, grabbing a worm, and then reached for my fishing pole, "Shall I do the honors?"
"Oh no," I said. "Putting on my bait is the best part of my strategy."
I dug around in the blue, beat up, metal tackle box for a hook. "I always like to start with a fresh hook. Help yourself. Do you have a favorite size?"
"You really are a girl after my own heart," he said. I smiled. I tied on my fresh hook and then grabbed a worm, put it on and cast over my left shoulder into the water. "Do you always cast left?"
"I cast either side. It depends on who I am with and which side I am on."
He attached his worm and cast, too. I slowly reeled in my line as it did a little hoping motion. He pulled his is in faster and very smoothly.
There was a tug on his line. He had a bite and yanked. "I give a good tug to make sure I get them." He reeled in a nice size fish.
"Nice Crappie."
"Thank you." I finished reeling in my line and then pointed to the edge of the dock by his feet to the fish bucket. He unhooked his fish and threw it in. I cast again.
"Same worm?" he asked.
"Yep. I put mine on nice and good so they last."
"I try to put mine on with just the middle so the edges are left and it can dance to get the fish more interested."
It was so fun to have someone to talk to about fishing. I caught four Crappies, and he had five. Then we switched to minnows, and I lost the battle. He must have had a secret weapon because he caught eight and I caught zero.
When we finished, we cleaned up and then let the fish go. I stood up and said, "I am really sorry to say this, but I am feeling a little tired and need to go rest."
"No apologies. I had a great time hanging out with you. Would you like to do something tomorrow?"
"Sure. That would be great. What time?"
"How about the morning again?"
"All right."
"I will meet you at your house."
"All right."
"Can I drive you back?"
"No. That's all right. I'm going to rest at my grandparent's house and wait for Mom to come home from work."
He came in and said goodbye to Pa and Nana before he left. I waved from the front door and then lay down in the guest room. I thought. Why didn't I walk him out? Was that rude? Was he going to kiss me? Oh, what if I have ruined it all?
I slept for quite a while. When I woke up I reached into the bottom drawer of the dresser beside me and pulled out the framed fabric. I had been working on a project for Mom: a quilt I was making to surprise her for my graduation. It was an appliqué quilt and required a bunch of hand sewing to get it ready to be machine-pieced together. Each square was made of different small, colorful flowers sewn on black background fabric. I had been studying a National Geographic story based on Russian Eggs. I wanted the quilt to sparkle so I was sewing crystal beads on by hand. I had a small basket of fabric with assorted colored leaves already cut out. I was searching for a lime green one when I heard Mom come home. I could tell she was not in a good mood.
"I knew it! I knew it! Why did I do it? Why didn't I go with my gut reaction?" She was shouting and slamming cabinet doors as she made dinner.
I walked out squinting from the light and brushed my hair off my forehead. "Hard day, Mom?"
"Oh kiddo, don't get me started."
"Looks like you already started. What happened?"
"What happened? What happened? Where do I even begin?" She opened the fridge, stared inside, slammed the door shut, opened a cabinet and did the same thing. She was pissed.
"Why don't you sit down," Nana said.
"How can I sit down?"
"Why don't you take a walk?"
"A walk?" she shouted.
"Honey, you are really upset, and you need to calm down or you are going to say something ugly to Cricket and she is not a part of this. Go to the bathroom and wash your face. You'll feel better."
"Go wash my face? That is all you ever tell me to do. I don't see what good it will do." She stormed off into Nana's bathroom.
I looked at Nana and mouthed. "What happened?"
"She was robbed again. At least, that is what she thinks."
"Robbed? What happened?"
"A guy came into the shop and said he was looking for a sewing machine for his Aunt. He said that he knew exactly what she wanted. Luanne was helping him and writing the ticket. Your mom says she had a feeling about him. She was busy helping another woman who was trying to put together fabric for a new grandbaby and she was running all over the store with her looking for fabrics. She went over and checked Luanne's paper work." Nana interrupted to remind me, "You know how long it can take to buy a machine." I nodded and she continued. "She looked at everything, and it all looked fine on paper, and then he paid by check. She had no way to make sure his check was good. She finished the checkout and carried the machine out to his car and put it in."
"I put it in his car!" she yelled as she reentered the kitchen. "I carried the machine out and put it in his car knowing it was a hot check, and there was nothing I could do about it."
"How do you know it was it a hot check?"
"I have to wait till Monday to see if it clears, but I know it is hot! I just know it! What could I do? It was a $3,000 sewing machine. What am I going to do?"
"Don't you carry insurance?"
"Yes. I am just so mad and sick to my stomach. He did this you know." She walked back out of the room. I could hear the water running again. She was washing her face again to try to calm herself down.
"What do we do?" I asked Nana.
"Well, we start by making dinner. Go get your apron. I am going to fire up the grill and we will have burgers and homemade fries and corn tonight."
Mom loved burgers. I went out to the back porch with a large, brown paper bag, sat by the grill near Nana and started shucking corn.
"I don't understand. Isn't she protected? Has this happened before?"
"Not for a long time. I remember the first year she was in business. Someone wrote a hot check for fabric, but not for a machine like this. She is pretty upset, but there is nothing she can do about it until Monday, and I know she will fret about this for the entire weekend."
Mom came out of house still pretty mad. Her hairline was wet from splashing her face.
"Cricket had a friend over today," Nana said in a matter-of-fact tone. I looked at her with shock. I knew she was trying to distract Mom, but she didn't have to throw me under the bus.
"You did? Did Jimmy Sue come over?"
"No. Just a friend."
"Who was it?"
"Tyler," Nana blurted.
"Thanks, Nana." I said sarcastically.
"You had that boy over again?"
"Mom, why do you call him that boy? He is a nice guy, and he came over to hang out with me."
"Yeah, he saved her from a tarantula!"
I glared at Nana again. I knew I could not say, "Shut up!" which is what I wanted to say. "Yeah. I was sitting with my feet in the water at the wading pool and a huge tarantula was crawling toward me. I threw a rock at it and missed, and I couldn't move fast enough to get out of its way. Tyler showed up just in time."
"Was anyone here?"
"No, but Nana and Pa got here pretty soon after he arrived.
"You know how I feel about you bringing boys over to the lake, especially unsupervised."
"Mom, it was nothing. We just sat on the swing and talked, then we had lunch with Nana and Pa. After lunch, we did some fishing off the dock, and he went home. Can't I have a friend who happens to be a boy?"
"Looked a little more than that," Nana said.
"Would you shut up? Why are you trying to get me in trouble?"
Nana recoiled in shock and Mom stomped her foot in anger.
"I did not do anything wrong! I did not invite him over. He just came over. What do you want me to do?" I got up and went into the yonder room where I pouted. Mom marched in behind me.
"Listen here, Missy! We will talk about this later, but for now, you go outside and apologize to your grandmother for talking to her like that. After dinner we are going straight home." I got up from the sofa and went outside.
"Sorry, Nana. I should not have spoken to you that way."
"Go get me the salt and pepper from the pantry," Nana said. I knew she heard me. She just never liked to acknowledge an apology, or give one for that matter. Just act like it did not happen and it will go away faster, seemed to be her philosophy. Just sweep it under the rug and keep on going.
We ate dinner by the wading pool and then went home. Mom did not mention the argument again, but I could tell she was still stewing in her head about work. There was nothing I could do, so I just pretended to be invisible and got into bed.