That Friday at school, Jess and Louise exchanged knowing glances and smiles with each other all day in anticipation of being able to celebrate Louise's birthday. Jess knew Louise was excited, but she was practically giddy at the prospect of her first outing with a friend. Maybe she'd even get to meet Louise's parents, or at least one of them, if they were going to the family restaurant.
When the last bell of the day finally rang, Jess and Louise grinned at each other, having just changed clothes in the gym's locker room. They quickly gathered their things and left, having beaten the other girls who were rushing to finish getting dressed. Reaching her locker, Jess opened it and started pulling out the books she'd need for the weekend's homework and Louise leaned close.
"You have it all set with Doug, right?" she asked quietly.
"Yes, we'll meet him in the parking lot and he'll drive us."
"Swell!" Louise replied more loudly. "We're going to the soda fountain at Dwyer's." Jess straightened as her stomach sank.
"Uh, you mean Dwyer's Drugs?"
"That's the one!" Louise chimed happily.
"Oh, okay."
Jess turned back to her locker suddenly filled with worry. What if Doug saw Marty there? Would he say something to him? It would ruin Louise's birthday if he caused a scene. But Marty usually just made deliveries after school. Probably Doug wouldn't see him at all, she decided.
Pushing aside her worries, she got the paper sack holding her wrapped present for Louise and added it to her stack of school books. It hadn't been possible for her to go shopping for a birthday present without raising questions from her uncle, so she'd asked Annie to go shopping for her and given her a list of favorite books to choose from.
"I'm ready!" she announced, gathering up her pile and closing her locker.
When she and Louise walked out and headed for the parking lot, Jess saw Doug waiting for them leaning against his car with his arms crossed over his chest. Just as they stepped off the sidewalk, Louise put her hand on Jess's arm, stopping her.
"Oh, no!" she cried. "I forgot 'Of Mice and Men'! I'll get too far behind in my reading this weekend if I don't have it. I'll just be a minute!" she said, rushing back towards the building.
As Jess reached Doug, he came off the car asking, "What happened to your friend?"
"She forgot a book. She'll be back soon."
"So are we going to her house, or to their restaurant?" She opened the car door and put her books in the back seat to hide her face.
"No, uh, we're going to the soda fountain at Dwyer's Drugs," she said as nonchalantly as she could, hoping her nervousness didn't show.
"What?" Doug said loudly, and when she faced him, she was surprised by the alarm in his eyes.
"Uh, we're going to Dwyer's D–."
"No!" he growled, his blue eyes suddenly hard.
"What?"
"We're not going there! Tell her to choose somewhere else!"
"I can't make her choose somewhere else!" Jess cried. "It's her birth–."
"Then forget it! It's off!" Doug said harshly. "When she gets here, tell her I'm taking you home!"
Jess's mouth fell open as she stared at Doug, speechless with shock. She couldn't believe he was going to make her cancel with Louise, and then she closed her mouth as a wave of emotions hit her.
"This is the first time I've been able to do anything with a friend in the whole time I've lived with you!" she yelled, wiping away the tears that had sprung to her eyes. "I was stuck at home all summer while you got to go out with your friends!" His mouth fell open slightly at her words, but then his eyes became hard again and she knew he didn't care. "If you don't take us," she warned, stepping closer to him and glaring up at him. "I'll never forgive you, Doug. Never!"
"Sorry it took me so long," Louise chirped behind Jess. "Are we – ready?" she added more hesitantly, as Jess and Doug continued to glare at each other. Then Doug broke eye contact, his shoulders dropping.
"Let's go," he muttered, heading to the driver's door. Jess sagged with relief, and then plastered a smile on her face before she turned around.
"Is everything okay with you two?" Louise asked worriedly.
"Yes, it's fine," Jess insisted, opening the car door. "We just had a stupid argument, that's all."
"Oh, okay," Louise said, still looking worried while Jess got in and scooted across the bench seat.
"Thanks a lot for doing this, Doug," Louise said, leaning forward to look at him after sitting next to Jess, but he just grunted and turned the key in the ignition.
While they drove to Main Street, Jess could feel the tension radiating off Doug. To cover the silence, she struck up a conversation with Louise about their classes. Thankfully, Louise didn't seem to notice, chatting about which teachers she thought were going to be the easiest and which the hardest.
When they parked in front of the drugstore, Jess reached into the back seat and got the sack that held Louise's gift before getting out of the car. Doug was standing at the door holding it open for the two of them and as she came forward with Louise, she prayed desperately Marty was nowhere in sight.
Stepping inside, she looked around but the only person she saw was Mr. Dwyer walking into the back room. As they headed for the soda fountain, she felt somewhat relieved and hoped Marty was already off on his bike. They each took a stool at the empty counter and Jess took another look around over her shoulder.
"What's that?" Louise asked, getting her attention. She was pointing to the paper sack on Jess's lap.
"Oh, it's your birthday present," she said, smiling and handing it over.
"Really?" Louise said, looking touched. "Thanks, Jess!"
While she opened the sack and peered inside, Jess glanced over her shoulder to scan the store again and did a double take when she noticed Doug. He was hunched forward with his shoulders curved inward, his face pale and grim as he stared at the counter ahead of him. It was obvious he was still angry he'd been forced to come. Then she heard paper tearing and turned her attention back to Louise. Not wanting Doug's sour mood to ruin Louise's birthday, Jess leaned forward a little to block her view of him.
"These are swell!" Louise exclaimed, looking at the books in her hands. "Thank you, Jess!"
"I hope you like them. I've read those over and over," Jess said, smiling at the happiness in her friend's eyes, and then she heard Doug snarl, "You!" and her head snapped around.
To her horror, Marty was at the wall behind the counter, lifting a white apron off a hook. While he put it on, he deliberately kept his eyes averted, avoiding looking at either of them.
Turning to Doug, she immediately became alarmed. If he'd seemed upset before, now he was positively livid, his face reddening as he glowered at Marty. His body looked coiled, like he was about to launch himself over the counter and desperate to stop him for doing something, she put her hand on his knee and squeezed as hard as she could.
"Marty! I didn't know you worked here," Louise said with surprise. Doug tore his gaze away from Marty and looked at Jess, but his blue eyes were unfocused and clouded with anger.
"Please don't make a scene! Please don't ruin this for my friend!" she whispered fervently. Recognition slowly came into his face as he finally saw her. She mouthed, please, one more time, her eyes begging him, and he hunched forward, staring at the counter again with his mouth set in a grim line. Jess breathed a sigh of relief.
"Yep, I work here," Marty replied distractedly, seemingly having difficulty tying the strings of the apron behind his back. "I been workin' here 'bout a year." He finally managed to tie them in a tight knot, and stepped up to the counter in front of Louise. "What are ya gonna have?" he said confidently, keeping his attention firmly on her.
"Two scoops of chocolate ice cream with coconut," Louise said smiling.
"Alrighty."
He stepped back and looked around behind the counter. Spotting the ice cream dishes, he went to them and after deliberating, chose a large one. Taking it back to the counter, he began opening the large metal lids of the freezer one after the other. While Jess watched him, it suddenly seemed very quiet and the tension was unbearable. She kept herself positioned so Louise wouldn't see Doug and hoped she wouldn't notice anything unusual was going on. Once Marty located the chocolate ice cream, he looked around some more before finding an ice cream scoop.
"How do you like your classes so far?" Louise asked Marty as he began dishing up ice cream.
"They're alright," Marty said with a shrug. Jess recognized his familiar tactic of playing down his true feelings. She knew he was just as excited about the school year starting as she was.
"I haven't been here in a long time. That's why I didn't know you worked here, but today we're celebrating my birthday," Louise shared happily.
"Oh, that's nice. Happy birthday. It's funny, though," Marty said, putting a final mound of chocolate ice cream in the dish. "My birthday's in two days." Jess immediately lifted her head. He was looking right at her, his brown eyes twinkling and the corners of his mouth twitching as he tried not to smile.
"That is funny. Happy birthday to you too," Louise replied, and he turned his attention back to her.
"You wanted – coconut?" he asked.
"Yes, please."
While Jess watched him lift the lids off different containers and examine the contents, her heart swelled and she had to work hard to hold back her smile. After teasing her for so long by keeping his birthday a secret, he'd just told her. Now she'd be able to celebrate it with him. Finished with the coconut, Marty placed the dish in front of Louise, the ice cream now covered in so many shavings it was hard to tell it was chocolate.
"What do you want?" he asked Jess, but his brown eyes flickered warily over to Doug, and Jess peeked over her shoulder.
Doug was in the exact same hunched position, but he had his arms wrapped around his stomach and his face was pale and slightly shiny with sweat. What on earth was wrong with him, she wondered. How could being there be having such an effect on him? As she turned back to Marty, her eyes landed on the wall behind him where the black and white portrait of Mr. Dwyer's dead son hung, and a realization came over her.
"Uh, did you want anything?" Marty prodded.
"Chocolate malted, please," Jess replied distractedly, still putting the pieces together in her mind. Annie must have told Doug about whatever had happened between her and Mr. Dwyer's son. That must be why he was so angry about being there.
"Malted, malted, malted," Marty said under his breath while he looked around, and then went over to a large red and white tin container. Picking it up, he began reading the instructions. Then Jess noticed Louise looking down at her dish of ice cream with her hands in her lap.
"Don't wait for me," Jess urged.
"You sure?" Louise asked with a pained expression.
"Yes! I don't want your ice cream to melt."
"Okay," Louise grinned, and picked up her spoon. By this time, Marty was at the milk shake machine, struggling to get the stainless steel cup to release, and it occurred to her he had never made a malted milkshake before, or used that machine. How long was it going to take him to figure it out? Taking another quick glance at Doug, she made a decision.
"That's okay, Marty," she said, and he looked over at her. "What she's having looks really good. That's what I want."
"You're sure," he smirked, his eyes suddenly twinkling with humor.
"I'm sure," she replied, trying not to smile back at him and hoping neither Doug nor Louise noticed their exchange.
"Suit yourself," he said with a shrug, and went to get an ice cream dish with the corners of his mouth twitching.
When he placed the ice cream in front of her, it was piled so high with coconut shavings some of them fell on the counter. Then he went to Doug, the humor in his eyes vanishing.
"What do you want?" he asked in a low voice.
"Nothing!" Doug spat.
"Order whatever you want, Doug," Louise called out, moving forward in an attempt to see around Jess, but Jess blocked her view by leaning over as she turned, pretending to be waiting for Doug's answer. "My dad worked out a deal with Mr. Dwyer. He's going to take it as credit at our restaurant so it's okay." Doug's cheek twitched as he glared at the counter.
"So, uh, do you?" Marty asked.
"Cola," Doug muttered finally, and Marty went to get a glass.
Seeing that Louise had eaten quite a bit of her ice cream, Jess hurried to finish hers. She'd have loved to linger over it, spending as much time as possible with Louise, but with Doug acting so weird she knew it was best for them to leave as soon as possible.
Marty set the drink in front of Doug and then went to wash the ice cream scoop at a small sink while Louise started telling Jess about the special dinner her family was going to have later that evening. Her parents were taking a rare night off from the restaurant so they could all be together to celebrate.
"Oh, Marty!"
A short middle aged woman in a dress printed with large flowers had just come through the front door and was rushing towards the counter. Jess recognized her as the woman who was working at the soda fountain the first time she'd come with Annie. "Thank you for taking over! Did you find everything okay?" she asked, coming behind the counter.
"Yeah, I think so," he replied, trying to untie the knot on the apron and she went behind him to help him.
"Can we leave now?" Doug muttered under his breath, his voice laced with bitterness. Jess looked over at Louise, but she wasn't quite finished with her ice cream.
"Just a few more minutes. I promise," she whispered to him.
The woman managed to get apron strings untied and as soon as Marty had taken it off, he walked to the back of the drug store without a backward glance. Jess watched him go, feeling a mixture of relief, but also sadness. At that moment, a group of freshman girls sat on the stools next to Doug, all of them peeking over at him and giggling behind their hands.
"Jess!" Doug hissed.
Feeling anger rise up that he was pushing her so hard to cut her time with Louise short, she opened her mouth to tell him off, but stopped when she saw his face. He was practically tearing up, his pleading blue eyes letting her know he couldn't stand to be there any longer. She pivoted on her stool and was relieved to see Louise had finished.
"Are you done?" she asked brightly.
"I think so." Doug was already off his stool before she'd finished the sentence.
"Can we give you a ride home?" Jess offered, wanting to distract Louise before she noticed Doug stalking to the door with his shoulders hunched.
"That'd be swell! Thanks, Jess! Uh, but just a minute," she replied, leaning forward to catch the eye of the woman who was now serving the group of girls.
While Jess waited, she sank in her stool with a sigh. Doug and Marty had been in the same place and she'd managed to keep anything terrible from happening between them.
"Mrs. Schmidt?" Louise said as the woman finally approached them. "My dad worked out a deal with Mr. Dwyer," she began, but Mrs. Schmidt raised her hand.
"I know all about it, honey. Mr. Dwyer told me yesterday. Happy birthday."
"Thanks!" Louise said, beaming.
"Tell your momma and daddy hello from me," she added as Louise and Jess climbed off their stools.
"Thanks! I will!"
Doug already had the motor running when they came outside. While Jess walked to the passenger door, she examined him through the windshield. He still looked grim, his eyes on the steering wheel in front of him.
"We're going to drop her off at home," she said quietly with trepidation as she slid across the bench seat, hoping he wouldn't have another outburst about it.
"Thanks so much, Doug," Louise said, sitting beside her and slamming the door closed. "It's not that far from here."
"Which way," Doug muttered with resignation, putting the car in gear and Jess let out a breath.
With Louise giving him directions, they were soon pulling onto a street lined with tiny one story bungalows, children playing in some of the yards. Then Louise pointed out her house and Doug pulled over and parked the car. As soon as she opened the door and got out, Jess heard, "Weezie!" and a small boy with flaming red hair ran full speed at Louise and jumped up to hug her, nearly knocking her over.
"Jack! Be careful!" she exclaimed while Jess got out of the car, but she was laughing.
A miniature version of Louise, complete with bouncing red curls, came out of the house followed by a slightly older boy, also with red hair.
"Jess, this is Jack, the wild man," Louise said, ruffling his hair and he swatted her hand away.
"Stop!" he whined, moving out of her reach.
"And this is Gary and Joyce. Guys, this is Jess."
"Hi," Jess said, waving at them with a smile, but Jack took off running, already finished with the conversation, and the older two were too shy to respond.
While Louise gathered her things from inside the car, a woman came out of the house, and Jess's heart clenched as she walked towards them wiping her hands on an apron.
"You must be Jess," she said kindly, holding her hand out.
"Yes, ma'am," Jess said, shaking her hand with a smile even though an intense sadness overwhelmed her. Instead of having red curls like her daughters, Louise's mom had thick dark hair and large brown eyes. She didn't look anything like Jess's mom, but the hair and eyes were similar enough to bring a wave of memories.
"Did you two have fun?" she asked, putting her arm around Louise's shoulders and smiling down at her.
"Yes, it was tons of fun!" Louise replied cheerily.
"That's good!" she said, and then kissed the top of Louise's head.
"We have to go," Jess said, motioning to the car.
"Oh, alright," Louise said, and then went to give Jess a hug. "Thanks for the books and for having ice cream with me."
"Thanks for inviting me," Jess said with her eyes closed, hugging Louise tightly.
"It was nice to finally get to meet you, Jess," Louise's mom said when they let go. "We've heard so much about you."
"It was nice to meet you too," Jess said, faking a smile, and then got in the car.
Doug put the car in gear as soon as she had the car door closed and she waved while he drove off, calling out, "Bye!" Once out of Louise's sight, she laid her head against the back of the seat with a sigh and looked at the passing houses, suddenly exhausted and filled with a heavy sadness.
~~~~~~~~
Marty walked to the back of the drug store with relief, glad he was finally away from Jess's jerk of a cousin. It was apparent Doug was still mad about him trespassing on their property. If Jess hadn't kept him under control, Marty wondered if Doug would have actually tried to take a swing at him.
Entering the back room, he stopped with surprise. Mr. Dwyer was in a chair with his back to Marty, leaning forward with his head in his hands. Marty had never seen Mr. Dwyer sit before. He'd even eat his lunch as he walked around, taking care of things. Was he sick? Is that the reason why he'd sent Marty out to work the soda fountain?
"Are you okay, Mr. Dwyer?" he asked, taking a step closer to him.
"I'm fine, Marty," he said, but his voice was rough. Marty watched him feeling uncomfortable. It was obvious he wasn't telling the truth, but Marty didn't know what to do.
"Did they leave?" Mr. Dwyer asked with a sigh, sitting up and turning to the stack of packages on table in front of him, his face still hidden from Marty.
"Uh, no. Mrs. Schmidt is here. Do you want me to get started on the deliveries?"
Mr. Dwyer rubbed his temple for a moment, and then said, "Will you check and see if they're still here?"
"Uh, sure, Mr. Dwyer," Marty complied, turning back to the doorway. He peeked through, not wanting Doug to see him, but it was just Jess and Louise at the soda fountain. "Not all of them."
"Is it that boy?" Mr. Dwyer asked loudly, suddenly sounding anxious. "Is he alone?"
"No, Mr. Dwyer," Marty reassured him. "It's just the girls." Mr. Dwyer slumped forward and put his head in his hands again.
"Good!" he muttered.
Hearing the bitterness in his voice, it finally dawned on Marty that it wasn't that Mr. Dwyer was sick. It was that he hated Doug. Something must have happened between them that made Mr. Dwyer not want to wait on him, he thought, peeking out at the soda fountain again just as Jess and Louise were climbing off their stools. While Jess walked to the door, he willed her to look back and see him, but she didn't. When she walked out, he turned to Mr. Dwyer.
"They're gone," he said with disappointment. Mr. Dwyer rubbed his hands over his face a few times, and then stood. "Should I do the deliveries now?"
"No, Marty," Mr. Dwyer replied tiredly, picking up the packages. "I'm going to run these in the car. Will you take over the cash register?"
"You sure, Mr. Dwyer? I don't mind," Marty said with concern. He still didn't seem like he'd recovered from having Doug in the store.
"It'll be quicker if I do them. I don't want to take any more time away from your studies today, son."
"Alright." Mr. Dwyer headed to the back door and he turned to go into the store.
"Marty," Mr. Dwyer said, stopping him.
"Yes?" Mr. Dwyer was standing in the open door frame, the light from outside casting him in shadow.
"You're a real good boy," he said slowly, emphasizing each word. Marty opened his mouth to respond but couldn't as his throat suddenly closed up, Mr. Dwyer's words hitting him hard. "Don't ever let anyone tell you different, son."
Marty swallowed a few times before he was able to choke out, "Yes, sir."
Mr. Dwyer left, closing the door behind him, and Marty took a few moments to compose himself before heading out into the store, hoping Mr. Dwyer hadn't noticed he'd momentarily lost control.
****
I don't know about all of you, but I definitely teared up at the end of this chapter. I really hope you liked this one! I've been excited to write it for several months. Some of you have wondered what would happen when Doug and Marty were together again, and I hope the moment delivered.
What do you make of Doug's behavior? I'm sure you've figured out something is going on with him, and also with Mr. Dwyer. What's you're best guess? I want to hear your theories! And what about Jess and Marty's little moments? You've also gotten a glimpse of Mr. Dwyer and Marty's relationship. I can't wait to hear what you think of all of it!
Thank you so much for reading! It really means a lot to me that so many of you are so excited about each chapter. If you would care to show your love with a vote, that would be very much appreciated! The video is the great Jim Reeves singing He'll Have To Go.