"Really? Wow. That would sure be nice. I wish I made that much in a year. Heck, even five years. Did I tell you I might, or probably will, get promoted? Soon? Triple what I make now. But don't tell anyone that, not your father or your friends."
Nothing can ruin this day!
***
Eight minutes passed, as well as the Welcome To Bransville, P.A. sign. Adam knew that he was within only double-digit miles from meeting his girl. His adrenaline began to pump erratically. His eyes flickered from side to side, searching for that Pappies Inn sign.
The row of country homes came to an end, and the road opened back up into a four-lane highway. Traffic was pretty light. Straight ahead was the downtown district and, on the right, approximately two miles ahead,
the
tall sign which read: Pappie's Inn.
"Oh shit, oh shit," Adam said.
His mom looked over at him. "You'll be fine."
He finished the canister of Binaca. "I'm so nervous. Oh, God. What if she don't like me? What if she thinks I'm weird?"
He already knew she wouldn't think either-or, or anything bad. But this was his first love, the girl he'd thought about all day every day for the past month. And he was about to meet her face to face, hug her, possibly kiss her, look into her eyes and see a twinkle more elegant than the nighttime stars.
The Inn sign seemed to extend as they closed in on it—a historical landmark now in Adam's life. His heart raced; his nerves tingled through his hands. He could not swallow, think, or speak. He'd never once felt this afraid and happy simultaneously. This was a life-changing moment for him. Every past experience could not equal, could not even remotely compete, with this present peak of euphoria. He was soaring with the eagles.
"Is that her?" his mother asked, pushing the blinker to turn into the parking lot.
Adam said nothing. Not a word. He saw Erin out of the corner of his eye, but that was it. He couldn't make out any details.
"There's your girlfriend," his mom said. "She's pretty, too."
They turned into the lot and parked. Still, Adam could not look at Erin, who was standing outside only ten feet away.
The car shut off. Adam took a deep breath and opened the car door.
***
When their eyes locked, it was pure magic. Fireworks exploded into fountains of sparkling colors. Adam had to fight to stay standing once he did, for his knees were trying to give out from underneath him.
She was absolutely the most beautiful girl he had ever seen, far more beautiful than Erica from Blake High. Erin's eyes were almost as green as the grass Adam had seen moments ago, with a touch of gray that evened them out flawlessly. Her straight, natural-blond hair hung slightly past her shoulders, brushing past one small ear in a gentle breeze. She was somewhat short, probably four inches shorter than Adam himself.
He could hardly breathe as she and her mother walked over to him.
"Adam," Erin said.
"Hi, Erin.” He first made the telegraphed move to hug her, and where he stopped, Erin continued.
Upon touching her, holding her, Adam felt every nerve in his body tingle. Tears gleamed in his eyes, then dropped. But he wiped them away before anybody noticed them. He could smell her glorious perfume, could feel her heart throbbing against his own. This was his dream finally come true. He wanted to carry her to the car and drive to a wedding chapel to marry her right now.
Erin slowly pulled away from him and looked into his eyes. It was certain to Adam that she loved him. Never had he seen anybody look at him the way she was looking at him now.
"Nice to meet you, Adam," Erin's mother said, extending a hand for a shake.
Without turning away from Erin—without being able to look away—Adam shook it. "Hi."
"You want to go and eat?" Erin asked him.
"Sure."
Erin's mom and Adam's mom looked at one another, smiled, and introduced themselves to one another. They all headed toward the restaurant. Adam held Erin's soft, smooth, warm little hand as they approached, then thoughtfully opened the door for his baby.
***
The two young lovers took a seat in a booth four rows down from their mothers, who began exchanging stories about their beloved children.
Adam could not have later told anyone about his surroundings as he sat across from Erin, gazing deeply into her perfect sapphires; yet, he remembered
every
single detail about the place. There was no way of forgetting this.
"Do you know what you're getting to eat?" Adam asked her, a little too passionately.
She giggled, thinking he was kidding. "I don't know. The eggroll looks good. What about you?"
"Maybe spaghetti."
A waiter, tall, fat and bald, walked up to them, hands crossed, and said, "May I get you something to drink?"
Erin said, "I'll have an iced tea."
"For you, sir?"
"Coke, please."
The waiter nodded and walked away.
The love-struck teenagers could not break eye-contact. Adam didn't want to lose sight of the most beautiful being he'd ever seen. Positive feelings he’d never felt before filled him to the brim. This was the complete opposite of a nervous breakdown; this had to be nirvana, the elusive emotion only few monks could achieve.
"You are gorgeous," he told her.
She smiled, blushing. "You're handsome. A real gentleman."
Adam took her hand, pulled it toward him, and kissed it. "Not as sweet as you. You're my honey," he said, smiling. She blushed again.
The waiter returned with drinks and laid them down on the table. "Here you go. Are you ready to order? Or do you need a few minutes?"
"I'll have an eggroll," she said.
"Spaghetti," Adam said. He handed him both menus. The man took them and walked away.
The eye-gazing continued.
"I can't believe it. I can't believe I'm here with you today," Adam said. "I can't believe any of this. I never dreamed anything this great would ever happen in my life. It's—amazing."
"You're intriguing."
Adam actually believed her. "It's just so hard for me to believe I'm finally with you—my soul mate."
She took a noisy sip of tea. "Maybe we are."
Adam was certain. "I've never felt like this. I feel like I'm on cloud nine. I feel invincible being here with you, like I can do anything."
“
If you put your mind to it, you can do anything, baby."
Adam's heart melted a little more. "Erin, you're more special to me than my own life."
"That's 'cause I'm your baby, right?" She giggled.
"Definitely. You're like a shooting star. Perfect in every way."
"Well, I don't know about that. I'm okay." She blushed again.
Adam shook his head. "Now that I'm here with you, I—God—I wish I could move here." He laughed. A tear streamed down his cheek.
"What's wrong?" Erin said, concerned.
Adam laughed. "The thing is
nothing's
been this right ever. Not in my entire existence."
She looked worried. "Is stuff really that bad?"
"It was till I met you. And just think, when you asked me out, I turned you down. I would have passed up on the greatest thing that's ever happened to me."
"Me?"
Adam nodded. "I love you, Erin. I always will, no matter what happens."
"I love you, too."
Not even heaven could compare with this moment
, Adam thought.
Fairyland, Disneyworld—nothing rivals love.
Moments passed, and Adam was living every single one of them to the fullest. He memorized every single movement and gesture she made, from the way she smiled to the way she ate her food. Outside, it was getting darker and time was getting shorter. Adam wasn't aware of any of it.
"Look," Erin said, pointing to the dinner mat. On it was a graph noting which astrological signs matched up with each other. "I'm a Capricorn. What are you?"
Adam was hesitant to answer. He didn't want their signs to not correspond. But he threw caution to the wind: "Virgo."
Erin looked shocked, then smiled. "Wow, and it says here that we are a
perfect
match. Gee, we really
could
be meant for one another."
Adam said, "Sweetheart, someday—
someday
I'm
going
to marry you." He was very serious.
Not a moment later, his mom approached them and said, "We'd better be going, Adam. Don't want to get back too late."
"Okay," he said, not wanting to, but knowing he had to.
***
They all left the Inn. Angela and Mrs. Larson waited in the parking lot for five minutes as Adam and Erin said their good-byes.
"Call me when you get home, Adam?"
“
You can count on it."
"I hope I get to see you again."
"You can count on that, too. I'll be getting my permit pretty soon anyways, so I'll be able to visit you."
"I'll talk to my mom," she said. "Maybe we can meet halfway somewhere sometime."
"That's a great idea. Well, I love you."
"I love you."
Adam leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. It was the perfect ending to the perfect day.
Erin and her mother got into their car and went one direction, while the McNicols' got into theirs and went another.
Adam watched the pink skies above sprawled out for miles like a huge wad of cotton candy. The rippling clouds and receding sun draped the atmosphere with stunning color. Adam could not get Erin's face out of his mind. He thought that a large piece of her was going home with him. And as he and his mom headed home, the radio began playing As I Lay Me Down again. He fought not to cry, not because pain or heartache, but from complete, utter bliss.
Wednesday, the day Angela had to fly to Texas on business, came unlike the past week—with a violent storm. Adam felt very unusual when he woke up. He did not feel like himself but rather a false representation of the happy person he'd been the past couple of weeks.
"Now, I want you to feed the dog while I'm gone," she said to Adam, who was lying on the couch. She was still dressed for bed but was starting to get ready to leave on business.
Adam asked, "What time is it?"
"It's 2:33, sleepy head."
For a moment, Adam wondered why he was not in school, but then remembered that he had things to do before his mother left.
"Now, I want you to go to school every day, do your homework, don't call long distance, and make sure you feed and water the dog. Clean up after her. Let her outside, if she has to go potty."
"Yeah, yeah," Adam said, removing the slivers of crust from his eyes. "I'll take care of it all."
This was the first time Adam would have the house to himself for an extended period of time with no babysitter to watch over him.
"What time does your plane take off?"
“
A few hours. Dad might come down once in a while to see how you're doing."
Adam sighed. "Does he have to?"
"Yes, I told him he could."
Adam's dad was definitely not his favorite person in the world. He could be funny at times but became angry every time he drank too much. Adam himself didn't
really
know why he disliked his own father, other than feeling an unusual aversion to the man. Being around David simply made him uncomfortable.
Rain pelted the window. Lightning flashed and thunder barked, sending a frightened Muffy under the kitchen table.
Adam felt something wrong in the air
other
than the violent storm.
Angela left at three-thirty for the Pittsburgh Airport, in a storm that was growing erratically worse. Adam remained sitting on the couch with his dog, petting her trembling frame. Both creatures watched the rain through the glass. He wasn't even in the mood to watch television, and his favorite episode of Full House was playing. A strange trance-like glaze was easily discernible on his face.
***
An hour and a half later, Adam woke up, well rested. He could not remember dozing off, let alone falling asleep. He was in a weird position—lying on his stomach with his shoulders slumped crookedly and his head twisted back and to the side. Muffy was sitting on the floor beside him, wide awake and shaking still.
"You all right, Muffy? Muffy?"
Muffy scooted closer to him. He rubbed her head.
The call buzzed through the lines and ended up ringing in the McNicols' household at 7:44. Dusk had not only begun; it was dark out already. Adam was extremely pleased when he looked at the caller I.D.: Ed Larson.
Erin.
He answered it, smiling. "Hey, Baby!"
"Hi, Adam."
"How are you? Haven't talked to you in three days. I'm going nuts only being able to hear from you through the emails. What's up?"