Sublime Wreckage (20 page)

"I know. I already talked to the counselor. She recommended the community college for the first two years since my grades right now aren't great. Then I can transfer with better grades while getting all my general education courses out of the way. It's way cheaper for my parents this way too and I can still help out with the shop until I transfer."

"Wow. I'm stunned. You are really serious about this. You seem to have a good plan in place. I think it could really work. I always knew you were smart you just had to figure it out for yourself. You can do anything you want."

"Ok. Stop focusing on me. I still want to hear about Vince. No more stalling."

"Fine. I don't know what you want me to say though. We haven't even defined anything. We just moved forward. I don't know how else to describe it. He just always seems to know what to say to make me feel better. It doesn't hurt that we had a pretty incredible make-out session this morning."

"I bet you did." She raises her eyebrows suggestively which makes me laugh. "That's really great Maggie. You deserve a good guy like Vince. I think you two are perfect for each other. You complement one another. I see it when you're together. How close you are, the connection you guys have. I want that. I want something real. And that's exactly what you have with him."

"You will find it. We're young. We have our whole lives to get caught up in boy drama." I roll my eyes while giving her a smile. I shove her shoulder lightly. "Now let's get some food because my stomach is growling like crazy!"

When the final bell rings I jump out of my seat faster than anyone else in the room. I can't wait to see him. I rush past everyone in the hall to my locker. After I get what I need for the weekend I head to the double doors leading to my man. I like the way that sounds. But just as I push through the doors my heart instantly sinks to the ground. It's her. My mother is parked right in front of the school waiting for me. Great. Just great. Way to ruin my birthday.

I look past her to see Vince walking toward me. I look him right in the eyes and shake my head ever so slightly back and forth. We don't need words to convey what is going on. He can see the disappointment written all over my face. Thank goodness she isn't paying attention. She has her phone in her hand looking at something. Vince doesn't turn around, he just keeps walking toward me. He brushes past me barely touching my hand. I don't look at him. I look straight ahead trying not to draw attention to the fact that my entire body is buzzing from just one tiny touch. I can't believe the effect he has on me. It's so intense, so powerful. I let out a small sigh and go to face my reality.

"Hey Mags! I thought I would pick you up so we could go to your favorite restaurant over in Union. You know, for your birthday."

"That's a great idea. Thanks mom." Of course it isn't my favorite restaurant, it's hers. But I don't complain because the food is pretty decent. It just sucks that it's about an hour drive. I don't know what we are going to talk about. But then she ends up babbling the entire time about her online dating profile. She doesn't understand why she hasn't gotten any hits lately so we talk about revamping her page. Before I know it we are pulling up to the restaurant.

My mother flirts shamelessly with our attractive and very young waiter. She isn't picky when it comes to guys. She will date old, young, good looking or ugly. Just not poor. She has been searching for years for another guy to marry her.

"Isn't this place awesome? How is your dinner?"

"It's great mom. Thanks for bringing me here."

"So tomorrow you're going to your Grandfather's?"

"Yes. Just for one night. I should be back sometime Sunday late afternoon. He doesn't like to drive at night anymore."

"He is getting up there. What do you even do when you visit him? I always thought he was boring." She thinks any man that doesn't give all their attention to her is boring.

"We talk. I like hearing all his old stories about flying. It's interesting. He's led such a full life. Traveled the world, flown across oceans and fought in wars."

"Ok Maggie. Don't get carried away. I don't need to hear all the details. If that's what floats your boat more power to you."

Just then the waiter returns to refill our drinks. She gets distracted talking to him which lets me eat in peace. He probably thinks he will get a bigger tip if he plays along. She either doesn't get that or doesn't care. She loves attention any way she can get it. After dinner we head home. I'm surprised when we walk in the door because I see a birthday cake sitting on the kitchen table with a card.

"What's this?"

"Just something from your mother. Go ahead and open the card."

I walk over to the table, pick up the card and tear it open. It's a picture of some hunky guy with no shirt on. How appropriate. I open the card to find a fifty dollar bill inside.

"Thanks mom. This is great."

"Sorry I can't afford more. But these bills don't pay themselves. Now let's have some cake."

I pull down two plates and grab a knife from the drawer. When I cut into the cake I see pink. It's strawberry. Great. I have to hide the disappointment because I hate strawberry. My favorite is chocolate. She knows that too. Strawberry is her favorite. She does this every damn time. Why can't she just do something nice for once without being selfish? I get a small piece with a huge glass of milk to try and wash it down. After we have our dessert we put in a movie and relax. Sometimes it's not so bad hanging out with her. When she acts somewhat normal.

It's just after midnight when I head to bed. My grandpa will be here early tomorrow morning so I need to get some sleep. I pull my phone out of my pocket to check for any messages. I put it on silent while I was with my mother. No need to piss her off tonight. I see a text from Vince.

Hope you had a nice dinner with your mom. Happy Birthday again. Have a safe trip. Miss you already.

I reply back.

Thanks. For everything. You made my day special. I will call you tomorrow. Miss you too.

I can't wait to see my Grandpa but it also means no time with Vince this weekend. It's a weird combination of feelings. I love spending time with my Grandpa and wouldn't trade that for anything. But I also want to be with Vince. Maybe I should introduce them. I think my Grandpa would like him. I fall asleep thinking about the two most important men in my life.

I wake up in the morning feeling so refreshed. I slept so good last night. I know I had an amazing dream but I can't seem to remember it for the life of me. I get up and take my shower using all the hot water before getting out. As I'm getting ready I take a good look at myself in the mirror. I don't look or feel any different. My face is the same as it was yesterday. I guess I'm technically an adult now. That makes me smile. One step closer to freedom.

I get dressed and pack my bag. I decide to wait on the front porch for my Grandpa so we don't wake my mother. He pulls up in his Cadillac right at 9:00. He is always punctual. He gets out of the car to open my door for me. He is always the gentlemen.

"Happy Birthday Maggie. How was your day yesterday?"

"Hi Grandpa. It was good. Mom took me out to dinner and got me a cake."

"That's all?"

"Pretty much." I climb into the passenger seat with my small duffle bag. My grandpa closes the door then walks around to his side. After he gets in we talk briefly before we settle into our routine. We just sit in a comfortable silence watching the scenery pass by. We finally pull up to our favorite place for lunch after the two hour drive. Once we are seated he asks about school.

"It's great. I've been getting mostly A's. I did get a B on my last chemistry test but I'm working with a tutor. I don't know if I will end up with anything higher than that. I hate chemistry and calculus. But I have a tutor for that too who is really good. I think I could pull off an A with his help."

"That's great Maggie. I don't understand why you don't like calculus. It's a piece of cake."

"Maybe for you because you love math but not for me. I really struggle. That's why I have to think hard about what career path I want to take. Nothing that involves math." He just laughs at my response.

"Have you given anymore thought to which college you want to attend?"

"I have. I met with my counselor and she said it's a good idea to pick the top five schools I'm interested in and apply to all of them. I have really good grades and some extracurricular activities so she said my chances of getting in are pretty good. I took my SAT's at the end of summer and did pretty well. I'm still considering Bowling Green, OSU, and University of Cincinnati but I might also apply to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and the University of Pennsylvania. But they are both more expensive because I would be paying out of state fees the first year."

"Don't worry about that. There is enough money in the trust account for you to attend those schools all four years and pay all your living expenses."

"I can't thank you enough Grandpa. I really don't know what I would do without you."

"Don't thank me. I didn't do anything. This was all your father. Smart man. Planning ahead for your future. So why those schools?"

"Well in state would be the cheapest route. I know you said money isn't an issue but it doesn't mean I should be careless with it either. I like the University of Michigan because they have a good marketing program. I've been helping a friend of mine work on some marketing techniques and I found out that I really enjoy doing it."

"That's great Maggie. Your dad would be very proud. Although I don't know how he would feel about you going to Michigan. They are our rivals." He gives me a small scowl before grinning just a little. He really loves to tease me.

"I know Grandpa. But they have a good program. I do need to ask for a favor. All of the schools have application fees and I don't have the money for it."

"Maggie, anything you need for school just ask. I will write you a check. Just tell me how much you need."

"Thanks Grandpa." We talk some more about school and the benefits of the different campuses. We almost bring in the dinner crowd. I didn't realize we had stayed that long talking. We finally get up to leave and head to his house. I'm lost in my own little world as we pull into the driveway. I almost missed the car sitting in front of the garage. That's odd. I wonder who's here. I look over at my Grandpa who has the biggest grin on his face.

"What?"

"Come on. I want to show you something." I get out of his car and follow him to the car sitting on the other side of the driveway. "So what do you think?"

"Of what? The car? It's nice. Whose is it?"

"Happy Birthday Maggie. It's about time you had your own car."

"What? This is for me?" I can't believe it. He bought me a car! A freaking car! That man is awesome. I start jumping up and down screaming my head off. I have never been so excited in my entire life.

"I'm glad you like it. It's not brand new but it's a safe, reliable Honda Civic. It gets great gas mileage. I will pay the insurance and just so you know, I put it in your name. I wanted to wait until you turned 18 so your mother couldn't take it from you. It's all yours."

"OMG! I can't believe it. I finally have a car! Now I can come visit you whenever I want. I love it Grandpa. Thank you so much!" I walk over to him and give him a great big hug. He doesn't pull away from me which is surprising. He usually doesn't do well with affection but today he just hugs me right back.

"Now get out of here. You don't need to spend the rest of the weekend with your boring old Grandpa."

"No way. I'm not leaving. I want to spend time with you."

"Maggie, you are the best granddaughter a guy could ask for. But I know you can't wait to drive your new car and show it off to all your friends. So go. I won't tell your mother that you left. I know how she can be. Go be a kid for once. You study so much you deserve a break. And besides, you can visit me anytime you want now."

I reluctantly step away from him considering how much fun it would be to drive all the way back to Milford in my very own car! I can do whatever I want! Blast the radio with the windows down, well maybe with the windows up considering it's about 40 degrees out right now. But the point is that if I wanted to do that I could. I make up my mind to go ahead and have some fun. I do deserve it.

I grab my small duffle bag from the front seat of his car and give him another big hug before getting into my black Civic with tan interior. It's perfect. You can't even tell it's used. Once I start the car I notice it only has about 15,000 miles. It can't be more than a year or two old. It's practically brand new. To top it all off he even gave me a gas card. I think he knows that my mom doesn't let me keep my paycheck. He is always slipping me money when I come to visit. God, I love that man.

I put it in reverse after buckling up and checking all my mirrors. I'm kind of nervous. My grandpa stands in the driveway waving excitingly as I pull onto the street. For the first hour all I can think about is how cool my car is. I love everything about it. The dashboard, the seats, the sound system. I car dance all the way until I pull up to his house. I thought about seeing Amanda first but she would just want to drive around all night. Right now, I just want him. Vincent.

I knock on the door while bouncing in place. I can't contain my excitement. Tommy opens the door a bit surprised to see me. Vince probably told him I was gone for the weekend.

"Hey. What are you doing here?"

"Where's Vince?" Then I hear his voice. Have I mentioned how much I love that voice?

"Maggie? What are you doing here?" I see Vince step out of the kitchen with a slice of pizza in his hand. I push past Tommy, walk right up to Vince and take a bite of his slice.

"That's good. Can I have a piece?" Vincent starts laughing. Then I hear Tommy laughing behind me.

"She sure does like to eat. So whose nice ride is that?" Tommy points out the front door to my awesome car.

"Mine! My Grandpa got me a car for my birthday!!! Can you believe it? And he let me leave so I could spend the rest of my birthday weekend with my friends!"