The Last Boy and Girl in the World (28 page)

•  •  •

My family and I watched ourselves on the news that night, before I left for Elise's good-bye party. Dad was on the couch, Mom nestled into the crook of his arm.

The rally was the top story of the evening. The studio anchor threw it live to Shawn Wilcox, still standing on the steps of the now-quiet City Hall. He lifted his microphone to his mouth.

“The showdown over Aberdeen's future hit a fevered pitch today with a rally at City Hall. Mr. Jim Hewitt, self-appointed leader of the Reservoir Resistance, said he came here looking for two things: answers and accountability.”

They cut to their tape. Shots of our protesters as they paced the sidewalk, signs bobbing up and down against a darkening sky, chanting my rally cries. Of course, they showed Jesse in the mascot uniform, jumping around and fist-pumping.

The cameraman also videoed three policemen who stood stoic as some of the people from our side chanted, “Bring out Aversano! Let him speak to the people!”

Dad leaned forward and kissed the top of Mom's head. “Okay, good. I was hoping they'd show that.”

They cut to a shot of my dad on the steps of City Hall, speaking to the crowds and to the people waiting in line for the adjusters. He read off a paper cupped in his hand. But his delivery, if a little stiff, was impassioned.

“Mayor Aversano and Governor Ward, we demand our due process. We want assurance that our politicians aren't trying to turn our tragedy into their opportunity, at the expense of us, the people who call Aberdeen home.” Dad focused on the news camera. “We know you've been lowballing our friends and neighbors during your supposed ‘good faith' negotiations. And we're not going to stand for it any longer.”

He said that lowball part so confidently, I didn't question it, even though I knew Elise's family had gotten a crazy payday. After all, Dad was talking to people in town about this every day. He must know more about it than I did.

They cut back to Shawn and his microphone, live on the steps. “Though this appears to be something of a David and Goliath fight, there were several residents of Aberdeen who left their spots in the line for adjusters and wandered over to hear more from the Reservoir Resistance movement. We asked the offices of both Governor Ward and Mayor Aversano for direct comment but have yet to hear back.”

I heard the beep of Morgan's car outside. “I'm leaving.”

Dad waved without looking, but Mom turned her head. “Okay. And Morgan is taking you to school tomorrow?”

“Yup.” After a hotel breakfast, Morgan and I would head straight to school and Elise would leave for the airport. This night might be the last time I ever saw her. But I wouldn't let myself feel sad. I didn't want to be a downer. My job tonight was to bring the fun. Make sure Elise had the time of her life. Give her a proper send-off. Because even though things were weird between us, I still cared about her. Deeply.

“Have a good time,” Mom said. Dad started playing with her hair, picking up little strands of it and letting them fall. Mom curled even closer into him. Across the room, Dad's laptop was off. And Mom's work bag was zippered up.

I pulled the front door shut and ran to Morgan. “Uh, I'm pretty sure my parents are having sex tonight.”

“Eww!” Morgan screamed.

I made gagging sounds. “I know. I know. Hurry up and drive!”

About halfway to the hotel, Morgan said, “I need to tell you something. I told Elise today she could invite Wes if she wanted to.” She turned to me for a second and then looked back at the road. “I didn't think it was right to forbid her to see him on her last night here.” She wet her lips.

“Okay,” I said, and tried to make it sound like I wasn't anxious. I quickly pulled out my phone and texted Jesse.

You're still coming tonight, right?

As soon as my mom gets home from work.

“You know . . .” She let the words hang in the air. “I wouldn't be surprised if Wes isn't super-nice to you. I bet he feels really bad about what happened.” And then, less confidently, she added, “And I know you do too.”

The rest of the ride to the hotel was pretty quiet. I know what both Morgan and I were thinking about. The last time I saw Wes, almost a month ago, the moment everything went to shit.

•  •  •

Because we had nothing better to do that day, Morgan and I went to visit Wes at his family pharmacy. She wanted to text him a heads-up that we were coming, but I told her surprising him would be more romantic. It was the first time I'd given Morgan any boy advice. I felt good. Like I had made a place for myself in this new part of her life.

The pharmacy was cute. Sort of old-timey and on a tree-lined street. Morgan thought we'd go in and say a quick hello. Though they'd been a couple since Christmas, she still got super shy and awkward around him. She liked him that much. But I was on a roll. I had a much better idea.

We walked into the store. I pretended to shop, like a regular customer. Except I filled my basket with the most embarrassing items I could—tampons, condoms, lube, douche, gas pills, wart remover, adult diapers, stool softener, upper lip wax, a cushion pad for bunions. With each item Morgan gasped. Or she whispered something like “Oh, no, Keeley!” Not in a
stop it
way. In a
you're hilarious
way.

Still, Morgan peeled off from me right before we reached the register.

So it was just me standing there with my head down, waiting as Wes made change for an old lady. When she walked away, I stepped forward and smiled. “Hello.”

“Hey,” he said. At first he didn't look at me. He was just staring at the stuff in the basket. But then he finally did, and it took him a couple of seconds to place me. Aberdeen was a half hour away so it wasn't like we ran into each other around town. Once he did, though, he wasn't exactly happy to see me.

I tried teasing him into that feeling by acting like a legit customer, asking him to tell me which vaginal cream he might recommend, stuff like that.

He turned purple. And he started looking around in the aisles for Morgan. Maybe he hoped she would rescue him, drag me away. But Morgan was hiding behind a rack of reading glasses.

I had no idea that his parents were behind him. Both were pharmacists, I guess. They started watching our exchange. Which, from their angle, looked like Wes not being a very helpful employee.

Eventually, his mother asked, “Wes? Do you need help with anything?”

“No!” he said. And then he whispered to me through clenched teeth, “What are you doing?”

But even though he'd said no, his mom came around to the counter anyway. “Is everything okay, dear?” she asked me. But her face went from friendly to confused to put off when she eyed my basket.

“Sorry,” I said. “I'm a friend of Wes's. I wanted to stop by and visit.”

His mother's eyes lingered on the condoms.

“Um . . .” I laughed sheepishly. “We're not friends like that.”

Frowning deeply, she fiddled with the cross around her neck before I turned around and called for Morgan.

Sunday, May 22

Evening rain, low of 59°F

The pool was on the roof of the hotel, in an atrium topped by a glass canopy. It was nice—I liked the little blue mosaic tiles they used to line it—but smaller than I'd expected. The deep end wasn't even deep, it was only five feet, so you couldn't really jump in. There was a big hot tub, though, big enough for eight or nine people to each have a jet. I loved the feeling of going from hot to cold to hot again, but I wrapped myself in a towel and shared a lounge chair with Morgan once Wes and his friends arrived in their swim trunks and began taking off their shirts and shoes.

I saw him stealing glances at her a few times. So I told her, “You can go talk to him if you want.” She hadn't yet. He hadn't made a move to talk to her, either. Probably because I was sitting next to her.

“I know,” she said, and patted my leg.

Elise's family ordered in a bunch of pizzas, and they had cans of soda in silver ice buckets brought up from the hotel restaurant, and a stack of cloth napkins. Every twenty minutes or so, one of the waiters would come clean our mess or make sure the lounge chairs had fresh white towels rolled into cylinders and placed at the crook between the seat and the back.

I kept checking and rechecking my phone for word from Jesse. I knew he'd be late, but I didn't think he'd be this late. The party had been going over an hour already.

About ten minutes later, Jesse came in through the sliding glass doors, Zito close behind him, looking down at his phone. I quickly leaned back in the lounge chair and closed my eyes, as if I were tanning. I felt him walk over.

I had on my second-favorite bikini, since Jesse had already seen me in my favorite one that night at his Slip 'N Slide party. This one was an underwire top with a bit of padding in the cups, which made it seem like I had a tiny bit more boob than I actually did. It was white and magenta stripes with highlighter-blue and pale pink flowers dotted on. It looked better on me late in the summer, when I'd have some color built up.

“Hello, ladies.”

I opened my eyes. They were wearing their swim trunks and sweatshirts, which had been speckled by rain. Jesse set down a gym duffel bag and then pulled his sweatshirt off and tossed it on the lounge chair next to mine. Morgan discreetly squeezed my hand because he looked so freaking hot. Then he planked over me on the lounge chair and gave me a kiss on the lips. When he started pulling away, I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him back down to kiss me again, hoping Wes would be watching at that very moment.

“You're in a good mood,” Jesse said, and then lifted me up, his hands locked under my butt. I shivered at how suddenly close we were. I was still wet from the last dip in the water, and also, it was like we were practically naked. I think Jesse could tell that it startled me, because he slowly let me slide back down to the chair.

Jesse opened up his duffel bag and looped a whistle around his neck.

“Are you on duty?”

“I figured this would come in handy for games.” He took out a set of speakers to plug into his phone. “Where's Elise?”

I nudged my chin across the pool. She'd spent most of the good-bye party sitting at a table with her parents, a fluffy bathrobe cinched tight around her. I didn't get it. Elise was all about this party, the planning, carefully selecting who to spend her last hours with, but now she was being completely antisocial.

I said, “Morgan and I agreed that we shouldn't monopolize her time, since we're having a sleepover after, but now I'm wondering if that was a bad plan.”

“Totally a bad plan. She needs to be rescued from herself. She's going to think back on this night and be completely bummed that she blew it.” He picked up his duffel bag and then took my hand. “Come on.”

We walked right past the hot tub where Wes was, and I knew he was watching me and Jesse. We stopped in front of Elise's table.

“Keeley and I wanted to give you this parting gift.” Out of his duffel, Jesse lifted up a huge mesh bag of Florida oranges. It was so big and heavy and ridiculous, at least twenty pounds of oranges. Elise started laughing and then crying. I watched Jesse carefully unclip the snaps on the mesh bag so when he presented it to Elise, the oranges tumbled out and rolled into the pool.

Jesse blew his whistle. “Rescue! Rescue!” He jumped in feetfirst, dragging me along with him. And we dove to grab the oranges. Zito jumped in next, but not before he lifted Morgan up off the lounge chair and dropped her in the water. Suddenly the place was alive.

Jesse got out of the water and stalked over to the table. He was dripping wet, and Elise saw him coming for her. “No! No!” she started screaming, but you could tell she was loving it. Jesse lifted her up and carried her down the steps, bathrobe and all, into the water. Like a baptism or something. Smiling for the first time, Elise hugged Jesse and then he let her swim free.

I basically became Jesse's fun assistant for the rest of the night. Anything he suggested to make a good time, I seconded. Chicken fights? I climbed on his shoulders. We took second place, but only because we let Elise and one of her guy friends from church take us down in the championship. Marco Polo? I offered to be
it
first. We even got everyone to push around and around to make a whirlpool.

Wes and his friends lingered around the side of the pool. They were ready to leave. At some point, they'd changed out of their bathing suits and into dry clothes. Elise climbed out of the pool to say good-bye to them.

“I'm cold,” Morgan said, passing me in the water. “I think I'm going to get out for a bit.”

“You want to go in the hot tub? Now that Wes and his friends aren't hogging it?”

I meant it as a joke, but Morgan barely smiled. “Nah.”

She walked over to our chair and wrapped herself in a towel. She was trying not to look at Wes, but I know she was aware of him as much as I was. I think she was making herself available for him, if he did want to talk or apologize.

“You keep looking at that guy,” Jesse said. “Are you trying to make me jealous? Because he seems like a weenie.”

“No. Absolutely not.” But I was glad he was getting jealous. “That's Morgan's ex. And . . . I hate him.”

“Enough said.”

Jesse called out to Zito and started to swim toward him, but I noticed that as he did, he started kicking harder than he needed to. Then he and Zito began to wrestle in the water, trying to dunk each other, and Jesse kept angling his body to make sure his wild splashes were going in Wes's direction. Wes took one step back, and then another, and finally turned around and walked out.