even nice to Miz Windsor. My parents would ground me for a month if I sassed them the way Emily sasses her mother.”
“When you’re sick you can do whatever you want.” Trinity gave Jake such a push he sailed forward on his bike. “I heard Emily is sweet on you. Like in really sweet. Marie told me the last time they were up there all Emily wanted to do was talk about you until Miz Windsor made her stop and told her you were too busy with your paper route and all that kind of stuff. Marie said Emily kicked and screamed and said she wanted you there NOW. You must be hot stuff, Jake Forrest. I don’t know how she can think that. You’re so homely, with all those freckles and that hair of yours that stands straight up.”
Jake flushed. “You’re only twelve years old. You shouldn’t be talking about stuff like that. If I’m homely, then you’re downright ugly, with those spaces between your teeth and that pigtail. You have freckles on your nose, too. Look how skinny you are! You look like a stick of spaghetti.”
Trinity stopped in her tracks, hands on her hips. “I can whup your ass with one hand tied behind me. You take that back, Jake Forrest.”
“Not in this lifetime, Trinny Ninny.” Jake pedaled as fast as he could on the shale road because he knew she was going to make good on her threat. “Okay, okay, I didn’t mean it. You’re beautiful even if you do have spaces between your teeth. I’m getting a haircut tomorrow. Truce, Trinny.” He was looking over his shoulder and knew his words weren’t getting through to the skinny girl. From the determined look on her face, he knew she was going to whup his ass. How was that going to look to the others when they found out? And they would find out because Trinny Ninny would make sure she told them. Not good, that was for sure. He slid on the shale and once again was on the ground, Trinity standing over him. He looked up and was stunned to see Trinny’s eyes glistening with tears. Ah, shit! He rolled over and got to his feet. “Okay, take your best shot,” he said cavalierly.
Trinny strode past him. “You aren’t worth it, you jerk!”
“Aw, c’mon, Trinny, give it up. I’m sorry. Maybe I am homely. Who cares? Let’s go riding, or we can hit balls. I’ll pitch to you.”
Trinny pounced and was in his face within seconds. “Are you really sorry, or did you just say that?”
“Yeah, I’m sorry, but you are skinny. I guess you can’t help that. Neither one of us can do anything about our freckles. Sooner or later your teeth will grow together. If they don’t, you can always get braces. So, do you want to go riding, or do you want to hit some balls?”
Trinity thought about the question. What she really wanted to do was go swimming in the pond, but there was no way she was going to let Jake Forrest see her skinny body in a bathing suit. He’d laugh himself silly, and she’d cry all night long. “Why don’t you just go home and build your character some more by mowing the grass.”
“If that’s the way you feel about it, I will. Not that my character needs building, either. Who’s being a jerk now?” With that, Jake turned his bike around and headed down the shale road. He pedaled slowly to make sure he didn’t slip again. Trinny would be laughing into next week if that happened. He stopped once, turned around, and waved at his young friend. He felt a lump form in his throat when she didn’t wave back.
When Jake arrived home ahead of schedule, he walked around to the back of the house, where his mother was working in one of the flowerbeds.
“Was the ball game canceled, Jake? You’re home early.”
Jake sat down on the grass and hugged his knees. “Things didn’t work out. The witch got to the guys first. There was just me and Trinny. We got into…a thing, and we both said some things to each other. I hurt her feelings, and she hurt mine.”
“Jake, please don’t call Mrs. Windsor a witch. Why in the world would you say anything unkind to Trinity? I know she’s younger than you are, but that’s no excuse. Little girls have feelings. On top of that, I do believe she has a bit of a crush on you. That’s not like you. Well, Jake?”
Jake plucked at a blade of grass and put it between his fingers and whistled. His mother did her best to hide her smile. “She said I was homely and my hair stuck up or something like that.”
Nola Forrest’s smile blossomed as she plunged the trowel into the soft, loamy earth. “Your hair does stand up on end. You were supposed to get a haircut a week ago. You aren’t homely, you’re rather cute. I think that’s what Trinity was trying to say.”
“Jeez, Mom, you didn’t hear her. That’s not what she was trying to say. I was there, and she was mad.”
“Did you apologize?”
“Yeah, up one side and down the other. She wasn’t buying it, so I came home. How come I have to mow the lawn when we have a gardener?”
Nola smiled again. “Because I said so.” Jake rolled his eyes as he made his way to the toolshed to pull out the lawn mower.
As hard as he tried, Jake couldn’t get Trinny’s tear-filled eyes out of his mind. He pushed the mower with a vengeance. He looked over at his mother several times. She waved and smiled.
Seven months later he was standing at the cemetery saying good-bye to his mother. Trinny, wearing a dress and a hat, was there with the Hendersons. She looked so silly he almost laughed, but it was hard to laugh when you were grieving for your mother. He raised his eyes to look across at his aunt Mitzi, his mother’s younger sister. He wished he could leap over the yawning hole in the ground and fall into her arms. Mitzi could always make things better. Suddenly he felt his father’s hand on his arm. He jerked it away. His eyes were still on Mitzi, who had lifted her black veil and shook her head slightly. That look meant he was to cool it.
When it was all over, and he could no longer stem the flow of tears, he made his way to Mitzi’s side. “Can I go home with you, Mitzi? I don’t want…I can’t…”
“No problem, kiddo. You better tell your father, though.”
“I’m not telling him anything. In case you haven’t noticed, he isn’t exactly grieving. And what in the damn hell is she doing here?”
Six different answers tickled Mitzi Granger’s lips, but she didn’t utter any of them. It wasn’t the day to stir up a hornet’s nest. “The whole town is here, Jake. Everyone loved your mother. It’s called paying your respects.”
Jake came out of his reverie and carried his beer bottle out to the kitchen. It was fully dark now. He walked around, turning lights on throughout the apartment. He craned his neck to see if Elway was still on the couch. He was. Before he forgot, he rummaged in a drawer for his digital camera and proceeded to take pictures of the old tomcat from every angle.
Sometimes things worked out really well. Other times, no matter what you did, things just went to hell.
“Where are you, Trinity Henderson? I wonder if you ever knew about the crush I had on you,” Jake muttered as he headed off to the shower.
Chapter 4
Jake Forrest groaned in his sleep and rolled over. Was that burned bacon and coffee he smelled? Since he lived alone with the exception of Elway’s temporary visit, he must be dreaming. He rolled back over when he realized he wasn’t dreaming. He groaned again, louder this time. Finally, he opened his eyes to see Elway sitting up on the bottom
