Nick
"I've wanted to play this forever but mom wouldn't get it for me cause it's too violent," Baylee announced.
We were sitting side-by-side, our tongues jutting out of the corner of our mouths, eyes glued to the screen.
Best. Day. Ever.
"Duke Nuke'Em was the best video game ever invented. Every kid should get to play it," I declared. Baylee laughed.
"Dad calls it Duke'Em Nuke'Em."
"Your dad's a...." I tried to find the right word for EVERYTHING I felt about Brian Littrell at the moment. "Pickleweasel." "That's not a word!" Bay cried. I didn't turn to look at him (I was in concentration mode), but I could tell he loved it.
"Well, that's what he is," I declared. "a big flaccid---"
"Oh my God, Oh my God!"
Heather burst in, and I couldn't help but look up. Her ponytail was totally messed up and her face was pink.
"Did you talk to dad?" Baylee asked.
Heather was already on the move. She was headed towards her computer.
"Bay, I love your dad!"
"Really?" Bay totally stopped playing. I heard the printer roar to life as I killed a dirty ray bastard on the screen. I bet if he had a name, it would be Brian.
"Yes, I do!" Heather giggled. "Your dad's gonna get my book published."
"But you love him?"
"I do." Heather's voice was soft and gentle. I almost pulled away from the game until she added -- "like a brother."
"Oh," Bay said. He turned back to the screen. "My mom loves Heather too..."
"But not like a sister."
Heather
I onl y had a measly 120 page, but it seemed to take forever to print. I paced with energy that I hadn’t realized I had, prancing even, back and forth behind Nick and Baylee. Noises of pure electronic violence emanated from the TV, punctured by Nick’s occasional ’take that you baaaastard’ hisses and Baylee’s giggles because, well, he was at that age when bad words were so cool.
I moved from foot to foot in front of the printer.
“I dunno why the hell you’re so nervous for,” Nick tossed over his shoulder, without looking, “You’ve done this like eight ba-tril-zillion times.”
“But this time the publisher’s coming to look at the manuscript like in person,” I gushed.
“So he can reject it to your face instead of in one of those stupid letters you always cry over at the mailbox.” Nick actually paused the game and turned around. Baylee was scowling because they’d be interrupted. Nick crawled to his feet and came over by me. “I’m not trying to be a sourpuss, I just –“
I ran my fingers over the pages that were already printed. I stared down at the black text on white paper, though the words were blurry through tears, and sucked in my breath. “It’s different this time,” I said with a shrug, “I’m revising it.”
“I’d comfort you, but I haven’t even seen it to tell you if its good or not,” Nick said with a shrug. He paused. “Brian set this up for you?”
“Yeah.”
“Did Brian read the manuscript?”
“No,” I said.
“Oh.” Nick looked relieved. “You didn’t cut out that one sex scene you showed me before right?”
I’d let Nick read the original manuscript and he’d skipped all the story parts and gone right for a sex scene because the word erection had caught his attention. He’d then proceeded to tease me for all the girly euphemisms that I’d filled the page with.
I hadn’t actually cut the scene. But I had severely revised it.
For starters, it was now between Eric and Holly.
So mentioning it made me turn scarlet.
Nick smirked and leaned into my ear so that Baylee couldn’t hear him. “I love it when you blush when we talk about sex,” he hissed, “It makes me wanna rip all your clothes off and do you right here, against the printer.”
“That would be awkward,” I said.
Nick pulled away, thinking I was joking, and kissed the back of my head. “I get to read this hoo-ha if you get published, right?” he asked, waving at the pages as the last couple of them slipped out of the printer.
“Yeah,” I agreed only because I didn’t want a discussion. I’d cross that bridge when I got to it. I quickly scooped up the pages and started to bolt for the door.
Nick cleared his throat. “Where do you think you’re going in such a rush?” he asked.
I stopped and turned to look at him.
Nick had his lips puckered grotesquely. He’d never had a very good pucker. It looked more like a deformed fish face, or an attempt at making a duck bill than a pucker. I went over and planted a kiss on the ugly pucker and then bolted for the door. Over my shoulder I heard Baylee declare, “Can we please get back to Duke Nuke’em now?”
“I hadda kiss my woman, if you don’t mind,” Nick responded.
“You’re weirder than my dad,” Baylee said.
Brian
Larry loved it. He flipped through it just enough to get a rough idea of what he was dealing with and told Heather he’d like to see the manuscript in its finished form by October 28th. “That’s the day I get married,” Heather had laughed.
When Larry left, Heather was practically dancing. I felt good because I’d done a good thing, but I also felt bad because she was hugging me and kissing my cheek and ruffling my hair and doing all kinds of nice things. And then she’d run off to tell Nick.
I sat in my seat at the table feeling flabbergasted.
After the dust settled, I sighed and stood up. Baylee would be preoccupied with Nick for awhile, I figured I might as well get some sleep while the bus was void of children in need of parental attention. I was on my way to the bunks, when I realized something that made me stop in my tracks. I backed up and looked at the table.
Larry left Heather’s manuscript.
I stared at it.
Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out my cell phone and had all but one number of Heather’s cell number dialed before I stopped and closed the phone. The right thing to do was call Heather. The right thing to do was bring the manuscript home to its rightful owner.
The right thing to do was to not pick it up, carry it to my bunk, and start reading it.
The story started out strong with the lead female character, Holly, being cheated on by her good-for-nothing boyfriend. I scowled as I skipped over a sex scene between Holly and Bryce. Dude didn’t deserve the time of day, I thought ,why on earth is she sleeping with him? And then came the twist in the plot. Eric. The guy that Holly had been in love with since high school. Eric who had a fetish for fried pickles and chicken sandwiches.
Eric, the guy who sounded awful familiar.
Suddenly, a bubble caught in my throat as I reached the date scene.
An arcade. Whack-a-mole.
Heather hadn’t been on a date with me the night I fell in love with her. Heather had been on a date getting material to use in a character. I suddenly flashed back ,remembered her scribbling notes furiously on her napkin at the restaurant, and the way she watched me walk when I was in the arcade.
I’d convinced myself that, even though Heather read my note and didn’t love me back, at least the date in Kentucky had been real. At least I’d had that much with the woman of my dreams.
But Heather hadn’t been interested in me even then.
All she’d wanted was notes for writing Eric.
