Finding Noel (26 page)

My dad and I probably talked more during the next two weeks than we did in our previous twenty-two years. I even volunteered to help him at the shop, and surprisingly it didn't feel like one of Dante's circles of Hell. One afternoon as we ate lunch together, I told him about Macy. He didn't say much, but I could tell he understood my pain. I also told him about Joette. I wondered how she was and if she'd told Macy how sick she really was. The thought of it made my stomach hurt.

“Are you going back?” My father asked.

I just shook my head. “I have no idea.”

During my third week home I was working under a car when my dad crouched down next to me. “You have a visitor, son.”

I rolled myself out on the creeper. Standing next to my dad was Tennys, my ex-girlfriend.

“Hey,” she said.

I stood up, grabbing a rag from the counter to wipe my hands. She looked even prettier than I remembered her, her long blond hair falling over one shoulder as if by accident. I knew Tennys well enough to know that nothing involving
her looks was an accident. If I didn't know better, I would have thought she was trying to impress me.

“It's good to see you again, Mr. Smart,” she said to my father.

“Pleasure seeing you again,” my father said. He nodded to me, then left us alone.

“What's up?” I said.

“Hmm. Not much.”

“That's hard to believe. Mrs….”

“No ‘Mrs.' Unless you mean like ‘misses the boat.'”

“You're not married yet?”

“We broke it off. No, actually
he
broke it off. His girlfriend came back.”

“He had another girlfriend?”

“Long story.”

“The cad,” I said.

She smiled wryly. “I got a diamond out of it. I think he was just so embarrassed by it all that he told me to keep it.” She looked at me, and there was a sweet vulnerability to her expression. “So how have you been?”

“I've survived.”

“What's Salt Lake City like?”

“It's nice. Big mountains. Lots of snow. People are nice.”

“Is school going well?”

“It was good while it lasted.”

She rocked a little on the balls of her feet. “So how long are you back for?”

“I don't know. Maybe forever.”

I could tell this pleased her. “Good. Well, I just wanted to welcome you home. I've got to get to work.”

“Where are you working?”

“I got a job at Lord and Taylor's. I'm in the women's shoe department.”

“You're doing what you love.”

She laughed. “You've got me figured out, alright. With the employees' discount I spend most of my check before I get it.” Her voice softened. “I was thinking that maybe after work we could get a coffee. Or dinner? I think it's my turn to buy.”

I didn't answer.

“You can say no,” she said. “Heaven knows I deserve it.” She tilted her head a little. She knew it drove me crazy when she did that. “Just thought I'd ask.”

She was being too humble to refuse. “What time do you get off?” I asked.

“Around six.”

“I don't have a car. Unless I steal this one.”

“I can pick you up.”

“Okay. I'll see you then.”

She smiled. “Can't wait.”

Tonight Tennys and I dined in vegetarian Hell. She made me an offer I'm not sure I should refuse.

MARK SMART'S DIARY

Tennys and I sat at a small table in the corner of Porky's Barbeque. Porky's was more than a restaurant—it was a temple to meat, where carnivore rituals were unabashedly practiced with a roll of paper towels at every table, an empty six-pack container filled with plastic squeeze bottles of barbecue sauce of varying heat and coleslaw and baked beans served by the pint.

I nixed Tennys's invitation to get coffee, as I hadn't eaten since lunch and, more important, I hadn't had any good barbeque since I left Alabama. I devoured a large platter of beef brisket and pork ribs while she daintily picked at a chicken breast and slaw.

Tennys looked beautiful, but then she always did. She was what my father called a “jaw-droppin' head-turner.” She was wearing it well tonight.

“Are you living at home?” she asked when my mouth was full.

I nodded.

“With your father?” she asked, cringing a little.

“Things have changed,” I said.

“Changed. Like Hell has frozen over?”

“I know. It's hard to believe.”

“Well maybe it's true—absence does make the heart grow fonder.”

“What does that say about togetherness?”

She thought about it. “I never really liked that saying.”

I finished pulling the meat from a rib. “So tell me about the chiropractor.”

“That's like asking Mrs. Lincoln how the play was.”

“Sorry.”

“It's okay. I probably should talk about it. I'm sure it's cathartic.” She stopped her assault on the chicken. “I hurt my neck playing volleyball, so I went to that new chiropractor's office on Broadway for an adjustment. Boy, did I get one. I should have seen it coming. The first thing he asked is why such a pretty girl didn't have a ring. I didn't know that his girlfriend had dumped him the night before.

“The next thing I know, we're seeing each other every night. He's buying me chocolates, flowers, jewelry. I hadn't heard from you for a couple of weeks…”

“Don't blame this on me,” I interjected, wiping sauce from my hands onto a paper towel. “This was all your doing?”

“Well, you
could
have called more,” she said. “Anyway to my surprise he pops the question. And to my surprise I said yes.”

“Just like that?”

“Swept away like a field mouse in a flash flood. It was kind of like ready, aim, fire. I said yes, then talked myself into it every day for the next three weeks. My mother was thrilled of course. She thought I had struck gold marrying a ‘doctor.'
She's running around making plans like it's her own wedding.” Her expression changed. “But you know, I kept thinking about you. Of course, I was mad at you—that you hadn't asked me first. I even took some guilty pleasure writing you that Dear John. I found out the day after I sent it that your mother had died. I just felt sick. I wanted to call you. I called your dad for your number, but he told me he didn't have it. Then I was too embarrassed to go to the funeral. I didn't know what I'd say, and I thought I'd probably just make it harder for you. But I really was sorry. Your mother was a beautiful woman.”

“I didn't go to the funeral,” I said.

“What?”

“I wasn't in school. I lost my scholarship. But I didn't tell anyone, so when they tried to call me, they couldn't find me. I didn't find out until I called home two days after her funeral.”

Tennys put her hand on mine. “I'm so sorry.”

“Bad times,” I said.

“I wish I could have been there for you.”

“Me too,” I said. I meant it.

After a moment she asked, “So did you leave a girlfriend in Salt Lake City?”

I wasn't sure that I wanted to tell her about Macy. “Sort of. She was really just a friend.”

“Nothing serious then?”

I hesitated. “I asked her to marry me.”

Her face registered surprise. “Really.”

“Yes, I did.”

“What did she say?”

“Nothing. She just kind of ran away.”

Tennys looked at me for a moment, then started to laugh, softly at first, then obnoxiously loud. The people at the tables around us all looked to see what was so hilarious.

“It wasn't really that funny,” I said.

She put her hand on my mine. “I'm sorry; I'm not laughing at you. The irony of it all is just delicious. Here we are, the heartthrobs of Roosevelt High, the king and queen of homecoming, and we're both dumped on the way to the altar. What a pair we make. We really are perfect for each other.”

“You're right, it is pretty funny.”

She sighed happily. “So maybe we should just run off together. I've already got the ring.” She lifted her hand to show me. “Thank you, Dr. Ball.”

“Wait, his last name is Ball?”

She nodded. “Uh-huh.”

“Your name would have been Tennys Ball?”

She smiled. “I'm afraid so.”

This time I burst out laughing. “It was doomed from the beginning.”

She started laughing again. Then she leaned into me and we kissed. I knew from past experience that Tennys could kiss. The woman could have taught Rodin something. When we parted, I said, “You sure you want to marry a college dropout?”

“We'll have pretty babies.”

I smiled. “Give me a day to think about it.”

My dad's a lot smarter than I've ever given him credit for. In truth I don't think he got a lot smarter—just I did.

MARK SMART'S DIARY