Living Violet (6 page)
He chortled. “The kiss that good?”
I crossed my arms over my chest and stared out the window. “That's it. I'm done talking.”
6
A
side from the outlet stores, Europia Park was every kid's first job in Williamsburg.
side from the outlet stores, Europia Park was every kid's first job in Williamsburg.
However, no one else in their right mind would want to deal with that amount of people, not for minimum wage. Europia Park's theme mimicked all the major countries in Europe: France, England, Italy, Scotland, Germany, Ireland, you name it. That fact left tourists asking the question, “Why are so many Mexicans and Asians working here?”
Corporate America wanted to market Europe with family-friendly clichés with all the comforts of home. They didn't anticipate the language barrier with the imported employees. Good luck asking directions in this place. If visitors couldn't read the map, they'd be so screwed! So it made sense that Caleb brought me along as a tour guide. I could navigate through the park blindfolded. Regardless of how many times I came here, I still found the scenery breathtaking.
Surviving twenty minutes of parking-spot hunting and a perilous trolley ride, Caleb and I strolled down the flowered path through the entrance. The first stop in our continental tour was ye olde England. Though he mentioned seeing the real thing before, he stood in awe at the medieval model of Big Ben near the entrance.
I've had my paranoid moments, that eerie suspicion of being watched, but the feeling intensified while in Caleb's company. Dozens of female eyes followed him through the park, where I tried to look everywhere but in his direction. When the fourth chick “accidentally” bumped into Caleb, I tried to ditch him, but he caught me before I could escape. For a ladies' man, he went out of his way to avoid his admirers, and shield me in case a riot broke out.
We wandered through France, where singers preformed in the street with camisoles and berets. Caleb's nose led him to the ice cream parlor by the portrait stand. This was his second stop within thirty minutes, and his appetite only seemed to get stronger.
While waiting for Caleb, I smiled at the woman in a revealing peasant dress operating the tavern-style lemonade stand. Her long blond hair fell over her shoulder in two long braids. She leaned her elbow on the counter, sweaty and extremely bored by her conversation with a customer. The man carried a drink in each hand and stood in the process of ordering another to keep her interest.
Once tired of the stall tactic, he took the plunge. “So, I was wondering what are you doingâ”
“No,” she snapped.
He tried again. “Well, how aboutâ”
“No.”
“Can I at least get yourâ”
“No.”
“Fine!” The man skulked away with his head low and his dignity crumbling in his hands.
Laughing, I went to the booth. “What's up, Poland?”
Nadine's emerald eyes lit up, and that was as close to a smile that she would ever reach. “Sam! Hello! What brings you to ninth ring of hell?”
I summed up my crisis in one word. “Caleb.”
Nadine leaned back, blown away by this news. “Oh! He's finally using those tickets I gave him?”
“The tickets were collecting dust while he waited for you to take a day off. How can you work so much? Honestly, when do you sleep?” I asked.
“I'll sleep when I'm dead. For now, I have rent and student loans. I'm still young with energy to burn.”
Trust Nadine to make me look like a slacker on my day off.
“So, you're here with Caleb, hmm?” She leveled me with her eyes and twirled her braid. A bad idea since that one gesture brought three old dudes to her booth. Before they could speak, she yelled, “If you don't buy anything, piss off!” which succeeded in scaring the men away. Leaning over the counter, she drew closer. “So, are you two on a date?”
“No.”
Her eyes narrowed. “You answer awfully quick.”
“It was a quick question. I'm not interested in Caleb like that. I just wanna know what he's about. You know he's weird. Doesn't it bother you that he has women falling all over him?”
Nadine simply stared. “You're talking to
me
here.”
me
here.”
I gave Nadine a good look from head to toe. “Well, yeah, you got guys all over you, but at least you're hot. Have you looked at Caleb? I mean, really looked? Dude has
no
swag and his hygiene is suspect.”
no
swag and his hygiene is suspect.”
Nadine shifted her lips from side to side in debate. “He's cute in scruffy, indie kid way. He has good taste in books. I just finished first chapter of book he recommended, and I had to tear myself away.”
“You're missing the point. He's weird.”
“You just want him to be weird so you cannot like him. He has bad moments and can be stubborn, but he's a good guy, Sam. I should know.”
“Oh yeah? Aren't you two like âfrenemies' or something?” I asked coolly, but secretly anticipated her answer. Nadine and I talked about everything, but the subject of Caleb Baker came with a warning label and a combination lock.
If the question shocked her, she hid that fact from me. “In a way,” she replied. “We are just friends who look out for one another, whenever he lets me.”
“I think it's the women who need the looking out,” I said dubiously.
Disappointed, she fell back behind the booth. “Thou doth protesteth too much.”
Getting into character, I replied, “I fear not enough, lest haste awaken calamity from its rest.”
She stared at me and shook her head in awe. “You are so strange, Sam, yet you pick fun at my poetry.”
“So does that mean you won't hang with us after work? It'll be fun.”
Before she could answer, the man of the hour approached the booth, holding a small mountain of frozen custard. On sight of Nadine, he tipped his head. “Nadine.”
A chilly, impersonal welcome if I ever heard one, a mere acknowledgement of one's existence.
Returning the greeting with equal apathy, Nadine assessed his new grooming habits with heavy scrutiny.
Oh yeah, they were so doing each other. Probably one of those New Age European “arrangements.” But if she wanted to keep it on the DL, then why did I care?
No really, why did I care?
I stared at the ice cream dripping down Caleb's fingers and cringed. “You're an insulin shot waiting to happenâyou know that, right?”
“Does my sweet tooth make you uncomfortable?” He asked the question with such earnest curiosity, it caught me off guard.
“No. IâI just worry about your blood sugar. I'm surprised your teeth haven't fallen out of your head yet.”
He rolled his eyes. “Thanks, mom, but this dessert will tide me over until supper's ready.”
I heard Nadine snort behind me.
“Fine, but when you pass out from sugar shock, don't expect me to help you.”
“Good to know who to rely on in a jam.” Caleb strolled away, but stopped when I didn't follow. “You ready to go?”
I moved to join him as Nadine's taunt buzzed around my ears. “You
like
him. Admission is first step to recovery.”
like
him. Admission is first step to recovery.”
By the time Caleb and I finally made it to Germany, I was an hour late for my rendezvous point with Mia. I could tell Caleb was annoyed with the delay and wondered why I was stalling. He was eager to get on the rides, but I needed to sit down. I took a seat on a bench near the Hall of Feasts. Laughter, polka music, and profuse whiffs of beer bumbled in the air. I scanned the immediate area and found no sign of her. I decided on waiting another five minutes before calling her cell.
Caleb stared down at me, rocking on the balls of his feet. The afternoon sun hit his back, shooting gold light through his brown hair.
Wiping the sweat from my temple, I broke the ice. “We should talk about that kiss.”
“I thought it was self-explanatory.”
Shielding my eyes, I looked up at him. “No. Why did you kiss me?”
“Because I wanted to. I wanted to see what would happen.” Though the reply was simple, something in his expression told me otherwise.
“What exactly did happen?” I asked.
“You saw me.” The rocking stopped as he met my gaze. Flecks of purple light peeked from under his lashes. “The real me.”
Before I could say anything else, he searched around, sniffing the air. “You smell funnel cake?”
Not knowing what else to say, I pointed to the food stand to my right.
Following my hand, he sprung into action. “Ah, I'll be right back. You want anything?”
“Water.”
His head volleyed between me and the food stand. “You sure you'll be okay here? I don't think I can see you from there.”
I waved him on. “Yeah, I'm fine. I'll wait here.”
Put to ease, he disappeared into the crowd, leaving me to reflect on his peculiar statement.
What was his deal? True, he was vain to the tenth power, but he also seemed sad and lonely. I mean, if I had that much attention, I'd be milking it for all it's worth.
And why was that shrub talking to me?
I turned in the direction of the bush next to my bench.
“Psst!” it said. “Hey, are you okay?”
I just stared at the rustling leaves. “That depends. Am I hallucinating?”
“No. It's me,” I heard Mia say through the foliage.
“Why are you in the bushes?”
“You said you needed backup, and I'm doing surveillance.”
“Wow, I've never seen your stalking firsthand. It's quite disturbing. How does Dougie sleep at night?”
The leaves rustled viciously. “I don't stalk him!”
“Whatever. I'm not gonna talk to a bush. Come out.”
In seconds, Mia appeared with a tan trench coat and shades. Someone forgot to tell her that the Cold War was over, and that getup made her look even more conspicuous.
I lifted my head to the sky. “Why can't I have normal friends? Why is everyone around me mental?”
She took a seat next to me. “You attract them. So, did you really kiss Caleb?”
My eyes snapped back to her face. “What? How long have you been listening?”
“Five minutes. Why didn't you tell me?”
Oh man, I underestimated her undercover work. “Because it wasn't important. You kiss boys all the time.”
“Yeah, but it's the same boy. And we're talking about
you
here.”
you
here.”
“I don't want you to make a big deal about it.”
“It must be a big deal if you wanna talk to Caleb about it. What happened? Did he try something? Did he touch your private parts?” she teased.
I kicked the side of her leg. “Stop it. I can't explain it to you. I can't understand it myself. And he's acting all cool about it, like that kiss didn't spook him out too.”
“Well, from what you told me, he's got some mileage on him.”
“Yeah, and another thing, why is he in my face all of a sudden? Ever since I caught him bustin' slob with that girl at the bookstore, he's been all over me.”
Mia stood and removed her spy gear. “Guys do that sometimes. We need a guy's opinion on the matter. Let's ask Dougie.”
“Sure, as soon as he comes out of surgery,” I mumbled.
Mia sighed, perturbed. “It wasn't that bad of a fight. And he's right over there.”
I turned to where she pointed, and saw a laid-back and thoroughly beat-down Dougie exiting the men's room. After spotting us, he limped to our side and sat next to Mia.
“Damn, Dougie, you got your clock cleaned!” I exclaimed, taking in what was left of his face.
“Shut up,” he grumbled.
Mia reached her arms out to him. “My brave man! My hero!”
While stomaching five minutes of lip-smacking and moaning, I wondered what was keeping Caleb. I craned my neck to see the food stand, but I didn't see him in the line.
Finally coming up for air, Dougie prompted, “So, SNM, I hear you got man trouble.”
“I don't,” I replied.
“Then why are we here?”
Mia bumped his arm. “I told you, Sam needs backup.”
Dougie's body went stiff and on high alert. “Did he try something?”
I turned to him. “Relax. He hasn't done anything. Don't strain yourself; I'd hate to have you bust some of those stitches.”
Dougie rubbed his bruised jaw. “Joke all you want, but Garrett's a douche. I don't like how he looks at Mia, and I've heard some things about him that ain't cool.” He held Mia closer.
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