Something Like Summer (10 page)

“
Sure!” Ben laughed. “You
can help me pick someone out.”

“
I would, too! I just
don’t think that’s the best place to meet someone. Have you thought
about personal ads?”

“
C’mon, Mom. Stop worrying
about it. I’m sure I’ll meet someone. I just hope it happens before
I’m thirty.”

“
It will. It’s just a
matter of time before someone realizes how special my baby
is.”

Ben smiled as they
continued making chili together. The recipe was easy. All he had to
do was throw a bunch of stuff in a pot and let it cook. Even he
couldn’t mess this one up.

“
You should have been
honest though,” his mother said, almost as an afterthought. “All
that stuff about being out with Allison!”

Ben remained silent,
wondering suddenly how she figured out that he hadn’t gone to the
movies at all.

“
She’s going to be in
trouble with her father too, you know,” she continued in chastising
tones. “He sounded furious when he called last night.”

“
What? Allison’s dad
called?”

“
Late last night. After
you called and said you’d be sleeping over. He asked if I knew
where you two were, and, well …”

Ben didn’t need her to
finish. The sinking feeling in his stomach told him all he needed
to know.

__________

Chapter 7

Lunchtime couldn’t come
quick enough on Monday. Despite calling Allison at least three
dozen times Sunday evening, Ben had been unable to reach her. The
phone only rang and rang, not even the answering machine picking
up. Unless she had entered into a six-hour conversation with
Ronnie, which seemed unlikely, her phone had probably been taken
away, or maybe her private line had been canceled.

Ben’s apprehension
increased as she failed to appear at their usual place in the
cafeteria. Usually she was there waiting for him, since her third
period class was much closer. Finally, ten minutes into the lunch
break, she arrived looking haggard and stressed.

Ben stood and embraced her,
clutching her as he let loose a string of clumsy
apologies.

“
What are you talking
about?” she demanded once he had pulled away.

Ben confessed his guilt in
being a key factor in her getting caught.

Allison waited until he was
finished and waved a hand dismissively. “I would have gotten in
trouble anyway,” she said as she sat down. “My dad was waiting for
us in the driveway.”

“
No!”

“
Yes! He’s completely
psycho. I even had Ronnie drop me off further down the street, but
not far enough I guess.”

Ben slid his Twinkie over
to her as a gesture of peace, even though it was clear she wasn’t
angry with him. “So your dad spotted you getting out of Ronnie’s
car?”

“
Yeah. He was sitting in
the middle of the driveway in a fold-out chair, drinking his whisky
like it was going out of style. He sat there waiting for me for who
knows how long.”

“
So what did he
do?”

“
Well, luckily I saw him
running down the road in time to tell Ronnie to take off. He
managed to get out of there before my dad caught up with him, but
he did throw his whisky bottle at his car. Hit it, too.”

Ben sat in a stunned
silence, taking in this news. Allison’s dad had always been a bit
loony, but he seemed to be getting worse every year.

“
Did it jack up Ronnie’s
car?”

“
No. I just saw him a
second ago and he said it was fine. It’s the first that I’ve talked
to him since it happened. Dad smashed the hell out of my phone in
the process of grounding me.”

“
So…” Ben hesitated, not
wanting to ask if she and Ronnie were still dating. It wouldn’t be
the first time her dad managed to scare away one of her
boyfriends.

“
I don’t know what he
thinks of it all,” Allison sighed miserably. “He seemed okay.
Concerned more than anything. He’s in my last class, so I’ll have a
better chance to talk to him about it then.”

Because Ben skipped sixth
period to take care of Tim, he didn’t have a chance to catch up
with her after school. He didn’t hear anything else about it until
the next day. Allison didn’t show up at lunch at all, conjuring the
worst case scenarios into his mind. As psychotic as her dad might
be, so far he had never laid a hand on Allison. Sometimes Ben
thought it was only a matter of time before he did. With less than
two years left before college, he hoped that she would be free
before anything like that ever happened.

To his great relief,
Allison was waiting for him outside fourth period choir. His
reprieve didn’t last long when he saw how panicked she
appeared.

“
You have to help me,” she
said, grabbing both his arms.

Ben’s mouth went dry. “What
happened?” he rasped, feeling certain that his worst fears had come
true.

“
Ronnie is coming over.”
Her eyes searched his, questioning if he understood the full
implications. “Tonight!”

“
Wait, you invited him
over? Why would you do that?”

“
No, I didn’t invite him!
Are you insane? He invited himself!”

Ben pondered this for a
moment before understanding what was going on. “He’s doomed.” He
couldn’t help but laugh as he said it. Ronnie’s intention was
obviously to introduce himself to Mr. Cross and possibly get
Allison ungrounded. The gesture was noble, if not
suicidal.

“
It’s not funny!” Allison
hissed, casting an uneasy glance toward Mrs. Hammond, who had come
outside the choir room to investigate.

“
Is there any reason you
two are so apprehensive of entering my domicile?” she asked in
dramatic tones that were wholly unnecessary.

“
We just have a few things
to talk over,” Ben said.

The look of pleasant
amusement fell from Mrs. Hammond’s face. Ben might be her star
pupil, but her own ego came first. “What, exactly, is more
important than my class?” she insisted, all theatrical traces now
gone from her voice.

“
The talent show,” Ben
said, thinking fast. This was Mrs. Hammond’s favorite subject. She
had high hopes for them to win last year until a tonsillectomy took
Ben’s voice out the week of the show. Since then she mentioned the
following year’s competition almost daily. “It’s not more
important, of course. It’s just that I had a few ideas last night
and--”

“
Say no more!” Mrs.
Hammond trilled, her mood instantly favorable again. “The talent
show! Well! If you two would rather practice today, the auditorium
next door is empty.”

After a few comments
engineered to make Mrs. Hammond feel good about herself, they were
able to escape to the privacy of the auditorium. Allison flopped
down in one of the chairs and aimed an expectant look at
him.

“
Just talk him out of it,”
Ben said easily. “Tell him that it’s a sweet but horrible idea and
that will be the end of it.”

“
What do you think I was
doing during lunch? He kept smiling at me as if I was exaggerating
things for my own amusement.”

“
Even after having his car
pelted by a whisky bottle?”

“
He acts like he didn’t
even notice.” Allison frowned. “Now I wish it had busted out one of
his windows or something.”

“
I guess some lessons need
to be learned the hard way.”

Ben smiled sympathetically,
a gesture Allison didn’t reciprocate. Instead her frown increased
and her forehead wrinkled with concern. “I’m really worried about
Ronnie,” she said. “You know my dad. He gets crazier and meaner
every year. I need your help.”

Ben shrugged and nodded,
indicating that he would do whatever she needed.

“
Come over tonight,” she
pleaded. “When Ronnie’s there I want you there, too.”

“
Yeah, right.” Ben’s
chuckle faltered when he saw that she was being serious. “And this
is going to keep your dad calm, how?”

“
He won’t be calm no
matter what happens, but he’s much less likely to do something
stupid with other people around.”

Rubbing his forehead
wearily, Ben paced back and forth a few times. “If you want a
witness to keep the situation in check, maybe you should try the
police.”

Allison didn’t respond,
choosing instead to wait for a definitive answer.

“
All right. I’ll be there.
When?”

“
At six. Or a little
before, so you are there before Ronnie shows up. Here…” Allison dug
in her purse and pulled out her wallet. “You can bring this to me.
That will be your excuse for being there. There’s one other
thing.”

“
What’s that?” he asked
apprehensively.

“
You totally just entered
us in the talent contest a few minutes ago.”

Ben rolled his eyes and
smiled. “Wonderful.”

* * * * *

Five minutes before six,
Ben walked up the driveway of Allison’s home with increasing
trepidation about this plan. He was certain that his presence would
only serve to aggravate Mr. Cross further, but he couldn’t get out
of it now. He had promised Allison and had no choice but to follow
through.

The door swung open before
he could knock. Allison put one finger to her lips to indicate that
he should stay quiet and waved him into the house.

“
I don’t want dad to know
you’re here until Ronnie shows up,” she whispered.

“
That makes sense,” Ben
muttered.

They crept into the living
room and sat together on the comfortable burgundy couch. The living
room, like most of the house, was warmly decorated and very
inviting. Little had changed since Mrs. Cross died eight years ago.
Ben had few memories of her, but remembered her being as expressive
and friendly as her daughter. He wondered how someone like her had
ended up with the man she married. Was Mr. Cross a different man
back then? Was it the death of his wife that transformed him into
the domineering brute he was today?

The doorbell rang, causing
both Allison and Ben to jump.

“
Aren’t you going to get
it?” he asked her when she didn’t move.

“
Nope. I’m
grounded.”

Shivers went down Ben’s
spine as footsteps came tromping from the hallway behind them.
There was a pause when they neared, before they continued quicker
than before.

“
What the hell is he doing
here?” Mr. Cross grumbled as he entered the room and saw
Ben.

“
He brought me my wallet.”
Allison nudged Ben, prompting him to dig it out of his pocket. “I
left it at school today.”

Mr. Cross scowled and
started to say something, but the doorbell interrupted him. Shaking
his head, he marched to the door and threw it open.
“Yes?”

“
Mr. Cross?” A figure
could just barely be seen beyond Allison’s father.

“
Who the hell are
you?”

“
I’m Ronnie Adams. Your
daughter’s boyfriend, sir.”

The door began to shut.
“She’s grounded!”

“
I’m here to talk to you,
sir. About your daughter. Please.”

Mr. Cross stood there in
silence, momentarily unsure how to react. Finally he stepped out of
the way, allowing Ronnie to enter.

Ben hadn’t seen Ronnie
since biology class last year and was unaware how much he had
changed. Ronnie had always been moderately attractive in a grunge
sort of way, but now he had come into his own. The shoulder-length
dreadlocks had been culled, revealing a handsome face with even
features. The concert T-shirts and ratty jeans were gone, replaced
by trendier clothing that fit closer to his body. He had either
been working out or the oversized shirts of yesterday had disguised
his nice pecs and narrow waist.

“
Do you know this person,
Alli?” Mr. Cross demanded as they neared the couch.

“
Yes, he’s the guy you
threw a whisky bottle at,” Allison said.

Ben held his breath,
waiting for an explosion, but instead Mr. Cross apologized
reluctantly to Ronnie.

“
It’s okay. It didn’t do
any damage, sir,” Ronnie said politely.

He was being a bit too
cordial, in Ben’s opinion, but it had gotten him this far, which
was more than he had expected.

“
I can understand why you
were angry,” Ronnie continued. “I should have asked permission to
take your daughter out.”

“
Well, that’s why she’s in
trouble,” Mr. Cross huffed, working himself up. “She won’t be going
out with anyone for some time.”

“
I understand, sir,”
Ronnie responded calmly. “I respect your authority. I just felt I
should come by to apologize and to introduce myself
properly.”

Mr. Cross eyed Ronnie
suspiciously. “You can’t stay. She’s grounded.”

“
That’s fair. I’ll be on
my way then.” Ronnie held out his hand to Mr. Cross, who took it
after a moment’s hesitation. “Maybe once Allison is no longer
grounded, you would allow me to take her out again? This time with
your permission?”