The Living Room (9 page)

“Please, Mom. Don’t hassle me. I’m not going behind the stands, and I’m not committing some big sin by wanting to look my best.”

Jeff came into the kitchen from work. His clothes were covered with fine white dust.

“Don’t hug me,” he said to Amy, holding out his right hand. “And will you bring my robe to the laundry room? I don’t want any of this plaster dust in our bedroom. We had to do extensive wall repair in an upstairs bedroom at the Burris house before we could install the window units.” He glanced at Megan. “What’s with all the sparkly green eye shadow?”

Megan spun around and left the kitchen.

“You came in on the end of our conversation.” Amy pointed at the spot their daughter had vacated. “Megan and her friends are ganging up on us about getting all dolled up, and she played the ‘We’re all doing it card.’ I was trying to decide if fighting excessive makeup was a hill I wanted to die on or not.”

“It’s not worth dying. And I have a surprise of my own. I’m going to take Ian to the Pizza Palace after the game. That way I can see what kind of group Megan and her pals hang out with.”

“She’ll be furious.”

Jeff shrugged. “I have a right to be there with my son. We’ll make sure to sit as far away as we can.”

“She’ll think I put you up to it.”

“And I’ll set her straight if that comes up. It’s important for Megan to know that her father cares about what she does, where she goes, and who she’s with.”

“I wish you weren’t covered with plaster dust,” Amy said.

“Why?”

“Because I’d give you the best hug you’ve had in weeks.”

“Can I save it for after I clean up and change clothes?”

“Yes.”

When Bethany’s mother arrived, Amy and Megan walked outside in silence. The side door of the blue minivan opened so Megan could get in. Amy could see that Bethany was wearing more makeup than Megan, and Crystal, a slender, blond-haired girl with a very pale complexion, had slathered such a mismatched variety of colors on her face
that she looked clownish. A stifling cloud of perfume hung heavy inside the vehicle. Amy couldn’t tell if the fragrance was coming from Bethany or Crystal or both. She moved to the driver’s-side window.

“Hey, Barb,” she said to Bethany’s mother. “Thanks so much for taking the girls to the game and out for pizza.”

“You’re welcome,” Barb responded. “I’ll have Megan home around eleven thirty. I’m going to drop the other girls off first.”

“Okay.” Amy lowered her voice to a whisper. “Keep the window cracked. I don’t want you to suffocate.”

Barb rolled her eyes, and Amy glanced in the rear seat one last time. Crystal was turned sideways talking to Megan. An image of Crystal crying and alone with her makeup a mess flashed across Amy’s mind. Barb started to back out of the driveway. Amy took a few steps to keep up with the car.

“Be safe, girls,” she called out. “And stay together!”

Megan gave Amy an exasperated look. Crystal didn’t seem to notice.

After Jeff and Ian left for the game, Amy went upstairs to the writing room. The attic space doubled as her reading and writing spot and private place of prayer. The house was quiet. Amy sat in her chair and watched the Canterbury Lane streetlights wink on. She wanted to relax.

But she couldn’t get her mind off Crystal.

Amy thought about calling the girl’s parents, but what would she tell them? That she had dreams? About the vase of flowers at Natalie’s house? About Noah and the fire truck? She’d never had anything more than a brief conversation with Crystal’s mother and knew nothing about her father. She tried to imagine herself on the phone attempting to explain to Crystal’s mother about the living room.

Amy got up and paced back and forth. Her footsteps caused the thin subfloor to creak and pop. She stared out the window at the darkness descending upon the neighborhood. Leaning her head against the wall, she offered up a silent prayer for help but received no
guiding answer. Finally, she sat down and turned on her computer. Opening a private file where she kept a journal, she typed out a brief prayer for Crystal’s safety. Staring at the words, she doubted their efficacy. But it was all she had the courage to do.

Amy went downstairs, ate a snack, and tried to lose herself in a romantic comedy on TV.

Jeff and Ian were the first to arrive home from the football game. Ian bounded into the house, his cheeks red. Jeff trailed behind him.

“Mom, I caught a real football!”

“Tell me about it.”

“It happened when the other team kicked an extra point after a touchdown. Bobby and me were playing behind the goalposts and stopped to watch. The ball came over the fence, and I caught it. I threw it to one of the men in the white-and-black shirts. He told me I had a nice spiral.”

Jeff nodded. “I was in the stands and saw the whole thing. It was a dandy over-the-shoulder catch. Everybody in the stands was giving me a high five and talking about how good Ian is going to be in the future.”

“How was the Pizza Palace?” Amy asked.

“There were a bunch of people there,” Ian said. “Megan was with her friends, but Dad wouldn’t let me go over to where they were sitting.”

“There must have been twenty kids crowded around a table for ten,” Jeff said.

“Crystal was sitting in a boy’s lap while he messed with her hair,” Ian added. “It was gross.”

“Was she okay?” Amy asked, unable to hide her concern. “Did it look like she’d been crying?”

“Who?” Jeff asked.

“Crystal.”

“Uh, I don’t know.”

“Was she still there when you left?”

“I think so. There was also a boy who was following Megan around like a puppy on a leash.”

“Anybody we know?”

“No.” Jeff shook his head. “But he’s on the junior varsity squad because he was wearing a jersey. They let the boys do that on Friday nights. His number was fifty-four, which means he’s probably a linebacker.”

“Did Megan seem interested in him?”

“I don’t know. You’ll have to ask her.”

“Was she mad when you and Ian showed up?”

“Why would Megan be mad that we went to Pizza Palace?” Ian asked. “I like pizza more than she does.”

“It’s way past your bedtime,” Amy responded. “Take a quick shower, brush your teeth, and put on your pajamas. I’ll be upstairs in ten minutes and expect you to be ready for lights-out.”

Ian ran to the kitchen door, stopped, and looked back at Jeff.

“Thanks for taking me, Dad. It was a blast.”

“You’re welcome,” Jeff replied. “Now, get upstairs.”

“He’ll never forget what happened tonight,” Jeff said as soon as Ian left. “Catching that ball was a thrill. The kicker for Loudon County really had a strong leg. He also kicked a forty-two-yard field goal. That doesn’t happen much at the high school level.”

“And you’re sure Crystal was fine when you left the pizza place?”

“Other than looking and acting like a fool. Did you see how much makeup she had on? I know you were upset with Megan, but there was no comparison between her and the other girls.” Jeff paused. “Why are you so interested in Crystal?”

Amy bit her lip and didn’t answer.

After Ian was tucked into bed, Amy and Jeff waited in the kitchen for Megan to come home. The clock ticked past 11:30 p.m. Jeff yawned for the third time in less than a minute.

“You can go upstairs if you’re tired,” Amy said. “I’m wide awake.”

“Yeah, I’m beat,” he replied. “Are you sure you don’t want me to stay up with you?”

“No, I’ll read a magazine.”

Amy turned the pages of a home decorating magazine Natalie had lent her but couldn’t focus on the words or the pictures.

Midnight passed without Megan returning, and Amy began to worry. She blamed herself for not asking Bethany’s mother for a cell phone number. At 12:05 a.m., the door opened and Megan came dragging in. Her makeup was smudged and her hair slightly disheveled.

“Are you okay?” Amy asked.

“Exhausted,” Megan mumbled. “I’m going to sleep.”

“What about Crystal? Is she at home?”

Megan looked at Amy and rolled her eyes.

“Don’t get me started on that. I have no idea where she is and I don’t care. She ruined our evening.”

“What happened? Where did she go?” Amy asked.

“Not now, Mom. You can interrogate me in the morning, but don’t wake me up. I’m going to sleep till noon.”

Megan stayed true to her promise to sleep away the morning. Jeff had a side job scheduled with Butch and left the house by 8:00 a.m. As soon as Ian woke up, he roared out of the house and into the neighborhood to play. When he returned at lunchtime, Megan still hadn’t made an appearance.

“Mom!” he called out. “I’m starving!”

Amy was folding clothes on the bed in the master bedroom and came downstairs. Ian had pieces of dried brown grass stuck in his dark hair.

“What can I eat?” he asked.

“Start by washing your hands and drinking a big glass of water. You look like you’ve been rolling in a pile of hay.”

Ian washed his hands at the kitchen sink.

“They let Bobby and me—” He stopped. “Is that right?”

“Yes.”

“Bobby and me got to play in the game at the field behind the swimming pool.”

Amy didn’t try to correct the grammatical error caused by the sudden shift in his sentence.