“I don’t care if it is your birthday, I can still tan your hide right here in front of everyone,” Mom told me.
“Yes, ma’am,” I answered sheepishly, which the two clowns thought was hilarious.
“You two are old enough not to torment the poor boy,” she said, turning on them.
Mr. Anderson shot her with the squirt bottle. I had no idea he was so fast or she would have caught me. Tom and I wisely stayed out of it.
“What’re you going to do if there’s a fire?” I asked him.
“What men have been doing since before our time,” he told me.
“This I have to hear.”
“Use this,” he said lifting his beer.
He seemed to have it figured out. He had a cooler next to him. He winked at me, got a beer koozie, and put a nonalcoholic beer in it for me. He had me put cooked hot dogs into buns and then wrap them in foil for when everyone showed up. Mr. Anderson came limping back to help.
I WAS FINALLY FREE to have fun. Cindy and Suzanne were talking to Beth and the four freshman cheerleaders. I ran up, grabbed the first two, and jumped into the pool. I didn’t plan this very well. There were seven of them, and one of me. I saw Jim.
“Jim, go get help!” I yelled.
The pool was soon full of teens having a great time. We had an epic water fight. Girls are sneaky. They would get one to distract me, usually by kissing or flirting with me. Then three of them would gang up on me and dunk me. The other guys were being tricked with the same tactic. I couldn’t believe we kept falling for it.
I think the guys were a little horny after their colossal mistake of breaking up with their girlfriends for the summer. Several couples seemed to be mending fences, but Cassidy still wouldn’t give Jim the time of day. I had made a point to stay far away from her. I was afraid she’d decide to tell her dad she wanted to date me.
EVERYONE WENT TO THE park to watch the fireworks. Mom warned Angie she might want to stay home with Kyle. She told Mom if he fussed, she’d hand him to me. Mom and I looked at each other and just shrugged. I guess some stuff you have to learn the hard way.
At our town, they always shoot off a huge noisemaker firework to signal they’re about to get started. I heard the low ‘whump’ of the first launch. We all turned to Kyle to see what the reaction was going to be. When the boom occurred, he began to whimper. Angie handed him to me. I was sitting cross-legged with him on my lap. I faced him towards where the fireworks were going to go off.
We heard three whumps. He was a little startled, and then the three burst into huge stars. He blinked several times, trying to decide if this was something good or bad. I rubbed his tummy and they started in earnest. He just watched in wonder. It was the coolest thing ever to see it through his eyes. He was reached up, trying to grab them. Mom just shook her head in amazement.
When the grand finale came, he’d had enough. He twisted around and buried his face in my stomach. I picked him up and held him. When it was over, he wanted his mom. Angie just smiled at me and took him. They went home with my parents.
Tami and I had arranged a ride with Suzanne and Jim. We went to the dance. It turned out to be lame, so we decided to call it a night. It had been a full day.
Saturday July 5
MITCH MET ME OUT FRONT and I stretched to run. Once we settled into a pace, he wanted to talk.
“Is Cassidy seeing anyone?” he asked.
I didn’t know how to answer him. I had feelings for her, but I knew Jim wanted her back. Mitch would further complicate things.
“It’s complicated,” I told him. “She just broke up with Jim Ball over something stupid. I think they’ll get back together since they like each other. So to answer your question, technically, no, she isn’t seeing anyone.”
“So I can ask her out,” he stated.
“I guess so. Did you hear what I said, though?” I asked.
“Sure. Jim’s interested, but not willing to close the deal,” he told me.
My head hurt. Jim needed to make a move, or someone else would pick up Cassidy. I offered Mitch a deal.
“Tell you what. Give Jim the weekend to work this out. If come Monday she’s still single, I’ll even give you a recommendation,” I said.
He ran for a few minutes thinking about what I said.
“I could just ask her out,” he said.
“So could I,” I shot back.
“Fair enough. I hope there’re no hard feelings.”
I just shrugged. He at least talked to me. I wondered if this was the only reason he ran with me. I didn’t want to look a gift horse in the mouth. I let him run me ragged.
I GOT HOME AND ATE some poached chicken and fresh tomatoes out of the garden. I then went and lifted with Jim. I couldn’t wait to get my license Monday. I was tired of having to be carted around. When we were done lifting, it was back to the park and the fundraiser. I was put back on parking duty. Today it threatened to rain all day, which caused the turnout to be about half of what it was on the Fourth of July.
At five o’clock, they opened it up to free parking. I went with the guys and we tried all the rides.
I was done by seven and starved. I got Jim to take me home and I promised to feed him. What I didn’t tell him was Tami had picked up Cassidy and they met us at my house. It was awkward while we ate, but I was not facing this on an empty stomach. I led them up to my apartment and sat them down.
“Cassidy, I want you to have an open mind and listen to Jim,” I said, and then turned to Jim. “You now have a chance to tell her how you really feel. If, after you two talk, she says it’s over ... then it’s over.” I looked at both of them. “You two were happiest when you were together. I know you had something special. Jim did something stupid, but he quickly realized what a mistake he’d made. Cassidy, if you can’t find it in your heart to forgive him, we’ll all understand. I just think you two are better together.”
TAMI AND I LEFT THEM alone in my apartment. We went and sat on the back patio and drank iced tea.
“You really care for her, don’t you?” Tami asked.
How she figured that out, I have no idea. There was no point in denying it.
“Yeah, I do, but only as a friend,” I confessed.
“What made you force the issue?”
“Mitch Evans. He wants to ask her out. I got him to agree to hold off until Monday to see if she and Jim could work their issues out. I’ve no idea if Cassidy is even interested in Mitch.”
“Not in him, she isn’t. She has her eyes set on you if Jim doesn’t work out. I think she has since the first day she got here. If you haven’t noticed, she’s grown up a lot since the first of the year. You letting her run the program has given her self-confidence she just bluffed at before. She now has a real inner strength. At the first of the year, she’d never go against her father’s wishes. She can stand up to him now.”
I wasn’t sure how I felt about Cassidy. I turned to Tami and she could read me.
“Stop. I hate it when you start to doubt yourself. You’re better than that. Deep down you know Cassidy isn’t right for you. She’s too needy. She’d want too much of your time. You need someone like Harper right now, someone who has their own thing going on and you complement each other. Peggy comes to mind. She hasn’t been hanging on you all spring and has been just fine.
“Jim is also too good of a friend. If you went after her, it would destroy not only your friendship with him but with Suzanne. It would have far-reaching implications. Probably the worst side effect would be damage to your relationship with Coach Hope. Let the Cassidy idea go,” Tami told me.
Her spelling it out for me helped me see it was for the best. I didn’t like it, but it was for the best.
“Thanks. It had been bothering me. It got worse when Beth slipped her into bed with me. I’ll let it go. Now tell me what to do about football.”