The debate ended.
She would have to make the move that brought their friendship to the next level.
“Sorry, Mom, I’m still full too,” Jimmy said while pushing his plate away from his seat, one which contained enough meat and potatoes to feed a starving family. “I’ll eat it tomorrow for lunch, I promise.”
Kelly Hawthorn gave her two sons a disappointed look, which she enhanced by crossing her arms, and said, “What on earth possessed you two to stuff yourself with Taco Bell so close to dinnertime?”
“It was Alan’s idea,” Jimmy said. “I didn’t want to go but he specifically said we needed to hurry over there before you got home and ruin our appetites.”
“Oh, don’t even start,” Alan playfully warned. “I just asked if you were hungry and you said yes. I didn’t force you to eat four of those cheesy crunch thingies.”
“No, you were too busy stuffing your face with supreme chalupas. Mom, you should have seen him. He stuffed himself so fast that it looked like he was getting ready to shave with the sour cream.”
Kelly shook her head and was about to say something when the phone rang.
“Battle?” Alan asked.
“Um—” Jimmy started.
“Don’t even think about playing that game until you two clean up the pans I slaved over,” Kelly said. She then answered the phone and after a second said, “Sure, one moment. Jimmy, it’s for you.”
“What? Who is it?” Jimmy asked, a puzzled look dominating his face.
“I don’t know, but it sounded like a girl.” She covered the mouthpiece. “Have you been hiding someone from us?”
“No,” Jimmy snapped. He then headed into the family room and picked up the mobile phone from the corner table near the couch. “I got it,” he shouted into the kitchen.
“Say hi to Tina for me!” Alan shouted back.
Jimmy twisted away as his mother asked who Tina was and said, “Hello?”
“Hey Jimmy. It’s Tina. Um… was that Alan?”
“Yeah, he says hi,” Jimmy said, his mind wondering why in the world she was calling. “What’s up?”
Tina put her head back on her pillow and looked up at the ceiling, her mind a spiral of colorful excitement. She was going to the prom. Jimmy had said yes. Of course it had taken some convincing, but he had said yes, and that was all that mattered.
There was a knock on her door.
Her excitement faded. “What?”
“I’m leaving in a few minutes for my knitting group. I expect the mess from dinner to be cleaned up before I get back.”
“Then it would make sense to clean it before you leave,” Tina said.
The door rattled but did not open since Tina had thrown the lock before calling Jimmy. “Tina, open this door.”
“Why?” Tina asked, adrenaline starting to flow.
“Because I’m your mother and I told you to.” She twisted hard on the doorknob.
“Oh, you’re my mother. I didn’t realize that since you were gone for most of my life.”
“Tina, I’m warning you. Open this door right now!”
“Why?”
“Because—”
“Because you hate it when people don’t do what you say, right? Well, when Dad didn’t do what you said you walked away. Seems to me like that would be a good option now as well.”
“This is my house young lady and if you wish to live in it you will respect me.”
“I don’t wish to live in it,” Tina snapped. “And when I turn eighteen next month I’ll leave, and I’ll take all Dad’s money with me. So as far as I’m concerned you can go to your little knitting group and fuck yourself with the needles.”
Tina was surprised with the control her mother showed after that, and a little disappointed, but knew it was more a result of not wanting to keep her knitting friends waiting, not because she felt she had lost the battle.
Whatever the reason, Tina didn’t really give a shit and just counted down the seconds till her mother left. Once she did, Tina allowed her emotions to break free, the thoughts of her father unbearable right now because she knew he would have loved to see her going to the prom. She also knew he would have liked Jimmy a lot, the three of them probably having dinner quite often once the two really got to know each other.
But no. A young lady on a cell phone had made sure that would never happen, her mind too focused on the conversation to see the long line of brake lights ahead of her on Interstate 88.
Tina pressed her t-shirt to her eyes to soak up the moisture, and then went downstairs to make herself some tea. While waiting for the water to boil she did the dishes, which didn’t take long. The difficulty level of the task had never been the reason for her bitterness. Instead it had been the principle of the thing, and the fact that her mother never did the dishes herself.
Finished, and with a large mug of Darjeeling tea in hand, Tina went back up to her room and started to once again think about Jimmy and the prom, concern over their status having wiggled its way into her mind while steeping the tea bag. Were the two still just friends or more than that? Were they a couple? Would the prom be the first date in a long line of wonderful evenings together? Or would their relationship crumble because they were only meant to be friends, and wouldn’t be able to handle the dating scene together?
Answers did not follow the questions, and there was no book she could look in or website she could find that would finish the thoughts. Instead she would just have to wait and see, live life and accept whatever happened. That’s the way the world worked. Nothing would ever change it.
Samantha King’s hands grew itchy as the blood flowing to them slowed. Cramps had developed in the backs of both her legs and now she was sagging forward and biting her teeth together waiting for them to pass. The pain was intense and unrelenting.
The general ache that had developed in her back and shoulder muscles added to the misery, no doubt due to the position she was standing in. It wasn’t natural for someone to have their arms raised upward and their body pulled tight for such a long time, and with each second that passed it grew more and more unbearable.
Her mind conjured the image of Moses from her old Sunday school classes and how he had stood with his arms raised in the air so the Hebrews could win a battle. How had he managed?
Slumped forward as far as the bindings would let her, Samantha stared at the floor. Her mind could not get a grip on the situation and seemed a mess of random thoughts and ideas. Hours had passed with her standing in silence, and every second it seemed like she was slipping closer and closer to hysteria.
Why would Jimmy do this?
It was the only clear thought that repeated itself over and over again, and seemed to be the only hold on reality due to the fact that she had to picture him in a real world setting to try and grasp the reasons behind his actions toward her.
Thinking about him was also a good way to pass the time, though she wondered what exactly she was waiting for. Generally one wanted time to pass quickly because something good was coming at a certain hour and they couldn’t wait for its arrival. With her present situation there was no guarantee of anything good happening, and each second that passed might only be bringing her toward some terrible end. Or even worse — terrible moments of utter humiliation and pain before the end.
Why did Jimmy do this?
Images of Jimmy over the years began to play across her mind like a slide show; Jimmy in grade school, middle school and high school came and went; memories of seeing him at the movies with his parents or at some restaurant; memories of him sitting in a classroom, at a lunch table, in an assembly; memories of him walking the hallways, or the sidewalks, or through the parking lot; memories of him everywhere. What was crazy about the images she saw was the knowledge that in each situation she hadn’t really given him any thought once her mind had put a name to the figure she was seeing, or had any fear of him harming her, yet look at what he had been capable of during that time? It was mind numbing.