Face the Music (51 page)

“Were,” I corrected.   

His smile faded.  “Were?  So you’re not together anymore?”

“Nope.”  I really didn’t want to have this conversation.

He continued to look at me, and I could tell he was waiting for me to say more, but I kept my attention on the game.

By the seventh inning, Chicago was up by one run.  Molly couldn’t sit still
,
so Emily took her for a walk around the stadium.  Charlie sat by me and chatted about school.  I gave the appropriate nod or shake of the head and occasionally went out of my way with a one
-
or two
-
word response, but otherwise didn’t participate in the conversation.  He didn’t seem to notice.

“
Auntie Allie!  Auntie Allie!” Molly
and Emily
had returned from their walk and
were coming down the stairs
. 
Chris was behind them, carrying an enormous plush baseball bat.
  I about choked on my gum.

“I am so sorry,” Emily whispered as she squeezed past me to sit down.  “We ran into him, and he bought that for Molly and insisted on carrying it for us.”  She glanced up at him.  “I told him we could get it, but he wouldn’t take no for an answer.”

I looked up and met his dark, penetrating gaze.  He looked good.  Really good, in fact. 
It bothered me.

“H
ello, Allison.” 
There was only one other time he had addressed me by my full
name
.  And he wasn
’t happy with me then, either.

“How are you, Chris?”  I forced a smile.

He looked at Charlie, who was still sitting next to me, and they shook hands as I introduced them.  “Chris, this is Charlie.  Cha
rlie, I’m sure you already know-
”

“Chris Knots!  Nice to meet you, man.  I’m a big
fan.  Allie was just telling me,
” he trailed off and shot me an apologetic glance. 

Chris offered a stiff smile.  “Thanks.”  He then leaned past me to hand the stuffed bat to Molly.  His arm brushed against my ch
eek, ambushing me with his scent.  It
had been a long time since I’d smelled anything that good.  It made my head spin. 

“There you go
,” he said to Molly.  “Be careful with it, okay?  Don’t swing it around inside, you might break something.”

Molly beamed from ear to ear.  “Okay.”

His
face was a marble slate as he looked back and forth between Charlie and me.  “I better get back.  Good to see you, Emily.  Allison.”  He gave me a weak nod.

“Bye,” I whispered.  I wanted so badl
y to follow him up those stairs and
tell him how sorry I was,
but I held strong and remained in my seat.

Charlie was staring at me again.  “What?”
I asked.

“Nothing!” he insisted, shaking his head.  “That was just…interesting, that’s all.” 

The game ended shortly after that, with Chicago keeping their one point lead.

Charlie walked with us down one of the long
,
cement hallway towards the parking lot. “That was fun,” he said.

“Yeah,” I agreed, though only half-heartedly.  I could think of many other ways I’d rather have spent my afternoon.

Emily didn’t miss a beat.  “He’s cute,” she said once we had parted ways.

“
H
e’s okay.” 

“So?”

I looked at her and blinked.  “So, what?” 

She sighed and shook her head.  “Allie!  When will you get a clue?”

“
L
eave me alone,” I whined. 

Her smile fell, and her expression took on a more serious nature. 
“I really am sorry about Chris. 
I had no idea.”

“Don’t be.  There’s nothing to be sorry for.  He sure looks good though, doesn’t he?”  I didn’t know how to feel about that.  At least when he looked bad
,
I knew why.  It almost hurt more to think he’d moved on.

That night
,
I dreamed that Chris and I were at
a
little league game.  We had a son and were in the stands cheering when he hit a homerun.  Chris lifted me up off my feet in a celebratory hug.  We were so happy. 

I woke up early the next morning, elated, but the joy soon faded as I realized it had only been a dream.  I crawled out of bed and went for a vigorous run.

Chapter 27

A month later
,
I was still wallowing in
my
depression.  The dreams and frustrations continued,
and
my mood
sank
lower with each passing day.  It became increasingly difficult to keep up my front of normalcy.  Even Emily
picked up on it, and I hardly saw her for more than a few minutes at a time because of our busy schedules
.

“We
need a vacation,” she complained one night after a long shift.  She was sitting on the couch with her feet propped up, leaning over to inspect her freshly painted toenails. 

I played along.  “Where would
we
go?”

“Vegas,” she said a little too quickly.  “They have really good packages
.  I
t wouldn’t cost that much.  What do you think?”

“Seriously?”  We hadn’t been on a vacation since we were kids.  Mom took us to Disney World once before Grams g
ot sick, but that was it.  “You’d
take Molly to Vegas?”

She shrugged and dipped a cotton swab in a bottle of lemon scented polish remover.  “Why not?  They have lots of fun things for kids.  The hotels have pools.  We could get away and relax for a few days.”  She watched as I thought it over.  “
I
t would be so fun!  We could just escape and not worry about anything.  Come on, we deserve this!”  She pulled the separator out from between her toes and gave me a sympathetic look.  “You deserve this.”

“And how do you suggest we pay?” 

“Aw, s
top being so practical. 
We’ll find a
cheap
flight
, and we’ll eat off a dollar menu if we have to.  As long as we don’t gamble much
,
our only major expense would be the hotel.”

She had a point.  A change o
f scenery sounded really good. 
“Why not?  Let’s do it.  I have a break coming up over the Fourth of July weekend.”

She squealed with delight.  “I’ll plan everything, okay?”

I hesitated about leaving her to make the arrangements- who knew what we’d end up with?  Maybe it would be for the best, though.  Her having a project was the perfect way to keep her off my case, even if it was only for a few weeks.  “
Alright,” I agreed.  “
Let me know if there’s anything I can do.” 

True to her word, Emily took care of the planning.  She showed me the total, and we agreed I’d pay for half.  No one had yet claimed the mystery tuition money, so I’d been able to put some cash away for a rainy day.  Chicago skies were clear, but I’d never felt more gloomy.

That weekend I got an email from Jake:

Hey babe!  Sorry I haven’t called.  I took a bartending job and have been working crazy hours.  Sam’s good.  He’s gone a lot with the tour.  So far he’s stayed out of trouble, but I’m sure he’ll have lots of stories to tell when he gets home.  How have you been?  Any big plans for the Fourth?  Let me k
now what’s up. 

Love ya,

-J

***

Vegas was like nothing I’d eve
r seen before. 
T
he entire terminal was filled with
nervous, bustling passengers, and the sound of s
lot machine
jingles echoed through the halls. 
Excitement was in the air, and despite all that I’d suffered through the last couple of months, I couldn’t help but smile. 

Emily called me on my good spirits.
 
“Told you this would be good!”

We hailed a taxi and rode with our noses pressed up against the glass.  The sights were breathtaking; the prestigious Bellagio, with its water
cannons
, the Colosseum of Caesar’s Palace.  I was in another world.

Emily
had
reserved rooms at Circus Circus.  We walked past the clowns and juggling acts to one of the hotel towers.  Emily slid the key card through the lock of our room and swung the door wide open.  Molly had to pee
so bad
ly
she
was about to wiggle
right
out of her little shoes.

She ran for the toilet, and I grinned, taking it all in.  Th
e room was enormous and bright.  T
here were two king-size beds, a huge plasma TV, and a big Jacuzzi bathtub.  We even had a balcony that overlooked the strip. 

I set my bags on one of the beds and gave Emily a hug.  “Thanks for
this
.” 

It was early afternoon and hot, but not yet time for dinner, so we decided to go check out one of the pools.  Molly wriggled into her bright pink swimsuit and could hardly wait for Emily and me to get ready. 

“Come on,” she whined as I dug through my suitcase.  “Hurry up!”  I couldn’t help but laugh at her, standing on the bed peering down at me with her hands on her hips. 

I pulled out my yellow two-piece
,
but felt self-conscious about putting it on.  I’d never worn a bikini before and wasn’t sure why I had even bought it.  But, it was all I had, so I slipped into the bathroom to change.  It didn’t look bad, and
,
in the e
nd
,
I decided it didn’t matter.  I
t’s not like I’d run into anyone I knew.  I tied my hair up into a tight knot and grabbed my sunglasses. 

Emily stared at me when I came out. 

“What’s wrong?”

She raised her eyebrows.  “Nothing, I’ve just never seen you in anything like that before.” 

“Is it bad?”  I wrapped the towel around my body, covering up.  “I could get a different one.”

“No!” she said quickly.  “Don’t you
dare change.  It looks great
.” 

The pool was mostly emp
ty.  T
here were just a few other people besides the three of us, so we really didn’t have to worry about Molly bothering anyone.  She took off in a sprint.

“Molly!” Emily yelled in a stern voice.  “No running by the pool.  Slow down!”