Inevitable, page 2
Though the clouds looked ready to burst, the rain never came. They lowered the casket into the ground, the assembled grievers began to disperse, and Nathan and Sasha walked alone along one of the smooth dirt paths between long rows of tall poplar trees. They didn’t say anything for a while, but he took her arm and they always seemed to just miss each other’s inquiring glances.
“So what are you going to do?” Sasha asked at last.
“Exactly what I have to,” he sighed, looking up at the sky.
“Oh, that’s such a relief! I was worried you’d do something impulsive,” she said, shaking her head and putting her other hand on his arm.
“I should be able to bring the rest of my stuff back from college before the week is out, and then hopefully it won’t be too hard to find a job.”
Sasha stopped suddenly and turned to him. She narrowed her eyes a bit, searching his troubled face.
“I thought you meant you’d be staying at school! I know this is a terrible tragedy, but you have to consider your future. Please just think about it for a couple of weeks, keep going to classes and see how you feel then.”
Clenching his jaw, he tried to steel himself against her gaze. She had been able to goad him into doing a lot during their time together, but he wouldn’t cave on this.
“You don’t understand.” Nathan shook his head and looked away from Sasha. “My sister and my grandmother can’t take care of themselves. I don’t have a choice. You know what they say, life happens. Maybe when I’m a little older and things are more stable I can start taking classes again. Who knows, maybe between now and then I’ll somehow get smarter and they won’t seem so hard.”
“I know they don’t have a lot of money, but there are services for people like them,” Sasha countered.
“People like them?” Nathan objected, making Sasha wince. “They’re my family!”
“I misspoke,” Sasha covered. “Sorry, I didn’t mean that. I understand where you’re coming from. Look, I’m not fighting with you here. I just want what’s best for you.”
Furrowing her brow, she tried to express her sympathy. She stood on her tiptoes and wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his chest and murmuring apologies. He kissed the top of her head, trying to find solace in the arms of his girlfriend. As he held her, he felt a raindrop strike the back of his neck.
*
Nathan and Sasha barely made it back to the funeral home before the deluge started. Heavy rain beat against the pavement, and rivulets collected into small pools. The pair huddled in the doorway, refreshed after their speedy retreat. Glancing around, they spotted Gladys speaking to the last few remaining guests. Through the doorway they saw Cammie’s legs stretched out against the ground. The rain couldn’t mask the sound of her weeping.
Biting her lip, Sasha took hold of Nathan’s jacket to get his attention.
“I’m sorry I can’t stay, but I really have to get back to school. There’s a test coming up and all this stuff with a—”
“It’s fine.” Nathan stopped her, and she leaned in to brush her cheek against his before letting their lips graze. In another moment, she was hightailing it through the rain and ducking into a blue coupe.
The glow of her break lights upon him, Nathan turned to his sister. Cammie was crying against the wall in the room where her mother’s body had been, and she held the pair of black flats she’d worn through the funeral.
She glanced at Nathan meekly as he kneeled down beside her. He ran his soft hand over her hair and brought it to her opposite shoulder, pulling her in. Her head against his stomach, she choked up and sputtered.
“Mom bought me these shoes,” she said.
“Everything’s going to be ok. I promise. So you can just let it all out because we’re going to find a way to make this work. She’ll be proud of us, just you wait and see.”
Their embrace lasted for a few moments until Nathan began to glance around at their depressing environment.
“Come on, why don’t we get out of here?” Nathan suggested. “Let’s go out and grab some food together, just the two of us. This’ll be our chance to celebrate Mom.”
Cammie pulled away and saw him smiling. It was hard to see anything other than kindness and compassion in his dimply cheeks and light brown eyes. He looked handsome, like the kind of guy you know could keep a secret, but even that wasn’t enough to cut through Cammie’s irritability.
“Going out for dinner? Sounds amazing,” she groaned sarcastically. “So basically to celebrate Mom we’re just not going to cook? That sounds to me like a celebration of laziness.”
Chuckling, Nathan shook his head and lifted Cammie onto her feet.
“Maybe so, but I don’t mind celebrating that either. It’ll be fun. Trust me,” he grinned as she put her shoes back on. Entering the main room, Nathan guided Cammie toward Gladys and the remaining guests.
“Is it ok if we head out for a while?” Nathan asked. “She’s having a bit of a hard time.”
“I am not having a hard time,” Cammie scowled. Gladys broached a heavy-hearted smile.
“We’ve spent enough time together today and there’ll be plenty more tomorrow. I’ll meet you back at the house later,” she agreed. “But in the meantime don’t forget I love you.”
They gave her hugs and turned for the door, just a thin sheet of glass separating them from the hard rain pounding the pavement on the other side.
“Let me find an umbrella,” Nathan offered, glancing around, but Cammie went right for the door.
“What does it matter?” She stepped out in the drenching rain, leaving Nathan to shrug and shake his head. Helping her forget about her grief, even for a moment, would not be an easy task. Exhaling, he ducked outside behind her, following Cammie as she stalked toward his rusty red pickup truck.
By the time they slid onto the vehicle’s faded gray seats, they were soaked from head to toe. Nathan’s clothes made squishing noises when he put the car in gear and began to back up, and Cammie’s dress clung to her moist skin.
“Where are we going anyway?” Cammie asked, rubbing her arm against the foggy window beside her.
Nathan didn’t answer, and a strange sort of silence filled the space between the streaking of the windshield wipers. Glancing over at his lethargic sister, Nathan sat up in his seat. He had to take care of her now, make the decisions. Cammie had a good head on her shoulders, but she’d still have a lot to learn.
They pulled into Friendly’s, a restaurant they always used to go to when they were younger. The place hadn’t changed much since then, threading its appeal with some of the nostalgia the newer, trendier restaurants couldn’t match.
Nathan ordered a burger, Cammie ordered a sandwich, and then they both settled into the silence that pervaded the room where they’d been seated. It wouldn’t have been any trouble to hear a pin drop. Nathan peeked over his shoulder and grabbed a piece of coloring paper from the table behind them. Flipping it over, he used the crayons near the menus to start a sketch.
“What are you drawing?” Cammie asked, hardly any emotion in her voice. Nathan scrawled on the paper for a few more moments before presenting his masterpiece.
“It’s Mom haunting people who don’t wash their hands after they go to the bathroom,” he smirked, raising an eyebrow at his sister. “She always used to hate that. Maybe she’d go after people who dropped their gum on the sidewalk too.”
But even making a few ghost-like sounds wasn’t enough to rouse the slightest smile.
“That’s not funny.” Cammie crossed her arms and maintained her glum expression. Nathan tapped his fingers against his cheek, looking around for another way to try and amuse her, but their food came a moment later.
“So are you really going to drop out of school?” she asked him, munching on a French fry.
Cringing, Nathan swallowed another bite of his burger. It seemed to take a lot of effort to force it down.
“It’s not that big a deal. I’ll apply for a deferral and college will come a few years down the road. Who knows, maybe we’ll be in some of the same classes together,” he teased.
“There’s no way I’ll be going to state college,” she objected.
“Yeah, I can’t blame you. The temptation to cheat off me would be too great.”
He searched her face for a hint of a grin, but she could’ve been a doll for how stoic she kept herself.
“You probably won’t get to play soccer since you’ll be older,” she noted.
“You never know, maybe I’ll somehow get better. Hey, are you going to eat any of that?”
Cammie’s sandwich had two bites in it. Sulking, she shook her head.
“Ok, I know what the problem is here!” he bellowed, nodding resolutely. He called to a server, who came right over. “We’re going to need a couple of ice cream sundaes.”
“I don’t think that’s going to fix anything,” Cammie panned after the server left.
“Now you just listen to me, young lady!” he scolded, exercising his newfound authority. “I’m the adult here and I know the perfect cure for the blues. It’s cold, creamy, and full of sugar. So I don’t want to hear any more back talk or I’m grounding you for a week!”
“You can’t do that,” she corrected.
Pretending to fume, Nathan glared at his sister until the server brought their ice cream. They each received a tall cup full of delicious-looking chocolate and vanilla scoops coated in chocolate syrup, whipped cream, and topped with a cherry.
For a second, Cammie seemed to snap out of her daze and show some interest. Her fingers snuck over to the spoon at her side.
“I’m sorry, but there’s something wrong here,” Nathan grimaced, making the server jerk back. Cammie shot him an inquisitive look.
“What is it?” the server asked, quickly inspecting the ice cream he’d delivered. Nathan threw up his hands, appearing completely dissatisfied.
“There’s not nearly enough ice cream here!” he declared. “Here’s what we’re going to need, a couple more sundaes, a few banana splits, several milkshakes of all different flavors. I want so much ice cream that we won’t be able to sleep for a week! A couple cartons—”
“Are you out of your mind?” Cammie marveled, an awe-struck expression forming on her face. Nathan had been speaking loud and the other diners were catching wind of the commotion.
“I’ll be getting my tuition refund check soon. Better make good use of it,” he shrugged before turning back to the server. “I want a few bottles of whipped cream, a bowl of sprinkles here, a bowl of chocolate chips here, a bowl of nuts—”
“No nuts!” Cammie interjected.
“No nuts! And a bowl of cherries. Finally, we’re going to need some hot fudge. And so help me, if that fudge cools down, I will throw a fit like you wouldn’t believe!”
Taking a deep breath, Nathan concluded his order. The server, his eyes wide, face pale, and a little drool dribbling from his mouth, nodded meekly. He whisked himself away, leaving Nathan and Cammie to bask in the glow of the astonished diners around them. Nathan dipped his spoon into the sundae in front of him, scooping out a big chunk and sliding it into his mouth.
“Mmm, it’s like I’m eating my education!”
“You’re insane, you know that?” Cammie laughed. She started to giggle despite herself, resting her head against her hand and leaning to the side.
It seemed like it took the entire restaurant staff to bring out their order. Soon ice cream covered not only their table but the empty ones in front and behind them too.
“This is the most incredible thing I’ve ever seen,” Cammie squealed. “But we’re never going to be able to eat it all.”
“You’re right about that,” Nathan agreed, taking note of some of the envious stares around him. He stood up and approached the other tables, telling the elderly couples they were welcome to partake of the ice cream buffet happening at their table. He made the same offer to the small family, and the five-year-old boy practically leapt from his seat and ran over. His parents reluctantly followed, offering their thanks.
Finally, Nathan visited the solitary man by the window. He appeared homeless, like he had finished his meal and had nowhere else to go.
“Can I interest you in some ice cream?” Nathan asked, smiling.
“Are you sure?” the man asked, even though the entire rest of the dining room had lined up for it.
“It’d be my pleasure,” Nathan coaxed, gesturing for him to come over.
“That’s mighty kind of you.” The man nodded, climbing out of his chair and following Nathan for the buffet. Soon everyone had a heaping bowl of ice cream with whatever toppings they liked. Nathan stood next to his sister, his arm around her. He raised his bowl to make a toast and everyone followed suit.
“To Mom,” he said, and everyone echoed him.
*
“Mom would’ve liked that,” Cammie confessed once they had climbed into the truck.
“I think so too,” Nathan agreed. “All except for how much ice cream we ate.”
“Yeah, I think I’ve had enough for the rest of my life.”
The windshield wipers streaked across the glass. The blurry glare of streetlights, business signs, and cars stretched across the road. Cammie sighed.
“It’s not going to be easy for you to come back home,” she said.
“I know. Things might not be easy for any of us for a while,” Nathan concluded, turning onto another street. “But you might be surprised how often things work out for the best. This wasn’t something we asked for, but it might be right for us all the same.”
“I suppose so,” Cammie mumbled.
“I’ll have to start looking for a job,” he noted.
Cammie, shifting in her seat, turned to face him. She had something serious to say, and she reached out to touch him, but she restrained herself.
“There is one easy thing you could do to make things better.”
“And what’s that?” Nathan asked.
“Break up with Sasha,” Cammie pleaded.
“What? You’ve got to be kidding me,” Nathan groaned, becoming defensive. He shook his head. “For the last time, I’m not going to break up with her. We’ve come a long way, and Sasha’s an important part of my life.”
Cammie nervously shook her head, her breath becoming short.
“No, you don’t understand. Please just listen. I’m telling you, as important as she is to you, you are not that important to her. How can I put this in a nice way? She’s a soul-destroying demon who wants to rip out your heart and grind it through a cheese grater. There’s no way it’s going to end well.”
Chuckling, Nathan had no trouble shrugging off her remarks.
“You can call Sasha whatever names you want, but that’s not an argument against how she treats me. I’m happy when I’m around her, like it’s always my birthday. She was sweet to make the trip over today even though she’s got a busy schedule, and there’s no reason for me to see it ever ending.”
Cammie groaned as though she’d had a wooden stake driven into her heart.
“I don’t think she even wanted to come today,” Cammie pressed. “She sure left as soon as possible afterward. You want an argument against her behavior? When you called her to let her know that Mom died, how long did you talk for?”
“I don’t know,” Nathan said as they came to a stoplight. “I wasn’t keeping track. She had a lot of important stuff to do anyway. It was probably about fifteen minutes.”
“Fifteen minutes?” Cammie gasped, writhing in her seat. “In fifteen minutes, I can’t even tell you what I had for breakfast! Come on, you have to see what I’m saying here.”
“All I can see is that you’ve hated her from the beginning. I’ll make a deal with you though. Tell me if this sounds fair. Since you don’t like her so much, you don’t have to go out with her.”
The honk of a horn behind them brought Nathan’s attention back to the light, which had changed to green. Just as he put his foot on the gas, a car came tearing through the intersection, nearly hitting them.
“Oh my god!” Cammie yelped. Once it was well clear of sight, Nathan carefully passed through the intersection.
“That was weird,” he noted in shock.
They came to their home, a modest two-story house that had a small porch and new siding. Unlike some of the others on the street, it didn’t have a garage, and so Nathan parked near the side of the house in a spot next to his mother’s old Volvo.
“Well, good night, I guess,” Nathan said to his sister as they entered the dark house and he prepared to head up to his old room, which would be his once again. “If you ever need to talk about anything, just let me know.”
“Talk? I feel like doing something. I’m never going to be able to sleep anyway. Between the ice cream and almost getting into a car crash, I think I’ll be up for a while.”
Flipping on a light in their living room, Cammie kneeled beside a cabinet, popping it open and rifling through the boxes inside. She removed her favorite game, Monopoly, which she tossed onto the coffee table in front of the plush green couch. Nathan opened the box and pulled out the board, setting up the pieces and cards and removing the dice from their small plastic bag.
“I want to be the dog,” Cammie said, snatching the piece and setting it on the “Go” square.
Nathan chose the car. Beside them, the stacks of monopoly money in all different colors caught his eye. So much of their problems now revolved around money, and those big bills seemed to mock him and remind him of the troubles he had fallen hopelessly into.
“If only real life were Monopoly,” he grimaced, thumbing through the bills. More than a little dejected, he watched Cammie roll the dice and move her dog nine squares. When it was his turn, Nathan carelessly tossed the dice out onto the board, where they rolled and skipped, finally landing one on top of the other.
“Ha, I bet you couldn’t do that again if you tried!” Cammie laughed. He moved his piece five squares and bought the railroad. Cammie went, rolling a seven and buying a piece of property.
