Page 58 of Free Heart
“Ah, it’s a full house,” Sejin says as he crosses around to give me a kiss, and greet Rye and Lowell with hugs.
Jeanie sees him through the window, abandons what’s left of her popcorn, and comes back inside with Julio and a cheerful little dance, hampered by the bulkiness of her puffer coat. I recognize it as one Sejin does while listening to music. I think it’s choreography by a KPop girl group…maybe Red Velvet?
Sejin pats her head and praises her dancing. She clings to his leg, and he rubs at her back before turning to the adults in the room. “What’s the party for?”
“Your man is telling us about his big plans to become a social media influencer,” Rye says with a chuckle.
“That’s not the plan.” I wave Rye’s words away. “The plan is to get people to like me and give me money.”
“I’m not saying it can’t work,” Rye clarifies. “I’m impressed with your determination. It definitely can’t hurt to try.”
I want to show Sejin what I’ve done too, but I decide to do it when we’re alone so he can be more honest. I close up all my stuff and pat the seat beside me.
Rye and Lowell cozy up on the other side of the sectional, and Jeanie asks if we want to see her dance some more. We all agree, so Sejin queues up some songs to play from his phone, sending them to the Bluetooth speaker near the TV.
Jeanie dances. Sejin sings. Lowell and Rye cuddle.
And I feel like I can breathe for the first time in weeks.
Because I have a plan, and it’s a good one.
INTERLUDE 1
Peggy Jo
Peggy Jo shiftssweet-smelling Amelia Rose from one shoulder to the other and clicks on the TikTok link that Dan has sent to her. It opens up on her phone in the Safari browser, and it takes an inordinate amount of effort and finger pokes at the screen to get it to play.
Once it starts, she smiles to see Dan’s familiar face on the screen. A little worse for wear with that new, purple scar along his forehead, but alive and frowning at the camera like always. The view bobbles around as he straightens the phone he’s recording on. It flops over, and he straightens it again.
Peggy Jo pats her grandbaby’s back, waiting for the big burp that’s sure to come after such a heavy feeding from her mama’s breast, and waits.
Sitting back at what appears to be Peggy Jo’s own kitchen table, Dan waves awkwardly.
“Hi. I’m Dan McBride. If you’re watching this, you already know I fell off El Capitan.” He makes a diving motion and then a bigsplatwith his hand. Peggy Jo’s insides go sour.
“Luckily, I didn’t die. Ididbreak my leg.” He motions downward. “And my teeth.” He grins morbidly, but his smile looks okay.
“I had them fixed already,” he explains. “Oh, I have a really cool scar now.” He touches the purple, so livid against his strangely pale face. He hasn’t been out in the sun much since the accident.
“Or, at least, Sejin tells me it’s cool. He’s my boyfriend.” He cocks his head, considers, and goes on, “If you already know I’m Dan McBride, you probably also know I have a boyfriend. Or maybe not. Maybe I’m overestimating you. I mean, it’s possible you have no idea who I am or anything about me at all.”
He clears his throat. “Let’s start over.” He waves again. “Hi, I’m Dan McBride. I’m a climber, I have a boyfriend named Sejin, and I fell off El Capitan trying to free solo Heart Route. And I’m going to do it again.” He grimaces. “Free solo it, I mean. Not fall.”
Peggy Jo grits her teeth. That idiotic, amazingly lucky fool. She’s so proud of him and so angry with him all at once.
Dan shrugs. “Unless Idofall. But let’s not talk about that. It’ll upset my aforementioned boyfriend.”
Nodding firmly, he sits up straight and says directly into the camera, “You heard it here first. I, Dan McBride, am going to free solo Heart Route on El Cap, and this time I’m going to succeed. But first? I have to get this damn leg healed up.”
The video ends just as oddly and abruptly as it began.
Sighing, Peggy Jo reads over the text from Dan again:My new Get Rich Quick scheme: social media influencer. What do you think?
Amelia Rose lets out a long, rattling, disgusting burp that sounds like it came from a big, thick-necked truck driver who’s had a few too many caffeinated sodas to help him stay awake.
“My thoughts exactly,” Peggy Jo agrees with her. “That boy is plumb ridiculous. But we can’t tell him that, now can we, Miss Amelia Rose? He won’t listen. Here’s what you gotta understand, baby girl. Everyone’s gotta wreck their own bicycle. Even if it kills them.”
She kisses Amelia Rose’s soft head. “Hopefully the ones you wreck won’t be so damn big and scary.” She swallows a lump inher throat. “Lord help us. Hopefully he won’t wreck the next one too.”
