Page 33 of Dreams of Falling
Bitty turned her head to blow out smoke. “I am. My father thinks I should also get a teaching degree so that I can teach art and have a steady income, so I’m thinking about it.” She pointed her cigarette at Boyd and then at Reggie. “What about you two? What are your plans?”
“I’m planning on starting a medical practice in Charleston,” Boyd said, looking a lot less excited about it than he had when he’d first told Ceecee his plans.
Margaret sat up and folded her hands on the table. “You know, Boyd, Dr. Griffith has been our family physician in Georgetown since Mama was a baby, but he’s getting ready to retire. He always planned to have his son take over the practice, but poor Donny got killed in the war. I think you should talk to him. Just in case Charleston isn’t sounding as appealing as it used to.” She winked at Ceecee, who looked down at her lap to hide her blush.
Boyd squeezed her hand. “I might just have to do that, Margaret. Thank you.”
“And you?” Bitty asked, indicating Reggie. “What are you going to do?”
“He’s going to practice law in Charleston,” Margaret said proudly, as if she’d been the one to earn the degree.
“Eventually.” Avoiding looking at Margaret, he continued. “But I’m planning on enlisting in the army first. I can’t sit back and watch what’s going on in Korea without doing my part.”
Margaret went very still, but Reggie kept talking. “I’m a few yearsyounger than this old guy,” he said, elbowing Boyd, “so I didn’t get the chance to serve my country in the last war. I feel I need to earn my stripes somehow, to prove myself before I become a public servant. I’ve got big plans for my future. Very big plans. Which is why I need to do this now.”
Margaret stood suddenly and walked away without a word. Reggie immediately jumped up and followed her, leaving the three of them sitting in stunned silence.
“Well, I guess he hadn’t mentioned that to Margaret before.”
Ceecee grabbed Boyd’s hand with both of hers. “Can you talk to him? Tell him it’s a bad idea?”
Boyd shook his head slowly. “It’s not my place. When I enlisted in ’forty-three, I was just a little bit younger than Reggie is now. I understand how he feels. And I didn’t have a sweetheart at the time, but my mother was pretty upset. She thought I should wait until I was called up, to let it be in God’s hands. But once a man makes up his mind to do something, it’s too late to change it.”
“Don’t say that.” Ceecee pressed her forehead against his shoulder, imagining herself in Margaret’s place.
“They’ll work it out,” Boyd reassured her. “Reggie is a good man—one of the best. He’s smart and ambitious. Our father always said it was like he had two elder sons.” He grinned. “Reggie saved my life once, when we were boys. We used to rent a house on Folly Beach each summer. I went out too far and couldn’t swim back, and he came out and got me even though I was the stronger swimmer. I thought we were both going to drown. So, yes, I trust Reggie to do the right thing—whether or not it’s what we think is the right thing.”
Boyd placed his arm around her shoulders. “We have tonight and almost two weeks together. Let’s enjoy it.” He squeezed her, then let her go before standing up. “You two go find a spot for us to watch the fireworks on the Pavilion. I’ll go find Reggie and Margaret and come find you.”
Ceecee nodded, fighting the feeling of panic at the thought of his leaving her, even for a short while, then acknowledged the nudge of excitement at the thought of his taking over for Dr. Griffith inGeorgetown. Her mother had always told her that if she fixated on something she wanted to happen, it wouldn’t because vanity and joy seeking weren’t things that God rewarded. Instead, Ceecee pushed the thought from her mind and left the table with Bitty to find a good vantage point along the boardwalk.
By the time they’d found places on a bench to watch the evening’s fireworks, Ceecee’s face hurt from so much smiling and laughing throughout the day, and she promised herself that she would never regret one single moment. Nor would she tell her mother about any of it, so that she’d never have shadows encroaching on these memories.
While Bitty held their spots, Ceecee walked along the boardwalk looking for Boyd, knowing his tall form would be easy to find even in the diminishing light. She found herself wearing an idiot grin but couldn’t make her mouth stop. When she spotted him, she ran toward him, relieved to discover that Margaret and Reggie were with him, Margaret’s head resting on Reggie’s shoulder, his arm protectively around her waist.
They watched as the evening sky exploded into bursts of red, white, and blue stars of light, the feeling of excitement and euphoria echoing in Ceecee’s chest. She was on fire with it, with the heat and longing and brightness of it all. And with Boyd, who kept her hand in his for the entire display, and then when the sky had finally grown dark and silent, kissed her. Streaks of light from the fireworks repeated themselves on the insides of her eyelids, and she knew, right then, what it was to be truly happy.
As they walked back to the car, Ceecee and Boyd, Margaret and Reggie, with Bitty and the tip of her lit cigarette leading the way, Ceecee recalled the ribbons they’d placed in the Tree of Dreams, and she smiled to herself.I wish to marry the perfect man—handsome, kind, and with good prospects, and my love for him will be endless.It was only later when she was lying in bed and staring up at the moonlit sky that she remembered she and Margaret had wished for the same thing, and then she laughed out loud.
thirteen
Larkin
2010
A strong breeze followed me into Gabriel’s Heavenly Ice Cream & Soda, slamming the door behind me with a bang. A young girl with thick black braids stood behind the counter, wearing a red Gabriel’s hat with his trademark halo embroidered in gold in the middle. Her matching apron had the name of the shop in the center, and the devil’s forked tail and trident on one strap and a halo on the other. Besides unlimited ice cream, that apron had been the single reason why I’d wanted to work there when I was a teenager.
The girl smiled at me expectantly. I smiled back. “I don’t want anything—I’m looking for Gabriel. Is he in?”
Before she could reply, Gabriel appeared from the back room with a wide grin. “Well, look who’s here.” He turned to the girl. “Erin, would you please get us two small cups with a scoop of vanilla yogurt and granola sprinkles, and bring them to us at the table outside?”
As he held open the front door, which faced the Harborwalk, I asked, “How do you remember everybody’s orders?”
He pointed to his graying head. “Keeps me young. Besides, ice-cream orders are like fingerprints. Each one unique. I can tell everything I need to know about a person by what they order. If it’s lemonsorbet or peanut butter chocolate chip, or a banana split with extra fudge. Everything I need to know,” he said again, pulling out a chair for me before joining me at the table.
I leaned forward. “So, for a young man to order himself a frozen vanilla yogurt with granola sprinkles means what?”
“That he’s trying to impress the girl he’s with by ordering the same thing she ordered. And she’s trying to watch her weight even though it looks to me like it wouldn’t hurt her to gain a few pounds.”
