Page 7 of The Curve
“Don’t worry, Charlotte. I will.”
I hear her walking across a wooden floor and then knocking on a door. “Mallory, someone wants to talk with you.”
After a few seconds the door squeaks open and I hear the cell being passed from mother to daughter. “Hello?”
“Hi, Mallory! It’s Atticus. How you doin’?”
There’s some shuffling or movement happening between them. Charlotte is whispering something to Mallory, but I can’t make it out. So I just start talking.
“Hey, are you coming to the picnic tomorrow? You’ll be my guests, you know? It’s gonna be a blast. We’ll sit together and eat together and there’s games and a drone show and all kinds of fun things. All the players are gonna be there. You’re gonna get sick of me because we’ll spend the whole day together. Sound good?”
I take a breath and cross my fingers. Silence. I jump back in.
“Most of the kids might be shy because they’ve lost a mother or father, but I know they want to have fun and meet some new kids.”
Still silence. I’ve got one more card up my sleeve.
“It’ll be great for your mom too. I know how hard she works. I bet she needs a day to play. What do you think?”
“Yeah. I guess.”
I think that’s the best I’m gonna get. “Okay then! It’s a date. You, me, and your mom. Let me talk to her so we can decide what time we’ll take off.”
There’s no goodbye, but I get it. Poor kid. If I see anyone messing with her, they’ll regret it. I’m not afraid to make a bully cry. I hear Mallory’s door shut.
“Hi,” Charlotte says.
“So, we’re going to a picnic,” I say lightly. “What time do you want me to pick you up? Is twelve good?”
“How did you do that? She agreed to go?”
The surprise in her voice tells me they don’t get out much.
“Yep.”
“Yes. And thank you. You wouldn’t believe how difficult it is getting her to have some fun, be a teenager. This will be good for her. Thank you again.”
“How about you?” I say bringing the conversation back to her.
“What?”
“Do you need some fun too?” I hope.
“Maybe. I guess we both need a day to relax.”
That wasn’t what I meant. But I’ll take what I can get.
Baby steps.
