February has Arrived 🖤

 

Grand Betty (She'd never heard her grandkids call her anything else except G.B. lately) was at her wits' end, there was so much horrid news. She didn't even want to watch, but she couldn't help herself from listening in about the nineteen-year-old from Omaha who had taken the two girls from Indiantown, Florida. Of course, she guessed they must have thought it was just a roadtrip. It was someone they knew from a gaming app.

She could see Kat and Chloe getting into something like that. Leave it to Kat, no less. Betty didn't want to think the worst of Kat but she was becoming a teenager fast. And her father and mother had no time for her these days so Betty had to be the one to keep those two in line. She'd never really had any problems with Theo, but he didn't seem to notice anything about his sisters anymore. Too much gaming, she supposed, but there were plenty of boys in the neighborhood who would shoot hoops with him, so maybe he was looking out for them.

Still, she couldn't sleep lately. Her husband told her they were old enough to stay at their house on their own. "Isn't that why their other grandmother got her house in order for them?" He was being his usual Mr. Hard to Get Along Self. She didn't want to think he was a drama queen, but she knew he wanted all her attention. Still, he liked the idea the girls embraced his granddaughter Carrie, and the holidays had been sweet and cozy. Now it was February, and winter was hanging on.

The doorbell rang, and the girls hushed. Kat went to turn the TV down. It was as if no one wanted to go to the door. Of course, Kat was brave enough. It was a teen. Probably someone wanting Theo, but he asked if Kat could come out.

"No. I can't." She was rather adamant, but then Betty was the one who had taught her to keep her ground and not to give in.

Betty sighed. It was cold with an unbearable wind. "Let him in."

"But." Kat's face scrunched with attitude. Still, Betty was certain it must have been Theo's friend. Of course, he was wearing his hair tucked in a beanie and cool-looking shades in this deceptive sunny weather. She didn't know who he was.

Betty went to the kitchen to get a few juice boxes and the popcorn, which had no salt, but the little ones didn't seem to mind. It was better for them to have air-popped corn.

When she got back, there he was, looking all Prince Valiant, sitting next to Kat with his arm around her. Kat gave her a strained look as if this wasn't her fault.

Betty gave him the eye. What was going on? "Who is this?" Betty's dead stare made the boy remove his arm from behind Kat.

"Oh, it's just Gavin from the Youth Center." Kat shrugged. Her solid, straight lip made it seem this was nothing unusual.

Of course, Betty wanted to shout, "GET OUT!" and point him to the door, but she wasn't that kind of grandmother. If Kat had a boyfriend, then Betty would keep a watchful eye. 

"Gavin?" She started her twenty or so questions as if she wanted to know who Kat was seeing.

But he didn't seem to mind. He got up and helped her with the snacks. 

Before Betty knew it, Chloe was asking her, "Can he stay for dinner?"

It's just a simple line, I can still hear it all the time

 

Keegan felt as if all eyes were on him. Like they could see the real guy that he was.

OK, so he was a loner. And he didn't know why he was there. Couldn't a guy go for a walk wherever he wanted? Even at night?

The interrogation was brutal. It was as if he'd done something wrong instead of saving someone from a burning car.

"Was there anyone else?" The question felt like it was on repeat. It was as if they were trying to break him. But Keegan always came back with a furious NO. He had a bad cough now. He coughed into his forearm. His throat was scratchy, and a continuous nose drip with no relief in sight.

"I don't know anything, I swear." He practically blinked tears, but he faced them. Tired and a little shaky.

Finally, someone brought him a bag of fastfood. That was the place the president only ate when he was traveling, which came to Keegan's mind. Imagining the President might have bought this meal for him, but there was no fish sandwich. He wished there had been a fish sandwich.

Keegan kept wondering if they were going to haul him off to some unknown country. Really, he didn't go out anymore. He hadn't even started back to the University. He'd decided if he was going to continue on in economics, it would be online classes from a University back East. He was staying at his grandmother's house. 

Did they know how hard it was to get Internet out here? Yeah, like that didn't matter. Nothing about him mattered. It was just questions about the girl.

He bit into the burger it was soggy and too sweet for his tastes. He couldn't seem to swallow. So he pushed in a few fries to get the thing down.

"When did you first notice the car being there?"

Keegan blew a breath. He thought they'd been through this. "A couple of times. I didn't really want to approach it. I just didn't know if it was a normal thing or not." Keegan said his grandmother had passed and left him the place.

 Now that he thought about it, it wasn't so great being a loner after all. He'd found he didn't like being alone in the dark in the country. But he'd made sure the locks worked. And he rummaged around the house, making sure it was safe.

"I did a good thing, right?" Keegan looked up at the guy who he knew would never be his friend.

"You did well, kid, it's just we're missing one person."

Keegan pressed his lips tight. He was keeping to his story. Damn straight. He slurped on his Pepsi until it was dry.

Just tell me we're OK

 The first thing Darry did after getting the phone call from KC about Junie was to go to the bathroom and throw up. It felt like a kind of relief, but not really. He was so woozy he thought he might passout. He could barely make it back to his bed to sit down and take it all in.

Junie had been found. Numbness set in as he stared at his phone. "You should be there," KC told him.

Of course, Darry responded that he was certain he would be the last person Junie would want to see. Tears welled up as he thought about it. Honestly, he didn't know if he could do it. Suddenly, he found himself texting Jude. He hadn't kept in touch with her. He didn't want to know her, but now it felt like the right thing to do. Why? He didn't really know. Honestly, he didn't know anything.

His eyes closed, thinking of the last time he saw Junie. Of course, she looked nothing like the Junie he knew. It was like she'd become someone else, Jude's doppleganger. He nursed his bottom lip, wondering what he'd done wrong. Where had it all gone wrong?

He'd sensed it, there relationship was destined to have an expiration date. Yeah, from the get-go, he kept wondering when she'd wake up and realize he was just ordinary. Although she'd made him feel he was someone. Now it felt he'd depended on her. He hadn't meant to. He knew she was special, even if she was a bit juvenile. Still, they'd grown up together. Now it felt that it had disappeared. And it made him feel ill.

His phone rang. Darry almost dropped his phone as if a bomb might go off. He felt too weak to even answer it.

"What happened?"

Darry's eyes sprang open. It was Jude. 

"She. She's in the hospital." Darry could barely say above a whisper. 

"Is she OK?"

"I guess." He didn't know much. Nobody really knew. He closed his eyes, thinking he should have found out more from KC. "I don't know."

"Darry, you don't sound so good."

There. She'd said his name. It startled Darry. A tickle got caught in his throat. He thought he might sneeze. He was quiet, as if under her spell. But it might be just the flu.

"Just give me your address, I'll pick you up."

"You don't want to do that." He thought he said, but he didn't. "Sure," Darry said instead. Maybe he'd wake up soon and realize it was all a dream.

Stay genuine, tables will turn.

 

"IBS?" Millie felt an all-time low. It was so generic, the idea that she was bringing all this on herself. Nerves. Was that it?

"I know you don't like the idea of having to quit the caffeine and having more plain meals." KC had all the paperwork to support her diet.

"I live for coffee." She looked straight at him as if she was not giving up the necessity of her life.bb Especially after all those blood tests she'd been through.

She knew what he wanted to say, "At least you aren't pregnant." But he didn't. Although it did make her wonder if birth control was giving her so much trouble. Especially, the headaches.

"I can't stop being stressed." She told him as he went to the kitchen to turn on the kettle while she flopped down on the couch, wondering where she'd gone so wrong. She hugged herself tightly. It had to be more than IBS, she thought. 

"Remember, they want you to keep a food diary to find out what triggers your stomach issues," KC said. Millie rolled her eyes at that.

She then sat up, her elbows wobbling on her knees, and pushed her fingers through her forehead and into her loose hair.

"God, I might as well be a grandma, already," she fussed. "All I'll get to eat is probably boiled chicken and carrots."

"You're supposed to think of smaller meals throughout the day," KC offered as if that would be an excellent option. "Maybe you're not drinking enough water." He reminded her of how she developed a urinary infection when she was on her Dr. Pepper craze.

"Don't remind me, I still want a Dr. Pepper," she whined. Millie got up then to confess, "See why I couldn't go to Nashville? I'd have poop in the middle of a show!" It was embarrassing to admit, but didn't he know already? She went back to the couch and hugged a pillow.

She felt so old, and it hadn't helped her in any of the adulting she was doing.

"Don't give up," KC brought her some tea. He thought she might need to see a new therapist. Even the doctor recommended it. Just then, he got a phone call from his dad.

"Maybe there's news about Junie," he said as he went back to the kitchen to answer the call.