It was 7:00 PM on the Monday after my father got
himself arrested – at a vigil to protest violence, of all things. He met with his lawyer this morning to
discuss the status of the custody case, but he wouldn’t say how the meeting
went. I was just getting started on my
math homework when my cell phone rang. I
looked at the screen to see if it was Liz or anyone else I wanted to talk
to. It was just a number – not anyone on
my contact list. Nevertheless, the
number looked sort of familiar.
Answering would at least be a momentary distraction from doing my
homework.
“Hello,” I said.
“Hello, Sylvia?”
Where had I heard that voice before? A boy.
Maybe that Neanderthal, Terry Morrison pranking me? “Uh, I’m sorry. I think you have the wrong number.” I got ready to hang up.
“Wait! Isn’t
this Sylvia Barrett? The high school teacher?”
Then I recognized the voice. “Jeff?”
“Yeah, it’s me, Jeff Radakovic. Thanks for not hanging up.”
“Sure. You
had me puzzled for a moment. What’s up?”
“Well, I have some news, and thought you might
appreciate it. I told some of my
teammates, and their reaction was, well . . . they sort of accused me of being
a dork.”
“I can’t imagine they’d say that about the best
player on their team.”
“That’s hardly me.
I’ve just been lucky our last few games.”
“So what’s your news?”
“Remember, after the game, I uh, told you I was
going to try out for our high school musical?”
“Sure, Jeff.
West Side Story, right?”
“Yeah, good memory Jennifer. Anyway, I got picked for a part. I mean, that’s my news.”
I smiled. I
had thought he was such a cool jock. But
he sounded kind of shy and awkward on the other end of the phone. “What part did you get? Tony?”
Jeff laughed.
“No. You’ve obviously never heard
me sing. And this is my first venture on
the stage. I mean, I can carry a tune,
but the big parts went to guys that have been doing this kind of thing for a
while.”
“Officer Krupke?” I giggled.
Jeff laughed.
“Actually, that’s a pretty big part, but no.”
I thought of his curly blond hair. “Then you’ve got to be a Jet, right?”
“Yeah. They
cast me as Action. I watched the movie
over the weekend. Action actually gets
to sing a little on the Officer Krupke song.”
“Jeff, that’s great.
When will you guys be performing?”
“Late April.
I’m not sure of the dates yet.
Will you come to see it?”
“I’d love to – if I can.” I told him about the custody fight with
mom. “So I’m not sure where I’ll be in
late April.”
“What about early March? Like the 11th?”
“Uh, I’m a little confused, Jeff. What about March 11th?”
“Um, I’m not doing this very well. So let me just straightaway ask. Would you consider going to TJ’s Spring
Semi-Formal with me? It’s a Saturday
night.”
“Jeff. Are
you asking me out on a date?”
“Yeah, I mean, sort of – just as a friend. I mean, I’m not dating anyone and I wasn’t
sure I was even going to go, but then I thought of you, and we could just go as
friends. Uh, I’m sorry. Maybe you’re dating someone. Are you?”
I was glad he couldn’t see me blush. No Jeff, I’m not dating anyone. And as far as the Semi-formal, I’d love to go
– but I can’t give you a guarantee that I’ll be able. I might be stranded out in Sewickley. So maybe you should ask another, uh, friend.”
“No, that’s okay.
Maybe I can get my dad to let me drive to Sewickley to pick you up.”
“That’s a pretty long drive, Jeff.
“Yeah, well, maybe I can convince one of them to
drive out to get you. Or maybe meet you
halfway. I’ll bet we can work something
out.”
“I’ll look forward to it.” Just then a thought
occurred to me. Uh, speaking of forward,
as in being a bit forward, Bethel is having its dance this coming
Saturday. I wasn’t going to go, but . .
..”
“Sure, Jennifer.
I’m not doing anything this Saturday.
I wouldn’t need a tuxedo or anything, would I?”
“No, it’s semi-formal. I mean, it’s called The Sweetheart Dance, but
we’d just be going as friends, right?” I
felt my heart quicken. Calm down, Jennifer. This is crazy! “I apologize for the short notice. You sure you don’t have a game or something?”
“Nope. Our
games are mostly Tuesdays and Fridays.”
He sounded more relaxed. “So I
heard that your dad was on TV.”
“That’s right,” I said, happy to move on to a less
stressful subject. “He got arrested, but
no charges were filed.”
“He was supporting a good cause. At least that’s what I think. I mean, I go deer hunting with my dad, but I
can’t believe people can so easily get their hands on guns designed to massacre
people. That’s just plain nuts.”
“I agree. My
dad’s decided to get more active in that group that organized the vigil.”
“Good for him.
You know, my aunt from Seattle was in town last week. She was a little disappointed that your
father didn’t show up at my game.
Apparently, she wrote a letter inviting him to come. But she said that his decision to go to that
vigil was the right choice.”
“What? She
sent him another letter?”
“Yeah, she said he should have gotten it like a week
before my game.”
“That’s funny.
He never mentioned it to me. Not
that he’d have to tell me about it, but given the mystery of the first letter,
it seems odd that he would have gotten another and not mentioned it to me. Is she still at your house?”
“No, she rented a car and drove to Cleveland where
her son lives. He’s a doctor. She’s there for a few days and then back to
Seattle.”
“Hmm. Well,
I’ll mention this to my father and let you know what he says.”
“Well, I’d better go. I haven’t started my homework yet.”
“I was just starting mine. Thank you for calling, Jeff. I really enjoyed talking with you.”
“Yeah, me too.
I guess I’ll see you Saturday evening.
A suit’s good then?”
“A suit or a sport coat. I’ll text you my address. The dance starts at seven.”
“I’ll pick you up around 6:30. Goodnight, Jennifer.”
“Goodnight, Jeff.
I ended the call, stood up, did a triple twirl and flopped onto my bed
smiling at the ceiling. After a few seconds, I leaped up, grabbed my phone and
hit the speed dial for Liz.
“Liz? Guess
who’s going to the Sweetheart Dance?”
“Jen. That’s
great! Petey finally got up the nerve to
ask you.”
“Petey who?
I’m going with the star basketball player from Thomas Jefferson!”
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