wrap and box them this afternoon.”
“Service people ,” said Lynn.
“Get all those gifts for our service people out of the way, you hear me, Gary?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Hi, Gary!”
“Hello, Lynn.”
Where the Christmas tree and the toys for the Eloise kids were every December, Dunlinger had roped off an area and had a sign printed.
GIFTS FOR THE PERSIAN GULF HEROES
YOU BRING THEM HERE.
WE’LL WRAP AND MAIL THEM .
My mother and I were the we.
No one came to Linger, anymore, without something for the box, and those customers who hadn’t known about it tossed in cash.
When Lynn offered to help me carry stuff down, her father said, “Let her wrap some for you, too, Gary. She turns gift wrapping into an art.”
“I’ve got a lunch date, Daddy, or I would.”
“Invite her here to have lunch on me.”
“Maybe it’s not a her, Daddy.”
“You got a boyfriend I don’t know about?” He laughed as though it was a big joke.
I could hear her coming down the stairs behind me.
“Be careful,” I said. “The light isn’t very bright.”
“Your mother’s making me the most beautiful drapes!”
“I heard.”
She put the boxes on the counter with the others. There was a small mountain of them. I figured I could kiss most of my Saturday goodbye. But Dunlinger was paying me double time to do it, and that would give me money for my date that night with Sloan Scott.
Dave Leonard had a date, too. We were all going to see The Silence of the Lambs.
Lynn had on one of those real short skirts, a red one, with a sweater as black as her hair. She seemed to be waiting for me. I could feel her behind me as I was separating the small packages from the large ones.
I turned around, and she said, “I don’t know what to do about Bobby, Gary.”
“What do you mean?”
“I can’t keep writing to him.”
“What do you mean?”
“He’s getting a little more serious each letter.”
I kept saying, “What do you mean?” even though I knew what she meant. It didn’t take any brains to figure out how he could want something to be real that wasn’t, stuck over there in the middle of a war.
“Gary, can I trust you?”
“Yes.”
“I’m in love with Jules and I think he’s in love with me.”
“I figured as much. That night you met him at the movie, I told the guys they were seeing things, but I knew they weren’t.”
“I got off the bus to school and made Gloria go there with me. I knew he was there. He was furious with me for showing up like that, but I can’t help myself sometimes.”
I couldn’t think of anything to say. I could smell her perfume.
“I know he’s a teacher, and he’s older, but he’s not my teacher, and in July he’ll only be six years older than I am.”
“What are you going to do?” I asked her.
“He says we have to wait. He says when I’m eighteen if we still want to date each other, we have to tell Daddy.”
“That’s only five months.”
“I moved into Lingering Shadows just so I can be near him. I can hear him play from up there. He won’t even come up there now.”
“Maybe you should just tell your father.”
“What do you think my father would do, Gary?”
“I think he’ll blow,” I said.
“Exactly. But when I’m eighteen I can do what I want.”
“Like what? Start dating him?”
“I want to marry him. I could marry him.”
“Marry him?”
“You should see your face, Gary.”
“What’s the matter with it?” I knew. It was red. I could feel it. I was acting out what I felt: that I was being burned, even when she’d never paid any attention to me. She meant something to me just the same. She meant a lot.
She was kind enough not to tell me what was the matter with my face. She went on with what she was saying. “He does love me, Gary. When someone loves you, you know. But Daddy is difficult. You know that. It doesn’t help that Jules is opposed to the war, either.”
“Can’t he soft-pedal it a little?”
“I wouldn’t
“Service people ,” said Lynn.
“Get all those gifts for our service people out of the way, you hear me, Gary?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Hi, Gary!”
“Hello, Lynn.”
Where the Christmas tree and the toys for the Eloise kids were every December, Dunlinger had roped off an area and had a sign printed.
GIFTS FOR THE PERSIAN GULF HEROES
YOU BRING THEM HERE.
WE’LL WRAP AND MAIL THEM .
My mother and I were the we.
No one came to Linger, anymore, without something for the box, and those customers who hadn’t known about it tossed in cash.
When Lynn offered to help me carry stuff down, her father said, “Let her wrap some for you, too, Gary. She turns gift wrapping into an art.”
“I’ve got a lunch date, Daddy, or I would.”
“Invite her here to have lunch on me.”
“Maybe it’s not a her, Daddy.”
“You got a boyfriend I don’t know about?” He laughed as though it was a big joke.
I could hear her coming down the stairs behind me.
“Be careful,” I said. “The light isn’t very bright.”
“Your mother’s making me the most beautiful drapes!”
“I heard.”
She put the boxes on the counter with the others. There was a small mountain of them. I figured I could kiss most of my Saturday goodbye. But Dunlinger was paying me double time to do it, and that would give me money for my date that night with Sloan Scott.
Dave Leonard had a date, too. We were all going to see The Silence of the Lambs.
Lynn had on one of those real short skirts, a red one, with a sweater as black as her hair. She seemed to be waiting for me. I could feel her behind me as I was separating the small packages from the large ones.
I turned around, and she said, “I don’t know what to do about Bobby, Gary.”
“What do you mean?”
“I can’t keep writing to him.”
“What do you mean?”
“He’s getting a little more serious each letter.”
I kept saying, “What do you mean?” even though I knew what she meant. It didn’t take any brains to figure out how he could want something to be real that wasn’t, stuck over there in the middle of a war.
“Gary, can I trust you?”
“Yes.”
“I’m in love with Jules and I think he’s in love with me.”
“I figured as much. That night you met him at the movie, I told the guys they were seeing things, but I knew they weren’t.”
“I got off the bus to school and made Gloria go there with me. I knew he was there. He was furious with me for showing up like that, but I can’t help myself sometimes.”
I couldn’t think of anything to say. I could smell her perfume.
“I know he’s a teacher, and he’s older, but he’s not my teacher, and in July he’ll only be six years older than I am.”
“What are you going to do?” I asked her.
“He says we have to wait. He says when I’m eighteen if we still want to date each other, we have to tell Daddy.”
“That’s only five months.”
“I moved into Lingering Shadows just so I can be near him. I can hear him play from up there. He won’t even come up there now.”
“Maybe you should just tell your father.”
“What do you think my father would do, Gary?”
“I think he’ll blow,” I said.
“Exactly. But when I’m eighteen I can do what I want.”
“Like what? Start dating him?”
“I want to marry him. I could marry him.”
“Marry him?”
“You should see your face, Gary.”
“What’s the matter with it?” I knew. It was red. I could feel it. I was acting out what I felt: that I was being burned, even when she’d never paid any attention to me. She meant something to me just the same. She meant a lot.
She was kind enough not to tell me what was the matter with my face. She went on with what she was saying. “He does love me, Gary. When someone loves you, you know. But Daddy is difficult. You know that. It doesn’t help that Jules is opposed to the war, either.”
“Can’t he soft-pedal it a little?”
“I wouldn’t
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