Page 5 of The Cadence

He ordered a lot and when it came, he said it was for both of us. I tried my best to partake so we wouldn’t be wasteful, but I still didn’t have the urge to partake very much. And then after not too long, I started to feel sick.

“Maybe I’ll sit on the couch,” I remarked, and moved away from the table.

I ended up lying on the couch and closing my eyes.

“You did warn me about becoming a country song, and I’m sure there are one or two about whiskey and upset…

oh, I shouldn’t have said that.” I breathed and waited for the sick dizziness to pass.

“I’m usually in perfect health. I barely missed any school, except for one time when they sent me home after first period because I had a high fever. ”

“Why’d you go to class if you were sick?”

“I didn’t want to make my grandma worried. When I came home, she made me a grilled cheese sandwich.” I felt tears start and I tried to sit up, but Will said no.

“Stay there for a while.”

I closed my eyes and heard him moving around a little, and the quiet squeak of a chair.

He was at the desk, I assumed, because he’d always been very hardworking.

It was true that he’d been his class’s valedictorian even though he’d spent so much time playing football, basketball, and baseball.

He’d lettered in everything, all four years.

And how did I know? Because everyone did! He had been a hero, which was why…

Uh oh. “I might throw up,” I had to admit, and then I stumbled into one of the bathrooms that looked just like a beautiful spa.

“Sorry,” I called, and then I was both sick and even sorrier.

I hadn’t meant to puke while I was with Will Bodine.

I rinsed out my mouth and then rested on the tile, which was nice and cool. “I’ll just be a moment.”

He looked through the door. “Jesus Christ. You’re on the floor?”

“I’m very sorry. Probably it was a bad idea to take down a few glasses of whiskey on an empty stomach like you said, and then to eat that cheeseburger…

oh, you better leave.” He did, just in time, and then I rinsed my mouth again.

I would take another moment, I decided, before I went home.

Maybe he’d give me a ride if he wasn’t worried about messing up his rental car.

Too bad we hadn’t come here in mine, because a little puke in there wouldn’t have made much difference.

I finally did pull myself up and left the bathroom, but before I made it to the exit, I had to take a break on the couch. “I’m really sorry,” I apologized again.

“It’s fine.”

I imagined what my grandmother would have said about me drinking and throwing up in a man’s hotel room, and I had to reach for more tissues.

“Calla, please don’t cry.”

“It was a bad idea to leave the house,” I said. “I haven’t for a while, not until today, and I should have stayed there. I’ll go back in a minute.”

“It’s fine,” he repeated, but I also imagined how he really felt about this, if he would have admitted to an emotion like broken-hearted, hopeful, or repulsed.

Probably the last one fit the bill the best for this moment.

I felt repulsed by myself and also sure that my grandmother would have been very disappointed.

I hadn’t even washed the floors in her house yet.

I thought of myself there alone, without her…

“Calla.”

I opened my eyes and saw Will Bodine looming above me.

His short, dark hair was wet and sleek, like a mink, and he was wearing a blue shirt instead of the grey one with the black tie that he’d had on before.

My mind worked slowly but it still didn’t take me long to figure out that it was morning, and that I’d spent the night on his couch.

“Hi, Will,” I said.

“I have to go get on a plane. You’re welcome to stay until checkout time.”

“No, that’s ok. I’ll get going, too.” I stretched and pushed some tangled auburn waves away from my face. “Are you heading home?”

“First to Dallas, then to LA. After that I’ll be in Michigan for team meetings.”

“Wow, you really are busy.” I sat up and my head didn’t feel great, but I could handle it. “Do you have a minute before you have to leave?”

He did, so I went back to the bathroom but my stomach kept calm this time. I washed my face, rinsed out my mouth, and tried to tie my hair into a knot, but it was too slippery to hold for long. I straightened my clothes, which didn’t help much, but that was the best I was going to get.

Will was standing at the door to the hallway, a bag over each shoulder, when I came out. “Sorry,” I apologized, and hurried to put on my shoes. “You didn’t actually have to wait.”

“I thought you might want to wear this,” he said, and held out his hand to me. He was offering a t-shirt with the name of an energy bar company printed on each of the long sleeves. “I met with them in Nashville before I came here.”

“I guess more coverage would be good. I am pretty sloppy,” I agreed. I pulled it over my head, totally dislodging the knot of my hair. The shirt reached down to the frayed edges of my jean shorts. “Thank you.”

“Sure.Let’s go.”

It turned out that he also had time to drive me home, which was very nice because I was aware that the bus schedule would be different today, Sunday, and it would have taken me a while to get there.

His car was even ready for us in front of the hotel when we came down, after I followed Will through the lobby.

He moved just as he had the night before, with his eyes focused ahead and speeding in a way that didn’t allow for interruption or distraction.

We were on our way equally fast. I turned to look behind us, wishing I’d felt good enough to eat more of the room service and that I’d stayed awake longer in order to enjoy being there. This was the last time I would see Will, too, and I’d managed to sleep through most of it.

“What are you going to do now?” he suddenly asked me.

“If I hurry, I can still make the ten-thirty Mass,” I said, but sighed. I would have to see all the people from yesterday, and I dreaded it but also knew that I shouldn’t feel that way.

“I meant beyond today. For your future,” he explained.

“I have some time until I’m out of the house. There’s a lot to pack up,” I answered. “I’ll have to find somewhere new to go.”

“Do you have any money?” He shook his head. “You said that your finances aren’t my business.”

“That’s ok. I think that you’re asking out of concern, not to make me feel dumb.”

“Why would I make you feel dumb?”

“You don’t,” I said. “Anyway, I can work for my money. I want to rent a place big enough to keep some of my grandma’s furniture. She also worked so hard to get it and she kept it up so well.”

Will reached into the back seat and fumbled for a moment in one of his bags. He removed another box of tissues. “Keep it,” he instructed, after I’d taken a few.

“Thanks. My plans sound a little vague and I know that some of the ladies from church are worried about that, but I’ll be ok.”

“Can you stay with one of them?”

“No, they’re all on fixed incomes. I couldn’t—oh, turn here,” I directed. “There’s a huge pothole if you go the other way.”

This car cornered very nicely and we made it even with my last-second directions. He didn’t ask about either my money or my future plans as we completed the rest of the short trip and he stopped at the curb.

“Thank you for everything, for the tissues and the room service, and mostly for showing up. Twice,” I said. “I’m sorry I got sick last night.”

He nodded. “That’s ok. Are you going to eat more today?”

“I have a lot of leftovers, even after I filled containers for everyone. I think I want to sleep for a while longer, too.” I yawned. “I haven’t been doing too much of that. I hope you have a good time in Dallas.”

“What? Oh, sure. I’m going for business, not fun.”

“Oh, sure,” I echoed. “Well, I hope that your business is a success. Bye.” I got out, but Will did also and walked up to the house with me. “Did you want your shirt back?” I wondered.

“No, that’s all right.” He was frowning hard at my front door. “She was really proud of this place. She was always cleaning and gardening when I used to come over here.”

“I know that I’ve been letting it slide.

I’m definitely going to wash the floors today,” I promised.

“I’ll come out here and weed, too. Maybe it’s stupid but I feel funny letting someone else take it when it looks so bad, because they won’t know how hard she used to work and how much she loved it.

They won’t appreciate it like she used to.

Holy Moses.” I took another tissue and then unlocked the door, and I turned to look at him before I went in.

“Goodbye, Will,” I said. “Thanks again.”

“Bye.” He swiveled and walked back to his car, fast and purposeful.

I stood and watched as he drove off, taking the good route to avoid the pothole, and disappearing back into his exciting life of travel and business and football.

He was gone, and I wouldn’t see him again.

I sat in my grandma’s rocking chair and got lost in thought.

I had plenty to keep me busy, though, over the next few weeks.

May warmed into June as I prepared the house by packing, cleaning, and weeding.

I also looked hard for a new place to live and tried to figure out how I could keep my grandma’s belongings.

It was difficult to let go of anything but I knew that I had to, so I put some up for sale and also gave some away.

I tried to fix stuff, too, like the closet door that had been sticking in her bedroom and the bathroom faucet that had begun to slowly drip.

“You don’t need to worry about that, Bug,” Miss Mozella told me when she heard about my attempts.