Page 20 of Full Circle

“Yeah, stop wasting your time on the likes of Max Daniels,” Wesley ordered. There was a clip to his tone that for a moment sounded like jealousy. The recess of my heart holding onto hope all but died out. Wesley had never had that tone with me before. Did he like Maggie? Was that the problem?

“Oh yeah? And who should I go out with instead?” Maggie countered.

Wesley nodded across the restaurant towards a table where some of the school baseball players were filing in after practice. “Cameron Wyatt,” he said, his voice low.

Maggie and I both turned to crane our heads over our shoulders and give Cameron a once over. He was pretty good-looking, actually, in a nerdy sort of way, with thick, black glasses and dark, curly hair. He was the great-grandson of the school superintendent and tended to lead all the academic clubs. I had overheard him once say that he hoped to attend Harvard University and study law.

In a way, I kind of agreed with Wesley’s assessment. “You could do worse,” I offered with a shrug.

Wesley shook his head. “His parents were high school sweethearts and his father always holds open the door for her anytime they’re out together. They look like two people still lovestruck, which means they’re teaching their son how to properly love someone. Don’t take that for granted.”

Maggie nodded her understanding and turned back around to assess Cameron with far more interest, but I kept my eyes on Wesley. His reasoning intrigued me because it must have taken some intentional observations on his part.

“Are you taking notes or something?” I joked.

Wesley grinned at me, a wicked smirk that made me forget to breathe. “Maybe.”

Suddenly, the door to The Comfy Cushion flew open with a bang and a harried looking aunt Shirley swept inside. Her snow white hair was flattened on one side, no doubt from falling asleep in her armchair like she did most afternoons, and one leg’s pantyhose had rolled down below the hem of her dress.

She scurried over to us with her wicker handbag fluttering at her elbow like a broken wing. “Wesley, your father is on his way! He’ll be in town within the hour!”

Maggie and I both turned to stare at Wesley. My mouth felt dry as I watched his face instantly pale with apprehension. Mr. Madden’s visit couldn’t be a good thing, especially when it was unannounced.

Daddy rounded the corner from his office and headed our way with a smile. He greeted all of the customers as he passed before joining us with his hands on his hips. The smile slowly fell as he took in all of our stricken faces.

“Who’s been summoned to Hell?” he teased.

“Mr. Madden is coming,” I said after a moment. Daddy and Ms. Shirley had tried to talk to Mr. Madden once after Wesley first got in trouble, but he couldn’t be bothered to answer his phone or return their voicemails. They never tried to discuss Wesley’s school antics with him again, but I could tell how little respect Daddy held for him. Family was the most important thing in the world to Daddy.

“You didn’t get in trouble again, did ya?” he asked Wes.

Wesley shook his head.

“Then what the devil is he coming for?” Daddy inquired.

As if on cue, the restaurant door burst open again and Mr. Madden walked in wearing a navy suit perfectly tailored to his body. His eyes were covered by aviator sunglasses, but even from across the dining room I could see the frown lines marring his forehead. He looked more formidable than I remembered, and now that Wesley had told me so much about his old life in Atlanta, I noted the diamond encrusted Rolex, solid gold cufflinks, and Italian leather shoes. Money was power, and Mr. Madden had more than anyone.

“Why did I know I’d find my son here rather than the home I pay you to provide for him?” Mr. Madden snapped at Ms. Shirley.

Her cheeks reddened and Daddy instantly glared. It was unusual to see Daddy frowning at someone, which must have drawn Marla’s attention from behind the counter because she immediately wiped her hands on a towel and came to join us.

“Looks like we’ve got a party goin’ on right here!” she commented in a vain attempt to diffuse the situation.

Wesley nodded once at Mr. Madden. “You found me anyway, Father.”

His dad whipped a cell phone buzzing from his pocket, not even bothering to look up as he replied, “We’re leaving in an hour, Wesley.”

My best friend leapt out from his booth seat as I scrambled to follow, grabbing his bicep to hold him back from doing something he would regret. His anger was another beast entirely and it seemed his father had forgotten or simply didn’t care.

“Like hell I am!” Wesley barked out.

I glanced at Maggie, but she looked as stunned as I felt. We both gaped at Mr. Madden in horror.

Mr. Madden didn’t react. “I’ll wait in the car. Go collect your things,” he ordered without looking up from his phone.

Daddy shared a bewildered glare with Marla and Ms. Shirley, all of them equally as surprised, though I couldn’t tell if it was from Mr. Madden’s indifference or sudden appearance. It was obvious Marla was trying to bite down on the inside of her cheek and I could see a tick in Daddy’s jaw that let me know he was fixing to say something that could get ugly.

“Now wait just a minute here, sir,” Daddy said. “The school year isn’t even over yet. What’s the rush?”

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