Page 26 of Anytime I Want

Here’s the deal—my dad is a good guy. Calm, patient, kind. He was a college athlete back in the day before he met and married my mom. I have four much older brothers that are all successful in their fields, none of which are at all related to athletics. My dad wanted to go all the way in football, but he took a bad hit and wrecked his knee. He wants me to play, finish what he started, but he isn’t that overbearing dad, determined to live out his dreams in me. He thinks it’s what is best for me. I can hardly blame him for that. But also, I don’t love it. I don’t want to wrestle. I don’t want to play football. Being on a competitive team takes all the fun out of it. I don’t know how to explain that to my dad, and I hate disappointing him. Especially since I’ve never tried, and I’ve let him believe that I am a quitter.

“Seriously? Have you been talking to people about this? It’s been brought up a lot.”

My dad gives me a blank look, waiting for me to answer, but despite the faked innocence, I know that he’s been recruiting help. I sigh. “I don’t know, Dad. What if this isn’t what I want?”

“That’s fine, Graham. I’m not trying to make you do something you don’t want to. But I am trying to help. So, if it’s not wrestling or sports, what do you want?”

Julia.I get it. I am sixteen years old. I shouldn’t be all in on the girl next door, but I am. I lose focus easily, but I’ve never lost focus on Julia.

“I don’t know. College? A career in something that excites me? Kids? I’d really like to live here forever, so my kids could grow up with their grandparents.”

“That all sounds great. Why not figure it out while you wrestle?”

I let out a deep sigh. “I’ll think about it. I’m not making any promises.”

“Okay. But think about something. Do something. You’re smart and talented. I know with a little focus, you can do anything. I love you, Graham. Now, your mom was telling me something about Julia. Care to share?” I let a smile spread across my face. This is my kind of conversation.

“First, let me tell you about The List, then you can help me brainstorm.”

Chapter 15

Julia

“Mom, I’m headed out for my run. When I get back, I can help with the gala planning,” I call, putting my earbuds in. I scroll through my music app, finding my workout playlist.

“Okay, thank you and be safe.” I hear my mom say as I walk out the front door. I pause on the front step to stretch. I have a few set routes that I run, and today I know exactly where to go. About a mile down the road outside my neighborhood, there’s a fifty-five plus community. It’s pretty empty around this time of year. Give it a month, the end of October, and it’ll beteeming with people. But until then, I like to run to the little playground in the corner so I can practice singing. It’s out of the way and quiet. The security guard that works the entrance lives on my street and lets me run through without any questions. I’ve wondered if he’s curious where I am headed, but he’s never asked, and I’ve never volunteered.

I wind my way through the cookie-cutter houses, offering waves to the few cute old men watering their grass with a hose. I do a couple laps in the community to get my miles up before I slow down by the playground. I sit on the end of the slide and stretch out my legs, at the same time glancing around to make sure no one is listening. I pull out my phone and scroll until I find a Disney playlist. There is nothing I like singing as well as Disney songs. The songs always bring up so many feelings and emotions. I clear my throat and start out quietly. I slowly build up my confidence, and by the end of the first song, I’m projecting. I run through my playlist, spending the next thirty minutes losing myself in the music. I wish that I had enough courage to sing in front of others, but at least I have this little corner at this playground to let my dreams play out. I finish the last song and take a deep breath. As I turn around to start walking back to my house, I hear some faint applause. There is a cute old lady standing on the sidewalk, leaning against her walker with a small dog next to her.

“That was beautiful!” she gushes. “I loved everything you sang.”

“Oh!” I cover my mouth with my hands, wishing I had skipped my run today. How loud was I singing? Was she there for a long time? Have other people stopped to listen to me sing and I’ve never noticed? I start to unravel but the old woman is standing there, waiting for a response. “Thank you? That’s so nice. How long were you standing there?”

“Not long. My old bones won’t let me stand for too long. But I heard you when I was down the street and knew I needed to come see you. We don’t get too much entertainment like that around here. Do you ever perform?”

“Ha! No.” I shake my head and fold my arms. “I get stage fright. But thank you, sincerely, for the compliment. I’m Julia, by the way.”

“Hello, Julia. I’m Mabel Campos. What's your last name? You know, manners necessitate both names when you introduce yourself.” She holds out her hand and I reach forward and shake it.

“Pritchett. Julia Pritchett.”

“Well, Julia Pritchett, who do you belong to here?”

“Oh, no one here. I like this playground. It’s almost always empty so it’s a great place to sing.”

“I’ve always thought it was silly to have these playgrounds in here. We are all too old for them, and there are much better ones not that far away, but I suppose it’s for the visitors. Besides, if this playground brings you and your singing here, I won’t complain again. You know, they could put hot tubs here instead. Imagine how nice that would be? A hot tub for every couple houses. Dreamy.”

I crinkle my nose, imagining a hot tub full of senior citizens. But I shouldn’t judge; I'm not the target audience.

“Yeah, that sounds…dreamy. Well, it was nice to meet you Miss Mabel. I need to get back home.”

“Wait, don’t leave yet. I want your phone number so I can hear you sing again.”

“Oh. Well. I don’t really do that.”

“Well, start. Every other month, they do a little variety show at the community clubhouse. It was just last weekend, but you can perform in the next one. Come and sing for us. Half of us are hard of hearing, so we’re really the best group to perform for. Ifyou aren’t good—which you are, dearie—no one would know! So, it’s perfect. Let me see if I can find a pen.” She starts patting her pockets, looking around as if a pen will magically appear.I could run away right now. I could find a new playground to sing at.I let out a sigh, knowing I would feel guilty about that for weeks. Although, this is a smaller venue, lower stakes than the high school talent show. Maybe I do this instead.

“Here, Mabel. I can put your number in my phone. Then can I text you? Or should I call you?”

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