Page 15 of Champagne & Handcuffs
Before he or his friends could respond, I took Cat’s hand and we walked away.
The movie was awesome.
I mean, the CIA, the ass kicking, the combat. Damn, it was great.
“I wonder what your grandma is making for dinner?” Cat asked as I drove us back to the trailer park.
“Something delicious.” Everything my grandma cooked was delicious.
“Think Joss and Bryce are coming back over?”
I shrugged. “Probably since it’s already passed the time for Cruella to go to work.”
Joss’s mom went to work every day around four. She probably worked at some Truck Stop or an all-night diner. What else could she do when everyone slept? Wasn’t as though she was a janitor who cleaned office buildings at night. Joss did all the cleaning in her trailer, so I assumed her mother didn’t clean.
We pulled up to Grandma’s trailer, and I parked under the carport. When we rounded the corner to walk through the walkway in between Grandma’s trailer and Joss’s, I noticed the door was open, and Cruella was sitting on the couch. She wasn’t at work. Instead, she was smoking a cigarette with a bottle of gin on the table in front of her.
“Don’t think they’re coming.” I motioned to the opened door.
“Poor Joss,” Cat muttered.
I bobbed my head in agreement, and we walked up the two steps to Grandma’s trailer. Immediately, the smell of garlic hit my nose. “Spaghetti,” I sighed with delight. I didn’t know what it was, but Grandma made a mean spaghetti sauce from scratch.
“You kids are just in time. Go wash your hands.”
“Joss comin’?” I asked though I knew the answer.
“Not tonight, Sethie,” she answered, and I sighed again.
I followed Cat down the narrow hall to the one bathroom. Even though the trailer was smaller than my house at home, the bathroom had two sinks. Was that weird? I thought it was weird. Cat went to one sink, and I the other. As we were washing our hands, I took a small handful of water and tossed it at her.
Cat’s mouth dropped open as she looked down at her damp shirt. “You didnotjust do that!”
I grinned. “But I did, Kitty Cat.”
She cupped water in her hand and tossed it at my face. Water trickled from my dark brown hair and into my eyes.
“Oh! It’s on now!”
Cat smiled, and just as water filled both of our hands, I heard the cries from the little boy that would pierce my soul forever.
“Mrs. McKenna! Mrs. McKenna!” Joss screamed.
I could hear Grandma respond as I stepped into the hall. “What is it?”
“Mom took her cigarette and burned Bryce’s hand.”
4
Cat
Eighteen Years Old - Four Years Later
When I returned homefrom Hawaii, I’d gone over to Joss’s trailer to bring her a birthday present, but her entire trailer was empty. When I walked next door to ask Mrs. McKenna what was going on, she was ending a call with Seth. Apparently, Joss and Cruella got into a fight, and Joss took a bus to D.C. to stay with Seth. I didn’t blame her. If I were to run away, I’d go to him too. But Cruella had up and left too, and no one had heard from her.Thatwas weird.
My senior year started off shitty. Since sixth grade, Joss and I had always done our own thing. We didn’t need a group of friends to hang with because we had each other. My senior year, I had no one. I knew a lot of the people, but I had no desire to hang out with them. As the weeks went on, and I found out that Joss really wasn’t coming home, I friended the new girl, Hannah. She slowly became my new best friend.
I’d also got my first boyfriend. It didn’t last. He was more into playing football, and I felt as though he was just like my brother. He even kissed bad. Granted, it was the first time I kissed a boy, but I didn’t think it should be that wet. I wanted a boyfriend who wanted to spend time with me. Someone who would take me to the movies.
