“I’m not a villain,” Charlie grumbled, throwing his coffee mug into the sink a little too hard. He turned to my cousin for confirmation, “Right?”
“Leave me outta this, Dad,” Matt snapped the lid on a piece of Tupperware. He secured our leftovers in the refrigerator and turned back to the counter never once looking at me or Charlie.
I sat at the table, pushing my asparagus around with the fork. Charlie, who’d cleaned his plate nearly fifteen minutes ago, was now leaning against the counter.
“Julie,” Charlie dropped his head, “I’m sorry, but the answer is no.”
“But—”
“No,” he said, refusing to hear my argument before I had time to make it.
“Why?” I prompted him to give me an explanation though I already knew exactly why.
He didn’t think I was privy to the conversation he’d had with Luke last month, but because of my super ability to eavesdrop at any given moment, I knew all I needed to. And Charlie had been bending over backward to keep me from leaving the house alone. He wouldn’t let me step foot near the police station. I was on an imaginary leash, and he refused to tell me why.
If I hadn’t heard the conversation with my own two ears, if I didn’t know what Luke had admitted to my uncle, I’d be irate by Charlie’s overbearing behavior. But in a way—a very little way—I found some humor in it. Charlie didn’t want me within a one-mile radius of Luke, and he made sure he did everything could to keep us apart.
“Because I said so, that’s why.”
“It’s coffee!” I yelled, throwing my arms in the air. “One cup of coffee with a friend—”
“Who?” he asked, convinced he already knew the answer.
“Does it matter?”
“It does if you want to leave this house,” he said. “Who?” I crossed my arms and slumped lower in the chair. “Is it a friend from school?”
“Ugh! What’s going on here?” I asked. “You’ve been keeping me under a microscope for weeks! You don’t have to know every minute detail of what’s going on in my life.” I looked at my cousin. “Why don’t you hound Matt every time he asks to go out?”
“Because I trust Matt—”
“You don’t trust me?” I straightened up. I threaded my fingers together and rested my elbows on the table. “Charlie, I’ve never given you a reason to think I can’t be trusted. When I first moved here you let me do anything and everything I wanted to do, no questions asked. What’s changed?”
He knitted his eyebrows together. He knew I was right; I hadn’t done anything—not once—to make him think I was untrustworthy. But the fear of me sneaking away to see Luke was more than he could swallow.
“For one,” he combed his fingers through his mustache, “you never used to keep secrets.”
“I’m not keeping secrets now.”
“Who are you having coffee with?”
“Grace Reibeck,” I said, seeing Matt perk up with sudden interest. He knew as well as I did that mentioning the name Reibeck meant I was walking on thin ice.
“What business do you have with Grace?” Charlie folded his arms across his chest.
“It’s two-fold, really,” I worked out my explanation just as I’d rehearsed it earlier in my room. “One, she and Lonnie own the only flower shop in town.”
“And that’s important because…?”
“I joined the Oakland Celebration Committee last month,” I said. “After designing the Fall Ball, I realized I have a bit of a knack for party planning and party execution. With some time, a budget, and a place to work, I can come up with just about anything for any occasion.”
“Not following, Julie,” Charlie said, “narrow your scope.”
“I wanted to get involved,” I said. “You’re always preaching about how important it is for kids to stay active in the community. Take your job-shadowing program, for instance. You wanted us to figure out what we wanted to do post-graduation. You wanted us to be proactive. Well, I’m being proactive. I found something I like to do. I’m sticking to my guns. The Fall Ball was great, but it was small potatoes compared to what I’m doing now.”
“Which is?”
“Managing the Oakland Holiday Parade,” I said, “which brings me back to Grace. She’s going to cut me a deal on flowers for the floats. I need flowers, and lots of 'em. Grace is my go-to gal.”
“This isn’t the Rose Bowl, for God’s sake,” he mumbled, burying his head in the palm of his hands. “What’s the other reason?”
“Hmm?”
“You said you wanted to meet with Grace for two reasons,” he said. “What’s the other?”
“Right!” I clapped my hands together once. “Glad you asked. She’s the middle man between me and the Grand Marshal.”
“What’s that now?” he asked so quickly that his words sounded like one long slur.
“The Grand Marshal,” I said, “the parade honoree, they ride through the line first, leading the rest of the floats along the route.” Charlie’s mouth hung open, so I elaborated. “The Grand Marshal is an outstanding member of the community that is deserving of an award or recognition of some kind—”
“I know what the Grand Marshal is,” he said. “I just don’t know who it is.”
“Luke,” I watched his face turn a dark shade of crimson.
“Luke?”
It was strange to hear his name cross Charlie’s lips. I’d gotten so used to hearing him, Matt, and everyone else we knew call him Trigger. To hear Charlie refer to him by name… well, it told me just how quickly the dynamic of their relationship had changed. It was no longer rainbows and butterflies or beer and poker nights. Their friendship ceased to exist the night Luke opened his heart to my uncle.
“He was nominated by the committee and voted into the position last week,” I said. “I wanted to do a flashback kinda thing with his float: old pictures, mementos from his past, and really celebrate who he is. Grace is gonna try to dig some of that up for me. When it comes right down to it, we just want to give him the best float possible. After all, it is Luke.”
“Aren’t they s’pose to just ride in on a car or something?” Charlie tried to keep his voice calm and unsuspecting. “Why a float?”
“Change of management, Charlie. We’re doing things different this year,” I said. “Grace is my right-hand man, and she agrees it’s time for change. And,” I said, looking at my watch, “she’ll be here any second to pick me up, so if you’re not going to let me go… you’ll have to tell her yourself. We’ve had these plans for weeks. She won’t be happy if I cancel.”
Right on cue, the doorbell rang. We all knew it was Grace, but the real question was whether or not Charlie would let me walk out the door with her.
“Julie,” Charlie said as I jumped from my chair and sprinted for the door.
I turned back and met his stare.
“Yes?” I asked, long and drawn out.
“Just you and Grace?” I nodded, and it seemed to ease his mind. “One hour. I want you back by sundown.”
“Great!” I wore a genuine smile. “I couldn’t stay out long, anyway. Luke’ll be here at eight to help me pull together the proposal for the parade route. See you in a bit.”
I turned on my heel just as Charlie said, “Whoa, whoa, whoa. Get back here.”
I stopped and turned back yet again.
“Yes?” I asked, as melodramatically as before.
“What did you just say?”
“See you in a bit—”
“Before that.”
“I couldn’t stay out long anyway,” I acted as though I didn’t know what he was aiming for.
“After that.”
“Oh,” I nodded. “Derek will be here at eight to help pull together the route proposal.”
“You said Luke.”
“Did I?” I asked, looking innocently between Matt and Charlie. “Silly me. I meant Derek.” I slapped myself on the forehead. “I guess with all this Grand Marshal business I’ve just had Luke on the brain 24/7
.”
Charlie groaned as I turned out.
I felt borderline-evil messing with Charlie, but I couldn’t help it; I’d take any chance to see him squirm. I was tired of his new approach to parenting. I wanted off the leash. I planned to keep applying pressure. I’d make him squeal eventually. He was going to tell me why he was so hell-bent on keeping me away from Luke.
TWO