Perchance Read online

  “Ok, I hate shopping so tell me where the Old Navy is and let’s get this over with.”

  “Hey, I got volunteered for this, I hate shopping too. And honestly, I have no clue where any of the stores are so we either walk around until we find one or we act like morons and look at the mall map.”

  “I will take moron if it means we get out of here faster.”

  He reached out his fist to bump mine and I returned it.

  “Ugh, good choice, let’s go.”

  We found the Old Navy and the Architecture stores on the map and headed that way.

  Troy had a way of making shopping fun. He would make fun of people’s outfits and they way they walked and everything in between. I was doubled over in laughter more than once.

  We bought jeans and shirts and then found a store where I bought two pairs of Chucks and he bought some kind of weird looking running shoes.

  We were laughing as we exited the shoe store and we had two bags in each of our hands.

  “Let’s get the heck out of here,” He said.

  “Yes, home…now.”

  We got on the escalator going back down to the bottom floor where we parked. Troy was dancing up and down on the stairs and I was laughing my butt off at him. He was doing an impression of someone, I didn’t know who, but I needed to find out. It was hilarious. I was still laughing when we got to the car and he kept up his act the whole ride home.

  Remi

  “Why didn’t you say ‘Hi’?”

  I looked at her like she was nuts and went back to eating my General Tso’s chicken. I had seen him going down the escalator at the same time Aunt Brenda and I were going up. He looked so darned good when he was laughing. It was like his whole entire face just lit up. I wanted to know the exact words and events that made him laugh like that so I could record it and play it over and over again just to make him laugh like that. And honestly, he seemed to be having a good time, so I didn’t say anything. I just stared like the voyeur that I was.

  We had been shopping for hours upon hours. We shopped so long that not only had we eaten lunch at the mall after church, but we were now eating dinner here too. And my feet were begging for mercy because I was still wearing my wedge sandals from church this morning.

  We browsed and bought in every single store in this place. Aunt Brenda shopped for herself and I shopped for me. I bought the basics, but found three dresses that were on sale. She spent way too much on me and when I even dared to look at something; she picked it up and bought it. I was so grateful that she took me in and now this?

  She was still waiting for a response when I looked up at her.

  I rambled, “He was busy. He was laughing his head off at that guy with him. He was having a good time. I didn’t want to bug him.”

  She laughed and nodded her head at me.

  “Trust me, I saw that boy looking at you at church today and he would not have minded you saying ‘hello’.”

  I covered my eyes with my free hand out of embarrassment. This was not supposed to be happening. I was supposed to come here and get a job and finish school so I could go to college, at least some kind of trade school so I could have a career. That’s the only way that I was going to be able to make it.

  “Once school starts, I am not going to have time for a social life Aunt Brenda. I hate school as it is and I’m going to have to get good grades this year so I can get into some kind of school.” And then I looked her dead in the eyes.

  “I’m not going to end up like my Mom, relying on a man to provide for her just long enough to make a mini -van full of kids and then leave her. That won’t be me.”

  She reached across the table and held my hand as she spoke, “Remi, you will do those things, I have no doubt. But you can be who you want to be and have a boyfriend, it’s not unheard of. And your mother chose to get married before finishing school. And yes, your Dad was a bad seed, but that doesn’t mean they all are.”

  I threw my fork down in my Styrofoam to go plate and relented just a little.

  “Ok, we’ll see, but I am not, I mean not, talking to him first.”

  She laughed and put the lid down on her own plate.

  “Deal.”

  We left the mall with all of the bags. They filled the trunk up. It was ridiculous.

  We went home and I hung all my new clothes up and placed my shoes in the closet. I called my Mom, but she was tired, so we only had a short conversation and then she needed to go to bed. She did say that she had found a babysitter for the twins, a local college student. That was a relief. I was worried about the twins by themselves after school.

  I went to bed early. For a few moments before I fell asleep, I thought about the possibility of Cooper. Maybe I could do both. But I still wasn’t going to talk to him first.

  Cooper

  I woke up to the sounds of Eric’s truck pulling into the driveway. I was beginning to think that I was never going to get any sleep around here. I slapped around the bedside table for my glasses and put them on and walked out the door to the stoop. Eric had shut the door to his truck and was coming up the stairs already.

  “Mornin’ Cooper, we’re going to go visit someone today about noon. I’m gonna get some sleep and then I’ll meet you out by the truck about eleven forty five, ok?”

  “Yeah, that’s fine.” I was still rubbing my face and trying to wake up.

  “Did you get everything you needed yesterday?”

  “Yeah, I did and Troy is funny as hell. He had me laughing the whole time.”

  He chuckled and nodded his head like he knew what I was talking about.

  “That kid is funny. Doesn’t have many friends in school though.” He shrugged and started back down the stairs and yelled over his shoulder, “Remember eleven forty five and don’t be late.”

  “Wait, who are we visiting?” I shouted after him, but he was already in the house.

  “I better call Mom.” I told myself.

  I went back inside and called Mom before I took a shower and pulled tags off of my new stuff.

  I finished and looked around with nothing to do. I decided to go take a walk and see what else was in this town. I walked down the street that Eric’s house was on and turned the corner. I looked at the smaller houses around this smaller town. It was nothing like Charlotte had been. It was quiet and peaceful and before I came I saw on the internet that there was some kind of haunted plantation here somewhere. I needed to remember to find that. It sounded cool.

  I heard laughter before I saw the body that it belonged to. I had never heard a laugh like that. It started as a girly giggle and progressed into an all out gut busting laugh. It was the best laugh in the world and my heart knew who was responsible for the sound before my brain did. It was Remi and now I just had to find out where she was and I needed to know what or who made her laugh like that.

  I felt like a stalker as I bobbed my head up and around looking for her. I couldn’t hear her laughing anymore, but now I could hear a woman talking. I walked a little more and came upon a little house with flower gardens out front and the woman who was talking, her aunt something, was pulling weeds while she talked. Remi was on her knees, sitting back on her feet facing the aunt listening and giggling to herself. Every once in a while she would say “No” or “Shut up” but other than that she just listened like she did in church. Her hair was twisted and piled up on her head and she had a t shirt and shorts on and if I thought she was beautiful in a dress, it was nothing compared to this. Her gloved hands were dirty and some of her curls were glued to the sides of her face and her forehead with sweat.

  As I stood entranced with her beauty she found something funny and let out another one of those priceless laughs. I needed to know how to make her laugh like that…like yesterday.

  “Hey Cooper, how are you?”I heard a voice, but my eyes refused to move for a few moments.

  “Hi…um…I’m sorry I forgot your name.” I said sheepishly as I walked towards them.

  “It’s ok,
my name is Brenda and this is…” I finished before she could.

  “Remi, yeah, I remember.” I said. My stomach was shaking like a chihuhua on meth but I needed to talk to her, if only for a few seconds.

  “He remembers your name Remi.” She snorted as if they had an inside joke.

  She glared back at her aunt like she wanted to light her on fire and then gave me a smile but didn’t say a word. That little problem needed to be fixed and pronto.

  I cleared my throat because somehow it was clogged up all of the sudden.

  “Hi Remi. I think I forgot my manners yesterday, must’ve left them at the airport. It’s nice to meet you, I’m Cooper.” I sounded like a cheese head when those words left my mouth but it was too late now. I could see now that her eyes were brown, but not regular brown, almost like a caramel brown.

  She took off her dirty gloves and stood up and her aunt stood as well but proceeded to go into the house saying something about glasses of sweet tea. She nodded her aunt’s way and walked towards me. I’ve never been scared stiff, but I sure was nervous stiff.

  “Hi Cooper. I wasn’t the friendliest yesterday either. It’s nice to meet you too. Where’d you come from?”

  I gave her a quizzical look and she continued.

  “You said airport, where are you from?”

  “Oh, yeah, Charlotte, North Carolina. What about you? Did you grow up here?”

  “No, I just got here on Saturday. I came on a bus from Texas.”

  Her aunt came out with two glasses of tea and set them down on a small table that looked like one my…Eric built.

  “Y’all have a seat and chat. I have a phone call to make.”

  She turned and smiled at her aunt and winked. I don’t think she meant me to see it, but at this point she was under my microscope. Everything she did was just fascinating to me. And as she climbed the stairs I got to witness something new that fascinated me. Her legs.

  “Ok, thanks” She started up the last couple stairs and sat down in one of the chairs and took a long gulp of the sweet tea and then made a face.

  “What?” I laughed at the face she was still making.

  “Oh my Lord, it’s sooooo sweet. It’s pure sugar!” She laughed.

  “Yeah, this is how my Mom makes it, so I’m used to it.”

  She sat back in the chair and let her head fall against the top. If it wasn’t serial killerish I would so pull out a camera and take a picture.

  She popped her head up and said “So, how old are you?”

  “I’m seventeen. School starts in a couple of days, which sucks.”

  “I’m seventeen too and yeah, I hate school.”

  I laughed at her blatant hatred for school and we made more small talk for a few minutes and my stomach was shaking less and less as I listened to her talk. She was funny and sarcastic as all get out.

  Her aunt came out of the front door and the screen door slammed behind her.

  “OK y ‘all, it’s lunchtime. Cooper, do you want to join us?”

  I jumped out of my chair. “What time is it?”

  She looked at her watch, “It’s eleven forty. So lunch, yes or no?”

  “I’m sorry, thank you but Eric made me promise to be home by eleven forty five to go visit…someone. I gotta go. But thanks again.”

  I ran down the stairs and then turned around and went back up them and looked that beautiful girl straight in the eyes. Papa’s got his cajones back.

  “Sorry Remi, it was nice talking to you. Bye.”

  She giggled and I smiled all the way home knowing that I had made her giggle. Mission accomplished.

  I made it back right on time. Eric was sitting on the turned down tailgate of his truck swinging his legs. He jumped down when he saw me and we got into our seats simultaneously.

  He was chuckling as he pulled out of the driveway and took a right onto the street.

  “You look pretty pleased with yourself. What gives?”

  “I decided to take a walk down the street and found Remi’s house by accident.”

  “Ahhhh…well I hope you acted better than you did yesterday. You were stiffer than a buck four days after the kill.”

  “I did actually.”

  He laughed as he turned into a place with a sign that read “Cedar Acres Retirement Home.”

  I looked around and saw elderly people fishing in a small pond and some older ladies walking around in a group holding little dumbbells. Call me crazy, but I think we’re going to visit somebody old.

  We parked and went in through several hallways before we got to a door that Eric knocked at.

  We waited for a few long moments and then an elderly woman answered the door and she kissed Eric on the cheek and then started crying when she looked at me. She practically dragged us into the room and sat us down in the living room. Eric sat next to her and put his arm around her shoulders and looked at me. I didn’t know what was going on, but was ready to find out

  “Cooper this is my mother Edith, your grandmother.”

  She was really crying now and I just sat there in shock. Mom had never mentioned another grandmother and my mom’s mother was dead. Eric reached over and handed her a tissue as he hugged her.

  “I don’t know what to say. I didn’t know I had a grandmother.”

  “Well,” she said, “now that you know, get over here and hug me.”

  I got up and hugged her and she kissed me on the cheek.

  “Sorry we didn’t come earlier but I needed some sleep and Cooper here was charming the local Southern girls.”

  “Oh, and what’s her name?”

  I did not want to be having this conversation.

  “Her name is Remi. She’s new around here too.”

  Edith, or Grandma or whatever was smiling ear to ear and I was humiliated. Talking to your new grandma about girls was not my idea of a good time.

  “Remi, huh?” She said. “Pretty name for a pretty girl.”

  “How do you know she’s pretty?”

  “Honey, with a name like that, she has to be pretty.”

  Remi

  How had so many opinions and resolves changed in my brain? What the hell did he do to me?

  One conversation and I was ready jump into his arms and profess my affection. What a sappy girl I had turned out to be! This would not happen again. I banged my fist on the table where Aunt Brenda and I were sharing lunch and she jumped out of her chair and clasped her chest.

  “What was that about?” She asked.

  “Nothing.” I replied and took a big bite out of my tuna salad to prevent myself from telling her. She was so easy to talk to and I had never laughed as hard as earlier when she was telling me stories about my mom when she was a teenager.

  “His name is Cooper, not Nothing.” She joked.

  I swallowed my monstrous bite and drank a swig of water. “Alright, alright, but he’s so sweet and he has manners not to mention that he’s….you know…hot and just wait, when school starts he’ll meet some beautiful blonde Southern queen and Remi will be a forgotten thing.”

  She laughed at me. “I don’t know Rem. If there had been anything close to a ring around, even a napkin ring, that boy would’ve been down on one knee.”

  I threw a crouton at her and yelled “Stop it!” while laughing and she was giggling right along with me.

  She said she needed to go to the high school and get her mail and check her schedule. I cleaned up after lunch and then waited until she left and cleaned the rest of the house. I looked out the back yard and saw that it was getting pretty high so I ventured out into her garage and spotted a self-propelled lawnmower. I already had my work clothes on so I rolled it out to the backyard and got it done.

  After I finished, I looked at the front yard and it needed to be mowed too. I went inside for some water and started mowing again. I finished and put the lawnmower back and ran to take a shower. I was going to make Aunt Brenda and me some dinner to surprise her.

  I made a simple dinner and when she got
home she said she felt like a queen. She said the only time she didn’t have to cook was when she went to a restaurant. And she gushed over the lawn being mowed and laughed because she had been paying someone to mow it and now she didn’t have to anymore.

  The next week was a repeat of the same. I tried to do as much as I could around the house and walked to several places in town and applied for a job. I may or may not have purposely walked past Cooper’s place several times. I think I was bordering on stalker status.

  That Sunday morning, I was getting dressed for church. Maybe I would see him at church? Maybe he would see me at school and flirt with me at my locker and save a seat for me at lunch. And also maybe I would win the lottery and live off of my interest. Those things were all in the same scope of possibility. I rolled my eyes at myself in the mirror.

  “Get a grip Remi, you’re losing it.” I said to my reflection.

  Cooper

  I got off the phone with my Mom and went to shower. I helped Eric all week. He had taught me how to build some cool stuff, but Friday night it started to rain until Saturday afternoon and the flea market was cancelled. I had hoped to see Remi at the flea market, but no such luck.

  Last week I saw her mowing the grass after we left the retirement home where I had met my grandma. She was really nice and I had gone by there several times during the week. She told me lots of stories about my Dad when he was a kid and somehow she got me to tell her all about Remi. She said that Remi seemed like one of the special ones that once they were convinced to love, they would love with their whole being. That confused me, but I didn’t let on. Why would someone have to be convinced about love? Either you do or you don’t. It should be simple.

  Troy and I hung out on Thursday night. We rented some movies and got pizza and watched them at his house. But honestly, I couldn’t tell you a thing about the movies. Troy had spent the entire time making fun of the plot and sometimes he would mute the movie and make up his own words. My voice was hoarse the next day from laughing so hard at him. We also made plans to go to the haunted plantation, the Myrtles. It cracked him up how fascinated I was by the whole place.