Chapter 31

Lucky still felt great the next day, tired but still riding the high from the emotion of the win.

The Panthers went through a short practice in the morning, mainly running to try and get the soreness out. After loosening up, the Panthers lifted weights then watched film of the game.

After practice, Lucky went home and took a nap. It helped him to feel better. Afterwards, he watched some football on television and listened to the Oklahoma game on the radio. The Sooners were undefeated but the television bigwigs did not think a game against a struggling Iowa State team merited television coverage.

Happy and Andy came by and recruited Lucky to go to the Downtown Café with them. They planned to get something to eat and hang out for the evening.

The place was fairly busy when they arrived. The only empty booth was near the far wall. They claimed it and settled in. The waitress came by, took their orders and left.

Happy could not sit long, deciding to make the rounds and visit with everybody in the crowd, wanting to make sure everybody knew he was there and to find out if anything interesting was going on.

He also had to show everybody his wounds, especially the deep gash between his eyes. The guys thought it was cool, of course. The girls thought it was gross.

Andy faced the door, directly across from Lucky. He was looking at the door and suddenly straightened. He looked like he saw a ghost and then started sinking down in his seat.

“What’s wrong?” Lucky asked, laughing at the way his friend was acting.

“There she is,” Andy answered, putting his right hand over the side of his face.

“Who?”

Andy turned to face the wall, not bothering to answer. Lucky turned around and looked toward the door and saw two girls walking in. One was a tall girl with long, blonde hair wearing jeans, a blue blouse and sandals.

The other girl was a little shorter. She also wore a pair of faded jeans, a white Petros tee-shirt and an old pair of tennis shoes. Her hair was put back in a ponytail. She wore glasses and was almost too thin.

“What’s wrong with you?” Lucky asked.

“I can’t get her out of my mind,” Andy answered. “She keeps talking to me all the time.”

“Which one?”

“Elizabeth.”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“I never know what to say to her. My mind, it like freezes up or something. Like when you eat ice cream too fast.”

The two girls were Elizabeth Clemons and Toni Rider. Elizabeth was the tall one, Toni was the one with the ponytail and glasses. Elizabeth saw Andy and guided them over toward the table where they were sitting. Lucky looked at Andy and saw his friend’s Adam’s Apple rise and drop, like there was something caught in his throat.

“Hey,” Elizabeth said, as the two girls arrived at the table. She looked at Andy and smiled, her eyes never leaving him.

Toni stood behind Elizabeth, smiling mainly to be nice.

“Can we sit with you guys?” Elizabeth asked.

Toni looked like she was punched in the gut.

“Sure,” Lucky answered, getting a dirty look from Andy in reply.

They slid over and the two girls sat down. Elizabeth moved in beside Andy while Toni sat next to Lucky, not showing a great deal of enthusiasm.

“That was a good game last night,” Elizabeth complimented. “I couldn’t believe we won. That running back from Forrester was good.”

“We weren’t too sure we’d win until the end,” Andy managed to say.

Andy was nervous and fidgeting, tapping his fingers on the table and looking around the café.

“I think we’ll make the playoffs if we keep playing this way,” she added.

Lucky wanted to point out that the Panthers wanted to do more than just make the playoffs, but decided not to engage in this conversation.

“I heard you played good,” Toni remarked, brushing away a few stray hairs from her face. She turned to look at Lucky and smiled.

For the first time, Lucky noticed Toni was a lot better looking than he thought. She never tried to fix herself up, settling for more of a natural look.

“Toni had to work,” Elizabeth announced, as if that was the only thing that kept somebody from attending a Petros football game.

“Where do you work?” Andy managed to say, trying to get involved in the conversation.

“She works at her father’s convenience store on the highway,” Elizabeth answered. “She has to work most Friday nights so I had to go to the game with my parents.”

Elizabeth said it like going to a game with her parents was some kind of punishment.

“Who do we play this week?” Elizabeth asked.

“Cedar Hills,” Andy volunteered.

“I think it’s Cedar Lake,” Toni corrected.

They laughed at Andy’s mistake. He had not been around long enough to know the names of the local schools and frequently messed them up.

“Are they any good?” Elizabeth asked.

“Yeah, they’re good,” Andy responded, sounding like an expert. “They like to throw the ball a lot but their defense gives up a lot of points."

“Where do we play them?” she asked.

“It’s here,” Andy stated, looking at Lucky for reassurance. “Isn’t it?”

Everybody looked at Lucky for confirmation.

“It’s here,” he agreed.

“You don’t talk much,” Elizabeth said, staring at Lucky. “You and Toni oughta get along pretty good.”

Lucky nearly spilled his drink, wondering what she meant by that.

“Why do you say that?” Andy asked, beating Lucky to the question.

“Cause neither of them talk much,” she answered, pushing on his shoulder.

Andy looked down at his arm, amazed she actually touched him.

The waitress, another Petros student, came to the table to see what the girls wanted. Her name was Maggie Meadows, a sophomore. She was a straight “A” student, worked every hour possible and was rumored to have saved every penny she had earned.

Maggie was a pleasant person, everybody’s friend without being really close to anybody. She was short, thin, and seemed to move at a hundred miles an hour. Her black hair was cut short, one less thing to worry about, and she wore a black Downtown Café tee-shirt with a pair of shorts, exposing a pair of legs that could use a shaving.

“Hey guys,” she said, smiling at Toni but not offering the same pleasant greeting to Elizabeth.

Elizabeth ordered a diet drink and a sub sandwich. Toni just ordered a drink.

As the waitress left to place the order, two more people dropped by the table.

“Hey, how are you guys doing?” the girl asked.

Lucky looked up to see D.J. and Gabby standing at the foot of the table, holding hands. Gabby was actually dressed nice, wearing clothes that actually looked like they had been ironed. She was smiling and seemed happy.

D.J. was looking around the café, obviously wanting to be anywhere but here.

“We’re good,” Elizabeth responded.

Lucky felt like telling her to speak for herself but decided to pass.

“What’re you guys doing tonight?” Gabby asked.

“We don’t have any plans,” Elizabeth answered. “Yet.”

Lucky was feeling an anxiety attack or something of that nature fixing to overcome him. The food he had been looking forward to was no longer important. His appetite had left, just as he wished his body could.

“We might see you later,” Gabby remarked.

Not if I can help it, Lucky thought. It was hard for him to see them standing together with Gabby acting like everything was just great. They were two people he had no desire to be around.

As they walked away, Maggie brought their order and placed the food in front of them. Elizabeth’s sub had not been made yet and Lucky thought they should wait until her food arrived.

That thought obviously did not register for Andy. He attacked his food with a vengeance, shoving the food in like his body had been without food for days. He had obviously been spending too much time with Happy.

“Why don’t you wait until she gets her food,” Lucky suggested.

Andy had about half a burger in his mouth. He looked like somebody told him the meat was rotten. He took off a bite and set his food down on the plate.

“Sorry,” Andy muttered, looking like he really meant it.

“It’s okay,” Elizabeth responded. “You guys go ahead and eat. I don’t want your food to get cold.”

Not that Andy’s food had a chance, Lucky thought.

That was just what Andy wanted to hear. He jumped right back in, attacking it like he was in a hamburger eating contest.

Lucky looked over at Toni, who was taking a drink. She stopped and smiled at him, a timid effort at best.

“Aren’t you hungry?” he asked.

“A little,” she answered.

Lucky had a hamburger and a huge order of cheese fries.

“Here,” he offered, sliding his plate over. “I can’t eat all this. Why don’t you help me with the fries.”

She looked at him for a second, not sure about accepting the offer. Finally, Toni decided it would be okay.

She gingerly grabbed one of the fries, one loaded with lots of cheese.

They shared the fries and he slowly ate his burger, noticing Andy’s plate was cleaned before Lucky took two bites.

Elizabeth’s food arrived and she started eating, making Lucky feel better since he was no longer eating in front of her. Lucky finished his burger and slid the plate over to Toni.

“Thanks,” she responded.

The music was blaring loud enough that it was hard to talk. The jukebox was located right behind their table, playing a song Lucky had never heard and didn’t care to hear again.

The Downtown Café was now filled to capacity with other kids looking for something to do on Saturday night in Petros. The back room with the pool tables had attracted most of the guys while most of the girls were hanging out in the dining area.

It was too loud and too many people for Lucky. He was ready to get out of here and get some elbow room.

“Are you guys ready?” Elizabeth asked.

“For what?” Toni questioned.

“To get out of here,” Andy volunteered.

Toni and Lucky both nodded.

As soon as they got up from the booth, another group claimed it, the demand for seating so high they did not even wait for the table to be cleaned first.

They made their way through the crowd. Lucky pretended not to notice Gabby and D.J. sitting at a table near the door. Lucky saw her wave but turned away.

Lucky was the first one outside, holding the door open so the others could exit. There were almost as many people outside as there were inside. Some had obviously failed to live up to the state’s underage drinking laws, a group Lucky avoided.

“Well, you guys want to do something?” Elizabeth asked.

“Sure!” Andy answered, with too much enthusiasm. He acted like a little puppy following its master.

“Let’s ride around for a while,” she suggested.

“Yeah, that sounds like a good idea!” Andy added, not bothering to ask for any input from Lucky.

Lucky wasn’t really crazy about the idea but there wasn’t anything else to do. Besides, he was convinced Toni did not bite. He hoped Happy would not mind being left alone, but doubted his friend even remembered who he was with.

The car was parked almost at the end of the block. Lucky had hoped to see the latest James Bond movie playing at the Liberty Theater across the street, but those plans were scuttled.

Her car was a silver Ford Mustang convertible with the top down.

“Now this is a nice car,” Andy commented.

“Thanks!” Elizabeth responded, climbing into the driver’s seat. The other three were not sure about the proper seating positions, until Andy took over. He moved the passenger’s seat up and motioned for Lucky and Toni to climb in the back.

There was not enough room in the back, of course, and Lucky felt like his knees were jammed into his face.

Elizabeth squealed the tires as she pulled out of the parking spot, since she obviously did not have to pay for new tires once these were worn out. They headed back down Main Street, past all the empty buildings. She turned on the radio to an oldie’s station, playing a song Lucky decided was popular when his father was in diapers.

As they passed the Downtown Café, Lucky made the mistake of looking inside. Staring back at him was Gabby, an image that was hard to erase.

Andy started coming out of his shell and he and Elizabeth soon had a good conversation going as they rode around Petros and the surrounding area.

They eventually made it to the lake and parked in the same parking spot Gabby had the night when Garrett and D.J. attacked Lucky while he and Gabby sat on the dock.

Nobody realized this but Lucky and he certainly wasn’t going to point it out.

They got out of the car and made their way down to the lake. Andy and Elizabeth slipped away, leaving Lucky and Toni alone.

They walked down to the dock and sat down in almost the same spot Lucky and Gabby had been that night.

“It’s a pretty night,” Toni commented, after sharing several minutes of silence with Lucky.

It was a nice night. There was a soft breeze blowing that almost made it cool. The wind moving through the tall pines made the “whooshing” noise Lucky loved to hear. There was a half-moon out and it reflected back off the lake. The waves were gentle, just loud enough to hear the water splash against the dock.

Across the lake, they saw several campfires burning. One group was having a great time, laughing and talking loud enough to be heard across the lake.

“Do you come here much?” she asked.

“Yeah, we come here in the summer and fish and swim some,” he answered.

“My dad taught me to swim off this dock. Right over there at that big rock was where I caught my first fish, a little perch. I thought it was huge and wanted to keep it as a pet but my dad made me put it back. I cried.”

Lucky smiled, remembering his first fish. Only it was with his mother, which made the memory painful.

“We used to always have my birthday parties here,” Lucky added, not bothering to mention that ended after his mother passed away.

”I’d love to have a house right here,” Toni mentioned.

“So would I.”

They sat in silence for a while, listening to the wind and the waves.

Lucky picked up a rock and tried to skip it in the water. It hit the water and sunk.

“I didn’t know Andy and Elizabeth had anything going,” he mentioned.

“She talks about him all the time,” she responded. “Ever since he moved here she’s tried to figure out ways to get close to him.”

“Did they have this planned?”

“She did. I don’t think Andy knew anything about it. He just happened to be at there and we drove by and she saw him and our plans for the night just went out the window. I thought we were going to Hodgen.”

“We were gonna see a movie.”

“Maybe we won’t bore each other too much,” Toni suggested, smiling at him.

“I’m okay,” he added. Lucky looked at her, admiring the way she looked in the moonlight. He doubted this was her idea of a fun time. From what he knew, Toni could have her choice of any guy at Petros High School and probably wished somebody else was sharing the dock with her.

“So am I,” she added, brushing away a few stray hairs.

“You don’t have any angry boyfriends who like to fight, do you?” Lucky asked, instantly wishing he had not said that.

She smiled, obviously aware of what happened. Probably knew that night or at least by the next day, along with most other residents of Petros. Word tended to move pretty fast when anything exciting or unusual happened in the old town.

“Nope, no angry boyfriends,” she replied. “I don’t think I’d date anybody who would do something like that. Garrett Long used to call me all the time and got mad because I’d never go out with him. So…what about you? Any psycho girlfriends? I’m not much of a fighter.”

“You don’t have anything to worry about,” he answered. “No girlfriends, now or in the past.”

“That’s surprising.”

“What?”

“That you don’t have a girlfriend or any old girlfriends,” Toni stated. “I know most girls in school would like to date you.”

“No they wouldn’t,” he argued, shaking his head.

“It’s true.”

Lucky laughed, never having heard anything so strange in his whole life. He could barely share a conversation with a female, had never been on a date and Toni was making it seem like Lucky could have the pick of the litter.

“I don’t have anybody beating down my door,” he declared.

“That’s cause they’re afraid you’re too good for them.”

“Me?” he asked, laughing again.

“Yeah, you. A lot of the girls think you’re kind of a loner. I always thought you were just shy. Which one is it?”

“Both, I guess,” he answered, embarrassed to be the object of the conversation. Lucky wanted to talk about something else, quickly. “What do you like to do?”

“Talk about you,” she answered, then laughed when Lucky turned in her direction. “Just kidding. I usually just go to school, work and study. And you?”

“Pretty much the same thing,” Lucky said. “School and football are about it. I work in the summers and try to save enough money so I won’t have to work during school. Have you gone to any games this year?”

“No, my dad usually likes to go so I work for him.”

“You need to come sometime,” he suggested. “We’re starting to play a lot better.”

“That’s what my dad says,” Toni added. “Is it hard playing for your father?”

“Not really. If you don’t do what he says, he’ll make sure it gets done right. But he’ll also let you know when you do something good.”

“He always scares me.”

“My dad?” Lucky asked, almost laughing at the thought of anybody being scared of his father. “Why?”

“He always looks so mean.”

“I’ll tell him to loosen up some. He’s really not like that at all.”

“Thank you. Tell him a smile every now and then would be nice. I’m in his first-hour class.”

Lucky picked up a smooth pebble and looked at it. He flicked it into the lake, watched the water spread out from the ripple.

“Do you find this a little strange?” she asked.

“What’s that?”

“Before tonight we hardly knew each other. I mean, I knew that you went to school and your name, but probably never heard you say five words before. Now, we’re sitting out here just talking the night away while our friends are off somewhere doing who knows what.”

“Yeah,” he agreed, throwing another rock into the water then looking at her. She had such a pretty smile and he liked the way the creases around her eyes seemed to tighten up whenever she smiled.

“You’re not what I expected,” Toni announced.

“What do you mean?” Lucky asked, wondering why she expected anything from him.

“I always thought you’d be different.”

“How’s that?”

“You just don’t act like most guys who play sports. They always seem to be stuck on themselves, but you just don’t seem like that.”

“Thanks,” he responded. “I’m just me.”

They heard footsteps and laughter behind them and turned around to see Andy and Elizabeth walking toward them, their arms around each other.

“You guys still here?” Elizabeth asked. “We were afraid you might have gotten bored and walked back to town.”

Elizabeth and Andy laughed like it was a lot funnier than it actually was. Toni looked at Lucky and smiled, knowing that certainly wasn’t the case.

“We’re okay,” he stated.

“Well, we’re gonna need to get back to town,” Elizabeth announced.

Lucky wished there was some way he could tell them to go and let him and Toni continue their conversation. But it was too far to walk back to Petros and they were in Elizabeth’s car.

They got up from the dock, tried to wipe off the bottom of their pants then headed back up the incline toward the parking area. Toni almost tripped over a rock, but Lucky reached out and grabbed her, holding on until she got her balance.

“Thanks,” she said.

“Don’t mention it,” Lucky countered.

They got back to the car. Lucky and Toni climbed in the back while Elizabeth and Andy got in the front.

Lucky had some kind of strange feeling all the way back to town, some urge to reach out and hold her hand. Ever since he touched her when she almost tripped, Lucky wanted to hold her again. But he resisted that impulse, knowing Toni probably did not feel that way.

They rounded one curve, going a little fast and she leaned over against him. It was only for a second but it seemed like every nerve in his body erupted.

“Sorry,” she stated. For just a brief second, her hand rested on his.

Lucky wanted to grab it and not let go, but did nothing. She slowly let her hand move across his hand then removed it and smiled at him.

He smiled back, wishing there was some way to tell her it was no problem at all.

Chapter 32