The next day I work a normal shift at Tragic Waters and rush home to get ready. It’s beyond awkward (and a little bit surreal) to see my date pick me up with my arch nemesis riding in the passenger seat. (They live near each other, so he picked her up first.)
Crystal has taken this one step further by asking if she can stay in the front seat when we drive to see the fireworks. She says she needs the room for the ankle she sprained during our tennis match. She even has it wrapped in a bandage, which is funny because it wasn’t wrapped at work today.
I go along with it. I’ve got a lot riding today and I need all the good karma I can get.
The Fourth of July is a big deal in Ruby Beach. There’s always a huge town party down at Russell Park. My dad and the rest of his crew give free rides in the fire truck. The high school band plays patriotic songs. And there are tables covered with free watermelon.
The highlight of the evening is the fireworks display shot off from the end of the pier over the ocean. Unlike the “display” at Tragic Waters, this one is really something special.
Crystal is putting on quite a display herself as she hobbles her way to a bench. The three of us sit there and make painfully dull small talk. I can tell that Crystal is waiting for me to leave so that I can become Eager Beaver. And the longer I go without leaving, the more it drives her crazy.
She almost dies when the Magic Waters characters come out and start mingling with the crowd. They’re all there: Platypus Rex, Ollie Otter, and—miraculously—Eager Beaver.
Crystal gives me a look, and I smile.
Becca obviously sees us, because she makes a point to walk right up to us. She bends down and dramatically rubs Crystal’s sore ankle. She even bends over and gives her a hug. (It’s almost more than I can take.) For the first time ever, Eager Beaver’s huge, gap-toothed smile seems appropriate.
“Hey there, Eager Beaver,” I say.
Becca turns to me and gives me a big thumbs-up. Inside, I’m sure she’s flipping me off, but she’s going along with it, and that’s why I love her.
Becca isn’t exactly graceful in the costume. She trips over a kid and slams into a phone booth. But, in a weird way, she seems to be enjoying it.
She dances with a group of kids, playfully steals someone’s watermelon, and (this being Becca) manages to flirt with a couple of guys.
When she walks away, I even overhear a guy ask his buddy, “Is it me, or did Eager Beaver somehow get hot?” I’ll make sure to tell her later.
When it’s almost time for Becca and me to trade places, I signal Melanie and plan B begins.
Melanie walks by and says hi to both me and Crystal and then does a double take when she sees Alex.
“Oh, my God,” she says with Oscar-worthy conviction. “Aren’t you Alex Walker?”
Alex looks confused. Crystal looks angry.
“Do I know you?” he asks.
“I’m Melanie White. From Camp Minnagawa.”
Alex once mentioned a summer camp that he went to back when he was in middle school. Melanie spent half the night researching it online.
“You were at Camp Minnagawa?”
Melanie raises her hand in salute. “Camp Minnagawa. Where little acorns—”
“Become mighty oaks,” he finishes. “Oh, my God. What a small world.”
He gives her another hard look, and she keeps playing it perfectly.
“Mel White.”
He smiles. “That’s right. I remember you.”
Bingo.
“That’s incredible that you guys know each other,” I say, smiling.
“Yeah,” Crystal adds with a hint of sarcasm. “Incredible.”
“Stupid me,” I say, slapping my head.
“What?” Alex says.
“I forgot. I’m supposed to go help my dad on the fire truck.”
“Do you want me to go with you?” Alex asks.
“No, its fine,” I assure him. “Stay here.”
“Absolutely,” Melanie says. “We’ve got lots to catch up on.”
She winks, and I make my exit. Crystal is about to pop an eyelid or something. Alex is completely convinced that he and Melanie have known each other for years.
Becca and I meet up inside the Magic Waters minivan. It’s kind of a tight spot to change, but we don’t have a lot of choice.
“I cannot believe how hot it is in this thing,” Becca says as she wriggles out of the costume.
“You were awesome, Bee. Absolutely awesome.”
“Did you like the part when I gave Crystal a get-well hug?”
“It was brilliant.”
I start to get dressed. I hope it’s dark enough so that nobody can see into the van.
I can’t help but laugh. “She’s got it totally under control. By the time she’s done, he’ll be convinced that they were sweethearts back in fifth grade.”
I’m almost all the way dressed when Becca stops cold and says something that catches me completely off guard.
“I hope this guy is worth all this trouble.” She’s not being sarcastic or mean-spirited. She’s being honest. “Because personally, I don’t think any guy is.”
“Then why are you doing it?” I ask.
She shakes her head. “Because I do think that you’re worth it. You’d better go dance your little beaver tail off.”
“Thanks, Becca.”
I jump out of the van and rush over to an area behind the band shell where Grayson is waiting to go on.
He shoots me a Where were you? look.
“Sorry. Had to pee.”
Just then it’s time for us to run onstage. I think to myself that I may actually be able to pull this off. Then I put on my giant beaver head and everything goes wrong.
I had adjusted the helmet to fit Becca so that she could see out of the eye slits. But I forgot to put it back for me. As I walk out onto the stage I realize that I can’t see a thing. I am completely blind. The music starts, and I try to do the dance by memory.
“Platypus Rex and Eager Beaver
Our furry water friends
Want you to be a believer
In making pollution end …”
There are scattered laughs and I’m not sure if they’re normal or if it’s because I’m pointing in the wrong direction or something.
“You’ve got to keep our magic waters Crystal blue and clear So that we can save the Otters Like our good friend here …”
This is the cue for Ollie Otter to walk onstage. The problem is that our stage at Magic Waters is bigger. We’re a little more crowded here and the girl in the costume has to walk right next to me.
I do a spin and slam into her.
This starts a horrifying chain reaction that knocks Ollie to the ground and sends me hurtling into the crowd. I try to catch myself, but it s no use. I hit the ground with a big thump, and then the unthinkable happens.
My head falls off.
Well, not my head. But Eager Beaver’s head falls off. Needless to say, its pretty traumatic for the hundred or so children in the crowd.
There are shrieks and screams, and the image of Eager Beaver’s head rolling across the stage will undoubtedly work its way into nightmares for years to come.
I have my own little nightmare image. It’s Alex looking right at me, trying to make sense of it all.
I grab Eager Beaver’s head and put it on as quickly as possible. But it’s too late. Although I’m still blind, I manage to stumble my way through to the end of the dance.
By the time I get back into my street clothes, Alex is long gone. No doubt Crystal was more than happy to fill him in on any details he couldn’t figure out for himself.