Fireman’s Park was located across the street from the library. According to the text I got from Brandon a few minutes ago, this was where I’d find him. I made my way through the park and headed for the library. My thoughts were confused as I crossed the street and saw him sitting on a step in front of the building. I stopped for a second to look at him. From that distance, he didn’t look like he had been in a fight, but as I got closer, I saw his nose was swollen and he had a black eye that was in the yellow-green stage.
When I reached the steps, he moved over and motioned for me to sit next to him.
“You never struck me as liking the jock type,” he said. Apparently he had seen me with John, and here I was carrying that pink dog. So what! Walking around a park with someone didn’t mean anything at all. Boy, that irked me!
“And you never struck me as a coward,” I shot back, “so it looks like we were both wrong.”
“Touché,” he said. We sat in silence for a few minutes until I grew impatient. I had already decided when I was hanging out with John that I was no longer going to be a mousy little wimp.
“What are we doing here, Brandon? Do you want to say something, or do you want to go bury your head in the sand again?”
“Wow, that jock must have gotten you all fired up,” he said with a hint of jealousy. “You’re more confident than you were the last time I saw you.”
“Well, let’s see. The last time I saw you was the night I got my first kiss, ever. The boy I kissed dropped me like a hot potato and stopped speaking to me. I could take that as a testament to how badly I kiss, or to what a jerk he is,” I said. “Which do YOU think it is?”
“Given the fact that you kiss great, I’d have to say the guy is a jerk,” he replied.
I smacked him with the head of the pink dog. “He IS a jerk!”
Brandon laughed a little bit at that, and sighed. “Yeah, I am a jerk. I guess I deserve that.”
“Do you mind telling me just why the hell you disappeared? Was it me? Did you regret kissing me?” I needed answers.
“No, absolutely not! I was ashamed of how I lost my temper and showed you my ugly side.” He was wringing his hands in agitation, “My parents took me to the hospital that night and admitted me to the psych ward. I was released a week later and decided to avoid everyone, including you. I didn’t want to hear that you were afraid of me, or see it in your eyes.”
“Why would I be afraid of you, Brandon? I’m not saying violence is right, but Jason did have it coming to him,” I said, putting my hand on his knee. He looked at me and half-smiled.
“Ellen, I’m in anger management counseling right now. The court ordered it at my hearing last week. Jason’s parents filed charges against me. I have to pay his doctor bills and undergo counseling, which I’m okay with. I’m not happy with my temper and I don’t know how to control it. Hopefully this will help.”
“I’m so glad to hear that,” I said. “I will help you in any way I can.”
“Do you mean that?” he asked.
“Of course I do! Brandon, I care about you very much. I was devastated when you wouldn’t talk to me.”
“Trust me, I was also devastated. I finally found the girl of my dreams and I lost her,” he said.
“You found the girl of your dreams?” I repeated.
“Yes,” he said leaning in towards me as if to kiss me. “I finally found a girl who is kind, gentle, and compassionate. A girl who is low maintenance and whose eyes seem to look right into your soul,” he whispered across my neck.
My phone went off and abruptly broke the moment. I stood up and said, “Brandon, THIS girl has to get back to the park and meet up with her friends and her mom. Would you like to join her?” I asked holding my hand out to help him up.
“Do you think her friends and her mom would accept me?” he asked.
“Without a doubt,” I said. I put the pink dog down on the steps of the library and Brandon and I took off for the park, leaving the dog behind.
I spent the rest of the afternoon with Cindy and Brandon, just like old times. We went on rides, ate roasted corn, and played games. Brandon played the balloon/dart game insisting on replacing my giant pink dog. It only cost Brandon four dollars to win me the dog!
We all sat with Mom and watched the fireworks, and I shared my turkey sub with Brandon. Brandon and I held hands at times. We joked and laughed with Sarah, Margaret, and Cindy, and danced with Mom to the radio she brought along. We celebrated the end of the summer with the friends we could be certain of.