Eternal Spring A Young Adult Short Story Collection (20 page)

Throughout class, I watched Gabrielle. I half listened to
Miss Ely talk about the alienation that Holden felt in Catcher in the Rye. She
talked about the young man’s struggle to find himself.

Right then, I felt like the lead character.

As we walked out of the classroom, I asked Gabrielle, “So,
will I see you in the cafeteria today?”

“Um, I’m not sure. I forgot my lunch.” She pulled her still
damp hair into a ponytail.

“You know my mom always makes me a bagged lunch, I’d be glad
to share with you.”

Gabrielle smiled and said, “Thanks. I feel so bad you’re
always sharing your food with me. One day, I’ll make it up to you.”

“When your chef gets back he can make us lunch, right?”

“Huh?” She raised an eyebrow. “Yes, of course. He would love
to.”

“You are always welcome to have anything I have.” I gave her
a big kiss. She smelled like chlorine. “Did you have swimming in gym today?”

“Why?”

“Nothing. I’ll see you at lunch.” The bell sounded and we
went our separate ways.

I sat in the back row of my AP history class. Theodore plopped
down next to me.

“Hey, was it because of me that you got robbed?” Theodore
asked.

“You’re a jerk. You told me it was an emergency.”

“To me it was.” He grinned and tapped my shoulder. “Sorry.”

“Forget it. I shouldn’t have left the store. I know better.”

“Do they have any leads?”

“Not sure. The officer said it could have been a snatch and
grab thing. I told them about the lady that was in the store at the time, but
they didn’t seem interested. Maybe I can find her on my own. She might be able
to tell me if she saw somebody else come into the store.”

“So, you’re going to talk to her?”

“Maybe I’ll do a little poking around to find that lady
after school,” I replied.

“Sucks huh? If you don’t find the stolen picture thing then
you’ll be working for weeks without a paycheck ‘cause you have to pay the
insurance deductible.” Theodore smiled. “At least you’ll have twenty bucks soon
‘cause I get paid tomorrow.”

I pulled out some paper and a pen and began to scribble
circles. “Just give me fifteen and give mom five, okay? She loaned me five this
morning.”

“Okay.” He scooted his desk a little closer to mine. “You
know, I got a great deal on a tux at the Formal Shoppe on Bay Street. Mine has
an eighties like frilly shirt and pastel belt. It’s hilarious.”

“That’s great.” I hadn’t told him yet that Gabrielle turned
me down for prom.

The teacher began class. I half paid attention as my mind
traveled back to what that lady, my last customer, had said. She used to have
family who lived in the Victorian district, and she now lived in Pennsylvania.
She was in town until tomorrow and the Marshall House had given her a brochure
on Leonardo’s.

Now I had to fit all of the pieces together.

Or in the future, I’ll end up being the only eighty-year-old
still living with his parents and working minimum wage at an ice cream shop.

“May I ask if there is a red-haired lady, with a really big
multi-colored bag staying here?” I asked.

“I’m sorry, sir. We aren’t allowed to give out information
about our guests,” replied a man behind the front desk of the Marshall House.
He wore a dark green blazer with a pineapple emblem on the pocket.

“Right.” My heart plunged into my stomach. She was my only
lead. I wondered if I should wait in the lobby for a while. Maybe the lady
would wander in, and I could talk to her. I had to go to work in an hour, so I
guess it wouldn’t hurt to kill some time.

Sinking into a deep leather armchair, I looked around. The
lobby looked like it came from an earlier time. It smelled like a combination
of flowers and wood cleaner. Heavy dark furniture sat on hardwood floors. Large
oil paintings, with ornate gold frames, adorned the walls.

I grabbed a handful of mints from a crystal container on the
coffee table. The sign beside it
read,
“Help
yourself.” I unwrapped one and plopped it in my mouth and then put a few in my
pocket. A guy never knows when he’ll need fresh breath.

Looking through the large picture window, I saw Gabrielle
walk past. I jumped out of my chair and left the hotel in search of her. I
quickly abandoned looking for the red-haired lady. Instead I went in search of
my girlfriend.

Rounding the corner, Gabrielle was already half a block
away. Then she disappeared into an alley behind the Pink House restaurant. I
wanted to shout to her, but then an ambulance screamed by.

I decided to trail after her at a fast walk. She was just
faster than me. By the time I got to Martin Luther King Drive, she had walked
behind a bridge beyond the bus terminal.

A man stood in front of me, “Excuse me sir, but can you
spare some change?”

He blocked my view of Gabrielle.

“Listen, I don’t want to bother you, it’s just that I need
some help.” The man put his hands together in a prayer.

Damn. I lost sight of Gabrielle.

“Please? I have a job interview soon, and I need to take the
bus.” He pointed to the bus stand.

Jeez. It seemed he had intentionally stopped me.

“Please, sir?” He asked again.

He seemed sincere. I sighed and reached in my pocket and
pulled out the five-dollar bill and some mints. “This is all I have.”

“God bless you son,” the man said. His beard was scraggly,
but he looked clean and fairly well dressed. His eyes sparkled like green
emeralds. Where had I seen those same green eyes?

“Good luck with the interview,” I said.

“Thanks. I need it. Been out of work for almost a year now.
Savings are gone. We keep moving around hoping to get a break.” The man smiled,
showing straight white teeth.

He looked about my dad’s age, and he seemed rather decent.
Just down on his luck. I wondered if my mom would mind if I brought him home so
that he could have dinner with us.

I scanned the area.

“You looking for someone?” the man asked.

“Yes, my girlfriend.” At least I thought she was still my
girlfriend.

“Girlfriend, huh?”

“She just walked by a minute ago, tall blonde, around my
age.” Where could she have gone? There was nothing across the street but a
bunch of abandoned buildings near the highway.

“I know her,” the homeless man said.

“You do?” Something in my gut felt weird.

“Better than that.” The homeless man stood up. “I know where
she lives.”

I had never been to her house. She said she would have me
over after she got settled.

“Follow me,” the man said as he crooked a finger.

“By the way, I’m Tim.”

“My name’s Ed, a free living spirit. I guess you could call
me a homeless bum.” He winked.

“No sir, I wouldn’t call you that.”

“You’d never know that I used to own a construction company,
drive a Hummer, even had two Rolex watches and take month long vacations. My
kid got everything she wanted. And now, I can’t give her anything. We even have
to shower at the YMCA.” His eyes began to tear up. “The economy tanked, no one
is buying houses. I lost everything.”

“I’m sorry.” My stomach felt like a big tangled knot.

“I work hard and I’m an optimist. So this will all get
better.” Ed smiled.

We walked along the sidewalk, and eventually ended up in a
vacant lot behind some abandoned buildings.

He tapped me on the arm. “Right over here.” He pointed to a
powder blue conversion van.

“There?” I asked.

“You’ll find her in the van.”

“Oh?”

“That’s our home.”

“Whose home?”

“Gabrielle and I. She’s my daughter.”

My head was spinning. My God. She’s homeless.

Why hadn’t Gabrielle told me? Didn’t she trust me? Why had
she put on such a front? All lies. I was angry and confused. Shoot. I was
pissed. Damn, I was an idiot for falling for her lies. My face twisted as I
shook my head.

“I’m sorry, Tim. Didn’t she tell you?” Ed asked.

“No, sir.”

“She’s embarrassed, and I can’t blame her. Listen, I have to
go now and catch the bus, cheaper than paying for gas for the van. It was nice
to meet you.” Ed jogged away.

My legs felt like they were stuck in cement. The van sat a
few feet from me. What do I do, knock?

Just then, the van door opened. Gabrielle climbed out. She
saw me, and her face turned white. Her hands clenched. “What are you doing
here, Tim?”

“Your dad, I mean I saw you by the hotel…” the words jumbled
as they came out.

“Leave…Now.” She was shaking.

“Why did you lie to me?”

“You wouldn’t understand.”

“How do you know I wouldn’t understand? You didn’t even give
me a chance. And all along I thought you were too good for me.”

“Oh so now you’re too good for me, a homeless girl?”

“No, I didn’t say that. I said, with all the stories you
told me, I assumed you were embarrassed of me.”

“So, now you’re embarrassed of me?” She was waving her hands
around.

“No, that’s not what I said.” I put my hand up, as if to say
hold on.

“But it’s what you meant.”

“No, you’re wrong.”

“Get out of here. Whatever we had is over.” She flailed her
arms as if shooing away an annoying fly.

“Obviously, whatever we had was based on lies.” I felt a
lump in my throat. My hands trembled.

“Get the hell out of here,” Gabrielle screamed and her face
turned red. “Go. I never want to see you again.” She climbed in the van and
slammed the door.

I ran.

I didn’t stop to catch my breath until I reached the Marshal
House.

Why didn’t she trust me? Why did she lie to me? I liked her
for who she was, not because of what she had or didn’t have.

“Excuse me,” a lady said as she bumped into me.

It took me a second to register that it was
the
red-haired lady with the big bag I’d been looking for. “Hey, Miss. Miss.” I
caught up to her as she walked into the hotel lobby.

“Yes sir, can I help you?” She asked.

“Remember me, I’m Tim from Leonardo’s Ice cream shop,” I
said. “The ice cream guy.”

She clutched her big bag and held it tight against her.
“Yes, that’s right. I met you last night.”

“Can I please ask you something?”

“Okay.”

“Do you remember when I left you alone for a few minutes?
Well, it’s just that I was wondering if anyone had come into the store while
you were there.”

“No. Why?”

“Something was taken, and I’m in big trouble.”

She tightened her mouth and bit her bottom lip. She let out
a sigh. “Come over here for a minute.”

I followed her to a quiet corner of the lobby.

She reached into her big handbag and pulled out the missing
shadowbox. “Is this what you’re looking for?”

Mr. Leonardo and the lady sat near one of the tables in the
ice cream shop. The shadowbox had been returned to its original spot. The lady
told us that one of the three original owners of Leonardo’s was her great
grandfather. When she saw the picture inside the shadowbox, she felt compelled
to borrow it so she could make a copy. She said she was so emotional seeing her
great grandfather in the picture that she said she couldn't think straight.

Turns out that Stanley was more than forgiving. He offered
to make her copies of any other pictures of her great grandfather that he had.
He was so relieved to have the original autographed script back, that he
decided not to press charges.

After the lady left, Stanley said, “You know there is still
the reward.”

“Don’t worry about it. I should never have left the store. I
don’t deserve any reward.” I continued sweeping as he talked to me.

“No. You deserve it. My word is my word. I got everything
back intact. And I have you to thank for it.”

“It was also my fault it was stolen.”

“No matter.” He pressed five one hundred dollar bills in my
hand.

“I can’t take it.”

“I insist. Don’t you want to go to prom?”

“Yes, but there are people who need this more than I need to
go to prom. Would you please give this to Ed and Gabrielle?”

“Who are Ed and Gabrielle?”

I explained their situation to Mr. Leonardo. I told him that
I could not take the money to Gabrielle because she was mad at me. I grabbed a
sheet of paper and scribbled directions to their blue conversion van on a piece
of paper. “Please give them all of the reward money, okay?”

“Sure son,” Stanley patted my back. “You’re a good kid.”

Saturday night.

Paper cap: check. White apron: double check. Stuck at work
while everyone else is at senior prom: triple check.

While I waited on customers, I glanced out the store window.
Limos drove up and down Broughton Street. The Thai restaurant next door had a
steady stream of guys in tuxes and girls in long dresses entering their door.

The dance would start in an hour. Pretty soon, I wouldn’t
have to see any more of my classmates doing something I wanted to do. They
would all be tucked away at the dance.

A group of girl scouts dressed in green shirts and their
trademark hats walked in. I began taking their order.

As I served the last
girl scout
,
Mr. Leonardo entered.

“Good evening,” I said to him. “Welcome to Leonardo’s.
Established in 1919.”

He smiled. “Good greeting, rule number 2.”

I gave him a thumb up.

“By the way, you’ve got the night off.” Mr. Leonardo
grinned.

I dipped a scoop in the ice cream and filled a cup. “No sir,
I’m sure I’m on the schedule. Remember, after the picture thing? I couldn't
afford to go to prom, so I signed up to work.”

“Well.” Stanley put on an apron and grabbed a paper cap. He
snatched a crayon and wrote his name on it, and put the hat on. Then he took
the scoop out of my hand. “You’re off now. I’m training someone new tonight.”