November Blues (14 page)

“Yeah, sure,” November replied as Dana and Olivia paid for their clothes. But she knew she wouldn't be doing this again any time soon.

WHATEVER POSSESSED ME TO PLAN THIS
cookout?
November thought as sweat rolled off her forehead. The underarms of her extra-large T-shirt were stained and dark, and she could feel sweat trickle down her back. The temperature was supposed to hit ninety degrees this afternoon, and the sun beat down with no mercy on the patio in November's backyard.

The coals in the grill shimmered, adding to the heat as they waited for the burgers and hot dogs she had prepared earlier.

She carried a plastic card table out from the kitchen and set it up, satisfied that it was only a little wobbly. Then she went back and forth four times, bringing out a folding chair on each trip. She sat down after the last chair, breathing heavily.

“You know I woulda brought those out for you, November,” Jericho called, startling her. “You're always so independent!”

“I didn't hear you come in,” she said, fatigue in her voice.

“You left the front door wide open,” he told her. “Here, I brought you some lemonade. Actually, Geneva made it for all of us. It's good, and it's cold. You look like you could use something to drink.”

She nodded gratefully and let him pour her a glass. It tasted like cool gold. “Thanks.”

“How are you feeling?” he asked.

“Hot. Sweaty. Huge. Bloated. Heavy. Tired. Take your pick.” She glared at him.

“And cheerful, too!” he added, grinning. “I think it's a good idea you invited a few friends over, November. This should be fun tonight.”

“It sounded like a good idea at the time, but it's just so hot today,” November complained, brushing her damp hair off her face. She got up slowly and walked with Jericho back into the house.

“Why don't we cook the burgers on the grill outside, but eat inside in the air-conditioning?” he suggested.

“Good idea. I'm going to run upstairs and put on a shirt that's a little less funky,” she said. “Well, actually, run is not the right word. I'm gonna wobble up the steps and get changed.” She headed toward the stairs. “You want to start the burgers?”

“Sure thing,” he said. “Take your time.”

When November came back down, she'd changed into a pink top with a shiny silver arrow pointing south. It had the word
BABY
and a happy face printed on it, also in silver. “I hate this shirt,” she said, “but it's all I've got that's clean.” She flopped into the big chair in the living room,
unable to fight the fatigue that seemed to envelop her.

“I'm cookin'. You're sittin',” Jericho ordered, pouring her another glass of lemonade. “Burgers are sizzlin'.”

“I was hoping you'd say that. Hot dogs are on the counter.”

“Gotcha.” He disappeared into the backyard with a pile of food to be cooked.

The doorbell rang and November got up to answer it.
He shoulda left it unlocked
, she grumbled to herself.

Olivia stood there, holding a large bag of chips in one hand and a jar of dip in the other. She wore khaki cutoffs, an embroidered T-shirt, and a Cincinnati Reds hat. “Hey, November. What's up? You know, you look great.”

“You need glasses or something?” November rolled her eyes.

“No. You know how the old people say pregnant women look like they're glowing? That's you.”

“Ha! That's not glow. That's plain old sweat. But thanks for the boost. I needed that. And I love your outfit.”

Olivia beamed. “T.J. Maxx,” she said proudly. “How've you been feeling?” she asked.

“Everybody keeps asking me that,” November replied irritably. “I feel like one of those blown-up elephants in the Macy's parade.” Then she saw the hurt look on Olivia's face and she said quickly, “I'm sorry, Olivia. I shouldn't take this out on my friends. I'm just feeling sorry for myself today.”

“Don't worry about it,” Olivia told her as they headed for the kitchen. “Where do you keep your bowls?”

“In that cupboard on the left,” November said, pointing. Then she made another face as she walked over to the sink to get some clean drinking glasses.

“You in pain or something?” Olivia asked. “You're walkin' funny.”

November sighed deeply. “You don't want to know. Really you don't.” She winced as she walked to the refrigerator for ice.

“Tell me, November. What's wrong? You walk like you got bullets up your butt.”

November chuckled. “Pretty good description, actually.”

“Of what?” Olivia looked perplexed.

“Girl, I got hemorrhoids. Big, fat, juicy ones. I didn't even know what hemorrhoids were a couple of weeks ago. Now I can describe them up close and personal.”

“Oh, yuck. Poor baby,” said Olivia sympathetically.

Just then Jericho walked into the kitchen with a plate of grilled hot dogs. “Hey, Olivia, good to see you,” he said. “What are you two whispering about?”

Both girls doubled over with laughter. “Trust me, you don't want to know!” Olivia told him.

“I never will figure out women,” Jericho said good-naturedly as he took another plate out to the grill.

The doorbell ran once more. “Can you get that, Olivia?” November said, still laughing. “Thanks.”

When Olivia opened the door, Kofi and Dana greeted her with hugs.

“Where's everybody?” asked Dana. She wore a sleek, pale blue sundress that draped her figure like icing on a cake.

“November is in the kitchen complaining, Jericho is out back grilling, and I'm doing the door thing, just glad to be here.”

Kofi, carrying a bag of cookies, a carton of ice cream,
and an iPod boom box, nodded at Olivia, but his eyes were on Dana. “Let's get this party started!” he shouted. “I have three thousand songs loaded on this bad boy.”

“Have you listened to all of them?” asked Olivia.

“Yeah, most of them more than once. My iPod is my second brain,” he replied.

“Hate to see your first brain,” Olivia teased.

All of them gravitated to the kitchen, where Jericho was just bringing in a plate of grilled burgers. “What's up, Jericho?” Dana greeted them.

“Hey, Dana. What's goin' on, Kofi?” Jericho said as he put the plate down.

“And how's little mama today?” asked Dana.

“Better now that you guys are here,” November told them. “Turn the music up loud, Kofi. My mother won't be home until late.”

“What's with all the cooked cow?” Dana asked as she nibbled on a chip.

“Don't worry, girl,” November said as she opened the refrigerator. “I got your skinny little veggie back.” She pulled out a deli tray filled with sliced fresh vegetables and fruits, surrounded by roasted cashews and almonds. “Besides, that's mostly what I eat now as well.”

“Thanks, girlfriend. I knew you'd be lookin' out for me.”

Everybody began to load their plates with burgers and chips and dip, chattering about food and friends.

“Did you hear Cleveland went up to Ohio State to talk to the football coaches?” Jericho asked them. He squirted ketchup on his burger.

“If they take Cleveland, they got a Mack truck on the line,” said Kofi, grunting with approval.

“They have a
dynamite
band up there, with great scholarships,” Olivia said, admiration in her voice. “That's one of the places I'm going to apply to.”

“You can get college scholarships for band?” November asked.

“Sure! Also for dance or singing or trumpet or whatever artistic talent you have. My dad calls them the ‘artsy-fartsy' scholarships, but they pay the tuition, so what the hey! Yum, great hot dogs,” Olivia said, licking her fingers. “Pass the mustard, please.”

Kofi pulled up a chair, turned it around backward, and began to assemble his burger. “What you are about to witness, ladies and gentlemen, is the biggest hamburger ever to be made this side of the Rocky Mountains!” While the rest of them watched, he placed two burgers, four slices of cheese, three tomato slices, two dill pickles, a layer of chopped onions, and a handful of potato chips on top of one bun. All this he slathered with ketchup, mustard, and mayonnaise. Finally he placed the second bun carefully over that. “And there you have it!” he said triumphantly.

“Are you really gonna eat all that?” Olivia asked.

“Not only am I going to finish this one, baby cake—I might eat two more. Keep that grill going, Jericho. A hungry man is a dangerous man.” Kofi made a silly face.

“You're nuts!” said Jericho with a laugh.

“You're gonna be sick,” November warned.

“You're disgusting,” Dana added. “Eating all that meat!”

“Man eat red meat!” said Kofi, grunting like a caveman
and stuffing the first bite of the huge sandwich into his mouth.

They all laughed. “Reminds me of something Josh might do,” Jericho mused.

The room got quiet then, the only sound coming from Kofi's music player. “I miss him, man,” Kofi finally said.

They all looked at November, who could not face their gazes. “I gotta make a quick run to the bathroom. I'll be right back.” She disappeared around the corner.

“It's gonna be rough when school starts,” Jericho said to the others.

“For all of us, but especially November,” said Kofi.

“It's senior year,” Olivia offered softly.

“Senior year won't be any fun with a kid,” Dana stated.

Then Kofi whispered, “Is November having twins or something? I don't know much about this stuff, but isn't she pretty big?”

“Yep. I'm big as a whale, but it's just one kid in here,” November said as she came back into the kitchen. “The doctor said I'm retaining water, which doesn't seem possible seeing how I go to the bathroom every eleven seconds!”

“Hey, I'm sorry,” said Kofi. “I didn't mean to hurt your feelings or anything.”

“You didn't. Really,” she told him. She rubbed her bulging belly. “My mom took me out to dinner last week, and I couldn't fit into the booth. We had to switch to a table with chairs instead. It was sorta embarrassing,” she admitted.

Everybody seemed to concentrate on what they were eating, not sure of what to say. “Great burgers, Jericho,” Olivia mumbled, her mouth full.

November went over to the refrigerator. “I'm having strawberry ice cream. Anybody want to join me?”

“Sounds good to me,” said Dana, moving quickly to fill any gaps in the awkward situation. She helped November get out bowls and spoons.

“So, how was Kings Island yesterday?” November asked with forced cheer as she licked her spoon. “Wasn't that the annual trip where Jericho's dad gets free tickets because it's Policeman's Day?”

“Awesome, man!” said Jericho just a little too excitedly. “I rode the Beast six times!”

“And me and Kofi went on that ride where you have to sit
real
close together and then you go down the hill and splash into that fake lake. I forget what it's called, but that's all we rode all day.”

“
Real
close,” Kofi echoed as he pulled Dana close to him and nuzzled her neck. She giggled.

November smiled. “Did you keep riding it because it got you all wet, or because you had to sit almost on Kofi's lap?”

“He's got a real nice lap,” Dana said with a mischievous grin. She kissed Kofi on the cheek. He was loving it.

“Did you go, Olivia?” asked November.

Olivia added strawberry sauce to her ice cream. “Yeah, I went. Thanks for getting me the tickets, Jericho.”

“Gotta look out for my band buddies,” he said with a nod.

“I took my little cousin,” Olivia explained to November, “so I spent most of the time in Kiddie Land, but it was fun.”

“You should have gone with us too, November,” Kofi said. “It wasn't the same without you.”

“I wouldn't have been much fun,” she admitted sadly.
“I move too slow to keep up with the rest of you, and most of that stuff probably wouldn't have been safe for the baby.”

She didn't tell them that she'd cried most of the day while they were gone, missing the zooms and screeches of the roller coasters, the spins and drops of the other rides that she loved.

Last year she'd gone with Josh, and the two of them had stayed from the time it opened at ten until the gates closed at midnight. They'd gone on every single ride, even the merry-go-round. They'd eaten pizza and funnel cakes and cotton candy, then kissed under the moonlight as the fireworks exploded when the park closed.

Olivia once again brought the conversation back to what seemed to be a safe zone. “I got my schedule in the mail today. Did you guys?” She gave everyone another scoop of ice cream and a couple of cookies.

“Yeah, seems like they do that earlier and earlier every year,” Jericho said. “But for once, I don't care—it's our senior year and we are getting ready to blow out of there!” He took four chocolate chip cookies.

“Dominate!” Kofi said.

“Dictate!” added Jericho, squaring off his shoulders.

“Decorate!” Dana interjected with a laugh. “Shows how silly you two sound.”

“Girl, don't you know nothin' about male bonding?” Jericho teased her.

“I think it involves armpits and bad breath,” Olivia joked, grinning.

“The girls outnumber you here,” November told Jericho
and Kofi. “You two better be careful. We've got enough female hormones in this room to choke a horse!”

“I hear you,” Jericho said. “We're just psyched about senior year.”

“I'm thinking of going out for the swim team this fall,” said Dana, “although if it messes with my hair, I'll quit. Hairstyles are more important than activities on a college transcript,” she added in mock seriousness.

“I live and die for Friday nights,” Olivia revealed. “I love the feel of the grass when we march, the chill in the air, the smell of fresh popcorn from the concession area. I love the power my horn gives me.” She stopped suddenly.