The Big Picture (37 page)

“Hi.” She laughs nervously. “I don’t know why I do this — put on lipstick before I eat. It’s stupid, I guess.”

Yeah, it is. “You never know who might walk into the Burger Barn though. It’s best to be totally prepared. It’s our job as girls to look as fetching as possible at all times.” Am I rambling? I think I’m rambling.

“Katie — ” She fixes a bra strap that peeps out of her sleeveless top. “I’m sorry for the way I treated you . . . you know, before. I judged you on everything but what actually counts.”

I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror and force my hanging mouth to close.

“I’ve learned a lot in the last few weeks — more than I cared to. But I know I was a total snot to you because of where you came from and your mom. And now that the shoe is on the other foot — ”

Would that be a Manolo Blahnik or a Jimmy Choo?

“ — I understand how you felt. I can’t change what my father did
any more than you can change your mom’s mistakes. But I know I don’t want to be like him — probably any more than you want to be like your mother.” Her hollow laugh echoes in the small bathroom. “Most days I don’t even want to be like
me
.”

“Chelsea, you’re a good person.”
Don’t smite me, God
. This is a well-intended lie. And one day it will be true. I hope. “You have to quit walking around like you’re a nobody. I realize the people you’re hanging out with lately aren’t up on all things
Vogue
and
In Style
, but they’re sure not going to throw you overboard and laugh in your face when things get rough.”

Her glossy lips form a smile. “You’re right. It’s just hard. I snubbed you guys for so long, and now I’ve basically come crawling back, hoping you’ll be my friends.”

“And have you been disappointed so far? Have these guys let you down?”

“No.” She washes her hands and reaches for a towel. “And I wanted to tell you I’m sorry I tried to steal Charlie away from you — before you left.”

Oh, did you? I hadn’t noticed
.

“When he and I broke up, I realized he was my only true friend. After my dad’s scandal, my other so-called friends scattered. And I realized — I was just like them. But not anymore. I want you to know Charlie and I are just friends. But Katie, I need his friendship right now. I know I don’t deserve it, but I need it.”

She says that like she thinks Charlie and I are a couple. “It’s not about deserving it.” I feel like I’m talking to a reformed member of the
Mean Girls
. “That’s what friends do.” They’re more than shopping buddies. “Charlie’s a pretty amazing guy, huh?”

“I didn’t realize how much that was true until the last month. He’s seen me at my ugliest and still he’s right there.”

“Yeah — that’s Tate.” What? No! “Er, I mean Charlie.”

“WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?”

I nearly drop my bowl of ice cream as Maxine enters the living room, where I sit with my foster parents watching a movie. Her hair looks like a pack of monkeys pounced on it. There’s a run in her hose I could stick my hand through, and she’s rubbing her knuckles.

“I broke up with the mayor tonight.”

“Are you okay?” I ask, as Maxine hobbles to a chair, noticeably shy of one shoe.

“Oh, I’m fine. The old feller got a little handsy tonight in between dessert and my good-bye speech, and — ”

James mutes the TV, eyeing Maxine’s condition. “He did all
that
? I’m going over there to talk to him.”

“Oh, sit down, toots. Just had to walk home. Took a few shortcuts, got hung up in a barbed wire fence or two. Chased by some dogs. No biggie. The fence did most of this, but I took care of our mayor.”

Millie scoots to the edge of her chair. “What did you do?”

Maxine flexes her fingers. “I’m not a black belt for nothing.”

Millie frowns. “Actually you’re
not
a black belt.”

“I’m a kick-some-tail belt. I totally went ninja on that dude.”

“I cannot believe that creep,” Millie seethes. “James, you should pay him a visit tomorrow.”

“Well . . .” Maxine stretches wide and drags out a long yawn. “It’s so late. I think I’m going up to bed. Shouldn’t you be getting to bed too, Katie? A growing girl needs her sleep.”

I glance at the clock. “It’s seven-thirty.”

“Oh.” Her face falls. “Is that all? Okay, I guess I’ll go up and take a nice, hot bath and scrub the paw prints off. When you come to a commercial, you can come up and keep me company.”

“It’s a DVD.”

Maxine purses her lips. “When it gets to a boring part, meet me upstairs. I have a friend who has a problem, and I wanted to tell you about it.” Her eyes laser into mine.

“You can tell me about your friend tomorrow.”

“My
friend
wants to solve her problem
tonight
.”

“If this is about the fact Linley’s Department Store doesn’t carry Betty Lou’s brand of Velcro shoes — ”

“Meet me upstairs in ten minutes!” Maxine blasts through clenched teeth, then smiles like a homecoming queen for James and Millie. “Ten minutes,” she hisses in my ear. “Or else I feed all your Victoria’s Secret underwear to Rocky.” And she turns on her one heel and limps out of the room.

Eight minutes later, I race up to my room. A cleaned-up Maxine sits on my bed, petting Rocky. “Good timing. Sit.”

I slam the door behind me. “This had better be good. I’m missing a movie.”

“So?”

“With Matthew McConaughey.”

Maxine’s eyes twinkle in appreciation. “Nice.” She waves a hand. “Anyway, we have work to do. Though my poetry reading stunk it up, I still have a few tricks up my sleeve.”

“Would that be the sleeve you lost on the barbed wire fence?”

“Rocky, how many pairs of panties can you fit in your mouth at once?”

“Okay. Just tell me what you’re going to do.”

Maxine smiles sweetly. It gives me chills. “What
we’re
going to do, sweet pea. Now listen close. In that bag over there is a giant canvas sign I made.”

I pick up the bag and unfurl the material, laying it out on the floor. “Maxine loves Sam
Dew
berry?”

“It says Dayberry. The paint just ran a bit. Now while there’s still a little light out, we need to go hang this.”

I’m afraid to ask. “Where?”

“On the water tower, of course.”

“I’m not climbing that thing! It’s a million years old. It’s bound to tip over or cave in or something.”

“It withstood the tornado last spring. I think it can take two girls
standing on it.” Maxine refolds the banner. “Now all I need you to do is climb up the water tower with me and help me hang it. Then we’ll climb right back down. It’s easy. This can’t go wrong, Katie. There are no windows to break. It’s foolproof.”

“It’s desperate though.”

“And these are desperate times!” she cries. “I’m running out of options here. Helen Shelby says she saw Sam treating Mabel to a double dip at the Burger Barn this afternoon.” She stamps her foot. “A
double
dip!
That
is serious.”

“Vanilla or chocolate?”

“Does it matter?”

“I honestly don’t know. I’m still trying to figure out the double dip thing.”

“I will run this bag outside and prepare the bike. Meet me in the living room in two minutes. Go!”

Rolling my eyes all the way, I slink back to my seat in the living room and tune into the movie.

“Katie, dear!” Maxine calls from the doorway.

“Yes?” I feign innocence.

“It’s such a nice summer night. How about a bike ride before it gets dark?”

“I’m watching a movie.”

Maxine pops her gum and steps into the room. “I said how about a bike ride?”

James and Millie eye us warily.

“I’d love a bike ride.” My voice is as flat as a deflated balloon. “It would be oh-so refreshing and enjoyable. Thank you, Foster Granny.”

With some lame excuse about needing exercise and finishing the movie another time, I follow Maxine outside to the driveway, where once again Ginger Rogers awaits.

“You call me Foster Granny again, and you’re going to wake up one morning with all your bras in the freezer.”

“You do and I’ll string your girdle collection up the city flagpole.”

Maxine reaches around her seat on the bike and swats my knee. “And away we go!”

It’s a short ride to the In Between water tower, and thankfully all the good citizens of the town are tucked away on this Sunday evening. Because I do
not
need witnesses for what is about to happen.

“You grab the bag.” Maxine puts the kickstand in place, and we begin our ascent up the steel rungs. For every step I climb, I think of another reason why I shouldn’t be doing this. By the time we get to the top, I’m up to one hundred and twelve, and my bad ankle throbs like a smashed finger. Millie would
kill
me if she found out about this.

Ick
. It’s nasty up here. This thing looks even worse up close than it does from the road, and I didn’t think that was possible. “It’s like a bird haven.” I point to a few nests and the splattered floor of dried bird poop.

“Aw, look. Baby birds.” Maxine coos over a cheeping nest.

“Yeah, precious. Let’s get this over with before we get arrested.”

“For what?” she scoffs. “Beautifying a landmark?” She walks across the lookout area and paint flakes off with her every step. “Okay, help me out.” Maxine unfolds the banner and the slight breeze makes it dance.

I dig in her bag and get some plastic ties to anchor her giant love note to the railing.

“Ow!” Maxine jerks back. “What was that?”

I look up to see fluttering wings in the distance. “Probably a bat. It is getting dark.”

She casts a worried glance toward the horizon but lifts up her end of the banner, and we attach it to the rails. “It looks pretty good. I think it’s just a bit — ” A bird dive bombs Maxine’s head. “That thing pecked my helmet!” She waves her hands in the air to swat it away.

“It thinks you’re bothering the nest. Come on, let’s get out of here.”

“Just a few more seconds.” Her eyes plead with me. “It has to be perfect, Katie.”

I sigh. “Fine.” But I squint in the diminishing light for any more psycho mama birds.

“That lower corner will not stay down. I’m just going to lean over the railing a bit and smooth it out.”

“Maxine — ”

“I’ll be fine. See, I’m holding on. Nothing gonna — “Maxine! Don’t move. Don’t — ”

I watch in horror as two mama birds zip by again and plunge straight for a new target: Maxine’s butt.

“Almost got it. Just a little to the —
aughhhh!
” As soon as a beak hits butt, Maxine flips over the railing.

I scream in terror. I can’t look!

I must!

I look over the edge, and there the banner hangs length-wise — with Maxine dangling from the end.

“
Hellllp meeee!
”

Oh, dear God, please don’t let her fall. Let these plastic ties hold the banner to the rail. And I hope her arm muscles — which only get used when she picks up her two-ton purse and lifts the remote — can continue to hold on. Help!

Think! What do I do?

“Call someone! Get me down from here!”

“Maxine, grab onto the rungs.” I pull out my phone.

She reaches out and latches onto the ladder with all she’s got.

“Now climb down!”

“I can’t! I’m scared of heights. Just call someone!”

“Yes, I’d like to report an emergency. I’m at the In Between water tower. No,
on
the water tower. My grandmother is hanging from it. From what? Well, she made this really sweet banner for her — ”

“Skip the details and get me some help!”

“You can be out in a few minutes?” I say a few more prayers as I shut my phone. “They’re sending someone.”

“You should climb down in case I fall.”

My brow beads in sweat. “Well, I don’t think you’re heavy enough that you’ll tip the water tower.”

“No, you pigeon-brain! In case I need you to catch me.”

My brain creates a visual of that. And it ain’t pretty. “Um, yeah, I think I’ll just stay up here.”

The familiar sound of a siren echoes in the distance, and I begin to breathe again when the red fire truck pulls in next to the tower. The police follow.

A few men jump off the fire truck. The captain pulls off his hat and peers northward like he can’t believe his eyes. “Maxine loves Sam
Dew
berry”? he reads.

“Dayberry,” I correct — then wonder why.

Maxine says nothing. Just hangs from the rungs.

“Raise the ladder, boys!” And within a minute the captain is scaling the extended ladder. He reaches for Maxine. “You’re going to have to trust me and —
oomph!
” Her legs clench around his waist, and the rest of her body follows. “Hey, didn’t you teach me in Sunday school when I was a little boy? About twenty-five years ago?”

“Just shut up and get me down. Save now. Yak later.”

“I’ll meet you on the ground!” I shout. Dodging bird nests, I walk across the water tower and ease myself down the ladder.

The police officer waits for us at the bottom, his arms crossed, his mouth set. “Mrs. Simmons, why don’t I drive you home?”

“Oh, no.” Maxine’s voice shakes as the fireman carries her to the safe ground. “I prefer to ride my bike. Such a lovely evening.”

“Um, ma’am, could you maybe peel yourself off me now?”

Maxine’s unfocused gaze takes in her rescuer. “My hero.”

“Just doing my job, ma’am.” He coughs and shoots a look at the policeman. “Though a weird one.”

“Maxine, get off the fireman,” I snap.

“Mrs. Simmons, you and your friend here need to get in the patrol car. I’m taking you home.”

“Young man, you do
not
need to talk to me like I’m crazy. I am a victim here!” Maxine gains some steam as her head clears. “I was attacked by a crazed bird!” She points to the tower. “That is a serious
problem that
must
be taken care of immediately! Now unless you want to hear from my attorney, you will see to the bird matter and let me go about my business.”