WTFA: Chapter 4

            “How do I look?” May asked as she stopped just inside the entranceway of the kitchen.  She held out her arms to show off her outfit.  It wasn’t anything too fancy: black dress pants and a matching sweater with a teal tank top underneath.

            Her mom and dad looked up from their plates.  They were having burgers tonight.  Usually, her mom prepared something a little more special on Friday nights, but she must not have bothered since it would only be the two of them.

            “You look good,” her dad said, his words coming out a little strangely because of the food in his mouth.  He was still in his sheriff’s uniform.  “You look like a mature young lady.”

            “Thank you, Daddy,” May said, stepping over and taking a seat.  She still had a few minutes before Joe would be here to pick her up.

            “Would it kill you to at least wear a little makeup, Lily?” her mom asked.  “For crying out loud, it’s your one year anniversary, and I’m sure Joe would like to see you with it for a change.”

            May had winced at the use of her first name.  She hated it.  It was too girly--it didn’t fit her at all.  Because of that, she had started to go by her middle one when she moved here in third grade.  Her mom didn’t like it, insisting that it was a beautiful name for a girl to have.  It took her about a year to start calling her by her preferred name, but she still used it on occasion, particularly when she was scolding or harping her.

            “He doesn’t care, Mom,” May said, withstanding the temptation to roll her eyes at her.  She couldn’t be surprised, though.  Like with her name, her interests and the way she looked had been an ongoing battle between them.  Her mom was the classic lady, and she had wanted May to grow up to be the same.  To her dismay, May preferred playing with her older brother’s cars over her Barbie dolls, and every time her mom put her in a dress, she would return home with it dirty, sometimes ripped.  It wasn’t until May had total choice over her own wardrobe and outfits that she stopped wearing them altogether, aside from the occasional event that absolutely required them.  Makeup had only touched her face once from being at a sleepover, but she didn’t care for it.  It took too much time, and she didn’t like feeling as though she was wearing a mask.  The most she had ever done on her own was paint her fingernails, but she stopped doing that in eighth grade.

            “He may just be saying that so he doesn’t hurt your feelings,” her mom insisted.  “You like it better when I wear makeup, don’t you, Dan?”

            “I think you look beautiful either way, honey,” he said, his plate now empty.  He leaned back in his chair, folding his hands over his rounded belly.  “And I think May looks just fine the way she is.  Joe will think the same, I bet.”

            May caught the way her mother glanced at her, clearly not liking that her husband failed to back her up.  All May could do was smile to herself.

            “So, kiddo, how was your day today?” her dad asked.  “Did you get together with Brayden to finish your project?”

            “It was good, and yeah,” May said.  “Brayden came through in the end, so I didn’t get stuck doing it all by myself.”  She had almost been surprised that he showed up; usually he was good at keeping his word when it came to her and Michael, but since he had seemed to ignore that text she tried sending him, she thought she would have to do all the work.  Fortunately, those remaining twenty minutes of lunch had given them enough time to finish, too, so she didn’t have to worry about trusting him to do the rest on his own during his study hall.

            Just then, a knock came at the door. 

            “That’s Joe,” May said, jumping up from where she was sitting.

            “Have a good time,” her dad said.

            “And be back by ten,” her mom reminded her.

            “I will,” May said, pushing the chair in before heading to the front door.  She opened it to find Joe standing there on her porch, dressed in a pair of tan slacks and a white-and-blue striped button down shirt with the sleeves pushed up to his elbows.

            “Hey, May,” Joe said.  “You look great.”

            “So do you, “May said, stepping out of her house and closing the door behind her.  After making sure neither of her parents were peering out the living room window, she stood on the balls of her feet, stealing a quick kiss.  When she pulled away, she watched the new smile sprout on his lips.

            “Shall I escort you to your chariot, madame?” he asked, turning toward the four steps of the porch with his arm offered to her.

            May giggled as she hooked hers with his.  “Please do.”

            They made their way over to his black ’95 Buick Riviera--mostly in good condition, aside from the few minor dents and scratches, most of which couldn’t be seen as day turned to dusk.  The two ended their act with him opening the car door for her, something he did only on certain occasions, such as tonight, which was fine with her.  He climbed into the driver seat right after and brought the car to life.  The radio kicked on, set to a station currently playing a Katy Perry song.

            “So, how did the tour go?” May asked as Joe backed out of her driveway.

            “It went alright,” he said with a small shrug.

            “Do you like UC?” she asked.

            Putting the car into drive, he started down the road.  “I can see myself going there.  But only if I can’t go somewhere else with you.”

            May peered out the passenger side window, unsure if she wanted to have this conversation right now.  She didn’t want to risk dampening their mood before they even made it to Carrabba’s.  “I don’t know,” she muttered after a moment of silence.  “The only school in Ohio that offers a good forensic science curriculum is Youngstown State, but I don’t know if I want to go there.  Sorry, Joe, but I think my sights are set on Central Florida.  The only way I won’t go there is if I don’t get in.”

            “And we all know that won’t happen,” Joe said, almost a murmur, with a weak chuckle.  “Your grades are too good.  They’d be dumb not to let you in.”

            May looked at him.  He wore a small smile, but she knew him too well to know it wasn’t genuine.

            She placed a hand on his shoulder, gently rubbing it.  “We’ll work something out.  There’s still time.”

            “Will we?” Joe asked, his voice mostly even, but she could pick up on the upset.  “Because I don’t have the money to go where you’re going.  There’s no way I can scrounge up the scholarship money.  I don’t want to be paying off all those loans for the rest of my life.  And you won’t consider negotiating.”

            May lightly winced at the last part.  She opened her mouth, about to speak.

            “Sorry,” Joe continued before she could.  He sighed.  “I know.  You shouldn’t have to negotiate.  It’s your future, and I don’t want to get in the way of that.  I just wish I could be with you.  I don’t want some long distant relationship.  It won’t be the same as being able to see you every day.  In person.”

            “I know,” May said quietly.  “Maybe it isn’t the best way to have a relationship, and I don’t like it any more than you do, but if that’s what we have to do, then that’s what we have to do.”  She gave a small shrug.  “This is our futures we’re talking about.  I love you--a lot--and I never want to separate from you, but our education is top priority.  You already know how I feel about that.  If that means seeing each other only during Christmas and over the summer for a few years, then that’s what we have to do.”

            “True.  You’re right.  I guess I just have trouble accepting it.”

            May offered him a small smile before staring out the windshield.  As silence settled over them, she realized the radio had switched to an Adele song a couple of minutes ago.  She watched as they approached a red light. 

            Joe chuckled quietly.  “Some way to start off our one year anniversary date, huh?”

            “I know, sorry,” she said with a quiet laugh.  “We should talk about something else.”

            “Did you get that project done?” he asked as they started moving again.

            “Yep.”  She paused, remembering something.  “And I also saw Michael kiss Ashley.”

            “What?”

            “I had to go get something from my locker.  I saw them at Ashley’s locker, and that’s when it happened.”  Since the top of the stairs she took were right in the junior hall, she had been able to see them, but even before she reached the landing, she could hear them talking since the halls had been quiet enough.  “I don’t think they saw me.”  She had left as soon as she saw it, not wanting either of them to catch her.  She had wanted to avoid a confrontation with them at that moment.

            Honestly, it had surprised her; while she had been able to tell Michael developed an interest in Ashley, she never expected that he would do something like that.  He never appeared to be the type to cross those boundaries.  Unless it had been accidental.

            “And Brayden didn’t see it?”

            May shook her head.  “He wanted to come with me, but I made him stay at the library and work more on our project.”

            “Probably a good thing, too.  Then again, is he even into Ashley?”

            “Nope.”

            “Then would he even care?”

            “Oh, I can tell you that he would.”  But for different reasons than what Joe was thinking.  May peered out the passenger side window as she felt the car pick up speed.  They were entering onto the expressway.  “I don’t know if I should say anything or not.”

            “Whoa, do you really think that’s a good idea?” Joe asked.  “Didn’t you pretty much just say that Brayden would get ticked if he found out?”

            “He shouldn’t be lied to.  But maybe I’ll talk to Michael first, see if he’ll tell me why he did it.”

            “No offense, babe, but it sounds like you’ll be meddling,” Joe said.

            “Kind of,” she said.  Feeling Joe’s hand come to rest on her thigh, she glanced down at it.  She smiled a little, and placed her hand on top of his, giving it a light, affectionate squeeze.  She looked at him.  “What would you do? If they were your two best friends?”

            Joe shrugged.  “Honestly? Leave it alone.  I keep my nose out stuff where it doesn’t belong.  And it sounds like it’s better that it stays on the down low.  Y’know.  Ignorance is bliss.  I wouldn’t want to be the starter of a war between friends.”

            “I guess you have a point,” she said, but despite that, she still felt like she needed to say something.

            Apparently, Joe caught onto this: “Just think it through a little more before you go getting yourself involved.”

            “I will.”  But she was certain she would talk to Michael first.  Maybe Brayden wouldn’t even have to know, if it was simply a mistake on Michael’s part.  That was, if Ashley--or Michael--hadn’t told Brayden about it already.

            May snapped from her thoughts when she heard a ping coming from Joe’s pocket.  She felt Joe’s hand leave her lap, and she looked over, seeing him reaching into his pocket.

            “What are you doing?” she asked as he watched him pull out his cell--unlike a lot of the other people at school, he didn’t own a smartphone. 

            “Checking to see who texted me,” he said, glancing down at his phone.  “It’s my mom.”

            He slid the phone open to reveal the keypad, and she yanked it out of his hand.

            “Hey!”

            “You can’t text!” May said.  “You’re driving, Joe!”

            “Sorry, I forgot you hated that,” he muttered apologetically.

            “And I have a good reason to.  For one, you’re not eighteen yet.  You’re not allowed to text while driving--you’ll have your license suspended if a cop catches you.  And besides that, you should realize how dangerous it is.”

            “I know, babe,” Joe said, “but relax.  I rarely do it, and I’m careful.  Nothing will happen to me.”

            May rolled her eyes, looking away from him and out the windshield.  “That’s what everyone thinks.  And then something happens, sometimes changing their lives forever, if not taking it away.”  She looked at him.  “I don’t want something like that to happen to you.”

            He glanced at her, a gentle smile on his face.  “Okay, I’ll stop.  Now can I have my phone back?”

            Joe held out his hand and she put the phone in it.  To her relief, he had listened and returned it to his pocket.

            “Thank you.”  With a light smirk, she glanced at the speedometer.  “And watch your speed.”

            “I’m staying under seventy,” he told her, his smile still present.  He shook his head.  “You’re such a sheriff’s daughter.”

            Joe patted her on the leg, and May quietly giggled.

            “Yes I am.”