“You really do suck at singing,” she teased me.
I ignored her and kept singing, moving to the second verse.
I started us back to where everyone else was as I sang to her. Tracy held me tight, and I saw a tear in the corner of her eye.
“Don’t cry,” I said.
“These are happy tears. Keep singing to me,” she urged.
That I could do.
◊◊◊
We were in stereotypical tourist mode by the time we reached our next stop, which was the Autry Museum. In the 1930s, a radio show had begun, featuring a singing cowboy named Gene Autry. He was probably the first All-American boy who was the straight-shooting hero—honest, brave, and true. Part of his legacy was the museum that featured collections of Western art and memorabilia.
One piece of trivia that I would never have guessed was that he was the original singer for the Christmas classic
This time when I got off the bus, I grabbed Tami’s hand and dislodged her from her boyfriend, Tim.
“I’m stealing her,” I explained as we turned the opposite direction from the rest of the group.
We checked out some of the displays as we walked in silence. I fell in love with what the label called ‘Bison Chairs.’ They were a pair of chairs that were hand-carved in the shape of buffalo heads with real horns. They were carved in mahogany and rosewood and manufactured in, of all places, Scotland in 1842.
I could see them next to a fireplace in a cabin, giving the room a wow factor. Then I thought of my little rug-rats climbing all over them and figured it best that they remain at the museum for safekeeping.
“I need you to do me a favor,” I began and then told Tami all about Cindy’s visit and Wolf’s worry about being singled out.
“Do you want Sarah and me to be their guinea pigs?” she asked.
“You guys wouldn’t be embarrassed?”
“Sarah’s a model, and I plan to be a doctor. Plus, I would rather Tim practice on me than Cindy,” she explained.
“Afraid she might turn his head?” I teased.
“No, but she might break him. I’ve just about gotten him trained,” she said.
That sounded like a common theme.
“Funny, Brook said the same thing about me.”
“You’re a lost cause. Brook is delusional if she thinks she’ll ever get you under control.”
“Hey,” I said, acting offended. “I’m a good boy.”
“Yeah, you have been,” she agreed.
I looked at her in suspicion. She must want something if she was tossing out compliments. Tami had always had the ability to read my mind, so I wasn’t surprised when she rolled her eyes at me.
“You’ve been too busy to cause too much trouble,” Tami clarified.
“I can’t seem to help myself,” I said to defend myself.
“I guess I miss the ‘fun’ David who arranged group activities at Tracy’s lake house and on away games,” she teased.
“For now, maybe. At some point, I’ll be free of the ball-’n-chain.”
She looked at me with a sharp expression.
“Does that mean you’re thinking about breaking up with Brook?”
“Not right now,” I said, forgetting that with girls, you had to use more than three words.
“Keep talking,” she prodded.
“We’ve talked about ending it at the end of high school. It makes sense because I’ll be off making movies, and I don’t really see me going to Princeton for college. We agreed that even though we care for each other, a long-distance relationship wouldn’t work,” I explained more fully.
“Good,” she said and nodded.
“What about you and Tim?” I asked to get the focus off of me.
“We haven’t really talked about it. Right now, he’s the perfect boyfriend for me. I see him about once or twice a month, which leaves me plenty of time to study. When school ends, I guess we’ll have to figure out what’s next. I’m in no hurry to try to figure it out,” she said.
“What?” I said in mock horror. “What have you done with my best friend? You can’t be Tami Glade.”
“Shut up. I can do casual,” she whined.
“No, you can’t,” I shot back. “You have to know
She gave me a sheepish grin.
“I knew it!” I crowed. “When are you going to break it to him?”
“Shut up! I never said anything. Besides, like I said, Tim’s the perfect boyfriend for me.”
“For now,” I said and looked at her with one eyebrow raised. “Don’t make me pull out the Secret Game.”
“Okay, fine!” she huffed. “I need to talk to him.”
“Maybe he is better off not knowing. I need him focused for baseball season. I can’t have him distracted by you ripping his heart out,” I reasoned.
“So, it’s all about you?” she asked.
“Puh-lease! We both know it’s always been about you. When was the last time you did anything I said?” I asked.
That earned me a slug to the chest. What was it about girls thinking it was okay to hit me? Did they not get the memo that I would hit back? Okay, that might only be if they tried to kick me in the nuts.
Tami saw the look on my face and bolted. Neither the museum security people nor her boyfriend were happy with me when I chased her. Somehow, I got the blame and was asked to leave.
◊◊◊
