Millstone

“Today’s teacher appreciation day and I don’t have anything for Mrs. Prather” Della told me while she buckled in.

“Seriously?” I sighed as I pulled out of the garage. Another mom duty totally neglected and put off on me. “Well maybe you can take your gift tomorrow.” I forced a cheery smile as I tried a little convincing of my own. “That way she’ll get presents two days instead of one.”

Despite my optimism, Della is smarter than most second graders and didn’t buy my sales pitch. “But today’s teacher appreciation day, not tomorrow. We have a presentation and everything. How am I gonna look standing there with my hands empty?”

I let spite get the better of me and voice dialed my mother. She answered on the first ring.

“Yes.” Her tone was curt.

“Did you forget Della needed a teacher gift for the presentation today?” I was smug with my query.

“You obviously didn’t read the list I gave you.” She addressed me like one of her employees and caused my self-assuredness to melt into the leather seats. I hadn’t read the note. I purposely ignored it and left it on the counter.

“I was too busy helping Della dress.” I hurled the blame back.

“Well now you’re going to have to stop at the store and get some flowers. I have another call.” She hung up on me, moving on to a more important conversation. “Damn it!” I hit the steering wheel.

“I’m sorry.” The corners of Della’s tiny bow lips pulled down as a tear escaped her eye and splashed on her Rainbow-Dash t-shirt.

My stomach dropped. All she wanted to do was to bring flowers to her teacher and now she’s crying. “Oh sweetie,” I took one hand off the wheel to stroke her little face. “It’s not your fault.” I wanted to launch into a long discourse on how it’s mother's fault and how she shirks her responsibilities as a parent and it’s a wonder to me she didn’t have a surrogate carry us instead of herself, but I didn’t think Della would understand half of it. Besides, she’s already depressed and dumping a pile of proverbial shit on our mother isn’t going to help her mood.

I steered Della past the bakery and into the floral department, but she was more interested in the heavily frosted cupcakes than bouquets of flowers. Her little pink tongue peeked out between her lips as she eyed the bright red ladybug with black dots, savoring the taste despite the glass barrier. “Mrs. Prather loves ladybugs.” She whispered.

“You love ladybugs too!” I poked at the soft fur of the ladybug backpack hanging off her shoulders. She smiled and without hesitation I purchased two cupcakes from the bakery. She picked out a bouquet of sunflowers and a blue Mylar balloon in the shape of a star with, You’re the Best, printed on the front.

I pulled up to the school in record time. “If you run, you’ll make it.” I encourage her. She stuffed one of the cupcake boxes in her lunch bag and then grabbed the other along with the flowers and climbed out of the car.

“Don’t forget the balloon.” I reminded her, handing her the string, eager to get the floating blind spot out of my car.

“I got that for you.” She grinned.

Although I was late for school myself, I stayed and watched her little ladybug backpack bounce on her back as she ran through the school entrance. Once safe inside, I checked my rearview before pulling into the other lane. You’re the best! was all I could see.

My heart warmed with her token of gratitude. The truth was my mother misses so much. Yes, it should have been her doing this instead of me this morning but in all honesty, I wouldn’t have traded this moment for anything. I harnessed the floating message and headed for school.

“Where were you? You missed study hall and you weren’t answering my text. I was ready to call the cops.”

“Give you one guess,” I rolled my eyes.

“More parental duties?” Brianna knew my situation well.

I nodded as we stepped onto the field littered with brightly decorated booths, worked by smiling recruiters, all trying to lure you in, like moths to a porch light.

“Yep, and they are to be continued on into the evening.”

“No!” she stopped suddenly and pulled my arm, so I was facing her. “Caressa not tonight. You’ve been planning this for months. What about the Nanny or one of the house staff?”

I accepted a piece of swag from a girl, with a toothy smile, passing out plastic water tumblers. “This isn’t something she agrees with so of course she will do whatever she can to make it impossible for me.”

“So, what are you going to do?” Brianna seemed more upset about the situation than I was.

“I’m going to bring Della and Gunner with me.”

Brianna paled and ran her hands through her fading teal hair. “Seriously?”

“Well, I can’t just not show up and I’m not going to let my mother steal this from me.”

“You’re determined, that’s for sure.” She shook her head in disbelief as a pained expression outlined her face. “I’ll stay at your place and babysit.”

Little acts of selflessness like this are one of the many reasons Brianna was my best friend. I loved her and not sure if I would have made it this far in life without her. Having her stay at my place and watch the kids would be ideal but I was nervous about this gig and really needed her there with me. “No way, I want you to be there. I can bring a coloring book for Della and Gunner can bring his iPad and play his games. It’ll all work out.”

She tilted her head and shrugged. “If you think so.” The tone in her voice revealed she was unsure of my choice. To be honest I wasn’t sure if taking Della and Gunner was the right thing to do but it was my only option. There was no need to overthink it. I was already nervous and dwelling on the situation would only increase my anxiety.

I looked around at the cornucopia of scholastic institutions. It’s a waste of my time. I knew the universities my parents expected me to attend would not be represented here today. Harvard is their first school of choice since it ranks number one in the entire world for medicine and biological science.

The other two are all the way in the UK, Cambridge, and Oxford so I highly doubt they came over seas to put up a kiosk in our small town of Millstone.

We passed a man in uniform trying to convince us to join the armed forces. Come to think of it, Boot camp would be a breeze compared to my enlistment at home.

Like a divining rod striking water my eyes were drawn to a stand near the border of the property. In the shade of the tree line sat a booth unlike all the other typical convention kiosks. This one seemed more like a makeshift tent, with a rustic canvas strewn across the tree branches like an awning. Whatever this do-it-yourself teepee represented must be compelling because every girl in the junior and senior class was huddled in front of it. Monkey see, monkey do, so Brianna and I made our way through the crowd, rubbernecking with each step, trying to get a glimpse of whatever could draw the masses away from university central.

“My God it’s Jesus!” Brianna got the first peek. I laughed until a girl in front of me pulled out of the crowd. Her head was down as she examined the application in her hand. My eyes left her as I slipped into the vacant spot. It was a perfect view into the crude tabernacle. I caught my breath. Hidden within the shade of the tree line was the loveliest specimen of the male race I had ever laid eyes on. Brianna was right. He looked like Jesus, except instead of a white robe he was wearing a faded pair of Levis, a plaid shirt that hung open revealing a white wife beater hugging his chest in all the right places. His ebony hair was long with a natural shine making it appear like feathers of a raven. He had a five-o'clock shadow and piercing gray eyes that singled me out in this crowd of ogling high school girls. I swallowed hard and stepped backward, allowing other girls to push in front of me. Quickly, I retreated, power walking through the booths like a criminal separating themselves from the scene of the crime. I stopped at a table covered in crimson fabric and inadvertently picked up a brochure. I examined it intently, like I was interested and reading but I wasn’t. I couldn’t focus. All I could do was just stare at the pictures while the bubbly recruiter, who introduced herself as Jodie, rattled on about Alabama and how they offer degrees in over 200 fields of study. My phone vibrated right in the middle of her discourse on the crimson tide. I answered, prompting Chipper Jodie to scowl at my rudeness. She stopped her pitch and swiftly turned her attention to another.

“Where are you?” Brianna sounded confused.

“Alabama booth,” I glanced out over the crowd to see her heading toward me. I continued to talk in my cell as I made my way to her.

“Why did you leave?” She wrinkled her forehead in bewilderment.

“I don’t know, it was crowded, and I got shoved out of the way, It’s too hot for that crap.” I made up a reasonable excuse. “What was it anyway?”

She handed me a piece of paper as we simultaneously ended our call. “Something right up your alley. Take a look.”

Cobblestone Hill (Break free and let nature be your teacher) “Don’t tempt me.” I handed the paper back. “Sounds amazing but we both know my parents would never go for that. I swear my mother would have the place raided and closed down if I stepped one foot on the property.”

“But it’s only for the summer.” She was quick to pitch the program. “It wouldn’t interfere with college. You would be finished with the program before school started. And best of all it's free! Besides, Jesus works it so you can’t go wrong with that. My God did you see that guy?”

“Not really,” I lied. I saw him well and I can describe every detail about that beautiful man right down to the rawhide necklace he was wearing but I didn’t. I can’t explain it, so I didn’t try, but something about that brief encounter sent a searing charge of electricity through me. Hipster Jesus had some kind of guru powers, that’s for sure.

“Anyway.” She unzipped my backpack and crammed the paper inside, “I think I might go, so you should look into it. You can spend the summer painting, writing, foraging, and getting close to nature just like you’ve always wanted to. It looks pretty laid back so you could probably come and go as you please. You should consider it anyway.” She zipped my pack shut and suddenly my little knapsack felt ten pounds heavier.