"No. Tulips."
"Yellow?"
"Purple."
"Hmm. And the chocolates, they were caramels?"
"Frango mints. Very tasty."
"Tasty, huh? So much for mother's advice." I laugh.
My boss waves her arms in the air. "Enough lollygagging, Margaret."
When we're putting the dishes away, Mrs. Reynolds sways and holds the edge of the counter for support.
"Are you okay?" I ask, taking the plate from her and leading her to the sofa.
"These new medications are just wreaking havoc with these old bones, that's all. Nothing to worry about."
I do worry. Before I leave her house, I call Auntie Mae's Diner and tell Mr. Reynolds to check on her.
I head to the bus stop after I'm convinced she's okay. A car screeches by me as I walk. I recognize it as the same car with the guys who got in a fight with Caleb.
"Hey, it's Caleb Becker's retarded girlfriend," someone yells out the window.
I bite the inside of my lip and keep walking.
"I think she wants you, Vic. Why don't you show her a good time," someone else says. Then they all laugh.
The car is driving slowly beside me. I just hope they don't step out of the car. If I stop walking, will they get out?
Will they hurt me?
Deep fear, so intense I'm shaking inside, keeps me from stopping.
I can't go back to Mrs. Reynolds' house. It's too far and I can't outrun these guys. There are houses lining the street. I could try ringing a doorbell and ask someone to call the police.
A plan forms in my head. I turn around and head in the opposite direction, the direction I just came from. But in the process I fall down. My hands are stinging and I feel sticky wetness dripping down my knee from the cut I've just gotten from the fall.
"Did you have a nice trip?" one of them yells out the window.
I get up and hobble faster, praying they won't turn the car around and follow me. Because if they do, I don't know how I'm going to handle it. I listen for the sound of the car turning around. I don't dare look back and give them another reason to come after me. But I can hardly hear anything besides the furious panting of my own breath.
Relief sweeps over me as the bus roars down the street. I hurry to the curb and wave the bus down, then glance to see if the car is still there.
"You okay?" the bus driver asks.
"I'm fine," I say, then scurry to the back to sit.
Nothing can cure me, no amount of physical therapy or surgeries. The old Maggie, the tennis star without a debilitating limp, the old Maggie, who could run away from danger, doesn't even exist.
Caleb is outside mowing his lawn as I limp down the street. He stops the motor and rushes over to me as soon as he glances my way.
"What happened? Tell me what happened."
I'm trying to hold back tears. "I'm fine."
He looks around to make sure people aren't looking, then cradles my face in his hands. "You're not fine. Damn it, talk to me."
I gaze at him in despair. "It was that Vic guy."
"I'll kill him if he touched you," he growls, eyeing my ripped pants stained with blood.
"He didn't. He and his friends just scared me, that's all."
"I'll make sure that never happens again, Maggie."
I smile warmly at him. "You're not going to always be able to protect me. What are you going to do when I'm in Spain, fly over and beat up all the bad guys who make fun of me?"
THIRTY-FIVE
Caleb
I said Vic was going to pay, but I didn't know how to do it ... legally. That is, until I was talking to the guys at lunch yesterday who told me Vic is competing for his school at our wrestling invitational today.
I am officially a Paradise Panther wrestler now. And I only have to beat out four guys until I come face to face on the mat with Medonia. As I suspected, we're still in the same weight class. I think the guy's using steroids to bulk up.
I'm in the locker room with the rest of the team, getting ready for the match.
"Caleb, you look like you're about to kill someone," Brian says as I jump rope to warm up.
"He's in the zone," Drew says. "Ain't that right?"
I don't answer. Coach Wenner stops me and pats me on the back. "You haven't been to practice, Becker. You sure you're ready?"
I put my mouth guard in. "Yeah, Coach."
I win my first two matches with a pin within the first minute. The third match took me a little longer. I think I pinned him in ninety seconds.
"CB's on fire!" Tristan yells as he's plugging up a nosebleed from his previous match.
I focus as they call me and Medonia up to the mat. I can't wait to wipe that smirk off his face.
"How's your girlfriend?" he asks.
"Better than yours, any day."
"She's a cripple, Becker."
"You'll be the cripple after this match."
The ref puts his hands between us. "Keep it clean, guys."
When the match starts, I push him with all my might until he falls. Unfortunately, he rolls off the mat and the ref blows his whistle. "Caution, Panthers. Point for Fremont."
The next time we start, Medonia starts low. I move off the mat when the match starts and Medonia flies past me. The ref blows his whistle.
When the match starts up again, I get one more caution for an illegal hold which ends up with my elbow in Medonia's face.