Apples to Oranges (5 page)
Authors: Xondra Day
“He was toasted when he came back to the tent.”
“I’m surprised he found his way back. That’s why I came to check
on him. Get him up. We’re leaving to head back to town in a bit.”
Jace nodded. “Will do.”
Jace bent down and stuck his head inside the tent. “
response. Nothing. “
he called, this time louder.
He heard a moan first and then
from the light flooding into the tent. “What?”
it’s still early.”
“Mike’s leaving soon. We have to get this stuff packed up.” Jace
wondered exactly how much
entirely possible he’d remember nothing.
“Okay. Give me a minute to wake up.”
head’s ready to bust wide open.”
Jace crawled into the tent and reached for his bag. “I have some
pills for that.” He retrieved a small bottle and handed them to
“Thanks. You’re a lifesaver. I hate hangovers. You’d think I’d
learn eventually.”
the bottle back to Jace. “My mouth feels like sandpaper.” He grimaced.
“Here.” Jace handed him a can of cola. “It’s warm, but will do.”
opened the can, guzzling a bit of the fizzy liquid. “Much better. Well, let’s
get this shit packed up before Mike has a fit.”
There was no mention of last night, not even a hint at what
they’d done together. Jace was a little disappointed, yet relieved at the same
time. If it was a onetime thing, he’d get over it and relish the memory.
****
When he’d awoken that morning with Jace calling him,
been cloudy from everything he’d drank the night before. Then there was that
bitch of a headache, which only compounded things.
He remembered everything from the night before and he’d wanted
it to happen. He’d been the one who’d initiated it. Supressing his feelings
weren’t working, that much was obvious.
could, he stole glances at Jace through the passenger’s rear-view mirror, which
he adjusted to his advantage as to not make anything obvious.
pulled into the driveway which led to his trailer. He jumped out quickly as the
vehicle came to a halt, grabbing his bag.
“Are you okay?” Mike called after him.
just a little under the weather from all the…you know.” He made a drinking
gesture with his right hand to indicate what he’d meant and rolled his eyes.
“Got ya,” Mike replied, adding a wink. “I’m not feeling great
myself. Give me a call later, man.”
lying. He didn’t feel great and once inside he made a direct beeline to the
bathroom to yack his guts up.
He flushed the toilet twice and then brushed his teeth once he
was finished. He felt a tad better, but not by much. And still, images of Jace
and what they’d done together raced through his mind. He needed to sleep. Sleep
would help and he hoped that when he woke again, everything would look better.
****
“I’m glad you’re back,” Jace’s mom said when he walked through
the front door. “Get cleaned up. We have to go out.” She looked good. Her hair
was styled and she was wearing makeup, along with a floral print dress that
he’d hadn’t see her wear in a long time.
“Where are we going?” Jace questioned.
“The cemetery. I need to visit your dad.” She stood in the
hallway in front of the mirror primping. “It’s time I went. For some reason, I
feel the need to go there today.”
She hadn’t set foot inside the cemetery since the day his dad
was buried. He knew this and never mentioned it. Jace figured it was grief that
kept her away. He hadn’t gone either. It hurt too much to face the stark
reality of the situation. “Okay. Gimme a few minutes to shower and change into
some clean clothes.”
She nodded. “It’s a great day, and so sunny. I’ll be in the
garden. I’ve neglected it so much. I need to get back at that again. It’s all
gone to ruin.”
Under the hot spray, his thoughts went from his dad and his
suddenly
Stepford
mom to
again.
He then dressed in shorts and a clean t-shirt and went outside to find his mom.
“For your dad.” She held out a bunch of spring flowers. “I know
he wasn’t much for flowers, but what else do you bring to a cemetery when you
visit?”
“Just bring you,” Jace said, placing one hand on her shoulder.
“That’s all Dad would want.”
“You’re right, but I’ll still bring the flowers.”
****
The cemetery was located on the outskirts of town, not far from
where they lived.
They parked the car outside the closed gate when they arrived
and when his mom went to open it, she trembled slightly as her hands fumbled
with the latch. “I guess my nerves have gotten the better of me. I was fine
back at the house.”
“We can go back and try another day if you like,” Jace offered.
This was a huge step for her.
“No,” she said, shaking her head. “I need to do this. It’s time.
I’ve been hiding from life since your dad’s death. I need to do this. I need to
find a way to move on or I’m going to end up here beside him way before my
time.”
Jace remembered very little about the actual funeral. There was
the service at the church. He sat through it practically in a coma, not
listening to a word anyone was saying. At that time he wished for it all to be
over and done with, but from the little he did remember, it was the graveside
service that was the hardest. There had been a lot of crying. He kept his head
low for most of it, not making eye contact with anyone. He remembered wincing
as the casket was lowered into the ground and now walking through the rows of
headstones, some old and some new, he couldn’t help but wonder what the people
looked like laying in the ground.
“Over there.” Jace’s mom pointed to a large oak tree in the near
distance. “The stone’s in place,” she said, once they reached the grave. “They
did a wonderful job with it.” She stooped down and ran one hand across the
smooth black marble top. “It was important for them to get it right.”
Overhead, birds chirped in the tree. Suddenly, it was very real.
Jace’s dad was dead and this was all there was. A grave, a stone, and a whole
lot of memories.
Jace watched as she placed flowers on the grave and stood back
reading his dad’s name along with his date of birth and death. She then paused.
“My place will be next to him, where I’m standing now.”
He didn’t want to think about losing her. Losing one parent was
enough. “It’s peaceful here.” Jace glanced at the sky hoping his small effort
would change the topic of conversation.
“It is,” she agreed. “All of our kin are buried here. You didn’t
know either set of your grandparents, but they’re all here over yonder, just
past those trees. It was fitting that your dad be here with them.” She stopped
talking and pressed two fingers to her lips and then placed them against the
stone. “Let’s take a stroll.”
“Are you okay?” Jace wasn’t sure she’d be able to cope.
“I am. I’m remembering him. Memories are a good thing. I’m glad
I forced myself to come here.”
“I miss him too,” he said. “I think about him all the time.”
“I know you do, honey. He was a wonderful man.” She smiled.
“Now, let’s take a walk. It’ll help clear my head.”
An hour later they were back standing over his dad’s grave. It
looked like rain was coming. The sky had clouded over and sure enough, when
they reached the car, tiny droplets began to pelt the windows.
“The calm before the storm,” said his mom, starting the car.
“Let’s go home.”
****
Monday came and went. By the end of the day, Jace was ready for
school to be over and done with. Mrs. Glynn had tossed them a surprise quiz
straight out of left field in geography and while he thought he’d done well
with it, it wasn’t expected and he wished he’d studied more for that class.
“That’s in the toilet,” Mike said, passing by in in the hall.
They stopped at Jace’s locker and he listened as Mike explained why Mrs. Glynn
was a hag for springing this one on them. “She gets off on it. Did you see the
look of satisfaction on her face when she told us we had a test today? She
needs to spend more time shaving that ‘stache she got.” He pointed to his upper
lip and laughed. “That thing has more hair than my ass!”
Jace raised one brow and smirked. “That’s a nice image.”
“I’ve got a nice ass.” Mike spun around and lifted the back of
his t-shirt. “See. It’s nice and firm too.”
“I’ll take your word for that.” Jace rolled his eyes. Mike did
have a nice ass and was quite good-looking. He could see why lots of girls
found his cousin attractive.
“Pfft, you didn’t even look,” Mike scoffed, faking
disappointment.
“I don’t go around looking at guy’s butts.” Jace rummaged
through his locker for a notebook and shoved it into his bag after he’d found
it.
“You know, if you did it wouldn’t matter.” Mike went silent.
“That’s good to know.” Mike’s comment left him a little
dumbstruck. Did Mike know about him and Preston, or perhaps,
“But you know it doesn’t matter to me what you are. I felt the
need to say that. We’re cool and always will be.”
“What exactly are you trying to say? Am I missing something
here?”
“There are rumours going around. Some people think you might be
gay,” Mike explained.
“They think?”
“Yeah. I don’t think anything one way or the other. If you are,
it’s okay. It’s no big deal to me. Your life is yours. That’s how I see it.”
“Thanks, I guess.” Jace didn’t know what else to say and he
wasn’t ready or in the mood to confirm anything. This wasn’t his time to come
out. “Who’s been saying this?”
“Just a bunch of people here at school. They didn’t say anything
bad. They think that it’s possible because you’ve never had a girlfriend or
shown any interest.”
“And that would make me gay?”
Mike leaned into him and lowered his voice. “You’re eighteen and
a decent looking guy. You could easily have a girlfriend if you wanted one.”
“Lots of guys also have girlfriends for years and they’re still
gay.” Jace was proud of himself for making that point.
“Point taken and you’re right. Anyway, let’s get the hell outta
here. I got the van and will give you a lift home.”
****
his best to avoid Jace that day and when he spotted the two guys heading
towards him from across the parking lot, he didn’t know if it was best to stay
or fuck off. He chose the former, thinking they’d already seen him anyway.
It wasn’t that he didn’t like Jace. He liked him too much. Since
their little encounter he’d done nothing
but
think about him. “Hey,” he said. He nodded to Jace, but kept his eyes
focused on Mike. “Can I get a ride home?”
“Sure, hop in. The doors are unlocked.” Mike paused just as he
was about to get in the van. “Shit, I forgot my history book. It’s still in my
locker. I’d forget my fucking head if it wasn’t attached. I’ll be back
shortly.”
with Jace. “Nice day.” He looked up at the grey sky. It wasn’t, not really, but
anything to make things less awkward between them.
Jace dropped his bag to the ground. “I guess.” He turned away
from
“In a hurry?”
“Not really. I have some stuff to do after supper. I’m helping
out with the yearbook and I’m supposed to get together with
“That’s the preppy guy, right? Looks like he’s a bit of a douche
to me.”
had come undone.
“He’s all right.”
“Those clothes and that hair. And he walks like he’s got a stick
shoved up his ass.” He totally didn’t know where he was going with this
conversation, or why he was picking on some guy he’d never spoken to.
“I think he looks good,” Jace said.
“Do you?”
nearly bit his tongue after saying the last few words. He should have kept his
mouth shut and his opinions to himself.
“Maybe.” Jace turned to face him.
“So, what are you, boyfriends with him?” His cheeks grew hot and
his mind screamed for him to shut the hell up, but he couldn’t.
“No,” Jace replied. “We’re friends.”
