Snack (15 page)

I was in England. His name was Teddy. He treated me very well. He was very concerned when we did it—that I really
wanted
to have sex and that he didn’t hurt me. He actually asked me to stay in England with him, but when I received an invitation to my five-year high school reunion, a strange longing overtook me. I accepted the invitation and went home for the reunion. I really don’t know what inspired me. Maybe it was because I was homesick and missed my family or perhaps I felt, maybe, just maybe, I could finally survive being in a room with Snack for more than an hour and for more than a cursory conversation. Whatever it was, the pull was undeniable, so I left the lovely UK Teddy and came home.

I showed up late to the reunion. I figured I’d go and if it was horrible I’d leave. When I arrived into town, I hopped a cab to the house. My father was very surprised to see me, to say the least. Sid was the only kid living at home and a junior in high school, so not home much. Dad was over the moon to see me. It had been months and overseas calling plans were expensive. I’ll admit I didn’t get to a Internet café to email him very often.

I probably should stay home with Dad but I don’t. I quickly change into a tailored blue cocktail dress with a trumpet skirt, gather my long, brown hair up into a high pony, borrow the El Camino, and go to the reunion.

The five-year reunion for North Downers Grove High School Class of 2000 is at The Architect, a banquet venue up on Butterfield Road. The reception hall is owned by the family of a classmate of mine and is
way
too nice for a bunch of pseudo adults one year out of college.

When I arrive, I’m greeted at the reception table by none other than Lorna D’Innocenzio. Really? My nemesis is my first contact back after avoiding the place for years.

I’m shockingly pleased at how bad she looks, and almost immediately feel disgusted with myself for thinking such a meanspirited thing. How could five years change someone so much? She looks puffy and her hair is thinning. She looks much older than twenty-three.

Weirder still is that she’s kind to me. No “Fugly Mouse.” No intimidation.

“Minnie? Minnie Cooper? You look terrific!”

“Thanks, Lorna.” I can’t believe I’m thanking Lorna.

“We haven’t seen you around here since graduation. The rumor mill in DG has been working overtime wondering where you’ve been. I bet Snack will be happy to see you. He’s in
rare
form tonight.”

“I’ve been overseas. I’ll be happy to see everyone, too.” What am I saying? I’m not here to see anyone but Snack.

Crossing my arms loosely, I pinch myself on the soft part of my underarm because I had to be dreaming. Is Lorna actually being nice to me? And what does she mean Snack is in “rare form?”

The question no sooner floats to the top of my mind when I hear him. Over all the crowd noise and music from the DJ, I hear his voice above everything else. Deep and smooth, his voice held a distinctive rasp when he spoke low in his register to make a point.

He must have spotted me through the crowd in the lobby to the reception hall. “MY GIR—!”he shouts, but holds his tongue before he finishes. “Everyone, Minnie Cooper is here! She’s decided to grace Downers Grove with her presence!”

His last statement is sarcastic, but I don’t care. It’s true. I haven’t been around much.

In one of the most movie-like moments of my life, the crowd actually parts and Snack walks through the canyon of North Downers Grove High School alumni right up to me. There are hundreds of pairs of eyes on us.

Snack swoops me up into his arms and spins me around. “You’re here! You’re really here! How come you didn’t tell me? Did anyone know?”

“I sent in my RSVP, but maybe it didn’t arrive. The invitation just got to me a day or two before I left England. I wonder why we didn’t do it electronically?”

Snack shouts out to the entire ballroom, “Who knew? Who here knew?”

A voice from the crowd says, “I did, but not until this afternoon. I didn’t want to tell you in case she was a no-show.” Snack still has me in a spinning hug, and I think I our senior class president is the person that answered him.

Once Snack sets me back on my feet, I tell him, “Hey, even my Dad didn’t know. I surprised him.”

“Awesome surprise. Let’s get a drink!” Snack grabs my hand and pulls me further into the party.

Snack had already been drinking from the subtle slur of his words.

“Minnie?” There’s a very familiar voice behind me.

I turn to see another face I haven’t seen in a year. Clip is here!

He lifts his chin at Snack. “Hey, man!”

Then with much more gusto he yells, “Hey, Mouse!” I’m wrapped up in yet another hug. “Dad called me. He said you snuck into town and you’d be here. I know it’s not my class reunion, but I was able to talk my way past D’Innocenzio.”

Of course he was able to. He’s Clip Cooper. Irresistible to anyone with two X chromosomes. “Yeah, Clip, what’s up with her? Why is she so nice now?

“Oh man, Minnie. She has lupus. It really changed her. She had to drop out of her courses at beauty school. Works in the library. Could you ever imagine?”

I shake my head. “No, I couldn’t. I wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy—which I guess she was.”

Snack pulls my arm. “Minnie! Clip! Let’s go! Let’s party! You can play catch up later.”

I shake my head and turning so Snack can’t see, I mouth, “What’s up with him?”

Clip whispers in my ear. “He broke up with his girlfriend, Megan.”

“Oh, Megan? Like cheerleader-from-high-school Megan?” I didn’t have a negative thought in the world about Megan. She saved my ass with Lorna. Sure, she was gorgeous and popular and could have been easy to be envious of just because of those reasons, but she was never anything but nice to me. I’m not surprised Snack started dating her. I wonder how long they’ve been together?

“Yep.”

Snack goes to the bar. He yells back at us. “Hey, what do you want? Clip? Minnie?”

“I’ll have a beer.” I’ve gotten used to drinking beer since living in Europe for the past year.

“Me, too.” Clip adds.

Let’s face it. Five-year reunions are lame. You’re barely out of college. Half the people here went to college together at University of Illinois like Clip did, and probably saw each other yesterday. If they even completed college in four years! Most of them are in their first jobs. I shouldn’t judge. I don’t even have a job yet. I’m surprised by the number of married couples. Yeah, five-year reunions are lame, but I’m having a great time—dancing, laughing, and hanging out with two of my favorite guys. Occasionally someone else from my class comes up and says hi and comments on how they barely recognize me. How different I look from high school. Funny, I know I’m different on the inside than I was when I left, but don’t think I look that different.

“I know,” Snack tells a classmate. “She was cute in school, but man, she’s smoking now! I mean look at that ass. That dress is amazing!” He high-fives the dude and then snakes an arm around my waist. Clearly, Snack is smashed. I should be offended by the ass comment, but I’m really enjoying his touch.

While I dance to Fall Out Boy with my brother, he leans in to whisper-yell over the music the details of Snack’s recent breakup, but not loud enough for anyone else to hear.

“Snack has been with Megan for a pretty long time. And then Poof!—they broke up. It’s strange because Snack, who was the one who did the breaking up, has been acting really down about it. Drinking a lot. Dating a lot. Well, not really dating. More Like hooking up a lot.”

Hmm… maybe I’ve arrived back in the States at the right time.

“Kay, Clip! Izmyturn.” Snack sloppily cuts in.

I immediately decide to stop drinking. I’ll probably have to drive him home.

The song changes to Mariah Carey’s “We Belong Together,” and Snack pulls me right up against him. He may be drunk, but he holds me and dances with confidence. The words of the song cause me to inhale sharply. Mariah is singing everything I’m feeling about Snack and me belonging together.

Snack slurs when he asks, “Minnie, am I dreamin’? ’Cause I can’t believe you’re here. An’ you loogsogood.” He rubs my lower back and then pulls me even closer. He whispers in my ear, “And smell e’en better.”

Any will power I thought I had when it came to Snack dissolves there and then. I’m home. He’s single. I’m single. We’re both out of college. This is what we were waiting for.

We pull away only enough to look each other in the eyes. Our lips are millimeters apart and as if our thoughts meld, we both say in a longing tone, “Let’s get out of here.”

Snack pulls me toward the door and I turn to wave good-bye to Clip. He’s surrounded by all the single ladies of the North Downers Grove Class of 2000 but looks up in time to see me wave.

We only just make it to the El Camino. I turn away to open the driver’s side door, when Snack removes my hands from the car door. He places my arms with his on top on the roof of the car, pushes his front against my back and gently, but intently kisses my exposed neck from my ear down to my collarbone. I’m smashed against the door handle and it’s not that unpleasant, perhaps because I can also feel how aroused Snack is as his cock is hard against my ass. As quickly as he pinned me, he spins me to face him and now his hardness is even better felt!

I crash my lips onto his and we kiss, both of us holding each other’s faces. It’s a sensation I know well and have missed, too so much. Everything seems possible now!

When we finally part, both hyperventilating with lust and anticipation, Snack rubs his thumb across my bottom lip. “I love the way your lips look when I’ve kissed them—swollen and ruby red. Always have. I almost forgot that.” He needn’t say another word. I’m his.

And then it all comes crashing down.

“SNACK?” a high-pitched, anguished voice calls from a few cars away.

Snack and I turn toward the voice.

A petite woman with long blonde hair stands, shivering and holding her stomach.

Snack turns fully toward the blonde. “Megan? What? What are you doing here?”

She answers in a thin, ragged voice, “I need to talk to you.”

Snack turns back to me and mouths, “I’m sorry.” Then without looking at her says, “Really, Megan? You need to talk to me? Right now?”

“Yes!” This girl looks really pained.

Snack whisper softly, “That’s my girlfriend. Well, my ex-girlfriend.”

“I know. I remember Megan from school.” As much as I want him to send her away, obviously something is wrong. I take a deep breath. “Go, Snack. You should go talk to her.”

Snack leaves and goes to Megan, who has begun crying. He takes her in his arms and when she holds her stomach again, his eyes get big and scared. I can’t hear what they’re saying, but I’m coming to realize our time together is probably over. From what little I know of Megan, she’s a good person and their breakup is so recent. My gut is telling me to walk away.

Snack walks Megan to a nearby car and then comes back to the El Camino. He’s now quite lucid and doesn’t seem the least bit intoxicated.

“Min, jeez. I’m so, so sorry, but Megan and I need to… We need to talk. Can we maybe see each other tomorrow?”

I sigh. “Yeah.”

“Yeah?” Snack’s voice rises with hope.

“I mean…” I shake my head. “No… So, I can’t do this with you again.”

“Minnie, please.”

Squaring my shoulders and swallowing the tears I refuse to let him see, I make full eye contact and say, “Good-bye, Snack.”

Escaping into the El Camino, I turn the key in the ignition and blaze out of the parking lot as fast as my high-heeled foot can press the accelerator. Snack’s hands fly off the car where he was trying to hold on.

I don’t drive far. Just over to the mall across the highway. Ironically, I park right in front of Baskin-Robbins.
Our
Baskin-Robbins. I pull out my phone and text Clip and then my dad.

I don’t stay at my dad’s that night. After dropping off the car and grabbing my clothes, I go back into Chicago with Clip. There’s no way I’m staying in Downers Grove knowing that Snack is going to reject me again.

Clip drives. He and I are quiet until we were almost at his apartment.

He finally breaks the silence. “What the fuck happened? Last I saw you were leaving with Snack and in a pretty big hurry.”

In an attempt to deflect, I apologize for tearing him away from his bevy of girls.

“Shit, Minnie. I don’t care about the chicks. Just stop being so elusive!” Clip practically yells.

“Elusive. Nice word. Your vocabulary is improving.”

“Fuck you, Minnie. How’s that for vocabulary?” Clip takes one hand off the wheel to flip me off, causing the car to swerve.

“Shit!” Now, I’ve pissed him off and almost caused an accident, which means my only option is to start telling the truth.

Quiet tears slide down both my cheeks and I gulp. “I-I don’t think we’re meant to be together.” The tears come even faster with my open verbalization of what I’ve been holding back for a long time—the hope that one day Snack and I would find our way back to each other—now crushed. I’m forced to tell Clip about the episode in the parking lot with Snack and how he went to Megan.

As we stop near his apartment, Clip puts the car in park. “There has to be some explanation. Snack isn’t a cruel guy. He’s just… He’s just always trying to please everyone. Be the hero.” Clip reaches over and grabs my hand.

I nod and give into the truth. “Time just isn’t our ally.” I break down and blubber.

Clip pulls me into a comforting brotherly hug. “God dammit, Minnie, I love you. And I love Snack. But, I don’t know. It seems like you two aren’t destined to be together. At first, I felt like an asshole because I kept you guys apart, but even after you got together in high school, forces just haven’t been on your side. Your age. Charlotte’s death. College. Fucking stubbornness on your side. And his side, too.”

I laugh through my tears and hit Clip on the bicep.

“I thought, seeing you together at the reunion that maybe, just maybe this would be it. This would be your time. But now with Megan showing up… I don’t know, Min.”