The Athena Effect (12 page)

“Is your boyfriend back for another crack at you?” he snarled, brushing past her rudely as she flattened herself against the wall. Calvin flashed bright with anger, clenching his fists. He stepped forward and she rushed to block him; the last thing she needed was to have a fight break out.

Calvin glowered at the big man lumbering up the stairs; he knew a bully when he saw one. Phil reminded him of his father, and when Caledonia cringed, Cal saw red. If she hadn’t gotten between them he would have beaten the snot out of that man. He never considered himself to be a hot-head like Jarod, but once again, he found himself incapable of thinking clearly where Caledonia was concerned.

She pushed him over the threshold and closed the door behind them.

“Was that your uncle?” he asked, fuming.

“No, he’s my aunt’s boyfriend,” she said, dropping her hand from his chest. She flushed bright pink, and looked down, embarrassed.

“Well, he’s a real asshole,” Calvin said.

She looked up with a little smile, “Yes… Yes he is.”

When their eyes met they both started laughing for no real reason, and Calvin felt better immediately. He completely forgot what he came there to ask her, looking into her beautiful blue and green irises.

“Your hair looks really pretty today,” he said lamely.

She touched it self-consciously, “I just washed it.”

They both smiled and laughed again, until he finally recovered his memory, “Hey… Do you want to go to the fair with me today?”

She looked uncomfortable, shifting from foot to foot.

“We could take a ride on that Ferris wheel…” he added, cocking his head charmingly.

“I’d better not,” she said, surprised to see his face fall. “It’s just… It’s just that I’m saving my money to get back home.”

“Oh come on,” he said. “It’s on me. Let me take you… Please?”

Their eyes met again, and she could see nothing but concern in his. She looked over her shoulder at the closed door, and down at her jeans with holes worn in the knees.

“I don’t have any more clothes… I was going to do some washing today…”

He raised his eyebrows with mock indignation, “You’d rather do laundry than go to the fair with me?”

She had to smile at that, “No.”

“Then c’mon,” he said, taking her arm to lead her away.

She balked, “I’m a mess.”

“You’re beautiful,” he said.

She scrutinized him for a second, wondering why he wanted her to go with him so badly. Seeing no sign of deception, she sighed, “Okay. On one condition.”

“What?” he smiled with relief.

“You have to wear a helmet too.”

Soon they were on the road, and she was surprisingly comfortable riding along behind him, familiar with the way his muscles tensed under her hands, relaxing into his warm back.

When they reached the fairgrounds and parked, he climbed off the bike after her, pausing, “Uhm… we’re going to have to go through a metal detector to get inside.”

“Really?” she asked, “Why?”

She was like a foreigner he had to explain obscure local customs to.

“To keep people from smuggling weapons inside.”

“Why?”

“To keep people from hurting each other in fights.”

“Why on earth would you get into a fight at a fair?” she asked. “I thought people came here to have fun!”

“Yeah, well, the question is… Do
you
have anything
metal
on you?” he asked with a knowing glance.

She was so cute when she realized that she was packing contraband, he thought, admiring how bright her eyes were when they flew open wide.

“It’s okay. I can stow whatever you might have on the bike. It’ll be right here when we get back.” Calvin told her. She looked around nervously, finally crouching to remove the sheath that was strapped to her calf.

When they were in line to get tickets he bent down and whispered in her ear, “Why do you always carry a knife?”

She thought about Phil, and the big cat coming at her from out of nowhere. “You never know when you might need to defend yourself.”

He smiled, “There aren’t any mountain lions around here.”

“Yes, but people can be much more dangerous than animals,” she said, looking all around at the kaleidoscope of colorful emotions in the crowd. “You ought to know that.”

He thought about the night at the cemetery, and had to admit that she was probably right. She’d never asked him what he was up to that night, and it occurred to him that she might think that getting jumped was a normal part of city life. It was a normal part of his brother’s life, he realized, wishing that things were different.

Once they got inside the fairgrounds, Caledonia hung back, and he could see she was overwhelmed by the noise and the thick crowds. He took her hand, and she clung to it, keeping them in contact as they wove through more people than she’d seen in her entire life.

She paused at a cotton candy machine, watching it spin sugar into fluffy multi-colored puffs. It looked like a magic trick to her. She looked up at Calvin in amazement, “Did you see that?” He bought her some, showing her how to tear off a piece and stuff it into her mouth to dissolve.

She smiled with delight at first, but after a few mouthfuls grimaced. “It’s too sweet.”

He took it and tossed it into the garbage, noticing her frown a little as she looked down into the bin.

“What?” he asked.

“People in the city waste too much food,” she said sadly.

He remembered his suspicions, “Have you eaten anything today?” he asked.

“I’m okay,” she looked down and away, trying to avoid telling a lie. “Aren’t we going to ride on the Ferris wheel?”

“Well, I’m hungry now,” he announced, taking her hand again, “And you haven’t lived until you’ve eaten too much fair food.”

A few corn-dogs, funnel cakes and shaved ices later they wandered out onto the midway. Games testing every sort of skill were lined up with all kinds enticing prizes. Kids walked by with bags of live goldfish and stuffed animals, crying screaming, laughing and pouting. It was a typical day at the fair, but Caledonia smiled at everything she saw like it was a revelation.

Calvin couldn’t stop watching her, entranced by her unexpected reactions.

“Look how cute!” she pointed to a rack of pink stuffed bears hanging from the awning of a Carnival game.

“Step right up!” a portly man behind the booth called out to them. “One popped balloon wins a bear!” There was a rack of balloons behind him, and a sign that said five tries for five dollars.

“I’m pretty good at darts,” Calvin said, stepping up to the counter.

He knew it was stupid, but he wanted to win for her more than anything else in the world. He took his darts and threw them one after the other, frustrated when they bounced off the balloons without bursting them.

Caledonia scrutinized the game, “Can I try?” she asked.

Cal handed her his last dart, and she stepped up, rubbing her thumb across the tip. Just as she suspected, the darts were dull, and the balloons were thick. The only way to pop them was to marry extreme velocity with accuracy. She drew the dart back behind her shoulder and threw it hard, like a knife, popping a balloon.

Calvin smiled wryly and shook his head. “Give her the prize,” he told the barker. The man reached under the counter and handed her a plastic keychain shaped like a bear.

“Hey! What about those bears?” Calvin asked, pointing up.

The fat man gestured to a little sign with small print, “You have to pop five balloons with five darts to win the big prize… Why don’t you get the little lady some darts?” He smiled out a challenge. It was the same thing every time, he thought. He amused himself toying with swaggering boys and their foolish pride.

“It’s okay,” Caledonia smiled, looking at the little plastic trinket in her palm. “I like this.”

Calvin narrowed his eyes at the man and paid for more darts, handing them over to her, “You try again.”

Caledonia stepped up to the counter, lining up the darts and throwing them methodically, with deadly accuracy. Nearby people stopped what they were doing to watch.
 

She popped a balloon on all five tries, surprising everyone.

The fat man pulled out a step ladder, and with a good deal of huffing and puffing, took down one of the big pink bears from the awning, handing it to Caledonia.

“Thank you,” she said politely, smiling like a little kid at Christmas. She hugged the bear happily. Calvin looked at her in awe as they walked away.

“How did you learn to throw like that?” he asked her.

“Quail hunting,” she said nonchalantly.

She pointed to a bunch of little kids jumping around inside of a ball pit with a laugh. “Did you do that when you were little?”

“Uh… maybe once,” he answered, visited by a crystal clear memory of his mother standing watch over him at some long forgotten birthday party. Caledonia had a way of making him recall parts of his life he’d put behind him long ago, luring him into a minefield of suppressed memories.

They walked out of the hustle and bustle of the midway to the ride section, and she looked at the spinning, twirling rides with serious eyes. “I don’t know about this… They look dangerous.”

“Dangerous?” he laughed, imagining her throwing a knife. He was in danger, he thought, trying to get a hold of himself, fighting a losing battle to keep control of his feelings around her.

They got to the base of the big Ferris wheel, and she looked up with a grimace.

“Ready?” he asked her.

She swallowed hard and paused, her eyes scanning the crowds, “I’ll be right back.”

Wondering what she was up to, he watched her walk over to a woman waiting for some children at the base of an airplane ride, jiggling a carriage with a baby. She was holding the hand of a miserable little girl who had obviously been deemed too small to get aboard one of the little airplanes.

Caledonia knelt down in front of the tiny child, whispering something into her ear and offering her the bear. The girl’s frown was transformed into a smile, and her tear streaked face lit up. She took hold of the fuzzy pink animal, throwing her arms around it with an expression of pure incandescent joy.

Caledonia beamed up at Calvin, her eyes glowing with satisfaction. She took his breath away, and at that precise moment, she stole the last little remnant of his heart. He watched her rise and come back to him with wonder.

“What did you tell the kid?” he asked.

“I said the bear wanted to live with her.”

“I thought you wanted it,” he said, his voice thick with emotion.

She shrugged, looking back. “It’s better off with her. Besides,” she held up her keychain with another heart melting smile, “I have this.” She looked at it closely, “What is it?”

He gathered himself together, smiling with amusement, “It’s a keychain.”

She looked at him blankly.

“For putting keys on,” he added.

“Oh,” she smiled, sticking it into her pocket, “I love it.”

She looked up at the Ferris wheel again, thinking that it looked much bigger and scarier than she had imagined. When she looked back at Calvin she saw something unexpected.

His pink affectionate tint had grown stronger, and now it was surrounded by bright red, vibrating warm and strong. It was the same infatuated glow she’d seen so many times at high school, a love-struck intensity of emotion that she found flattering but frightening, because she knew how quickly it could fade or latch onto someone new.

She looked away, afraid of how he made her feel. She didn’t want to lose the only friend she had.

“Let’s go,” he said, leading her into the line for the ride.

Calvin kept having to fight the urge to put his hands on her, wishing he could grab her and plant a kiss on her pretty pink lips. Don’t screw this up, he told himself, surprised at how much it meant to him.

Usually, when he was with a girl, he was giving to get something. He could expertly stroke and flatter with practiced skill, and with the girls he knew, he didn’t have to work that hard. He had it down to a science, calculating the least he could do to maneuver a girl into bed with him.

Somehow, Caledonia made him feel completely different. He wanted to make her happy. He wanted to see her smile and laugh, but most of all, he wanted her to want him back. Go slow, he reminded himself; be careful with her.

She seemed tense, and he leaned down to murmur in her ear, “Don’t be afraid,” he told her, “I’ll be right next to you. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

She nodded, looking at him strangely. When they boarded the ride she was too distracted to worry about him, and she didn’t shy away when he slipped his arm around her waist. When they started to move, she held onto the bar in front of her with white knuckles, her heart racing. They came to a lurching stop at the very top of the wheel, and she turned to him with a shocked face.

“They’re just letting someone else on,” he reassured her. She laughed with relief, looking all around at the panoramic view.