“It would be the first thing folks see when they drive into town,” he said.
“What do we have to do to get a mural, Caleb?” Adele’s knitting needles flashed and clicked. “Emery, when you write the story, can you say I came up with the mural idea and how I think best when I’m knitting?”
“There you go, tooting your own horn.” Ivan’s pencil was still behind his ear and his piece of paper remained folded on his leg. “Ever since we were kids on the school playground.”
“Maybe, but I’m still nice. What happened to you?”
Duke leaned toward Emery and whispered, “You’d think they were married. Nope, just longtime friends.” Then to Caleb, he said, “I know the boys in the West End pretty well. Let me see if I can convince them this Main Street initiative is good for us all. Also, I’ll donate funds to help with the mural.” He smiled and nodded at Adele. “It’s a great idea.”
“I have a friend who is a muralist,” Caleb said. “I’ll reach out to her. In the meantime, why don’t you all email me your ideas for the mural. Simon, can you get a meeting with East End business owners? They need to know what we’re planning.”
“All this thinking is making me hungry.” Ivan headed for the dessert table. “No use letting all this good food sit here, rotting.”
Whether he wanted to or not, Ivan adjourned the first-ever Sea Blue Beach Main Street meeting. For a piece of pie.
11
CALEB
Then . . .
On a deserted stretch off Highway 20, Caleb sat in his truck bed with Shift, Jumbo, Crammer, and Kidwell, drinking Dr. Pepper and planning revenge on West End High.
“What’s our plan?” Jumbo crushed his empty soda can between his palms.
“Trash them back,” Caleb said.
“I say we start collecting garbage.” Crammer downed the last of his soda. “Put the trash in bags behind Jumbo’s gramps’ barn to rot in the sun.”
Caleb laughed as they bumped fists.
“When should we execute Operation Revenge?” Shift said. “When they start two-a-days?”
The group disagreed, and Caleb was relieved. He wanted to get them back but not ruin their first day of practice.Thatwould be going too far. He wanted no excuses when the Eagles trounced them in the final game of the season.
They tossed around a few more ideas before deciding to collect all the trash they could for the rest of the week, then execute.
“But let’s not put it in the sun,” Caleb said, “or we’ll end up smelling worse than the field.”
Agreed.
Jumbo crushed another empty soda can between his hands. “Ransom, you still hanging with the hot chick at the diner?”
“Yeah, Ransom. When do we meet her?” Kidwell was the Romeo of their group. All the girls loved him. He was stupid good-looking but also sincerely charming. In eighth grade, he stole Shift’s date to the dance and Shift said,“I can’t even bemad,he’s so nice.”
“Meet her whenever you want,” Caleb said as nonchalantly as possible. “She’s from Ohio. Down here with her family for the summer.”
“Are you two going out?”
“No. Maybe. I don’t know. We’re friends.”
“Move on, Kidwell,” Crammer said. “Let Ransom have one. He’s never even kissed a girl, as far as we know.”
“Shut up, Crammer.” Caleb lobbed a crushed soda can at his friend then hopped out of the truck bed. “Get out, boys, I have to go home.”
“We know, it’s Thursday night.” Kidwell dropped to the ground. “Ransom family dinner night.”
More than once Kidwell had offered Caleb his college fund, his weekly allowance, even his brand-new Nikes, for a year at the Ransom family Thursday night dinners. Because the wealthy Kidwell clan was a gong show. Which was probably why the dude was so nice and sincere, as a reaction against the chaos in his household. Caleb always thought he had a look of longing in his eyes.
