“That young boy in the truck. He’s been driving past here for weeks.”
A ‘v’ forms between my brows. “What do you mean?” A chill runs through my veins in terror.Could my daddy be looking for me?
“Don’t worry, love. I know what y’all are thinking and it’s not your daddy. As sure as the nose on my face that boy isn’t legal age. But I think he’s got a crush on you or something, love.”
“What does he look like?”
“Handsome kid. Dark, curly hair, sweet face. Anyone you guess?”
There's only one person aside from my daddy that would be looking for me. And I'm not sure why. It starts to grate on me, as we go through the bazaar, until finally I can’t stop thinking about him. Why, after all this time, is he looking for me? We go to the same school. He knows where I catch the bus. Why wouldn’t he seek me out there? He won’t leave my mind, until I see the truck drive past again. Felicia gives me a look and I walk towards the berm, where he’ll have no choice but to pass through again, since the driveway is cordoned off, and he can’t get past.
When he drives towards me, I wave at him. “Did y’all want to buy something?” I ask, playing dumb.
“No.” he shakes his head, not giving me eye contact. “Can you get away for a few minutes? Do you mind talking to me?” his voice is fairly hesitant, like he’s not sure if he’s doing the right thing.
“Sure.” I shield my eyes from the Saturday afternoon sun. “Just let me tell them I’m stepping out for a minute.”
He nods and turns the truck around, so I don’t have to walk as far. I tell Felicia that I'll be back, and she nods, telling me to take as long as I need to take. I walk back the few steps to his truck and hop in.
“Sorry to freak you out, if I did.” he says apologetically.
“Felicia says you’ve been coming around often?”
Another nod, as we pull out onto the street. “Yeah. I...I wanted to talk to you...” he sort of trails off, trying to find the right words.
“What about?”
He bites his lip. He’s nervous or anxious about something. I start to feel worried. What’s going on with him? “Can we go somewhere and talk? Is that okay?”
“Sure.”
There is a coffee shop just up the street, in view already. He pulls in there and we go inside. We order teas and take a seat in the back. I don’t say a word. I know that he’s got something on his mind, and I don’t want to muddy his thoughts. He takes a sip, a deep breath, and then he says something that I don’t see coming at all.
“I...err...saw your presentation.” he admits, citing the week that I stood up at the podium at school. One of the most terrifying experiences in my life. His eyes are downcast. He’s...ashamed? Embarrassed?
“H...how did you see it? They’re invitation only.” I hesitate. “Unless....did you sign up for it?” I ask, thinking that maybe he’s been somehow in trouble, like me.
He lifts a hand. “No...nothing like that. I...” he goes on to explain a sordid story about his class being confused that night. “And I couldn’t walk out. I...I had no idea.”
My eyes go to my hands, which are in my lap. I don’t know what to say. This is embarrassing to say the least. We’re both silent for a few moments, and then I break the silence. “I didn’t know, myself, until I met Felicia. She made me see the light. She gave me a place to go. She....saved me.”
“I’m happy that you had that sort of help. I only wish I’d known, Ava.” His eyes are on me, but I can’t look at him. “I knew your folks were...unique. But I had...I had no idea.”
I'm speechless. I'm not even sure how to respond. So I don’t. I just stare at my hands, hoping that he’ll do the talking. I seem to talk about this openly with strangers, but talking about it to someone I know...is uncomfortable. Felicia is the only exception.
“I’m...really sorry, Ava. I...uh...I don’t know what else to say.” He bites his lip. “I feel like an ass, you know, following you around like this, gaining the courage to say something, and at the end of it all, the only thing I can say is that I’m sorry.”
I finally look at him. “It’s more than what you need to say, Gunner. You don’t owe me anything.”
“But I do.” He insists gently. “I was rude and mean, and I’ve been thinking all sorts of ghastly things about you. And I’m sorry for it.”
“You were never rude to me, Gunner. Not under the circumstances.” I hesitate. “If anything, you were the reason I started to see the light. If it hadn’t been for what we had then, I…I don’t think I would have ever realized what was going on. I believe that’s why God brought you into my life.”
“Well, I haven’t figured out yet why God brought you into my life, then. It’s been driving me crazy, that I can tell you.”
I look at him. “The Lord works in strange ways, Gunner. You will drive yourself crazy trying to figure it out.” I say, matter-of-factly, but gently, too.
He purses his lips into a small smile, but he doesn’t look at me. “So, how are you doing, anyway?”
