Lucky Caller(44)

It didn’t stop me from wanting more, though, and I didn’t know why. I just know I didn’t feel … absolved, or whatever.

But I just said, “Cool,” and then it was quiet between us.

“I should, uh, get going,” he said finally, and gestured to the door. “You’ve got … dinner and stuff.”

“Oh yeah.”

We got to our feet. “But … are you scheduled for Saturday?”

I nodded.

“Awesome. See you then, I guess?”

“Yeah. For sure.”

He headed away, and I resisted the urge to watch him go. But just barely.





38.


DURING SATURDAY’S WEDDING, THE BEST man pulled a crumpled sheaf of paper from his suit jacket, tried to smooth it against his leg, and fumbled with the mic before swinging around to the bride with a grin.

“Katie, as Mike’s best friend, I have just one thing to say to you.”

A dramatic pause before the follow-up: “You can do better.”

The room broke into laughter.

I caught Jamie’s eye across the room. He made a face and then smiled.

I smiled back.



* * *



My phone buzzed with a text that night after I had gotten home, showered, and collapsed into bed.

There should be a wedding rating system, and the You Can Do Better speech should get minus thirty points I grinned. Read it, and read it again before replying.

Agreed.





39.


MR. TUCKER CAME OVER DURING class on Monday as we were gathered in our groups having “programming meetings” (ostensibly—the group next to us was discussing March Madness).

“So,” he said, taking a seat at the empty desk next to Jamie. “I wanted to talk with you all about a potential fundraising opportunity related to Nina’s dad’s visit.”

“Okay,” Jamie said, with none of the reservation that I suddenly felt.

“I’ve been thinking about the whole thing—the interview on your show, the visit with our class. You guys are pulling in really decent numbers.” His voice dropped down. “The best in the class at the moment, to be honest. So here’s what I’m thinking: We could—potentially—turn this into a ticketed event.”

“What?” I frowned. “No, it’s just the interview in-studio, and a talk for people in class, right? Like it’s just supposed to be an educational thing.”

“Well, I’m thinking we could combine the interview and the talk, have it the evening of your show, and make it open to the public. The members of our class and all the volunteer hosts would get free entry, of course. Absolutely. But I think it could be a really cool fundraising opportunity for the station. You guys are growing a listenership, and I think we could potentially capitalize on that. I also think it’s a great chance for members of the community to learn more about what we do here at the station.”

This was a good idea in theory, but in practice, in this particular situation, it was not a good idea at all. I looked at the group, not wanting to be the one who had to say it, but to my surprise, Jamie spoke:

“Can a portion of the ticket sales go to charity?”

Mr. Tucker smiled. “That’s a great idea, Jamie.”

“I know one. That we could pick.” He avoided all of our gazes. “I know a charity we want to pick.”

“Awesome. We can definitely coordinate that. Let’s discuss this more later, okay?”

“Great,” Jamie replied, and Mr. Tucker headed off to the next group.

“What the hell?” Joydeep hissed. “What about the situation?”

“The Nina’s Dad’s not coming situation, or the Existential Dead situation?” Sasha asked.

“Either! Both! This is a multifaceted situation!” Joydeep replied.

“He can come,” Jamie said. “Nina checked with him. One hundred percent confirmed, right?”

I had to agree: “Right.”

“So we have a guest, just like we promised,” Jamie continued.

“Not a guest that anyone would buy a ticket for!” Joydeep said.

“Hey!”

“I’m sorry, I thought we were past stroking your dad’s ego.”

“I don’t want to stroke Nina’s dad’s anything,” Sasha interjected.

“We said that it’s not Tyler Bright,” Jamie said. “Multiple times. It’s not our fault if people ignore us and think what they want anyway, is it?”

No one spoke.

“If we could do this, it would really…” Jamie met my eyes, and then quickly looked away. “There’s this food bank, on the west side … My grandma works there. It would be really cool if … I mean, it would help a lot—if—”

“I think it’s a great idea,” I said.

Sasha looked skeptical. “You do?”

“Sure.”

There was gratitude in Jamie’s expression when I glanced back at him.

“But what are we gonna do if a horde of angry Tyler fans comes at us when they realize their idol isn’t there?” Joydeep asked.

“It probably won’t even be a thing,” Jamie said. “We haven’t even sold any tickets yet. We’re overthinking this.”