All the Little Lights(9)

“Yeah, like seventh string. I’m getting better, though. That’s what the coach says anyway.”

The Braum’s sign loomed high above us, giving off a pink and white neon glow. Elliott swung the door open, and the air-conditioning blasted my skin.

My shoes stuck to the red tile floor. Sugar and grease saturated the air, and families gathered in the dining area, chattering about summer plans. The pastor of the First Christian Church stood next to one of the bigger tables with his arms crossed over his middle, trapping his red tie, while he caught up with some of his flock about church events and his disappointment in the level of the local lake.

Elliott and I approached the counter. He gestured for me to order first. Anna Sue Gentry manned the register, her bleached-blonde ponytail swinging when she made a show of assessing our relationship.

“Who’s this, Catherine?” she asked, raising an eyebrow at the camera dangling from Elliott’s neck.

“Elliott Youngblood,” he said before I could answer.

Anna Sue stopped addressing me altogether, her big green eyes sparkling when the tall boy next to me proved he wasn’t afraid to speak to her.

“And who are you, Elliott? Catherine’s cousin?”

I made a face, wondering what about us drew her to that conclusion. “What?”

Anna Sue shrugged. “Your hair is about the same length. Same awful haircut. I thought maybe it was a family thing.”

Elliott looked to me, unaffected. “Mine’s longer, actually.”

“So not cousins,” Anna Sue said. “Did you trade in Minka and Owen for this one?”

“Neighbor.” Elliott shoved his hands into his khaki cargo shorts, already unimpressed.

She wrinkled her nose. “What are you, homeschooled?”

I sighed. “He’s staying with his aunt for the summer. Can we order, please?”

Anna Sue shifted her weight from one hip to the other, gripping each side of the register. The sour expression on her face didn’t surprise me. Anna Sue was friends with Presley. They looked alike, with the same shade of blonde hair, style, and thick black eyeliner—and they made the same face when I was around.

Elliott didn’t seem to notice. Instead, he pointed to the board above Anna Sue’s head. “I’ll have a banana fudge sundae.”

“With nuts?” she asked, apparent that her question was obligatory.

He nodded and then looked at me. “Catherine?”

“Orange sherbet, please.”

She rolled her eyes. “Fancy. Anything else?”

Elliott frowned. “No.”

We waited while Anna Sue lifted a clear lid and dug at the sherbet in the freezer behind the clear barrier. After she’d rolled it into a ball with a silver scoop and steadied it onto the cone, she handed it to me and then began Elliott’s sundae.

“I thought you said we were just getting cones?” I said.

He shrugged. “I changed my mind. Thought it’d be nice to sit in the AC for a while.”

Anna Sue sighed as she placed Elliott’s order on the counter. “Banana fudge sundae.”

Elliott chose a table by the window, and he passed a few napkins across to me before digging into the vanilla and fudge sauce like he’d been starving.

“Maybe we should have ordered dinner,” I said.

He looked up, wiping a smear of chocolate from his chin. “We still can.”

I looked down at my dripping ice cream. “I didn’t tell my parents I was leaving. I should probably get home soon . . . not that they’ve noticed I’ve left.”

“I heard them fighting. I’m sort of an expert at that. Sounds like an all-nighter to me.”

I sighed. “It won’t stop until he finds another job. Mama is sort of . . . neurotic.”

“My parents fight about money all the time. My dad thinks if he’s not making forty dollars an hour, he can’t work. As if a dollar isn’t better than zero. Then he gets laid off all the time.”

“What does he do?”

“He’s a welder, which is awesome because he’s gone a lot.”

“It’s a pride thing,” I said. “My dad will find something. Mama just tends to freak out.”

He smiled at me.

“What?”

“Mama. That’s cute.”

I sank back into my seat, feeling my cheeks burn. “She doesn’t like it when I call her mom. She says I’m trying to pretend I’m older than I am. It’s just habit.”

He watched me squirm with amusement, and then he finally spoke. “I’ve called my mom Mom since I could talk.”

“I’m sorry. I know it’s strange,” I said, looking away. “Mama’s always been particular about things.”

“Why are you apologizing? I just said it was cute.”

I shifted, sliding my free hand between my knees. The air-conditioning was on full blast like most businesses in Oklahoma during the summer. In winter, you layered because it was too hot inside. In summer, you wore a jacket because it was too cold.

I licked the tangy sweetness from my lips. “I wasn’t sure if you were being condescending.”

Elliott began to speak, but a small group of girls approached our table.

“Aw,” Presley said, dramatically touching her chest. “Catherine got herself a boyfriend. I feel so bad that all this time we thought you were lying about him being from out of town.”