Sorta Like a Rock Star(66)

And before he sees me coming, I give Franks a big old teddy-bear hug right onstage—getting my arms halfway around his big belly and sinking my tear-streaked face into his chest.

Surprisingly, he hugs me back, and I smile and close my eyes—savoring the moment.

“You’re a good man, Franks,” I say. “You really are. True.”

“How about you give the rest of us some love, sweetheart?” Chad says.

But before I can answer, I’m rushed by a bunch of reporters who stick cameras in my face and ask me all sorts of personal questions about my mom.

Before I can even think, Donna is onstage, yelling, “My client has no comment at the present moment! Boys, let’s get her out of here!”

So I say a quick goodbye to PJ, FC, The KDFCs, DWL, The Hard-Working Brothers, Old Man Thompson, and— “Get the hell out of here already before those reporters lynch you,” Old Man Linder yells at me, and then squeezes my shoulder like he always does.

The Five gets me the hell out of there, leaving Das Boot behind, because it doesn’t fit into Donna’s Mercedes. No worries. Mr. Fox will take Das Boot home in the Fox family van.

In the car I pet BBB, hug my boys and thank them for getting everyone to participate in the show, filming Joan of Old, and raising money for my college fund, which is pretty amazing. I even thank Lex, who is still dressed as a Puerto Rican gang member and is somehow smushed in the car with us—making us The Six and no longer The Five.

Donna says, “Sundaes at my place!”

After a quick stop at the food store, I wash my hands, make proper sundaes in Donna’s kitchen for my boys, and then we celebrate the night by sharing ice cream and sword fighting with spoons. True.

After everyone is finished eating, the boys go to Ricky’s room to play Halo 3, and Donna and I wash dishes in the kitchen.

“What the hell happened tonight?” I ask.

“The town of Childress came together and tried the best they could to make a wrong right. And I’m not talking about the money. They came together in the auditorium, gave their time to say that they care.”

“Why?”

“Because most people are good,” Donna says, and then passes me a rinsed bowl.

I stick it into the dishwasher and say, “Did they make a wrong right?”

“What do you think?”

“It doesn’t bring my mom back. It doesn’t erase what happened—which is still messed up beyond imagination. Whack.”

“No, it doesn’t. And yes, it still is.”

“So I really have access to all that money?” I ask, shoving a handful of spoons into the dishwasher utensil bin.

“No,” Donna says while rinsing the last ice cream bowl. “You have a college fund that you can use to pay college and graduate school tuition. I drew up all of the papers.”

“What happens if I don’t use the money?”

“Why wouldn’t you use the money? You’re still planning on going to Bryn Mawr and then Harvard, right?”

“Yeah, but maybe I’ll get scholarships—like you did.”

“I thought of that.”

“You did?”

“If you get to go to school for free, you can donate the money to the charity of your choice.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“So I could like—donate all of the money to the Childress Public High School Business Department so that Franks could maybe build a killer classroom and get out of the basement? Or maybe, at least, he could get some windows put in and he wouldn’t have to buy all of his own supplies using his own personal money?”

“You could do something like that. Absolutely.”

I smile, thinking of all the good hooey I can do for others with the money.





CHAPTER 58





When the junior prom rolls around, Donna rents Ricky and me a stretch limo. I wear my silver dress. Ricky wears his tuxedo. Donna has flowers for both of us. We take a crapload of pictures in the backyard, and then we go to Ty’s house and pick him up. He’s still got the beard, but he looks dashing in a navy blue tuxedo. Mr. and Mrs. Hendrix take pictures of Ricky, Ty, and me for—like—an hour, and then we jump into the limo and tell the driver to take us to Jared’s and Chad’s house, where they are waiting with their dates—Carla Winslow and Sally Craig—from the cheerleading squad. These girls are bimbo airheads, but for my boys, I’m super nice to both of them. Mr. and Mrs. Fox take pictures of all of us in various poses for another hour, and then we are in the limo again—off to the local Hilton reception room where our junior prom is held, with Mr. Fox following us in the Fox van, which transports Das Boot for Chad.

When we arrive, we get Chad into Das Boot, and then we make our entrance.

Franks is a greeter, which means he has to check our breath for alcohol.

So we walk in all staggering, pretending to be hammered.

“Want some vodka?” I ask Franks.

“I’ll probably need some by the end of the night,” Franks says to me, and we all laugh.

“How do I look, Franks?”

“All of you look great,” Franks says, and Carla and Sally giggle at that one.

At the prom we eat good food, we dance to the music the DJ plays, we mix in with Lex Pinkston and all of the football players and their cheerleader dates. I split the slow dances equally between Ricky and Ty. And when they play “Always And Forever” at the end, all members of The Five and Sally and Carla dance in a big circle with our arms linked—and our teachers watching and waiting to go home. It’s all pretty silly, really.