Dream Me(39)

Whatever her decision, he was ready. He was glad it had come to this. At last he’d know for sure.





Thirteen


The sun was out again the next day and Bob and Dotty Sullivan were waiting at the door when we opened. They played some tennis then came in for coffee. Between customers they teased me about how they were going to fix me up with their grandson who lived in Wisconsin. I missed my grandparents, so it was nice having them around. It took my mind off the information overload I was still trying to process. At least for a few minutes.

Later that afternoon, Friends Across the Bay was back at it, even though Alonso and LeGrand spent most of their time leaning against the shady wall of the clubhouse with their knees propped up, spinning their rackets on the ground, and bouncing balls against the low stucco wall that separated the club from the courts. For someone who was supposed to be a good player, I’d never seen LeGrand actually hit in a real game or even in a rally. I wondered if Dee knew how Alonso spent his time in tennis camp. Or did she think he was out working up a good sweat and learning the finer points of the game?

The truth is I wasn’t paying much attention to what people were saying or doing that day. All I could think about was the horrible catastrophe in store for mankind. The end of our world. I knew it was a long way off but I liked to think of Earth as always being around even if I wasn’t.

__________

Dad was in the middle of a lesson when I got off work and Mom was balancing out the register. I walked around thinking about everything and wondering what kind of future I could have with Zat. Did he already know the answer since he was from the future? But when he was alive in the future there was no Babe and Zat. It was too confusing for me and probably just as confusing for him even though he had the advantage of knowing a lot more than I did. By the time I got home, I felt like my head was going to explode from all the questions piling up—like a parking lot that said FULL, but still the cars keep driving in.

__________

When my dad pulled the truck onto Trout Lane I noticed a strange car parked in the driveway, a red BMW.

“Pat, who’s that?” We weren’t used to unannounced company.

“A young fellow. Babe . . . friend of yours?”

LeGrand walked away from our front door where apparently he’d been ringing the bell of an empty house.

“That’s LeGrand Buell. What’s he doing here?” My face must have flushed crimson because it felt like a fire was raging.

“The Buells with the huge boat?” Mom was intrigued.

I practically jumped out of the truck before Dad came to a stop. LeGrand was leaning elegantly against the tree in our front yard, hands loosely tucked into his pants pockets.

As I got closer, his faint smile turned into a mischievous grin.

“Miss Fremont.” He nodded at me and smiled sweetly, removing one pocketed hand to sweep back his blond-streaked Hollywood hair. “I hope you don’t mind the intrusion. I was in the neighborhood and wondering if you’d care to join me for dinner.”

By then my parents had caught up to me, although my dad was holding Mom back with a firm grip on her arm.

“Mom, Dad, this is LeGrand,” I muttered.

“Pleased to meet you, ma’am. Sir.” My mom was already in love before he even shook her hand.

My parents walked into the house, leaving the front door open for us to follow them in.

“So?” LeGrand raised his eyebrows.

“So what?”

“So, would you like to have dinner?”

I was still in my tennis dress, the same one I wore every day. I reminded myself about the non-fraternization rule where country club employees didn’t mix with members. But we weren’t at the club, we were at my house, so I guessed it would be okay. And by then I thought of LeGrand as a kind-of-sort-of friend. I was hoping he felt the same way.

“Sure. But I need to change out of these clothes.”

“Of course you do. I’ll wait outside.”

“No, come in. I’ll be quick.”

I’d never been ashamed of who I was or where I came from but I found myself acutely uncomfortable the minute LeGrand stepped through my front door. What would he think of a house like mine? Had he ever even been inside one? But he quickly put me at ease as he chatted effortlessly with my parents while I went in my room to change.

I finished dressing and was just about to leave when I remembered a message I’d forgotten to give Bing about a last minute lesson booked for the following morning. Bing wasn’t always there right at opening so I wanted to let him know. I also wanted to rescue LeGrand from Mom’s prying questions.

“I gotta send Bing a quick email before we go. You can come see my room if you want.”

While I was busy typing the email, LeGrand walked slowly around my tiny cubicle of a room as though he was exploring the Grand Canyon. He paused for a long time at my dresser where I realized he was staring at the printed-out picture Mai had drawn for me.

“Who’s this . . . other than you? Or should I say, what’s this?”

I pressed SEND and closed my laptop before looking over at the picture.

“Oh, Nuggins painted that. It’s one of those fantasy anime type drawings. She’s got a vivid imagination.”

“Hmm,” he looked at it for another few seconds before putting it down. “She’s very talented. Why don’t you call her and ask her to join us?”