Almost Perfect - Brian Katcher [28]
Laura was pleased that I’d finally decided I’d join her at Mizzou. When I showed her Sage’s blanket, she told me to name our first daughter after her.
I spent New Year’s Eve at Jack’s house with Tim, Dawn, Jack’s younger brother Matt, and a few other people. We watched movies and played Ping-Pong. It wasn’t a wild party, but I didn’t care. Friends and food. There was just one thing missing.
At eleven-thirty, Tim and Dawn announced they were going for a walk. We didn’t see them again until one in the morning. At midnight, we counted down to the new year and drank a couple of shots Jack had filched from his dad’s liquor cabinet. The only couple there kissed.
I was sitting alone on a sofa when we rang in the new year. The years I’d been with Brenda, she’d give me a brief, closed-mouth kiss at midnight (she’d never give me a real kiss when we were around other people).
Jack blasted a paper noisemaker right in my ear. “Happy fucking New Year!” he yelled.
“Yeah.”
Jack vaulted over the back of the couch and sat next to me. “So, how come Sage isn’t here?”
“She had a family thing.” I had invited her when she called me the day after Christmas. She just said she couldn’t come. No explanation. She couldn’t even go out on New Year’s Eve.
On the TV screen, the Times Square lunatics screamed and waved at the camera. For the first time since the last president, I was entering a new year by myself. Next year, after a semester in college, would I be watching the ball drop with Sage? Or would we drift apart and I’d be here with some new girl? Or alone again?
“So, I sent in my housing application the other day,” said Jack.
Jack was also going to MU. We’d decided to be roommates, though the idea of living in the same room as Jack sometimes seemed frightening.
“Logan, don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m glad Brenda’s gone.” He winced slightly, worried that he might set me off. When I didn’t respond, he continued. “You never had any fun around her. Now you can start college, no strings attached. We’re going to have a blast. It’ll be a year you never forget.”
I didn’t realize it at the time, but that was one of the most profound things I’d ever hear Jack say.
I biked home at five a.m. At nine, the phone woke me up. I wanted to ignore the ringing, but I knew this was one of the few mornings Mom got to sleep late, and I didn’t want her to get out of bed to answer it. I stumbled blearily to the living room.
“What?” I barked into the receiver.
“Happy New Year to you, too!” said a familiar, throaty voice.
“Sage!”
“Listen, Logan, are you up? I need a big favor.” She was her usual abrupt self.
“What do you need?” I asked. I’d had three hours of sleep, it was ten degrees out, and I had two driveways to shovel. But I knew that I’d be out the door in ten minutes, ready to do whatever she asked.
“Tammi and Rob went out last night,” Sage explained. “They were supposed to stay at our house, but they snuck out. And Tammi let Rob drive our truck.”
“Christ, he didn’t wreck it, did he?”
“No, but he left the lights on. I just noticed this morning when I tried to move it. The battery’s dead. Tammi will get grounded for a month if Dad finds out what she did. I need to jump start the car.”
I wanted to ask why Tammi could run around with the human crash-test dummy but Sage couldn’t date. I didn’t, though. I knew I wouldn’t get an answer.
“So what do you want me to do? I don’t have a car.” New Year’s or not, Mom was working the lunch shift, and I couldn’t risk leaving her without a ride.
“Logan, please!” Sage sounded desperate. “Everyone’s in Columbia today. Dad needs the truck tonight. He’s going to kill Tammi unless we can get it started.”
I sighed. “Where do you live?”
Two minutes later, I was pulling on my coat.