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Post by Thursday on Apr 27, 2006 17:59:31 GMT -5
I walked slowly back to the tombstone staring at the white and pink flowers in front of it. Glimpses of that time came fooding back to me. It was like I was living it over all over again. The party, the park, the hospital, the funeral. Everything. Added to it were my new memories. The new house, new school year. With Quinn and Macy. "I wish you could be here Mom." I whispered quietly. "And see me now." I took one last glance at the white angel and walked slowly back to the car, the wind quietly rustling the tree branches all around me.
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Post by Thursday on Apr 29, 2006 10:16:13 GMT -5
"So, back to school?" asked Quinn as he pulled out. "God, no. Let's go get something to eat." "Where to?" "DQ." Quinn gave me a look and asked," Are you serious?" "Dead serious, if you'll excuse the pun. I love Dairy Queen." Quinn groaned but nodded and soon we were heading down the interstate towards DQ.
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Post by Thursday on Apr 29, 2006 10:23:51 GMT -5
As we arrived at our destination Quinn asked," Drive through or eat in?" "Let's eat in." "You got it." Quinn parked and we head inside where I ordered a Chicken strip basket and Quinn ordered some kind of hamburger ith the interesting name of "The Dude". I pulled out my wallet to pay but Quinn stopped me and said," My treat" I reluctantly agreed and soon we were seated outside by the playground chowing down. "I haven't been here for forever!" I exclaimed as I looked around seeing all the changes. The skill crane machine now housed the seasonal spring animals and The Pac- Man machine had finally disappeared. A new wing had been added to the playground and I was dying to go play on it.
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Post by Thursday on Apr 29, 2006 10:29:30 GMT -5
Quinn followed my gaze and grinned at me. "Is it calling to you Hope?" "Ha, ha. The four foot height limit would mean no." "You're a lot shorter than me. Stand up." I stood up as Quinn did and finally realized how much taller he was than me. My head came up to his shoulder. "Well I guess that means I can lose you in the playplace, because you're so tall." I kicked off my flip flops and raced to the bright red tunnel of the entractance. Quinn was hot on my heels.
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Post by Thursday on May 1, 2006 21:45:56 GMT -5
I raced up the slippery tunnel and followed the maze to a center area covered with netted rope. I stopped here to catch my breath. No way Quinn could have kept up with me. Until I heard the disembodied voice of Quinn, distorted by the plastic,"I'm coming for you, Hope!" Crap! I raced to the nearest tunnel and caught saw of Quinn. He grinned and started towards me. I crawled as fast as I could(which is really not very fast. Those tunnels are hard on your knees! I don't know how I did it as a kid!) I had almost reached a slide when someone grabbed my ankle and yanked me backwards until I was face to face with none other than Quinn. "Caught ya!" he annouced truimphantly. "I surrender! My knees are killing me!" I said laughing. Quinn smiled and I suddenly noticed how close we were to each other. We were practically chest to chest, his face barely six inches from mine. We didn't say anything and suddenly his mouth was moving towards mine. My eyes closed as I knew what was about to happen... and then BAM! No, his kiss didn't hit me like that! It was two screaming toddlers who ran towards our feet and pushed us down the slide. At the bottom Quinn and I could barely stop laughing. Until we looked up and saw a very angry looking DQ employee.
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Post by Thursday on May 1, 2006 22:01:16 GMT -5
As we walked out I couldn't help but smile. As we had untangled ourselves and stood up the employee gave us a strict lecture about how the playplace was for children and since we wanted to act like children we would be punished like children. She procede to take both our photos with an instant camera and hang them on the wall and declare we were forever banned from the Dairy Queen number 1867. I looked over at Quinn, who was looking at me trying to supress a laugh. "That was an adventure!" I said laughing. Quinn started cracking up. "Be careful, Hope! We might be acting like children!" This set us off in another fit of giggles. "So where to next on our day of playing hookie?"Quinn asked as he pulled out. "Are you up for a drive?" "Sure." "Heartland State Park." Quinn turned towards me with a raised eyebrow. "Are you sure?" "Absolutely. I've been to the worst place already." "Heartland State Park it is."
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Post by Thursday on May 1, 2006 22:06:33 GMT -5
On the way we didn't really talk. Quinn turned up the radio and was having a grand old time singing loudly to all the songs. As for me, I stared out the window and thought about that moment in the playplace. When I was sure... Quinn was about to kiss me. Could it have been my imagination?
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Post by Thursday on May 5, 2006 20:06:37 GMT -5
Then sun was almost directly over head by the time we got to the park. It was deserted save for a few park employees who waved to me when they saw me. "You're known here?" Quinn asked in an amused voice. "Of, course. My parents and I came here all the time." "I've never been here before. Will you be okay on your own while I look around?" "Yeah, sure. Just meet me by the tower in a little while." As Quinn walked off I thought about how often he seemed to read my mind. Being alone was just what I needed and he had seen that. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, breathing in that wonderful smell of nature. Like grass and sunshine. Birds whistling and crickets chirping. The ancient oaks towered over my head making me feel small and insignificant. I walked slowly along the familiar gravel paths and took in the beauty all around me. Picnic tables and outdoor grills dotted the landscape every so often and squirrels scampered around, playing tag in the trees. Heartland State Park was known for it's Indian caves and old ponds where indians used to wash clothes but it was the tower I loved the most. It was originally a watch tower when the spanish ruled the area and now a tourist attraction. But it was what I loved best because she had loved it.
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Post by Thursday on May 5, 2006 20:40:33 GMT -5
I walked up the narrow stone steps, my hand gliding along the metal railing. It was a steep and long climb but the view was totally worth it. Soon I reached the top and headed straight to the edge. The view was spectactular. Green. All you could see for miles. Green and blue. It was beautiful. I was alone probably because it was a week day. Everyone was at work or school. I just stood there, staring into the distance, soaking it all in.
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Post by Thursday on May 6, 2006 22:22:28 GMT -5
I rested my elbows on the railing and sighed. Soon it would be time to return to reality. To school and life. Without her. I heard footsteps behind me and turned to find Quinn. "Hey," he said. "Hi." "Great view." "Yeah." "Hope, i..." "Yes?" I prompted. "I don't know what to say." "You don't have to say anything." I replied confused. "Yes, I do. You still have issues with your mom, I know. Wait just hear me out." He said as I tried to interrupt. "I want to help you but I can't do that if you won't tell me anything." "Do you think it's that easy? Do think I can just tell you all my problems and suddenly my life will become perfect? Do you honestly think it's that simple?" I yelled at him. My voice echoed on top of the tower. "I know it's not, Hope. God damn it. I went through the same things as you. Don't think that you're the only person whose ever lost lost someone. Why don't you stop being so damned selfish and think about other people for once?" His voice was cold and accusing. "What the hell are you talking about Quinn?" "I talking about why I'm here with you instead of your father. Don't you think he'd want to be here? She was his family too. His wife." "Dont' you think I know that?" "Then why don't you tell him that? Why don't you talk to him about her. He needs to hear it just as much as you." He was right and I knew it. I turned without a word and raced down the stone steps, tears starting to stream down my face. Bad idea. Near the bottom I tripped and fell in the dirt. I beat the ground in frustration and buried my tear stained face in my dirt covered hands. The sun was going down and rosy light spilled across the park. Beautiful most would say. But to me right now it felt evil and ugly and wrong. The pink looked gray and black in my eyes and all I could do was cry.
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Post by Thursday on May 6, 2006 22:46:47 GMT -5
Quinn came and lifted me out of the dirt and wrapped his arms around me. I tried to pull away but he wouldn't let me. And I didn't resist very hard. I knew it was exactly what I needed. "Can we go home?" I whispered into his shoulder. "Sure," he said." But let's clean you up first." He said holding my hands out showing me the blood streamed from cuts I hadn't even notcied. My knees too. We walked to the rangers station where they directed us to a bathroom with a first aid kit. Quinn lifted me up onto to the counter and started to clean up my various cuts. He grabbed an antiseptic spray from the first aid kit and said," Okay, this is going to hurt." I held out my hands and clenched my teeth. He sprayed my hands and knees smiling at my grimaces. He gentley bandaged the gashes and helped me off the counter where I caught sight of myself in the mirror. My hair was wild and my face bared evidence of my crying. Red rimmed eyes and steams of dirt and blood from my tumble from the tower. "Oh my God." "You look fine." Quinn said. "Yeah. If I wanted to look like I went through a war. Can I just meet you at the car?" "You sure?" "Yeah, I really need to clean up." Quinn nodded and walked out while I turned the water on full blast and washed my face. I dried it with some paper towels and tried to do something with my hair. I stared at myself in the tiny mirror. My face was pale and puffy from crying. Quinn's accustations were true. Absolutely true. I hadn't been thinking of my father. I felt so ashamed. I walked out of the small bathroom and ran into Ilsa, a ranger I knew from the trips with my parents. "Hello Hope. Get all cleaned up? That must have been a nasty fall." "Yeah, I'm fine." "Your boyfriend must be really geat to clean you up like that." "He's not my boyfriend." I said quickly. "Really?" She said sounding surprised. "Could have fooled me. It's great to see you again , Hope." "You too." As I walked out I couldn't help but think about Ilsa and her mistake. Quinn my boyfriend? I shook my head. After the tower scene I was sure he hated me.
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Post by Thursday on May 6, 2006 23:02:31 GMT -5
Quinn was waiting in the car when I got there. "Much better," he obversed." Now you don't look like the Blair witch!" he teased. "Ha,Ha." He turned towards me. "I'm sorry about yelling at you back there Hope, I..." "Why? It was all true." "It wasn't my place." "Yes, it was.You're my friend and you were right. I should have come here with my father. It's just..." "What?" "I was afraid." "Of what? He's your dad not the Grime Reaper." "Yeah, I know. But with him it just brings back so many memories." "It's okay to remember, Hope. Thats what you're supposed to do. It's a part of greiving." "I guess we skipped that part. And I'm sorry too." "For what?" "You've had you share of lose too. More than your share. I still have a parent." "So do I. Mom and Dad are my parents, Hope. My life isn't some soap opera." "I know. But I'm just...talking too much that's it." Quinn laughed and started driving.
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Post by Thursday on May 6, 2006 23:33:02 GMT -5
On the way home I fell into a deep and dreamless sleep and didn't wake up until Quinn shook me gently. "What?" I asked groggily. I sat up and saw we were at a gas station. "Need a pit stop?" "Yeah." We both walked inside and headed to our respective bathrooms. I emerged a few minutes later and browsed the racks for some junk food. I grabbed a bag of flamin' Hot Cheetoes, Gummi bears, and a Liter Diet Coke. Joined me in the regsiter line with a beef jerky and Dr.Pepper. "Hungry?" he asked staring at my selection.
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Post by Thursday on May 7, 2006 3:45:21 GMT -5
"Just a little," I answered easily as I checked out. The girl at the register was your typical punk chick. Nose stud, studded belt, well basically studded everything. She was probably in college or maybe not. You never could tell. The only reason I paid so much attention was because this girl was flirting her ass off with Quinn.
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Post by Thursday on May 7, 2006 22:15:10 GMT -5
I rolled my eyes as I watched her flirt shamelessly with Quinn. Quinn smiled and acted polite but I could tell he wanted to get out of there and Punk Chick was taking as long as possible. I decided to intervene. I sided up to Quinn and put my arm through his elbow and said," Hurry up honey. " I winked at Quinn who caught right on. "Just a minute sweetheart. I was just chatting with Rosy here." He said putting his arm around my waist. Punk chick frowned and finished ringing up Quinn quickly and we walked out hand in hand laughing. But not for the reasons she thought. "Thanks for the save." Quinn said with a smile as we climbed in the car. "No problem." "The girls just can't stay away from me!" he said jokingly. "Yeah, sure." I said smiling at him. For the rest of the ride we just talked. Really talked. I had never talked with a guy like we did that day. And I got to know alot about Quinn. As we pulled into my street. We were laughing about something or another until we saw my dad, standing in the driveway. Looking murderous.
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