The Kiss of ‘89 by Ruth Hanson

Author:Ruth Hanson [Hanson, Ruth]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-11-03T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 6

Thunk. Thunk. Ca-chunk. With the last of his change deposited, Wes held the payphone up to his ear and leaned against the box cover. He’d managed to get to the mall a good twenty minutes early, and in doing so, decided to make his phone call to Lisa prior to his shift. The other line rang, and Wes went over again what he planned to say. He only hoped that phoning Lisa was making the right call, no pun intended.

“Hello, Bird residence.”

Wes stood up straight. He recognized the voice on the other line, and it certainly wasn’t Lisa’s. “Mrs. Bird, hi. It’s been a while.”

“Hello. Who is this?”

“It’s um…it’s Wes. Wes Peters.”

Mrs. Bird hesitated. “Oh. Hello, Wes.”

“It’s good to hear from you again. How are things? How’s Mr. Bird?”

“He’s fine.”

“How did the garden show go? I’m sorry I didn’t make it, I know you talked about inviting me a few months ago, but—”

“I’m sorry, honey, I’m in a bit of a rush. What’s this about?”

Wes’s throat went dry. “Is Lisa in?”

Again, Mrs. Bird stalled. “She’s out.”

“Out?”

“Yes. With her boyfriend, Ian. Have you met him?”

Wes tried to sound casual. “Ah, yeah. The football player, right? Yeah, I’ve met him. Do you know where they might be?”

“I don’t.”

“Oh. Well maybe I can leave a message? I don’t think Lisa has my new phone number, so…”

“Wes…” Mrs. Bird seemed to contemplate something. “Wesley, I’m sorry, but I don’t think that’s a good idea. In fact, I think I’d prefer it if you lost our phone number.”

Wesley’s shoulders slumped. “Oh. Oh, okay.”

“It’s just, with this business with your father…”

“Yeah.”

“It’s not a good influence on Lisa. She’s starting college next semester. She doesn’t need any more added stress.”

“No, yeah, I understand.”

“I hope you don’t take this as a mark against you.”

“Of course.”

“All right. Good.”

“Maybe I’ll see you arou—” The click of the phone indicated that Mrs. Bird had hung up without so much as a goodbye. Heart low, Wes hung up the phone, listening as the machine deposited his thirty-five cents. He was just thinking about abandoning the idea altogether when he saw it. Larry’s car had just pulled into the mall parking lot. Wes hurried over before Larry had a chance to drive off and knocked on his windshield. Larry jumped and cranked it down.

“Er, hi, Wes,” he said awkwardly.

“Hey, Larry, hi. Listen, do you still hang out with Lisa at all?”

“Lisa?”

“Yeah.”

“I mean I guess so.”

“Do you think you could get a message to her from me?”

Larry looked decidedly uncomfortable. “Man, listen, if you’re trying to win her back—”

“What? No, it’s nothing like that. I just have something really important I need to talk to her about.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, man. Honest to God, I’m not asking you to wingman for me.”

“Okay…” Still, Larry seemed suspicious. “So, what’s the message?”

“You know where Nicky Hoffman lives?”

Larry blinked, confused. “Hoffman? As in the metalhead Hoffman? The burnout?”

“Yeah.”

“I…guess?”

“I’ll be at his place tonight. If Lisa’s free, tell her to swing by. It’s really important that I get her perspective on something.

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