Almost, Maine by John Cariani

Author:John Cariani
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

* * *

It was 8:10 when they arrived at the Rec Center. Michelle pulled into the parking lot and found a space in the back between a filthy white minivan and a snowbank.

She killed the engine and looked over at Justin.

He was far, far away.

“You okay?” she asked.

Justin looked at Michelle and said, “I’ll be the godfather. Or godmother. Or godperson. Or—whatever.”

Michelle smiled. “Awesome. Thank you.”

“And—you’re gonna be a really good mom. ’Cause you know how to take care of people. And make them feel okay.” He was speaking from experience. “And,” he added, “I’m happy for you.”

“Thanks,” said Michelle. She was so glad that Justin was happy for her. Because she cared about what he thought of her more than just about anyone. “And just so you know,” added Michelle, “he’s a good guy. Neil is his name. He works at the university—he’s the facilities manager. And he wants me to finish up my degree because he doesn’t want me to give up on my … other dreams.

“And what are those?” asked Justin.

“Um … I don’t know.”

Michelle just wanted to be a mom. And raise her kids while she was young. And could figure out her other dreams later.

“It’s harder for girls, you know,” said Justin.

“Huh?”

“It’s harder for girls. To dream. Boys have been taught to dream forever. Girls haven’t. I know. I’m kind of both. Being a boy is easier. People expect boys to dream. But not girls.”

Michelle started nodding her head again. And didn’t know if that was true or not. And just took his word for it.

And then Justin took a deep breath and said, “You ready?”

And the old friends got out of the LeSabre and made their way through the parking lot and to the Rec Center entrance.

If they had been in a movie, their walk to the entrance would have been in slow motion.

They trotted up the few steps and pulled open the large brick building’s big brown double doors and were immediately greeted by warm air and some rockabilly music—and Dana Doughty, who was the assistant to Gayle Pulcifer, who ran the Rec Center. Dana was sitting at a check-in table and was wearing more plaid than usual. “Hi!” she beamed. “Welcome to Country Swing! Bean supper’s all done, sorry!”

“No problem,” said Michelle, as Justin said, “That’s okay.” They were not at all sad that the bean supper was done.

“But everybody’s dancing!’” continued Dana. “And Lalaine can give ya lessons on the fly if you need ’em!”

“We’re good,” said Michelle. She and Justin definitely did not need lessons.

“Okay, great, so … two?” asked Dana. She had a roll of tickets in her hand and a gray metal cashbox in front of her on the table.

“Yup,” said Michelle. She was about to pull some money out of her pocket to pay when Justin started backing away from the table and said, “No.” Michelle turned and looked at him and he looked like he was in a horror movie. And he turned and ran out of the building and down the steps and back to Michelle’s LeSabre.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.