Page 31 of Stick Around
Billy furrowed his brow and shook his head. “I know people around here think my dad’s a piece of shit. Hell, most days I do too. And I get that in a town this small, that kind of stink is bound to rub off on his whole family. But I’m not my father. I’m not leaving. And just because he didn’t teach me how to be a decent man or father doesn’t mean I can’t learn. I promise, Gracie. Iwilllearn. And I’ll make the Miller name one you and your parents can be proud of.”
“Embarrassed?” Grace’s eyes stung. “Is that what you think? Jesus Christ, Billy. I don’t care what people in this town think about you and me. All I care about is you and this baby.”
Billy sighed and shoved his hands in the pockets of his paint-stained jeans. “Then why can’t you be with me? Why won’t you marry me?”
Grace threw her hands up. “How many times are you going to make me say this?”Don’t you get that it breaks my heart every time I have to say no?“I can’t be the girl that trapped you with a baby. I can’t spend my life knowing I kept you from anything or anyone that might have made you happy.” Her voice quavered, and tears spilled down her cheeks.
Billy scrubbed his face with his hands, an aggravated growl escaping from behind his palms. He turned on his heel, pacing away from Grace and interlacing his fingers behind his head.
Please say something. Say you understand.
“I don’t know how to get through to you, Gracie.” Billy said to the empty bedroom, his back still to Grace.
She watched his shoulders rise and fall in a deep sigh before his back straightened. He spun back around and headed for the door.
“Wait here,” he said as he breezed past her.
“Where are you going?”
He didn’t reply, leaving Grace standing alone in the doorway. She squeezed her eyes as tears rolled down her cheeks. A second later, she heard a loud crash from somewhere across the house, followed by Billy cursing. She took a deep breath and wiped her tears with the heels of her hands while the rustling noises from the other room continued.
She scanned the room. Billy was doing a careful job with the painting. He’d removed all the baseboards and trim from the windows and doors and patched all the scuffs and nail holes in the walls. She glanced at the sunny window and a wooden rocking chair rose up beside it. The blanket that lived at the foot of her bed, the herringbone patterned one her grandmother had knitted her, was draped over the back.
“Here.” She turned to find Billy holding out a thin, black, hardcover book.
“What is this?”
“It’s my grade twelve yearbook. Turn to the signatures in the back.”
She opened the cover and flipped to the last page. “What am I looking at?”
“This one.” He tapped the page in the bottom corner.
Grace read the note aloud. “Miller, don’t forget I know about drama club. Haha. Kidding, bro. I’ll take that shit to my grave. Don’t forget, beers at the creek August long. Go Mustangs. Zaps.” She frowned and looked back at Billy. “I don’t get it.”
“When I was in grade twelve, I auditioned for the drama club.”
She snorted and closed the book. “No, you did not.”
“I did. And I really tried my best. I read a monologue from some play I’d never heard of. Not that there were any plays I had heard of. Mr. James said he,” Billy curled his fingers, drawing quotation marks in the air, “‘appreciated my enthusiasm’ but encouraged me to stick with hockey.”
Grace bit back a chuckle. “I can’t believe you liked drama.”
“No, I hated drama. I tried out for drama club because you were in drama club.”
She tilted her head and smirked.
“You don’t believe me?”
Her smile twisted.
“Okay, fine.” Billy pulled his phone out of his front pocket. He touched a few buttons and then held it out between them. He fixed his eyes on Grace’s while they listened to the line ring through the speakerphone.
“What’s up, fucker?” A gruff voice picked up the line.
“Hey, Zaps. What’s going on?”
Why are we talking to Brad Zalapski?She crinkled her brow, but Billy only winked in response.
