Subtle Beauty - 16. Chapter 16

This day should be perfect. Why did I forget his birthday in the first place? Well, no time to worry about that. I shook myself and checked my list for the umpteenth time. Right, everything seemed okay. What if it rained? No, no, no, no, no. Everything is going to be all right.

 

Who am I kidding? This day’s going to be a disaster.

 

Closing my eyes, I took long deep breaths to calm myself. No need to panic. It’s not like this is the first time I’m celebrating his birthday with him. Oh fuck, it is!

 

Worry had me trapped. I tried to escape only to fall deeper in its clutches. My sandaled feet dragged on the floor as I paced my bedroom. The more I succumbed to anxiousness, the more time I wasted.

 

I should do my best for Mich, he deserved it. Taking hold of myself, I picked up the cellphone I borrowed from Vern and typed a message.

 

Hi, Mich. This is Coop. Pls meet me @ the carnival around 3 pm. I’ll b expecting u.

 

A message appeared on the screen that the message had been sent. Letting out air from my mouth, I felt myself relax for the first time since I woke up. I didn’t go to sleep until one in the morning, waking up again at six.

 

The memories of last night’s activities made me glance at the printer on my study table which reminded me that I needed to buy a new cartridge. I was running low on paper too. Sighing, I forced myself not to think how much those would cost.

 

When Vern mentioned Mich’s birthday yesterday, my mind went into overdrive. I needed to plan something special, fast, but what? An hour of thinking proved fruitless. Vern volunteered some ideas, but they were either too expensive or corny.

 

Just when I had almost given up hope, a thought occurred to me and everything fell in place. I told Vern about my plan and she readily agreed to help.

 

I felt my cheeks warm up as I recalled the idea I had on how to surprise Mich. I just hope he would appreciate what I had in store for him.

 

The phone rang.

 

“Hi, Vern. Is everything ok? Please, please tell me they are. You’ve no idea how much I’m freaking out.”

 

A deep voice answered. “Sorry, babe, this is not Vern. It’s Mich. Why are you freaking out? Want me to come over?”

 

‘Shit!’ Should have checked the caller ID. “No, don’t come over. I’m fine. How did you get this number?”

 

“You texted me?” He was silent for a few seconds. “Are you sure you don’t want me to come over? You seem tensed. I know something we could do to relax you.”

 

I felt myself smile. “Get your head out of the gutter, Mich. Don’t come over, I’m... busy. I’m meeting you later at the carnival, right?”

 

“Hm, not sure. It’s a busy day for me too.” He’s playing with me.

 

I played along. “I’ll be there whether or not you come. I do hope you can though.”

 

“Ok, I’ll try. Is there nothing you want to tell me?” he asked.

 

“No.” I stuck out my tongue at him even though he couldn’t see it. “What would you like me to tell you?”

 

“Nothing. It’s just… it’s a special day for me.” He was as coy as I was.

 

“I know it’s your special day. Whatever it is you want me to tell you, I’ll say it to your face later at the carnival. So be there.” Or else…

 

“Ok, I’ll be there.” He sighed. “Coop, you’ve no idea how much I miss your lips. It’s all I can think about.”

 

The memory of his lips against mine left me wanting. “I miss your lips too much, Mich. Who knows, you might get to kiss me later. And more if you get lucky.”

 

“Sex at the carnival? Oh I like that idea very much.” His voice held a note of playfulness.

 

“Head out of the gutter! I’ll see you later. Bye.” I heard his laughter as I hung up.

 

At least he’s in a pleasant mood. Could that be a good sign? I frowned when I looked out the window. Silver clouds trumped Mich’s good mood. Without thinking, I kicked one of the bed’s legs which made me hop on one leg as I nursed an injured foot. Serves me right.

 

I lost my balance as I grabbed the ringing phone. Lying on the floor, I pressed accept.

 

“Hello?”

 

“Hey, are you ok?” Vern asked. “You sound like you’re in pain.”

 

“I’m fine.” I just ache all over, nothing to worry about. “Is everything ready?”

 

“Well...” She hesitated.

 

My mind swarmed with bizarre scenarios of things that went wrong. “What?”

 

“I did everything I could, but...” Her voice sounded strained.

 

I knew something would be going wrong, my guts had warned me. “Whatever it is, just tell me while there’s still time to fix it.”

 

“I did everything I could, but they said you should be here early. They have no idea what you look like, so how do you expect them to do this favor for you?” I pictured Vern’s wide smile in my mind.

 

“Oh yeah, ok. I’ll just shower, and then I’ll be on my way.” What time is it? “Thanks for making me worry, Vern.”

 

“You sound like you’re having a great day.” I noted the softness in her tone.

 

“Who knew planning Mich’s birthday could be this nerve wracking? There’s nothing I want more than for this day to be over.”

 

“Why are you so glum?” She paused. “Look, if it makes you feel better, I think what you’re trying to do is really sweet. If I’m Mich, I’ll be really touched. You’ve put your heart and soul into this. So stop worrying.”

 

The burden weighing me down lifted a little. “Thanks, Vern. And thanks for all your help.”

 

“You’re welcome. Just so we’re clear, you owe me big time.” Did she want something from me?

 

My eyebrows creased. “I already said ‘thank you’.”

 

She made an audible ‘ha’ sound. “There’s something you can do to return the favor.”

 

I knew it. “Ok, what?”

 

“Call me tomorrow and tell me how your birthday date with Mich went. I want to know everything.” Her eagerness was reflected in her voice.

 

“Everything?” I stifled the laughter brimming inside me, threatening to pour out. “I’ll tell you the censored version of it, that’s all I can promise.”

 

“Fair enough.” The other line went silent. “Wait, did I hear you right? You guys are totally gonna do it tonight.”

 

“None of your business. Bye.” I pressed end before she could respond.

 

My side was still tender where I’d hit the bed when I fell. I pressed my hand on the bed’s wooden frame. “Sorry, bed. I didn’t mean to kick you earlier. Please don’t be mad anymore. We need to get along because if this day ends in disaster, you’ll be seeing a lot of me in the next couple of... years.”

 

*************************

 

Light rain poured from the sky as I made my way to the carnival parking lot. My feet led me to the spot where I noticed Mich’s blue car parked. I gently tapped on his window.

 

The door opened and he stepped out dressed in a printed green shirt and checkered gray shorts. He had a white cap on backwards and wore a blue Converse on his feet. I couldn’t keep my eyes off of him.

 

“Hey.” His cheeks flushed. “It stopped raining.”

 

I smiled. “Oh yeah, I didn’t notice. And hi. You look good.”

 

“Thanks. You don’t look so bad yourself.” His goofy smile made an appearance. “Please stop staring Coop. You’re making me conscious.”

 

I averted my eyes. “Sorry.”

 

An awkward silence engulfed us. With my head lowered, I spied on Mich through the corner of my eyes. He shifted his weight nervously.

 

“Mich, Happy Birthday.” I timidly wrapped my arms around him and planted a quick kiss on his lips. He smelled so good.

 

When I let go of him, he still had his eyes closed. “Do that again Coop. I can’t get enough of your lips.”

 

My eyes roamed the parking lot. A few people hung around, but nobody paid any attention to Mich and I. Letting go of my inhibition, I placed my hands on Mich’s hips and pressed my lips against his. He surprised me when he held on to my head, preventing me from breaking our kiss.

 

We gulped for air when the kiss ended. I ignored the group of teenage girls watching us as I focused on the satisfied smile on Mich’s face.

 

Breathing heavily, I said, “Are you trying to get us kicked out of the carnival before we even get inside?”

 

“Sorry. I lost control.” He didn’t sound repentant at all.

 

“I’m going in. You can stay if you want. I think those girls want a kiss too.” I stepped past him and made for the entrance. Behind me, I heard his feet as they hit the concrete floor.

 

Quickening his steps, he took my hand and held it.

 

“Mich!” I said through clenched teeth.

 

He shrugged, but didn’t let go of my hand. “So why here? This is a little bit childish, don’t you think?”

 

I sniggered. “Grandpa told me how much you love carnivals.”

 

“Oh.” His stride slowed a bit. “I should’ve known he’s part of this plan. He couldn’t contain his excitement earlier.”

 

Thanks, Grandpa. “What’s so special about carnivals?”

 

His expression became serious. “Dad and Mom. They’d always taken me on my birthday. Being here… helps me remember.”

 

Oh, fuck. “I’m sorry, Mich. I... I didn’t know.”

 

He squeezed my hand. “What are you sorry for? I’m glad I get to experience this with you. Now carnivals are extra special.”

 

“Before we proceed,” I stopped walking, “there’s something I want to show you.”

 

Mich peered at me with a questioning look on his face.

 

I held out an envelope to him then stashed it back in my pocket. “That’s my gift to you. But since I like you so much, you have to work hard for it. It’s a very special gift so you have to prove to me that you deserve it.”

 

His eyes lit up. “I’m game. So what do you want me to do? Wrestle the Strong Man? Walk the tightrope? Tame the lion?”

 

“None of those. This is a test of your wits.” I watched his face and saw the enthusiasm ebbed out of him.

 

“If you want to see me make a fool of myself, all you need to do is ask,” he said gloomily.

 

“You’re giving up without even trying? It’s your choice, Mich. I’m not gonna force you to play along. But aren’t you even slightly curious about what my very special gift is?” I took the envelope out of my pocket and showed it to him.

 

He lunged for the envelope, but I kept it out of his reach. “Ok, fine. If your gift isn’t as special as you say it is, I’m gonna feed you to the lion myself.”

 

I dragged Mich to the queue for the roller coaster. After fifteen minutes, Mich and I were strapped to our seats.

 

Panic gripped at me. “Mich, I’m afraid of heights.”

 

He wrapped his hand over mine. “Don’t worry, I’m here. Look at me and nowhere else, ok?”

 

Without taking my eyes off of him, I nodded my head. The ride started moving and I caught my breath as we plummeted down.

 

“Are you ok?” he asked.

 

I shook my head. “It’s better if I don’t speak.”

 

When the ride ended, Mich had to help me on my feet. The attendant offered him a slip of paper.

 

“Take it.” I clamped my hand to my mouth as I felt a bout of queasiness came over me.

 

Spotting a nearby bench, I went towards it and sat myself down. Mich pored over the contents of the slip of paper. I knew it by heart.

 

I begin eternity and end space.

At the end of time and in every place.

Last in life, second to death.

Never alone; found in your breath.

Contained by earth, water or flame.

My grandeur so awesome wind dare not tame.

Not in your mind; am in your dreams.

Vacant to Kings, present to Queens.

 

Mich conversed with the attendant and he was handed another slip of paper before he left. He held a paper with a large bold letter ‘E’ written on it.

 

Sitting beside me, he draped an arm over my shoulder. “How’re you feeling?”

 

I leaned my head against his chest. “Better.”

 

He playfully smacked my head. “That was a stupid move, Coop. If you’re afraid of heights, you should have just asked the attendant of the... carousel to help you out.”

 

“Grandpa said you like roller coasters,” I pointed out. “Besides, carousels are for babies.”

 

His body trembled as he chuckled. “The way you’re acting, I think the carousel is the only ride you can handle.”

 

To prove him wrong, I jumped to my feet. “See, I’m alright. Let’s go grab some hotdogs, I’m starving.”

 

“Not such a good idea, Coop. I don’t want you puking all over my shoes.”

 

“Just go.” With my finger, I directed him to a hotdog stand.

 

When he came back, he handed me a hotdog on stick while he absent-mindedly took a bite on his hotdog sandwich.

 

His eyes scanned the slip of paper he held. “What is the color of the ‘black box’ in airplanes?”

 

He paced in front of me. “Shit, it’s at the tip of my tongue.”

 

With a mouthful of hotdog, I said, “I want orange juice, Mich.”

 

A smile crossed his lips. “What did you say?”

 

I swallowed. “I want some juice.”

 

His smile widened as he turned to go. After a couple of minutes, he returned clutching a paper with a letter “O” on it. “Thanks, Coop.”

 

Shouldn’t have done that. “For what?”

 

The twinkle in his eye made me blush. “Oh nothing. Nothing at all. Where to next?”

 

We went inside the House of Mirrors. I teased him that he looked good as a ‘fatty’ which earned me a frown. But we both laughed at his scrawny ass reflection.

 

Once outside, I read the clue over Mich’s shoulder. I have three letters and I read the same forward and backwards. I rhyme with a word that is important to everyone. What word am I?

 

His face scrunched up.

 

“Try reading it aloud,” I suggested.

 

He did and before the third reading ended, he ran back to the attendant. Mich wore a proud smile when he reappeared. “Eye rhymes with I.”

 

As we were walking hand in hand, Mich was stopped by a mime. With a little dramatic flair, the mime furnished him a piece of paper.

 

In a 500 mile race, Car A averaged 100 mph while Car B averaged 90 mph. Approximately how many miles from the finish line will the slower car be when the faster car completes the race?

 

Mich thought for a while then shouted out ‘fifty.’ The mime covered his ears with his hands. With a reproachful look, he pressed another paper toward Mich.

 

“I think you offended him.” Looking back, the mime had a forlorn expression on his face as he nursed his ears.

 

“Didn’t mean to shout at him, I was just so happy that I know the answer.” His attention focused on the latest addition to the papers he carried. “L? The answer was fifty so I should get an ‘F’, right?”

 

I moved my head from side to side. “Not necessarily. You got an ‘I’ instead of an ‘E’ for the last one, remember?”

 

“That one I understand. You used the word’s phonetic equivalent or something. But L and fifty doesn’t make any sense.” Mich’s brows knitted as he pondered. “Ah, Roman numerals.”

 

We entered a small tent. Inside, a palm reader placed a piece of paper on Mich’s hand after telling him that he would have an exciting love life. He gave me a ‘you-believe-in-this-nonsense’ look before reading his next clue.

 

There is a word. If you take away three letters, you have a different word yet it’s still the same. What is the word?

 

This was the first time today that I saw him struggling. The frown on his face deepened as time ticked away.

 

He gazed at my face. “Coop, this is really hard.”

 

“What clue are we at?” I inquired.

 

Mich considered. “This is... the fifth one.”

 

I nodded my head slightly. He mouthed the word ‘fifth’ then studied the clue again.

 

“Fifth doesn’t make any sense at all. How about five? If I remove three letters from ‘five’, I’m left with either ‘F’, ‘I’, ‘V’ or ‘E’. Roman numerals again.” He faced the palm reader. “The answer’s ‘five’.”

 

Mich and I exited the tent carrying a ‘V’ paper.

 

“You’re doing great.” I patted his back. “Our next stop is the Big Top.”

 

We found our seats and watched the show. Toward the end, twin acrobats approached Mich and each gave him a paper.

 

A farmer combined two compost heaps with three others. How many compost heaps does he have?

 

If x = 5z and 15z = 3y, then x equals __.

 

Without looking at me, he asked, “Can I borrow a pen?”

 

I handed him the pen I had ready. He turned a paper over and wrote x = 5z then 15z = 3y underneath. At first, he subtracted the two equations. When nothing good came of that, he crossed out everything then rewrote the two equations. My lips formed into a smile when he divided the second equation by three.

 

He smiled at the twins. “One and Y.”

 

“How much more of this do I need to do?” He added an ‘O’ and a ‘Y’ in his stack of papers.

 

“Just one more.” I stopped him in his tracks and a clown approached us.

 

In his funny way, the clown made Mich run after him as he held the paper out of Mich’s reach. When Mich caught up, the clown let go of the paper as if it was on fire.

 

“Coop, this one sucks. ‘Why is T the happiest letter in the alphabet?’” He clapped his hand on his forehead. “Because it is next to U maybe?”

 

The clown jumped up and down as he handed Mich the last paper, U.

 

His eyebrows were in the air. “What now?”

 

“Come with me.” I grabbed his arm and led him to a secluded place. “Mich, there’s something I want to tell you, but I’m not sure how you’ll take it, so the message is hidden in the letters you hold.”

 

As understanding dawned on him, he placed the paper one by one on the ground. But before he could rearrange them, a gentle wind blew the papers away. I watched as the papers flew far from reach.

 

I gazed at him with guilt on my face. “Sorry. All your hard work for nothing.”

 

“That’s ok. How did you set this up anyway?” He looked at the horizon, lost in his thoughts.

 

“Vern. She used to date the owner of this carnival. I mean the owner’s son.” I messed up. Big time. “Let’s go home?”

 

Mich grasped my hand. “I love you too, Coop. I’ve been wanting to tell you for so long, but I thought you might freak out as we only started dating. You’re always one step ahead of me, aren’t you?”

 

“How did you—” But before I could finish, he placed his lips against mine.

 

With his forehead on mine, he said, “I’m not as dumb as you think I am, Coop.”

 

My eyebrows met in the middle. “I don’t think you’re dumb.”

 

“I’m kidding, sheesh.” He removed the envelope from my pocket. “You have no objection if I take this, right babe?”

 

“Ok, but you have to feed me to the lion after you open that. It’s not a very special gift. In fact, there’s nothing special about it at all.” My mood turned somber as he tore a corner of the envelope.

 

“An IOU?” Mich fixed his gaze on me.

 

“Yeah.” I lowered my head. “I don’t have any extra money right now, but I promise to buy you something special soon.”

 

His arms wrapped around me. “Coop, you don’t have to. You’ve done a lot already. In fact, just spending this day with you have been a blast. Thank you.”

 

“Mich, I love you,” I whispered in his ears.