The Perfect Couple

34

A minute later when he went to the counter, Tom said, "He'd do better to see a specialist in sportsmanship. He's just trying to rob Marcus of his glory, pretending he would have won the game if he hadn't been hurt."

"Oh, I don't know about that," Marcus argued quietly. "Playing conditions were pretty bad out there, especially for Alan's kind of game."

"For his showboating, you mean."

I'd always liked Tom, but if I'd spoken to him right then I think I would have bit his head off. He just didn't understand Alan and he had no right to judge him.

Alan came back with a cup of coffee, which he held awkwardly in his left hand. Imagine Alan doing anything awkwardly! It was really heartbreaking. He was probably drinking coffee, I thought, because he hoped it would give him some energy and make him forget how lousy he felt.

In a few minutes his brother Neil came over to the booth. He'd been hanging out with some seniors on the other side of the room. "I'm going home now," he told Alan. "You want a lift?"

He didn't sound very concerned about his brother's injury. He was tall and had the same colouring as Alan, but he wasn't nearly as good-looking. I decided there was probably some sibling rivalry there. Kim had explained sibling rivalry to me a long time ago, when she'd told me she was glad she was an only child.

Alan rose slowly and at least I could see the suffering in his face. He was gallant, though. Just before he moved away he said, "Oh, congratulations, Lopez. With me getting hurt like this, I'm sure glad you were able to save the game for me."

"Thanks, Alan. See ya later," Marcus called out as he dug into the French fries. "Hey, you guys, help me out," he said a minute later. "I won't eat any dinner if I go through all these."

We all took a couple of fries to please him, then I said I'd better call Dad, who'd agreed to pick Kim and me up whenever we were ready to go home. We were all soaked, so everyone was willing to break it up.

When Dad pulled up to the curb, I motioned Marcus to get in the front with him while Kim and I sat in the back. Tom took off with a guy who lived in the same part of town he did.

"Nice going, my boy!" Dad said, shaking hands with Marcus. "I heard the results of the game on the radio. You really came through like a champion."

"Thanks, Mr. Black." Marcus gave a pleased grin.

"I wish you could have seen the quarterback sneak he pulled," I said. " It was beautiful!"

"A quarterback sneak, huh? That's a mighty clever play when it works," Dad remarked.

"Marcus made it work!" I declared. "He"

Suddenly I broke off as I realized I was praising Marcus to the skies and not giving a thought to poor Alan, who must feel terrible and maybe his wrist was broken, too . . .

When we got home Kim ran across the street and Marcus headed for his house.

"You must be proud of your boyfriend," Dad told me.

"I am," I said. But I wasn't sure if I meant Marcus, who was so modest in victory, or Alan who was suffering the agony of defeat.

Monday morning Alan showed up at school with his right wrist bandaged. He stood on the front steps with Gloria and some other kids around him. I could see he was explaining how the injury to his wrist had happened.

I'd walk to school with Marcus, but somebody's had stopped him to congratulate him on the game and I walked up the stairs alone. When I reached Alan, I stopped.

"I see your doctor did find something wrong with your wrist," I said, my voice full of sympathy.

"Yeah." He shook of Gloria's hand and stepped away from the group. Touching my shoulder he said, "I'm sorry I didn't get that touchdown for you, Kelly. But you know what happened." He let go of my shoulder to hold his right wrist.

"Don't even think about it," I said "I'm just sorry you got hurt." I couldn't help adding, "It sure was lucky, though, that Marcus came through the way he did."

The way his face darkened, I knew I'd said the wrong thing. He didn't want to talk about Marcus. He wanted sympathy the way we all do when we're hurting.

I made amends the best way I could. "I hope your wrist heals quickly." That brought a smile to his face.

"Thanks. Hey, let's have a Coke together real soon. You know we talked about it. We can go to The Straw."

I thought he'd forgotten about it, oh that he hadn't really meant the invitation. He seemed really eager, though and my heart did all kinds of acrobats. He was really interested in me! Still, I was supposedly serious about Marcus, so I couldn't make a date right away. Maybe Marcus and I could start to cool it a little. Then when Alan asked me again I could jump at the invitation.

"I'll have to see," I answered carefully.

"I understand." He knew what was on my mind and gave me such a deep glance I felt as if I were drowning in it.

That afternoon Kim came home with me. Mom had decided to rough out her column at the Courier office so we had the house to ourselves. Since I knew I'd have time to clean up the kitchen before Mom got home, we didn't worry so much about making a mess. We made grilled-cheese sandwiches and chocolate shakes, garnishing the shakes with whipped cream and the sandwiches with pickles and various relishes.

While we ate at the breakfast bar I told Kim the wonderful news I'd been saving for the right moment.

"Alan asked me out again today." I filled her in on what he'd said about us having a Coke at The Straw. "What do you think now about my chances of going to the Christmas Ball with him?"

"I guess they're pretty good," she conceded, but she didn't sound very enthusiastic. She had something on her mind and knowing her as well as I did, I could be sure she wouldn't keep it to herself for long. After she'd taken another bite of her sandwich and stirred the shake with her straw, she finally spoke. "You know what this is all about, don't you, Kelly? Since Marcus is a school hero now, your being his girl is really important to Alan. Taking you away from Marcus would be a feather in his cap."