The Amazing Wolf Boy

Part 52 - Come Saturday Morning

I spent the rest of the weekend under my uncle's watchful eye. I found that increasingly funny, seeing how I was supposed to be watching him. He never mentioned the alligator again, which was fine. He had something to say, though, and I wished he would spit it out.

Once, he almost did. "Made any new friends, lately?" he asked.

"Not really. I don't fit in much at school."

"Maybe someone outside of school?" he asked. "Someone a little older?"

"No." I looked at him, waiting, wondering where this was going.

Evidently nowhere, because he dropped the subject.

The following week, we had the math FCAT at school. The good thing about standardized testing was we had no homework. The bad thing was, because there was no homework, Brittany didn't see the need for study nights. She spent her evenings at home doing the family thing.I tried not to complain. As a reward, she promised me her full attention on Saturday.

When she got to my place Saturday morning, I was sitting on the front porch looking out at the woods. Spring was coming, causing many of the trees to burst into bloom. Yellow, orange, and even blue flowers filled the branches. It almost looked like autumn up north.

"Hi." Brittany sat beside me.

"Hi yourself." I entwined my fingers with hers. "What would you like to do today?"

"I thought we could follow your uncle around, see if he does anything suspicious."

I shook my head. "He's already gone. Said he had some errands to run."

"Like what?"

"I don't know. He might be picking up supplies for a project he's doing next week."

"We could run by the lumberyard and see if he's there."

"Sure." I stood, pulling her up with me.

"Speaking of next week," she said, "it's spring break, so remember I'll be working."

I nodded. "Do you know your hours?"

"Not yet. But if it's during the day, there's a good chance my boss will be there."

"If it's during the day, I'll probably be working with Uncle Bob. He already asked."

She smiled and got into her car. "Good, then."

We drove past the lumberyard, but we didn't see my uncle's truck. So we continued on to Wal-Mart, Target, and the Home Depot. Then we tried the post office and Publix.

"I wish we knew what kind of errands he's running," Brittany said.

I shrugged. Even if we found him, we wouldn't be able to follow him unnoticed. We weren't exactly inconspicuous in a lime green Volkswagen."Why don't we stop at the Coffee Café?" I said. "If we don't see him there, I can at least buy you lunch."

"Deal." She smiled.

By the time we got to the café, the parking lot was almost full. We opened the door to the rumble of conversation and the clatter of silverware.

Anne greeted us as we stepped inside. "Cody. How are you doing, hon? There's a table over in the corner. Better grab it quick."

I spotted the table and guided Brittany to it.

She smiled as she sat. "They know you?"

"It's my uncle's favorite place. I'm surprised he's not here."

Anne placed two tall glasses of chocolate milk before us.

I set my debit card on the table. "This one's not on the tab, okay?"

Her eyes crinkled. "Oh, I see. Who's your friend?"

"I'm Brittany."

"Anne. Pleased as the dickens to meet you." She turned to me. "Will you be having the usual?"

"What's the usual?" Brittany asked.

"Hamburger. Rare," I said.

"Sounds good," she said, "but I'll have mine medium. No bun."

"You got it. I'll be back in a jiff." Anne bustled away.

Brittany picked up the glass of milk. "I thought this was a coffee shop."

"Yeah, well, I don't really like coffee, so she started giving me milk." I took a swig. "It does a body good."

"It certainly does yours good. You're like transforming before my eyes."

I gave her a quizzical look. "And I don't even work out."

She laughed and glanced around. "It's really busy in here."

"The food's good."

"I have something to ask, and I don't know how."

I took another drink, and then met her eyes. "All right."

"My mother wants me to invite you to Easter dinner," Brittany said. "She wants to meet you."

"Oh." I leaned back in my seat. "She's not scary or anything is she?"

"Hardly. She's frazzled most of the time. Not great at multi-tasking. But she's a really good cook."

"Can she make crunchy cake?"

Brittany laughed. "No one can make crunchy cake like you."

"Here you go, kids." Anne juggled the hamburgers and fries. "One bloody and one pink."

"Yum. Smells great," said Brittany.

"Yes, it does." I looked up at Anne. "Has my uncle been in today?"

"Breakfast. Said he was stopping by Sophie Jackson's to unclog her dryer vent. He never charges that woman a thing, knows she's on a fixed income. I never met a kinder man than your Uncle Bobby. In spite of his birthday."

"What do you mean?" I asked."Well, as you know, he was born on Christmas Eve, and I've always found that sort to be rather strange. Standoffish. But not Bobby. He's a real sweetheart. Well, enjoy your lunch."

I watched her walk away without really seeing her. Christmas Eve. There was something important about people born on Christmas Eve, but I couldn't remember what.

"Cody? Are you okay?" Brittany asked.

I grabbed the ketchup. "Of course."