Lawrence Looks for Treasure

Part 2 - Chapter 16

16

Inside, the restaurant was noisy. Not just the people. The smell and lights were noisy. The air and walls and carpets were noisy. I couldn't make out Chris and Matty through all that noise.

Luckily, a waitress stood at the door.

'Hi there, how are you?' I asked, as I do, in these situations.

'Do you have a reservation?' she responded. I can't stand when someone ignores my question, when all I'm trying to do is be nice.

'No, I'm looking for two friends. They came in recently, wearing bike gear.'

'Oh, yes. This way.' She led me to the back. Skulls of horned animals decorated the walls, and a stuffed bear, far larger and sharper than the one I used to sleep with, stood growling in the corner. She pointed to a round wooden table with five places. Chris and Matty occupied two of them. I could see their satisfied faces, but they didn't see me. Bits of steak and fries lay on their plates. They seemed to be having a gay time, and to have forgotten me altogether.

Two more chairs were occupied. These ones faced away from me. On one, I could see the bald dome of an older man; on the other, the spotty nape of an older woman. I wasn't sure who they were, or how my friends got to sit with them. The last chair was empty.

'Hey guys.' I said.

'Lawrence!' Chris said. He was a bit drunk.

I smiled and turned to the older couple, recognizing them at once: Ema's parents.

'Mrs. McDonald! Mr. McDonald! How are you?'

Mrs. McDonald rose and hugged me. 'We're well thank you. I heard about the bike trip you boys have planned. Very courageous.'

I wasn't sure how she found out, but we were supposed to keep it secret. I didn't have a chance to ask though. Ema was walking towards us.

'Lawrence!' Ema said. She hugged me.

'Hey,' I said, smiling. I could tell she was a bit drunk too. I never understood parents who drank with their kids. My parents would never drink with me, not even if I was fourty-five, I bet. They hardly even swore around me.

'How's it going?' Ema said. When she drinks, she sort of has this smart, stumbly way about her. However you describe it, it's cute.

'I'm fine,' I said, eyes on my feet, feet on the jitters. I felt awkward around her parents, with all her stumbly cuteness.

'What are you doing here?' I asked, addressing myself to both Ema and her parents, and, as a result, to no one in particular.

'We came for dinner,' her mother answered.

'Yeah,' Chris interjected. 'And when we got here, we couldn't get a table so the McDonalds invited us to join them. We're just about to start dessert. Sit. Order something.'

'Yeah that sounds great,' I said.

Ema sat down. I pulled a chair from another table and sat down too.

'Did you get your bike fixed?' asked Mr. MacDonald.

'I did indeed.'

'Good good,' said Mr. MacDonald. 'Because Matthew told us about your trip. If you're having problems with it, we can drive you back. Leave the bike here. Pick it up tomorrow.'

'No, my bike is fine, better than before,' I said quickly. 'I went to the garage next door and the owner helped me out a lot. Anyway, why'd you decide to come all the way out here?'

'We're celebrating Ema and her wonderful accomplishment,' her mom said.

I looked at Ema. Her lips were tight, though. In fact, they were puckered, in a smirking kind of way.

'What accomplishment?' I asked.

'She was accepted to University of Toronto with a partial scholarship.'

'Wow, Ema. Congratulations. You were always smart.' It was a dumb thing to say, but I did mean it. Ema was smart. Even though she went to parties, she still got good grades. In my opinion, though, she was all about grades—she didn't care about learning. I wanted good grades, too, I guess. But I cared way more about learning. Not that it mattered. I'm not sure I learned much at school anyway. Besides, here she was, going to U of T; and here I was, not even able to work in a garage for free.

'So you're going to move to Toronto, then?'

'We'll see, I would like to be in Toronto with Matthew next year.' She said, eyeing him warmly, sincerely. 'But I want to see all my options before I decide.'

'Where did you apply for university, Lawrence?' asked Mrs. MacDonald.

'I didn't apply anywhere. I'm not sure what I want to do yet.'

'Oh,' she responded.

Thankfully, the dessert arrived so I didn't have to talk anymore. They went on, though—about where they applied, and what they planned to study, and how excited they were. I just ordered and ate my steak. It wasn't made particularly good. Just I was starving. I'd done a lot that day. I mean, I biked for a while, and then walked for a while, and then worked in that garage. My dad always says that lemonade never tastes so good as at the end of a hard day's work. Well, he wasn't quite right. It's not lemonade, it's steak.

Another reason I didn't speak much is that I was nervous. Ema and I used to be so close. I hadn't spent this much time with her since elementary school. Back then, things were more natural between us. Most of the things I now worry about didn't really exist. Now, she was pretty and got good grades and didn't write stories. I had to give it to her, though: she was nice to stare at, in times when you don't want to talk anymore, but just want to eat your steak.

Even that got ruined, though, when Matty started putting his hands all over her. It was really crappy that she turned out to be there, excuse my language. We had a big day ahead of us. So we didn't need this, you know, distraction.

'Okay, guys,' I said. 'I think we better find a place to sleep.' I sort of said it right in the middle of the conversation. I had had enough already.

After this long pause, Mrs. McDonald said: 'Yes, I think you're right, Lawrence. You kids better get going. Be safe. I'll see you later, Ema.'

I didn't really understand why she told Ema she would see her later.

'Oh yeah,' Matty said, looking at me like a traitor. 'I hope you don't mind, Lawrence, but I invited Ema to come with.'

It was at that moment I knew Matty planned to sabotage the adventure.

'I promise I can keep up,' Ema said

'How?' I said softly. I was upset, but nervous all over. 'You don't even have a bike?'

'My Aunt lives around here. We can pick one up from her place, if you don't mind. I don't even need a share of the treasure.' She said, laughing. Boy, Matty was a real rat. I just felt like biking in the exact opposite direction.

'Yeah, that'd be great.' I said. 'We could always use another person aboard our crew. But what about a sleeping bag?'

'She can borrow mine for the night.' Matty interjected.

I looked at Ema's parents. They were pretending to have no idea what was going on or where the hell they even were. What kind of parents were they? Sheesh.

'Okay,' I said. 'Let's do it.'

'We'll take care of the bill,' said Ema's mom, shooing us out. Evidently, she'd found her way back to earth.

We thanked them and left. Ema came with.