"The Cut"

Chapter 33- Back Up Plan

Chapter 33- BACK UP PLAN

"Grace! Omg. What the actual fuck is going on? How's Evan?" Bailey gasped, the moment her phone rang and she saw who was on the other end. They had all been consumed by worry since his injury just prior to half-time .

 Grace tried to lower the volume since Bailey was already in a state of hyper-arousal.

"He's okay, well, he's not really... he has a broken ankle. It's a hairline fracture, but he is in a boot and on crutches. He has to see an Orthopedist next week. He's out for the State Championship game and also his mind. They have him jacked up on Percocet. We didn't realize how sensitive his reaction would be. Needless to say, I don't think we'll be joining you this evening."

"Whaaat? No way! Well, couldn't you just come late? I know you won't leave him, Gracie. I think th-.." Grace interrupted her before she could say another word.

"Bailey, he's completely out of it...flyin' high in the land of Opioids. He's in this ridiculous contraption. His ankle is three times its normal size. Even when the pain medicine wears off, he'll be in too much pain. There is no way we'll make it. I'm sorry, Gurl." Grace sighed.

 Bailey gave in. "Okay. I get it. He's out of commission. Will he have to wear a cast? We wiped the field with the Bulldogs' asses, ya know. They were ruthless, but we buried em'. 8-5. It was quite an action-packed game....obviously. I'm getting ready now. Chase is picking us up in a few minutes. Shit, we're supposed to be at the Vaughn's for pics! What should we do?"

 Did this girl ever breathe?

 Grace turned to Justine. It was obvious that she could hear the conversation. She may as well just put her on speaker phone at this point. She checked the clock of the BMW. They were about twenty minutes from the house. Grace put her hand in the air and gave her a bewildered look.

"Tell them to swing by after dinner. We made plans for pictures and I intend to keep them. Evan will have to sit them out, I suppose." Justine said. Grace had no idea what she was supposed to do.

 She cleared her throat.

"Mrs. Vaughn said to come by after dinner. Does that work for you guys? You'll have to call Becca and Katie. Or, maybe I can text Becca, and you can text Katie? At least we'll get to see you before the dance." Grace was disappointed, but more concerned for Evan.

 Bailey proceeded with her inquisition.

"No, it's fine. I'll call them. Should I text when we're on our way? Are you going to put your dress on for pics? How fucked up is Evan?" Justine looked at Grace who simply rolled her eyes. She wished Bailey had a "STOP" button sometimes.

"I don't know. We're heading back now. Evan's dad is driving him in the truck. He has a prescription that needs to be filled. They may be a while. I think we'll just sit this one out. But, you guys should still come over for pictures. We definitely want to see you and the Vaughns want to take some photos, too. Plus, all the other parents are supposed to swing by. Evan doesn't even know what planet he's on. He's a hot mess. Just call when you leave La Mangia's, okay?" Grace instructed.

 Justine couldn't help but laugh at her son's stupidity. He had no tolerance for medication.

"Yeah, yeah, no problem. We're still riding with Chase and Katie. Ryan and Becca are driving separate. Should we bring some food for you guys or something? It isn't a problem."

 Bailey's suggestion flicked a little lightbulb switch inside of Grace's head.

"Bailey, you're a genius. That's exactly what we'll do. You guys can bring us dinner and we'll have Homecoming at 'home'! Grace felt relieved at the prospect of a "partial" Homecoming, as opposed to no Homecoming at all. She could check out the menu online, pay with her credit card, and let Bailey bring carry-out when they finished their dinner.

 And.... they could still see everyone for pictures.

 She turned to Justine, who smiled, and patted Grace's leg. 

 "Plan B was going into place! "she thought.

 Evan would more than likely have no recollection of the evening, regardless of the plan.

 Grace hopped off the phone with Bailey, who "had to put her face on". She only had a few minutes until Gavin arrived, along with Chase and Katie.

 She looked up the menu of La Mangia's online. Everything looked amazing! She decided that Evan was easygoing, and would probably eat lasagna, but confirmed with his mother anyway. She was sticking with the fettuccine alfredo, on the off chance that she ended up wearing her meal.

 Grace ran the menu by Justine, who also seemed very easy to please. She said that both she and Steve were spaghetti and meatball connoisseurs, and that the more breadsticks they had, the happier her husband would be.

 Grace jotted down a quick order for Bailey. She stuffed it into her purse.

 As Justine took the exit for Central Ave. into the town of Fairview, Grace had one final thought.

"How can I get home, get my ass into that silver-blue dress and be back at Evan's house before the gang arrives?" she pondered.

 Meanwhile, Evan's father was having trouble getting to the pharmacy in a timely manner. He rifled through the discharge papers since Chase was of no use whatsoever. He was dazed and confused beside his dutiful father, complaining of severe hunger pangs. Steve Vaughn shook his head as he finally found the prescription and pulled into the CVS parking lot.

 He reached for his wallet and dug out his driver's license and insurance card.

 After dropping off the script and having a two-hour wait before pick-up, he hurriedly cut through Fairview Estates. They happened to pass Carson's house and Steve peered up their driveway. Had her parents come home early from their trip? He could have sworn he saw Mitchell Pierce closing the garage door, but came to the stop sign before he had the chance to confirm it.

 Carson herself had been long gone from the "house of lonely", and went to Jess's house to dress for the dance. Jess was going with her boyfriend, Logan Powers, a running back on FHS's football team.

 Jess invited Carson to join them, along with Kelsey. Who knew that there was another senior cheerleader whose relationship hit the bricks before Homecoming? The girls decided to make the best of a lousy situation, rather than wallowing at home in self-pity.

 Logan arrived at 5:45 p.m. to pick up the girls for dinner. After a few quick selfies, they promptly piled into Logan's car to head to their dinner reservation. A reservation for four, that is, at La Mangia's Italian Cuisine.... cleary a  very curious coincidence!