You Are On My Mind

Are You Mad?

Linda was surprised to see him in the park. After she had blown up at her brother, called her sister a two-timing ho, and accused her parents of being neglectful towards her, she had stormed out of the house. It hadn't been a particularly good week for her. First, she got the test scores back from the SATs, and she hadn't scored as high as she was hoping. That had sent her into a frightful mood, listening to her "moody" music. Second, she had gotten into a fight with her boyfriend; she wasn't sure what she had done, but he had yelled at her and left her in tears. Now this; now she was hated by her family, and she had cramps.
Linda sighed and sat on the park bench next to him. "Hey, Danny. Are you mad?"
Danny didn't say anything. He only stared ahead at the green grass. It would be the last time he came here, sat on this bench, as a kid.
When he didn't say anything, Linda attempted a new tactic. "Tell you what. I'll tell you why I'm mad, and then you tell me why you're mad." Talking hurt; she hated her hormones so much, and the doctors refused to help her because she was only seventeen. She wasn't pregnant, she didn't have STDs... hell, she hadn't even had sex in her life. She was on the bottom of their priority list. What if she had some disease that was slowly eating away at her uterus? What is that disease made her infertile for ever? "I'm mad cause my family's all a bunch of dickheads, and my body is punishing me for not having sex and getting an egg fertilized. And it's killing me- it hurts to even breathe- and the doctors don't give a damn. Why are you mad?"
Still, Danny didn't look at her. "I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"For yelling at you the other day. You didn't do anything wrong."
I know it! She thought, but didn't say it. "It's okay. You're going to college in a month. You're stressed, I understand."
"Gosh, I love you," he confessed, finally looking at her. She sounded hurt and weak, but she still kept her compassion. She was one of a kind, Danny thought.
"I love you, too.... Danny, what's wrong?"
"I'm going away-"
"To college, I know. Have you even decided on one?"
"No, I mean..." he sighed, "I flunked my SATs, Linda. I didn't get into a single college."
"What about tech school? You can still get a very good education through those. If I don't get into college, I'm going to take that path."
"You'll get in, I knowit." That was a phrase he had picked up from her. He found it adorable how she said 'know it' like one word and so proudly. He hadn't realized he picked it up until one day Joe asked him about it. Danny sighed, "I'm going to join the Marines. A military education." He shook his head, "my parents won't like it."
"They'll support you." She hated how she heard tears in his voice, and in hers. She wasn't sure what hurt most- the cramps, or the thought of her boyfriend dying. She wasn't stupid- she knew a lot of the soldiers never made it back. And Danny was only eighteen, old enough to vote, but not old enough to drink. Legally, he was on his own. His parents still payed for him, despite his best efforts to do it himself. He was getting social security checks every month, and had been driving for two years.
"Not Mom. Everyone will hate me."
Linda put a hand on his shoulder. "No they won't.... wanna drown our sorrows in hot fudge chocolate sundaes, and not give a single damn about the calories we're consuming?"
Danny shook his head, I'm not in the mood for ice cream. But I'll buy you some."
Despite her best efforts, tears fell from the blonde's eyes. They were silent, sad tears. Tears filled with pain and sorrow and fear cascaded down her pretty face.
Danny pulled her into a hug, not saying a word. He swallowed his own tears, gripping the fabric of her (his) cardigan. She had stolen it in the winter, when his house was too cold. She never gave it back, and he was okay with that. Instead of his ring, she got his cardigan. He kissed her cheek, tasting the salty tears. At this point, he didn't know Linda would have many different cries. This cry was always the quietest, for whatever reason.
"It's so dark," Linda mumbled against his shirt. "And not fair."
He didn't know if she was talking about her cramps, or him leaving. In reality, it was both. She gripped his light weight jacket tighter; it was an oddly cold August day in New York.
Danny wanted to cry, he wanted scream, he wanted to run away and hide. "Linda? Will... will you come with me when I tell my family?"
Linda pulled away so she could look him in the eye. "Of course I will. I'll do anything at all for you."

Part two:
Danny tells the family, and things get harry...