Monday, May 9th, Afternoon: Olivia

I head straight to Nonna’s and find the three people I’m looking forsitting at her kitchen table. Nonna and Papa’s shop, Greenhouse Flowers and Gifts, is closed on Mondays (except during the holidays), so it’s not unusual to find a crowd here for lunch.

“What’s up?” I say when I come through the back door.

A chorus of Heys bounces through the room. Papa is also here, along with Charlie’s little sister, Sara, and his parents, Uncle Charles and Aunt Ayin, who must also be off work today. Charlie’s parents met when they both worked for Doctors Without Borders in the Philippines, where Charlie’s mom is originally from. Now they work for a local hospital, but I can never keep up with their crazy schedule.

There are three large pizzas spread out along the counter with breadsticks and cheese sauce. It’s rare that Nonna doesn’t cook, even if it’s only lunch. “Pizza?” I go straight for a paper plate before I even hear why there’s takeout. “Oh, Sweep the Kitchen. My favorite.”

“Mom had a meeting at church about the reception for the bishop,” Uncle Charles says.

The new bishop is about the only thing that would get her out of the house during mealtime.

“I had to threaten them within an inch of their life to make sure they left you a piece or two,” Sophie says.

“You were supposed to be here an hour ago,” Charlie adds. “We can’t be blamed if you’re late.”

Wes pushes the box of breadsticks to me. He waits until I’m at the table next to him and leans close to whisper, “Did you get it all worked out?”

I let out a nervous laugh. “Funny you should ask. It’s a little more complicated than I thought it would be.”

Our eyes dart around the room, none of us wanting to bring it up in front of the others. We make a silent agreement to talk about it once we’re back at my house.

The back door opens and Aunt Maggie Mae and the Evil Joes walk inside. Looks like Leo must have gone back home since he’s not with them.

“Mom isn’t here?” Aunt Maggie Mae asks. The pizza is a dead giveaway.

All three of them have the same pouty face once Uncle Charles gives the explanation.

“Well, shoot. The girls wanted to look at some of her old hats. They’re invited to a Derby Day luncheon!” Aunt Maggie Mae turns to face us. “Olivia, did you get an invite to that one?”

“Is that Justina’s party?” I ask. I heard talk of it this morning at Bailey’s.

“It sure is,” she answers.

“I sure didn’t,” I say. Justina and I hardly ever overlap, so it would have been more awkward if I had been invited to her party.

They all try to look sad for me, but it doesn’t really reach the eyes. “Well, that’s too bad. It’ll be the highlight of the week,” Aunt Maggie Mae says, then looks at Sophie. “Do your friends at your school not have parties thrown for them?” Her condescending tone spears Sophie right between the eyes.

Sophie shrugs. “Not like y’all do here. We have a big party for everyone on Thursday night, but that’s about it.”

Right as Aunt Maggie Mae is about to open her mouth again, I say, “But I know I got invited to something with a hat. Mom bought one for me a week ago. I think it’s a tea party or something?”

Now it’s Aunt Maggie Mae’s turn to ponder what I got invited to that the Evil Joes didn’t, because I happen to know Sarah Brooks dislikes the Evil Joes almost as much as I do.

Luckily, Papa steps in before it can get ugly. “Girls, y’all can go on up and look to see what Nonna has. I think all her old hats are in boxes in the hall closet.”

The three of them leave the room and Charlie signals that we should wrap it up here and head to my house. Sophie and Wes clear the table and put the dishes in the dishwasher while Charlie and I put away the uneaten pizza.

“I’ll take these out to the recycling bin,” I say, wrestling with the large empty cardboard boxes. I step out of the back door and almost trip over someone sitting on the back steps. I catch myself but not the boxes as they scatter everywhere.

“Oh! Sorry!” Leo says, one hand steadying me and the other reaching for the closest pizza box on the ground.

We both stumble around until I’m holding half of the boxes and he’s holding the other half.

“We’re making a habit of meeting like this,” I say as we both head to the recycling bin.

“Didn’t realize what we were doing here until we were in the car on the way over. I don’t think they need my help looking at hats.”

“They could use more help than you think,” I say, hearing the insult in my words and cringing just a little. I have to remember he actually likes them. “You could have come in and had some pizza,” I add.

He gives me a look like he’s questioning whether or not I truly believe the words coming out of my mouth. “With you and Charlie and Sophie and Wes? Would you have invited me to sit down at your table?”

We’re side by side, arms full, so I knock my shoulder into him playfully. “I would have thrown you a piece of pizza from across the room at the very least.”

He laughs and knocks me back. “Then I’m regretting staying out on the porch for sure.”

It’s not easy bending and folding the boxes so they’ll fit inside the container. Leo ends up putting the folded boxes on the ground and stomping to flatten them.

“That should do it,” he says as he stuffs the last one in.

“Now I feel like I should throw you two pieces for being such a good helper!”

“And maybe I should fold you up and put you in the recycling!”

We’re both chuckling as we head back toward the house.

“You ready?” Charlie asks from the open door.

“Yeah. I’m ready,” I say to Charlie, then turn to Leo. “See you later.”

“I’ll be on the porch anytime you need me,” he says.

I catch up with Charlie, Wes, and Sophie as they are walking down the driveway.

“What was that about?” Wes asks.

I shrug. “Nothing. He helped me throw away the boxes.”

I speed-walk ahead of him so he’ll quit looking at me like I’m a traitor.

As soon as I unlock the door to my house, Sophie drops into one of the chairs at the kitchen table. “Okay, back to business. Did that coach sign your form?”

“No,” I answer.

Sophie stands up quickly, almost knocking her chair over.

“Whoa, tiger. Where ya going?” Wes asks.

She drops back into her chair for the second time. “I…just…How could he not sign it?”

I tilt my head to the side. “Well, it’s mostly my fault.” And then I tell them everything.

Charlie leans back in his chair. “No biggie, then. You go hang out at the golf course, get a little sun, nothing to it.”

“Why are you making that face?” Wes asks me. He turns to Sophie. “It’s not good when she makes that face.”

“There’s a hitch,” I say.

Charlie is shaking his head.

I nod right back to him.

“What hitch?” Sophie asks.

“I’m not telling Mom and Dad what happened. I’ll never live it down. And the whole family will find out and I’d rather poke my eye out than listen to what Aunt Maggie Mae will say about it.”

“Okay,” Wes says, drawing out the word. “Still not getting the hitch.”

I point to the line of invitations hanging from the twine. “I’m supposed to be at a luncheon every day this week. And Mom is watching my every move. She’ll know I’m not there, and she’ll also know I’m at Ellerbe Hills Country Club all day instead. There will be no hiding it from her.”

“I know where this is going,” Charlie says. “I had your phone for ninety minutes and Aunt Lisa texted seventeen times. Seven. Teen.”

I hold my hands out as if I can stop them from bailing before I even ask them to help. “We can switch up. If y’all are willing, I know we can pull this off. And I’ll owe you forever.”

Sophie reaches out and squeezes my hand. “I wouldn’t have gotten through Christmas break without you, so you know I’m in.” Then she nudges Wes in the side hard enough to make him grunt.

“Oof. I’m in, too,” he says. Sophie leans over and plants a loud kiss on his cheek.

“We can work together,” she whispers to him.

“Am I the only one who realizes how completely insane this is?” Charlie asks, then drops his head on the table. “I guess I’m in, too,” he mumbles.

I jump up from the table and give each of them a big hug.

“I can’t help on Wednesday, though,” Sophie says. “Mom and I are shopping for a graduation dress.”

Charlie says, “I can do Wednesday. But I can’t do Thursday. Working for Nonna all day at the shop.”

“I can do Thursday,” Wes volunteers.

And I could cry.

“Okay, so I’ll do tomorrow,” Sophie says. “Then Charlie has Wednesday and Wes has Thursday. What about Friday?”

“We’ll figure it out later if we haven’t been busted by then. I’ll be shocked if all three of us are texting your mom and she doesn’t figure out it’s not you,” Wes says.

Sophie moves to the line of invitations. “What’s the party tomorrow?”

“There are actually two,” I say. “A luncheon for Sarah Brooks. I think the theme is tea party? It’s the one with the hat. And tomorrow night is a toga party.”

Wes’s head pops up. “I think I was invited to that.” Then he turns to Sophie. “There’s a toga party tomorrow night. You’re coming, too.”

She laughs and lightly punches him in the arm. “Thanks for the advance notice.”

Charlie nods. “Yeah, I got an invite, too.” He turns to look at me. “But you should be finished by then, right? So we can all go?”

“Yes, I’m sure I’ll be done by the afternoon. And, Sophie, hopefully I can get away for an hour so I can make an appearance at the luncheon. I really would hate to miss it.”

“Okay, good!” Sophie says. “Now to find some sheets for the toga party….”

Once every closet and cabinet of my house is raided, we’re back downstairs, sitting in the den, trying to find something on TV.

“We should think about dinner soon,” Charlie says.

Wes and Sophie are lying on the couch. “You know Nonna has something fixed,” Wes says.

Just as Charlie is about to say something else, he, Wes, and I all get a text at the same time.

“Okay, so I’m feeling a little left out,” Sophie says when we reach for our phones.

Charlie jumps up from his chair and pumps his fist in the air. “Hell yes!”

I swipe open the message and it’s a picture of a wagon wheel with a message below that reads 8 P.M. “Tonight? It’s Monday!” I say.

Wes is showing Sophie the text. “What is this, like some sort of Bat-Signal?” she asks.

“Exactly! Party tonight!” Charlie yells.

“We’re all right here,” I say.

The Wagon Wheel is an old bar just outside of town. It went out of business like twenty years ago and the land it sits on was bought by a family with sons at our school—Miller and Will Hudson. They love throwing parties there because it’s less likely to get busted, but they give almost no warning. It’s their way of keeping things from getting out of hand, since there’s less time for word to spread.

“I have to be at the course at seven thirty in the morning, so we can’t stay too late,” I say. I wouldn’t miss this for anything, but I am a little worried about how a late night tonight could make tomorrow even worse than it’ll already be.

Charlie looks at me like I’ve lost it. “It’s Senior Party Week. We’re not coming home early!”

Yeah, tomorrow is going to be exactly as bad as I think.

We arrive at the Wagon Wheel at eight o’clock on the dot. The building itself is a square cinder-block structure with a rusty metal roof. There’s no sign, just a very large wooden wheel that looks a hundred years old leaning against the side of the building. The parking lot is more grass than gravel and there’s actually a thin tree poking out of a side window. Inside, the long bar is still in place, but dirt took over the floor years ago. There are a few holes in the roof that make it cold in the winter, but for the most part, it’s a pretty cool place to have a party when you’re in high school and have nowhere else to go.

And just because we got here right on time does not mean we’re early. There are probably twenty cars already parked in the field next to the building.

Everyone lives for these parties.

“I can’t believe I’ve never been here,” Sophie says.

Wes shrugs. “Well, the few times since Christmas they’ve had a party, we were in Minden hanging out there.”

Inside, the music is loud and the only light comes from the zigzag of twinkle lights hanging from the ceiling.

There’s a keg in the center of the room and people are lined up, red cups in hand.

“I’m glad you drove, Wes!” Charlie says as he gets in line. A few minutes later, he’s back with a cup for Sophie, me, and himself, and a bottle of water for Wes.

The place gets packed quickly, and I decide to limit myself to one beer because the bathroom options here are not good. It’s basically head outside and find a hidden spot in the woods.

No thank you.

Charlie heads out to the area that was once a dance floor but Wes, Sophie, and I hang back. My phone vibrates in my back pocket, so I pull it out and see there’s a text from Mom:

MOM:Where in the world are you?

ME:A party on some land some friends own

MOM:Who’s driving?

ME:Wes. And he’s drinking water

MOM:Okay. Text me when you leave

I’m shoving my phone back in my pocket when I hear someone beside me say, “Coach wouldn’t tell me why you’re suddenly interested in golf.”

Spinning around, I see Locke standing there and I have to stop myself from rolling my eyes.

At least Coach Cantu isn’t putting it out there as to how bad I screwed up. “I took his class. Why would I do that if I wasn’t interested in golf?”

“I’ve never seen you at a tournament, but the last week of senior year, you’ll be there every day?”

My lip curls. “Why are you worried about what I’m doing?”

“It’s just surprising. You’re the last one I would have picked to give up all those parties to hang out at the golf course.”

Yep. He’s got me there. So I decide to ignore him and turn my attention back to the dance floor. Charlie has noticed I’m talking to Locke and I know I’m going to get interrogated later.

“I’m surprised you’re here,” I say to Locke, still not looking at him. “Don’t you have to be there pretty early tomorrow?”

He holds up a water bottle, right in my line of sight. “This may be the last Wagon Wheel party. Couldn’t miss it.”

I hold up my red Solo cup. “Yeah, same!”

Miller and Will are on a makeshift stage on the other side of the dance floor, where they’re DJ-ing with a laptop and one of the biggest speakers I’ve ever seen. Will holds a big flashlight and Miller has a microphone. As they randomly point the spotlight on someone and call out their name, that person has to show their moves.

It’s not long before that light finds Charlie.

“Charlie Messina!” Miller yells. And now Charlie is doing some dance move I have never seen and definitely never want to again. But of course, because it’s Charlie, there are cheers from everyone in the room before Miller and Will move on to the next victim.

Wes steps in front of Sophie and me. “Come on, it’s time to dance,” he says, pulling us toward Charlie. And since Locke didn’t bother saying bye to me earlier, I follow without another word.

It gets hot quick with so many bodies packed into this building and no air moving at all except for what’s flowing in through the open back doors.

I fan myself with my hands and lean close enough to Sophie so she can hear me above the music. “I’m getting some water!”

She nods as I walk away. I have to dig in two ice chests before I find a bottle.

“Is there another one in there?”

I look up and see Leo.

“Oh, hey!” I say, then reach back into the ice chest, pulling a second bottle out for him.

“Thanks,” he says, when I hand it over.

He’s a little sweaty, too, and those curls have kicked into high gear. I look around for the Evil Joes but don’t see them.

“They’re outside,” he says, motioning to the open back doors.

“I guess I’m that easy to read,” I say.

He gives me a lopsided grin. “None of y’all look at me without also checking to see where they are. It’s kind of funny.”

“Always good to know where your enemies are,” I say with a laugh, except we both know I’m not joking.

“Nonna set anyone up on any more dates lately?” he asks, changing the subject. “The girls were telling me about that. Sounded hilarious.”

This stops me short. “Did the girls happen to tell you about the date they set Soph up on?”

“Movie date, right? What’s wrong with that?”

My mouth is open like a fish out of water. “Oh, it was a movie, all right. Is that all they said?”

He can tell from my tone this is not going the way he thought it would. He holds his hands up and says, “Calm down, I’m not trying to make you mad.”

Calm down. Those two words are like waving red in front of a bull.

“Oh, I’m calm. You need to get the facts straight. Ask the girls.”

I walk off and join Wes and Sophie back on the dance floor. As much as I try, though, it’s hard not to keep track of where Leo is. He’s moved across the room to a beer pong game with a group that includes the Evil Joes and their boyfriends. And it’s bad that I watch him long enough to notice that when he misses, someone on his team takes his drink for him. I guess he’s their designated driver tonight.

Needing some distance so I don’t completely embarrass myself, I track down Mia and Bailey on the other side of the room.

“Yay! There’s Olivia!” Bailey squeals when I join them.

They’re sitting on top of the bar. Mia holds out her hand. “Hop up here. It’s a perfect view of the room.”

I take her hand and she pulls me up. I squeeze in between them. We people-watch, and even though I was trying to get away from staring at Leo, I find this is the perfect location to do exactly that.

Bailey leans close so I can hear her over the music. “There’s a bunch of us staying at my house tonight if you want to come over.”

I turn toward her. “Aw, I can’t. Sophie is in town and staying at my house.” I don’t mention how early I have to get up in the morning.

“We figured but wanted to ask anyway.”

I try not to cringe. This happens a lot and I feel a little awkward that I’m always turning down Bailey’s invitation. Thankfully, Miller and Will put a new victim in their spotlight, so the tension passes on the rejected invite.

After a few songs, Sophie weaves through the crowd to find me. She says hi to Bailey and Mia and they return her greeting, but that’s it. Soph leans against the bar next to me. “As much as I was trying to avoid it, I’ve got to go to the bathroom. And since the bathroom is actually a bush in the woods, I can’t go alone.”

And as soon as she says the words, I feel the same way.

“Yeah, I need to go, too.” I scoot off the bar, then turn to Bailey and Mia. “Y’all need to go?”

They both decline, and Sophie drags me out of the back of the building and doesn’t stop until we’re surrounded by trees and bushes. Just one of the indignities of partying in an abandoned building.

Sophie pulls a few napkins out of her pocket. “Here,” she says, handing me one. For her first time here, she’s more prepared than I am. “We have field parties all the time. You always need a napkin or two on you.”

We both stand there a minute with our hands on the waistbands of our shorts. Even though we can still hear the music, we can also hear the birds in the trees and the unknown creatures rustling in the underbrush. It’s really dark out here, and scenes from every horror movie I’ve ever seen run through my head.

“I’m always scared something is going to bite my butt,” I admit.

Sophie laughs at me but then stomps around in the area around us, making really loud growling noises.

“That probably bought us a few feet of unoccupied space,” she says, once she’s finished.

“Well, we better not waste it!”

Once we’re done, we start navigating our way back to the building. We’re almost out of the woods when Sophie grabs my arm and pulls me back.

“Look who it is,” she whispers.

About twenty feet away, the Evil Joes are looking for their own bathroom spot. We tiptoe back into the woods, keeping them in sight. They almost glow in the dark in the white shirts they’re wearing, making it easy to keep up with them. We wait until they’ve settled in, then Sophie throws this big stick she found on the ground next to us, chucking it just to the left of where they’re squatting. They both scream bloody murder and Sophie and I almost fall over trying to hold our laughter in.

The Joes sprint back to the Wagon Wheel, pulling up their jeans as they run, and it’s a good thing I’ve already used the bathroom or I’d pee all over myself.

“Okay, I feel like we’re finally even for the drive-in movie,” Sophie says.

It took forever to drag Charlie off the dance floor. He would have been the last person there if we let him.

“You sure were dancing with Bianca a lot tonight,” I say.

Charlie and I are in the backseat and Sophie is riding shotgun. He turns to me. “Did I see you talking to Locke?”

“I talked to him for like two minutes. You danced with Bianca for like two hours.” I hold my hands up. “Don’t get me wrong, I love her! Y’all would be cute together.”

I’m teasing him because Charlie has sworn off girlfriends. He wants to start college single so he is free to mingle. His words, not mine.

“She’s fun. That’s it,” he says. “And she’s going somewhere far. Like Georgia. Or Alabama.”

“That’s not that far,” Wes says.

“Far enough. And what are you saying? You can’t wait until you and Sophie are in the same town and she’s only thirty minutes away right now.”

Wes grins into the rearview mirror. “Yeah, you got me.”

Before long, we’re pulling up in front of my house. Sophie is staying the night so she’s here to man the phone, since I have to be at the golf course so early.

I let myself inside, shower, and get ready for bed while she and Wes do their good-byes. Climbing under the covers, I’m nervous about tomorrow all of a sudden. I grab my phone from the bedside table and start googling golf. And golf tournaments. And watch videos and study every picture I come across.

Golf is a big deal.

It’s clear I didn’t pay much attention to it this entire semester, because most of the common terms seem foreign to me. It’s probably the only sport where you want the lowest score. And I feel like that shouldn’t be new news! Though in my defense, most of our classes were spent hitting balls at the range or on the putting green working on our technique.

But these tournaments are the big leagues. And I get why. A good game can make the difference between having a spot on a college team (and a full ride) or not.

Finally Sophie comes in, and it’s not long before she’s crawling into the other side of my bed. I put my phone away and try to get some sleep.

Tomorrow is going to be a long day.