Timeless

CHAPTER 23

1958

C heryl wouldn’t remember anything else about that day. She was seventeen years old, and before that day, she’d had a crush that she knew was unrequited. It was only a crush, too. She knew it couldn’t be anything more. But when she thought about Barb, she couldn’t help but picture them holding hands as they walked down the school hallway. She’d pictured them kissing, too, but never going further than that. It had always felt wrong in her mind, taking things further. Besides, Cheryl hadn’t been sure she’d wanted those things with Barb. Barb was beautiful, to be sure. She was smart and sweet, captain of three academic teams, including the English club that Cheryl was also in, but whenever Cheryl thought about them kissing, it was only sweet, just like Barb. Nothing more than that.

Barb was unavailable to Cheryl, and not just because it wasn’t likely that she felt about girls how Cheryl did, either. Barb was with Richard Jenkins, the captain of the basketball team and three-time state champ since he’d gotten to school and led the varsity team as a freshman. He was on his way to the University of Kentucky, which had one of the best college basketball teams in the country. As a senior, just like Barb and Cheryl, he had one season to go to have four perfect seasons and make himself look even better.

“I’m getting playing time as a freshman,” he said one day when Cheryl walked behind him in the hallway on the way to class.

He had his arm around Barb’s shoulders, and she was leaning into his side like she wanted nothing more than to follow him to Kentucky and go to a secretary school nearby.

“Coach has already told me,” he added.

“Everyone knows that, Richie. You’re the best player in the country right now,” a friend of Richard’s said .

Cheryl wished she could stare at Barb how she stared at Richard when they were in class, but if Cheryl got caught, there would be real consequences. Barb was allowed to stare at her boyfriend, though, which made Cheryl a little extra jealous. Later, that same day, she overheard Richard talking about how he’d gone all the way with Barb the previous weekend and that they’d be doing it again soon when his parents went out of town for something with his sister. He was bragging, and Cheryl hated it. She thought about telling Barb to get him in trouble. Maybe Barb would come to her, and Cheryl would be a shoulder to cry on. No, Cheryl didn’t want to be that. She also didn’t want to cause them to break up. Barb would find out about his bragging regardless because he hadn’t been shy about it at all, but it wouldn’t be from Cheryl.

A few days after overhearing that bragging, she’d been walking to school. She had always walked to school because she only lived down the street. Since she was in the fourth grade and her mom had stopped watching her walk the rest of the way there from the house, she’d walked on her own, carrying her small bag or just her books and her lunchpail, depending on the year. Her town was small, so every kid in it went to school in one large building. She’d gone to that same building from kindergarten onward. The little kids had one part of the building, the middle schoolers had the middle part, and the high schoolers had the biggest part since they had to go from classroom to classroom. The gym was shared, and so was the cafeteria, but inside it, the little kids were told to sit in one part at lunch, and the middle and high school kids sat in another.

Cheryl still wasn’t sure what she would do when she no longer had this place to go to. It had been her second home since she was five years old, but soon, it would all be over. She’d been thinking of just that when she’d stopped a few steps away from the main staircase leading into the school. She took a deep breath and felt dizzy.

“Cheryl, are you all right?”

Cheryl wasn’t sure whose voice that was, but she almost toppled into them. Someone’s arms kept her from falling by holding her up, and she was helped to one of two wooden benches next to the stairs, where she was more placed down than she sat down herself. She saw little light spots in her eyes, and the rest was dark for a moment.

“I’ve got her,” another voice said.

Cheryl’s eyes were clear then. She looked up and saw her. Never having given Diana Lacey much thought, she was surprised to find herself staring at her. Diana had deep blue eyes that were like small oceans. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a blue ribbon that only brought them out more, and her skirt was more last season than this, but it still looked great on her.

“Hi,” Cheryl said, smiling for some reason.

“You’ve got her?”

“Yes,” Diana replied.

Cheryl didn’t want to look away from her, but she saw Buster Percy sitting next to her on the bench, pushing his dark-rimmed glasses up his nose.

“Thank you, Buster,” she said. “I’m not sure what happened. I just got a little dizzy for some reason.”

“It’s fall. You know that cold’s going around. Maybe it’s that,” he suggested and stood. “Feel better. I have to get to class.”

“Thank you.”

He took off, and Diana Lacey took his seat.

“You got dizzy?”

“Yeah. Just for a second. I’m all right now.”

“I got dizzy, too. A few minutes ago.”

“You did? Maybe something really is going around.”

“Yeah, maybe,” Diana replied as she smiled. “Well, we don’t want to be late. Can I maybe walk you to class?”

“You skinned your knee…” Cheryl noticed and put her hand on the spot just above a little scrape. Then, she pulled it back quickly when she felt a little shock. “Sorry,” she added. “Where did you get that? It looks fresh.”

“A few minutes ago, when I got dizzy.” Diana paused. “ There was no one there to catch me.”

Cheryl stood up slowly and held out her hand.

“Here. Just in case.”

Diana smiled up at her, stood, and took her hand.

“Thank you,” she replied.

Diana Lacey had been a transfer student the previous year. Coming into this school as a junior could not have been easy. Everyone had known each other since at least school started, if not since birth. Diana had been shy, too, so she sat in the back corners of classrooms and alone at the lunch table. Cheryl was now mad at herself because she’d never made an effort to pull her into the fold or, at least, get to know her. As they walked into the school, with joined hands dangling between them and their full skirts, she wondered why she hadn’t.

Diana was beautiful. And yes, Cheryl had to be careful because no one in this town could know who she really was, but she wasn’t sure how she hadn’t noticed this girl before. Not like this, anyway. Now that she’d noticed her, though, all Cheryl wanted to do was stare at her instead of Barb. She wished she and Diana had more classes together so that she could send short glances her way, never too long so as not to draw suspicion but just long enough for Cheryl to picture the same things she used to picture with Barb.

“I should go,” she spoke when she got to her first class of the day. “In there…” Cheryl pointed to the room.

“Yes, that’s the idea,” Diana replied with a smile.

“Right. So, I will… see you later, then?”

“I doubt it,” Diana replied. “But…” She looked up and down the crowded hallway. “I’d like that.”

“You would?” Cheryl asked.

Diana nodded.

“Do you want to meet at the soda shoppe later? I know I’ll see you in biology, but maybe we could walk there together after school?”

“I can’t. I have to work at my dad’s shop after school every day. ”

“His shop?” Cheryl asked.

“He’s a mechanic,” Diana explained. “He only has one guy who works with him, and he got a daughter instead of a son, so I help him fix cars sometimes. Mostly, though, it’s just paperwork and answering the phones; that sort of thing. It’s really just me leaving with dirt and grime all over me and smelling like grease.” She chuckled just as the bell rang. “Oh, I’m late. I have to go.”

“Okay,” Cheryl replied, regretting not saying anything else, like suggesting that they meet another time or someplace else.

Later, in biology class, she’d stared at Diana’s back for pretty much the entire period. Occasionally, she looked around to see if anyone was paying attention to her. Biology had assigned seats, so it was the only class she’d ever seen Diana in where she wasn’t in the back corner, and no one should put Diana Lacey in the back corner of any room.

“Mom?”

“Yeah, honey?” her mom spoke when Cheryl hurried into the kitchen after school.

“I’m going to the soda shoppe with some friends. Can I be home by dinner?”

“Of course, you can. Do you need any money?”

“I have some left over from last time. Thanks, though.”

She ran up the stairs to her room, dropped her books off on her bed, and hurried to her mirror. Changing out of these clothes and into different ones wasn’t an option since her mother would find it to be weird as Cheryl never did that before going out with her friends, but she did fix her hair after a long day at school and reapplied the red lipstick that she was known for. Then, she went back down the stairs, and after saying goodbye to her mother, she rushed out the door and back out to the sidewalk.

There were only a few car shops in town, and she knew the one her dad used. It was owned by the same old man who had owned it since before she was born. The second one was on the other side of the school, past the soda shoppe and the pharmacy. She didn’t know for sure because she couldn’t, but she felt like that was the one. She couldn’t explain it. Of course, there was one other shop. Cheryl had never been there, but she knew it was on the other side of town. She could walk there, but it would take a lot longer, and it was in the other direction. So, she had to choose, and she felt it in her gut that she’d made the right choice.

“Hi, Hank. Can I get two scoops?”

“No problem,” the man in the white coat behind the counter said. “Your friends aren’t here yet.”

“I’m not staying. Can you make it to-go for me?”

“You usually get a dish. You want a cone?”

“Yes, please. Can I… Can I actually get two cones?”

“No problem. Two scoops on two cones?”

“Yes.”

“What flavor? Your usual?” Hank checked. “I’ve got a new one now. It just came in.”

“What is it?” she asked as she stood between two empty stools at the counter.

“Well, I’ve got the usuals, if you still want them, but I also just got in a new blackberry jam flavor.”

“Blackberry ice cream? I’ve never had that.”

“It’s pretty good. Tart and creamy. You’ll like it.”

Cheryl thought for a moment.

“Can I have one vanilla and one blackberry on each?”

“Of course,” Hank replied and went about making her two ice cream cones while Cheryl set the money for them on the counter.

“Thanks, Hank,” she said after he handed them over.

She had no idea why she’d said yes to blackberry and no clue if the girl she was carrying this second cone to would even like it. Thankfully, it was fall and not too hot, so she was able to make it to the shop before the cone started to melt past the napkins Hank had given her to hold on to the cones with. When she got there, Cheryl wasn’t sure where to go to find Diana. There were two cars being worked on, and she could walk in through one of those bay things, or whatever they were called, but there was also a front glass door that she could use.

“Cheryl?”

Cheryl saw Diana walk out from under a car. She was wearing a denim jumpsuit, buttoned all the way up, and she had black grease all over it. The jumpsuit, which also had a name embroidered above her left breast pocket, looked way too big for her. Diana had to roll up the legs and the arms, and she was still swimming in it. She had a little dirt or grease on her nose, too, and her hair was a mess, but she was wildly beautiful to Cheryl, who wanted nothing more than to stare at her all day.

“Hi,” Cheryl replied.

“What are you doing here?”

“You couldn’t go to the soda shoppe, so I thought I’d bring it to you.” She held out one of the cones and took a few steps forward. “I didn’t know what you’d like, so I got you what I got for myself.”

“You bought me ice cream?” Diana asked with a smile before she walked toward Cheryl and took the cone from her.

“Do you like blackberry ice cream?”

“Blackberry ice cream? I’ve never had it. I’m not even sure I’ve had a blackberry before.”

“I got it with one scoop of vanilla, too, so if you don’t like it, you can just knock it off the top or something and eat that one.” She chuckled.

“Thank you. This is really nice of you.”

Cheryl watched her as she took a lick of the cone, and all thoughts of once wanting to kiss Barb were completely gone. Now, she only wanted to kiss Diana Lacey, and preferably, not in a sweet and innocent kind of way, either.

“It’s good,” Diana told her with a smile. “And yours is dripping.”

“Huh?” Cheryl asked.

“Your ice cream.” Diana laughed. “It’s dripping.”

“Oh.” Cheryl looked down and licked around the cone to capture what had fallen. Then, she heard a throat clear and looked up, catching Diana looking at her. Realizing that she’d never think of blackberries the same way again, she swallowed hard and decided to change the topic. “You’re working on a car today?” she asked.

“Yeah, my dad’s guy called in sick, so I’m fixing a carburetor.”

“You know how to do that?”

“He taught me.” Diana licked her ice cream cone again. “I can take a break if you have a few minutes. Not long. I have to get this car done before six because the owner’s picking it up then.”

“I…” Cheryl swallowed. “I can’t.”

She wasn’t sure why she’d just said that. She wanted to stay. She really wanted to learn more about Diana. But she was scared, too. It was like she was being pulled in two different directions. One was exciting and scary. The other was boring but not scary at all.

“I have to get home. I just thought maybe you could use an ice cream,” she lied, picking the boring-but-not-scary-at-all option to be safe.

“Oh,” Diana let out, sounding disappointed. “All right. Well, I guess I’ll see you at school tomorrow?”

“I will be there.”

“Maybe a little earlier than usual? We can meet at the bench.”

Cheryl nodded and said, “Yeah, all right.”

She quickly turned to go then.

“Have a good night, Cheryl.”

“You too!” she yelled back.