Fire Always Burns - By Krista Lakes Page 0,26
of course. Someone had to take the picture. The drum major was in on it too. At the end of practice one day, he kept stopping the routine and telling Audrey that her tempo was off. Finally, he got off his podium and walked over to her. I remember him calling over to Ray, asking if he could please show his girlfriend the right way to mark time. Ray marched over to them, playing "Your Song" by Elton John on his trumpet the whole way there."
"I bet Mom was mortified," Andrew said.
"Most certainly. When he arrived he continued to mark time in front of her, playing the trumpet, not in her face but right next to her. When the song finished, he got down on one knee and pulled a ring from his pocket. That's when I snapped the picture."
▪▪▪
I stared at the blurry picture. Ray, down on one knee. Audrey, her hands covering her face. Boys and girls in the background, clapping their hands or crying for joy. It made me want to cry just looking at it.
"That's so romantic! I'm sure she said yes right away," I said. There's no way I could have said no if someone did that to me.
"Actually..."
▪▪▪
"I mean, she certainly didn't date any other boys in high school, but I've never been quite sure," Mr. Watson said. "There was so much chaos afterwords that I never heard an answer. She looked stunned, and Ray was on his feet before long. He hugged her tight and whispered something in her ear. She let him put the dime store ring on her finger. We all thought it was official, but I guess puppy love never lasts."
Andrew nodded. "Thanks for your time, Mr. Watson."
▪▪▪
"So that's it? He waited in town a year and then she left him here?" I asked.
"Something didn't add up for me, either. I checked on the Internet and found another strange detail. Mom didn't stay in the dorms her freshman year. I did, however, find a very interesting lease in the public records." He pulled a piece of paper out and handed it to me.
"Ray West and Audrey Oscars," I read. "This is a lease for Fort Collins. But...that means that Ray left with her?"
"I had an interesting phone conversation with my Aunt Heather. She's not my real aunt, but she was Mom's best friend from college. It was the last piece of the puzzle."
▪▪▪
"Ray West. Haven't heard of him in years." Aunt Heather said.
"What happened between my mom and him?" Andrew asked.
"Oh, you know, the same things that many couples go through. Ray hated going out, was too shy. He wanted to stay in all the time, wanted Audrey to stay in with him. But, you know, part of the college experience is going out, doing new things, and she was curious."
"So she went out anyway," Andrew said.
"Oh no. It was like they were practically married, and she would never go against his word. But they fought a lot. Finally, one day, he left and I moved in to cover his half of the rent," she said.
Andrew paused, thinking it over. Heather piped back up. "It's funny. When she and your father decided that they couldn't support you while still going to school, he suggested that they move in with your grandparents back in Conifer. She didn't want to go, said she couldn't stand to see Ray, thought he would tell her 'I told you so'. I told her to avoid him like the plague, to concentrate on her new family, and I guess she did just that."
"Why would he have said 'I told you so'?" Andrew asked.
"Oh, never mind sweetie. When are you two going to come down to Denver to come visit your Aunt?"
▪▪▪
"She was evasive after that, and I couldn't get any more out of her," Andrew said.
I thought about it. They broke up because he wanted her to stay in, to be the good wife, and she didn't want that. "This is great news. Ray broke up with your mom for not being Suzy Housewife, and now she's willing to be Suzy Housewife. Funny how people change."
Andrew nodded, looking me in the eyes. His leg pressed against mine. I had been avoiding him all week, but after hearing such an emotional story, I was feeling pretty emotional myself. We were so close, we were alone, and things were coming together. He was so handsome.
The work he had done, the story of old loves, the closeness of our