The Sky Beneath My Feet - By Lisa Samson Page 0,68
You’re not digging the history lesson?”
I give Jed a smile, surprised to find him alone. “Where’s Marlene? I thought you two were suddenly inseparable.”
A bashful shrug.
The rain has picked up, hammering the steps outside, making the vast cavern of marble seem almost cozy by comparison.
“It’s really coming down out there, isn’t it?”
He nods.
“So, you seem to be having a good time.”
“I’m glad we came,” he says. “It’s really opened my eyes.”
“Oh really?”
“I should be more involved in the world, don’t you think? Marlene says there are a lot of meetings, a lot of things like this, just on a smaller scale.”
“I bet there are. And the two of you would be getting . . . involved together?”
“You don’t like her, do you?”
“Of course I do.”
“You think she’s weird.”
“No, I don’t. I’ll admit, the hair is a little bit outside my comfort zone. All the metal . . . But, hey, we’re pretty weird in this family, right? We’re in no position to judge. The question is, what do you think about her?”
“Mom,” he says, “I like her.”
“That’s what I thought. She’s a little older, you know. I’m not sure how many college girls are into dating high school boys.”
He frowns at the word dating, like it’s a foreign, old-fashioned concept. Channeling Barber, I half expect him to tell me that dating’s gone a little stale for his taste. But my son isn’t jaded, just the opposite. He is flushed with the uncertainties of first love.
“Do you think she likes me, though?” he asks.
I start to say something humorous, then stop. He’s asking in earnest. My late bloomer is finally taking an interest in girls.
“What do you think?”
“I don’t know. That’s why I’m asking.”
“Well,” I say, “my advice is to take it slow and see what happens. You don’t want to come on too strong. Just be yourself and let her get to know you.”
He nods, taking this in. I can see the wheels turning in his head.
“Don’t overthink it,” I say.
Another nod, even graver than the first. He is definitely going to overthink it. No question about that. Oh well, I’ve done my best, such as it is. I was never very good at dispensing romantic advice. Until now, I haven’t been called on much in that area.
“There you are,” Marlene says, joining us near the wall. She pauses to take in the gist of the inscription, then smiles at us both. “The rain’s not letting up. Chas thinks we ought to head back to the bus and call it a day.”
Beside me, Jed looks crestfallen.
“So we’ll be getting back to Baltimore early,” I say. “You haven’t made any plans, have you, Marlene?”
She shakes her head. “No, not really.”
I give my son a suggestive look, then wander back through the columns to find the rest of the group. At the last moment, I see the light switch on in his head.
“It will be pretty early, won’t it?” he says. “Maybe we should . . . ?”
He leaves the question hanging and I’m too far off to hear her reply.
The rain prompts a general exodus. As we descend the stairs, the masses have already thinned considerably, leaving bald patches on the ground. The speakers have stopped their rants and the bottom of the Reflecting Pool collects little puddles of standing water here and there.
“If this keeps up,” I say, “it might fill with water again.”
My drowned-rat hairdo keeps dripping down the sides of my neck. I keep peeling my damp shirt away from my skin, but there’s really no point. We catch up to the last ranks of the nearest crowd, which brings us to a halt. The ground feels squishy underfoot.
Beside me, Vernon peels off his windbreaker and drapes it over my shoulders. I try to protest, but he pays no attention. Once again, he’s wearing a cannabis T-shirt underneath, which makes me a little heartsick for Eli.
“Watch out for the horses!” somebody calls.
The mounted cops are weaving around the edge of the crowd, standing in their stirrups to see farther up ahead.
“What’s happening over there?” Vernon asks, craning his neck.
“Do you see anything?”
“Some kind of commotion.”
The problem is, the rain and mud make people ornery and combative. They want to be left alone. They don’t want anybody crowding them. Thousands of people all leaving the Mall at the same time is bound to create some bottlenecks, and with the added pressure of the police . . .