NOW WILL YA LEAVE ME ALONE? part nine

NOW WILL YA LEAVE ME ALONE? Part nine

Max

>< >< ><

He stood tall and proud, with a new-found determination, and walked to her front door. Still feeling extremely nervous, with shaky fingers, he reached out, rang the bell, and waited for an answer.

>< >< ><

Tommy couldn’t believe his luck. He hadn’t missed it. Two weeks earlier, he decided to surprise Mary Ellen for her birthday. He kept his fingers crossed that he’d have enough time to accomplish what he had in mind – and to his amazement, his timing was perfect.

He arrived at the park early on a cool autumn Sunday. Good, he thought cautiously looking around. Nobody’s here. “Max”, he called to his dog as he pointed to two tall trees whose leaves sat in a large pile at the bottom of the trunks, “there it is. The perfect spot! Come on, boy.”

Great disguise, thought Tommy. “Whaddya think, Max? Mel will never suspect. Right? Now all we gotta ta do is wait.” Tommy was eager.

He leaned against the growing elm, one hand rested on the nape of Max’s neck while he shoved the other tensely in his pocket. He shivered. “Geez, Max! Sure is getting’ kinda chilly, huh? Ya can tell winta’s almost here.” He, then rubbed his arms with his hands attempting to gain some warmth. Tommy wished he’d have remembered to wear his sweater.

He saw Mary Ellen walking towards them. “Hi, Tommy. Hi, Max,” she called out as she waved her hand.

Tommy noticed a note of happiness in her voice. I wonder if she knows. He thought. Nah! Her mom wouldn’t say nothin’. Would she?

Trying not to let his eyes give away his secret, he said “Uh, hi, yaself,” as she approached.

Mary Ellen noticed the strange and nervous look in her friend’s eyes but thought he might just be cold. “Wow, it’s definitely getting cold. I think winter’s coming really early this year. You should be wearing a jacket,” she said caringly. “You’ll get sick.”

“Yeah, well, I kinda rushed out this mornin’ and forgot. No biggy! Runnin’ around wit Max will warm me up,” he replied but didn’t bend to pick up a stick to throw.

Mary Ellen agreed and added, “Dad says it’ll be a rough winter. Lots of snow! Will you go sledding with me, Tommy? There’s a great hill near the shelter. Just perfect for sledding. I often wonder if the park was built with that sledding hill in mind. It looks so neat. I really can’t wait to try it out. Dad had to fix my sled. Last year, I ..oops! Sorry, I’m doing it again.”

Tommy ignored her usual speed-train way of speaking but knew his eyes sparkled at her suggestion. “Ya know I will, Mel. It sounds like fun. I ain’t been on a sled since the home. O’course, we didn’t have a hill like the one here, but the people who ran the place sometimes would load some o’ the little kids on a big sled and pull us around.”

The time approached to become serious and take care of the surprise he planned.

Pointing to a spot a bit closer to one of the trees, Tommy said, “I got somethin’ ta show ya. Come ova this way.”

Sensing the eagerness in Tommy’s voice, Mary Ellen smiled and decided to tease him. “Nah! I don’t feel like going anywhere. Hope you don’t mind. I’ll just stay put right here under the smaller tree where the sun is trying to peek through.” She sat on the cool grass and patted the ground next to her. “Come on, Tommy, sit for a while before we begin playing with Max.”

“Mel,” he gasped with surprise. He thought her curiosity would get the best of her as it had since the day he met her. He never thought she’d resist the temptation to eagerly see out what made Tommy so edgy.

The look on his face almost made Mary Ellen laugh. She turned away so he couldn’t see the smirk on her face.

“Oh, Tommy, look at the beautiful cardinal. He’s such a bright red. Isn’t he a handsome little thing? I know fall has just begun and it might be a bit early for cardinals to come around, but isn’t he magnificent?”

“Forget the dumb bird!” Tommy’s impatience and eagerness had him grab her wrist, yank her to her feet and excitedly pull her toward the bushes. He stopped about three feel in front of a very large tree.

“Wait right here. Don’t move, okay?” He could barely breathe with excitement.

“Don’t move?” Mary Ellen asked, feeling somewhat bewildered.

She stood where she was, too confused to move. Tommy turned and began walking away, but turned and said, “Oh. Mel, close yer eyes.”

“What? Why? Where are you going? What’s going on?” she said in a frustrated tone of voice.

Tommy walked back to Mary Ellen and said, “Mel, just trust me, okay? I’m only walkin’ a few feet. Not really goin’ no place.”

The nervousness in Tommy’s voice reverberated in the air and had Mary Ellen stop her teasing. She thought, He’s obviously nervous about something. Wonder what he’s up to! She let out a huge sigh.

While she kept her eyes tightly closed, she heard the rustling sound of leaves as Tommy whispered, “No, Max! Be a good boy. Go sit down.”

Suddenly, there was a thump right in front of where she stood. Wow! She thought. Max sure does make quite a noise when he sits. I never noticed that before.

Then she heard Tommy said, “Ok, Mel, ya can open yer eyes now.”

Opening her eyes, Mary Ellen looked at Tommy and followed his eyes downward to see a large package, wrapped in newspapers and tied with string, laying at her feel.

“What’s this?” she said curiously.

Walking over to his friend, Tommy, much to his own surprise, leaned over and gently did what he saw others do on special occasions. He kissed her cheek. “Happy Birthday, Mary Ellen.”

Thank you for reading Now Will Ya Leave Me Alone? I’m working on another segment. Please stay tuned to see what else might happen to Tommy and Mary Ellen.