Lucy’s “Perfect” Summer (5 page)

“Oh — my — gosh!!!!!!”

Lucy didn’t have to turn around to know that Veronica had arrived, and she felt Dusty beside her, pawing for her hand with her own hot-chocolate-colored one.

“This is horrible,” Dusty said. Her usually creamy heart-shaped face was as pale as Inez’s porridge, and her golden-brown eyes were open so wide Lucy was sure she’d never get them closed again.

‘Horrible’ didn’t even begin to describe it, as far as Lucy was concerned, but she didn’t know what word did. Nobody else even tried to find one. When Oscar and Emanuel got there, they gnawed on their toothpicks and looked at Lucy like they always did when there was a decision to be made. But she didn’t know where to start.

Veronica’s mouth hung partway down, a sure sign she couldn’t wrap her mind around what was going on. One dark finger twirled a hunk of her thick fudge-colored hair.. “If Carla Rosa were here, she’d say, ‘Guess what? It’s ruined.’ ”

“It is,” J.J. said.

“Well, now, wait a minute.” Dusty squeezed Lucy’s hand tighter. “It could probably be fixed, right,
Bolillo
?”

The nickname that always made Lucy smile didn’t do the trick this time.

“Couldn’t it?” Veronica said, furrowing her forehead into caramel rows. “Our moms would paint a new sign.”

“Yeah.” Oscar looked up at skinny, bony Emanuel and poked him with a square fist for no apparent reason. “Gabe’s old man always has convicts that needs to work. They could fix them bleachers like they done before.”

Lucy didn’t say anything. Sheriff Navarro didn’t have “convicts.” He had people that needed to work off speeding tickets and stuff, but there weren’t enough lawbreakers in all of Tularosa County to rebuild those bleachers. They’d have to start over — and she was pretty sure it wasn’t going to happen before their game in two weeks.

Emanuel lifted a lanky arm and pointed toward the gate. As if he’d heard them talking about him, the sheriff pulled up in his cruiser. Through the windshield, Lucy could see his brows hooding his eyes the way they did when he was
really
unhappy. J.J. edged away.

As Sheriff Navarro climbed out of the car and picked his way through the mud toward them, Lucy kind of wanted to slip off, too, though not for the same reason as J.J. Even though the sheriff said he was on J.J.’s side and didn’t want him to have to leave his house and his mom, J.J. didn’t seem to believe that anymore than he believed in the Easter Bunny. It seemed like he was just waiting for the day when Sheriff Navarro would drag him off to foster care just for breathing wrong or something. Lucy’s not wanting to be around the guy was way different. About half the time he said stuff that made
her
want to say stuff that Dad didn’t want her saying to grown-ups — and now was probably one of those times.

“Gabe said I’d find you all here,” the sheriff said when he reached them. “He wanted to come, but I didn’t let him.”

Lucy actually felt a little bad about that. Gabe could be a creature from Rudesville sometimes — but he was part of the team, and he needed to see this.

“Sorry about your field,” Sheriff Navarro said.

Lucy studied him. Okay, his mouth did kind of droop at the corners, and the spray of sun-squinty lines around his eyes looked more sad than mad. But he still had that what-are-you-kids-trying-to-get-away-with edge in his voice. Sheriffs must learn that in police school, she thought.

“I know you’re proud of it,” he said. “Whole town’s proud of it.”

“We can fix it, can’t we?” Dusty pulled Lucy and Veronica close to her. “We’ll all help.”

The sheriff pulled his hand across his eyes, and Lucy noticed that it looked like they had backpacks under them. He must have been up late.

“I don’t know,” he said. “That’s up to the town council, and right now, we’ve got a few other things to worry about.” He narrowed his very-black eyes at the bleachers and then at what used to be the refreshment building. “This place sure took it heavier than anything else in town.”

“Figures,” J.J. said under his breath.

“Well, for now, you all need to clear out.” The sheriff waved toward the gate. “It’s not safe here until we can assess the damage.”

“What does ‘assess’ mean?” Lucy said.

“It means we have to figure out how bad it is.”

Lucy held back a grunt. She could tell them
that.
It was destroyed. They had to start from the beginning again, and Lucy wanted to do it right now.

But it was clear that Sheriff Navarro wasn’t letting any of them out of his sight. Lucy looked around again for her bike — and spied a twisted piece of metal stuck under one of the fallen bleacher seats. It might as well have been a scrap in J.J.’s yard. This was turning out to be the most
un
perfect summer ever.

Lucy could feel Sheriff Navarro watching the seven of them as they straggled away from the tumbled bleachers, but when Lucy looked back, he had shifted his focus to the leaning refreshment stand. Arms bowed out at his sides, he approached it like the cops did on TV when they were onto something.

“What, Lucy?” Dusty whispered, hugging Lucy’s arm.

“We should go,” Veronica said. “My mom doesn’t even know I’m here. If the sheriff brings me home, I am in so much trouble.”

“Busted,” Oscar said, though without his usual wicked smile.

“I’m coming,” Lucy said, but she stayed a few seconds longer. Sheriff Navarro squatted beside the refreshment stand and peered closely at the mud. He wasn’t looking at wind damage, that was for sure.

“I’m hungry!” Januarie wailed.

Lucy didn’t see how she could even think about food. Her stomach was one giant knot. She stepped over a tangle of splintered wood and went to what was left of her bike. It was bent beyond hope, even though it was still hanging together – except for one hunk of metal that lay a few feet away.

But when Lucy leaned over to pick it up, she realized it didn’t belong to her bike at all. It was heavy and straight and looked like some kind of tool. She looked around to see where it might have come from, and her eyes snagged right on J.J. who had come up behind her. He was staring at it as if he knew it from someplace.

“What is this thing?” she said to him under her breath.

He glanced back at the others, who were almost to the road now.

“Tire iron,” he said.

“Somebody was changing a tire out here? Nah – it had to blow from someplace.” Lucy felt her eyes bulge. “That wind was stronger than I thought.”

“No, it wasn’t,” J.J. said. And from the way he clamped down his jaw, Lucy knew that was
all
he was going to say. Something dark passed through her. Something she couldn’t even name.

Things did brighten up a little when she got home and saw that Inez’s truck was gone, which meant a Mora-break, And — even better — she could see Dad and Mr. Auggy through the kitchen window. Lucy took the back steps two at a time, but she stopped at the door when she heard Mr. Auggy’s voice. He was using the serious tone she didn’t hear that much from him.

“I’m with you, Ted,” Mr. Auggy said. “I didn’t see any other property in town torn up like it was. I didn’t get
that
close a look at it because it was still dark, but at first pass — I’m thinking something more than the storm hit it.”

“Really?” Dad said.

“Maybe I’m just overreacting.”

Overreacting to what? Were they talking about what she
thought
they were talking about?

Lucy shoved open the door, and the smiles appeared that meant a change of subject because a kid was there. Besides, Dad had his arms open, and Lucy had to fly into them.

“Are you okay?” she said as she dove against his chest.

“I had an adventure, that’s all.” Dad chuckled. “The good thing is, it didn’t make any difference to me that the lights were out. You survived okay?”

“Yeah, me and Mora didn’t hurt each other, so I guess that’s good.” Lucy looked at Mr. Auggy through the crook in Dad’s arm. “Mora and
I.
”

“See that?” Dad said. “She’s improving already.”

Lucy almost groaned. She’d hoped with the storm, he might have forgotten about the whole tutoring thing. Fat chance, evidently.

“So you and I are going to be working on
all
your skills this summer, captain,” Mr. Auggy said. “Not just soccer.”

Lucy sank into a chair and rolled up the edge of the tablecloth. “I don’t see how we’re gonna work on my soccer skills without a field.”

Mr. Auggy smiled his small smile. “Oh, ye of little faith.”

“What does that mean?” Lucy said.

“It means I have a plan, if you and your dad can work it out.”

“What plan?” Why could grown-ups never just get to the point?

“I’ve been asked to work at a youth soccer camp in Las Cruces,” Mr. Auggy said. “It’s a day camp, lasts three weeks, and even though it’s a little late, they have some spaces left for the Dreams.”

“You mean, our whole team?”

“Anybody who can get the money together by Monday.”

Before Lucy’s heart could sink too far, Mr. Auggy put his hand up. “Don’t worry about J.J. and Januarie. I can bring two players for free because I’m going to be on staff. I’m pretty sure everyone else will be okay — it isn’t that expensive.”

Lucy looked at Dad, but he was already nodding.

“Are you
serious?”
Lucy said.

“As a heart attack,” Mr. Auggy said, “And here’s the best part for you, captain.”

Lucy didn’t see how it could get any better, but she bobbed her head anyway.

“This is a top soccer camp, which means scouts from the Olympic Development Team will be there to watch the final games. If they like a player, they’ll invite her to participate in the regional tryouts, without even having to apply.”

A thrill charged straight through Lucy.

Mr. Auggy stood and passed a hand over Dad’s shoulder. “I’m going to leave you two to work the rest of it out.”

Dad went to the door with him and they stepped out onto the back porch. Lucy was pretty sure they were picking up where they’d left off when she got home, and she was tempted to tiptoe over and eavesdrop. But Dad could practically hear a flea springing off one of the cats, and he had special radar for her, so she stayed at the table and let Marmalade curl up in her lap.

Was she really going to get to go to soccer camp, she thought as she stroked his orange back. And have a chance at ODP even sooner than she thought? It sounded like it — and yet there was whatever Mr. Auggy said she and Dad had to ‘work out.’ That never ended up being a good deal. The last thing they’d ‘worked out’ was her having to do schoolwork over the summer.

Dad came back to the table, but she couldn’t read his face, so she went right in.

“What ‘rest of it’?” she asked. “Dad — I totally want to do this.”

“Just one small piece,” he said. He sat down again across from her, and Marmalade jumped back to his lap, which he much preferred over anybody’s.

“I can already tell it’s not that small,” Lucy said.

“That’s up to you. I think this soccer camp will be a great opportunity for you, Luce — ”

“What’s the but?”

“No but, just a because. It’s going to be good for you because it’ll teach you how to handle both your sport and your schoolwork the way you’re going to have to do next year in seventh grade.”

Sure sounded like a ‘but’ to Lucy.

“You can stay in soccer camp,” Dad said, “as long as you make weekly progress with your reading skills. Fair enough?”

His eyes settled on her. It was one of those times she just knew he could see her. She wrestled a smile to her face.

“Is that all?” she said. “I thought you were going to ask me to do something
hard
.”

“That’s my Champ,” Dad said.

But Lucy didn’t feel like much of a champ as she skipped a kiss over the top of his head and went back out to look for J.J. Maybe she’d convinced Dad, and maybe Marmalade, that she thought this was going to be a piece of cake. But she sure hadn’t convinced herself

4

Why I Think You (God) Might Be Making This
Summer Perfect After All

1. Everybody on the team gets to go to soccer camp.

2. Even Oscar, because after we found out his mom didn’t
have the money and he doesn’t have an “old man” like he always says, Dusty had a pool party for her
birthday and asked everybody to bring money for Oscar
instead of presents for her.

3. Mr. Auggy said we were good Christians for doing that
for Oscar, but it was all Dusty’s idea. She’s so good, I
feel like a jerk next to her sometimes.

4. Dusty and Veronica and Emanuel and Carla Rosa’s moms
are taking turns driving us to camp. It’ll take two vehicles
to get all of us in plus our cleats and shin guards and
water bottles and towels and stuff.