Angela 3. David A. Bedford

yes, of course,” Angela bubbled, not knowing what to say or if she made sense. She felt her face turning red. “I guess your friends are pretty much gone.”

      “Yeah, they’ve scattered all over. A couple go to A&M Corpus with me. I just wanted to drop by and say hi, and maybe visit for a few minutes, as I don’t have class on Tuesday afternoon.”

      “I’m glad you did. What would you like to do?”

      “Let’s go for a drive to the beach and just talk.”

      Angela called her mom, told her that Miles had dropped by and that they wanted to go to the beach for a little while.

      “Miles will bring me home by five. Ok, thanks Mom, see you soon, bye.” She looked at Miles. “I hope that’s ok. Sorry, I didn’t even ask if you could take me home.”

      “Of course,” Miles laughed. “Exactly what I was thinking.”

      They drove up to Corpus Christi and took the causeway over to the beach where they could buy something cold to drink. Leaving their shoes in the car, they walked down the beach, talking comfortably. Angela wanted to hear all about college: did Miles like his classes, did he have lot of friends, what were the professors like, is it a lot harder to study for college classes, and so on. Miles answered all her questions fully with good humor. After what seemed like ten minutes, but was in reality more like an hour and a half, they saw it was time to head to Angela’s house. They returned happily to the car, slapped the sand off their feet, put their shoes back on, and headed for Sargasso Beach.

      When they pulled into the driveway, the door opened and Susan came out. Miles stepped from the car to greet her.

      “Hello, Miles. It’s so nice of you to come and thank you for bringing Angela back.”

      “Hello, Mrs. Fournier. Thank you for letting her go to the beach with me.”

      “Of course! How’s school?”

      They talked briefly while Miles recapped some of the main points he had told Angela. Susan smiled, apparently remembering her own college days. Angela realized that they shared experiences she had not had and then was surprised because it did not bother her at all.

      “Well, I’ll be going,” said Miles. “Thanks for your time, Angela.”

      “It was nice. Come again.”

      “I will. Say, here is my email address,” he offered, scribbling on a piece of paper he tore from a notebook that he pulled from the back seat of his car, “write me if you want and we can set up visits and that sort of thing.”

      “Ok,” Angela replied, taking the paper. She tore off a piece, wrote down her email, and handed it back. “Thanks for coming and enjoy your classes.”

      Miles smiled, got in his car, and waved, still smiling as he drove off. Angela stood, watching the car until it turned out of sight. Feeling light and happy, she followed Susan into the house.

      ***

      The next day at school, Benjie and Fiona were waiting for her.

      “Who was that tall, dark man who whisked you off yesterday after class?” demanded Fiona, her eyes twinkling.

      “Now what’s he studying?” Benjie asked, apparently for rhetorical purposes. “Oh, yes, mechanical engineering. You have to watch it with mechanical engineers: they’re not nearly as harmless as they look. Not like computer or electrical engineers at all.”

      “All right guys,” said Angela, blushing. “Miles just came to see me and I’m glad he did. We’re just friends.”

      “Just friends are the most dangerous kind,” Benjie put in affecting an air of superior wisdom but clearly all in fun.

      “I’ll keep that in mind.”

      The three entered the main hallway in high spirits but found themselves immediately confronted with the KittyKats, all wearing pouty looks of concern.

      Chapter 4

      “Hey, Fournier, a quick word to your advantage,” Kitty opened, with Kat on one side and Casey on the other and Ashley and McKinsey taking the flanks of the phalanx formation.

      Angela said nothing and Fiona and Benjie followed her example.

      “Well, do you want to hear it or not?” insisted Kitty.

      “Kitty, just get it over with or get out of the way, please,” Angela requested.

      “We noticed Miles came to visit you yesterday,” Kitty taunted. Angela waited. “We came to warn you and protect you,” she went on.

      Finally Fiona couldn’t take it any longer. “Kitty, we deeply appreciate your concern but I’m afraid we’re taking up too much of your time.” Angela smiled and wondered how Fiona could always come up with such ironic lines.

      “Oh, nothing is too good for our friends! You see, Miles has been dating a girl seriously at college and we would hate to see you hurt.”

      Angela felt stung. Could it be possible? He certainly had the right, but then, what did all the attention he gave Angela mean? She was caught up in conflicting suppositions when she noticed Kitty was talking:

      “… college guys usually forget their high school sweethearts when they see what’s available.”

      “Well, what does that make you, then?” Benjie objected reasonably, but stepping forward with aggressive intent. As usual, Fiona grabbed his shirt and held him back.

      “All right. Thank you for your information. We’re going to home room now. Come on, guys!”

      The KittyKats parted to let them through, having achieved their purpose of poisoning Angela’s proceedings for the day.

      “Don’t pay any attention to them,” suggested Fiona.

      “I’m ok,” said Angela, hoping to convince herself.

      In home room, Angela waited mechanically to respond “here” to Furry-near and then heard nothing of the announcements or other matters. What if Miles is dating somebody in Corpus? He never made promises to me. What does it mean that I’m so upset? Does he matter that much to me? That would be something she really needed to think through. It was both an exciting and terrifying prospect. One moment she felt an intense affection for Miles and the next she was angry with him. Wait a minute! What can Kitty actually know about Miles’ life? Can I trust what she says? No! Can I trust Miles? Yes! Can I be sure he’s not dating someone else? No. But I can be sure he will tell me or stop coming to see me at least. He has character and Kitty doesn’t. Angela felt better: more stable and ready to face the day. She would just have to wait to see how things played out. She felt herself eager to hear from Miles, but dreading it at the same time.

      As she went to pre-calculus, she was quiet, worrying over a new thought. And if Miles and I at some time get together, marry, or whatever, how can I know he won’t pull something like Dad did? She felt the familiar pain and wanted to cry, but school wasn’t the place for that. It would have to wait. Then she thought: A lot of people have good marriages and stay together. It can be done. I really need to think all this through.

      She used her classes to distract her from her worries. At least the former were as important as the latter. As a result, she actually learned well and enjoyed Spanish, which always seemed to open a whole new world and was presided over by a benevolent and understanding teacher. At lunch she participated enough in the conversation so that Fiona and Benjie would feel reassured about her. She asked the new students about their families and wondered, but did not ask, whether they were stabler than hers.

      In dance they talked about fund raising for the overnight field trip coming up soon. Ms. Amberg still had not told them where they were going or what it was about. The dancers liked the mystery and did not complain.

      ***