“Geez, what a prude. Don’t worry, I’m not gonna look.” He covered his eyes with his hands and made a show of turning around. His greased hair, dark and wavy like hers, had parted in back to expose a bald spot the size of a poker chip.
She put the new shirt over her head and shoulders and wiggled her arms through the shirt underneath, then worked it over her head, pushed her arms through the armholes, and pulled the old shirt off through the neckhole. The pants would be more difficult to change modestly. They were in this goddamn convertible and there were people around, going in and coming from the restaurant. She nearly cried, wishing she were back at Doc’s house, her mom asleep beside her.
“Do you need a hand?” he asked, making a quarter-turn.
“No! No, I got it,” she said. She would just have to be quick. “Just please don’t turn around.”
She yanked the pants she was wearing down to her ankles and kicked them off, then wiggled her feet into the new jeans and tugged upward, shimmying to get them on as fast as she could. They were stiff and stuck around her hips, which she lifted high to get the pants the rest of the way up. When they were finally up, she zipped and buttoned them and caught her breath.
“I’m done,” she said and hugged herself.
Manny turned around. “My God,” he said and looked at her a moment. His eyes went soft and dewy. “It could be her.”
Charlie knew what he meant, and she didn’t like it.
“All right,” she said, antsy to get out of the car. “Can we go in now?”
He looked at her like a painter checking a canvas. She curled under his gaze, couldn’t wait another minute. She put on her boots and opened the little door. At this, Manny seemed to snap out of it. He folded her old things squarely and stowed them in the paper bag, then followed her inside.
The steak house was one of a chain she’d seen in passing, but Kit could never have afforded to eat there. She stepped inside and her skin goosed against the crash of air-conditioning. The hostess led a winding path through the burnished wooden tables to a short booth with green vinyl seats, a light fixture of stained glass hanging between them. The napkins were cloth, the menus tall and leather-bound, not laminated like the ones from the diner.
“This is real nice,” she said. “But I would have been happy with KFC.”
“But you’re my best girl,” he said. “And this is a very special occasion.”
Manny didn’t explain what he meant and Charlie didn’t ask.
After the waiter came and took their drink orders, Manny excused himself to go to the restroom and left the keys on the table.
“Don’t run off now,” he said, and disappeared into the back of the house. Why did he leave the keys? she wondered. Was it a test? Why mention her running off? The waitress came by with a four-part caddy of chopped things: chives, cheese, sour cream, and bacon bits. Thinking it some kind of appetizer, she spun the caddy around and spooned some cheese and bacon into her mouth.
“Geez, ya dummy,” said a young voice, bossy and snide. “That’s for the baked potatoes. It’s toppings.” It was Leigh Prentiss, all dressed up in a plaid jumper with a ruffled collar and patent leather shoes. Her speech was thickened by the healing hole in her cheek, now unbandaged. It looked like a bullet wound all scabbed over.
“I didn’t know you ate here,” said Leigh, looking down at Charlie. “We come here every time we visit my cousins in Yoakum. It’s our family tradition. I get the fillette MIG-non.”
“It’s my first time,” Charlie said. “It’s nice.” There was a tense pause where Leigh seemed to be waiting for an apology. It would be simple enough to give, but Charlie was reluctant to bring it up out of nowhere. Then she remembered what Manny had told her in the car.
“Did you hear about—”
“The murder?” Leigh said. “Oh yes, everyone’s talking about it. That’s why we’re here so early, we gotta be back before the curfew. You know about the curfew, right? Daddy says they’ll throw you in jail if you’re out past nine.”
“Geez. That’s so crazy.” Charlie wondered when she would even be back in Pecan Hollow.
Maybe it was because she was far from home, but she was beginning to feel friendly toward Leigh. All in all, Charlie could see how she had overreacted, and how scared and hurt Leigh must have been to get wounded like that. She felt ashamed for what she’d done and offered an olive branch.
“I’m sorry I stuck you and fucked up your face,” Charlie said. “It looks like it really hurt.”
“It did,” Leigh said and held her cheek in remembrance. Several tables away, in a big circular booth, her parents and four brothers broke into laughter that filled the room.
“My mama said it will strengthen my character, like Barbra Streisand’s nose.” She drew a comically large nose in the air with her index finger. “She said distinctive women have more power than beautiful ones. I’m pretty sure she’s just trying to make me feel better, but who knows.” The girls were silent. Leigh eyed the toppings and smoothed her pinafore. “I’m sorry for looking at your answers. It wasn’t very Christian of me. You’re so good at math is all.”
Charlie smiled back at Leigh in her stupid dress. She wasn’t so bad. Maybe, she thought, they could hang out sometime. Then she remembered Manny. She craned her head around to the back of the restaurant.
“Hey, my dad’ll be back from the bathroom soon. I probably shouldn’t be talking to you.”
“Wait, that was your dad?” Leigh squatted by the table to get closer. “But he’s so hot,” she said, as if it were a forbidden word.
“Ew, no!” Charlie said. “Look, can you just go back to your table? I’m sorry. I just don’t want to get in trouble.”
“Okay, fine, but why shouldn’t I be talking to you? Is he superprotective of you?” Leigh twirled a ringlet under her ear. “I wish my dad was like that.”
“I don’t know, it’s just a feeling I get.” Charlie was starting to get anxious that Manny would see them. Why was she so worried? It was kind of weird that he’d bought her a new outfit, but maybe that was a normal Dad thing. Or maybe her clothes were dirty and he hadn’t wanted to embarrass her. It occurred to her that maybe she should try to call her mom and tell her where they were. Now that she was so far from home, she didn’t really want to stay with Manny anymore, but neither did she want Manny to be mad. They had only just begun to get to know each other, and she was mortally afraid of screwing things up.
“Leigh, listen. Can you do something for me? Can you let my mom know I’m okay?”
“She doesn’t know you’re here?” Leigh gaped like she had just struck the motherlode of gossip.
“It’s kind of hard to explain, but it’s fine. Just tell her, okay?” Charlie squeezed Leigh’s wrist to cement the message. “Will you, please?”
She nodded eagerly. “Yeah, I’ll tell her. You can count on me.”
“Thanks, buddy,” Charlie said, resolving to talk to Manny about going back to Pecan Hollow after the meal. “See ya.”
“See ya,” said Leigh, grinning, and she wove through the tables to the front door, where her family was waiting.
Chapter Forty-One