The Saddest Song

Chapter 21

Rainey

Monday afternoon I had a dentist appointment, so my mom picked me up at lunch and we went to grab a salad before I had to be there. It had been forever since the two of us had been out to lunch together. Before Garrett died we had gone often. So much was different now. By the time I got done with my check up school was out, so I asked mom if she would drop me off at Max’s.

Mrs. McKinley was on the porch when we pulled up, her arms full of Christmas lights, a step ladder beside her. My mom got out to say hello and ended up helping her arrange them around the front door. They seemed to have it under control so I left them to it and let myself in.

Max wasn’t hard to locate. Guitar chords floated down from his room and I headed up the stairs. I recognized the song. It was the one he still hadn’t put words to. The one called The Saddest Song. His eyes were closed as he played, and I stood in the doorway letting the haunting tune surround me. It was beautiful, and so was he, if you could call a guy beautiful. I watched the way his long fingers strummed the guitar and waited for the song to end before I made my presence known. He made it to the end and his eyes opened, his face showing I had surprised him.

“Hey, how long have you been there?”

“Just got here. That was amazing.”

“Thanks, I think I finally perfected it. How was the dentist?”

I gave him an exaggerated smile, showing off my pearly whites. “No cavities and a new toothbrush. Could be worse.”

He grinned, and laid the guitar carefully in the case. Time to study. We had finals next week and then Christmas break could begin. Although I’d rather stand here and listen to him play, I plopped down on his couch and unzipped my backpack. How much studying we got done was debatable. Just when I became absorbed in my Lit book Max would think of something he needed to tell me. It went on that way, each of us interrupting the other multiple times until it was time to pack it up. Neither of us minded. Our grades were solid. We were seniors. There was no pressure.

“So have you written lyrics for that song yet,” I asked as we packed up our books. I needed to head home and help my mom with dinner.

“Not yet. I have no idea what they will be. I have to wait. Someday it will just come to me.”

“Your creative process can’t be rushed, is that what you’re telling me?”

“Yeah, something like that. Kind of works like your friend Kara’s psychic stuff. It just pops into my head.”

“Well, I look forward to it. I have a feeling it’s going to be my favorite song.”

“Is that so?” He laughed. “Then I will make sure you are the first person who gets to hear it.”





Max

Finals week was a breeze. I don’t know if it was because school wasn’t a huge priority to

me right now or just that senior classes were easier, but both Rainey and I studied half heartedly and felt super confident about our scores. Maybe it was the Christmas season, but life was feeling pretty good. We missed Garrett, of course. There wasn’t a day we didn’t miss him, think of him, or talk about him. It was just that we were now used to missing him. It had become part of our reality, part of who we were and always would be. I considered it a manageable condition like asthma, it sucked, but it wasn’t going to kill me. I had no choice but to learn to live with it.

Rainey and I started helping Kara with street fairs the weekend our Christmas break began. There was one both Saturday and Sunday. The goal was No Dog Left Behind and it was an eye opening experience. I guess I kind of thought that rescue dogs would be damaged somehow and that couldn’t have been further from the truth. The dogs were all different mixes of breeds, many of them purebreds, and they were awesome. I could have taken any of them but I fell in love with a three year old pitbull named Maggie. She was missing parts of her ears and was scarred from being used as bait in dog fights and yet the horror of her life hadn’t changed her disposition. She was friendly and trusting and loved everyone. I told Rainey that if she wasn’t chosen for adoption over the weekend I would ask Kara if I could bring her home so my parents would be able to meet her. Turns out I didn’t have to do that because bright and early Sunday morning they were some of our first customers. My parents liked them all, but I had told mom about Maggie so I could see that she made a special effort to spend time with her. Dad had been the reason we had never had a dog growing up, he had grown up without pets and thought they would be too much trouble. Now I heard him talking to Kara about how great it would be to have a dog to run with and take to the beach. When they left with Maggie I looked at Rainey in disbelief.

“Looks like somebody has a new best friend,” Rainey smiled, her arms full of two squirming black puppies.

“Yeah, I can’t believe mom talked dad into coming to see her, much less left with her.”

“She is such a love, how could they resist?”

I nodded, but still felt like aliens had taken over my parents. Garrett would be tripping out if he was watching. He had begged for a dog all our lives. Neither of us thought this day would ever come.

“She will bring so much happiness to your parents, Max. Garrett will be happy for them.” Rainey turned to show the puppies to a family with three little kids and I marveled how she had read my thoughts.

“You don’t have to be psychic to know when something is meant to be, Max.” Kara winked at me, and I laughed.