Sarah turned to me. “What? How obnoxious you are?”
Coming to a red light, I turned to her and bitterly said, “No. I was talking with her about my dad and how he left us.” I watched as her face changed. Her eyes were filled with sadness and her mouth drooped. “Happy?” Seeing that the light turned green, I pressed my foot on the gas. “Now you know what I was talking about, not that it was any of your goddamn business.”
The second the words left my mouth I wanted to take them back, but my dad was a sore subject and she just kept pushing. I was tired of her being a bitch to me.
We drove for a good fifteen minutes before Sarah whispered, “I’m sorry.”
“Hmph.”
I could see her out of the corner of my eye. She was sitting up straight in the seat with her hands in her lap, picking away at her nails. I guess that was her nervous habit.
“My dad died when I was little,” she whispered.
Feeling my chest tighten, I sucked in a breath. “I’m sorry.”
“You didn’t know, Gabe.” Pausing, she said, “He died of cancer.”
Taking slow breaths, I let go of the steering wheel and drove with one hand. Reaching over to Sarah, I held onto her hand. I thought she was going to push it away, but she grabbed onto it with both of hers and held on tight.
“My dad left,” I blurted. She stayed quiet so I continued. “That’s why my mom and I moved here to Maryland. She was born here and this is where her parents are. My dad left us for his secretary.” I turned to her.
Meeting my eyes for a split second, Sarah then looked down at her lap where my hand was. “I’m sorry,” she said again.
I let out a small chuckle. “Like I already said, Sarah. You didn’t know.”
“No,” she said. “I’m sorry for being a huge bitch.”
By that point I was pulling into the park. After turning off the car, we sat there for a few minutes in silence. I was really surprised Sarah didn’t start to get out. Or better yet, let go of my hand.
Turning to her, I saw she was staring at me. Giving her a small smile, I whispered, “It’s okay, Sarah.”
“No, it’s not,” she said as she shook her head in defiance. “It’s not okay, Gabe. You’ve been going through a lot and I haven’t been making it any easier for you.”
“Sarah, it’s okay,” I said as I turned to her. “I’m sorry for being an ass to you earlier.”
“I deserved it,” she said with a small smile on her face.
Staring at her, I couldn’t believe how beautiful she looked.
“What?” she whispered breathlessly.
Shaking my head, I whispered, “Nothing.” I nodded towards the park. “Are you ready to look at some stars?”
“Yeah, I guess,” she said through a giggle.
“Well, come on, then.” As I started to pull my hand out of hers, I saw her face turn downwards but I didn’t comment on it. I did smile, though.
Once we were out of the truck, I walked to the back. Sarah was a few feet ahead of me and started talking. When she realized I wasn’t standing next to her, Sarah stopped and turned around. Placing her hands on her hips she yelled, “What are you doing, Gabe?”
Holding it up, I said, “Just grabbing a blanket. I didn’t want us to get dirty.”
“Oh,” she said with a smile.
Closing the hood of my truck, I jogged over to where Sarah was standing. “What?” I asked.
She was staring at me with a confused look on her face.
“Sarah?”
Raising her eyes up to meet mine, Sarah shook her head and muttered, “Oh, nothing.”
As we started to walk into the woods, we came across a clearing that was perfect. “How about right here?” she asked.
“Sounds perfect.” Unfolding the blanket, I laid it down on the grass. “Ladies first.”
Looking at me with a smile on her face, Sarah whispered, “Thank you,” and started to lie down.
Lying down next to her, I placed my hands behind my head and looked over at Sarah, who was looking up at the sky. “So, what are we observing?” I asked.
“I have no idea,” she said. “To me it just looks like a bunch of stars. What do you think, Gabe?”
“Beautiful,” I blurted out.
Turning her head to the side Sarah looked at me and smiled. “Okay, smooth one. How about you actually look at the stars now?”
“Right,” I whispered. Looking up at the stars, I agreed with Sarah. I didn’t see shit. I didn’t see Ursa Major or Minor. I didn’t see any constellations. I just saw a bunch of twinkling stars staring down at us.
For a while we were quiet, just taking in the view, then Sarah broke it. “When I was little, my dad always took me to the zoo. I loved the zoo.”
I didn’t even have to look over at her to know she was smiling. “What was your favorite animal to look at?”
“The flamingos.”
“Why?” I asked. “Because they’re pink?”
Turning over onto her side Sarah shook her head. “No. It’s because they’re so graceful. They could stand on one leg for long amounts of time.”
Rolling over onto my side I faced her and smirked.