Eleanor & Park

But he hadn’t meant to tell her like that. So soon. And over the phone. Especially knowing how she felt about Romeo and Juliet.

Park was waiting for his little brother to change clothes. Every Sunday, they got dressed up, in nice pants and sweaters, and had dinner with their grandparents.

But Josh was playing Super Mario and wouldn’t turn it off. (He was about to get to the infinity turtle for the first time.)

‘I’m going over,’ Park yelled to his parents. ‘I’ll see you there.’

He ran across the yard because he didn’t feel like putting on a coat.

His

grandparents’

house

smelled

like

chicken-fried

chicken. His grandma only had four Sunday dinners in her repertoire – chicken-fried chicken, chicken-fried steak, pot roast and corned beef – but they were all good.

His grandpa was watching TV

in the living room. Park stopped to give him half a hug, then went into the kitchen and hugged his grandma. She was so small, even Park towered over her. All the women in his family were tiny, and all the men were huge. Only Park’s DNA had missed the memo. Maybe the Korean genes scrambled everything.

That didn’t explain Josh’s hugeness, though. Josh looked like the Korean genes had skipped him altogether. His eyes were brown and just barely almondy – almond-flavored. And his hair was dark, but not even close to black. Josh looked like a big German or Polish kid whose eyes kind of crinkled when he smiled.

Their

grandmother

looked

nothing but Irish. Or maybe Park only

thought

that

because

everyone in his dad’s family made such a big deal about being Irish.

Park got a ‘Kiss Me, I’m Irish’ T-shirt every year for Christmas.

He set his grandparents’ table without being asked, because it had always been his job. When his mom got there, he hung out in the kitchen with her and his grandma, and listened to them gossip about the neighbors.

‘I heard from Jamie that Park’s going steady with one of those kids who live over with Richie Trout,’ his grandma said.

It shouldn’t surprise Park that his dad had already told his grandma. His dad could never keep a secret.

‘Everybody

talking

about

Park’s girlfriend,’ his mom said, ‘except for Park.’

‘I heard she’s a redhead,’ his grandma said.

Park pretended to read the newspaper. ‘You shouldn’t listen to gossip, Grandma.’

‘Well, I wouldn’t have to,’ his grandma said, ‘if you’d just introduce us to her.’

He rolled his eyes. Which made him think of Eleanor. Which almost made him feel like telling them about her, just so he’d have a reason to say her name.

‘Well, my heart goes out to any child living in that house,’ his grandma said. ‘That Trout boy has never been any good. He smashed out our mailbox while your dad was in the service. I know it was him because he was the only one in the neighborhood with an El Camino. He grew up in that little house, you know, until his parents moved someplace even more redneck than here. Wyoming, I think it was. They probably moved to get away from him.’

‘Tishhhh,’ his mom said.

Grandma was a little sharp for his mom’s taste sometimes.

‘We thought he’d moved out west, too,’ she said, ‘but now he’s back with an older wife who looks like a movie star and a whole house full of redheaded stepchildren.

Gil

told

your

grandpa that they’ve got a big old dog living there, too. I never …’

Park felt like he should defend Eleanor. But he wasn’t sure how.

‘It doesn’t surprise me that you have a thing for redheads,’ his grandma said. ‘Your grandfather was in love with a redhead. Lucky for me, she wouldn’t have anything to do with him.’

What

would

Park’s

grandmother say if he did introduce her to Eleanor? What would she say to the neighbors?

And what would his mother say?

He watched his mom mash potatoes with a masher as big as her arm. She was wearing stonewashed jeans and a pink V-neck sweater, with fringed leather boots. There was a gold angel charm hanging around her neck and gold crosses hanging from her ears. She’d be the most popular girl on the bus. He couldn’t imagine her living anywhere but here.

Eleanor She’d never lied to her mother.

Not about anything important, anyway. But on Sunday night, while Richie was at the bar, Eleanor told her mom that she might go over to a friend’s house after school the next day.

‘Who’s that?’ her mom asked.

‘Tina,’ Eleanor said. It was the first name she thought of. ‘She lives in the neighborhood.’

Her mom was distracted.

Richie was late, and his steak was drying out in the oven. If she took it out, he’d be pissed that it was cold. But if she left it in, he’d be pissed that it was tough.

‘Okay,’ she said. ‘I’m glad you’re finally making friends.’





CHAPTER 21


Eleanor


Would he look different?

Now that she knew that he loved her? (Or that he had loved her, at least for a minute or two on Friday night. At least enough to say so.) Would he look different?

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