Chapter 6

A familiar sign greeted Greg. It read Welcome Home To Thomas Mill. A Friendly Community. Population 30,000. The wooden sign arched over the road, as if it were a gateway into town.

Greg drove into the parking garage of the Miller’s Crossing apartment complex. He pulled up next to a storage closet that was marked 4D SIMMONS”. Shutting off the car, he removed the keys from the ignition. He took the keys, and searched for the Schlage key that would open the closet. Finding it, he unlocked the padlock on the door. The door creaked open on the rusty hinges.

Grabbing the books from the passenger side of the car, he carried them to the half-full closet. He placed them down on top of a box of Christmas decorations.

“Christmas, he thought to himself. What a great time that was.”

He opened up a book from his Actuarial Sciences class, and took out a folded piece of paper from inside the front cover. Leaning against the hood of the Cavalier, he opened the paper, and read it for the fiftieth time. He hoped that he had misunderstood the letter, or that somehow the words had changed. They had not. It read:

Hi Sweetie,

I miss you so much. I wanted to wish you good luck on your final exams. I know that you will do great. Things are fine here. It is getting warmer, and the flowers are blooming. Graduation is getting closer, and my days at Thomas Mill High are coming to an end. Not that I am very sad about it, you know that I am dying to get out. I spent four years of my life here, so it will be a change. Change is good.

There is something important that I have to tell you. I am afraid that you will be mad. This is hard to say, so I am just going to tell you. My dad has to go away on some business. I guess he has some big project in Holland, and he will be gone for almost all of the summer. He asked if he could see me before he left on June 7th. So, I am going to be in Chicago from May 20th until June 6th. I am going to skip the graduation ceremony, which is no big deal. I know that you get home on the twentieth, and I am sorry that I will not be there when you arrive.

I have missed you so much these four and a half months. I wish so much to see you, and give you a big hug. But, I hope you understand that I love my dad, and I don’t get to see him very often. Even though he cheated on my mom, and he lives far away, he is still my dad. Please don’t be mad.

I will be home on June 6th, and you had better be there to greet me!

Hugs and kisses,

Dana

Greg folded the letter, and placed it into the book again. He closed the book, and finished unloading his things. Everything other than his four bags of dirty laundry and his duffel bag was stuffed into the storage closet. After he locked the closet, he grabbed the duffel bag and a laundry bag and closed the car door. He walked up to the fourth floor of the apartment building. He passed Dana’s apartment. Pausing briefly, he looked at the door. His heart pained, as he realized for the first time how much he had really missed her. He moped on to his apartment, and walked inside. He dropped his bags, and saw a note for him on the dining room table to his right. It was in Kristy’s handwriting.

Greg,

Welcome home! Mom and Dad are playing bridge tonight. Scott called. He is having a big party at his place tonight. His parents are out of town. He asked if you could bring some beer.

Kristy

Scott was one of Greg’s closest friends in high school. Together, they were on the baseball team, and were lab partners in physics class. They had not seen each other since last summer. Scott went to college at Cornell. Scott’s father worked at Taylor and Reed, but was not let go in the downsizing. For a while, Greg felt resentment for Scott, and was jealous that he could get an Ivy League education, while his own father struggled. Greg’s father told him not hold a grudge against Scott, as it wasn’t his fault.

Night was beginning to fall. Greg made himself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for dinner. He then moved his bags to the bedroom he shared with Kristy. Deciding that the khaki cargo shorts, sandals, and a white Central Iowa State Blackbirds t-shirt was good enough attire for the party, he walked down to his car.

He got in the car, and drove to the discount liquor store of Thomas Mill, Roll Out The Barrel. He picked up a case of Miller Lite, and then proceeded to Scott’s house.

He knew that Scott would have a good party. His house had a patio, and outdoor pool, and a hot tub. He drove near Scott’s house, and could hear music and laughter. He worried that an uptight neighbor might call the police, so Greg parked his car on a parallel street one block north of Scott’s house. He grabbed the case of beer, and ran across the block between two houses. He saw the lights of the patio, and heard splashes as people jumped into the pool. He walked across the backyard, and into the house. No one had greeted him, and it dawned on him that he didn’t know a soul at the party.