Free Advance Notice by Cynthia Hickey Page A

could actually leave.”
    “What difference does that make?”
    “Because, once you’re Duane’s problem, I
don’t need to follow you around on your crime-solving adventures.”

 
 
    Chapter Ten
    First game of the season. I sat on the bleachers,
prepared for the weather in long pants, a blanket folded under me to cushion
the hard metal seat, a serving of nachos beside me, and a cold diet soda in my
hand. It might still be a bit warm during the day, but the nights had a
tendency to cool off. Maybe I should focus on shopping for some stylish jeans
and long-sleeved tees.
    Duane turned and scanned the bleachers.
Finding me, he waved. I gave him a thumbs-up, trying to ignore Stacy, who
grinned beside him like some deranged cheerleader. There to take notes on the
game, I was sure, once she got finished ogling my man.
    So be it. Duane either loved me or he
didn’t, and I was pretty sure he did. Mom was right. Life was too short to be
spent on jealousy when there was no reason.
    Lindsey strolled by with one of her
friends. They stopped along the fence. Most likely to stare
at River Valley’s quarterback, Bobby. Lindsey wouldn’t tell me why they
broke up, and I didn’t ask. She’d tell me in due time.
    Danny and Amber shuffled by, the bored
look on their faces exactly like so many of their generation. Young people
seemed to think it was a cool look. That young man acted like a teenager and
looked like a teenager. Finding out he was twenty-four came as a shock. But, if
the one time I saw him and Darla together was any indication, the woman refused
to loosen the apron strings.
    The ball was airborne: River Valley
Copperheads received and made their first down. I picked up my nachos,
desperately trying to enjoy the taste, knowing they’d land right on my hips. A
girl had to break her diet once in a while, and football season was as good an
excuse as anything.
    Interception! The Copperheads were going
to have to get it together if they wanted to win. I leaped to my feet, yelling,
sending my dinner sliding between the bleacher seats to the dirt below. Now,
I’d have to climb under there to pick up my garbage. I pouted and plopped back
to a sitting position, trying to locate the spilled nachos through the space
between the boards.
    “The game is on the field,” Mom said as
she and Leroy took their seats next to me. “We’re late.” She smiled and gave
Leroy a glance I’d rather not interpret.
    “It’s still the first quarter. We gave
the ball away.”
    “We’ll get it back.” Leroy situated
himself on his bleacher chair and set a small cooler at his feet.
    “How’d you get that in here?” The
watchdogs at the gate prohibited anyone bringing in their own food and drinks.
    “I have connections.” He winked.
    “I lost my supper. Do you have anything
in there to spare?” I kept my gaze locked on the blue and white cooler.
    “Your mom has hot dogs in her purse.”
    Mom pulled out a foil wrapped dog from
the quilted bag slung over her shoulder. “I figured you’d be hungry. You always
are.”
    “You know me so well.” I unwrapped the dog
and took a bite of spicy mustard and relish. Just the way I liked my hot dogs.
    “You dropping your nachos was God’s way
of telling you not to eat garbage.” Mom handed Leroy his own wrapped meal.
    Somehow, I doubted God would go to such
extremes, but Mom was right. I needed to eat healthier, and chips drowned in
canned cheese sauce didn’t qualify. But they sure were good.
    By the end of the first quarter, the
Copperheads were up by one touchdown, and my stomach hurt from two hot dogs and
a bag of chips. When would I learn to pace myself?
    Bobby leaned across the fence and talked
to Lindsey until Duane called him away. Lindsey turned toward the bleachers, a
wide smile on her face. Hmmm. I decided to head under the bleachers to collect
my napkin and nacho box before asking my daughter why the grin.
    After collecting the trash from Mom and
Leroy, I headed down the