Free Memorizing You by Dan Skinner Page A

set up the rig for home-making my own fertilizer.
    We set to building it in the back of the garage. It took us the better part of a Sunday afternoon. My dad watched, interested as Ryan explained it to him. My mom brought us iced tea and toasted cheese and tomato sandwiches. When it was done my dad inspected it and then explained the whole thing to my mom just as Ryan had told him. We then mowed the lawn and threw the first bag of cut grass onto the compost tray.
    My parents took to Ryan right away. My mom loved that he was a guy who liked to garden. My dad could talk his football fanaticism with him. By school’s end, I hadn’t seen Rosemary at all. She had dropped from sight entirely. My parents asked nothing. My pain over the situation never lessened.
    Every morning as Ryan and I started our run, I carried a book and some graham crackers in a small back pack. We’d stop in the park, eat, and I’d read a chapter aloud from one of the books he needed for the tests he’d take in August. If he didn’t understand it, I’d explain it. It became apparent to me that his problem was he was easily distracted. It was di to sleepdi. My mindfficult for him to concentrate. I’d heard about kids having trouble with hyperactivity and having this problem. But once he’d run and worn off some of the energy, he could concentrate fine.
    It was becoming clearer as we entered the summer vacation that my dad’s work was dwindling. With no work to be found, he was home more and more in the middle of the week. He took to helping me with my work, and with him driving a car, I was able to expand out farther into outlying neighborhoods. We didn’t talk much, but I could tell he liked to stay busy. He was careful in bagging the cuttings for the compost. He and mom added to the pile everyday with cut-up newspapers, coffee grounds, apple cores, and the like. It was becoming a family affair.
    During that first month free from school, Ryan also introduced me to his secret for gaining muscle mass. Protein shakes with raw eggs and Hershey’s syrup. He made one for us after every run. In six weeks I’d added eight pounds. Mostly in my chest and arms. I measured them daily with a tape measure. I was determined to not be a skinny runt forever. One small compliment can sometimes produce a large incentive.
    I, also, know that from the day of that compliment, I’d started to develop feelings for Ryan. I tried everything to deny them, shut them out, and turn them off. But they were there beneath the surface of my thoughts every time I was near him. I buried them because I knew I wasn’t anywhere in his league. I buried them because I didn’t want to humiliate myself, or have to deal with the pain of rejection. But they were there, and they were strong because the most important part of any of my days was when I was with him. To be near him made me happy.
    For the weekend, I planned to get him through the works of Edgar Allan Poe, but he had something special in mind. I arrived at his family’s home at dinner time as he requested, and found them grilling burgers on the barbeque in the backyard. A picnic table had been set up with the black and red checkerboard table cloth, and decked out with potato salad, dinner rolls, and baked beans.
    Bill and Bonnie, his parents, were the typical brand, doting on their only son. His father talked ceaselessly about his football aspirations for Ryan. I listened but heard little. I noticed that Ryan detached himself from the conversation the minute it struck on the subject of a football scholarship. He’d look off in the distance, seem to have his mind somewhere else. So I listened and nodded and smiled.
    The food was good. Especially the salad that was entirely homegrown. When I complimented that, Ryan returned to the conversation with an appreciative smile. anyone who thought they00d
    “So you guys are studying Edgar Allan Poe tonight? Telltale Heart and all those goodies?” his father inquired.
    “Yes,