call...

              

        

We have done two laps around the Gloucester.The door To the Gloucester slides opens. We continue to hold hands. We have not refrained from holding hands. In the lobby Nat and his girlfriend  are talking, arguing,appear to be having some sort of tiff. Harmony waves to the girl in her group by lifting a single palm as if she is ready to play pattycake and saying hi. Nat notices Harmony holding the bear like something I just won for her at a state fair by knocking over unevenly-meted milk-jugs and makes the same swivel of nose-disdain he has been giving me since first we shook hands five thousand miles away.

.

 

 

I can still smell the spring in her hair.

 I press the illuminating elevator cosigning the floor she is resigning on. There is a subtle bling and we find the doors hushing in front of us again, my arms lassoed around the back of her anatomy, mirrored in cubist-inflection in all optical directions.

As if trying to peck out of a shell I burrow my nose in the back of her scalp. I can feel her smile.

We get off on her floor. I am being a gentlemen. I am walking her to her room.

 

“So, will you call me later on?”

It is the first time in the entire trip that she has requested that I call her.

I tell her I will. I tell her it is cool. We are still holding hands as we come to her room. Meg’s room is across the hall and Jennifer Flood is inside. sitting on the edge of the mattress along with the girl with the altar boy haircut.

I walk to Harmony’s room but do not go in.

“Kay, I’ll catch you later. Again I kiss the left hemisphere of her face, the same cheekbone I head a serious make-out session with last night on the Thames.

“Bye love,” Harmony says, again, calling me love.

                     ***

I am late for Skit rehearsal. It is clear that the BIG TEN still has no idea what we our doing. I perform a quick Aqua Net affirming look in the mirror. The moment I see Harry Connick winking back at me the phone rings. It is Harmony.

This is only the second time she has called on her own volition.

She sounds excited.

"Hey, I just wanted to thank you again for the Teddy Bear. For the "Davy. I love it so much."

I am beyond late for skit night rehersal.  I tell her thanks.

"I'm so glad you like it angel," I am trying to shake Harmony.  Josh is at my door along with Alaskan Bryan and Spin Doctor Kenny. I hand up on Harmony almost immediately the phone rings again.  Justin picks it up and informs me that it is for me. I am half-expecting it to be Harmony again. I wonder if she wants to see me again. I am being reminded by Justin that we have mandated skit rehearsal in all of 20 minutes so don’t try to find a rom loverboy.

 

“Hey Angel.”

“Tony?”

Someone is calling me Tony. They are alluding to my presence as the fictional older brother off of Blossom. The Big Ten only refers to me as Harry. Harmony has not called me once.

It is a male voice on the other end. I am befuddled.

“Yeah, how’s it going…”

“Hey, man this is Sam.”

I say Sam’s name rather slowly then I realize it is cool Sam. Sam who always is gragrious and has a smile on his face until last night when he was pensive on the dinner dance cruise.

Sam is cool. Outside of Mark I would say he is my cloest male friend.

I have no clue how he found my room number. I ask him if he is okay.

“Oh yeah, me, I’m fine. I’m really fine. Listen, I just wanted to say thank you for last night and everything.”

Sam says that he normally doesn’t get what’s the word, so morose like that. I tell Sam that it is no big deal. I tell Sam that he is a brother.

While I am talking with Sam Josh the Eagle scout comes into our room. He is eating a can of Pringles.  Without asking he lies on my bed.  He reminds us that we have a meeting in 20 minutes so that we can  go over the rudiments of our skit. He seems irked that I am phone. I am irked that he just slid head first on my bed.

 

“Careful I just had sex on that bed. You might want to wash you hands before you start popping you can’t stop.”

Josh gets off. Justin is laughing.

“Anyway, this seems crazy but I was wondering if you could come down to our room real quick.”

 

“What?”

“Listen. Its important. I just need to talk to you real quick. We have some drama going on as a group and I know you are really good at helping people out when they are going through hard times."

I ask Sam what his room number it. It is almost directly below mine.

I tell him I am on my way.

 

As I head towards the door Josh sends me look as where do I think I am going.

“Might I remind you Romeo that we have out skit in a matter of hours and we still don’t have a clue as of what we are performing.”

I though we decided that we are doing a gtour of England as seen through the ogre-lockerroom narrow-lens perspective of the Big  Ten.

Josh tells me not to belittle him. I ask him who is Belittle.

‘We got to hurry up and meet guys. We got to get together and rehearse.”

"I'll be back." I say as I jut out the room.

Justin is still watching the coverage of Waco texas on the news.