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❛ ᴏᴄᴇᴀɴ ᴇʏᴇꜱ​​​​​​​​​​. ❜ ° . ༄
- ͙۪۪˚   ▎❛ 𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐘-𝐓𝐖𝐎 ❜   ▎˚ ͙۪۪̥◌
»»————- ꒰ ᴄᴀʀᴇᴇʀ ᴅᴀʏ ꒱


❝ LIKE I'M SOME KINDA ANGEL ❞

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[Two weeks ago]

The slowest time at the diner was in the afternoon on weekends, after the lunch shift ended and before the dinner shift started. This was when Juliet most often visited in an effort to spend more time with her mother when the older woman's work hardly allowed her to come home. The girl sat at the familiar, sixties-styled bar counter. The fake red leather seat creaked slightly as she shifted while she watched her mother brew coffee and set food up for the next guests.

The woman was wearing the traditional work uniform of a powder-blue, close-fitting dress with white capped sleeves, apron and collar— a classic sixties style. The other servers all wore the same outfit and were busily preparing the restaurant for the next meal. The red-haired woman slid a tuna melt sandwich with a side of Oreos across the counter to her daughter, who smiled brightly at the sight of her favorite meal and began to eat it immediately.

Once she'd taken a few bites, she asked a question: "uh, mom?"

"Yes, dear?"

"Career Day's coming up at the end of the year and, well, I know you're busy here at the café, but I wanted to know if you'd come for just an hour?"

Daly's expression softened. "Of course, dear. I'll do my very best to make it."

Juliet frowned slightly, knowing that the answer mostly meant no. She played her next card: "well, I'd like to know for sure, mom, since Jack offered his mother to step in in case you couldn't make it. I wanted to know in advance if I needed to ask her so she can clear her schedule." Juliet left the rest unsaid: because she can.

A similar expression crossed her mother's face before she smiled gently at her daughter and reached a hand across the counter to place it on her arm. "There's no need to bother Mrs. Montacute. I'll be there, for sure."

Now that was an answer Juliet had never heard, and the younger girl's expression brightened into a beaming smile. "Great! Thanks, mom! Career Day is going to be amazing now that you're going!"

Daly smiled happily at her excited daughter, pleased that she could, at least, deliver on this after disappointing her so many other times.

🌎🌎🌎
[Present day]

The parents were crowded to the front of the room while they reviewed what information they'd be going over with the class. Alan Matthews, of course, was there; Juliet hadn't expected anything less from him. Topanga's dad, Jedidiah, was there. Shawn's dad was would probably come late, but her heart sank when no familiar head of red hair was visible in the group of parents.

"Hey, Cor, it's your dad. He's doing Career Day. Alright," Shawn said, pointing out the man.

"It's not alright. Today we find out I'm not a basketball player's son. My dad is a grocer. I'm a grocer's son. I'm a son of a grocer," Cory complained, causing the girl's eyes to narrow at him. At least his father made it.

Mr. Matthews approached the group. "Hey, Shawn, Juliet, Cory, um— guess how many different grains of rice we have."

"Oh, no," Cory groaned.

"Come on, guess!"

"Ten?" Shawn asked.

Juliet, who was twisted around in her seat to stare out the door, was too busy worrying about whether her mother even knew where she went to school to listen and jumped when Mr. Matthews asked her name. "Juliet?"

She turned back around. "Sorry?"

"Guess how many grains of rice we have!"

She frowned, uncertain as to why this was more important than what she'd been doing. Flatly, she guessed, "twenty-one?"

"Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner!" Mr. Matthews cheered. "And that's not even counting the short grains. Throw them in. . . forgetta 'bout it!"

Once he was gone, Shawn said, "Cory?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm glad I'm not you."

"At least your dad is here," Juliet grumbled, causing the curly-haired boy to look at her in confusion.

"I thought your mom—" he started, only to be interrupted by Shawn's hand covering his mouth.

The dark-haired boy gave the girl a sympathetic look. "She'll come, Julie. She's probably stuck in traffic."

The redhead's expression was unconvinced. "Right," she sighed. "She probably just forgot. Again."

"First of all, I would like to say thank you to the parents for being here," Mr. Turner started. "After they speak, you guys should have a better idea of what kind of vocations interest you." Shawn raised his hand. "Let me guess, Hunter— summer vocation?" When the boy nodded, Mr. Turner sighed. "Find some new material, will ya? Our first speaker is Topanga's father, Jedidiah Lawrence."

As the man came to the front of the classroom, Shawn leaned over to whisper to the girl next to him. "Do you want Turner to delay it? Maybe she just needs more time."

The redhead sighed and folded her hands on her desk to rest her head on her crossed arms. "What's the point?"

"Thank you, Mr. Turner. I think I should begin by telling everybody what I do. I'm a luthier," Topanga's father started.

"And I'm a Presbyterian but to each his own, I say," Shawn chimed in, glancing over to see if Juliet's expression had changed. It hadn't.

"A luthier makes musical instruments," Jedidiah explained.

Shawn tried again: "no offense, sir, but that's got to be the nuttiest religion I ever heard." Still nothing.

Mr. Turner rolled his eyes as Jedidiah turned questioningly to him. "Don't worry, it's not you."

"Daddy, forget about all that. Tell them who called last night," Topanga reminded him.

"Oh, they don't want to hear about that, Tippy."

"Tippy?" both boys exclaimed, causing the girl to turn and growl at them.

"Tippy's nice," Cory answered nervously.

"It's my new favorite name," Shawn added.

"Well, it's really no big deal, but Bruce."

"Bruce Springsteen?" Mr. Turner asked incredulously.

"No, Bruce Banner," Juliet scoffed, earning a warning look from her teacher.

"Uh-huh," Topanga nodded. "I took the call. He said 'hey, little girl. Is your daddy home?'"

"I bet she said yes," the redhead mumbled.

"So you make guitars for a lot of big rock stars?" a boy asked.

"Most of them," Jedidiah answered, "but I guess my real love is playing these things."

The girl rolled her eyes as he began to play, wishing that she could be anywhere but here. Would anyone notice if she slipped out? After Topanga's father finished, several girls in the class ran up to him. 

"Please, sit down, sit down. Come on, plenty more show," Mr. Turner told them. "Okay, let's see. Our next parent is— Mr. Alan Matthews! Cory's father is a grocer. Now, you probably think that all he's going to talk about is how many different types of rice he stocks. Ha! I'm sure there's a lot more to it than that. Alan?"

"Well, uh, uh, thank you for that, uh, intro," Mr. Matthews said as he took his place at the front. "I don't know— I don't know a lot of rock stars, but, uh, I do know this: I take pride in what I do. Everybody needs groceries. I'd like to think we do more than sell lettuce and pickles and potato chips and bug spray. Um, we sell dreams."

"What aisle?" a boy asked.

🌎🌎🌎

After his presentation, Mr. Matthews passed out coupons to the entire class before he moved to the side of the class room.

"Thank you very much, Alan. Thank you. That took guts," Mr. Turner told him. He turned to the class. "So this is what Career Day is really all about." 

The redhead scowled. "Yeah, I love it every year." 

Shawn sent her a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry, Julie. Maybe your mom really was stuck in traffic." Juliet gave him a (fake) smile and nodded, causing him to frown as he saw right though it. "You okay?" he asked, knowing what it was like to have sub-par parents. 

"I'm always okay."

🌎🌎🌎

"Remember that world series game where the first baseman let that easy ground ball go under his legs and his team lost and he was humiliated in front of the entire world?" Cory asked Shawn at lunch.

"Yeah?"

"I envy his son."

"Come on, Cor," Shawn said. "Your dad wasn't that bad." He sighed. "At least he showed up."

The curly-haired boy frowned. "Jules is really upset about this, huh?"

"Yeah," Shawn agreed. "She was so excited that her mom had actually agreed to come and I thought she would, too." He glanced towards the doors, wanting to leave enough time before their next class to go find the girl.

"At least her mom didn't say 'the cantaloupe is your friend.'"

"Okay, that part was bad," the dark-haired boy acknowledged.

"Your dad, he was awesome. Everyone loved him and he told great stories," Cory told his best friend.

"Yeah, stories. It's all he has. Why do you think we live in a trailer park?"

"Listen, at least no one's laughing at him."

"Your dad did fine," Shawn reassured him. "It's all in your mind."

A boy from the next table called over to them mockingly: "hey Matthews, look! I'm eating your dad's friend!"

"That's it! I've gotta move to another school district," Cory complained.

"I'm telling you, man, I've got business here," Chet said to Mr. Feeny.

"Listen, I'm not going to say this again. If you're not faculty or staff you have no business on this campus," Mr. Feeny told him.

Shawn stood as Chet complained, "hey, leave me alone, pal. I'm George Feeny. I'm the principal of this here high school."

"And you're not George Feeny!"

"I'm parked in his spot, ain't I?"

Shawn made his way over to the pair. "Mr. Feeny, I can explain."

"Please do."

"Go ahead. Uh, you're Feeny, too?" Chet asked.

"I'm Feeny one."

"Mr. Feeny, this is my dad," Shawn said.

"Oh," Mr. Feeny said as he shook Chet's hand. "Yes, well, uh, we're very proud of Shawn."

"I'm surprised to hear you say that."

"So am I," the older man admitted.

"Hey, Shawnie," Chet patted his son on the back. "Shawn's friend," he frowned. "Where's your wife, Shawnie?"

The boy sighed. "Career Day didn't go well for her."

"Well, knowing her, she'll bounce back in no time!"

"So, Dad, what's going on?" Shawn asked, changing the subject.

"Uh, look, buddy— did you kiss your mom this morning?"

"Uh-huh."

"Good, 'cause it's gonna have to last you for a while."

"What do you mean?" Shawn asked.

"Your mother, she took off," Chet told him.

"Oh, just go home and wait. She always comes back."

"Oh, not that easy. This time she took the house. See, that's the problem with having a mobile home. It's, uh, you can move it."

"Maybe she went to get it washed," Cory suggested.

"Yeah."

"So, what are we gonna do?" Shawn looked to his dad.

"We're gonna go after her. You still got that keen sense of smell?"

"Dad, I can't just ditch classes. I mean, I can, but shouldn't I tell somebody?" Shawn asked as a certain redhead came to mind.

"Okay, but I gotta run before that little guy with the mustache has a duck," Chet glanced at Cory. "You. Your father, the cantaloupe man— he's good people. Mark my words."

"Shawn, you okay?" Cory asked once Chet had left.

He repeated the girl's words from earlier. "I'm always okay." 

🌎🌎🌎

Juliet hardly even noticed when another person slid down the lockers next to her and only jumped slightly when a gentle hand was placed on her shoulder. She took off her headphones and rested them around her neck, turning to give Shawn a puzzled look. "Shawnie?"

He half-turned towards her with a concerned look in his eyes. "You okay, Julie?"

"You don't have to ask me that again, you know. Why wouldn't I be? Oh, because my mom didn't show up?" she asked, her voice bitter.

His sighed. "At least you know where she is."

His words caused the girl to face him more fully. "Shawnie?" she repeated.

"My mom. She took off." He paused, half-expecting her to say something like she'll come back, but the girl said nothing. "This time she took the house."

"Oh, Shawnie," Juliet said sympathetically. Her own 'mom problems' seemed inconsequential now. "Are you gonna go after her?"

"I don't know," the boy hesitated for a moment before he tentatively reached for her hand that was lying in her lap and intertwined their fingers together, causing the girl to blush slightly. She didn't pull away, though, and instead squeezed his fingers tightly.

"It'll be okay, Shawnie," she said quietly. "Even if you do go, you know I'll always be here when you get back, right?"

"Yeah, but it's nice to be reminded," he told her softly, shifting slightly so he could rest his head on her shoulder. More warmth rushed to her face, but she ignored it in favor of removing her headphones from her neck to carefully maneuver them onto Shawn's head, allowing him to be the one to listen to her music. A faint smile curved on his face as he closed his eyes. 

"How fitting," he murmured as he listened to I Got You Babe.

🌎🌎🌎

The knock on her apartment door startled Juliet from her homework-focus and she quickly stood to answer it, only slightly surprised to see Shawn on the other side. Relief swamped her when she saw he was safe, knowing that he'd spent several hours with his dad looking for his mom. Without thinking, she threw her arms around the boy and held on to him tightly. 

"Thank god, Shawnie," she whispered against his shoulder. The boy hugged her back and buried his face in her hair as he closed his eyes at the familiarity of the hug. 

"We didn't find her," he mumbled, and slightly louder he said: "and this is the only place I-I could think of to— well, to go."

Juliet didn't answer except to continue to hug him fiercely, unwilling to let the boy go. Shawn was perfectly content at the current situation and didn't attempt to pull away as their hug lasted for several long moments. She finally pulled away reluctantly to look up at her best friend. "You know you always have a place here."

The boy's expression softened into one that made her feel as if she were floating and sent her whole body tingling. She ducked her head and looked away, unable to hold his gaze when he was looking at her like that. Juliet chanced a glance up in his direction a second later only to find him still looking at her. "You're staring, Shawnie," she told him gently.

He blinked and looked apologetic. "Sorry."

"It's okay," she said, her face feeling very warm. "But why d'you look at me like that?"

"Like what?" Shawn seemed genuinely confused.

"Like-like—" The redhead struggled to explain it until she finally decided on: "like I'm some kinda angel."

He tilted his head slightly in apparent confusion. "Well, because you are."

The girl played with her fingers as her entire body seemed to tingle happily. "I'm not perfect, Shawnie."

The boy reached forward and carefully grabbed the girl's arms to pull her closer. "I know that," he murmured. "But you are to me."

Juliet couldn't help it and she looked up again to meet his eyes which had the same look they'd had a second ago, but this time she didn't look away and held his gaze instead. "You're pretty great too, y'know," she told him, half-joking and half-serious.

A smile tugged at Shawn's lips as he gently reached down to tuck some of her hair behind her ear. The place where his fingers touched her cheek warmed more than the rest of her face. "It's nice to be reminded," he said again. Then, his stomach growled, making both of them laugh as the boy turned pink in embarrassment. "Sorry."

"It's okay, I bet you're hungry. C'mon," she said, grabbing the boy's hand to lead him to the small kitchen where she gently shoved him towards a stool so he could sit down.

As she bustled around the kitchen to prepare some mac and cheese, Shawn couldn't help but let his expression soften again as he watched her. It was so easy to ignore his feelings when Cory was added to the mix, but when it was just the two of them like it had been in the very beginning everything came rushing back up. He was reminded over and over exactly how much he liked her— and he wasn't even sure if 'like' was an adequate description. And then there was that Jack guy throwing a wrench into his plans. God, he hated rich kids.

"Shawnie?"

The boy startled out of his thoughts. "Huh?"

"You're givin' me the heebie-jeebies with all your staring."

"No one says 'heebie-jeebies' any more, Julie," he said with a laugh.

"Well, I do and you just did, so that's two people already," she shot back with a teasing smile. "But seriously, Shawnie, I'm not that interesting."

Yeah, you are, he thought, but instead he said, "sorry. I'll stare at the ceiling now."

Juliet rolled her eyes as the two continued to tease each other back and forth until the boy had finished most of the mac and cheese. "You'll probably want to take a shower, huh?" the redhead guessed.

"If I can, yeah."

"Of course you can, you dork. Well, you know where it is." She gestured down the hall.

'Dork,' that was new. He didn't mind it, though, and didn't mention it. Instead, he headed towards the indicated place, picking up the set of extra clothes he kept at the apartment— a lesson learned from all the times he'd 'accidentally' fallen asleep when he came over at night.

Once Shawn had gone, Juliet got the phonebook out and looked up 'Turner.' She could've called the Matthews but she had a feeling Shawn would feel more comfortable if their English teacher knew what was going on than his best friend, knowing that he valued Cory's opinion far more. Besides, the Matthews were probably busy with their own family things and Mr. Turner was, well, single. After dialing the first three 'Johnathan Turners' and getting the wrong ones, the fourth was the correct one. 

"'Capelwood?'" he sounded understandably surprised.

"Uh, hey, Mr. Turner," she started awkwardly. "I'm sorry for bothering you. I can call back at another time if—"

"'No, no, this is fine. I always have time for my best student.'"

She smiled slightly. "Okay, well, uh, it's about Shawn, Mr. Turner. His, um, mom has always been something of a free spirit and often left during the night but she always came back. She did it again today, but, well, this time it's different 'cause she took the house with her."

"'Go on,'" Mr. Turner said.

"Well, Shawn and Chet— uh, Shawn's dad— went looking for her after school but couldn't find her and now Chet's left town. Shawn turned up at my place to spend the night but, uh, I thought I should let some type of adult know where— what's goin' on," she finished.

There was a moment of silence on the other side before her teacher spoke: "'you did the right thing, Capelwood. Thank you for trusting me enough to tell me this. You know how much I care about Shawn and I'm glad he's safe. You're comfortable with him spending the night?'"

"Of course," she said with surprise. "It's not the first time."

"'I just wanted to check. Do you think you could bring him to the Matthew's tomorrow? I can meet you there if you'd like,'" he offered.

"Oh, um, I don't—" the redhead started, but then she sighed. She knew she couldn't take care of Shawn forever as much as she wished she could. "Yes, please, if you don't mind."

"'Of course I don't,'" Mr. Turner reassured her. "'I'll see you tomorrow, Capelwood. And you should know— Shawn's a lucky guy to have a friend like you.'"

"I try the best I can."

"'And that's all that can ever be asked of you. Have a good night, Capelwood.'"

"Thanks, Mr. Turner you too."

After Juliet hung up, she felt relieved that she'd gotten an adult on board, though she couldn't help but feel guilty that maybe she was betraying Shawn's trust. She shook her head. Of course she wasn't. She just wanted what was best for him and she wasn't foolish enough to think she could keep this up forever.

🌎🌎🌎

The next day, Shawn and Juliet were sitting in Cory's familiar bedroom tossing a ball back and forth.

"So, where are you staying tonight?" Cory asked.

"Either Julie's or the motel, at least 'till my dad gets back," Shawn replied. "Why don't you come over tonight, Cor? Then we can have a sleepover like we used to do."

"We can do a sleepover here."

"Yeah, but Julie's place doesn't have Eric."

The red-haired girl snorted slightly. "That's definitely a plus." She missed the reprimanding throw Cory sent her way.

"That's my brother you're talkin' about. And besides, would your mom let us?"

The girl shrugged. "Who cares? After the stunt she pulled on Career Day I'd throw a party if everyone could fit." She ignored Shawn's sympathetic look.

"Well, at least we know the apartment won't drive away," Shawn sighed.

"Listen, you know you could've crashed here last night," Cory told him.

"I know, I was fine."

"He always has a place with me," Juliet added firmly.

"I know, I'm just saying. I don't know, just remember that I'm your friend," the curly-haired boy looked at the girl. "I'm your friend too, Jules."

"We know," Shawn said.

"Hey, Shawn, come on down, son!" Chet's voice called from the living room. The dark-haired boy jumped up from the bed. 

"See? My dad's back and everything's great," he said cheerfully as the trio headed downstairs. "Hey, dad. Did you find mom?"

"I did. I did find her, but she gave me the slip again. You gotta respect that. Now, to that end, I have something on my mind which is why I'm here."

"I thought I was why you're here," Shawn said.

"You are! You are, you little Slim Jim. That you are. This is all about you. Johnny, look, uh, this is hard to say. I ain't always been the perfect father—" Chet started.

"Dad, it's okay," Shawn reassured him.

Juliet met Mr. Turner's eyes and gave him a silent look of thanks, to which he nodded in response as Chet turned to Mr. Matthews. "Adam, I consider you a friend—"

"Alan."

"I respect you. Yes, sir, you are the heartbeat of America. People can count on you. You got roots. I like that."

"Where's this heading?"

"I need a favor," Chet said. "My wife, Verna, she's-she's out there and my heart's out there with her, not to mention my wallet and major credit cards— but she is my wife and go after her I must."

"And the favor?" Mr. Matthews asked.

"Take care of my boy. Now, you don't have to answer right now— well, yes you do."

"Stay here? That would be great!" Cory said. Juliet resisted the urge to add he could stay with me.

"Dad, why can't I just come with you?" Shawn asked.

"Oh, come on. The road's no place for a boy especially with your mama out there driving on it. Nah, your place is here. In school, with teach over there. In this house, in the company of these fine people. No pressure," Chet added.

"Chet, shouldn't you be asking Shawn what he thinks?" Mr. Turner asked.

"We're only talkin' a few days, couple of weeks, tops! I'll call in every night. So, what's the verdict, Your Honor? Mrs. Honor?"

"Shawn, you know we'd be very happy to have you stay. Alan?" Mrs. Matthews prompted her husband pointedly.

"Of course, Shawn. You have a room here as long as you need it."

"See, if my boy can't be with his own father, I'm glad he can be with a good father and you, sir— why, you're a good father," Chet told him. Eric and his friend entered the house then, with the former's nose covered in a bloody napkin. 

"He's fine, he's fine. Don't panic, it's just a little nosebleed!"

"How long has that tree been out there?" Eric asked as they went upstairs.

"Well, anyway," Chet continued. "Alan, if I can kick in to the house kitty, why, you let me know."

"I think we can handle it. We get coupons," Mr. Matthews said dryly.

"Even better. Shawn, what do you say we go move your stuff?" Chet asked. "Oh, wait, it's already movin'. Let's go get you a toothbrush and a new shirt. Teach." He nodded to Mr. Turner. "Ma'am, Mr. Matthews. It's Corky, right?"

"Yeah," Cory said. "Hey, we're gonna be roommates. How great is that?"

"Think we're gonna find out," Shawn answered.

Chet nodded to the redhead. "Shawnie's wife."

Juliet ducked her head at the old nickname. Chet had called her that for most of her life and with how she felt about the boy now it made even more sense than when she'd been in sixth grade.

"I'll go get some clean sheets for your cot, Shawn," Mrs. Matthews said before she disappeared upstairs.

"Uh, Chet?" Mr. Matthews asked. "You're gonna be back in a couple of weeks, right?"

"Texas women couldn't keep me from here," Chet replied as he left with Shawn.

"You know, Alan, Chet was right about one thing. You're a good man," Mr. Turner told him.

🌎🌎🌎

The following weekend, Juliet headed to the diner at her usual time, though she didn't stop at the counter like she usually did. Instead, she pushed past the swinging gates that prevented customers from coming into the service area and surprised her mom with a tight hug around the woman's waist.

"Juliet!" Daly exclaimed in surprise as she turned to hug the girl back. Her heart sank in her chest. "I missed it, didn't I?"

"It's okay, mom," Juliet told the older woman, her voice slightly muffled by the powder-blue uniform.

"No, it's not. I said I would be there and it completely slipped my mind. I'm so, so sorry, darling." Her mother sounded truly regretful.

The red-haired girl lifted her face from her mother's clothes. "It's okay, mom, really. I'm just glad you're here, is all."

"Of course I'm here," Daly said with confusion. "Where else would I be?"

Juliet didn't answer and instead resumed her hug as she said quietly: "thank you, for everything." 

[written dec. 2020]
[edited may 2022]