be going to the Fall Festival too Kelsey tried to appear indifferent She shrugged and turned away How could Bettina know her feelings for Matt But it stung More than once Kelsey had dreamed about going to the Fall Festival with Matt She imagined sitting on a hay bale with him eating cotton candy or showing off her skill at popping balloons with darts Last year she’d gone with girlfriends This year she wanted to go with a boy And not just any boy Matt Locatelli curly haired adorable boy There was no way Bettina was getting in the way of what she wanted Her mind was going full steam ahead as she went to the bus line after school Her dad sometimes played cards with his Korean War buddies at the VFW Hall on Clay Street She had been there a couple of times and knew the neighborhood Maybe some Vietnam Vets hang out there too she thought She walked across the street 10
and took the city bus to the VFW Hall The Veterans of Foreign War Hall was a narrow storefront sandwiched between a laundromat and a print shop She raised her hand to knock when a man walked up behind her pulled the door open and went in She slipped in behind him It was narrow and dark and took a minute to adjust her eyes A bar with stools was on the right side with a couple of men playing a loud dice game dice double sixes She felt she’d just barged into a private party for all conversation stopped Excuse me For what living There’s no excuse for that said a man leaning on a cane He smoked a cigarette with a long ash that chose Acey-Deucey said one of the men Second time Perez Time to check the No man I’ve just got the touch I call Hello Kelsey said 11
Shut up Beyer What do you want girl I’m Kelsey I’m in eighth grade Too young for McBride but Perez might that particular moment to snap off and drift to the ground He scuffed the pile of ash with his boot What do you want be interested said one of the seated men said Perez My dad sometimes comes here and um well I have to find a Vietnam Veteran and get an interview for a school Silence dropped into the room like a chunk of melted snow sliding off a roof The man with the cane limped over to her No one here was in Vietnam okay No one We’re just buddies hanging around Nothing about the war gets said Get it Kelsey stood still not sure what to do She must have made a mistake The hats they wore had a slightly different insignia than her father’s had and he was a war veteran from the Korean War And they looked much younger than him 12
Um are you sure Is there anyone you know that you could ask She looked around the group searching for a face that would meet hers But all the eyes stayed on the dice or the pretzels or deeply regarded the beer glass scram before we sic Perez on you Perez cleared his throat Kelsey scrammed Nobody wants to talk with you kid So 13
