Ann Dee Ellis

Excerpt from Tate and Tilly

TILLY

In the middle of the summer Tilly Fox had made a pact with herself and with her dog, Al. 

I will run away. 

She wrote it on paper with markers: I will run away, she wrote and poked her finger with a paperclip. That didn’t do anything so she rummaged in her dad’s fishing things and found a hook. That got the blood.

She smeared a blood heart at the bottom of the page and then folded it into a crane and left it on the back porch table. 

Then she walked over to Seven Eleven to buy a Slurpee because she needed to think better. On her way there she saw Tate . 

Hey, he said. 

Hey.

Where are you going? 

To get a Coke Slurpee.

I like blue raspberry. You should get blue raspberry and put coke on top. 

Tate was wearing a vest with no shirt under it and shorts and flip flops. 

Where are you going? 

They were both down 800 N and Tate hadn’t been around much since school got out because he was at his cousin’s over in Springville according to Tate’s mom who Tilly had asked a few times so Tilly was happy to see him. He might understand how she was running away and have some advice. 

I’m going to get some movies at the library, he said. 

A Ford 250 rumbled past playing rap so loud they could hardly hear each other. It stopped at the stoplight where they had to walk across so it took a while before they could talk again. Finally when the light turned and the truck drove away Tilly said, They won’t let you in wearing that.

What do you mean? 

You’re not wearing a shirt. No shoes, no shirt, no service.

What do they care?

Tilly knew they cared because one time she went in with her swimsuit top which was blue with yellow fish on it that she got at a yard sale and which she liked very much and she had on her cutoff jeans. She was going to her favorite book the Girl Who Drank the Moon again and the lady with the big old hair said, stop right there sister bear. 

Tilly didn’t stop. 

She didn’t know the lady was talking to her. No one had ever called her sister bear in her life. Not even in her imagination. 

Hey, the lady yelled. 

Tilly looked back to see who she was talking to and the lady said, That’s right. You. Come here. 

Me?

You.

Tilly almost laughed. 

The lady was sitting at the security desk with her big old hair stuffed in a cap, wearing a police uniform and had glasses on. Large black glasses like those disguise kinds you can get at Zurchers Party Store only there was no mustache. 

Tilly thought, is it good or bad for a police lady to wear glasses? Do you look tough and smart? Or do you look like you can’t catch someone or remember what they look like because you have bad eyes? If Tilly were a robber, she’d take the police lady’s glasses but later she found it was a security guard not a police lady, but anyway, she’d take her glasses and smash them so she wouldn't be identified. 

Tilly walked over, trying to look like she was normal. 

Yes Ma'am, she said. 

You can’t come in here like that.

Like what?

Wearing that.

Tilly looked down. What am I wearing?

That, the lady said. 

This?

Tilly’d been all over town wearing the exact same thing and no one said nothing. She’d been to Smith’s Food King for eggs. She’d been to Pak Rat’s Thrift Store for a purse maybe and then to Maverick for lemonheads. Then she’d been at Dragon’s Keep to watch a Dominion tournament that didn’t work out because Steve London, the reigning champion, didn’t show up so then tilly just talked to Edna the owner. Not one person even cared about her clothes. What was wrong with her outfit?

It’s not appropriate, the lady said. It’s for swimming not reading. 

I’m not here for reading. I’m here to get a book and leave, Tilly said.

Sorry, the lady said. 

Tilly explained that she knew exactly where the book she needed was and it would take her five seconds. You can time me.

I'm not going to time you.

Just time me.

No. No I will not. 

Why not? Aren’t you curious how fast I can get a book?           

Nope.

Tilly stared deep into her eyes.

TIME. ME.

The lady was trying not to laugh which made Tilly mad. It reminded her of her Aunt LuJean who never took her serious and one time said, Tilly, you really are the worst. 

Tilly never forgot it. 

Once the security woman stopped almost-laughing she said this, Here’s the deal little lady, I’m not going to time you because you’re going to turn and go on home and put on a blouse.

A blouse?

A blouse.

Like my mom’s clothes? 

The lady took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes.

 In some ways Tilly felt bad for her. How would it be to work in the library but not shelving books or helping people or doing story time. Instead you had to just sit at some desk in a tight uniform telling kids to go change into old lady shirts?  

Tilly was telling Tate the whole story as they walked toward the library. 

You think she’ll kick me out for this? Tate asked. 

She will. That’s not a blouse. 

She wouldn’t make me wear a blouse. I’m sure you just have to wear something appropriate.  

What does that mean? 

He shrugged. Like this leather vest covers my whole chest if I pull it tight. 

He pulled it tight. 

And it’s worth 500 dollars. 

Tilly considered this. That’s worth 500 dollars?

Or more. 

Where’d you get it? 

They were almost to the Seven Eleven now and across the street was the library.

Rat Pak’s. Me and my brother are making a ton of money selling vintage clothes online. 

You did not get that at Rat Pak’s. 

I did.

That?

Yup. 

Tilly went to Rat Pak’s almost every day and she never saw something like that. 

You guys are selling stuff online? How much have you made?

Tate pushed the button for the crosswalk. We haven’t really sold anything yet but this vest, Deven said we could get 500.

How?

He said it’s a collector’s item.

Oh, Tilly said. Is it really worth that much?

It could be. He said. I might not sell it anyway. 

Why not?

Because I like it. 

They stood waiting for the walk sign. Tilly thought about how Tate and her met in kindergarten and how maybe he was her best friend but they weren’t even that great of friends so did he count as a best friend? And would he call her his best friend and then she thought maybe she didn’t have a best friend at all. Then she thought about how when she ran away, she would probably go to Texas and make better friends there.

Tate looked at her. Aren’t you going to Seven Eleven? 

I think I’ll go to the library with you and see you get kicked out. 

Tate turned red. I don’t want to get kicked out. He looked down at this vest. Maybe I should go change or something.

Naw, Tilly said. I’ll help you.

ELEANOR

Tilly and Tate crossed the road to the library and cars were honking and people were eating hot dogs because there was a hot dog truck parked in front and Eleanor Zussman was on a bus called UVX that is free for three years because it’s new and takes you from the train station in Provo to the other train station in Provo.

She saw Tilly and Tate and she started banging on the window and then tried to open it and the driver said, Hey!

Eleanor sat back down. One thing she didn’t like very much was getting in trouble. 

She felt hot and embarrassed. 

The lady next to her in a straw hat said, You okay?

Eleanor looked at her. She was not supposed to talk to strangers. Not one, Eleanor Marie. Do you hear me?

Eleanor folded her arms and whispered, `I'm fine. Thank you.

Then she looked out the window at Tate and Tilly walking into the library and wished she was with them. How do you get people to like you? One time she brought a whole dozen doughnuts from her mom’s work to third grade and was going to hand it out to the people who she thought could be her friends because she knew people liked doughnuts but then Mrs. Magleby said, Oh my Eleanor, what’s this?

Mrs. Magleby was a confusing person who sometimes seemed nice and sometimes seemed mean. Eleanor swallowed hard. 

These are for my friends, she said. 

Are there enough for the whole class?

Eleanor tried hard not to cry. She felt like crying so bad  every time Mrs. Magelby looked at her. She wondered if that was some kind of condition.  

No. There are only twelve.

Mrs. Magleby made a face and said, I’m sorry Eleanor, I’m going to have to put this in my office and you can get them after school.

They’re still hot, Eleanor said. They’re best when they’re hot. 

Mrs. Magleby took the box and walked back to her office and acted like she didn’t hear Eleanor say the thing about hot doughnuts. 

When school ended that day, Mrs. Magleby handed Eleanor her box and when Eleanor got outside a big kid with orange shoes said, what’s in there?

Eleanor put the box on the ground and ran. 

Stupid. 

So stupid. 

The lady sitting next to her was still looking at her, Eleanor could feel it and what if the lady was a ninja warrior and wanted her to come with her to train on Mt. Fuji. 

Eleanor wouldn’t mind that really. If she could just disappear and come back five years later kicking butt and doing flips. People would say, Oh my gosh. That’s where she’s been! Japan the whole time! Terry and Mom would hug her very hard and say, I thought this day would never come and they would be proud of Eleanor and especially when Eleanor started her own dojo. 

Before the next stop the lady stood up and whispered something.  

Ellie looked at her. 

What?

The lady leaned close, her breath black licorice, and said, you look like my long lost daughter.

And then she left. 

Eleanor rode the bus three more stops to in front of Cupbop Korean Barbeque and got off. 

She stood in the blazing sun and her T-shirt felt tight and there were college students everywhere and she was going to get a bowl of pork and noodles and then go see the dead animals at the Bean Museum.

 Then maybe she would walk around the university campus and buy gummy candies at the bookstore.

One problem was she couldn’t stop thinking about Tilly and Tate and how they were her number one and number two who could be her friends and how they were at the library and they were probably laughing and getting books or playing tag. 

One time she was at the library with Terry and her mom and a kid about knocked her over in the BIOGRAPHY aisle and said get out of my way, buttface.

Then she saw other kids and there were five of them at least and this librarian was yelling, You! Stop! 

But they didn’t stop because she saw them three more times. 

As they walked out of the library, her mom said, kids are awful these days.

Terry said, Horrible.

Eleanor didn’t say anything. 

Eleanor waited in line at Cupbop behind twenty other people laughing and shoving each other. 

A girl said to her: Are you in line?

Eleanor blushed. Yes. 

Oh. Okay.

Then another girl said to that girl why is she standing so far away

And the girl said I don't know. It’s weird. 

Is she in line?

She said she was. 

Eleanor wasn’t that far away from the next person she just didn’t like to get too close to people and maybe bump them or make them feel crowded or give them a virus if that happened again and the girl said, ask her if she could move up and the girl said, I think there’s something wrong with her. 

And that’s when Eleanor left the line and walked down the street and turned onto 750 and walked fast and tried hard not to cry and headed toward either the library or her house or nowhere.