The Silver Linings Playbook Chapter 14

I Can fate Raisin BranOn the drive home from Cliffs pip I ask my mom if she opines ask Tiffany on a date is the show upperform way to revealsmart rid of her erstwhile and for wholly, and Mom s apprizes, You shouldnt be trying to get rid of anyone. You need friends, Pat. Everyone does.I dont place anything in response. Im afraid Mom is root for me to f any in love with Tiffany, because whenever she calls Tiffany my friend, she verbalizes the countersign with a grinning on her spirit and a hopeful case in her eye, which bothers me tremendously because Mom is the only soul in my family who does non hate Nikki. Also, I turn in Mom looks appear the window when I go on my prevails, because she depart tease me, verbalize I relish your friend showed up again when I return from a jog.Mom pulls into the driveway, shuts transfer the car engine, and says, I can lend you capital should you ever emergency to be get under ones skin your friend to dinner, and again, the way she says friend considers me feel tingly in a unsuitable way. I say nothing in response, and my find does the strangest thing she giggles.I finish my pack training for the day and put on a trash bag, and as I come out stretching on the mien lawn, I consume that Tiffany is jogging up and overcome the length of my parents block, waiting for me to begin running. I ordain myself to ask her out to dinner so I can end this madness and get fundament to existence solely on my runs, save instead I only if acquire running, and Tiffany follows.I go thusly(prenominal) the elevated school, bug out Collings Avenue to the Black knight Pike, make a leftover and whencece another left into Oaklyn, run down Kendall Boulevard to the Oaklyn Public School, up past the Manor Bar to the White supply Pike, make a right and then a left onto Cuthbert, and I run into Westmont. When I get to the Crystal Lake Diner, I turn and jog in place. Tiffany jogs in place and stares at her f eet.Hey, I say to her. You take to make dinner with me at this buffet car?Tonight? she says without looking up at me.Yeah.What time?We have to pass here because Im not allowed to drive.What time?Ill be in front of your house at seven-thirty.Next, the approximately amazing thing happens Tiffany simply jogs away from me, and I cannot believe I finally got her to leave me alone. I am so happy I veer my route and run at least fifteen miles instead of ten, and when the sun sets, the clouds in the west are all run along with electricity, which I know is a honourable omen.At home, I tell my gravel I need any(prenominal) silver so I can select Tiffany out to dinner. My mother tries to hide her smile as she retrieves her purse from the kitchen table. Where are you winning her?The Crystal Lake Diner.You shouldnt need more than twoscore dollars then, right?I guess.Itll be on the counter when you come down.I shower, cave in underarm deodorant, use my fathers cologne, and put on my khakis and the dark green unlesston-down garment Mom bought me at the Gap just yesterday. For slightly reason, my mother is systematically purchase an entire wardrobe for me and every magic spell is from the Gap. When I go downstairs, my mom tells me I need to tuck in my clothe and have a bun in the oven a belt.Why? I ask, because I do not actually care if I look practiced or not. I only urgency to get rid of Tiffany once and for all. exclusively when Mom says, Please, I remember that I am trying to be material body instead of right and I as well as owe Mom because she rescued me from the bad place so I go upstairs and put on the brownish leather belt she purchased for me earlier in the week.Mom comes into my room with a garment box and says, Put on some dress socks and try these on. I disseminate the box, and these swanky-looking brown leather loafers are inside. Jake utter these are what men your age wear casually, Mom says. When I slip the loafers on and look in the mirror, I see how thin my waistline appears, and I pretend I look almost as swanky as my superficial brother. With xl bucks in my pocket, I base on balls crosswise Knights Park to Tiffanys parents house. She is outside, waiting for me on the sidewalk, save I see her mother peeking out the window. Mrs. Webster ducks behind the blinds when we make eye contact. Tiffany does not say hello, exactly begins walking in advance I can stop. She is wearing a pink knee-length skirt and a black summer sweater. Her platform sandals make her look taller, and her hair is shape of puff out just about the ears, hanging down to her shoulders. Her eyeliner is a little heavy, and her lips are so pink, only if I have to hold back she looks gigantic, which I tell her, saying, Wow, you look really nice tonight.I like your shoes, she says in response, and then we walk for thirty minutes without saying another word.We get a booth at the diner, and the server gives us glasses of irriga te. Tiffany orders tea, and I say that water is fine for me. As I necessitate the wag, I worry that I wont have enough money, which is silly, I know, because I have two twenties on me and most of the entrees are under ten bucks, but I do not know what Tiffany impart order, and maybe she will want dessert, and then theres the treetop.Nikki taught me to overtip she says lookes work too firm for such a little modus operandi of money. Nikki knows this because she was a waitress all by college when we were at La Salle so I always overtip when I go out to eat now, just to make up for the times in the past when I fought with Nikki over a few dollars, saying fifteen percent was more than enough, because no one tipped me regardless of whether I did my job well or not. straight off I am a worshipper in overtipping, because I am practicing being kind rather than right and as I am indicant the diner carte du jour, I think, What if I do not have enough money left over for a genero us tip?I am worrying nigh all of this so untold that I must have missed Tiffanys order, because absolutely the waitress is saying, Sir?When I put my menu down, both Tiffany and the waitress are stare at me, as if they are concerned. So I say, Raisin bran, because I remember reading that cereal is only $2.25.Milk?How much is milk?Seventy-five cents.I strain I can afford it, so I say, Please, and then come about my menu back to the waitress.Thats it?I nod, and the waitress sighs audibly before leaving us alone.What did you order? I didnt catch it, I say to Tiffany, trying to sound polite but secretly worrying that I will not have enough money left over for a strong tip.Just tea, she says, and then we both look out the window at the cars in the parking lot.When the raisin bran comes, I open the little single-serving box and pour the cereal into the till the diner provides free of charge. The milk comes in a miniature pitcher I pour it over the brown flakes and edulcorate raisi ns. I push the bowl to the centre of attention of the table and ask Tiffany if she would like to facilitate me eat the cereal. Are you sure? she says, and when I nod, she disassembles up her spoon and we eat.When we get the bill, it is for $4.59. I hand our waitress the two twenties, and the womanhood laughs, shakes her head, and says, Change? When I say, No, thank you view Nikki would want me to overtip the waitress says to Tiffany, Honey, I had him all wrong. You two come back real soon. Okay? And I can tell the woman is satisfied with her tip because she sort of skips her way to the register.Tiffany doesnt say anything on the walk home, so I dont either. When we get to her house, I tell her I had a great time. Thanks, I say, and then offer a handshake, just so Tiffany will not get the wrong idea.She looks at my hand and then up at me, but she doesnt shake. For a second I think she is going to start crying again, but instead she says, Remember when I state you could fuck me ?I nod easily because I wish I did not remember it so vividly.I dont want you to fuck me, Pat. Okay?Okay, I say.She walks around her parents house, and then I am alone again.When I arrive home, my mom excitedly asks me what we had for dinner, and when I tell her raisin bran, she laughs and says, Really, what did you have? I ignore her, go to my room, and lock the door. deception down on my bed, I pick up the picture of Nikki and tell her all about my date and how I gave the waitress a nice tip and how lamentable Tiffany seems and how much I cant wait for asunder time to end so Nikki and I can share raisin bran at some diner and walk through the self-possessed early September air and then I am crying again.I bury my face and sob into my repose so my parents will not hear.