Chapter 25 13

13 What a mismatched couple! Suddenly in the summer of 1978, the two of them were seen together: 6.2-foot hunk of crewhead Bud Stonecropp, a high-school dropout who cooks at Duke's BBQ, and 16-year-old Juliet Burnaby , daughter of the late Dirk Burnaby.The brooding and silent young man is with a dreamy high school girl with a wonderful contralto.They were spotted together in Stoneclup's battered black Thunderbird, walking (without holding hands or talking too much) on a windswept bluff overlooking the Niagara River, in Orlando, about 30 miles from Lake Ontario. Walking on the beach of El Cote.People see them generally going to the movies in the late afternoon when they are free.They were also seen shopping together very uncoordinatedly on the local commercial street. (Clothes for Stonecropp? Suddenly he’s wearing sweatshirts instead of T-shirts all the time, and in the relentless summer sun he’s agreed to ditch the trousers and ankle-high sneakers he’s always worn Change into khaki shorts and sandals.)

More than one neighbor had bravely knocked on Alia Burnaby's door to tell her that her daughter was dating "that boy from the Stonecropps on Garrison Street".Alia's lips were pale, and she listened to the words politely, muttering, "Thank you!" without inviting them in. (Did Aaliyah tell Juliet about it? She didn't, and she wouldn't. It's scary enough for her daughter to date any boy, let alone a big, dangerous one, but she's very smart and always can recall the mixed emotions of her own adolescence; she knows that well-meaning parents can sometimes inadvertently say the wrong thing at the wrong time and drive a child into a frenzy. Her adolescence is similar to that of a child, Alia reassures Said to himself that whatever relationship they have will not last long. It has always been like this.)

Melinda Atkins, a nurse at Grace Memorial Hospital, has now reconciled with Chandler and is deeply in love.Hesitatingly, she told Chandler that she had seen a girl who looked like his sister with "a rough-looking guy twice her age."She saw the mismatched couple staring at a litter of live kittens in the window of a pet store on Niagara Mall, not talking, just standing together, not shoulder to shoulder, just together.Chandler was quick to say that it couldn't be his sister, that Juliet was too immature and too shy to date boys. Royall's friends began to tell him how surprised he had been to see such an ill-suited couple, and he firmly disapproved.Stonecropp!His father, a Niagara police officer, retired under the pressure of something that hung under the cloud of ambiguity that followed Dirk Burnaby until his death.When Royall asked Juliet about Bud Stonecrop, she blushed and looked away guiltily, and said in a weak, stubborn voice, "Bud is my friend." Royall was livid with anger. "'Bud,' you call him? 'Bud'? Bud's your friend? When did it start? God, Juliet, Bud? Stonecropp is—" Royall tried to find A suitable word, but there was none, as if Stonecropp were standing before him with lowered chin, glaring. "—the Stonecropps. You know the family."

Juliet said, still not looking Royall in the eye, "The Buds aren't my friends. It's just Bud." Just Bud.Even in this tense atmosphere, Royall heard a hint of tenderness in her words. Juliette said, "Bud is not what people think he is. He is shy and quiet. He will happily cook for those who appreciate his cooking. He respects me, and our family. Not like everyone else Laugh at us." "Our family? What does he know about our family?" "Ask him." This is a very good answer given by Juliet.Royall felt his sister side with someone else, Stonecropp.He said exasperatedly, "He's too old for you. You're too young. He sleeps with older women, he steals from his uncle's shop." Royall's breathing became short of breath, and he felt his chest constrict. He let out a sigh of relief.None of Aaliyah's children felt comfortable talking to another person about sex, even though it was a decade of sexual liberation in American history, or so it was supposed to be.Juliet's face flushed.She stammered, "Bud won't ask for anything from me—she's not like other guys—he's different, maybe, from you."

Royall said, hurt, "What do you mean?" Sleeping with a girl, giving her a ring, breaking the engagement and breaking her heart. "We're talking about you, Juliet. Not about me. Say it!" "You want to understand Bud, well—you don't understand Bud. He's not what he seems. If he doesn't want you to understand him, you can't." "Shit." But Royall isn't so sure.It made him panic, how uncertain he was.How sentimental: like Alia, years ago, who would suddenly go into a fit of fugue and beat her children. Juliet said in her calm, stubborn voice, "Bud is like someone I've known in a previous life. Someone I can trust. He's—my only friend."

Royall was hurt and feeling choked.He protested, "Bud isn't your only friend! I'm your friend, Juliet, and I'm your brother."