Deciding whether or not this was a date was tricky for Artie. On the one hand, the way she had called him and arranged to hang out made it feel an awful lot like a date. On the other hand, he might have just been the only person Marley really knew who was available that afternoon. Either way, the hardest part was figuring out what there was to do around Lima.
Not far from the public pool was a popular city park, which included a paved walking trail that circled all the way around the park, back into the trees, past a small pond, and posed absolutely no barriers, accessibility-wise. Food trucks often came here during the summer months and on the weekends in nice weather. Sand volleyball was a popular activity here, which Artie knew because of his sister. As introverted as she was, this was one of the things Amy used to do when she was a Cheerio. Artie knew the Cheerios and other popular kids came here, especially over the summer months to play sand volleyball. As far as "something to do in Lima," it made sense to go here, even if Artie didn't usually frequent this place on his own. Marley didn't have to know that.
After swimming lessons, which had gone very well after they included Gabe with the rest of the group for the first time that day, Marley was going to meet him at his car. He had already transferred into the driver's seat, his chair now disassembled and stored in the back, and was waiting on her. She had to stay back to sweep the pool waters with a net and check the pH balance after the lessons.
While he was waiting, Quinn called. She texted him, from time to time, but a call was a nice surprise. He debated whether to answer, though, since Marley would be walking up to the car any minute now...
"Hey, what's up?" He couldn't ignore a call from Quinn, who was often busy if you called her back later.
"Hey!" she greeted him. "Am I interrupting something? You sound rushed or something."
"S-sorry, I kind of am," he confessed, launching into an explanation as quickly as possible. "It's a long story, but basically, I might be on a date. Or it might just be that this girl, Marley, who works at the pool with me just wants someone to show her around Lima 'cause she's new to the area. Or–"
"Artie, it's a date," Quinn said, cutting him off. She squealed. "I'm really excited for you. What's this girl, Marley, like?"
"Well, she's really nice," he began. "Brown hair, these pretty pale blue eyes, and she's a sophomore. Which, I mean, is a whole other issue, if this is a date, because I'm already eighteen, going on nineteen this spring, and I'm also going to college and that's why I said I wasn't gonna date anyone this year and—"
"Artie." She had to cut him off again. "Dates can be casual. I think there's nothing wrong with you wanting to get to know this girl, even if she is just a sophomore. So, she asked you out?"
"She asked me to show her around, yeah," he said, refusing to acknowledge this as a date and get his hopes up. "But Quinn, this girl is really nice, like the nice-to-everyone type. So I have no way of knowing if she's into me or if she's just... nice. Anyway, why were you calling?"
"Just to tell you my sitting job for Beth is almost over. I'll be in Lima Friday through Sunday, before I leave for Yale," she said. "And I want to make sure I get to see you before I do."
"Most definitely," Artie agreed. "Just come on over anytime. Mom will be glad to see you. Oh, shoot, here comes Marley!"
"Pretend you were talking to your sister," Quinn said, quickly. "It'll look weird if you just abruptly hang up. But Artie? Listen to me. Remember what I wrote in your yearbook. Any girl who goes out with you is really, really lucky. Don't sell yourself short. Don't worry about the chair, either. The right girl won't care about that."
"Okay, thanks, Amy," he said, as Marley climbed into his passenger seat. "Mm-hm. I will. Talk to you soon. 'Bye."
"Who's Amy?" Marley asked, as she clicked her seatbelt into place.
"My older sister," Artie said, feeling bad about lying right off that bat. It was easier to say he was talking to her, however, than to delve into this long explanation of who Quinn was. "She's a senior at Ohio State. She moved back into her dorm this week."
"Oh nice," Marley remarked. "I always wished I had a sister. It's always just been me and my mom."
"I'd rather have a brother," Artie quipped, grinning as he backed out of the parking spot. "Just kidding. Amy and I are pretty close."
Marley stared, fascinated as all people were with how he drove. He never faulted anyone for staring at that, for he knew most people hadn't ever witnessed anyone drive a car without the use of their feet before. She caught herself the moment his eyes met hers, however, and blushed a deep shade of red as he turned them in the direction of their destination, his left hand working the wheel and his right hand operating the pedals with his hand controls.
"Oops," she said. "Sorry, I didn't mean to stare or anything. It's just... so cool..."
"No worries," Artie said, smiling to reassure her that he really didn't mind one bit. "I'd stare at me, too. It is pretty cool, I admit. I've never driven any other way but this so it's totally natural for me. But sometimes other people still get nervous watching me."
"I'm not nervous," she said, her cheeks returning to their normal color then. "You look pretty confident there. You look confident teaching Gabe, too. You pretty much look confident in everything you do, Artie."
"I must fake it well," he muttered, self-deprecating humor always at the ready, as she returned his sardonic remark with an appreciative grin. "Truth be told, I was terrified today. I was afraid Gabe was gonna get hurt on my watch. When he actually did get kicked in the face, I panicked for a minute there."
"But he recovered really well," Marley recalled. "So, where are you taking me today?"
"To a park," he said, feeing lame as he told her the plan he'd cooked up. "I just thought we could enjoy the fresh air. A lot of McKinley students go there. Just something to do outside... I don't know if you've noticed, but there isn't much in Lima..."
"Oh, I'm not particularly adventurous," Marley explained, with a grin. "No, I'm the sort of girl who thinks reading a book on my porch is a great way to spend a Saturday. A park sounds nice, Artie, great idea."
He beamed with pride, glad she liked his suggestion and also glad to hear she was exactly what he expected – a quiet, bookish sort of girl, someone who didn't expect a guy who could do things like take her rock climbing or swing dancing.
They chatted all the way to the park, and Artie learned that Marley and her mom had moved from a small town just outside of Columbus. They'd come to Lima because her mother needed to be closer to Marley's grandmother, who lived alone but was no longer able to drive and was in need of someone to look after her. After sharing a little about herself, she wanted to know more about the glee club. Artie proudly filled her in.
"There wasn't really a glee club until Mr. Ryerson finally got himself fired and Mr. Schue took over," he said. "Mr. Schue said he wanted to make it great again. Like it was when he went to school. Well, at first, we weren't great at all. There were five of us and we really sucked. But Finn got a lot of the popular kids to join us and we just grew from there..."
He trailed off, having caught his first mistake. He was trying to portray himself as cool and confident, the way she'd initially seen him, but he'd nearly just confessed that he wasn't really one of the popular kids. It didn't appear as though Marley really noticed his slip-up. Besides, she just saw him hanging out with people like Blaine and Sam, guys who clearly looked the part of being popular.
"Anyway, uh, we won at Sectionals our first year," he went on. "Almost thought we were done for when we came in third at Regionals, though. Our second year was better. We did make it to Nationals, but we came in twelfth. But we never gave up, just kept doing what we love, and after three years, we finally did it. We won at Nationals." He glanced over at her, as they pulled into the park. "So, I'm guessing your interest in Glee means you've decided you'll audition then?"
"I did tell you I sing in the shower, didn't I?" she said, with a laugh as he pulled into his usual reserved parking spot. "I do really love to sing, though, and I'd love to do it outside the privacy of my bathroom. Sure. Why not? I'd love to audition." She glanced over her shoulder at his wheels in the backseat. "Need me to move out of your way?"
"Yeah, I'd rather not start off this d–" And he stopped, quite awkwardly, and revised as quickly as could. "Day by hitting you in the head with my wheel."
She spared him any further awkwardness by opting not to watch him reassemble his chair and transfer into it. Instead, she got out of the car but stayed on her side and surveyed the park. It was a simple gesture but things like that mattered a great deal to Artie. Just as it had been after their first meeting, her intuition about how to handle his disability was on point. Once he was securely seated in his chair, he wheeled up the short ramp onto the sidewalk and she fell into step beside him.
"You said you were going to tell me a little more about the musical you directed last year, too," she said, launching comfortably into the next topic of conversation with him as they took a lap around the park. Artie was headed towards the pond area.
"We did 'West Side Story,'" he said, proudly. "I had a couple of co-directors, my favorite coach and our guidance counselor. You know, the one who tried to sell you on Glee went you went to enroll? Anyway, they helped me with casting and managing rehearsals, but for the most part, I was on my own. We considered a spring musical but things got too busy, once we secured our trip to Nationals. If this year goes the same way, I'm sure I'll only have time to do the fall show. And this year..."
"What's the show?" Marley asked, stopping in her tracks for he had paused to do a little drum roll on his arm rest, earning a chuckle from her.
"'Grease' is the word," he sang. "Actually, that song's not even in the musical, y'know. Neither is 'Hopelessly Devoted.' The musical's actually quite different from the movie version."
"I love it," she gushed. "Gah, okay, if you'll even consider me, I'd love to play anything. Any part at all. I'm sure the student body will love it."
"Hope so," Artie said. "Any profits we make go straight back into the Glee club, which means better costumes, maybe some spending money at Nationals, if we make it that far this year without our stars..."
"Without your stars?"
"Yeah," Artie said. "A lot of the seniors who graduated, well, they sang a lot of the leads. Mercedes, she was incredible. I've never heard anyone sing like she does. Finn and Kurt, who you'll meet... super talented, both of them, but neither of them left for college this year. They're stepbrothers, and Kurt's dad – and Finn's stepdad – is fighting cancer. Neither of them felt like it was a good time to leave. They've both agreed to come help me co-direct the show. And then, of course, there was Rachel Berry. We're all kind of trying to figure out which one of us is gonna be the new Rachel. She's currently starting at NYADA, and her goal is to perform on Broadway someday. She just might do it, she's determined enough. And she's also a little crazy..."
"Crazy, how?"
"Well, she was the one who got Mr. Ryerson fired," Artie said, wondering where exactly to begin. It was hard to explain crazy, especially Rachel Berry's style of crazy. "S'pose we actually should have thanked her for that one. She was known for throwing a tantrum and storming out if anyone else got a solo..."
He didn't know if this was a good look for him, actually, gossiping to Marley about a person she didn't even know. He promptly added, "But she got better over time." And then it seemed best to change the subject. "So, you like to sing but you haven't really sang in front of people before?"
"Nope, I was mostly just a volleyball girl in my last school," she said. "I was always interested in choir, I guess, but they didn't really do much. And it might have conflicted with volleyball. Oh, what a nice little pond..."
"Yeah, this was where my dad actually took me fishing for the first time when I was little," Artie said, wheeling onto the dock and approaching the edge, looking over the side and down into the water below. She followed beside him, leaning against the railing and looking down there with him. "They have a few fish in there, some turtles. Oh look, there goes one right there..."
"So, you've always lived in Lima, I guess?" she asked, as they watched the turtle bob up and down on the water's surface. "You grew up here?"
"Yep, just as exciting as it sounds," he said, with a grin.
That might have been another reason Artie found it so difficult to imagine how it would be to graduate, leave his home and his comfortable, familiar routine, and move forward with the rest of his life. He had only ever known this place. And aside from all of the other things that already made him different from most people, he'd surely feel pretty out of place, moving from the sleepy Midwest to a fast-paced city like Brooklyn. It was equal parts exciting and terrifying.
After they checked out the pond, Artie suggested they hit up the food trucks next. The choices today were pretzels with dipping sauce or those long corny dogs on a stick. There was a snow cone truck, too. All the wonderful junk food of summer had gathered in one place. And now, for the first test to see whether or not this is a date, he thought, casting a sidelong look at Marley. Will she let me buy her something?
"I didn't bring any cash," she said. "No biggie, I can eat a sandwich when I get home."
"Don't be silly," he said. "This is on me. Pretzel or a corny dog? And what flavor slush?"
"Are-are you sure, Artie?" Marley stammered, and Artie had fresh doubts about the status of this potential date, if she was going to act weird about him paying.
"Well, yeah," he said, giving her a bemused smirk. "That okay?"
"Okay," she said, her worried expression finally giving way to a smile. "Well, thank you, Artie. I'll have a pretzel with cheese and a grape slush then."
That happened to be exactly what he wanted, too. After ordering both of their snacks, they carried them over to the metal picnic table, which was bolted to the ground next to a few others under a large wooden cover. It was empty of any other people today. Artie had space at the end to pull his chair under as Marley settled onto one of the benches. Some guys were playing a game of sand volleyball on the nearby court, and being that she'd told him she played, he figured she'd enjoy watching. As they munched on their snacks, Artie told Marley a little more about the glee club, including the fact that she already knew three people in it – Sam, Blaine, and himself.
"Blaine used to be the frontman of the Warblers," he explained, dipping his pretzel into some cheese. "That's the glee club at Dalton, an all-boys private school that he used to attend. They were our competition. Well, we sort of stole Blaine from them. And then Sam came along from Kentucky. We thought we lost him last year, when his family moved back to Kentucky, but thankfully, he came back."
"That's awe–" Marley was cut off by a volleyball bouncing over from the court. She stood up to scoop it up just as one of the guys, a tall dude with brown hair, came running over. There was a moment as their eyes met, Marley's and the handsome stranger, which unfolded in slow motion right in front of Artie.
"Sorry, glad that didn't hit you," he said, as she handed him the ball. "I'm Ryder."
"Marley," she said, still making a lot of unnecessary eye contact. "Oh, and this is Artie."
"Hey," Artie said, immediately noticing something familiar about this guy. He couldn't exactly put his finger on it, but he definitely reminded Artie of someone, but who was it?
"We could use another player on our team," Ryder said, and Artie remembered again that Marley played. It was pretty clear that Artie didn't. Marley blushed furiously, as she stole a glance over at Artie.
"Oh," she said. "Um..."
Well, she clearly liked volleyball, and here was an opportunity to play volleyball. Who was Artie to get in the way of her doing that?
"Go ahead," Artie urged her. "You said you play." Marley still looked pretty doubtful, and he knew why. If she played with Ryder, she was leaving him out. Well, the only thing worse than being left out was knowing full well that someone else was deliberately skipping out on something they enjoyed so as not to hurt his feelings.
"Maybe next time," Marley told Ryder.
"Marley, go," Artie said, again. "I don't mind. Seriously, I want to see you play..." Marley still looked doubtful, but as Ryder handed her the ball and suggested she serve next, she didn't say no. "I'm fine," Artie finally said, calling much more attention to his condition than he meant to. Now he had this Ryder kid staring at him.
"Okay... maybe one game."
Marley kept giving him pitying looks throughout their game, though. She was a pretty good player. The group of good-looking guys she was playing with apparently thought so, too. They cheered her on after several good serves in a row. Artie joined right in, cheering just as loudly, trying to pretend his heart was in it.
Oh well, he thought, as another one bit the dust. Maybe next time.