Mari had hobbled to the bathroom while he was getting it set up, but when she came back, Ben seemed nervous. Mari watched him slide a dvd in, then come back and sit in the camp chair with the remote in hand. Except he didn’t start the movie; he just kept staring straight ahead with his jaw set.
“Ben?”
He slowly looked over at her. “He’s not good enough for you.”
She was pretty sure she knew who he was talking about, but she asked anyway. “Who?”
“Eli.” He looked at her with such sadness, Mari’s chest ached. “He has no idea what to do with someone like you. He’ll break your heart.”
She placed her hand on his forearm. “Ben, I’m not... I mean we’re not...” She knew what Ben was trying to say. It was the very thing she had told herself the day before. Eli was dangerous—not to be trusted—and yet just a few hours earlier she had nearly melted under his gaze. Part of her wanted him to rush in as soon as his meeting was over and keep her company for the evening.
“Maybe you’re not, but he definitely has his sights on you, and Eli’s used to getting what he wants when it comes to women.”
She gave his arm a pat and returned her hand to her lap. “Well, I’m not the type to come when a guy whistles,” she tried to reassure herself almost as much as Ben.
He hung his head, clearly wrestling with something. Finally he blurted. “He drinks too much, he sleeps around, and he doesn’t observe Shabbas. He thinks he’s God’s gift to women, but I don’t think he even believes there is a God. And if he has made you feel somehow special, you just need to know that he was out last night until late, and he came home smelling like booze and perfume.” He turned to face her, clearly pained. “I hate to rat out my own brother, but you need to know. Eli is poison. You need to keep your distance.”
Mari hardly knew what to say. She had suspected that Eli’s charm had done it’s work on other women, and she had told herself to stay away, but to hear it laid out in black and white from someone who knew him so well... She swallowed and drew in a breath. “Thank you, Ben. I could tell that was hard for you to say. And I promise, I’ll be careful.”
Ben nodded, turned to the TV, and pressed the remote. The opening credits began, but Mari wasn’t really in the mood to watch a movie anymore.
***
The meeting with the Marshalls had been productive, although they still weren’t completely ready to sign off on the designs. Joe was more annoyed by this than he should have been. He knew that often, even when Eli gives people exactly what they say they want, they change their mind when they see it in the plans. It was just a part of the process. He knew that, but for some reason, today, it bugged the heck out of him.
Truth was, he had been bugged ever since he left Mari all cozy in her froufrou bed.
He tried to tell himself he just felt guilty and out of sorts over her broken toe, but when his mind had started to wander while Eli discussed the plans with the Marshalls, he caught himself thinking about her small hands in his, her big brown eyes looking at him under long lashes when he carried her, and the shock of finding out how close they were in age.
He shifted in the seat and berated himself aloud. “It’s not like I’ve never held hands with a woman before. I hold Beth’s hand all the time.” But there was something different about holding Mari’s hands. Something that Joe couldn’t quite put his finger on. There was a feeling of instant connection that went deeper than physical touch.
He sat now in his truck in the driveway, the cold creeping back in almost the minute he’d turned off the engine. Eli had climbed out of the truck five minutes ago, mumbling about going back to the drawing board, but the the direction he took was across the lawn to Mari’s. And Joe didn’t know why that also bugged the heck out of him.
Beth. I should go see Beth.
He turned the key and backed out of the driveway.
***
Eli felt both regret and delight when Mari opened the door looking like she just woke up from a nap. He apologized profusely for getting her up but couldn’t help drinking in her just-rolled-out-of-bed appearance. Her big tie-dyed shirt just added to her laid up and laid back style and made Eli smile.
Blinking and yawning, she smoothed her hair in the back. “I can’t believe I fell asleep. It must have been the pain pills. I zonked out in the middle of the movie Ben and I were watching.” She suddenly looked around. “Is he still here?”
Eli shook his head. “I don’t think so. How’s the foot? Can I help you back to bed?”
She held up a hand. “I’m sick and tired of that bed. Let’s sit in the kitchen. I think I need a cup of tea anyway.”
Eli tried to assist, but she waved him away. “I can walk, really. That’s what the boot is for.”
He took a step back and gave her space while she walked slowly, and he could tell, painfully, to the kitchen.
She plopped down on one of the hard patio chairs she insisted on having in her kitchen and huffed out a breath.
Eli stopped beside her. “Direct me to your teabags, and I’ll make you a cup.”
“Oh, yeah, the tea, ” she said with irritation and started to get up.
Eli put a hand on her shoulder. “Mari, sit. Just tell me. I’m pretty sure I can manage it.”
She sat back, seemingly resigned, and Eli wondered at this sudden reluctance to receive a bit of help. She pointed to a floral tin cannister on the counter. He could see her colorful mugs through the glass doors of her cupboards so took down a lime green one and filled it with water before putting it in the microwave and setting the time. “What did you and Ben do today other than attempt to watch a movie?” Eli opened the cannister and pulled out a teabag.
“Oh, we played some video games that I was terrible at and a couple card games.” Then her usually sweet demeanor slipped even further away as she leaned forward slightly and pinned him with her gaze. “And we talked.”
The microwave beeped, which gave Eli the opportunity to look busy for a minute and change the subject. “Do you take your tea straight up, Ma’am?” he asked in his best Texas drawl but didn’t get even a tiny smile out of Mari.
“The honey is in that cupboard to your left and a spoon is in the drawer your standing in front of.”
He brought it all to the table and sat across from her. After a few silent minutes of Mari sipping tea and avoiding his gaze, Eli reached across the small table and tried to touch her hand. Mari pulled it back to hook a stray strand of hair behind her ear then laid it in her lap.
Eli sat up straight, keeping his eyes on hers now looking down at the table. “Mari, I’m getting the feeling you’re angry at me about something, and I really have no idea why. I didn’t think you were mad earlier today, were you? In fact, I thought you were flirting with me just a little.” He reached over and ran a finger down the back of her hand clutching the mug handle.
She put that hand in her lap, as well, and met his gaze with a determined look.
Eli smiled hesitantly. “You’re going to have a difficult time drinking your tea.”
She didn’t respond.
“Would you just like me to leave?”
Mari paused then nodded. “Maybe that would be best.”
Eli rose, feeling confused, and headed for the door. Where did we slip off the track? Maybe she’s just in pain, or maybe it’s the pills making her cranky, or maybe— He stopped in his tracks. “And we talked.”
Ben.
Eli walked back to the kitchen and stood in the doorway behind Mari. “You and Ben talked. Can I ask what you talked about? Did Ben talk about me, by chance?”
Mari’s silence told him he had.
Eli returned to the chair he had vacated. “Mari, you know that Ben has a huge crush on you. He also knows that I’m attracted to you. He may say things...”
Mari leaned in and gripped her mug with both hands. “How many women have you slept with, Eli?”
Eli wasn’t expecting such a direct approach, and he had hoped to not have t
o deal with this subject so soon. He sat back in his chair. “It’s true that I’ve spent too many years chasing after the wrong women, and believe me, I know that you are nothing like the women I’ve dated in the past—”
“Do you actually date women or just sleep with them?”
Eli felt his chest constrict, but he knew he had to tell her the truth. “I’ve dated a few of them for a month or two.”
“You never answered my original question. How many?”
Eli looked at the table and took a breath. “It’s not like I have a belt with notches in it. I don’t know the answer to your question.” Joe had done everything in his power to make Eli feel guilty about his sex life, as had Ben. But he never really felt it until now.
“I see. And what about the drinking?”
Eli looked up. “I have a few drinks now and then. I’m not an alcoholic, Mari.”
“And what about last night? Ben says you came home last night late, reeking of booze and perfume.”
He felt himself tense. I’m gonna kill Ben. “I did go out to a bar with a buddy of mine, and I had a few drinks. An old friend, who just happens to be one of those gals who practically bathes in perfume, gave me a hug. We were out until about midnight, I suppose, shooting pool.” Eli wasn’t used to reporting his every move, but he knew there would be no relationship with Mari unless he could somehow satisfy her. He longed to take her hands, but he kept his, with fingers interlocked, in his lap.
“What Ben didn’t tell you, because Ben doesn’t know, is that as soon as I met you, I knew I wanted something different. I knew I wanted a different kind of life with a different kind of woman. One that’s smart and sweet and kind, as well as beautiful and sexy.”
Mari still didn’t say anything, but he thought her eyes looked softer. He leaned back, looking at the ceiling, and ran his hands through his hair. “And believe me, I know I don’t deserve somebody like that, but if somebody like that” —he looked back into those intense brown eyes— “were to give me a chance, I know I could be true to her.”
He put his hands over hers still holding the mug, and this time she didn’t pull away. “Give me my two dates, Mari. Let me show you more of who I am, and then decide if you want to go out with me again.”
She searched his eyes for a moment then turned away and gave a start. Eli followed her gaze and noticed the dwindling daylight outside. She started to rise, and he released her hands. “The sun’s going down. Eli, you should go; we’ll talk later.”
Eli reluctantly stood and followed her slow path to the door. He paused at her coat rack to retrieve his coat. “Mari...”
She turned clumsily and gave him a weak smile. “I promise I’ll think about what you said.”
He wanted to take her in his arms and kiss her until she melted against him. He wanted to lose himself in those curls that changed from brown to black and back again depending on the light. He wanted to slide his hands down her back and over her hips. But instead, he nodded and slipped his coat on, being careful not to touch her as he passed her on his way to the door.
Chapter 9
As soon as Eli was out the door, Mari hurried to retrieve matches and a candle out of a kitchen cabinet and set it in a holder on her tile table. Lighting the candle, she circled her hands over the flame three times then covered her eyes. “Blessed are you, Lord our God, King of the universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments, and commanded us to kindle the light of the Holy Shabbat.”
She paused for just a moment before continuing her prayers for each member of her family. Then she added her new neighbors to the list, lingering on Eli’s name as if she didn’t quite know what to pray concerning him. “Only you truly know his heart, dear God. Guide me. Keep me from going down wrong paths.”
Removing her hands from her eyes, she looked at Tawny crunching cat food behind her. “Shabbat Shalom, Tawny cat.”
Mari sat, feeling ill prepared to celebrate the Sabbath. With moving in and shopping and breaking her toe, she hadn’t been able to get to the grocery store since the first day she was out with Ben, and then she had only picked up a few essentials like milk, eggs, and lettuce. So she had no challah bread, no wine, and of course, going to buy some now was out of the question, even if she could drive with her broken toe.
She sat looking at the flame flickering and felt terribly alone. The Sabbath is usually spent with family or close friends. She had never spent the Sabbath by herself. Tawny rubbed on her leg, and she smiled. Reaching down, she pulled the fluffy cat to her lap. “I guess I’m not completely alone, huh, pretty girl?”
She sat stroking her soft fur, and her mind circled back to Eli. Maybe I should have invited him to stay. She remembered that Ben said he didn’t go to Sabbath services. That doesn’t necessarily mean he doesn’t believe. Lots of people aren’t strict about keeping traditions anymore. She knew even she didn’t following the rituals all that closely.
Back in Oklahoma City, she had attended a more liberal synagogue. It was also a congregation that emphasized that the Messiah was coming soon. Mari never failed to be enthralled with Rabbi Richter when he was on the subject of the Messiah. With the state of the world, she hoped the day of Messiah was at hand.
Before coming to the Springs, she had done her research on the local synagogues and found one she thought might be similar to what she was used to. With the boot on her foot, however, she wouldn’t be able to drive. She wondered if she was anywhere near a bus stop—she wouldn’t be able to walk far either—and got up to find her laptop. She knew this kind of research would be considered “work” by some and felt a moment of guilt. But I’m trying to find out how to get to a synagogue. Surely God can’t fault me for that.
***
Eli was trying very hard not to blow his top as he walked slowly up the front steps. Ben had done a lot of damage today, and Eli wasn’t sure he’d be able keep from giving him a bloody nose. He took a deep breath and opened the front door. Taking off his coat, he could see Ben in the kitchen. A muscle in his too-tense jaw ticked. “Benjamin, you and I need to talk.”
Ben turned around, and Eli could see a lit oil lamp, as well as the family Torah open on the table. He huffed out a breath. Damn it. He stopped and nearly did an about face, but suddenly his brow furrowed and he strode forward.
Ben looked as if he knew what was coming. “It’s Shabbas, Eli. Whatever you want to discuss can wait.”
Eli stopped in front of him. “No, it can’t. You had no right gossiping about me to Mari. I know you have a thing for her, but I didn’t think you’d stoop so low.”
Ben crossed his arms, and his eyes flashed. “You should talk about low behavior. You’ve spent most of your adult life crawling around on your belly with one loose woman after another.”
Eli grabbed him by the front of his sweatshirt and shoved him back against the refrigerator. “Joe and I have had some real knock down fights, but I’ve never used fists on you, little brother. You were so much younger, I never so much as pushed you away even at your peskiest moments, but today I am sorely tempted.”
Ben spread his arms wide. “Go ahead, Eli, I’ve already given her the heads up about you. You can’t undo that. Beat me to a pulp, and it won’t solve anything.” He laughed. “No wait, I’m sure Mari will want to know what happened to me. Punch away.”
Eli stared Ben down for a minute, breathing like a charging bull, then slowly released his shirt and stepped back. After another minute, his pulse had slowed, the fight gone out of him. “I can change, Ben. For her, I can change.”
“Who were you doing last night?”
“Nobody,” he ground out, his ire kicking back in. “I was playing pool with Jeff.”
Ben rolled his eyes.
“I may have a number of unsavory vices, but lying isn’t one of them. I’ve never kept secrets about the women, although” —he turned and threw up his hands— “God knows now I wish I had.”
Ben looked at him askance. “Don’t use God’s name when you don’t ev
en believe.”
Eli slowly looked back. “I never realized what a low opinion you have of me, or how judgmental you’ve become. Isn’t there something in your religion about forgiveness, Benjamin?”
“There has to be repentance,” he countered.
“Believe me, Ben, when I saw that look” —he motioned toward Ben’s face— “in her eyes, I was repentant.”
He opened the refrigerator, effectively shoving Ben aside, and took out a bottle of beer. Popping off the cap with the bottle opener hanging on the side of the fridge, he caught Ben’s disdainful look. “Oh, for Pete’s sake.” He slammed the bottle and the cap down on each side of the lamp, turned, and started toward the stairs. “Shabbat Shalom, Benjamin.”
***
The second he knocked on Beth’s door, it hit Joe that it was Friday, and the sun had gone down a good thirty minutes ago. He silently cursed his addled brain that could seem to do nothing but think about things it wasn’t suppose to think about today and totally forget things that mattered.
He was still fuming when Beth opened her door in jeans and a t-shirt advertising a local art gallery. “Joe! What are you doing here? Didn’t you have a meeting today back in the Springs?”
He sighed and stepped into her apartment. “I did, but I just wanted to see you. I can’t believe I completely forgot about Shabbas, though.” He looked around as she closed the door. He could hear a TV going in her bedroom. “Don’t you and Sheri observe?”
“Sheri isn’t Jewish, and I haven’t really observed the traditions other than Chanukkah since high school.”
Joe took a few steps into the room and took off his wool topcoat and flung it on the back of the sofa, revealing a royal blue dress shirt over black slacks. “Really. How did I not know that?”
Beth shrugged. “You’ve never been here on the Sabbath—you always said you needed to spend it with Ben, and I guess you just never asked me what I did.”
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