by Peggy Bird
“Please. I made a mistake when I talked to you last night.”
“You sure as hell did.” She went to the front door. “Now, if you’re finished for the moment, you need to leave.”
He followed her, tried to touch her. She recoiled as if struck. “Don’t. Just leave.”
He looked at her long and hard, finally sighed, and went out the door. “Either I or someone else will be back for the rest of the glass tomorrow night.”
“I expect I’ll be here then.”
“Good-night, Shannon.”
“Good-bye, Leo.” She slammed the door.
He loaded all the glass and the spots into his truck. Taking one more look back at her house he muttered, “Well, Wilson, fucked up again. Now what?”
Chapter Eighteen
Shannon worried all day about the possibility of facing Leo again, almost deciding not to leave work until late in the hope she’d miss him. But if she wasn’t home as she’d promised, he couldn’t get the installation up and she’d risk making him fail. She reluctantly admitted she’d have to be there. Keeping her word won in the end.
Powell was weird all day, too, asking her several times how Leo’s glass installation was going. Leo, not Studly-Do-Right. Shannon couldn’t figure it out. Usually, once Powell had nicknamed a person, it stuck for life. And then there was the smirking. Each time she asked, Powell wouldn’t tell her why, but she smirked, as if she knew something Shannon didn’t. It was her friend at her most annoying.
The only good part of the day was the phone call from her father saying he was sorry for their misunderstanding and hoped she’d change her mind. He and Louise would be around for a few more days but he wouldn’t be contacting her again until he heard from her. She was noncommittal in her response.
It was a relief to see Giles instead of Leo when she opened the door after dinner for the glass pickup. He chatted with her as if he had no idea what had happened between Leo and her. She didn’t have the nerve to ask him what he knew. Besides, he was a guy. How much would he have gotten out of Leo other than “Yeah, we broke up.” Or something similar.
Broke up. Really? Did they break up? It felt even worse when she thought about it that way. Somehow it was easier to think about it as Leo being a jerk for some unknown reason.
Either way, the result was the same. He wasn’t with her anymore and she felt crappy about it.
Giles did tell her they’d gotten two of the fireworks installed and all the lights placed during the day. They expected to get four more fireworks installed the next day. The four remaining displays on the parade grounds would go up the day after and the three cupola installations would go up on the Fourth.
After he left, she tried to beat her curiosity into submission but she couldn’t. The urge to see the first fireworks was too much to resist. She had to go see what they looked like.
What they looked like was magic.
Leo’s vision for the fireworks had been interesting—a series of glass fireworks in vibrant colors high in the trees and structures around the parade grounds. But the reality was beyond stunning. If this didn’t get him the notice he deserved, she didn’t know what would. Even in the dusky light and without spotlights on them, the two fireworks, installed in the trees near the National Park visitor center, were amazing.
They were hung at a slight angle so the observer could look up into the center of the piece, just as he or she would with an actual firework. There was an outside ring of thin, slightly curved glass tubes and then smaller inner rings with a center of bright white and pale yellow, as if it were the intense energy of the real thing. One was in shades of blue. The other shades of yellow with the ring closest to the center made of curly pieces. They were so alive looking she half expected the curls to spiral down to earth before dissipating into the night. The two pieces were hung one above the other, the blue one with more curved outside pieces above the yellow one, as if it had been set off first and the sparks were already beginning to fall to earth before the second one had exploded.
It brought tears to her eyes to see them. This was everything Leo said it would be and more. When he’d hung the rest and with the light he’d programmed to go on and off flashing across them, it would be a startling effect, preparing the crowd for the real thing. Rivaling the real thing in beauty and power. He was an amazing artist.
He was an amazing man. An amazing lover. She missed him. No, wait, she couldn’t miss him; she hated him. Well, not hated. Didn’t like. Maybe had been hurt by him. Exactly. He’d hurt her. She tried to keep the thought at the front of her mind as she walked across the parade grounds to her house.
She couldn’t. All she could do was miss him.
• • •
On nice days, Shannon walked to work. It combined transportation and exercise and made her feel smug about not adding her car’s emissions to air pollution. Today was one of those days when it was not only good policy but also a complete joy. The sun was bright; shadows from the leaves on the old trees lining the street dappled the sidewalks. The preparations for the Fourth were clearly underway from the looks of the stage being set up. She stopped by the split rail fence to watch the workers hoisting the frame for the canvas, which would protect the main stage.
Glancing around, something seemed odd, out of place from the last time she’d walked by. It took a few minutes until she realized what was different. All the lights Leo had set up for his installation were gone. She climbed over the fence and asked the workers if they’d moved them for some reason. They hadn’t. She looked around a bit more but couldn’t find any trace of them.
She called her office to report what had happened and said she’d be in late while she sorted it out. Then she called Leo.
“Shannon, I’m so glad you called. Can we … ?”
“Leo,” she interrupted. “Did you come over here last night and move your spots around? Or did Giles come back after he picked up the glass?”
“The spots? That’s why you called?”
“Yes, I’m at the parade grounds now and I don’t see them where they were last night when I … where they were last night. Did you move them?”
There was a slight pause and then a sigh. “No, I didn’t move them. Why would I?”
“I don’t know why you do a lot of things. But the point is, they’re not here. I’ve been all over the parade grounds, and I can’t find evidence of them anyplace.”
“Has anyone else been working on the grounds?” Leo asked.
“Yeah, the city maintenance crews are here putting up the main stage.”
“Maybe they … ”
“I asked them. They haven’t seen them, much less moved them.”
“Okay. We’re on our way over to put up the next set of glass. I’ll take a look.” He paused again. “Will you be there?”
“No, I’m on my way into the office. If you find them, let me know, will you?”
“Yeah, sure. I’ll let you know.”
And he was gone, leaving Shannon missing him again.
• • •
The day dragged. And when she walked home, what Shannon saw on the parade grounds made the day worse. Leo was still there working. Well, not exactly working. He was showing off the installation to someone. She didn’t recognize who at first, but when she got closer, she saw the red hair and the stunning body and realized it was Cathy, his ex. He was showing off his work and she was hanging on his words. Or, more accurately, she was hanging onto Leo. And he didn’t seem to mind.
It hadn’t taken him long to get back together with her. Or Cathy hadn’t taken long to latch onto him again now that he was about to get some publicity for his work. Either way, they certainly looked friendly.
The evening dragged as much as the day had. She was really glad it was Giles who came to take the remaining glass pieces and not Leo. She wasn’t sure she could face him. Not yet. Maybe not ever, but certainly not yet.
When Giles left, Shannon went upstairs to put the books back on the shelves wh
ere the glass had been. But she couldn’t. All she could think about was how much fun she’d had with Leo protecting the glass in blankets, bubble wrap, and big sheets of paper and then carrying them up the steps, kissing when they met in the middle of the steps, one going up, the other going down. Then, when all the glass was safely stored, making love.
They’d made love a lot while they were together—on her desk, in the shower, in bed. There was hardly a horizontal surface where they hadn’t made love, not to mention one or two vertical surfaces as well. And, yes, it was making love. Not just sex. Had it ever been just sex? No matter how she’d tried to keep it that way, it had never been just about the chemistry. Not with Leo. It had always been about a connection that was emotional and mental as well as physical.
She had been so sure he loved her. Was sure now she loved him. She still couldn’t figure out what had gone wrong. It was killing her. Luckily after the Fourth, she’d never have to see him again.
Never have to see him again. Like that was what she wanted.
Vowing to forget Leo and ignore his work, she settled into her couch with a glass of lemonade and a book. But no matter how much she pretended, she really did want to see what he’d accomplished. So, about nine, before she lost all the light, she gave in and went across the street to see the new pieces.
Even before she got to the trees, a slight tinkling of the glass pieces announced their presence as a gentle breeze moved through them. Walking from tree to tree, she inspected the newly installed fireworks. They were, of course, beautiful. A red, white, and blue pinwheel shape vied with a starburst of vivid pinks streaked in white as her favorite. Or, maybe the brilliant yellow one was her favorite. No, the second blue one. They were all so beautiful they brought tears to her eyes, and she wasn’t sure if it was because of what she saw or what she’d lost.
Still unsettled when she climbed into bed, her sleep was restless, with dreams of Leo, some of which woke her up crying. And she kept hearing noises. Backfires, they sounded like. Her neighbors were unusually noisy, too, clomping around on the porch. When her alarm went off the next morning, she felt like she’d been awake all night. It was a hell of a way to start another long workday.
A loud knock at the door interrupted her breakfast. Not expecting anyone so early in the morning, she peeked out her window before she answered. It was the maintenance crew chief.
“Sorry to disturb you, Shannon, but there’s something I think you need to see,” he said.
“What is it, Ed?”
“Come across to the parade grounds with me. And bring your phone. You might want a photo of it.”
She grabbed her phone and keys, and her curiosity piqued both by what he said and the worried look on his face, followed him across the street.
He led her to the trees around the visitor center and showed her what appeared to be piles of trash. Broken bottles, maybe.
“I don’t understand. What is this?” Shannon asked.
He pointed up. “Look up.”
What she saw almost buckled her knees. The fireworks she’d seen only the night before were hanging like tattered shreds of fabric. “What the hell happened? They couldn’t possibly have fallen. Leo—the artist—knew what he was doing when he installed them.”
“No, if they’d been improperly installed, I’d imagine the whole thing would’ve come crashing down. Only part of it was destroyed.”
“This is terrible. How?” She kicked at the shattered glass on the ground, then looked up again. “I don’t understand.”
“Yeah, I don’t know why someone would do this either,” Ed said.
“No, I mean I don’t understand how someone could reach them.”
“Big ladder. Rocks. Gun.”
“A gun. Oh, God … those weren’t backfires I heard last night. They were gunshots.”
“There you are. You better hang around to talk to the cops when they get here. I’ve called them.”
“I’ll be here. And I’ll call the artist. Thanks, Ed.”
“Sorry to have to give you bad news to start your day.”
As the crew chief walked off, Shannon saw two police cruisers coming down Evergreen Boulevard. When they exited their vehicles, she waved them over to where she was, told them what she knew, and then made a difficult call.
“Leo,” she began as the tears she’d been trying to control broke through. “Oh, Leo, I don’t know how to tell you.”
“What’s wrong, Shannon? What happened? Are you all right?”
“I’m okay. But … ” A fresh burst of crying stopped her.
“You’re not okay. Where are you? I’ll be right there.”
“Wait. Yes, you have to come over here, to the parade grounds. But you need to know something before you get here.” She gulped back more tears. “Your work. Your fireworks installation. Someone destroyed almost all of them last night. The pieces are shattered. Shot.”
“Fuck. Goddamn. Son of a bitch,” he yelled, his voice tight with anger. Then he was silent for a long moment. Finally he said, “I’ll be right there. Don’t move.”
Shannon was watching the police do a grid search to see if they could find evidence of what had been used to damage the glass when a familiar truck pulled into the parking area across from the Grant House. She didn’t know how he’d gotten over to Vancouver so fast. However it was, he got out of the truck at the same speed, vaulting over the fence before the engine died, she swore. She ran to meet him.
“It’s horrible. How could anyone be so cruel and destructive? All your work … ” She was crying again.
Leo circled her with his arms and pulled her close to him. “Was anyone hurt?”
“No one was around. It apparently happened late last night. When I was over looking at them a little before nine everything was fine. The maintenance crew found the damage when they arrived at seven this morning. I heard what I thought were backfires late last night. It could be that’s when they were shot out.” She stopped, realizing she was babbling as well as crying.
He kissed the top of her head. “Well, at least one person got to see them. Did you like what you saw?”
She looked up at him. “Aren’t you mad? Or heartbroken? Or something?”
“I’m pissed as hell. It’s my worst nightmare come true. But mostly I’m trying to figure out how to reinstall the whole damn thing in two days. After that, I’ll get really angry and hit something. Or someone.”
“Maybe we’ll know who did it by then and you can hit him.”
The smile he gave her was small but sweet. “I’m glad you saw them before they were destroyed. And I’m glad you called me. Maybe even glad you’re doing the crying for me.”
She stayed away from the emotional trap he seemed to be laying for her and went with the first part of what he said. “You can reinstall it all? I thought … ”
“I made a ton of extra pieces in case I broke some while I was installing it or didn’t like the way the pieces were fitting together. I think I have enough glass to get it done. Question is, do I have enough time to get it back up after we clean up the mess.”
“And after the cops let you,” she added.
“Right. The cops. I guess I better go talk to them and find out,” Leo said.
“I don’t know how they deal with vandalism like this. It’s not exactly a major crime scene. But I wanted them to see what had happened so I could get them to patrol around here for the next couple of nights to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”
The police assured Leo he could be back at work by the end of the day. And they promised Shannon they’d be patrolling the area carefully for the next few days, but they suggested she find some extra eyes to keep watch. Maybe, they suggested, get her neighbors on Officers’ Row to help.
“Maybe I should be the extra eyes,” Leo said. “Do you think your neighbors would mind having me outside on the grounds watching all night?”
Shannon spoke without thinking. “I have a better idea. Why don’t we both stay up and
watch from my porch. That way, we’ll be in the shadows and if the vandal returns, he won’t know he’s being watched.”
“He?”
“All right, he or she. Other than my political correctness error, does that work for you?”
“What time shall I show up?”
• • •
She must have looked a wreck when she got to work because everyone from the receptionist to her boss to Powell asked her what was wrong. And quite a few people, her boss included, volunteered to help Leo get the installation back up. She was almost sorry Randy Andy had been so concerned. She’d had him at the top of her list of possible perps. Even after the budget went through with her job safe, she was afraid he would keep trying to make her look bad. And what says failure quite as blatantly as tens of thousands of dollars worth of an art installation in shards on the ground?
However, he seemed genuinely concerned. She questioned his motives until she realized he was probably afraid of what the mayor and city council would think of his department if such a disaster happened on his watch. So his commitment to getting the situation taken care of began to make sense—he was covering his ass. And to help, he recruited other people in the department.
So, thanks to Randy Andy, when Leo called early that afternoon to say the police had released the site so he could begin the reinstallation, Shannon was able to give him a long list of people who were willing to take a half-day off and hang glass.
Chapter Nineteen
Between the Community Development staff who volunteered and the half dozen artist friends who showed up, Leo had quite a crew of assistants. The glass blowers knew how to handle the pieces of glass, and using Leo’s sketches, easily put the fireworks together. The city employees got the broken pieces cleaned up using a couple industrial-size vacuums, so even the smallest bits were sucked up, ensuring the crowds of people who’d soon be roaming the parade grounds would be safe.
When the new fireworks were assembled, Shannon’s colleagues brought in a bucket truck with a lift on it borrowed from the headquarters of the nearby public utility. It got Leo into the trees more efficiently—and more safely—than he’d been able to do with the extra long extension ladders he’d used initially to hang his work. While he was doing the final installation, the rest of his crew positioned the spotlights Leo had brought to replace those stolen two nights before.