“So what do you need from him? Has he not been paying his dues or something?”
“No, it’s not that. These two are the daughters of his ex-girlfriend, and happen to be good friends of mine. Last time he paid their mom a visit, he mistook something in the house for his own, and we need to get it back from him.”
“Ah,” the man nodded. “I have a feeling I know what you’re talking about. Well, you can most likely find him in Kathleen’s this time of day.”
“Thanks,” Jack said, and asked him for directions. By the time we’d got into the car, he was already at his bench again, switching on the blowtorch.
“It was amazing how you dealt with that, Jack,” I said. “I was kind of frozen.
“Yes, thanks so much,” Melissa added.
“It’s nothing. I know this is a horrible thing for you guys to deal with, so I’m glad to take the pressure off for you.”
It didn’t take us long to get to Kathleen’s. It matched the image I’d created in my head perfectly. The name over the door was painted in a dull-red handwriting script, and the door and walls were shabby and badly in need of refurbishment. As we opened the door and passed into the gloomy interior, a reek of off beer, stale smoke and singed carpet hit my nostrils. There were two men sitting by themselves at tables and a third at the bar, chatting to the bartender. I hoped against hope that none of them were the man that my mother had had in her life.
“Yeah?” the bartender said as we approached the bar. She was a haggard-looking woman, prematurely aged by the dissatisfaction etched into her features, and her lifeless blonde hair was as desperate for a new paint job as the rest of the place.
“We’re supposed to be meeting Eddie here,” Jack said. “He was going to meet us outside, but he’s twenty minutes late. I was just wondering if you’d seen any sign of him?” The bartender sighed.
“I haven’t seen Eddie since we kicked him out yesterday for trying to sell shit in here,” she said. My stomach lurched. If he was actively trying to get rid of dad’s stuff, maybe it was gone already. “I mean, you’ve gotta have some standards,” she continued. Melissa and I gazed around at the decrepit, filthy interior, and said nothing.
“Would you happen to know his home address?” Melissa asked. The bartender gave her a weary, indulgent smile.
“No, sweetie I don’t. But I heard he’s just moved someplace new.”
“Let’s go back to the Freakfish guy,” Jack said, back in the car. “He believes I’m Eddie’s daughter, and I sensed that he was sympathetic towards us.” I blew out a long breath.
“It’s a good a plan as any, I guess,” I said.
This time, Freakfish didn’t get up from his seat, but allowed us to walk into his workshop. As we came close, I could see that he was working on something that looked like a detail for a gate. It was a filigree metalwork, with beautiful, intricate designs, combining birds and flowers, and some other things yet unidentifiable.
“That looks amazing,” I said.
“Thanks,” he replied, sounding surprised. “Not in Kathleen’s, I take it.”
“Nope. But it sounds like he was trying to sell the stuff we’re looking for.” The man shook his head minutely.
“Please, it’s really important that we get hold of him,” I burst out. “The things belonged to our father, who died, and we’ll be devastated if we can’t get them back.” The reality of the situation became too much for me, and a tear ran down my cheek, before I could stop it. Freakfish blinked several times, his milky blue eyes not looking far from tears themselves.
“I don’t have his new address yet,” Jack said. “In fact, I only found out from these guys that he’d moved. Can you tell us where he lives, please?” Freakfish pressed his pale, thin lips together. Then he stood up and went over to an ancient filing cabinet, and pulled out a tattered, yellowed map.
“I don’t know the exact address, but he lives on either Gladstone or Leavenworth. His car is a red pickup, so if he’s home, it’ll be in the driveway.”
“Thank you so much,” I said.
“I lost my own father at a young age, so I can sympathize with you girls,” he said gruffly.
It took us twenty minutes to get to the rundown grid of streets on the fringes of the town that constituted the suburb of Lewiston.
“What’s this guy like?” Jack asked us.
“I don’t know much about him, apart from his ‘beautiful artist’s soul’,” Melissa said.
“Could he be violent or aggressive?”
“Apart from his penchant for arson, no, I don’t think so. I think he’s more of a hippy, a dreamer. Not the sharpest tool, from what we’ve seen so far.”
We rounded a corner onto Leavenworth.
“Ok, red pickup, anywhere?” Jack muttered. Halfway down the road, she stopped. “There, two houses ahead.” We saw a very battered pickup truck in a driveway.
“Hold on,” I said. “There’s someone inside it.” There was a guy in the driver’s seat, and as we watched, he started up the car. Jack drove up to the driveway, pulling onto the sidewalk, and blocking his exit. She leapt out of the car and strode towards him. After a shocked pause, we followed.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” the man yelled in a reedy voice, climbing out of his truck. He was a good-looking guy; at least we could give mom credit for that. He had dark hair, a square jaw, and a tall, slim build. He was wearing black jeans and a black t-shirt, and he had a couple of tattoos on his upper arms.
“Eddie Wallace?” Jack demanded. The widening of his eyes confirmed it.
“That’s my dad’s watch,” I muttered over her shoulder, seeing it glinting on his wrist. The heavy silver watch was unmistakable. I’d played with it enough times as a kid to know every detail of it.
“You have some things in your possession that don’t belong to you,” Jack said.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he replied, the set of his jaw surly.
“You took a number of items from your ex-girlfriend’s house, including the watch you’re wearing. These are her daughters, and we’d like you to return them now.” Jack’s voice was calm and authoritative, and I glanced at her in admiration.
“I don’t have them,” he said.
“I can understand that you’re upset with their mom for breaking up with you, but these things are very valuable to them, because they belong to their dead father.”
“She gave me the watch as a gift, and I don’t know anything about the other stuff,” he said. He took a step towards her, one hand on his hip, the other jabbing towards us.
“When you stole their father’s things you also tried to start a fire in the house,” she continued, unabashed.
“I didn’t,” he muttered.
“That’s a felony, and a very serious one.” Melissa stepped forward.
“Your fingerprints are all over the ladder. You left the shirt behind that you used to put the fire out, and it’s covered in your DNA. It’ll be very easy to prove it was you, and you’ll be going to jail for a very long time.” Eddie’s aggression dissolved, and panic showed in his eyes.
“All we want is the things that you took, and we’ll forget about the fire,” Jack said. His eyes darted from one of us to the other.
“I don’t have them, I mean it.”
“You’re saying you pawned them?” He looked at the ground.
“Maybe. I was short of dough, and I planned to get them back and return them to your mom when I was settled in here.”
“I’m sure you were, Eddie. I don’t want to hear any more of your shit. Just give us the tickets.” He looked at Jack again.
“That’s all you want?”
“And the watch.” He pulled it off his wrist and held it out. I snatched it from him.
Ok,” he turned around and walked towards the house. We followed him closely. He was planning on keeping us out of the house, but Jack caught the door as it was closing, taking him by surprise, and shouldered her way in.
It was a poky place, with barely any furniture, and cardboard boxes littered around.
‘They’re here somewhere,” he said, pulling apart a pile of boxes. He came out with a cardboard box, mainly empty, with some knick-knacks and papers in the bottom. It was my dad’s stuff! I recognized all of it. He began rooting among the papers.
“Get your hands out of there!” Melissa snapped, grabbing hold of the box.
“The tickets are in there somewhere,” he said, in an injured tone.
“How many are there?” He counted on his fingers.
“Six.” Together, we sifted through until we’d found them all. All in all, they added up to $700 dollars credit.
“You stole my dad’s stuff, all our memories, for $700?” I said, beyond stunned. He didn’t say anything.
“And you’ve spent all the money?” Jack demanded.
“I was in a tight spot. I’ll get it back, I swear,” he said weakly. Jack shook her head in disgust.
“Let’s go.” We stormed out of the house. “If I ever hear that you’ve had any contact with these girls’ poor mother again, you’ll be very sorry!” she said to him.
We got back into the car, and drove along the road.
“We’ve got these things back, but he’s got away so lightly,” I said. Jack grinned.
“No, he hasn’t. We’re taking these tickets straight to the cops,” she said.
We drove to the nearest police station and gave a statement. The officer who dealt with us said it’d take a few days to recover the items, but he was confident they’d be returned to our mom soon. He also told us in confidence that Eddie already had a rap sheet, so this latest addition would likely land him a stint in jail.
“That’s such a great result,” Melissa said, as we walked down the steps of the police station.
“I guess we could’ve skipped the confrontation with Eddie and gone to the cops in the first place,” Jack said.
“I don’t think they’d have taken us seriously with such low-value items though,” Melissa said. “We needed to show them the evidence of the pawn shop tickets.”
“Thank you so much Jack,” I said, wrapping my arms around her. “We wouldn’t have managed it without you.”
“It was my pleasure, totally,” she said, squirming out of my grasp, uncharacteristically shy.
Chapter Seven
Jack
The past few hours have been unreal, I thought, as I drove back to my parents’ place. I’d left Elise and Melissa to give their mom the good news and share some family time. I hadn’t known what to expect when I’d decided to surprise Elise by flying over for the weekend, but it certainly hadn’t been threatening some dirtbag and giving a statement at a police station.
Although I felt cringily like a caped crusader coming to save the day, I was glad I’d been able to help. The family had been through enough, without that loser coming along and making things worse. I pictured Elise’s happy face when I’d arrived at her mom’s place too. On the drive over there, I’d had a minor freak out, worrying that I’d been an arrogant ass in assuming that spending time with me in her hometown might help her to remember the happy times from her teens, before things went wrong. But now I mostly felt assured that I’d done the right thing.
I took a detour on the way home, checking that the surprise I had planned for Elise would be possible. It would, I discovered, with excitement. When I got back home, my mom fussed around me, planning what we were going to have for dinner. I felt like I didn’t see enough of my parents these days, so the trip was a great opportunity to spend some time with them too. I told them all about Elise, and they said they couldn’t wait to meet her. They hadn’t met anyone since Clarice, and I was touched to see my mother’s eyes full of hope.
“I’m not sure if she’ll have time to see you on this trip, but definitely in the not too distant future,” I told her. “Elise is a keeper.”
“First time I’ve heard you say that, honey,” my mom said. “What’s different about her?”
“I don’t know,” I said dreamily, sitting on a stool at the breakfast bar in the kitchen. “She’s really smart and fun and beautiful. But I think it’s that she has such a pure heart. There’s no side to her, you know?”
“That’s as rare and precious as a diamond. You’d better make sure you don’t let that one go,” my mom said. I laughed.
“I wasn’t planning on it,” I replied.
“I’m so happy for you, sweetheart,” my mom said, pulling me into one of her huge, enveloping hugs.
I had a relaxing evening in my parents’ company, in our light, sunny home, full of plants and animals. I reflected that I was now at the stage where I appreciated them for being great parents, who’d done an amazing job of raising me and providing a happy place to come back to anytime. And that this was also a rare and precious thing.
Much later, after a dinner involving multiple courses, Italian style, Elise called and asked if I had the energy to come over for a late drink, and that her mom wanted to thank me.
I took a taxi over, unsure whether I’d be spending the night. Elise’s mom was transformed from the miserable, crumpled person that I’d met earlier in the day. She was an attractive woman, with nicely maintained hair, and a trim figure. I was immediately taken with her new boyfriend, Ricardo. He radiated a gentle, dignified air, a world away from Eddie. Elise looked stunning in a white summer dress, with a light wrap around her shoulders, and so much like Melissa, who was in a pale green, floral dress.
Ricardo made champagne cocktails, and we were soon chatting animatedly, retelling the story of how we got hold of Eddie. In the happy gathering, the situation was no longer ugly, but entertaining, and we laughed a lot, embellishing various bits and creating action replays.
“Sometimes I don’t know how Ricardo puts up with me, and my checkered past,” their mom said. He patted her hand.
“Angie, you’re not the first person to make bad relationship choices,” he said. “And as soon as you started talking at book club, I could see you for the person you are.”
“And who’s that Ricardo?” she asked coquettishly.
“A live wire!” He caught her around the waist. “Your mother has such a raw energy!” he said to Elise and Melissa, as they exchanged horrified glances.
I was struck looking around at everyone how different from my family they were, but they had a nice energy together, and I hoped very much that Ricardo and their mom would stay together.
With the champagne cocktails flowing and everyone getting on so well, time swept past us, and it was suddenly 2:30. We quickly said our goodnights, and headed up a beautiful curved staircase to bed. The black and white floor tiles were cold on our bare feet, and Elise looked like a fairy princess in her white dress, with her light blonde hair flowing loose. There was something magical about climbing the stairs of this light, breezy house, that looked like a colonial-era mansion, hand in hand with Elise. At the top of the stairs, she turned her head, her green-ocean gaze turning on me.
“It’s this way,” she said, and, at that moment, a phrase formed itself on my lips, but I didn’t dare to let it escape.
The moment passed. In the bedroom, we unfolded the heavy wooden shutters, drawing them into place across the floor-to-ceiling windows. Stripping our clothes off, we huddled under the covers, a little shivery, and whispered together, sharing our experiences of the day, before our usual urges took over.
I spent most of Sunday helping my parents in the garden, breaking for a lunch together in town. I hadn’t told any of my friends that I was back for the weekend, as this usually involved rushing from one social gathering to another, and it was nice to just relax and take a break from the intensity of college.
Alyssa called me mid-afternoon, and I sat in the garden, amid my mom’s frangipani trees, enjoying the sun as we talked about her affair with the older woman.
“I’ve been having the hottest sex in the universe!” she gushed. “She’s so sexy, and she has this crazy ap
petite for trying out all kinds of things. Like role play and dress up, and bondage.”
“Sounds like exactly what you needed, Alyssa,” I said. “Everyone should meet a woman like that at some point in their lives.”
“Absolutely. It comes highly recommended,” Alyssa said, with a dirty laugh.
“How long is she planning on being in town?”
“Just a couple more weeks, unfortunately. But she’s a consultant, and she’ll be coming back periodically to check on the project. Or something,” she said, and I sniggered, well aware of Alyssa’s willful ignorance of the world of commerce.
“And are you getting attached to her?” I asked.
“Nope. We have nothing in common, and we don’t have a lot to talk about. When we chat, I feel silly telling her about college stuff, and I get bored when she tells me about her work. But I kind of like it. We’re still strangers to each other. It keeps us in the realm of fantasy. She’s living out her escort-girl fantasy, and I’m living out my older-woman fantasy, and we’re both happy.” I drew in a sharp breath.
“I thought you were seeing her off the clock. But you’re saying she’s paying you for this?”
“No! Not for my time anyway, but for everything else. She gets us room service all the time, and she’s quadrupled my collection of sexy lingerie. And, I’m now the owner of one of the world’s most expensive strap-ons. Although, I’m not sure if I’ll get to keep it when she goes back to New York.”
“What?” I said laughing. “You’re the one strapping it on?”
“Uh huh. I do exactly what she tells me.”
“And, did you like it?” I asked. Alyssa giggled.
“Yeah, I kind of did. I finally get why people like doing it to me. It’s fucking hot actually.”
“That’s awesome!” I said. “And I never thought I’d hear you say that.”
“Hey, I’m only 22. I’m still evolving!” she said. “What’s it like being back home?”
“It’s lovely,” I said, sighing, and looking around at the garden. “So relaxing.” Then I told her all about yesterday’s drama.
Me and Her (Always Her, Book 2): Lesbian Romance Page 10