by Becky Durfee
Jenny leaned back in her chair, her smile growing. Her son was in love.
What a wonderful thing.
Chapter 13
Sitting at the breakfast table across from her mother, Jenny made an announcement. “I had an interesting vision last night,” she disclosed.
“Oh yeah?” Isabelle blew on her coffee before taking a sip.
“It seems by the time that explosive scene went down with Aaron, Patricia already knew Brian and Derrick were involved. At least I’m assuming this vision predated the violent one because she was surprised when she caught them together.” Jenny rested her chin in her palm. “It turns out she was okay with it.”
Wrapping her hands around her warm cup, Isabelle noted, “So Patricia was supportive?”
“Apparently so.”
Isabelle furrowed her brow. “Then I wonder why Brian is so insistent on keeping his secret. If he knew he had his mom on his side, wouldn’t that have helped?”
“I would think,” Jenny admitted. “Although, in my vision, she didn’t confront Brian with what she knew. She saw them kissing, but they had their backs to her. They didn’t know she was there, and it seemed Patricia was just fine with keeping it that way.”
“That’s a shame,” Isabelle said. “If only she knew how things were going to unfold she could have told him that he had her blessing.” Isabelle looked lovingly at her daughter, reaching her hand out and placing it on Jenny’s. “It’s hard, you know…being a parent. You never know for sure if you’re doing the right thing. You just have to do the best you can and hope that everything turns out alright.” She glanced down at the table. “But sometimes you look back and realize you should have done things differently. That’s the worst, I think…wishing you could go back in time and change the way you handled things.”
Jenny thought back to her nineteen-year-old self, the girl who felt so honored that a football player had paid attention to her. Lately she had come to spend a lot of time wishing her life had taken a different turn. “I think we all have those regrets, ma.”
“I know,” Isabelle replied with an affectionate smile. “But when your decisions end up hurting your children, it’s hard to forgive yourself sometimes.” She released Jenny’s hand and sat back in her chair. “I bet Patricia wishes she could do it all again, but obviously there’s not a whole lot she can do at this point.”
“She’s certainly doing everything she can,” Jenny noted. “It seems she’s trying to undo some of the things she’d done during her lifetime.” Jenny looked up at her mother. “You do realize she outed her own son; that takes some brass cojones.”
Inner cringe.
Isabelle seemed not to notice the crass word choice. “At the time she probably thought it was best to respect Brian’s privacy and let him come out when he felt comfortable. In hindsight she clearly should have let him know that his homosexuality was nothing to be ashamed of. But it’s one of those things that you just don’t know how to handle when you experience it.” Isabelle once again shook her head. “Like I said, it’s so hard to know what to do sometimes. It would be so much easier if kids came with a manual.”
Jenny looked down at her orange juice and realized giving up coffee was probably a small concession compared to some of the things that were coming down the pike. A wave of doubt washed over her. Was she actually going to be able to do this?
Too late now.
Jenny felt the need to change the subject. “I told Greg about the baby last night.”
“Oh? And how did that go?”
“Obnoxiously,” Jenny stated flatly. “He made a point of telling me in no uncertain terms that he’d moved on too. He’s dating a girl named Cindy, apparently.”
“Does that bother you?”
Jenny shook her head. “God, no. It just repulses me to see how pompous he was about it. I can’t believe I ever thought he was a good catch.”
“Well, the way I see it his pompousness may have just cost him a lot of money.”
The look on Jenny’s face invited Isabelle to elaborate.
“Document it. How can he take you to the cleaners in divorce court if he’s dating someone now, too?”
Jenny pointed at her mother. “That’s genius, ma.”
Isabelle shrugged. “I may not know how to answer a fancy phone, but I do know some things.” After another sip of coffee she added, “So when do you and Zack plan to go to that slim fellow’s house?”
“Soon,” Jenny announced, looking at the clock on the microwave. “In fact, I may want to go wake Zack up. We have to pick up Derrick from the airport later this afternoon, and I want enough time to make sure I can find the journal at Slim’s before we go.”
“By the way,” Isabelle remarked with a twinkle in her eye. “Is there any particular reason why Zack continues to sleep downstairs?”
“He lives downstairs.”
“But clearly he doesn’t always sleep down there.” Isabelle winked.
“As long as you and Rod are staying at my house he does.” Jenny got up and walked toward the basement door, patting her mother on the shoulder as she passed.
Jenny took two tries to parallel-park her car. “It looks like we’re in luck,” she said to Zack as she gestured through the windshield. “Slim is sitting on his front porch.”
Zack squinted as he looked in the direction Jenny had pointed. “Wow. He is slim. He makes me look beefy.”
Jenny flashed a sideways glance at Zack but didn’t reply. “Well, here goes nothing,” she said. “You ready?”
“Let’s do this.”
Zack and Jenny got out of her car and approached the house where Slim sat on the front steps. He was smoking a cigarette again and wearing another pair of sagging jeans. Jenny couldn’t help but think back to her mother’s commentary from their first visit.
Slim watched the couple approaching him as he took a long, slow drag from his cigarette. He squinted at them as if daring them to speak.
Jenny remained undaunted. “Hello,” she said in a friendly tone. “My name is Jenny and this is my boyfriend Zack. I was wondering if we could talk to you for a second about the woman who used to live in this house.”
Slim didn’t reply; he simply exhaled his smoke and continued to look at them.
Jenny was already getting the feeling that she wasn’t going to get anywhere, but she didn’t let her doubt reflect in her voice. “I’m not sure if you’re aware of this, but a woman who lived here eight years ago went missing, and I have reason to believe she may have left some evidence behind here at the house. I was wondering if you’d mind if we went inside and looked around for it.”
After a long, dramatic pause, Slim asked, “You a cop?”
“No,” Jenny said, shaking her head. “I’m not a cop.”
“Then I don’t suppose you have a warrant.” Slim took another drag.
“No, I don’t have a warrant.”
Slim looked at them with a very cold smirk. “Then you also don’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of coming inside my house.”
Trying her best to seem non-threatening, Jenny countered, “Sir, I’m really not interested in anything of yours. I’m looking for something very specific that would have been left behind by the previous owner. It’s key in the investigation. A man stands to unjustly spend the rest of his life in prison if it doesn’t get found.” Despite her best efforts to remain unaffected, Jenny had to admit Slim’s ice cold stare was frightening her.
“I’ll tell you what,” he said. “If you turn around and leave right now, I won’t sic my dog on you.”
“Jenny, let’s just go,” Zack said, gently taking her by the arm.
She paused for a moment before she silently consented, turning around and heading back to the car. As she pulled the car out of its space and did a three-point turn, she glanced in Slim’s direction. He was waving emphatically and sarcastically, invoking a sense of irritation in Jenny. “My mother warned me about this guy, you know. She said that she didn’t think
he’d be an upstanding guy because of the way he wore his pants. I argued with her, telling her she was being judgmental.” She glanced at Zack as Slim disappeared in the rearview mirror. “I hate the fact that she was right.”
“We were just unlucky, that’s all,” Zack said.
Jenny’s mind was already thinking about how she could get Slim to agree to let her in. He mentioned a warrant; maybe she could talk to Brian’s lawyer and get one. Although, the police would have the warrant, not her. She needed to be in the house so she could find the journal.
Or else she needed Patricia to be more specific about where it was. She looked around, hoping Patricia had gotten the message.
Feeling helpless, she sighed and glanced at the clock. “Do you think it’s too soon to head to the airport?”
“Probably not,” Zack said. “We might get there a little early, but we don’t have time to go home in between. We could always sit and people-watch.”
“Or get something to eat,” Jenny suggested before she realized she sounded like a pregnant woman.
Zack and Jenny flashed each other a smile; he wordlessly patted her leg.
“I smell cinnamon buns,” Jenny said almost immediately after entering the airport.
Zack took a few deep inhales through his nose. “I don’t smell anything.”
“Seriously?” Jenny asked. “How can you not? The smell is almost overpowering.”
Zack touched the tip of his nose and made a face, looking as if he was questioning if his nose was functioning properly. “Are you going to want one of those cinnamon buns?”
“I do,” Jenny confessed as they walked down the corridor. “But I’m not going to get one. I need to eat somewhat healthy. Maybe we can just get a salad somewhere.”
“I’m sure we can find you one of those,” Zack replied. “So, should I be worried?”
Jenny was confused. “About what?”
“About Derrick. Are you going to like this guy more than you like me?”
Jenny laughed. “Possibly. But even if I do, somehow I don’t think he’s a threat to our relationship. If anything he’s going to be attracted to you, remember?”
“Well, of course he will be. That goes without saying.”
It was not lost on Jenny that Greg would have most likely said the same thing, although Greg wouldn’t have been kidding.
“Well, you’re taken,” Jenny said. “So no big ideas.”
Zack shrugged. “He’s not my type.” After a few more steps he added, “I have to admit I’m still fascinated by the fact that women love gay men.”
“And I’m a bit surprised that you’ve never heard that before.”
“Are you sure it’s universal and not just your opinion?”
“Quite sure.”
“Well let’s just see about this.” Before Jenny knew it, Zack had approached a group of college-aged girls who looked as if they may have been heading to or from spring break. They were smiling and laughing, having the kind of carefree fun that goes along with being that age. “Excuse me,” he said to one of them. “Can I ask you a question?”
“You just did,” the girl replied.
Jenny stood frozen with a smirk on her face. She couldn’t believe what Zack was doing.
Zack contemplated the girl’s wise-ass remark, which Jenny knew he respected, before he added, “Okay, well I’d like to ask you another one.”
“Shoot,” she said.
“Do you like gay men?”
She looked at him funny. “Do I like gay men? Well, I don’t have a problem with them if that’s what you’re asking.”
“Okay, but do you like them,” Zack clarified. “As people.”
“I like them better than heterosexual men.” The girl looked at him unflinchingly, tucking her hair behind her ear.
“Are you heterosexual?” Zack asked.
“Unfortunately, yes,” she replied before she and her friends continued on their way.
Dumbfounded, Zack turned around and faced Jenny. “Huh,” he said. “What do you know?”
Jenny shrugged. “I told you.”
“Man,” Zack continued, “I’ve been the underdog all along. No wonder why I haven’t had any luck with women until now. I thought I was just competing with heterosexual guys; who knew I’ve been losing out to the gay guys, too?”
Jenny patted his shoulder as they continued to walk. “Sorry, big guy.”
“I think I’m depressed now.” After a few moments of silence, Zack added, “And now I smell cinnamon buns.”
“Thank you,” Jenny said. “I knew I smelled them.”
“But look,” Zack noted, “the stand is way up there. How could you have smelled them from all the way back at the entrance?”
“I don’t know, but I did.” She thought about the much-less-satisfying salad she was going to eat for lunch and added with a frown, “And they smell damn good.”
“I feel like a chauffeur,” Zack noted as he held up a sign that said Derrick’s name.
Jenny giggled as people started to exit the gate. Eventually a tall, strikingly handsome man with dark brown hair approached them, noting, “Hi, I’m Derrick. You must be Zack and Jenny.”
Jenny bit her lip, stifling the laugh that brimmed just under the surface. She wondered what was going through Zack’s mind as she greeted this undeniably attractive gay man. “Pleased to meet you,” she said with a friendly smile and a handshake. “I’m so glad you could make it out here. Not only do I appreciate it, but I’m sure Brian will, too.”
“My pleasure,” he said before he turned to Zack and shook his hand as well.
As they had just done a few days earlier, Zack and Jenny walked through the airport with a virtual stranger. The conversation flowed easily but was clearly superficial, just has it had been with Rod at this stage of the game.
Once inside the car, Jenny turned to Derrick, who rode in the passenger seat. “There are visiting hours at the prison until five. I’d like to head straight there, unless you’re too tired and would rather go to the hotel.”
“No, I’m not too tired,” Derrick said. “In fact, I’d like to go see him as soon as possible. No offense or anything, but the sooner I can get back to Seattle the better. Some of my customers were a little disappointed that I canceled their appointments.”
“What do you do?” Jenny asked.
“I’m a hairdresser,” Derrick replied. “I work at a pretty upscale salon, too, so people make their appointments weeks in advance. They don’t take too kindly to being bumped, and a lot of them aren’t willing to let someone different cut their hair. It’s not like I can just ask someone else to take my shifts.”
Jenny was only half paying attention. She glanced down at her own long, brown hair, thinking about how overdue she was for a haircut. “Okay, well, we’ll try to be quick,” she said. “Hopefully you’ll be able to talk some sense into Brian this afternoon and can be back on your way to Seattle tomorrow.” She paused for a moment and added, “Although, you didn’t happen to bring your hair cutting supplies with you, did you?”
“On a plane? No,” Derrick said. “Half of my tools would be considered weapons.” He smiled slyly at Jenny. “Do you have something in mind, by any chance?”
“Well, I was just thinking we could barter, maybe,” she said. “Trade a plane ticket and a hotel stay for a haircut?”
Derrick laughed pleasantly. “I think I can do that.”
Zack and Jenny sat in the lobby of Benning penitentiary while Derrick was back talking to Brian. Jenny’s whole body tingled with anticipation; she couldn’t keep her foot still as it sat crossed over her other leg. “So,” she said in an attempt to sidetrack herself, “did you feel threatened when you saw Derrick?” She flashed a smile at Zack.
“A little bit, yeah,” he said playfully. “The guy looks like a GQ model.”
With a sigh Jenny leaned back in her seat. “That’s always the way, you know. You meet a guy—he’s good-looking, nice, articulate, seems like he can read
above an eighth grade level—and, oh wait, he’s gay.” She shook her head. “They’re always gay.”
“Not every good-looking, literate guy is gay, you know,” Zack countered without an ounce of defensiveness in his voice.
“It sure felt like it when I was younger,” Jenny said.
At that moment Derrick came through the double doors into the waiting area. Jenny stood up immediately. “So how did it go?”
“It’s hard to say,” Derrick said thoughtfully. “I’d love to tell you about it, but can we get out of here first? This place gives me the creeps.”
“Absolutely,” Zack said standing up. “I’m not crazy about this place either.”
They headed outside of the prison, and Jenny couldn’t stand the wait anymore. “You were in there a while,” she began. “I guess that means he was willing to see you?”
“Yeah, he was,” Derrick replied. “Poor thing. He looked like a shell of a man…nothing like the boy I once knew.”
Jenny wasn’t sure if it was pregnancy hormones or what, but the notion made her want to cry.
“He seemed happy to see me,” Derrick went on. “Although, he also seemed like he was deliberately trying not to show it.”
“I get that from him when I visit, too,” Jenny said. “So what did you guys talk about?”
They reached the car and all took the same seats as before. “Not homosexuality, even though that’s what you wanted me to discuss,” Derrick said. “The conversation didn’t lend itself to that topic, and bringing it up didn’t seem appropriate. I’d like to go back and have another discussion with him another time if I can. Maybe then I can talk to him about it.”
“That’s fine,” Jenny said, anxious to hear what they did discuss.
As if reading Jenny’s mind, Derrick began, “When I went in there I started by saying that I’d heard he’d gotten into some trouble. He just kind of laughed and said you think? I told him I remembered his dad, and I know how much bullshit he’d put up with, and that I honestly didn’t blame him for what had happened.”