by L. T. Marie
“Jay?”
“Hmm?”
“Did you hear anything I just said?”
“Sure,” she lied. “The fireplace is unique.”
“Fireplace?” Coal gave her an odd look. “I was telling you a story about the fabric for the couches that my mother had to special order from France.”
“Oh right. Sorry. Guess I have a lot on my mind.”
“Penny?”
“Huh?”
“You know…for your thoughts.”
Not for a million dollars. Although reliving that fantasy would definitely be in her future, probably as soon as she got home and crawled in bed. “I’m thinking you promised me a meal.”
“Come on then.” Coal motioned outside with her chin. “Let’s go say hi to my mom and then I’ll do my best to put some meat on those bones.”
They briefly stopped to talk with Jane before they joined the crowd gathered around three large buffet tables covered with epicurean delights that could satisfy even the fussiest eater’s appetite. The spread reminded her of those pictures she’d seen of cruise ship meals with the first table filled with trays of barbecue chicken, steak, and tiger prawns that were the size of her fist. She placed a steak and two prawns on her plate before heading over to the salad table, which was full of varieties that ranged from mixed fruit to Caesar. By the time they arrived at the dessert table, neither one of them had room on their plates.
“Man, you guys take this fattening up thing seriously. I’ve never seen so much food in my life.”
Coal laughed. “I doubt that. I’ve been to a few Italian feasts and remember having to be rolled to my car more than once.”
“True statement. When my aunt Rosa cooks for the family, I have leftovers for a week!”
They picked a table near the edge of the yard that had a great view of the entire house and beyond. As Jay scoped out the dozens of nearby tables, her anxiety returned as she tried to ignore the many probing gazes preying upon her.
“Hey,” Coal said and placed her hand on Jay’s arm. “You’re shaking.”
She tried to break a roll apart, but her hands were trembling so badly that she ended up dropping it into her plate instead. “I know, sorry. Guess I’m not used to large crowds.”
“Why did you come then?”
She looked up from her plate and could only come up with one answer. “Because you asked me to.”
“Oh, Jay,” Coal said and rose with plate in hand. “Grab your plate. Let’s get out of here.”
“Are you sure? I don’t want to take you away from your friends.”
“They’re not my friends,” Coal said with a trace of bitterness. “Come on. I know the perfect spot.”
Coal led Jay around to the front of the house where they sat on the stone steps to enjoy what was left of their meals. They’d spent the last half hour talking about some of the world’s rare forms of wood and the differences in modern architecture when they heard footsteps approaching. Jay saw Coal tense before she turned to find two men standing directly behind them. One of them she didn’t know, but the other was unmistakable. As she stood to face them, her worst nightmare had become a reality.
“Coal,” the slightly shorter man said in a deep baritone. “Who’s your friend?”
“Dad,” Coal said, her stiff body matching the hard set of her jaw. “This is Jay. Jay, this is my father, Thomas Davis.”
“Jay,” he repeated, nodding toward his extended hand as if suggesting shaking it wasn’t optional.
“Nice to meet you, sir.”
“And this is my dad’s best friend, Judge Justin Parker.”
“Justin’s fine.” He took Jay’s hand and shook it firmly. “Have we met? You look very familiar.”
“I don’t think so, sir.” She tried to keep her voice steady even though she couldn’t imagine a worse scenario. The one family she’d tried so hard to avoid was friends with Coal’s family. Fucking unbelievable!
“Jay, if I may ask, how do you know my daughter?”
“Dad,” Coal said quickly. “Jay works for the company Mom hired to remodel my house.”
“So you’re the one my wife has been raving about for the last few weeks. She says you do great work.”
“Thank you, but it’s my cousin who should get all the credit. I’m sorry to do this, but it’s getting late and I should go. It was nice to meet you both, sir.” She turned to Coal. “Ms. Davis, thanks for the great meal. I’ll see you Monday.”
Coal forced a smile as Jay bounded down the stairs and disappeared into the night. She wanted to go after her, but with her father standing there with a cigar between his lips and a dissecting expression, she knew it wasn’t an option.
“Coal, Angel wanted me to tell you she was sorry she couldn’t make it tonight,” Judge Parker said.
“It’s okay. I’ll call her tomorrow so we can catch up,” Coal said absently, not being able to think of anything except Jay and how she’d looked like she’d wanted to crawl out of her skin a minute ago.
“I think it’s time you rejoin the party,” her father said. “There are a few other people I would like you to meet before the night’s up.”
“Tom,” Judge Parker said. “I hate to butt in, but I can hear your wife calling you. We all should get back, but before we do, you walked away during our argument. You know this gay marriage issue isn’t going to go away. There’s going to be a vote and we should talk—”
“Justin!” her father’s eyes flashed with warning. “This is not the time or place for that discussion.”
So that’s what those documents were the day she was summoned to his office. They were the arguments for and against legalizing gay marriage in California. She remembered an article on the Internet mentioning how the court was supposed to vote on the issue soon, and her father would be one of the deciding votes.
Judge Justin Parker had been a friend of her father’s for over thirty years. They attended Yale together and had managed to keep their friendship alive throughout the years even though their views of the law were polar opposite. Where her father was conservative, Justin Parker’s liberal views made for a good balanced argument between them. Besides the fact that he was Angel’s father, Coal had always liked and respected Judge Parker, and was happy that he also served on the California State Supreme Court. Unfortunately, he was the only liberal judge out of the panel of seven, which meant many decisions didn’t tip in his favor.
Great! Well, we all know how you’re going to vote, Dad.
“I apologize and you’re right. It can wait until Monday. Now, come on.” He threw an arm around her father’s shoulders and led him back toward the backyard, leaving Coal to stare after them. “My wife has been bugging me to ask you about your famous barbecue sauce. I told her I would get the recipe out of you one way or another.”
Coal stood motionless still reeling from the last few minutes. The gay marriage argument of all things, and her father would be one of the people who would decide the fate of thousands of couples? She didn’t know how to process this new information, but the familiar roar of a large engine brought her out of a daze and forced her into action. She raced down the steps in time to see Jay’s retreating taillights. Jay must have seen Coal waving at her because the truck stopped and Jay stepped from the still idling vehicle.
“Forget something?” Jay asked.
“Actually, yes.” She stepped closer to Jay. “I forgot to tell you I really enjoyed our time together tonight.”
“Me too. Cold?”
Coal looked down to find that she was unconsciously rubbing her forearms, but it had nothing to do with the temperature. She was anxious because she didn’t want Jay to leave and she needed to find an excuse for their evening not to end. When Jay reached behind her seat and pulled out the windbreaker from earlier, Coal played along as Jay placed it around her shoulders. She caught the familiar scent of smoked cedar tinged with a hint of orange, and her stomach did a pleasant flip.
“Thanks.” Coal’s h
eart pounded in her throat, but it wasn’t from her recent marathon sprint. She couldn’t ask Jay to stay, especially after meeting her father. Which left her with another idea. “Look, I know you said you had to go, but there’s going to be an awesome fireworks display in about a half hour not too far from here. I was wondering if maybe you would like to go watch it with me?”
Jay’s lips parted in surprise. “What a great idea.”
*
Jay made a left onto a dirt turnout, following Coal’s instructions to pull over next to a railing with a posted sign warning of a sheer drop. From their vantage point, they could see out over the entire South Bay and as far north as San Francisco.
“You’re right. The view from here is awesome.” Jay pulled a blanket out of the back of her cab and laid it over the hood of her truck.
“Would I lie to you?”
Coal climbed up next to Jay just in time to catch the first explosions of color raining down over the valley below. Loud booms and cracks echoed in the night sky mixed with the occasional whistle from a bottle rocket. The metallic smell of gunpowder tickled her nose as the temperature slowly rose all around them. But the heat that caressed her body wasn’t from the fireworks or the humid July night. All her energy was focused on the position of Coal’s thigh where it rested along hers and how she fought with the urge to touch her.
“I’m sorry about earlier,” Coal said just as Jay looked up to witness a happy face appear in blue overhead then evaporated as if its presence had never existed.
“For what?”
“For my father. He can be a little…intense sometimes.”
“I noticed. Has he always been like that?”
“Sometimes he’s worse. That was his low-key persona, probably because Judge Parker was there and my dad isn’t big into scenes. He wants everyone to think he’s in control all the time.”
At the mention of Judge Parker’s name, Jay tensed. She couldn’t wait to get out of there the moment she recognized him. She had to get off this subject. Find a way to keep the conversation moving along and away from a topic she did not want to discuss, especially with Coal. The problem was she was having a hard time focusing on the scene all around her instead of the one playing out next to her. “Parents like control. They can’t help themselves. I think it’s in the parental manual.” Trust me, I know from experience.
“Yeah, well, I think my dad takes that manual a little too seriously,” Coal said her voice tinged with sadness. “I think it’s weird Judge Parker thought he knew you. Are you sure you’ve never met him?”
“Not personally.” Jay gritted her teeth. She didn’t want to lie to Coal, but this wasn’t a conversation she could have with her. Her job, her income, and her reputation would suffer if she came clean about the reason she tried so hard to avoid the Parkers. She answered the best she could without giving much away. “But I do know who he is.”
Coal placed a hand on Jay’s thigh. “Hey, relax. It’s just us now.”
“I’ll try, Ms. Davis.”
This time, the flash that erupted in Coal’s eyes had nothing to do with the explosion of colors that rained down upon them. “If you call me Ms. Davis one more time, I’m going to smack you.”
“Violence? That’s not very becoming of a lady, ma’am.”
“Cut it out!” Coal slapped Jay playfully on the arm.
“Okay, okay.” Jay laughed. “Coal it is.”
“Better. Now that that’s settled, how about telling me something interesting about the mysterious, Jay DiAngelo.”
“Mysterious? Me? I think you’re giving me way too much credit.”
“Why don’t I be the judge of that?”
“Not much to tell,” Jay said. “I go to work everyday, bring home a steady paycheck, and on the weekends, I like to let loose with a few beers and hang out with friends. So if you need a word to describe me, how about we go with boring.”
“You’re so not boring. Boring is prep school and parties where people sit around and talk about their mutual funds. I’m falling asleep just thinking about it.”
“Do they really do that?”
“And more, but I want you to stay awake for the fireworks. How about telling me where you grew up?”
“North Beach. Lived there most of my life until I moved to Redwood City a couple of years ago after Dino hired me.”
North Beach, better known as Little Italy, was located in the city of San Francisco and bordered popular tourist areas such as Chinatown and Fisherman’s Wharf. Over the years, the once predominately Italian neighborhood had transformed into an eclectic mix of ethnic groups, although one could still find a large number of Italian restaurants throughout.
“Cool! Do you know I’ve never been there and I’ve lived in this area all my life?”
“How is that possible?”
Coal shrugged. “What can I say? I’m a country girl at heart. I’ve visited the big stuff in the city. You know, Alcatraz and Coit Tower. I even saw that windy road once.”
“You mean Lombard Street?”
“Yeah, that’s the one. I don’t know why I can’t remember that name. But back to North Beach. Do you miss it?”
“Kind of. I have a lot of great memories, but it’s a lot different there now than when I grew up. I used to walk around the neighborhood, and let me tell you, I knew everyone. I’d bring some of the older people their groceries, and I delivered newspapers until they started hiring people who had to have their own cars. And the Italian delis,” Jay said and rubbed her belly. “You could find one on every corner. I spent most days working off all the free meals people gave me by walking the hills back and forth to school. Now it’s a big tourist area and is too commercialized for me.”
“Sounds a lot like Woodside, except for the Italian delis of course. Everyone knows everyone in this small town, and walking is a way of life around here because of all the land, unless you own your own horse or drive a Mercedes!” They both laughed.
Jay enjoyed Coal’s laugh. It was deep, hearty, the kind of laugh that made others smile no matter the occasion. As another firework exploded sending a multitude of colors streaking through the sky and the smoke faded, she turned to find Coal smiling so brightly that the backdrop of moonlight failed in comparison. “Did you go to college around here too?”
“For a short while,” Coal said quietly. Her shoulders slumped forward and her hands gripped the blanket below. Whatever memory Coal had of that time was obviously too painful to voice so Jay reverted back to a safer topic.
“You never told me what your dad does for a living. He seems like a pretty important man.”
“I thought you knew,” Coal said. “He’s a State Supreme Court justice. Just like Judge Parker.”
“He’s a judge?” Jay repeated absently, not even realizing she’d spoken out loud. So much for thinking there couldn’t be a worse scenario than when first finding out the Parkers and the Davises were friends.
“For over twenty years.”
A loud explosion overhead caused them to focus on the dozens of colors as they rained down in the clear night’s sky. The finale was so deafening it had given Jay time to compose her thoughts. The evening was turning out to be overwhelming. Running into the family that could make her life hell if they wanted to, finding out about Coal’s father’s occupation and his friendship with the Parkers, and having these raging feelings for a woman she needed to stay away from was too damn much. As the color display came to a close, it gave her the perfect excuse to end the night before things got too far out of hand.
“That was an awesome show.” Jay jumped off the hood of the truck and began to quickly gather their things. “We should probably head back. I’m sure you’re being missed by your family, and I have to get home.”
Coal leapt off the truck, landing within inches of Jay. She reached for her hand and squeezed. “Everything okay?”
“Of course. It’s just getting late and I have an early start tomorrow.”
The excuse worked
as they climbed into the truck, remaining mostly silent for the short trip back. Coal mumbled a good-bye to Jay when she dropped her off at the main gate, but Jay could sense the cold that had settled between them like a sheet of impenetrable ice. She waited until Coal disappeared beyond a row of cars before making her way down the hill and back to the reality of her life. After the night’s events, she needed a hard dose of reality before she made a mistake that could cost her much more than she’d ever imagined before.
Chapter Nine
Jay walked arm in arm with Shiloh down the busy street crowded with locals and tourists excited about the yearly Half Moon Bay street fair. The small seaside town hosted the local art and wine festival every year and was known for attracting people from many different communities throughout the Bay Area and beyond. Main Street was popular for its numerous restaurants, live entertainment, and small, family-owned stores. After grabbing a sandwich and something to drink, Jay spotted them a table underneath a tree to enjoy their lunch in the shade.
“You’ve been looking a little green around the edges all morning, darlin’,” Shiloh said. “You feeling okay?”
Jay took another bite of her turkey sandwich hoping it would somehow fill the empty void in the pit of her stomach, but knowing that no food could. She hadn’t felt right since dropping Coal off last night. Not being one to talk about her feelings, even with someone she considered a close friend like Shiloh, she kept the information to herself.
She’d met Shiloh at a party over a year ago, and they’d clicked right away. At the time, Jay had recently moved into her apartment and was looking for someone to share expenses. Coincidentally, Shiloh had just moved to the area and found herself in the same situation. Since Shiloh was a stewardess and always on the go, she was the perfect choice since Jay liked her privacy, especially when it came to entertaining her numerous hookups. They spent a lot of time hanging out together when Shiloh was in town, and at first glance, probably, it appeared to most people like they were an item. “I’m fine. Didn’t sleep much last night, is all.”