Gathering String

by Mimi Johnson

  Then a tall, thin man, grimy with ink, came out of the production room with a page in his hand and rapped on the door. Still arguing with the small man, Jack barely turned to take the sheet. But once he looked at it, he stood up abruptly, his mouth dropping open. In a quick stride, he was out the door, yelling, “Stop that thing!” He rushed toward the pressroom in the back, out of sight, but his voice drifted back, “Hold up guys!” Someone shouted something in return, and Jack yelled back, “I don’t care. It’s not going out like this.” And then his voice came even louder as he walked back, calling, “Laramie! What the hell is this? Did you even look at this picture?”

  A moon-faced young man with a cheesy mustache leaned back in his chair to see around the edge of his cubicle. “What?”

  “This guy who opened the new butcher shop out on the highway, he’s got horns coming out of his head!” Jack was almost past Tess when he caught a glimpse of her and stopped short. “Hey, I didn’t know you were here already. Give me a minute?”

  She stood up. “What is it?”

  He hesitated, clearly not pleased to show it to her, but as Laramie approached he handed it over, and turned to the boy, saying, “What else did you shoot out there? What else can we use?”

  It was true. The new market had a pair of longhorn steer horns hung over the front door. Laramie had taken the picture out in the parking lot, probably because it was easier to shoot in natural light. He’d apparently crouched and shot upward, so that it appeared the man loomed above him. By sheer, dumb chance, the guy’s face was centered in the doorway. In the picture he seemed to be levitating in midair with the horns jutting out either side of his head. Tess had to catch her lower lip to keep from laughing out loud.

  Jack stood at Laramie’s computer, clicking quickly through the shots, shaking his head and finally muttering, “These all suck.” She came over to take a look, and saw again that he was right. There were two more, similar to the satanic one on the press, and one of the owner with a woman, presumably his wife. Her eyes were shut. “We’ve got to run out there and get something better. Grab a camera, and let’s move. It’s costing a fortune, having that press stopped, but the paper’s not going out with crap like this.”

  Before he could turn to the door, the small man he’d been arguing with in the conference room shuffled up behind him. “Jack, as long as the press is stopped, can’t you just pull that story?”

  “Damn it, Augie, I’m not canning that story.” Jack grabbed Tess’s arm, and they all started toward the door. “I’d be running a pretty poor paper if I didn’t run something the whole town is already talking about.”

  “That’s just it, it’s just gossip.”

  “The hell it is. It’s public record.”

  Almost to the door, he stopped abruptly, pulling Tess to one side and saying softly, “Sorry about all this. Can you wait till I get back? Stay here, or I’ll meet you down at the diner on Sheridan Street.”

  She nodded and asked quietly, “What’s his deal?” inclining her head at the small, unhappy mayor, shuffling toward the pressroom as if he might snatch the plate off the press himself. He reminded her of a round raccoon, scuttling for cover.

  “Later,” Jack muttered and then called, “Brace yourself, Augie. It’ll post to the website shortly too.” He pulled the door open. “Any ideas for a quick picture?”

  “Try to get the butcher working; slicing deli meat, waiting on customers. Not posed, just being a butcher.” Jack smiled his thanks, and called over her head, “Hey, Thelma?” The crabby woman stuck her head out of her office. “This is Tess. Get her a soda, or something. And explain to her where the diner is, OK?” He leaned down to barely brush her lips, and then ran down the stairs, the luckless Laramie hurrying after.

  For a moment Tess stood staring, nonplussed at the closed door. She could have offered to go along, but she’d have felt silly watching, and even worse if she’d tried to help. Jack was embarrassed enough as it was. Then she caught Thelma’s jaundiced eye and floated a polite smile. The woman smirked and called to the back, “Bob? You’re not doing anything with the press stopped. Grab a coke and bring it out here. Jack’s left another of his girls behind.”

  Another of his girls? Suddenly Tess was tempted to just go out the door and head for home. But she could see Thelma was waiting for her reaction, and she swallowed the resentment to call, “Don’t bother, Bob. I’m fine.” Turning away, she said, “I’ll just check in with work.”

  She sat at the roll-top desk and called the office, making sure they didn’t have any questions for her. It was obviously Jack’s desk, and she smiled as she looked at the neatly docketed slots with his precise, smooth handwriting. While she talked, Thelma bustled over and began removing some of the papers spread across the shiny surface, giving Tess a glare, as if she’d caught her snooping, even as she listened to every word Tess was saying. Wrapping up quickly, Tess touched end-call and said, “No need to clean up. I won’t touch anything.” She picked up a copy of yesterday’s paper, “I’ll just take a look through this.”

  “Suit yourself.” Thelma tucked the papers firmly under her arm, as if placing them in a vault. “So, you’re Jack’s new girlfriend?” Tess kept her eyes on the paper and didn’t answer. Thelma pursed her lips, leaning over Tess’s shoulder and shutting down Jack’s computer. “Keep in mind that those of us who work in the main office would like to head home in awhile. Some of us have been here since 7 a.m.”

  Tess lowered the paper, and gave the hag a long stare. “Please don’t let me keep you. I’ll be fine here with the production folks in the back.”

  Thelma sniffed. “Jack has friends,” she elongated the word “friends” suggestively, “in and out all the time. But I never leave them out here alone. There’s just too much sensitive stuff around. But you can stay until I have to leave.”

  “No.” Tess stood up, determined now to walk out even if she had to go sit in the public library. “Why don’t you just tell me where the diner is?”

  “Two blocks south, and a half block east,” Thelma was obviously pleased. “It’s in a converted church and is called the Sanctuary. I wonder that Jack wants to meet you there though, since that’s where Shelly works. But then, if you’re seeing him, he must have told you all about her.”

  Tess raised her eyebrows, stepped around the older woman, and went out without looking back.

  Jack came through the door of the diner. She was sitting at a back table with a tall glass of iced tea, staring into her laptop screen, fiddling with a couple of pictures she didn’t really like and knew she would soon delete. He tossed the paper to her.

  “Better?” He smiled as she looked down to see a close-up of a gapped-tooth little girl opening wide to bite down on a foot-long hot dog.

  “Much. You didn’t pose her, did you?” she looked up at him slyly.

  “No, but I was tempted. The owner sells dogs right in the place, and they really did smell great. The kid kept whining for it, but mom thought it was too close to dinner. I felt like a pervert, lurking around her until the mom finally gave in. But it saved my ass. Thanks for the ideas. The paper was still an hour late getting out.” He frowned at that, and she shrugged. “Thel said you didn’t stay very long. She was disappointed not to get the chance to show you around.”

  “Yeah right,” Tess snorted. “That old bat did everything but shove me out the door. She was not your best ambassador, Westphal.”

  “Really?” He looked down at his paper absently, reading through a lead again, and frowning. “This was not our best work. It was a tough day.”

  “Um-hum, me too.” She was tired, and his preoccupation was unsettling.

  He glanced up. “Sorry.”

  She shrugged again. “So tell me what was going on with the raccoon.”

  “The raccoon? Oh, Augie,” he laughed. “Yeah, I guess that is about what he looks like. Well, Augie is Lindsborg’s mayor, and the council just approved the local car dealership’s bid on a new police car. The only
problem is that the dealership is owned by his cousin … ”

  The waitress came up, interrupting with a flippant “Hi Jackie! It’s been awhile. Where you been keeping yourself?”

  “At work.” He smiled up at her, and she handed him a menu without looking at Tess, who already had one. “Can I get an iced tea too? It looks like a lifesaver.”

  “Yeah, it’s pretty hot out, isn’t it?” She smiled down at him with unmistakable fondness. “Sugar and lemon, right?” He nodded.

  With a frown, Tess began packing her laptop away, and Jack flipped a page of the Journal, glancing down over it quickly and saying, “The hot roast beef sandwich is good here.”

  As she straightened, Tess knew her temper was slipping. It had been a long drive in a hot car, and after a morning of looking forward to seeing him, she’d been left with Thelma and a long wait alone in a small cafe. Now she was taking a back seat to a paper he’d surely already read and a very cute waitress. Worse yet, she doubted now that it was going to happen between them tonight, and she had the uncomfortable feeling that it hadn’t even occurred to him that it might.

  “So, is that Shelly?” The irritable question shot out of her mouth, as she inclined her head back toward the girl.

  He looked up quickly. “Shelly?” A vague, half smile turned up a corner of his mouth, “How do you know about Shelly?”

  “Is that her?”

  He glanced over the room. “I don’t think Shelly’s here. That’s Jessie. Why?”

  “Jessie? And would Jessie be another one of your girls?”

  He sat back, a little startled. “What is this about?”

  “Thelma couldn’t wait to fill me in on your love life. Thought I should know that Shelly might be here. Of course, she assumed that I already knew all about her. But Jessie seems to know you pretty well too.”

  Jack frowned. “We went to high school together. Jessie’s been married for years.”

  “And that’s a problem? Because Thelma implied that you pretty much have them lined up in the newsroom every evening, waiting for you. Bambi, Shelly, Jessie …”

  His frown deepened. “OK, Bambi was way back, and we already talked about her. And like I said, Jessie’s an old friend. Of course it matters that she’s married. There are rules about that.”

  “Hey, I’ve seen you drive. Breaking the law doesn’t worry you much.”

  “Well, breaking vows does.” His tone was sharp as he looked back down at the paper, then shook his head, folding it up, obviously irritated. “Jessie’d laugh her ass off if she heard this ridiculous conversation. I was a groomsman at their wedding. And by the way, Thelma doesn’t know a hell of a lot about my love life.” His stern face across the table was warning enough, but after her time with Sam, Tess didn’t back down easily.

  “So who is Shelly?”

  Jessie brought the iced tea, looking from one serious face to another, and asked, “You guys still deciding?” Jack nodded. “OK then.” She stepped away with a discrete glance back.

  Finally Jack leaned forward and said softly. “Shelly’s mom is one of Thel’s friends. I suppose they were playing matchmaker a little. So Shelly and I went out a few times. It was a pretty long time ago.”

  “Was it serious?”

  “No. Not for me.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “So, is that the way it always goes, Jack? Go out for a little while, not long, nothing serious, and then on to the next?”

  He cocked his head to one side, the frown lines deep between his eyes as he looked at her. “What the hell is this, Tess?”

  “I’m just trying to get a feel for what to expect. I can handle a casual thing. But I’d like to know going in that's what it would be. I can take my place on a long line if I have to.” His mouth tightened into a thin, tense line as she added, “Although to be honest, I’ve already had to share a man, and I’m not really up for it again.”

  He stood up, tossed a five onto the table, and then reached down to pick up her computer bag, saying only, “Let’s go.” Usually so polite, he turned and walked away, letting her follow out to her car. Opening the back door, he put the bag in. When he turned to her, he sighed and said, “I was really looking forward to seeing you today. But I think we should call it a night.”

  She felt her chest go tight. “You can’t fault me for asking, Jack.”

  “Oh, I think I can. Maybe Thel was pretty hard on you. I wouldn’t put it past her. But there’s really no reason for me to take this from you. We’ve both had a few single years, and I’m not about to explain every one of mine. I can’t pretend there hasn’t been anyone since the ‘blond named Bambi.’ But I’ve always tried to be a gentleman, so I never discuss one lady with another.” He pulled open the driver’s side door, indicating she should get in.

  “Fine. But when that battle-ax you harbor makes it sound like I’m just the new one for the evening, and then I have to sit and watch sweet little Jessie come flirting …”

  His voice dropped in deep, icy anger. “Jessie got engaged to my brother Matt about a month before he died. So if you noticed a little familiarity, maybe it’s because we spent time grieving the same people.”

  For one appalled second she stood staring, and then she said softly as she sat down in the car, "I'm sorry."

  His voice was a hoarse whisper, “No dice. I shouldn’t have had to explain that. There have been some women in my life, Tess, for one reason or another. But, frankly, not one of them is any of your damn business.”

  “Jack …”

  He wouldn’t let her go on. “I don’t think in terms of having you take a place in a line.” He popped the door shut with a sudden, abrupt push and leaned down to the open window. “And whichever guy you had to share, well, he’s the man you’ve got a problem with, not me. Frankly, I don’t want to hear one word about the son of a bitch. You’re right. Getting laid is always easy. And maybe, at one time that was enough for me. But …”

  When he hesitated, she pushed, “What? That’s all I want to know. What do you want?”

  He dropped to one knee so he could see through the window more easily. “For a long time all I wanted, all I really needed, was work. It was sort of a therapy, I think. Then you came along, and for the first time I could see how …” He leaned in a little more, brushing the curls back from her forehead, “… how lonely I’d become. Of course I want to sleep with you, Tess. I’d be crazy if I didn’t. But if that happens, I want it to be between just you and me. I don't want anything from the past mixing in.”

  He didn’t wait for her to reply, standing up and brushing the dirt from his jeans. “Go on now. Go home and think about letting some things go. When you’re ready, I’m hoping you’ll call.”

  She drew a breath to say something, but he turned and walked away. Miserably, she watched him go. And then she flipped the ignition and started back toward the city.

  Jack didn’t call. For three days Tess didn’t either. But every time she turned onto her block, she found herself looking for his Jeep, hoping that he’d decided to “take a shot.” On the Friday morning after the disastrous visit she was finally certain it was up to her, but still she hesitated. She’d insulted him, and she doubted apologizing would undo that. She cringed at the thought of hearing his voice brushing her off. It was almost noon before she screwed up her courage and called from work.

  “Lindsborg Journal.”

  She recognized Thelma’s voice and pitched her own low, “Jack Westphal, please.”

  “He’s over to Ames. What do you need?” Tess wondered if Thelma had her pegged as the caller, or if she was this rude to everyone.

  “Can I have his voice mail?”

  Thelma snorted. “I can never get that to work. Just tell me, and I’ll write it down.”

  “No thanks,” Tess was sure now that she’d been marked by the older woman. “I’ll catch him later.”

  She hung up the phone and thought about calling Jack on his cell, remembering that the last time he’d gone to Ames, he’d come d
own to the city to take her to Marino’s. Maybe he was already on his way. With her hand on the phone, she jumped when it rang.

  “Ms. Benedict?” It was a woman’s voice, one she didn’t recognize. “We have a mutual friend, Jack Westphal. He suggested I call.”

  She had been thinking of Jack, but she’d expected a work call, and all Tess could think to say was, “Yes?”

  “I should explain. My name is Dolly Timm, and I’ve been on the art faculty at Iowa State for about the last hundred years.” Tess couldn’t keep from smiling at the robust laugh that followed. “In fact, I just saw Jack at my retirement brunch at the art department this morning. You could have knocked me down with a feather.”

  “He was a student of yours?”

  “Well, I did have him in an art history class. He’s a dear fellow, and he’s got a good eye. But sadly in that whole big, beautiful frame of his, there’s not even the tiniest artist. He’s meant to be painted, not to paint. Never could get him to pose for me though.” The laugh came rolling again. “No, I know Jack best from his basketball days. I’ve always been a rabid fan, and really, there’s just nothing like watching those graceful young men flying through the air, now is there? A wonderful place to study the poetry of motion, and heaven knows Jack Westphal was one hell of a poet.” This time Tess had to laugh with her.

  “Well, Ms. Timm …”

  “Oh, Dolly, please.”

  “OK, Dolly, why did Jack think we needed to talk?”

  “Why for the gallery, of course.”

  “Gallery?” Tess wondered if she’d ever get her footing with this woman.

  “Oh my, hasn't he talked to you?"

  Tess felt her throat close on a mournful little, "No."

  "Honey, he drove over here this morning after he read an online article about my retirement. He noticed that it said I’m opening a small gallery down in Campus Town, you know, just to keep my hand in and keep from driving my poor hubby Drake mad. Jack said he knew immediately that I must speak to you. He says you’re doing some fresh work I really must see.”