The Line That Binds

by J. M. Miller

  “I don’t know. Ask LJ. Our dad isn’t exactly the caring type.”

  We both looked at LJ and she shrugged. “He’s right. I’ll vouch for him as long as he …” She tapped her finger to the side of her head, contemplating a trade. “Takes dish duty for the next month.”

  “What? You’re twisted. There’s no way I’ll agree to that.” Gavin huffed.

  “Okay, no sweat off my back,” she responded to him.

  “I’ll tell you what,” I interrupted their little squabble. “I really can’t have you ride mine because it’s not for beginners. I’ve been riding for a long time and that 450 can surprise me sometimes. So, I’ll talk to Spaz and see if his old bike is okay for you to learn on. We’ll have to scrounge up some extra gear for you, too. But,” I said, holding my finger up when Gavin looked on the verge of throwing himself a party, “I’ve got to talk to your dad first.”

  His shoulders dropped from their peaked excited position and he let out a long-winded sigh. “Dude, really? That’s not right. I’m not lying to you, I promise.”

  “I believe you, but I have to protect myself and my grandfather, if you understand what I mean.” I had to protect this place, too. I wanted to trust both of them, more than I ever thought I would, but I still didn’t know them. If Gavin got hurt, they could sue the shit out of us and take this whole place. I wouldn’t be the cause of that. There was already enough to deal with without adding a lawsuit.

  “You just cost me a free month out of dish detail,” LJ said to me. “He’s telling the truth and he would’ve caved.”

  “You’re dreaming. It wouldn’t have happened,” Gavin responded to her then turned back to me. “So when can we do this?”

  I looked at LJ. “Today’s reception may run late, there’s a wedding with a reception early tomorrow, and I’m not sure what Spaz is doing the rest of the weekend either.”

  “Dad works a later shift tomorrow so you could come over and talk to him before then,” Gavin said.

  He was as excited as I was when I decided to ride. Not long after I’d moved here, Pop bought me a used 85cc for my eleventh birthday. I outgrew the motor before the frame and was able to get something with more power after saving chore money. Janine was helpful with that. She’d offer me more work around the property because she knew how much I loved to ride.

  “Maybe we could get some cleaning done then, too? I’ll make up for the dishes,” I said to LJ.

  She smiled at my proposal. “I think we could.”

  “See you tomorrow,” I said, tossing the bloody tissue into the trash by the barn door. The headache had dulled considerably after I’d taken the Tylenol. It was enough to clear the hazy thoughts and allow me to walk. “You better not chicken out.”

  “I’ll be there,” Ben responded, sliding the barn doors closed after we all exited. “I’m not afraid of a few boxes.”

  “Have you even seen that basement? Never mind. I won’t give you a reason to bail on me. I’ll let you find out on your own.” I laughed.

  “And you’ll talk to Spaz, right?” Gavin added, making sure Ben wouldn’t forget.

  “Yeah, I’ll call him later,” Ben agreed.

  When we approached the side of his house, Ben’s grandfather turned the corner.

  “Hey there,” he said, stunned to see us with Ben. “I was just coming to let you know to button up the activity because people are starting to arrive for the reception,” he said to Ben, then turned to Gavin and me. “I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to introduce myself. I’m Lloyd Shadows, Ben’s grandfather.” He extended his large hand to Gavin first, then to me. “I’ve heard a lot about you two.”

  His hand felt like leather, with thick, rough callouses, but it was warm and gentle. “Nice to meet you,” I replied. I could only guess he’d heard about us from Aunt Janine, though I doubted it was a lot.

  “I’m very sorry that we had to meet this way, but I have a feeling Genie would be happy that you’re all here now.”

  “Genie?” I asked, looking at Ben, confused. He glanced over at his grandfather without speaking.

  “Oh, I’m sorry. Genie was Janine’s nickname. It was given to her years ago. People said she was lucky to have around.” The corners of his lips pulled up, making his white mustache dip into his cheeks. I was pretty sure he was hiding dimples like Ben’s beneath the mass of white facial hair.

  “Oh,” I said with a polite smile. It was awkward that everyone here was familiar with my relative, whom I knew nothing about.

  I looked into Lloyd’s blue eyes. They were not a match to Ben’s intense browns, but some of his features were similar, distinguished only by a few hard years. Deep lines creased above his brow and the sides of his eyes. The only area untouched by wrinkles was his bald head, gleaming like a smooth bulb under the afternoon sun.

  “How are you liking this place so far?” he asked.

  “It’s not bad,” Gavin answered. “The history lesson was cool.”

  “The history lesson?” Lloyd asked Ben, burying his hands in the front pockets of his baggy work Dickies.

  Ben shifted his stance. “I gave them the lazy version of Stockton Estate’s involvement in The Underground Railroad. I also told them a bit about their family.”

  “Stockton Estate does have a lot of cool history,” Lloyd agreed with Gavin after Ben’s answer. “It’s been around a long time, and people love it for that reason. That’s why we’re able to host so many celebrations here. It doesn’t hurt that the grounds are nicely kept either,” he said with an honest chuckle. “What about you, LJ? Do you like it here?”

  “I do,” I admitted. “I wasn’t sure what to think at first. It’s a pretty drastic change from the Las Vegas area. Aside from the temperatures, the nights are the biggest difference so far. I thought I’d miss the light pollution and highway noise, but I think I’m growing partial to starlight and cricket songs.”

  “Cricket songs? I enjoy those, too,” he replied with a dip of his rolled chin. “How’s the house? Does anything need fixed?”

  I shook my head. “As far as I know, everything’s fine. I just need to organize and clean the basement in order to get to the washer and dryer a little easier. I’m glad Ben volunteered to help.” I smiled as Ben scrunched his nose about our agreement.

  “He did, did he? You better keep him in line then because when it doesn’t involve outdoor work, he tends to slack off.”

  I nodded. “I’ll remember that.”

  Ben smirked beside Lloyd. “The guests are starting to flood the parking lot.”

  “Well then, you all better get to where you’re going. Be sure to steer clear of the event house. You wouldn’t want Simone finding out you were interrupting the clients in any way.”

  “No problem. It was nice meeting you,” I said to Lloyd, then Gavin and I headed toward out house.

  “See you tomorrow,” Ben called.

  I turned and walked backward to respond. His body faced his house with his head pointed in our direction. “You better,” I replied. He smiled and watched me until I turned away.

  When we entered the house, Gavin took off for the stairs without a word.

  “Hey,” I yelled to him.

  “Yeah?”

  “You going to talk to me about last week?” I asked, wondering if today had broken his silence. I also hoped that a talk would settle my worry regarding the whispers I’d heard in the barn. Was the voice real or were these headaches really messing with my head?

  “Nope,” he said, taking the stairs two at a time.

  “Gav?” He stopped with his hands gripping the top post of the staircase and stared at me impassively. He didn’t respond. “Thanks.”

  His eyebrows arched under his messy hair. “For what?”

  “For today. And I’m looking forward to you riding.”

  “Me too,” he said. A hint of a smile formed on his lips then he darted toward his room.

  I was able to clean the T-shirt Ben had given me Friday and start dinner b
efore Dad arrived home.

  He draped a couple pairs of scrubs over the back of a chair at the breakfast bar. “It’s really humid out there. I sure hope that it rains tomorrow so everything cools down,” he said, pulling the front of his button-down shirt away from his body. He had obviously overdressed for his new job, though I supposed that was understandable considering his prior work experience.

  I glanced at him and nodded from behind the stove, mixing noodles in a steamy pot.

  “How was your day?” he asked, walking around the counter. He peered into the pot then backed up and leaned against the counter.

  “It was okay. How was your first day at the shelter?”

  He grabbed the cookie jar from the counter behind him and frowned when he realized it was empty. He set it down and pinched his brows together like he would whenever the frustrations of his old job got to him. “It was good. I have no idea what I’m doing, but I’m trying.”

  “Did they end up telling you why they hired you?”

  “Not really. I think they were as shocked as I was. Most of the employees were really nice, but the volunteers didn’t seem too happy to meet me. I think they’re usually hired first when someone’s needed, unless a person with more experience comes along. So imagine their shock when they figured out I wasn’t familiar with basics like cleaning kennels or walking dogs. I never had to get close to any of the animals in the acts at The Illusion. I only dealt with their goofy trainers.”

  “Sounds like you had an eventful day,” I said.

  “It was … informative. With the amount of time we lived in Vegas, I should be unfazed by weird stuff. I learned today that there are true oddballs everywhere, to include smaller towns. For instance, they had to fire a kid a year ago after someone found him sprawled out on the operating room’s table, completely knocked out next to the anesthesia machine.”

  “No way!” I laughed, instantly thinking of Ben’s friend who’d been fired from the shelter for being a “dumbass.”

  “Pretty hard to believe, right?” Dad laughed with me, clueless to the actual cause of my good humor. “They said he claimed he only wanted to use the oxygen, but there was still enough gas inside the tubing to knock him cold. He’s lucky he only suffered a headache and the loss of his job. He could’ve died.”

  “That’s crazy.” I shook my head.

  “Yeah,” he agreed with a soft chuckle. “I have to go in on a later shift tomorrow. I’m the rookie so they’re going to move me around a lot. I should be able to get you to and from school on Monday, but you should probably set up a bus transport or find a ride the rest of the week, okay?”

  “Yeah, no problem,” I agreed, pulling a spaghetti noodle from the spoon for a taste test.

  “Good.” He had started to leave the kitchen, grabbing the scrubs and walking toward the hallway.

  “Did you really tell Gav it was okay to learn to ride a dirt bike?” I asked, dumping the noodles into the strainer.

  “Yeah,” he responded with a turn. “I’ve been hearing that Ben kid riding on the property and I figured it was only a matter of time before Gavin asked.”

  “Aren’t you worried he’ll get hurt?” I asked, mixing the sauce with the noodles back in the pot.

  “Sure, but that’s not a good enough reason to prevent him from doing something that interests him. That wouldn’t be very fair of me as a parent.”

  I bit my tongue at his words when I really wanted to snap. How could he defend his thoughts on fair parenting when I was the acting parent left to pick up the pieces before and after Mom had left? I shook my head to bury the memories, then took a deep breath. “Ben is gathering some stuff for Gav to use. He’s coming over tomorrow to talk to you personally.”

  “Oh yeah?”

  “He’ll be here before you go to work.”

  “I see.” He eyed me with a nod. “How’s your hand?”

  “Fine,” I answered, pulling plates form the cabinet. “Help yourself.” I pointed to the spaghetti. “I’ll go let Gavin know it’s ready and send him down.”

  “You’re not eating?” he asked, grabbing a plate.

  “I’m not very hungry all of a sudden.”

  I woke to the quietness of another Sunday. The damp morning air traveled through my opened window, stealing the warmth from my bed’s thin blanket and forcing my eyes open too early. The chill, though, wasn’t what kept them from closing again in hopes of another hour’s sleep; it was the anticipation of spending the day with LJ.

  When my battered alarm clock read nine, I set off to the barn to take a trail ride. I hoped it would help me wrap my head around what happened to LJ yesterday. Something was off. She was pained with headaches, and grabbed Gavin’s arm like an addict looking to score. Then her nose bled. If I didn’t know better, I would’ve thought she’d just snorted a few lines. The problem was that I did know better; she wasn’t the type. And there were a couple of occasions I’d seen Janine with nosebleeds, too. But I still had hope for alternate explanations. Headaches and nosebleeds could be caused by any number of things, and her odd actions toward Gavin could be from the headache or lack of sleep. I couldn’t know for sure, I barely knew her. The only way to find out more was to help her clean and search the basement today.

  After a long ride and some routine bike maintenance, I returned to the house for a shower and a quick bite. Pop stared at me when I opened the front door to leave for LJ’s.

  “I’ll look as much as I can,” I responded to the silent concerns inside his troubled eyes.

  “Remember to look for dated papers, but don’t be as selective as we were this summer. There may be something other than paperwork,” he said.

  “Got it,” I replied, stepping outside.

  A couple minutes later, I knocked at LJ’s door and Gavin answered. “Hey, Ben.”

  “Hey.”

  “What did Spaz say?” he asked, motioning me inside then closing the door behind me.

  “He said it was cool with him. He’s going to bring his stuff over sometime this week or next weekend.”

  “Sweet,” he replied with a big grin. “My dad’s in the kitchen with LJ. C’mon.”

  I’d noticed yesterday how much more inviting the house had become with the family’s arrival. The darkness was gone. It was as if the house was breathing new life with its new occupants, no longer burdened with Janine’s misery.

  We traveled through the foyer and into the kitchen where LJ sat at the table eating and their father sat at the breakfast bar, staring at a book while holding a sandwich.

  When he saw us enter, Mr. Wayde stood and wiped his hands with a napkin as he finished chewing some food. He dropped his napkin and met me halfway with a firm handshake. “It’s nice to meet you, Ben.” The scrubs he had on sagged more than a standard pair and they had pictures of Garfield and Odie printed all over them. I remembered Spaz wearing an extra pair from the shelter last year exactly like them. He drew a dick on Odie at the bottom of the left pant leg. I glanced down instinctively. And there it is, Odie’s Sharpie erection pointing at a bent over Garfield.

  “You too, Mr. Wayde,” I replied, stifling the urge to laugh about Odie’s excitement. I caught LJ’s eye across the room and nodded to her.

  “Please, call me Carson. We’re having an early lunch. Would you like something? We have sandwich stuff and some killer chocolate chip cookies that LJ made this morning,” he said, pointing to the cookie jar on the counter.

  I glanced at LJ. She was giving her dad a look that suggested the cookies might be laced with “killer” ingredients. “Nah. I’m good, thanks,” I said and grinned at LJ. Her narrowed eyes softened and she smiled back.

  “Oh, okay. Have a seat.” He sat back on his own bar stool and nodded to the one next to him. Gavin plopped down at the far end of the breakfast bar and turned on his game system on the counter. “I’ve seen you riding behind the barn this week. Do you ride often?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Carson held up a hand, chuckling. “Man,
please don’t call me sir. I know it’s polite, but it makes me feel ancient without a business suit on. I still have a few years left of semi-cool, so give me that, please?”

  “Uh, okay,” I responded. LJ rolled her eyes and Gavin just waited silently for us to get back to the point. “I’ve ridden since I was eleven. My grandfather bought me a bike and taught me the basics. I mostly ride trails in the woods and the hills near the barn, where you’ve seen me.”

  “And you are okay with teaching Gavin and letting him use your stuff?”

  “I’m good with it as long as it’s okay with you. The bike he’ll learn on is my friend’s, and we both have some old gear for him to wear. You might want to buy him a pair of boots, though, if he doesn’t have a pair,” I said, watching Gavin as he swiveled in the chair energetically.

  Carson looked at Gavin then back to me. “I’ll make that happen. Are you riding today?”

  “No, Dad. I told you Spaz has to bring over the bike first,” Gavin said. “There’s also a wedding today. Plus, Ben said he’d help LJ clean the basement.”

  “What’s wrong with the basement?” Carson asked.

  “Have you been down there? I have to solve a slide puzzle anytime I need to do laundry,” LJ murmured.

  Carson shrugged. “I thought it was fine, but then again I’m not the habitual cleaner of the family either.”

  “We know,” LJ responded bitterly, making the temperature in the room drop a degree, or ten.

  “Hey now,” Carson replied to her lightly. “I didn’t think I did such a bad job with the office and living room.”

  “Yeah, not bad,” she agreed, looking at her food instead of him.

  Carson looked at me with a smile after LJ’s small compliment. “Well, I wish you luck, Ben. LJ’s the reason we never kept a maid at our old place. They were never good enough.”

  I looked at LJ. She kept her face down as she finished the last bite of her food, ignoring her dad’s words. She rose and placed her dish in the dishwasher. “We should get started. Are you sure you don’t want some food or something?”