Saving Jake

by Sharon Sala

  By the time the day had ended, he’d had three phone calls from Ron, and Skyped once with the head of the art department. They almost had him sold.

  He went to bed thinking about the offer, and then woke up on Saturday thinking about supper with Laurel and Bonnie. It was going to be a good day.

  * * *

  The last time Laurel had looked at the clock it was just after 4:00 p.m., and now it was close to six. Her parents were sticklers for punctuality. They would be here anytime.

  Her phone dinged with a text. She glanced down and smiled. It was from Jake. She wiped her hands and read it. Do you need anything before I head your way?

  She smiled. Just you and your appetite.

  She hit Send and then ran down the hall to make sure Bonnie was still clean. Just as she went to open the door, she heard Bonnie talking.

  “Don’t lick your fingers. Don’t talk with your mouth full. Use your fork, not your spoon, and sit up straight. You are slumping in your chair.”

  She sighed. Those words never came out of her mouth. They sounded like what she’d heard growing up. It appeared Bonnie was in need of getting Granny’s approval, too. She opened the door.

  Bonnie’s blue jeans were still clean and so was her yellow sweater. The ribbon was still in her hair, and she had added her ruby necklace to the ensemble. Laurel could only imagine the conversation that would ensue once her mother saw that, but she didn’t care. Her mother had never really approved of Adam, and now Laurel knew Pansy would be setting herself up to disapprove of Jake. Her mama needed a hobby.

  She sat down on the bed beside Bonnie.

  “Hey, honey. Granny and Gramps will be here anytime. Why don’t you go to the bathroom real quick and then come to the kitchen. You can help me finish setting the table.”

  “Okay, Mommy,” Bonnie said, and set Brave Bear aside before running out of the room.

  Laurel was on her way back to the kitchen when she saw car lights through the living room curtains. She turned on the porch light and moments later heard one set of footsteps coming up the step.

  It was Jake.

  She stood at the door, holding on to the doorknob until he knocked, and then yanked it open so fast it made him blink. He grinned.

  “Uh, I saw your headlights,” she said.

  The storm door was still shut between them, and so he was still standing beneath the porch light when it dawned on her that he still couldn’t get in.

  “Oh. Sorry,” she said, and unlocked the door.

  He walked in, shut it behind him, and then gave her a big hug. “Ummmm, once again, you do smell good.”

  Laurel patted his chest. “You just like my cooking,” she said.

  He stopped her then. “I like the cook, too.”

  And once again her heart was doing double-time. Before she could comment, Bonnie came running into the room.

  “Yay!” she said.

  Jake picked her up on the run and gave her a quick hug. “Bonnie Bee, you are looking very charming.”

  “I’m wearing my ruby necklace,” she said, patting her chest.

  “I see that, and I like the bow in your hair.”

  Laurel sighed. He not only lifted her spirits, but he was giving Bonnie the most positive feedback she’d had with a man since before her father’s death.

  Jake put Bonnie down and was taking off his coat when more car lights appeared through the curtains. “And that would be Mom and Dad,” Laurel said.

  Jake heard the tremor in her voice. He got that this was a big deal for her.

  “I will be on my very best behavior, I promise,” Jake said.

  “You’re fine. It will all be fine,” she said, but her hands were shaking a little as she opened the door to let them in.

  Pansy handed Laurel the dessert she’d promised, a coconut cream pie, and then went into search mode when she saw Jake, giving him the serious once-over. Benny was more gracious.

  “Mom, Dad, you both remember Charles Lorde’s son, Jake.”

  “Sure do,” Benny said, and shook his hand. “I hear you’re ready to put roots back down on your home place?”

  “Yes, sir, and glad to be back,” he said, and then smiled at Laurel’s mother. “Mrs. Joyner, it’s nice to see you again. I think the last time I remember seeing you, you were manning the microphone at the Peachy Keen Queen contest.”

  Pansy actually smiled. “Why, my goodness! That was a good eight or nine years ago.”

  “Yes, ma’am, that sounds about right.”

  “Mom, you and Dad can put your coats on my bed.”

  “I’ll take them,” Jake offered. “I need to leave mine as well.”

  Pansy’s eyes narrowed immediately. “So you already know where my daughter’s bedroom is located?”

  Laurel gasped. “Mama! I can’t believe you would—”

  Jake took the coats out of their hands, ignoring the tone in Pansy’s voice. “Actually, I know where Bonnie Bee’s bedroom is, because I carried her from the truck into the house after she came back from ER, and since there is a door directly across from her room, I’m guessing it’s Laurel’s. Am I right?”

  “I’ll show you,” Bonnie said, and led the way with Jake right behind her.

  Laurel turned, glaring at her mother until Pansy had the grace to flush.

  Benny never knew what to do with the women in his life, so he patted Laurel’s shoulder and took his wife by the hand.

  “Supper is about ready,” Laurel said. “Come into the kitchen. We can continue the inquisition there.”

  Pansy sighed. “I’m sorry.”

  “You should be,” Laurel muttered, and led the way, with Jake and Bonnie right behind them. She set the dessert aside for later and began dishing up the food and carrying it to the table.

  Bonnie was basking in being the center of her grandparents’ attention.

  Jake was being quietly helpful, and Laurel was still seething.

  Finally, it was ready. Laurel set the last dish of food on the table and put Bonnie’s booster seat in the chair closest to her.

  “Okay everyone, please take a seat. Mom, you and Dad like to sit together, and I’m riding herd on Bonnie, so she’s sitting by me. Jake, since you don’t need your meat cut, I’m trusting you’ll be fine on your own at the end of the table.”

  Jake laughed. “I’ll mind my manners.”

  Pansy sniffed at the comments, but she was taking notice of the comfortable manner with which they talked to each other. He was definitely not a stranger to this house. She sat down beside Benny while eyeing Jake’s seat at the table.

  Laurel caught the look and stifled a groan. At the time, seating Jake there seemed logical, but she could tell her mother had just read this as the “head of the table.”

  Laurel wanted to shake her. “Dad, would you please say the blessing?”

  “I can say a blessing,” Bonnie said.

  “No, Bonnie. Gramps is going to say it.”

  “That’s okay,” Benny said. “I’d like to hear Bonnie Carol’s blessing.”

  Bonnie beamed as Laurel gave Jake a frantic look. He winked.

  “Bow your heads,” Bonnie announced. “Good bread. Good meat. Get your fork. Let’s eat.”

  Benny chuckled.

  Pansy was still blinking.

  Jake was entranced. “Good job, Bonnie Bee. Where did you learn that one?” he asked.

  “At school. I know another one.”

  “No, thank you,” Laurel said. “One was enough. Dad, help yourself and pass it down.”

  “Meat loaf!” Benny cried. “That’s my favorite.”

  “And that’s why I made it,” Laurel said.

  When the meat loaf reached Jake, he served himself a piece, and then set it back down on the table and gave it a gentle push toward Laurel. “Didn’t want to
pass a hot dish over Bonnie’s head,” he said.

  “Thank you, Jake. I appreciate that,” Laurel said.

  And so it went until all of the food had been passed and the meal began.

  Bonnie took one bite of the meat loaf and then held up her fork as if she were at school holding up her hand for permission to speak.

  Laurel rolled her eyes. Since when had she ever asked permission to speak in this house?

  “What is it, honey?” Laurel said.

  “What’s that on Jake’s ’tatos?”

  “It’s black pepper,” Jake said.

  “I want some, too,” Bonnie said.

  Laurel was about to argue, and Pansy was already setting her jaw to disapprove, when Jake defused the whole situation. “How old are you?” Jake asked.

  “I’m six.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry. You have to be eight to have this.”

  “Really?” Bonnie asked.

  He nodded.

  “Why?” Bonnie asked.

  Laurel put down her fork and gave him one of Bonnie’s wide-eyed looks. “Yes, why Jake?”

  “Remember how you put ice in your soup so it won’t burn the hair off your tongue?”

  Bonnie nodded.

  “So, you can’t cool black pepper with ice. It just makes it hotter. You have to be eight before your tongue says, okay, now I can have black pepper if I want because it won’t burn me anymore.”

  “My tongue will say that?” Bonnie asked.

  He nodded. “It will let you know when it’s ready for this stuff.”

  “Okay,” she said.

  Benny gave Jake a wink, and Pansy was trying not to smile.

  “Thank you for that perfect explanation,” Laurel said.

  “My pleasure,” Jake said, and scooped up a bite of his potatoes, while Bonnie began feeling her tongue to see if she could feel it growing older.

  Laurel leaned back in her chair, absently watching the people around her table, trying to picture this happening over and over in the future, then caught Jake looking at her.

  He smiled, and her heart melted.

  She smiled back. Yes, she could picture this.

  Chapter 16

  The supper dishes were cleared off the table, and fresh coffee was hot and ready to be served with dessert. Pansy’s homemade coconut cream pie had been cut and plated.

  Laurel kept thinking the evening was actually working out and started to relax. She glanced at her dad and Jake every so often, unaware her mother was watching her just as closely.

  * * *

  Jake and Benny were sitting at the table talking about Ralph Sinclair’s gas station and how they missed Ralph’s presence in the community.

  Jake’s plan to put in an offer had changed after Ron Fitz’s offer to go to work for him, but he was still considering both options.

  “Someone’s sure to buy it,” Benny said. “Ralph had a good business.”

  “I agree,” Jake said. “Someone will snap it up as soon as Mrs. Sinclair puts it up for sale.”

  Pansy carried two pieces of pie to the table and set them in front of each man.

  “Coconut cream pie is my absolute favorite,” Jake said.

  “I hope you like it,” Pansy said.

  “I know I will,” Jake said.

  Laurel carried the other two plates to the table. “Sit down, Mama.”

  Pansy looked around and frowned. “Where’s Bonnie? Isn’t she going to have dessert?”

  “She’s playing. I kept a piece back for her.”

  As soon as the women were seated, both men dug into the pie.

  “Oh man,” Jake said. “I haven’t had coconut pie this good since Mom died. It’s delicious.”

  Pansy beamed.

  Benny winked at her. “Good stuff, Pansy. Just like you always make.”

  Bonnie entered the kitchen carrying her overnight bag, her coat, and Brave Bear. “Mommy, I think I should stay all night with Granny and Gramps.”

  Laurel groaned. “Bonnie, we discussed this already. This is not—”

  Pansy patted her daughter’s arm. “No, don’t fuss at her. We’d love to have her. She is always a delight.”

  “Please, Mommy. Brave Bear wants to go too.”

  Pansy saw the stuffed toy, and then she saw the medal. “Well, I’ll say, Benny, would you look at that?”

  “That’s quite a bear, Bonnie Carol. Do you mind if I take a look at him?”

  Bonnie handed him the stuffed toy and then leaned across her grandfather’s arm as he began to examine it. He looked the medal over carefully and looked up at her. “Where did you get this, girl?”

  Bonnie pointed at Jake. “Jake gave me Brave Bear ’cause I was having bad dreams.”

  “What kind of bad dreams?” Pansy asked.

  “We’ll talk about it later, Mama,” Laurel said.

  Pansy pointed to the medal. “Is that real, Jake Lorde?”

  He shrugged. “Everybody gets hurt in war in one way or another. I didn’t do anything to earn it, and she needed it.”

  Benny shook his head. “Never quite thought of it as a toy.”

  Laurel shoved her pie aside without having taken a bite. “Bonnie, go play in your room awhile and make sure you packed your toothbrush and jammies.”

  “Okay, Mommy.”

  As soon as Bonnie was gone, Laurel turned to Jake. “I invited you to a meal, not a judgment hearing. I am sorry for this.”

  Jake shook his head. “Hey, it’s okay. Questions are fair.”

  Laurel’s dad was still stuck on the fact that he’d given the medal away, and Jake saw it.

  “They gave me a medal for getting blown to kingdom come,” Jake said, and his voice was shaking. “I’m alive, and the man who saved my life that day now is dead. I wish I could wipe every moment of those years at war from my heart. Bonnie was having bad dreams…dreams of hiding from her daddy because she can’t remember what he looks like anymore, and she was afraid he’d be mad.”

  “Oh dear,” Pansy muttered. “Laurel, you didn’t tell—”

  “I didn’t know either, Mama. Bonnie told Jake, not me. He gave my daughter a way to cope. Because Brave Bear has a medal, to her it means he is a hero. And she needed a hero. Jake sacrificed his own feelings to help her.”

  “And to help you,” Jake said. “You are a kick-ass woman who’s been dealt a bad hand this early in life, and I admire you. Now, Mr. and Mrs. Joyner, I think it’s time I headed home.” He reached for Laurel’s hand and gave it a quick squeeze. “Thank you for supper; it was wonderful. Mrs. Joyner, your pie was delicious. Mr. Joyner, good to see you again.”

  Laurel’s heart was breaking. She saw the shadows in his eyes. She felt his disappointment.

  He got up from the table, but his gaze was on Laurel. She was hurt, and she was angry. But he was only making it worse.

  “I’ll get my coat and see myself out,” Jake said.

  “No, I’ll get your coat. You are still my guest,” Laurel muttered, and stormed out of the kitchen.

  Jake was waiting at the door, and when she handed him the coat, he wrapped her up in his arms. “It’s okay,” he said.

  “No, it’s not,” she said. “I’m sorry. None of that is their business. Lord, I’ve dealt with this my whole life. Mama is a meddler.”

  He gave her a last hug and then put on his coat and dug the car keys out of his jacket pocket. “I’ll call you,” he said.

  “Thank God. I was afraid you’d never want to talk to me again.”

  “You are so silly,” he said softly. “I want to kiss you, but not here with this acrimony hanging between us.”

  She sighed. “Rain check?”

  “You know it,” he said, and then he was gone.

  Laurel watched him driving away and then headed for the kitch
en.

  Her mother was washing up pie plates and chattering as if nothing had happened, and it made Laurel furious. “Mama, Daddy, I am so angry with the both of you right now that I can’t even talk. Get Bonnie and go home.”

  Pansy looked stunned. “But, honey, we didn’t—”

  “Oh, yes, you did. You know it. You meant it. This is my home. He was my guest. You were rude. Both of you.”

  Benny sighed. “I’m sorry. It just took me aback to see something as special as the Purple Heart on a toy.”

  Laurel threw up her arms in disbelief. “You weren’t even listening to him, were you? You were already wrapped up in your opinion! He told you why. He does not hold himself up as a hero. The medal makes him feel like an imposter. He’s struggling. With everything. And you, Dad, who came home from Vietnam to such hate, should have more empathy. Go home now and think about yourselves, and do not ever do this again. Not to me. Not to him.”

  There were tears in Pansy’s eyes, but she didn’t argue. “I’ll get Bonnie.”

  “I’ll warm up the car,” Benny said.

  “Don’t forget your pie,” Laurel said.

  Benny picked it up on the way out.

  Bonnie came bouncing up in front of Pansy and threw her arms around Laurel. “Love you, Mommy. I’ll be good.”

  “You’re always good,” Laurel said, and hugged her close.

  “We’ll bring her home tomorrow evening before dark,” Pansy said.

  “Fine,” Laurel said. “Call if she needs me.”

  “Of course,” Pansy said.

  Laurel opened the door, smiled at her daughter, and then looked at her mother as if she’d never seen her before.

  Pansy was trying to think of what to say, but Laurel ushered them out too fast. Now she was worried. Her daughter had never been this angry with them. Ever.

  She got Bonnie in the car and buckled up, and then they drove away without talking. With Bonnie in the backseat, they couldn’t discuss what had happened.

  “Well now,” Benny said.

  Pansy sighed. “Let’s just get home.”

  Benny nodded.

  * * *

  Laurel watched until their taillights disappeared over the hill, then picked up a pillow from the sofa and flung it across the room. She was so angry she couldn’t think beyond getting to Jake. She would not sleep this night, knowing he was hurt by something her parents had done. So she grabbed her coat and purse and headed out the door, locking it behind her.