To Protect and Serve

by Pat Adeff

  Nancy, Kate and Christy all bought new shoes, and Nancy was especially surprised that her high heels didn’t hurt her feet! Just goes to show what a pair of very expensive shoes feels like. It’s sure different than a pair of tennies!

  ****************

  “If Madam would just allow me to add a few subtle highlights framing her face, she would be amazed at how much younger she would look.” It had been years since Nancy had heard herself referred to in the third person while being directly addressed. And that had been in college – in a very bad play.

  “Madam likes her color the way it is.” Nancy tried to keep a straight face.

  “Oh, come on, Mom! Try it! The worst that will happen is that you don’t like it and you can get your hair dyed back to your regular color.” Both Kate and Christy were determined that their mom see herself as beautiful as they both saw her.

  Nancy watched “Mr. Tomas” shudder slightly at that and took pity on him.

  “Alright, Mr. Tomas, you talked me into it.”

  And those were Nancy’s final words of control for the afternoon. She was whisked off by “the shampoo girl” who did the most delightfully relaxing job of shampooing and massaging that Nancy had ever encountered. She didn’t want it to end, it felt so good.

  Then while sitting at Mr. Tomas’ regal station, Nancy found that her hair was no longer her own. Mr. Tomas had several of his salon personnel crowded around the chair while he proceeded to hold forth on the correct way to make a “woman of a certain age” look more beautiful. After unsuccessfully trying to keep up with what he was saying (fringe, shading, luminosity, depth, and angle) Nancy’s thoughts drifted. She thought back to Doug’s kisses. And the way he’d looked at her. And the way her heart hammered into overtime whenever he touched her. Doug knew instinctively how to touch her. And she loved the fact that he

  loved the back of her neck. He’d discovered that right away! Nancy sighed contentedly.

  “And see? She is looking younger already! It makes her face glow.” Mr. Tomas announced to his disciples who all made agreeable noises. And my toes curl, Nancy added to herself.

  The truth was, when Mr. Tomas was done, Nancy love the way her hair looked! It looked natural, only better. And Mr. Tomas was right. The highlights were very subtle and absolutely perfect. Nancy had no qualms about paying what he charged.

  CHAPTER 19

  On Wednesday when Nancy got home from school with the girls she opened their front door to a flood.

  “Oh, no!! There’s water everywhere! What happened?” Nancy stepped into the foyer and could see water covering the floor in the kitchen and had the gruesome suspicion that the carpet in the living room and hallway were soaked.

  Kate and Christy checked out the rest of the house and found that the flood had contained itself to the kitchen, foyer, living room, hallway and guest bathroom where it had all started.

  The water was pouring out from the cabinet under the sink and when Nancy opened the doors, she found that the hot water pipe had corroded through. The water had been running so long that they’d drained all hot water and it was now running at lukewarm temperature.

  “Okay! Who knows where the water shut-off valve is?”

  Christy already had Jackson on the phone. “Yeah, babe. The pipe has a hole in it about the size of a quarter. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Okay. Love you too.” She closed her cell phone. “Jackson says to put silicone tape around it.”

  At that announcement, Nancy and Kate just stared at Christy. She could have been speaking Greek for all that they understood.

  “Silicone tape? What’s that?” Kate had already started down the hall to get Nancy’s toolbox from the garage. Nancy grabbed towels off the towel bars and threw them onto the floor of the cabinet hoping they would absorb some of the water. She was starting to panic.

  Just then she heard Kate’s voice coming down the hall “In here! You showed up with perfect timing!”

  Nancy was hoping Kate had miraculously found a plumber, but knew that would have been wishful thinking. However, she was appalled to find it was Jonathon! He walked carefully into the rapidly shrinking bathroom and put his hands on his hips. Hips wearing pink and yellow spandex that had been sitting on a bicycle seat. He looked absurd. And the half-helmet and slender sunglasses didn’t help.

  “Well, what did you do now?” Did those have to be the first words out of his mouth? Well, of course they did.

  “The pipe busted while we were at school.”

  “That’s because you moved the girls into this old dump.”

  Nancy thought of several retorts only to bite them back. No sense getting into an argument that she knew from historical fact she could never win.

  “Are you able to help us shut off the water? I don’t know where the shut off valve is.”

  “It’s where it is for every house in Orange.”

  Okay. Are we going to have to go through twenty questions?

  Just then there was a loud knock on the open front door.

  “Nancy? You and the kids here?” Doug’s voice sounded wonderful!

  “We’re in here, Doug!” Christy yelled down the hallway. Nancy was unable to miss the look of disapproval sent at Christy by Jonathon.

  “Wow! Let me get the shut-off valve.” And with that Doug was out the front door and out to the sidewalk where he opened the cement cover plate that was over the water meter, reached inside and turned something. The water under the sink slowed to a trickle and then stopped completely.

  When he reappeared in the bathroom, Nancy gave him a dry towel and a beaming smile.

  “Thank you! I didn’t know what I was going to do.” Nancy and the girls were all smiling. Jonathon’s face held a look of bewilderment.

  Doug glanced at Jonathon. “He would have just turned off the valve.” Doug’s voice didn’t even hold an ounce of emotion. It was a stated fact. As though everyone just knew that Jonathon was on his way out to the meter to handle the flood, and Doug just happened to meet him.

  “Well, come on, everybody. I’ll make some coffee.” Nancy had to squeeze between Doug and Jonathon to get out the door. As she moved past the men, Doug reached out and squeezed her shoulder with one hand. To everyone else it was a touch of human compassion. To Nancy it was a promise of things to come.

  Since her back was to everyone following her down the hall, Nancy had no idea of the looks and unspoken communication that occurred

  between the four of them. But believe you me, there was a whole conflagration of conversation happening on a silent level.

  Doug was the first to speak out loud as he entered the kitchen. “Do you have a shop vac? I’ll get started on mopping up the water.”

  Nancy was very happy to be able to answer in the affirmative. When the divorce had first happened and she and the girls had moved

  out, she’d gone to the local Home Depot and purchased tools and equipment that she thought she’d need, since Jonathon had claimed everything in the garage as his.

  She purchased not only a shop vac, but also a complete tool kit, extension ladder, step ladder, wheelbarrow, assorted garden tools, a Black and Decker drill with accessories (although she knew that wasn’t the word the guy at Home Depot had used) and a great circular saw that she had no idea when or if she’d ever put to use. When she’d purchased the latter, she’d entertained a small fantasy of using it on Jonathon, but quickly pushed that thought to the back of her mind. Besides it would have ruined the saw.

  Christy was already out the door to the garage to retrieve the requested vac.

  There was an awkward silence from everyone as Jonathon moved further into the kitchen. The shoes he was wearing (he would have used the word “gear”) were oddly shaped and he walked as though he was carefully stepping on hot coals. While everyone watched in fascination, he made his way over to the kitchen table, pulled out one of the dark cherry wood chairs and sat down. When his butt hit the seat the spell was broken and everyone else except Nancy started to move again.

>   As Doug walked past her heading for the table, his hand touched the small of her back. It was a fleeting touch, but Nancy felt branded! Gawd he could set off sparks in her!

  She finished preparing the coffee maker with filter, grounds and bottled water and pushed the button to start it. Then she walked over to the table and sat next to Doug. He removed his hat and set it on the sideboard. Then he ran his hand through his hair.

  Nancy looked at Jonathon and watched as he removed his helmet and reaching over, set it also on the sideboard. He ran his hand over his head. No hair, just head.

  Kate couldn’t help herself. “Dad! When did you shave your head?”

  “Do you like it? It feels much better and everyone else seems to like it.” Jonathon smiled at Kate for confirmation.

  “Wow! It’s sure different!” was what Kate finally managed to say.

  Nancy could only stare and wonder how she had EVER found this man attractive.

  Christy bustled back in the door with the new vac. “Where should I start, Mom?”

  “Let’s get the kitchen floor with a quick sweep, then tackle the carpets. Thank goodness, it’s a warm day today. Kate, could you help me open all the windows for ventilation?

  Doug got up from the table “Here, I’ll turn on the house fan to get the circulation going.”

  Nancy smiled at him and thought he could get her circulation going any time he wanted!

  Two minutes later Nancy, Doug and Kate returned to the kitchen just as the coffee maker beeped that it was finished. Christy was now attacking the carpet in the hallway.

  Nancy got out mugs, sugar and cream and placed them on the table. She poured the coffee and sat back down next to where Doug had once again sat.

  “Nancy, you make the best coffee.” Doug smelled his cup and then took a long draw of the black liquid. Nancy watched his lips touch the cup rim. He looked over the cup at her and winked. Nancy beamed.

  Kate had added cream to one of the cups and had taken it to Christy. Kate took over the vacuum detail as Christy took the cup in one hand and pulled out her cell phone with the other.

  “Hey, babe! Can you pick up some silicone tape before you come over? We didn’t have any. Hm-hm. Hm-hm. Okay. See you soon. Love you!” And then in a softer voice, “No, I love you more.” This went on for several more seconds until Kate rolled her eyes at her sister and made pretend gagging noises.

  Christy got off the phone and grinned at Kate. “Don’t worry, dear sister. Someday you will find a guy as great as Jackson and then all the Adams women will be happy.”

  “Yeah, but my guy won’t do the ‘fart under the arm’ routine when he’s bored.”

  “No, but he’ll do something like it. And you’ll think it’s the greatest, most clever thing you’ve ever seen.”

  Kate laughed. “I can hardly wait!”

  While back in the kitchen …

  Doug drained his coffee, retrieved his hat and stood up. “Gotta get back to work. Dinner tonight?” He held Nancy’s chair when she also stood. Jonathon just sat and watched. He hadn’t touched his coffee.

  “I’m making meatloaf tonight. Sound good to you? I’d rather not go out. There’s a lot of cleaning to do here.”

  “Sounds great. What time?”

  “Seven o’clock?”

  “I’ll be here.” Doug held out his right hand towards Jonathon. “Good to see you again.”

  At least Jonathon had the presence of mind to return the handshake. “Yeah.”

  With that, Nancy walked Doug to the door. He shouted into the living room. “Kate, Christy, see you later!”

  Nancy heard her daughters answer something over the sound of the shop vac starting back up.

  Doug leaned down and gently touched his lips to Nancy’s. “Catch YOU later.” And taking her breath with him, he went out to his car, got in, and backed out of the driveway.

  Nancy smiled to herself and walked back into the kitchen to pull ground round out of the freezer for their dinner.

  When she entered the kitchen she fell back to earth when she saw her ex sitting at her table. “Did you need to see me for something?” She was less than enthusiastic.

  “How long have you been seeing him?” Jonathon’s tone was disapproving. Was there any other way he spoke to her? Was it ONLY her? How did he have any friends with that attitude?

  “Actually, that’s none of your business.” Nancy opened the freezer and pulled out a white wrapped package of meat.

  “It is if he’s around my girls.”

  Nancy placed the package on the counter and turned to Jonathon. “He’s a decorated member of the police force. What disagreements could you possibly have about Doug?”

  “I want my daughters safe.”

  “Well, you should have considered that when you refused joint custody. I still can’t believe that if you see the girls more than one day a week, we lose some of the child support money! The girls literally have to pay to see their father.” Nancy had wanted to state something about that little clause in the divorce agreement for some time now.

  “It’s only fair. If I see them that often, they I’m paying for more food and utilities.”

  Nancy could only shake her head in wonderment. It never occurred to her to count the money she spent on her daughters. It’s what parents did! And to be honest, there was no way that the money Jonathon spent on child support even came close to covering the girls’ expenses. It certainly helped, but the amount was NOT the sole support for the girls.

  Nancy drew in a cleansing breath and slowly released it. “What do you want, Jonathon?” She refused to let him get to her anymore.

  “Oh. I was cycling past and wanted to show Kate and Christy my new bike. I thought they’d like to see it.”

  Could he be any denser? New bike? The reason the child support check was always late was because ‘he didn’t have the money.’ But he could afford a new toy. Of course.

  “Then I think you should show it to them.”

  With that statement, Nancy turned her attention to preparing dinner.

  Jonathon hobbled out of the kitchen without even a ‘thank you for the coffee’ and called for the girls. Nancy could hear their voices, but not what they were saying. She then saw Jonathon carefully walk out the door, get on his bike and ride off.

  Okay, curiosity got the better of her and Nancy went into the living room. The girls had just taken the tub of extracted water down the hall and dumped it down the toilet. They were reattaching the tub to the vac.

  “Didn’t you want to see your dad’s new bike?”

  “Oh, we’ll see it later, Mom. Right now we’ve only got about three more hours of daylight and we want to get the carpet as dry as possible before dark.”

  Oh. That makes perfectly good sense. Nancy returned to the kitchen and missed the look that passed between her daughters.

  “I’m surprised that Mom never killed him before. Has Dad always been this unconnected with reality?” Christy was much harsher in her condemnation of Jonathon than Kate was.

  “I don’t think he means to be this uptight. He just doesn’t get it. If he thought that he was actually harming us, he’d be really upset.” Kate probably had the best perspective on Jonathon’s behavior than anyone else in the family did.

  ……………..

  A couple of hours later, Nancy was happy to see Doug pull up in his truck. She watched in wonder as he got out of the cab, moved to the back of the truck bed and grabbed a portable fan in each hand. Of course! More air flow onto the carpet.

  Jackson had shown up earlier and fixed the hole in the pipe. After he turned the water back on, he admonished Nancy to contact the landlord so that he could get a plumber out to the house. Nancy reluctantly made the phone call. Thank goodness, Jackson was still at the house when the landlord showed up. Mr. Volk made her and the girls uncomfortable, so it felt much better to have another male right there.

  After trying to explain to Nancy that the situation didn’t require a plumber, Mr. Vol
k finally agreed to call one when Jackson used ‘handyman-speak’ and convinced the landlord that he didn’t want the whole house’s plumbing to burst and destroy the house’s ‘structural integrity.’

  Nancy gave Jackson a hug after Mr. Volk had left and she could tell that Jackson was proud of the way he’d helped. Christy was even prouder and with good reason.

  Since the front door was propped open for the airflow, Doug came directly into the living room and set up the fans to blow at angles across the carpet.

  When he’d finished with that task, he went into the kitchen where Nancy was checking on the meatloaf in the oven. She’d just straightened and pulled off the hot mitts when Doug’s arms snaked around her from behind and drew her into his embrace. They stood there for a while with Nancy leaning her head back onto his chest and Doug leaning his cheek against the top of her hair. She could feel the muscles in his forearms where her hands rested. Strong forearms.

  They stood that way for several minutes, then Doug gave her a quick kiss and went to help the girls with the carpet. Nancy finished dinner, humming to herself.

  When everyone finally sat down, they were famished and the meal was consumed in a satisfied silence.

  When Nancy went to bed that night, she felt herself blush, again remembering what Doug had whispered in her ear after kissing her until she thought she’d never be able to breathe again. He was so good for her.

  CHAPTER 20

  The rest of that week was magical. Nancy saw Doug everyday when he’d stop by her classroom at the end of the school day and they’d make plans for dinner that night. Several times he just had dinner at her house with her and the kids. Nancy was even thinking of inviting him for Thanksgiving dinner, but she’d check with the kids first.