Approaching Menace

by June Shaw

  A few moments ago Andrew mentioned he was grateful that he could be trusted now. Of course she trusted him. And the one thing good about her car was that it helped them find each other. He sold cars then, before those grueling months of what they would go through.

  She had searched for a car ever since her previous car developed rattles and a major oil leak. The thrifty runabout had served her well, and she hadn’t hesitated to drive it from Nashville down to Florida. But once she moved in with Sylvie and Colin, her car began staying in shops. She paid too much for repairs. She’d looked at cars in Biloxi, Gulfport, and even Pensacola. Most of the models catching her attention were attractive. And expensive.

  But she’d made the move back with her family to help her mother take care of Colin and help pay for his expenses. She wouldn’t put herself in a position of having to meet large car notes and detract from whatever her brother required.

  She smiled, envisioning that last showroom. Pensacola. As soon as she entered, a tiny man with oil-slicked hair erupted, it seemed, from some wall. Shenoticed Andrew beyond the large showroom autos. He held the door open for a departing woman.

  “Excuse me,” Andrew told the salesman who had Josie aimed at a mid-sized sedan. “But I think I’m in love.” Andrew put a hand out to Josie, and, without thinking, she let him clasp hers. His electric blue eyes captured her gaze while he spoke. “Your name must be Juliet because right at this moment, I feel like Romeo.”

  Her face burned then and she knew it reddened, but she didn’t know how to get out of that situation, or if she wanted to.

  “It’s Josie Aspen,” she’d replied, gently removing her hand from his, “and I need a car that doesn’t cost too much.” She didn’t say she knew nothing of automobiles except how to fill them with gas and wash and drive them.

  She saw the other salesman giving this Romeo, who said to call him Andrew, a harsh look before walking away with his hands shoved deep in his pockets.

  Andrew cocked his head. “I’m sure you know you’re beautiful.”

  She recalled feeling flattered and apprehensive. All she knew about the young man was her mutual attraction. His eyes flashed with expression. She’d stepped nearer a car and glanced in its window, wondering how often he acted this way with customers.

  “No, that’s not you,” he said, guiding her away from what she realized was well beyond her price range.

  “What is me?” She was sorry she’d asked when he turned and looked her over from head to foot.

  “Come here.” He led her outside. “You are so slim. You’re quality and have classic features. You’re a perfect match with her.”

  She had no idea whether to take him seriously or not, but he piqued her curiosity.

  He guided her to a mass of used autos. “These aren’t new, but most are in great shape. And here is the car meant for you.”

  Josie grinned. “I like the color and size.”

  “Much newer models are out now,” he said, “with vintage prices.”

  Uneasiness came over Josie now. She felt the cracks that recently formed where her right hand gripped the steering wheel, and opened her eyes.

  Some of the parked cars and SUV’s had gathered their charges and left. More boys were scuttling from the field house. Colin, usually one of the first to come out, was not among them. That fact must be causing her jitters.

  She glanced at her watch. If he wasn’t out in five minutes, she would go down to check. If he was all right, he would hate that. “Don’t mother me,” he’d complain.

  If he was all right.

  Colin couldn’t engage in rough sports. He couldn’t hurt his shunt or himself. And he must feel so different from the other boys, she mused, recalling how she’d felt lost among the larger vehicles when she’d first driven the smaller car. It started well then but rode so low she feared her hips might scrape the street. But soon she’d gained a nestling feeling within her new-used vehicle. Colin had been excited. The price was great.

  Andrew explained the warranty when she made the purchase and also said, “If you ever have problems or need anything, call me.” His gaze gripped her. “And I don’t mean only for the car.”

  It took just six days for her to call. The car hadn’t come with an extra key, and she’d thought maybe. Maybe she could speak with him again. Then maybe she could get those piercing blue eyes away from her mind.

  But he’d come with those eyes to their house the first time he showed up wearing a suit on his motorcycle. He brought Josie a key, admitted to purposely keeping the extra one and hoping she might phone for it.

  That started their time together.

  Josie massaged the inner corners of her eyes, considering how they’d grown close, so close that at one point she thought they might marry.

  Then he’d been found out. What Josie thought was his occasional betting turned out to be a real problem for Andrew. It had been for some time.

  Thank God he stopped, she thought. They’d worked together on his compulsion and now it was under control.

  Marriage? She’d considered then and even now what her role models were.

  No wonder the concept seemed too foreign. From what Josie had seen in her own home, being married was not something to yearn for.

  A band of tension circled her head. She shook it and let her eyes go, pleased to see the sun’s final ray now angled off the hood of Coach’s truck and no longer blinded her. She looked for Colin.

  Only one boy, Andy, emerged. He’d come to the house with Colin once. Andy hobbled with an equipment bag that could have been filled with cement. He stepped across a dry ditch and grabbed a car’s doorknob, and his round face lengthened. His head bobbed from one side to the other, and Josie grinned, watching him huff off to a sedan exactly like the dark blue one he’d almost gotten into.

  Glancing in her rearview mirror, she saw the vehicles left behind looked familiar, as did the faces of waiting parents.

  She again peered at the sedan Andy almost entered. It looked similar to the one she’d spied leaving the curb near the store. That car, or one like it, had followed while she drove in this direction. As often as she’d waited here, she had never seen that car parked at this school. Only one resembled it, the one driven by Andy’s mother.

  Josie stuck her head out to stare back and determine who drove that sedan.

  Thumps came from her front passenger door. “Hey Joseph. Unlock the door please.”

  “I’m not Joseph.” Josie smiled and leaned across to unlock Colin’s door.

  He tossed in his bag and climbed inside. Pulling his door shut, he yelled to someone outside. “Bye, Mom!”

  A boy nearly a head taller than all the other boys flashed a grin. “See ya, Colin,” he called, breaking into a dash to his father’s waiting Jeep.

  Josie shook her head. “He really doesn’t mind you guys calling him that?”

  “Duh. If he did, we’d be dead.” Colin smirked. “He passes real good and runs good. And he takes care of all of us little guys, so he’s kind of like our mamma.” His eyebrows shot up. “See?”

  “Oh, sure.” She grinned. At least her brother had remained the same size as some of his peers, but none were anywhere near the bulk of their mentor, Ashton Blakely, fondly called Mom.

  Easily starting the car, Josie was glad Andrew made her practice the start-up. Lately the car hesitated too much with some knocking from the engine in the rear. Andrew had done something to the motor and most of those problems disappeared.

  Colin coughed. He leaned his head back against the seat.

  Josie glanced at the new sedan as she pulled onto the street. “What did they make you today? The water boy? Assistant coach?”

  “A goal post.”

  She slammed the brakes. A horn blasted behind from a truck that almost rammed her car.

  “You were a goal post!” She drove again, no longer concerned about a sedan that had seemed to follow her.

  “Hey, goal post is good. Except if somebody big like Mom wo
uld run into you.” His guru’s name brought a grin to Colin’s face.

  “You need to get out of biddy football.”

  He shook his head, face resolute. “At least I get to be one of the guys.” He set his chin. His freckles seemed less prominent. “I’m staying on the team.”

  Josie felt his shame. How could the coach make such a mockery of this child?

  She eased in and out of lanes and, without wanting to, found herself searching in the mirror for that dark blue car, until she noticed Colin pulling back his left sleeve.

  “I know I can’t play.” He stared at the tape binding his shunt, then yanked down his sleeve. “But I’m staying on with the other boys.” He shoved his head back. Shutting his eyes, he breathed hard. Exhaustion was taking hold of him.

  A knot grew in Josie’s chest. She reached out and ruffled his hair. “You know what you need?”

  His face remained grim.

  “You need a nickname, like Mom.”

  Colin’s face brightened with interest. “Yeah?”

  “Sure.” Josie thought. “Okay, I’ve got one. How about Petunia. Or Sweet Pea? Either one would suit you fine.”

  He moaned and pushed at the air between them. “Aw you.” He turned and stared out the window. His breaths sounded labored. Being a goal post hadn’t been as easy as it sounded.

  By the time they arrived home, he was coughing while he slept with his ear down against his shoulder. The darkening sky made drivers turn on their headlights. Josie needed to wait for three cars to pass before she could turn onto her driveway. More vehicles came from behind. Uneasiness caught her when she saw the lights from the first car to her rear. Their core glistened with an unusual brightness, similar to the headlights of the sedan that seemed to follow her from the practice field.

  She hurried to turn in and head for their garage.

  Behind on the street, a dark sedan eased past.

  Chapter 5

  Two cars that looked similar near her this evening had to be a coincidence, Josie decided. Still, finding Sylvie’s car in the garage gave her solace. Colin made barking coughs, yet Josie needed to gently shake his shoulder to wake him.

  He stared at her as though not knowing who she was and then lumbered out, still coughing.

  She grabbed his equipment bag, but the look he gave her reminded that he did not want her to notice him weary. She let go of his bag, and he hefted its bulk to his shoulder.

  He tried so hard to be strong and normal, yet the defectiveness of one body part caused him to fail miserably.

  Josie followed as he trudged to their kitchen, filled with the scent of meat roasting. Her brother seemed on automatic pilot opening a cabinet, taking out bottles, unscrewing them and counting out pills. He replaced caps on the containers and placed a heap of medicine beside his plate. Only afterward did he step near their mother. “Hi,” he said, letting her kiss his cheek.

  “Hi yourself. Did you have a wonderful day?”

  Listless eyes give his answer, but Sylvie didn’t seem to notice. She smiled and said, “Terrific.”

  Colin lugged himself off, but the slightest clearing of his mother’s throat made him stop. Glancing back, he saw her staring at the counter.

  A burn hit Josie’s stomach as her weary brother returned, opened the cabinet, and replaced all of the bottles.

  Sylvie shook her head and not one of her shoulder-length highlighted hairs moved. Her lips, coated with bright pink, gave an admiring smile as she watched him leave the room. “That boy,” Sylvie said, “sprouting like a weed, just like his daddy.” She flashed Josie a smile. “I made meatloaf and green beans.”

  “Nice.” Josie noticed plates were set only in front of two chairs. The only dish at their mother’s place was a salad bowl. “But you’re only having salad?”

  Sylvie turned her small palms up. “What else?”

  “If you don’t start eating real food, you’re going to waste away.”

  Sylvie plucked a celery stick from a bowl and nibbled.

  “Mom…”

  Sylvie’s delicately traced eyebrows rose, a reminder to Josie that her parent did not want to be called that. Mom or Mother made her seem so much older, she’d said.

  Sylvie scooped salad into her bowl, and Josie fixed a pitcher of tea. Barking noises came from another room. “Colin’s cough is not getting any better,” Josie said.

  Her mother stared at the hall.

  Josie found the table’s crystal sugar dish empty and grabbed a canister from the counter. The embossed container had been scrubbed. No sugar granules remained. Two envelopes leaned inside. Josie removed them. Past due was stamped on both.

  “I thought you paid these.” She held them out.

  Sylvie barely glanced at them. “I was going to. I just forgot.” She flitted to a drawer and took out sterling silverware. “Forks to the left, knives on the right. And these nice napkins in those wooden rings will look lovely.” She peered at Josie. “Did you see these napkin holders? They were so attractive.”

  Of course Sylvie couldn’t pass up buying them. Josie still held the unpaid bills.

  Her mother set down the new napkin rings and flurried away from the room. She would be escaping to her fantasy world.

  Josie found her mother in her bedroom. Sylvie stood on white plush carpet in front of mirrored closet doors. Two of the open doors revealed fine dresses and scores of shoes arranged in orderly rows. Sylvie looped a muted amber scarf around her neck. She turned to see different views of her profile. “Do you like this, Josie? I thought it would look good with the highlights in my hair.” She leaned to make her hair lower to the scarf. “But now I’m not sure.”

  She drew that scarf off, replaced it on the hanger, and took another. This scarf was royal blue silk, its price tag dangling. Sylvie flung the scarf over her shoulder. “Don’t you like the way the light makes this shade almost glitter?”

  Josie knew that what she’d paid for the scarf would have taken care of one of the bills in her hand.

  In the mirror, Sylvie caught sight of Josie’s scowling image. “You worry about every little thing, Josie.”

  “If you can’t take care of these, I will.”

  “No, those are mine. I told you, I just forgot. But I’ll take care of them.”

  Her gaze slid back to her own reflection. “When your father gets back, he’ll remind me of all those little things. Don’t worry so much. It creates wrinkles.” Sylvie changed her expression to erase the indentures in her own forehead. The creases disappeared and she smiled.

  “Your father never forgets anything.” She loosened the scarf so it draped over one shoulder, the mention of her husband making Sylvie beam.

  Josie touched the scarf and it slid into her hand. “He won’t contact us.” She slung the blue silk over her own shoulder. “We don’t even know where he is.”

  Sylvie lifted and dropped her shoulders. Her gaze captured Josie in the mirror, and for a moment she appeared almost her own age. Then her gaze turned to look inside the closet. Her face softened and she grabbed a woolen wrap and draped it near her neck. “He’s going to love this new body. So smooth.”

  Sylvie straightened her head. She slipped her hands down her trim hips. “Not one extra bulge.” She turned to view her bedroom. “And Jack will adore the way I fixed up the house. No clutter. Everything neat and in place, exactly the way he likes.”

  Josie’s breath caught in her chest, a sense of horror gripping her. The remaining parent she and her brother had was sinking much farther from reality than she’d imagined.

  She left their mother to study her image and found Colin’s bedroom door shut. A sliver of light underneath it let her know he might be studying. More probably he would be lying across his bed, taking a short nap before dinner.

  In the den Josie stared at the dialysis machine.

  The gray metal and clear plastic sat like any other cold machinery, but by the next afternoon, those items would spring into action and pump, continuing Colin’s life
. This mechanism would keep him company. At least Sylvie had made that concession. She’d allowed the ugly machine to remain in sight and mar her house’s perfection. Josie had limited the clothes in her own closet to leave space for the two-week supply of materials needed for Colin’s treatments. Near her hanging clothes sat boxes of needles, tubes, sponges, chemicals to add to the bath, and red plastic bags needed to line the trash can and discard the tainted items. Sylvie would have wanted to keep the dialysis machine’s water supply in there, too, but it was almost the size of a washing machine and wouldn’t fit. Finally she’d conceded to allowing the container to sit in a corner behind Fred.

  Josie glimpsed back and shuddered, envisioning her mother before the mirrors. Sylvie was becoming even less available to her children. Suppose she decided Colin’s equipment needed to be put away like everything else that took away from her idea of perfection?

  Needing more air, Josie strode out the front door.

  She shut her eyes to the night’s blackness, threw back her head, and sucked in a deep inhalation. Taking deeper breaths, she tried to make the slight breeze force horrible thoughts from her mind.

  Something fluttered against her side. Josie noticed she’d left her mother’s new royal blue scarf over her shoulder.

  From the corner of her eye, she spied something else. A dark car was parked in front of the house across the street. A driver may have been inside it, but she couldn’t be certain. Their long front lawn and the maple trees blocked her view.

  The car resembled the sedan that had seemed to follow her. Maybe the Fletchers who lived there recently bought it. That would explain why the car trailed her here.

  But the Fletchers had no children. Why would they be around the school?

  Uncomfortable with that car close by, Josie wanted to check it out. But suppose someone was sitting in the dark inside it?

  “Don’t be silly,” she whispered to herself, summoning the courage to go closer.

  Josie stepped down from the stoop. Her foot bumped into a soft item. She looked down and smiled.

  A shiny red ribbon topped a huge bundle of pink toilet tissue. An attached note said “Enjoy! Your savior. Again.”