Lights Out (Indigo)

by Robinson, Ruthie

  “I’ll wait by the front door,” he said, closing his bedroom door behind him as he left the room. Joe, you could have handled that better, he thought, admonishing himself. Yeah, but it wouldn’t have been nearly as effective. Rachel and her night sky would not be calling him again, he thought.

  * * *

  “So are you ready for school?” Joe asked Shane as he stood inside the door of his room.

  “Been ready, stay ready, born ready,” Shane said, looking at his uncle and laughing. That was the line they shared with each other, a habit they started right after Shane had come to live with him. He loved this kid, couldn’t imagine loving his own flesh and blood more.

  Shane had been so shy, so unsure of himself when he came to live with Joe, and now he was not the same kid anymore. A stable home seemed to worked for him.

  At first Joe wasn’t sure what parenting an elementary-aged child required, but he’d known what unstable looked like, so he started out by doing exactly the opposite of the way he’d been raised. So far, so good. Between he and Reye, and the teachers and principal at school, they’d gotten him on track. Success at school had helped to build his confidence.

  Had he known Reye would have been what he was looking for, he’d have treated her differently in the beginning of their relationship. Not that she would have been interested. She loved Stephen.

  School started tomorrow. His mind moved away from its musing and moved on to his internal list of what Shane would need for the day.

  Chapter 6

  First week of September

  It isn’t so bad here, Taylor thought, looking around the room at the kids sitting at the tables surrounding her in her homeroom at her new school. A Mr. Marshall would be her homeroom teacher. Homeroom was their first stop here at the beginning of each day. She also had Mr. Marshall for math.

  Piper had insisted on walking her to her class. Thankfully, her sister hadn’t been the lone parent. There were parents everywhere at this school. Most trailed behind their kids, but others stood talking to other parents in clumps in the hall before class and talking to teachers like they were old friends.

  In her old school parents hadn’t been allowed in. Kids were dropped off at the door. But this was a different kind of school, she could tell that already. There were different kinds of kids here, too. Maybe she would fit in.

  The kid next to her rocked back and forth a little, autistic, she believed someone had said. They didn’t tease him, a new concept for her, and the other children seemed to be used to him. That in itself was interesting. His name was Sebastian, and he spent a lot of time on the computer.

  The girls had also been a surprise. They were actually friendly to her. A few had come over and introduced themselves. Judith, Heather, and Sarah, she believed those were their names.

  No needless teasing about her baseball cap, her jeans, questions about her wanting to be a boy. No, she wasn’t a boy and didn’t want to be one. She just liked what the boys did, and she wasn’t interested in clothes—jeans, a shirt, and sneakers were all she needed.

  “Hey. You’re new here?”

  Taylor looked up into the face of a boy, blond hair falling to his shoulders, sporting a Brazilian soccer shirt.

  “Yes, I am.”

  “You’ll like this school,” he said, walking around the table and pulling out the chair next to her. “I’ve only been here two years,” he said, sitting down. “Most of the kids have been here since pre-school. I saw you talking to Heather, Judith, and Sarah. They’re nice, too. Most of the people here are nice.”

  He talks a lot, Taylor thought.

  “My name is Shane. Shane Sandborne. What’s yours?” he asked.

  “Taylor Knight.”

  “Where you from?” he asked.

  “San Antonio.”

  “I used to go to a different school before coming here, when I lived with my mom. Kids there were mean, plus I had a hard time learning things.”

  “Is it different here?” she asked.

  “Yeah,” he said, looking over at her. “I like the hat,” he added, pausing for a second. “I’m going to sit next to you, look out for you, since you’re the new kid. Have any questions, just ask me.”

  Taylor returned his gaze and nodded her head. “Okay. Nice to meet you, Shane,” she said.

  Their teacher Mr. Marshall had moved to the front of the room.

  “It is time to begin the day. We have a new member joining our classroom this year,” he said, and Taylor inwardly groaned. She hated the introduction of the new student more than she hated being the new student.

  “We have a special way of introducing our new kids in this school, so stand up, guys,” he said. “You know the drill.”

  Taylor watched as the kids formed a circle, like a football team would do before the start of a game to pump themselves up. The circle started moving, rocking from side to side, children’s arms wrapped around the shoulders of the students next to them. Mr. Marshall started talking, his voice a hair above a whisper.

  “This year, we are excited to have a new student in our class. Her name is Taylor Knight,” he said, moving side-to-side along with the children. “Taylor hails from the city of San Antonio, has a little sister also attending our school, and loves basketball. Let’s give it up everyone, for Taylor,” he said. The circle started to clap in unison.

  “Follow me, Taylor,” Mr. Marshall said to her, and she did, walking around the circle and high fiving the kids like she was the starter of the game. She laughed. They were all laughing and smiling by the time she completed the circle.

  “Thank you, students,” Mr. Marshall said, scanning his students. “We are happy to have you here in our classroom. Take your seats, kids, and let’s get this party started.”

  Taylor took her seat next to Shane, who looked over and smiled. He leaned over and whispered in her ear, “Told you that you’d like it here.”

  She sat back and reached for the schedule Mr. Marshall was currently passing out to the class. Maybe she would.

  * * *

  Piper pulled in to the school parking lot, at the end of the first day. Her eyes searched for an empty spot. This was a small school; about 300 kids from grades pre-K to eight were housed in a three-story brick building situated on two acres of land, surrounded by an older, established neighborhood.

  Lots of land, but not so much parking, Piper thought as she made her second pass through the parking lot, finally finding someone leaving.

  She walked into Ken’s class, noting the many parents here—old hands, apparently. She smiled at the teacher, Mrs. Samson, who stood talking to an older woman, maybe someone’s grandmother. She had Mrs. Samson, an older woman in her sixties, earlier that day.

  Piper stood for a second, observing Ken in the midst of play. She had missed having the girls with her today.

  Ken spotted her and walked over to meet her, a smile in place, taking Piper’s hand in hers and moving them toward her teacher. Mrs. Samson stood in the middle of two sets of parents, and Piper and Ken walked over and stood quietly waiting their turn. About three minutes later, Mrs. Samson turned to them.

  “Hello, Piper, nice to see you again,” she said, pulling Kennedy’s body into her side. “I enjoyed having your sister in my class today. She is going to be fine,” she said, taking Piper’s hand in her free one with a grip that would have made a wrestler proud. She was strong for her old self, Piper thought, trying not to grimace.

  “I’m glad. I was a little worried.”

  “Don’t be. She’ll be fine,” Mrs. Samson said, letting go of Piper’s hand. “I’m going to have a really special class this year, I can tell,” she said, squeezing Kennedy, who seemed pleased by the attention and the hug.

  “And while you’re here, there are some volunteer sign-up sheets for upcoming activities that will require our parents’ assistance. Feel free to make use of them. We need drivers for field trips, hosts for parties, so find something you like. And always feel free to call if you ever have
any concerns or questions about Kennedy,” she said, dismissing Piper nicely and politely, as there were parents waiting in the queue to talk to her now. She gave a final squeeze to Kennedy. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” she said, looking down into Ken’s face.

  “Let’s go see what we can sign up for,” Piper said, looking over at Kennedy after they’d moved away from the teacher. They walked over to look at the sign-up sheets.

  Who knew there was so much to do? Piper put her name down for two field trips and signed up to help with the Halloween carnival. That sounded like fun, and it was a ways off. They collected Ken’s backpack and headed out the door to check out Taylor’s room.

  Piper felt like a salmon heading upstream as she and Ken made their way toward Taylor’s room, which was located at the opposite end of the building. When they reached the door, Ken let go of Piper’s hand and ran into Taylor’s classroom, searching for her sister like some seek-and-destroy missile. Taylor stood talking to a blond haired kid about her age.

  Piper watched them from the doorway, admiring the way Taylor introduced Ken to the boy. She was glad that they were more friends than enemies, as she knew some sisters could be.

  Taylor seemed happy, her smile large as she talked to the little boy before moving off with her sister’s hand in hers to talk to three other children standing nearby.

  Piper looked around the room. There was a sign-up table here, too. Piper walked over to it, looking at her choices.

  There was a sheet for help with the science fair. She used to be okay in science; maybe she could help with that and Halloween. She was thinking it over when Taylor appeared at her side, with her boy buddy in tow.

  “Piper, this is my new friend,” she said.

  “Hi, new friend,” Piper quipped. Taylor rolled her eyes and the boy smiled.

  “His name is Shane,” Taylor said.

  “Hi, Shane. Nice to meet you. Are you new to the school, too?”

  “No, I started last year. This is my second year,” he said.

  “Are your parents here tonight?” she asked, looking around the room.

  “No. I live with my uncle. He’s my legal guardian, and I’ve been with him for the last two years, since my mother got sick,” he replied, earnest and sincere.

  “I’m sorry. I hope your mother is better now?” she said. Shane’s face shifted and turned cloudy.

  “I think so,” he said.

  “You’re lucky to have someone care for you. He must be a nice man,” she said.

  “He is the best. He should be here soon,” Shane said.

  “Can we stay and meet him?” Taylor asked, eyes pleading.

  “Sure,” Piper said, still caught in the euphoria of the girls making friends.

  “I’ll bring him over when he gets here,” Shane said.

  “We’ll be over there,” Taylor said, grabbing Shane’s hand and pulling him along behind her and back toward the corner filled with other children. They were having a good time, occupying themselves while their parents visited with the teacher or looked around the classroom. Ken tagged along, watching her older sister and this new boy with a this is an interesting development look in her eyes.

  Piper went back to considering the Halloween carnival. She could volunteer for both of the girls’ classes in one night. She decided to also sign up for the spring trip to the water park and a trip to the humane society.

  Having completed that task she looked up, scoping out the other parents. And then she watched Joe walk into the room, looking good enough to eat. She hadn’t seen him in what, a month at least, not since the poetry night. He’d stopped coming by the shop.

  He’d come from work, and was dressed professionally in a light blue dress shirt, open at the throat, tucked into nice dress slacks. The whole ensemble appeared expensive.

  Did he ever have a bad hair day, a bad anything day? she wondered, continuing to watch him. He was fine. She couldn’t deny that, didn’t even try.

  Don’t tell me he has a kid, she thought, looking around for offspring that matched him. Was he married? What a disappointment that would be. She watched him as his eyes scanned the room, meeting up with hers. He was surprised. She could read it in his eyes. He smiled at her and she returned his with one of her own.

  “Uncle Joe!” She watched as Shane dashed over to his side. Taylor followed behind, cautious in her approach, recognition in her eyes, too. Piper watched as Joe smiled at Shane, and noted the love reflected in his eyes.

  “Uncle Joe, this is my new friend, Taylor,” Shane said, reaching for Taylor’s hand, pulling her to stand next to him. Joe looked over at Taylor, who smiled shyly back at his uncle.

  “You’ve been to my sister’s shop,” said Taylor.

  “Yes. Lights Out Coffee,” Joe replied.

  “So you know her sister Piper, too?” Shane asked.

  “I do, actually,” he said, looking at Shane.

  Piper walked over to stand behind Taylor and Ken.

  “Piper,” Shane said, looking up at her with pride for his uncle displayed in his eyes. “This is my Uncle Joe. Joe Sandborne,” he said.

  “Your uncle, imagine that. Hello, Joe. I can see the resemblance.” she said, looking between the two of them, noting the blond hair reaching both their shoulders. Different eye colors, though.

  “So Shane’s your nephew?”

  “Yes.”

  “Joe, can I show Piper and Kennedy my locker? We’ll be right back,” Shane said, looking between the two of them.

  “We’ll need to get going soon, so don’t be long,” Joe said.

  “I won’t.” Shane turned and pulled her sisters along behind him. Joe and Piper watched the kids move away. She turned to look at him, feeling suddenly nervous.

  “So,” she said.

  “So,” he replied and smiled.

  “How long has he been with you?”

  “Two years.”

  “What happened to his mother?”

  “Long story,” he said. That was clearly the end of that.

  Okay, she could take hints.

  “How do you like the school?” she asked.

  “I love it. It’s been great for Shane. We’ve been very happy here.”

  “Good to know.”

  It was quiet for a moment.

  “How long are you going to have your sisters?”

  “It looks like it may be the entire year, or the first half at least.”

  “You okay with that?”

  “Getting used to it,” she said.

  “It gets easier,” he said.

  The kids came back over.

  “Well, we’d better get going,” he said. “Say goodbye to Taylor. I need to talk to your teacher for a second, and then we’ll leave,” Joe said to Shane.

  “Sure, Uncle Joe. See you tomorrow, Taylor, Kennedy. Nice meeting you, Piper,” he said, walking to stand at his uncle’s side.

  “See you around. Nice to meet you, too, Shane,” she said to Joe, smiling at Shane before following Taylor and Kennedy out the door.

  * * *

  “So the two of you like school?” Piper asked, pulling out of the school’s parking lot a few moments later. She listened as Kennedy talked about her first day.

  “You like Shane?” Piper asked Taylor after Kennedy quieted.

  Taylor looked over at Piper, assessing.

  “I like him as a friend,” she said. “Not interested in boys yet. It’s too early for me.”

  “Good to know. I’m going to stop by Target and pick up the rest of your school list, and then we’ll head to the coffee shop,” she said. “You guys hungry?”

  “Nope.”

  Kennedy started telling her about each of the kids in her class, full descriptions, and Piper let her mind drift, happy that the girls were happy, reflecting on her surprise at seeing Joe. He had a kid, his nephew, and like her, he was taking care of his own, choosing family over himself.

  She thought back to the last time she’d seen him. She remembered the woman, he
r expression as she read the poem about him. Piper had seen naked and unguarded want, maybe even love in those eyes. That was a frightening proposition, because she didn’t think he did love; sex, yes—mind blowing, leave your heart in tatters sex—but sex only, not love.

  She missed seeing him, missed sparring with him. She liked that he’d pushed back and wasn’t intimidated by her assertiveness. And now, a family-first man. What a surprise.

  * * *

  “So how long have you known Piper?” Shane asked while Joe drove them home.

  “About two or three months,” he said.

  “You’ve been to their coffee shop?”

  “Yep.”

  “You have to take me there sometime,” he said.

  Joe nodded, but knew he wouldn’t if he could avoid it. What a surprise to see Piper again, although it shouldn’t have been. It made sense. The school was in close proximity to her shops, and her dad could probably afford it, but he hadn’t thought the girls would be with her on a permanent basis.

  And he was back to being impressed with her and aroused, as sick as that sounded, all over again. He’d actually missed seeing her in the mornings, a little foreplay with his coffee. He thought she was easy to be around, funny and welcoming to her customers, to people in general. She seemed to take life as it came, just went with the flow, made the best of it, and there was something very sexy in that, especially for him.

  Her physical presence was another pull, and probably always would be. She’d looked good today outfitted in a dress that clung to her figure. It had been an enticement from the beginning. He didn’t think her beautiful, and still didn’t. But she’d gotten his attention tonight, attractive in her own way, her hair curly around her head, freckles dusting the top of her cheeks, lips full and shiny. When she smiled she was pretty, or maybe he thought so because he admired the person underneath the skin.

  “So, are there any new kids besides Taylor?” he asked, letting Shane take him into the world of the fifth-grader, content to think of something other than Piper.