Alexander (3 page)

While Jack went to gather his book bag, she tidied up the rest of the kitchen. She knew it had been Jack’s turn to cook because the kitchen was only slightly out of order. Grandda would have made a mess like he was cooking for three times what they had to eat. She turned to look at him when he coughed again.

“
Spill it, old man. I’m too tired to try a guessing game. Besides, you look like you’re about to burst open.” When he gestured toward a chair, she froze inside. “What’s happened? Tell me.”

“
Your mom called again. Now don’t go off pissy,” he said when she rose up to leave. “She asked after the boy. Then she said…she wanted to know if you’d come to your senses yet.”

She looked at him, confused. Then it hit her. “She still thinks I should give him up. After all this…doesn’t she realize that he’s mine? That I love him more than my own life?”

Her grandda snorted. “She no doubt gets it now. Had a few words with her myself. Can’t believe I had such a selfish bitch for a child.”

Heather laughed. Her mother was in her early fifties and far from being a child. But she wisely kept her mouth shut. She looked at her grandda and kissed him.

“
I’m sorry, Grandda. I’m so sorry you had to lose a daughter over this. I love you very much.”

“
I wouldn’t have it any other way honey.” He got up to pace. “She said I was an old fool for helping you out. Said I was being bilked. Bilked outta what, I asked her. Here we are living off you working three jobs and my social security and don’t have two cents to rub together. You know what I told her? That I ain’t been happier in my whole life since my Colleen died. Why, Jack and you make me young.”

Heather got up and hugged her grandda. “I love you so very much.” He blushed bright red and gathered his things for his job.

He was a greeter for Wal-Mart three days a week. He said he did it for the money, but she thought he’d gotten himself a girlfriend. She hugged him again as he went out the door. The rest of the morning was spent on giving Jack a once-over of his spelling words and him helping her with her homework. He handed her the permission slip reluctantly. He and his class were to go to COSI, the Center of Science and Industry, the following week and the children were required to bring a minimum of twenty dollars to pay for bussing and their lunch.

“
I don’t care if I go, Mom. The teacher said that some of the kids who didn’t want to go could spend the day in the library reading. I really like to read, you know.” She looked at her son and wondered not for the first time when he’d gone from the baby she’d brought home to the grown child in front of her.

“
Jack, we always have the money for your school.” She got up from the table and began cleaning the already spotless counter. “I’m sorry, little man. Sorry every day I can’t give you more. But I just couldn’t let you go after I saw you.”

He didn’t say anything, but she heard him move his chair. When his arms wrapped around her from behind, she felt tears spill over her cheeks.

“
Is this ‘cause of Vickie?” Jack had never called her mom anything but by her first name. Heather nodded. “Poop on her. I heard Grandpa Tom yelling at her. He sure was mad.”

“
He told me. He said she was selfish.” Heather had a moment to wonder if there had been more than grandda had told her. When Jack spoke, she knew there had been.

“
He sure can string together some cuss words when he wants, huh? I would have gotten my butt blistered but good if I’d said only one or two of them.” She knew he was laughing; she could feel him shaking behind her.

She turned around and looked down at him, fighting her own laughter. “See that you don’t. You’ll never be too big for me to spank.”

He was out the door ten minutes later to catch the bus. Heather sat down heavily in the chair and looked around their home. They’d lived here for eight years and it looked it. The counters were a worn yellow with a few patches of white. The appliances were old and the stove worked when it suited. The ice machine had never produced a single cube since they’d moved in.

The floors were clean, she saw to that, but worn in so many places it resembled a patch work quilt rather than a floor. She’d made curtains once, but they’d long since been thrown out. The table and chairs, along with the rest of the furniture throughout the apartment, was third if not fourth hand. The plates were mismatched, as were the glasses and silverware. The place was a dump, a clean dump, but a dump nonetheless. But it was cheap, something that they needed as much now as they had then.

As she made her way to her room to take a nap before her next job, she locked up and turned off lights and wondered if things could get any worse.

~
Chapter 3~

Alex hugged his sister to him again. He was still trying to wrap his mind around the fact that she was married and now she was pregnant. And even though he and Jared were friends, he was still trying to figure out if he was pissed off at him or not.

“
Stop glaring at him,” Wills said as she punched him. “We didn’t do anything you haven’t done a thousand times before.”

“
I’ll have you know that I never got anyone’s sister pregnant. That I know of. And I thank you for the high opinion you have of my sex life.” He kissed her again. “But a big brother is entitled to be a little thrown when he finds out his baby sister is knocked up.”

“
Such language,” Amanda admonished him as she came into the room. “Women aren’t knocked up when they are married, they glow.”

Alex smiled at his mom as she sat next to Jared. He stuck his tongue out at Alex. He glared; Wills laughed at her husband. They all looked at his mom when she simply cleared her throat.

“
So,” Edgar James said as he came into the room. “Tell us more about what happened at the bakery. By the way, House of Aromas is now my favorite new place. These muffins are the best.”

Alex had brought them a dozen of the muffins from the shop. Caroline Shafer, the woman he’d saved from certain rape, had been so grateful she’d told him he had whatever he wanted for life. He assured her that he wouldn’t live long with an offer like that, but he would come by once in a while for some muffins.

“
The police were very nice. They told Caroline that he’d probably done it before and gotten away with it. She said he was the best wholesale distributor as far as pricing goes around the state.” Marta, Jared and Wills’ housekeeper, came in with fresh coffee as he continued. “She said he’d been asking her out, but she’d said no every time before, including today. She said she couldn’t figure out what he would want from a woman three times his age.”

“
Could be he’s a mite on the sick side,” Marta said as she sat down. “I know Miss Caroline. She’s a friend of my mamma’s. Her mamma used to bake all the pastries that come outta that shop afore she passed on. Hear tell Miss Caroline got her a good cook in Missy Laird. You met her, Master Alex?”

“
No. Just the daughter, Lisa. She seems like a nice girl.” When they all turned to look at him, he stood and stretched. “I’m going to bed before you all have me married off to the baker’s daughter.” He went up to the room his sister had taken him to when he’d arrived. He was smiling when he entered, thinking about their faces when he’d told him he was selling out to Brick in a few weeks.

His dad had been the first to recover. Grabbing him in a bear hug, he’d told him now he, too, could move closer. His parents had sold their house in Virginia not long after Jared and Wills had returned from their honeymoon. Alex thought that Jared’s parents had done the same thing and had moved close enough to be considered neighbors.

The room he was in was huge, bigger, he thought, than his entire apartment back in Cincinnati—and much homier. The bed was a monster of a four poster that fit his six-foot-six frame easily. The furniture, all antiques, was dark cherry and polished to a bright sheen. Lying down on the bed, he thought about the shower he’d used too.

Six sprays, three on both sides of him, and the large overhead spray as well. The water had tumbled down over his head like a gentle rain, warm and soft. He didn’t think he’d ever enjoyed anything so much as that in a very long time. He rolled over to his back and wondered if he needed to start dating more if a shower was the best thing he’d experienced in some time. He was drifting off when he realized he should sell his stuff and move up here.

~~~

Heather was pulling out her first batch of cookies as Caroline told her about the delivery guy. Heather wasn’t sure who the guy was as she’d never met the people who came in before she did, but she heard about him often enough.

“
Are you all right then?” She looked over her boss and thought she looked better than she had in a while. “I hope you called the police.”

“
Yes. Yes. They came and took him away in the ambulance. I had a hero. Something James, I don’t remember his first name. He came right back here and knocked the kid on his ass.” Caroline laughed as she told the story.

Heather had worked for “House” six days a week baking and decorating whatever Caroline needed. Sometimes more when she needed her to do a wedding cake or some other special project. Caroline had agreed to work around her schedule of needing to be off by three in the afternoon and had only had to miss that time once in all this time. At one o’clock, Heather was pulling out the last cake she’d decorate tomorrow when she came in and only had another two batches of cookies to bake. The loaves of bread just needed to cool enough to put into the wrappers and then she was finished. When the phone rang up front, Lisa yelled back to get it, please. Heather picked up the extension and a pen.

“
Caroline, please?” The voice was very male and one Heather didn’t recognize.

“
She’s not here right now. I don’t know when she’ll be back. Can I take a message for you?” Heather pulled the pad closer to write whatever order the guy wanted, hoping she had it already finished.

“
She asked me to call her at this time. Tell her it’s James and she’ll come to the phone. It’s all right, kid. Just do it.”

Heather didn’t like being talked to as if she were stupid. The man’s tone made her think he was a guy used to getting what he wanted when he wanted it. “I’m not in the habit of lying, sir. But I will give you the benefit of the doubt because you don’t know me. But I assure you, she’s not here. If you want me to take a message for you, then I will.”

“
I never said you were…damn it. I refuse to explain myself to you. Put her on the fucking phone like a good girl and I won’t get you into trouble.” His voice had taken on a very forceful tone now. She didn’t like it any better than she did being called a liar—twice now.

“
You’re so right. You don’t have to explain your high and snotty self to me. Goodbye.” She wanted to slam the phone down and hurt his ears, but she gently returned it to the cradle.

When it rang less than a minute later, she picked it up before Lisa did. She knew it was him, at least she hoped so. She smiled when he started sputtering.

“
You hang up on me again and I’ll have your ass fired. Put Caroline on the fucking phone right now.” He was snarling now and for reasons she couldn’t explain, that made her laugh out loud. “You won’t think it’s so funny when I get there.”

Heather was still laughing as she finished up the bread and cookies and put on her coat. After telling Lisa she’d be back later tonight, she slipped out the back door just as she heard the bell in the front part of the building ringing. She walked the seven blocks to her next job with a small skip in her step.

Her pants she’d worn to the bakery were fine. She pulled the half shirt on that was her uniform at the bar. She hated it, but the tips were good and she needed the extra money the patrons tipped her because she wore it.

She did notice that she had to cinch up her belt another notch. She tried to remember if she had actually eaten lunch today or had she only thought she had? Grandda was going to be upset with her if he noticed she’d lost more weight and decided to make sure her shirts were a little baggy until she had time to put a little weight back on.

Heather was beat. She didn’t know how much longer she was going to be able to keep going on the little cat-naps she was getting every day. Pulling out the picture of Jack and Grandda she’d taken a few weeks ago, she sat down and closed her eyes. For them, she’d do about anything.

She opened her bag and took out her book and lessons. One more class, six more weeks, and she’d have her high school diploma. She was twenty-six years old and was finally going to get it. She brushed angrily at her tears. At least she was trying. But she knew it was more for Jack than anything. He was her own personal cheering squad and every time one of her papers came back with an A on it, he’d hang it on the refrigerator next to his.

She supposed she could have gotten her GED by now. It was only a test and she could have had this done. But she wanted to have a real education, with lesson plans and homework. It had taken her three years of working when she could, making payments she could ill afford, but it was going to be worth it. She could go to college and make something of herself when she was finished.

“
You ever come up for air?”

Heather looked up, startled.

“
I said you ever come up for air. You been at it for over an hour.” Bob pointed to the book in front of her.

“
I was just reading. Do you need something?” She closed her book, embarrassed to be caught studying. No one knew her situation. None of the places knew all that much about her and she liked it that way. No one knew about her lack of education and absolutely no one knew about Jack. She’d made that mistake before and had nearly lost Jack over it. They all knew she had other jobs, but not where or that she was barely scraping by.