At Peace (65 page)

“Katy, come here,” Joe called gently.

She took a shaky breath then walked woodenly
to Joe.

He moved around me and put a hand to her neck
then bent to get his face close to hers and I held my breath.

“First, don’t talk to your Mom that way.
Ever. You’re pissed at Dane, we’ll talk about that in awhile. But
you’re pissed, you be pissed at who you’re pissed at. You don’t
take it out on your Mom or Keira or me, yeah?”

I was still holding my breath. Joe was
continuing to talk in that gentle voice but I wasn’t sure he’d been
around long enough to tell the girls what to do. Not that I minded,
it would come to this eventually might as well be sooner rather
than later. However, now he had his hand on the neck of a teenage
girl in the throes of her first big fight with her first real
boyfriend (or, though I hoped not, her first breakup). I was
thinking now wasn’t the time to go all Dad on her.

Nevertheless, at this juncture I had to keep
my peace. Tim and I had a pact, even if we disagreed with what the
other was saying, we never contradicted each other in front of the
girls. That talk would come later.

Joe hadn’t said anything I disagreed with so
that talk wouldn’t come later but I still needed to keep my peace.
He’d waded in. I just had to hope he could handle it.

Kate took a big breath, it hitched half a
dozen times while she took it then she surprised me when she
collapsed into Joe’s body and cried, “He’s a
jerk
. A total
asshole!
I
hate
him!”

I pressed my lips together and bit them as
Joe’s arms went around a now sobbing Kate and his eyes came to
me.

“Let’s go, honey,” he said to Kate, his eyes
not leaving me.

She jerked her head back and swiped at her
face. “Go? Where?”

Joe tipped his head down to look at her.
“Time for you to ride in the ’68.”

“
I don’t… Joe…” she took another stuttering
breath and she said, “I don’t wanna take a ride, Joe.”

“Let’s go,” Joe repeated.

“Joe –” Kate began.

“Honey, let’s… go.” He was still talking
gentle but this was mingled with his “I’m not going to repeat
myself” tone.

Kate looked at me then at Joe then, wisely,
she nodded.

He slid an arm around her shoulders and led
her to the door.

“
We’ll be back for me to cook the brats.
Do
not
cook them
yourself,” Joe ordered as he walked by me.

I didn’t know if he ordered this for me to
conserve my energy or because he didn’t want me to ruin them. It
didn’t matter either way since my mind was on the fact that I was
obviously not invited on this ride in Joe’s
Bullitt
car and even though he seemed to be doing
okay, I wasn’t sure Joe had the skills to handle this volatile
situation without me being mediator.

“Joe,” I called as I followed them.

“We’ll be back in awhile,” Joe said but he
didn’t look back at me as he guided Kate down the hall.

“Joe, I think –”

He looked back then and he did it to say, “In
awhile, buddy.”

I bit my lips again. Then I nodded.

I stopped in the living room, my eyes
following them through the windows as they walked to Joe’s house
and Keira got close to me.

“Where they goin’?” she asked

“No idea,” I answered.

“Is Katy okay?” she asked.

“Nope,” I answered.

“I hope she doesn’t break up with Dane. He’s
the hottest guy in school and he’s nice. That means you both have
the hottest, nicest guys in school and in town. This means good
things for my future because I’m up next.”

I stopped worrying because I started
laughing.

Then I looked at my last born and kissed her
cheek.

Then I said, “They may be hot and they may be
nice but they’re also men. And men can be idiots. So it isn’t
smooth sailing, honey, and it never will be.”

“I can handle it,” Keira blithely assured me,
so ready for her first boyfriend it wasn’t funny.

I, on the other hand, was not ready for
Keira’s first boyfriend. If my sweet, quiet, mellow Kate could
throw a scene like that, Keira’s first drama would probably blow
the roof off the house.

“
I hope so,” I muttered then said, “let’s
sit on the deck. Summer’ll be over soon, we need to get our deck
time in.”

“Yeah, let me get a pop,” Keira replied.

She got her pop and her phone and I grabbed
my wine. We sat on the deck and she told me about the possible
boyfriends she had lined up for freshman year. She did this while
she texted, lining up those possible boyfriends, multitasking.

While she did this I sipped my wine and
fretted about Joe and Kate.

Thirty minutes later, the sliding glass door
opened, I twisted in my seat and saw Joe with Kate tucked close to
his side walking through. Her face was still red but it was
dry.

Kate disengaged from Joe and came to me,
bending down to give me a hug, she whispered, “Sorry, Mawdy. I was
ticked.”

“That’s okay, baby,” I told her, hugging her
back.

Then she let me go, threw herself in a chair
and I looked at Joe.

“It’s cool,” he said calmly and walked to the
grill, ordering, “Keirry, babe, help me out, yeah? Go get the
brats.”

“Sure, Joe,” Keira replied, jumping up,
eyeing Kate but doing as Joe asked.

“Joe’s car is the bomb,” Kate told me when
the door slid closed behind Keira.

I ignored the comment and asked, “Are you
okay?”

She looked away then back at me then she
said, “Yeah.”

“Sure?”

She shrugged, looked at Joe who was standing
by the grill, eyes on Kate, hands on hips. Then she looked at the
yard.

“
He messes things up with me, his loss,”
Kate told the yard then sighed and looked at me. “And he loses, he
loses
huge.
”

My eyes went to Joe, he shrugged and said,
“They may be in high school, buddy, but not a lotta girls like Kate
in this world. Dane doesn’t get that, he’s fucked. He’ll spend the
rest of his life thinkin’ ‘bout the one who got away.”

For longer than was necessary, I stared at
Joe after he finished speaking.

And I did it thinking,
Fuck, but I love this
man.

I sighed through that thought then looked
back at my daughter.

“What’d he do?” I asked, Kate’s breathing
hitched again, my eyes slid to Joe and Joe shook his head. “Forget
it, I don’t wanna know,” I finished quickly.

Kate nodded and looked at the yard.

Keira returned with the brats. Joe cooked
them while Keira brought out plates, cutlery, buns, condiments and
bowls of store bought macaroni salad and chips.

We ate on the deck.

Tina didn’t attempt to spy which I thought
was an added bonus to having a man who could be threatening and in
your face (could and
would)
.

Kate stayed silent and thoughtful throughout
dinner. Keira filled the silence with chatter and I helped her.
Kate did the dishes on her own, the rest of us giving her space and
then she disappeared in her room.

Keira put in a movie and she and Mooch camped
out in the living room.

Joe and I sat on the deck with beer and
wine.

“Tell me,” I demanded.

Joe looked at me then back at the yard then
he took a pull on his beer.

Finally, he spoke. “Stupid shit, Dane’s bein’
an ass. He’s about to fuck up royally, he goes ahead with this
gig.”

“What gig?”

“Met a girl from Plainfield. She asked him
out. Kate says she’s pretty well-known, seein’ as she puts
out.”

“Oh shit,” I murmured.

Joe kept talking. “He wants a break from
exclusive to test the waters but he also wants to keep Kate on a
string. Kate doesn’t wanna be on a string.”

“I don’t like him anymore,” I declared and
Joe looked at me.

“Won’t be anyone to like, he does this to
Kate. She won’t take him back and he’ll come back, buddy, believe
me.”

“She’s hung up on him, you sure she won’t
take him back?”

“Yep.”

“How’re you sure?”

Joe took another pull of beer, looked at the
yard and he spoke.

“
Told her I been around, met my share of
women, never met any like you, her or Keira. Not in thirty-nine
years. Bein’ like she is, she doesn’t need to take shit. Her man
doesn’t hand her the world, she throws him back and finds one who
will. No dickin’ around. Told her she needs to look at her Mom and
learn. You had three men in your life, all of ‘em willin’ to hand
you the world. She should accept nothin’ less.” He took another
pull of beer then finished. “She got my point.”

“Joe,” I called.

“Yeah?” he answered, his eyes not leaving the
yard.

“Baby, look at me,” I whispered.

Joe looked at me.

I leaned into him and put a hand to his
face.

“Sucks for you, you had to wait thirty-nine
years,” I told him.

“Yeah,” he replied.

“But works for me,” I went on and he
grinned.

“Yeah.”

“I’ll do what I can to be worth the wait,” I
whispered and his eyes got intense.

“
You do that, buddy,” he whispered back,
“startin’ tonight.”

I smiled, leaned further in and touched my
mouth to his.

Then I pulled back and whispered, “This is
workin’ great.”

Joe smiled then promised, “Best is yet to
come.”

“Yeah?” I asked.

He leaned in this time and touched his mouth
to mine.

“Always,” he murmured.

That was good to know.

* * * * *

When the girls came out to the deck to say
goodnight this time, they kissed me on the mouth like usual.

Then they kissed Joe on his scarred
cheek.

Both of them.

The best came for Joe faster than it did for
me.

* * * * *

We waited for the girls to be asleep before
Joe showed me what being creative meant.

I thought he was already pretty creative.

I was wrong.

I decided if he ever earned payback like that
again, we’d go to a hotel so I could make as much noise as I
wanted.

Luckily, one time I came, my moan was muffled
due to his cock being in my mouth.

The other three times,
I
had to get creative.

* * * * *

Therefore now, with my in-laws at the door
about to meet my new man, you would think I’d be pretty relaxed,
having had four orgasms before sleeping like a log.

And having had a good week, a topsy-turvy one
but, if this was an indication of my girls and my future with Joe,
I’d not only keep it, I’d take down anyone who tried to take it
away from me.

Because of all that, you’d definitely think I
was relaxed.

But I wasn’t relaxed.

I wasn’t relaxed at all.

Pie

I exited the bedroom to see Joe coming toward
me, his manner was urgent and there was a strange light to his eyes
and set to his mouth. I wasn’t sure but I could swear he looked
like he didn’t know whether to laugh or shout.

He opened his mouth to speak but before he
made a noise, Keira shrieked, her voice chock full of pure glee,
“
Mom! You
won’t believe this! Uncle Vinnie and Aunt Theresa are here
too!
”

I stopped walking and Joe stopped in front of
me so close we were toe-to-toe. I tipped my head back to look at
him and I could actually feel my eyeballs bugging out of their
sockets.

“Cool!” Kate yelled and I heard her
scrambling toward the door, following, I knew because I heard her
shouts outside, Keira.

Then I heard the door close. Then I heard
both the girls shouting outside.

The mingling of family wasn’t supposed to
happen, not now, not until Joe and I were having, say, our peony
festooned engagement dinner somewhere fancy and close to water (I
was thirty-five and this was the second time around but that didn’t
mean I didn’t have fantasies), when Bea was comfortable with Joe;
Theresa and Vinnie could be briefed about Bea’s delicate
disposition; and the situation could be contained.

“Joe –” I whispered and his hand came to my
neck.

“Relax.”

“Bea’s shy.”

“Buddy, relax.”

“She spooks easy and Theresa and Vinnie are
–”

He dipped his head and kissed me lightly.

When he was done, he asked, “Baby, what’d I
say?”

I stared into his blue eyes.

Then I nodded.

His hand slid from my neck to around my
shoulders and he walked me through the study, the living room and
out the door.

The vision that assaulted us was Kate, Keira
and Mooch jumping around Bea, Gary, Uncle Vinnie and Aunt Theresa,
Mooch yapping, the girls giving exuberant hugs and kisses.

Then Kate stopped and grabbed Bea’s hand,
introducing, “Gram, Gramps, this is Uncle Vinnie and Aunt Theresa,
Joe’s folks. They’re
awesome!
”

Bea started to take a step back but Kate,
knowing how her grandmother was, clutched her hand and she got
close as Gary’s arm went around Bea’s waist.

“
Yeah, they’re
awesome!
” Keira concurred, her arm around Vinnie, her
smile so big, it had to hurt her face.

“This is great, isn’t it Mawdy?” Kate called
to me, “like, most of the whole family together.”

“Yeah,” Keira agreed. “All we need is Mel,
Benny and Manny and it’d be like a family reunion.”

Theresa and Vinnie were beaming. Gary looked
confused. Bea looked scared out of her brain.