Jailbird (8 page)

So maybe it was something other than sanity
that compelled me to walk around the car to Charlie’s door in the
motel parking lot. Perhaps some grand puppeteer was at the strings
when I opened his door, took him by the hand, and led him
reluctantly to the door.

One thing I hadn’t counted on was the look on
Conrad’s face when he opened the door to his motel room. I almost
took a step forward to place myself between him and Charlie.
Instead, I took a deep breath and plunged ahead with
introductions.

“Conrad, this is Charlie. Charlie this is
Conrad. Conrad, before we go any further, can you please tell
Charlie the exact nature of our relationship?”

“I’m her brother,” Conrad took a step towards
Charlie, straightening to his full six-foot-four height. “What’s
the exact nature of your relationship with her?”

“That’s a very good question,” it was
Charlie’s turn to scowl. “I’ll let you know if I figure it
out.”

“If you hurt her, they’ll never find all of
the pieces of you,” Conrad growled low in his throat.

“Is that really necessary?” I placed a hand
on his chest and shoved him back into the room.

“I can assure you I have absolutely no
intention of hurting her,” Charlie moved in towards Conrad. I’m not
sure if I attributed his actions to bravery or stupidity. Sometimes
it was hard to tell the difference between the two. “In fact, I’d
help her if she’d let me.”

“Good luck with that,” Conrad snorted.

“This is pleasant,” I folded my arms across
my chest and looked from one to the other. “Should I excuse the two
of you to step outside? Are you going to beat each other up or see
who can pee farther?”

“Don’t be so crass,” Conrad reprimanded.

“Don’t be so bullheaded,” I snapped.

“Okay. I believe he’s your brother.”

“Fantastic.”

“You didn’t believe I was her brother? Wait,
I thought you weren’t going to tell anyone I was here.”

“Well I wasn’t, but Charlie saw you drop me
off and assumed we were lovers and I was a con artist.”

“Why weren’t you going to tell us he was
here?”

“You thought my sister was a con artist?”

“Because,” I answered Charlie then turned to
Conrad, “Can you really blame him?”

“Well that helps,” Charlie retorted
sarcastically.

“True. For all I know, you are a con artist.
You haven’t exactly let me in on your life recently.”

“I don’t think either of you are being very
fair,” I frowned, sinking onto the bed. “And you’re giving me a
headache.”

We all stared at each other for several
minutes, apparently at an impasse.

“Okay, Charlie, I’m going to walk you back to
your car now. Conrad and I really need to talk. It’s important. I
know you said you’re busy tomorrow, but I’m sure we’ll figure out
some time to discuss this. Conrad, I hope you can stay one more
day. Someone really important to me really wants to meet you before
you leave.”

“So I’m being dismissed?” Charlie arched an
eyebrow. There was a tinge of humor in his voice and I got the
feeling he was a little relieved to be able to go sort it out in
his head.

“I am so confused,” Conrad shook his head and
sank onto the other bed.

“I get the impression that’s a constant state
around her,” Charlie cut his eyes in my direction.

“Funny. You’re very funny,” I grabbed his
hand and tugged him towards the door.

“And cute. Don’t forget that you think I’m
cute.”

“Adorable. Come on.” I tried to look serious,
but he was right. I did think he was cute.

We stopped by his car door and he pulled me
into his arms, resting his forehead on mine.

“I like you,” I reminded him. “Being with you
terrifies me and I can’t tell you everything you want to know, but
I like you.”

“Knowing that you’re keeping something from
me is driving me to distraction,” he informed her. “But I like you,
too. It’s ridiculous how much.”

“Good.” I kissed him so thoroughly that I
hoped his toes curled. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Should you really have a boyfriend right
now?” Conrad was waiting for me when I got back to his room.

“Absolutely not. But I’m addicted to that
man. He’s like crack.”

“You’re on crack?” Worry creased his
brow.

“No, I mean… oh, never mind. Can we just
leave it for now?”

“Right. We have a lot to talk about.”

“Right,” I didn’t relish the thought of
reliving any of the last ten years. Well, right up until the last
week. I was pretty much cherishing every moment of the last
week.

“Oh, but first… I have something for you,”
Conrad starting pulling bags out from the far side of the bed.

“What are these?”

“Basics,” he smiled expectantly. “Come on,
open them.”

“You shouldn’t have,” I insisted as I opened
the first bag. But I was forever grateful that he had. I held the
pretty little pink pajamas up to my face. I couldn’t remember the
last time something so new or so soft touched my skin. There was
more. Shorts, t-shirts, tank tops, a pair of capris, a dress,
panties, a bra, a brush, a toothbrush, deodorant and even some
girly-smelling soap. “You have no idea how much a person can come
to miss deodorant.”

“I can imagine,” he chuckled. “You need
enough clothes to be able to function, sweetie. You look like an
orphaned waif.”

“Until I stole a stranger’s clothes off the
line, I was wandering the woods in my underwear,” I informed him.
“I’m actually rather proud of how much I’ve accomplished with
nothing.”

“You’ve done very well,” he acknowledged.
“But there’s nothing wrong with letting me help you.”

“I can’t even begin to tell you how excited I
am to put these pajamas on,” I admitted.

“Then go get a long, hot bath and put your
pajamas on,” he smiled. “There’s a razor and shaving cream in that
bag over there if you want to shave your legs.”

“Are you even male? How did you think of all
of this?”

“Hey, my world is centered on a pre-teen girl
right now. As often as she asks when she can shave her legs, I know
it must be important.”

“She wants to shave her legs?” my brow
furrowed.

“Don’t worry, I haven’t let her. Still, she’s
getting to an age where it’s becoming more and more awkward not
having another woman in the house.”

“I’m so sorry I thrust this on you,” I
studied him. Had I kept him from finding a wife? Had he been too
busy raising my daughter to have his own life?

“I wouldn’t trade one minute with her,” he
promised. “Well, except maybe the colic. That wasn’t fun. But the
rest of the moments have been good ones.”

I nodded and stood on tiptoe so I could kiss
him on the cheek. He stooped over a bit so I could reach.

I didn’t speak, I couldn’t. I was suddenly
keenly aware of how many moments I had missed with her.

I took my time in my bubble bath. I shaved my
legs with great care—pleased I hadn’t forgotten how and surprised
at how much I’d missed that silky smooth feeling of legs that were
freshly shaved. The feel of my new pajamas against my clean skin
was almost more wonderful than I could bear. It made Dixon
Correctional and its itchy bedding seem like a bad dream. Places
like that didn’t exist in a world that made pajamas like this.

When I came out, Conrad was just saying his
goodbyes to Gabrielle. From what I could hear of the conversation,
the two were clearly crazy about each other. The image of Charlie
and Cara staring at each other in mutual adoration came to mind. It
made me happy to know Gabrielle had that, too. I wanted to ask
about her. Wanted to, but didn’t. That was another door in my life
that was closed. Peeking through the keyhole wasn’t going to do
anyone any good.

“Thank you,” I gave him another hug.

“Call it ten years’ worth of Christmases.
Tomorrow we’ll catch up on birthdays.”

“I hate to tell you, I didn’t get you
anything.”

“You can catch me later,” he teased.

“So I guess now is the part where I start
talking, huh?”

“That generally helps,” he nodded.

This wasn’t going to be a fun conversation.
Still, best to rip the Band-aide off and get it over with; I took a
deep breath and plunged headfirst into the story of my
nightmare.

Chapter Eight

Conrad sat in stony silence, his eyes never
leaving mine, long after I finished my story. He seemed to be
processing it all. As best I could tell anyway. I eventually got
uncomfortable under the weight of his stare and crawled under the
covers, figuring he’d talk when he was ready.

Next thing I knew, the golden rays of dawn
were streaming through the window. Conrad still sat in the chair
facing me, only now he was snoring softly. I stretched lazily and
relished the fact that I was in a real bed with real sheets and a
real pillow. The last time I’d done that, Y2K was still looming on
the horizon. My eyes had nearly closed again when I realized
Conrad’s had opened.

“Hey big brother,” I curled up with my pillow
and regarded him.

“Why didn’t you see me when I came to visit?
Why didn’t you tell me what was going on?”

“I told you,” I sighed heavily. “I didn’t
want to bring the wrath of Daniel Winslow down on the entire tribe
over me. He hated me. He still would if he knew I was alive. He’d
have used every bit of his money to destroy everything our
ancestors have spent generations building.”

“But we would have stood with you to
fight.”

“It wasn’t your fight,” I sighed again. I
seemed to be doing that a lot lately. “I was the one that got in
that car.”

“Exactly. You got in a car. You didn’t do
anything wrong. You know you didn’t do anything wrong, right?”

“Sure,” I flopped over on my back to stare at
the ceiling. This conversation was seriously hampering my enjoyment
of the morning.

“So, what about this Charlie fellow?”

“Fellow?”

“Stop teasing me and answer the
question.”

“I don’t know. I mean, I know I should stay
away from him. But I can’t seem to. When I’m with him, I just feel
so… hopeful. Normal. I miss him when he’s not around. It’s the
weirdest feeling.”

“I like him.”

“Could have fooled me.”

“I’m your brother. It’s my job.”

“Good to know.”

“So, if you weren’t going to ask me for help,
why now? Why did you call me now after all this time?”

“I do need your help; just not for me.”

“How so?”

“Remember last night, when I told you about
Mary? Well, she’s all alone now that I’m gone. I want to know if
she’s okay. Could you just go visit her? I don’t think anyone would
think much of it if you went to visit her.”

“You want me to visit your old cell
mate?”

“Just to be sure she’s okay.”

“Why don’t you ask Charlie to do it?”

“First of all, he doesn’t know I’m an escaped
convict. That might put a damper on things. Second, why would
Charlie say he’s gone to visit her? You have a reason to
visit.”

“Good point. Yeah, I’ll go visit her.”

“Thank you,” I beamed at him. I’d worry later
about what to do if the news he brought back wasn’t good.

“On one condition,” he held up a hand.

“What?” I asked warily.

“You let me pay for this room for the rest of
the month. And you promise to actually stay in touch this time. And
you let me know if you need help.”

“That’s three conditions.”

“I mean it, Kali.”

“Neena. My name is Neena here.”

“Fine. Neena… but you have to forgive me if I
slip up occasionally. It’s going to take a while to re-learn your
name.”

“Just try,” I sincerely hoped he could manage
the correct name for one evening.

“You should tell them.”

“And risk it getting out? I’m not going back
there.”

“You can’t hide forever.”

“But I can sure as hell try.”

“It’s hard to build much of a life on the
foundation of a lie.”

I wanted to scowl at him, but I knew he was
right. My stomach growled, effectively changing the topic of
discussion.

“Get dressed while I get my shower and I’ll
feed you before we go work on your dandelions,” his face
softened.

“Really?” I hopped out of bed at the
prospect. I’d missed him and the thought of spending a day in his
company was exciting. It was pretty cool having to decide which
clothes to wear that day. I settled on a pair of denim shorts and a
yellow tank top that had frilled edges. I brushed my hair out then
mussed it back up. He’d even brought me some pink lip gloss. I
looked at my reflection in disbelief. The transformation made me
realize just how bad I must have looked before. What on earth had
Charlie seen in me? Had he been embarrassed to take me in
public?

Would he find me pretty now?

By the time Conrad emerged from the bathroom,
I’d painted my toenails and donned my new sandals. His long black
hair was still wet. He’d bound it in a ponytail. He wore jeans and
a black t-shirt, but looked like he should be wearing buckskin
breeches.

He was a beautiful man with an easy smile. It
had to be my fault that he’d never married. I felt the urge to
apologize, but knew he’d just admonish me for saying sorry too
often.

Maybe it was the vast difference in size that
garnered us so much attention. Or maybe we just made a striking
couple. Or it could have been our bronze skin and jet black hair in
a sea of white people. Whatever the reason, more than one head
turned to follow our progress as we made our way to the diner. My
delight at finding Charlie already there was tempered by his
companion.

“Neena!” His face lit up when he saw me. He
rose to greet us “Conrad. Good to see you again.”

“You as well,” Conrad nodded slightly.

“Hey Charlie,” I bit my lip nervously. “We
didn’t mean to disrupt you.”