Pieces of it All (15 page)

"It's just you and your dad then? No idea where your mother is?" He continued to stare at her, the color slowly working back into his face. "That must be so horrible, Harvey." Beth wasn't sure what she should say. She couldn't imagine life without her mother. "How long has she been gone?"

"Just drop it, okay?" He slammed the knife onto the table, sticking it upright into the wood.

Beth gasped. Harvey slowly removed the knife from the wood and set it back down on the napkin. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm so sorry."

Beth glanced around the tables making sure no one had witnessed Harvey's quick bit of rage. All clear.

"Look," Beth started, moving into unchartered territory. "I'm so sorry if I upset you. You don't open up to me about a thing. I barely know anything about you. I've never even met your dad. I can't even begin to understand how you feel. I'm here, though, if you need my help, if you want to try and find her."

"I don't want your help, or your pity."

She kept going. "I'm not gonna walk on eggshells around you. I may ask about your past or something you don't want to discuss." She shoved her hand in his face. "If this means anything to you, you'll understand that. I have to know you as a person if we're going to be together."

She swallowed the lump in her throat as he stared back at her, speechless. Had she said too much? In a matter of days she was swept off her feet only to be thrown to the ground. She'd barely touched his lips and she'd never graze against them again. If she didn't speak up, what kind of a person did that make her? She'd never stood up to Lucy until recently and that actually ended up working out. Maybe she pressed her luck. Asking about jail was out of the question. Not tonight. Maybe not ever. They could just move forward, and past this. "Harvey? I'm sorry if you're mad."

He reached across the table and took her hand. "Don't be. You're right."

The waitress came and set down their food. Crisis averted. Breathe. "I'll be here for you, when you're ready." She hoped soon.

Chapter Seventeen

The two story white colonial with blue shudders didn't have the same "wow" factor as Dr. Naise's mansion. The home gave a spacious appearance, and the yard certainly had been kept up with a lot of watering and probably a lawn service during the harsh summer. Despite the size, Harvey wondered how an indoor pool fit inside. He parked next to a gold Lexus.

"Thanks for coming with me again," Beth said as they grabbed the supplies out of the trunk.

He set everything on the porch, and rang the bell. "No problem. I have the day off, and I get to spend time with you." He went in for a quick kiss.

An attractive woman answered the door, Harvey guessed in her late twenties. "Finally, you're here. What took you so long?"

Harvey opened his mouth to remind her that they arrived on time, but she kept talking.

"Ugh, forget it. Anyway, I'm Leslie. I'm a little disappointed Sue can't clean today because she does a spectacular job. She assured me you would do the same, so I'm trusting that is the case. I certainly don't want you doing a half-assed job." She turned her attention to Harvey. "So I see you brought your boyfriend. Sue failed to mention you'd be having a party."

"I asked him to come along last minute, Leslie. I'm sorry. With the pool, I thought extra help would be useful."

She looked Harvey up and down. "Fine. But I'm not paying any more." She should pay extra for her bitchy attitude. Sue hadn't exaggerated. Leslie defined spoiled little brat. Her gold curls and magazine perfect face matched her petite body, but even her hotness couldn't cover up her bitchiness.

Beth waved her hands. "No, no. The fee is still the same."

"Well, come on now. Don't just stand on the porch. Get in here." She rushed them in.

They walked through the doorway, pleasantly surprised by the inside. A staircase immediately led to the upstairs and both sides opened up to a sitting area. The room on the left had a television. The kitchen was at the end of the hallway, and seemed to take up the entire area.

"Come on, come on, I have places to be." Harvey followed her to a room in the back, Beth closely behind. Double doors separated two rooms by a small walkway. When Leslie opened the door, a storm of chlorine fumed over them. The second set of doors revealed a large, rectangular pool. A spectacular stone floor surrounded the calm water. Strategically placed, over sized plants brought the outside indoors, and a ceiling full of windows poured in the sunlight.

"Take your boots off in here. I don't want you walking around in those things." She pointed to Harvey's feet. He removed his shoes and socks while Beth slipped off her sandals. She then brought them over to a closet and another closed door.

"This," she said pointing to the left, "is the bathroom, which is also used as a changing room. It needs a good cleaning. I'm sure the floor should be scrubbed. And this is the closet where you'll find the supplies you need." She pulled open the small broom closet. "All the chemicals and what not are in here."

She shut the door. "Do you have any questions? I should hope not seeing Sue sent you. If there are any issues after I leave, you're out of luck because I won't be here to help. You can figure it out."

Harvey answered for both of them. "No, ma'am. No questions. I think we'll manage."

She gasped lightly, putting her hand to her chest. "Now, don't call me ma'am. I assure you I'm not much older than you are." She winked at him, told him she would be back later, and left them by the pool.

"She's certainly a number," Beth said.

"Your aunt warned me. Did I forget to mention that?"

"She's not too bad looking, either."

Jealousy hadn't played a role in their relationship yet, and hearing Beth make a comment like that surprised him.
Quick, think fast
. "Really? I hadn't noticed." He dismissed the remark.

Beth raised her eyebrows at him, and he responded with a smile. "I can manage the pool if you want to work on the rest of the house," she suggested.

"Are you sure? This is quite a big job." He liked the idea of them working on the pool together. He imagined her on all fours, scrubbing the tile, her butt in the air, waiting for him to come up behind her and rock himself against her. Maybe he'd playfully knock her into the pool, and he'd jump in to save her, Beth's clothes soaked through, her nipples hard and ready.

"I can handle it. All the windows and greenery are peaceful. Go. Clean. Make me my money." She shooed him away.

"Fine." He grunted, reluctantly accepting fucking her wasn't going to happen today. He'd go snoop around in the rooms and see what he could find.

Leslie's house had four bedrooms, all of them upstairs. He peeked into each room. The first he pinned as a study. A desk with a computer sat in the corner, a bookshelf lined with books and a table with a globe. Nothing exciting.

The next room he guessed would be a spare bedroom. The pale yellow walls and the bed with a pewter frame reminded him of a bed and breakfast. The antique rug gave an elegant touch, along with the white dresser and delicate lamp.

Tidiness described the third room; however, more than likely it served as a junk area. Rubbermaid containers stacked floor to ceiling outlined the room. Some had stuffed animals, others crowded with papers, and yet another one had stuff wrapped in newspapers, which Harvey only assumed contained fragile items. On the other side of the room an elliptical machine took up space, and a flat panel television claimed the wall.

The final room had closed double doors. He opened them as though he were a King being welcomed home. The enormous room boasted blond floors and deep maroon walls. The bed had a black frame and a shiny silver duvet and the curtains matched. The closet caught his eye. Even with Beth a full floor away, he tiptoed toward the door. When he opened the heavy door, a large walk-in closet greeted him. Clothes lined the sides separated by color and shelves of shoes. This woman sure liked her blues. He sifted through the articles of clothing, uncertain of what he was looking for. He would know it when he found it.

He moved onto the shoes, carefully removing each from the shelf, dusting the area, and then placing the shoes back. He never understood the obsession some women had with shoes. He had his tennis shoes, a pair of work boots, and sandals for the summer. What more did he need? This lady had well over thirty pairs, and those were just the heels. She probably had a stash of tennis shoes and the flat ones chicks sometimes wore.

He pulled a pair of shiny black heels with a gold chain for a strap off the shelf. "Gaudy." He squinted his eyes. What was that? A plain, white box about three inches tall and deep, revealed itself behind the mountains of shoes. He placed the container on the floor and pulled the cover off. Inside was a small, round trinket, gold with a teal ring circling the top. Diamond studs outlined a flower on the side. He opened it up and a woman and a man began dancing, a gentle melody playing. He focused his attention on the tune; its familiarity at his fingertips. He hummed along until the lullaby came to him, and he sang the words. "
Silent night, Holy night..."
When the music stopped, he shut the box and reopened it, replaying the song.

With his eyes closed, a scene transpired in his mind. A Christmas tree, decorated all around with handmade ornaments, a bright star atop, full of glitter. Snow fell outside, blanketing the grass. A couch sat in the room with a heavy, colorful quilt laid upon the back. A woman's arms were wrapped around him as she sang
Silent Night
, just as he'd always imagined Christmas. Did he ever have a home with a tree? Did his mother ever rock him while they listened to holiday music and waited for St. Nick?

He placed the empty box back on the shelf, the shoes back in place, and slipped the music box into the cleaning bucket. Little-Miss-Spoiled wouldn't miss it, right? She'd never know it was gone. She had more shoes than he could even count, and a fucking indoor pool in a house daddy paid for. People like Leslie, and Dr. Naise, well they had it all. Money, sex
and
a god damned family. They didn't spend their lives trying to find a way out. They'd never have to rely on a bottle to get them through the day. People like him couldn't even work for it. People like him never even had a chance. If he wanted any memories to hold onto, he had to invent them. It was the only way.

Chapter Eighteen

This is what having a boyfriend is like,
Beth beamed inside as she gazed at Harvey while they drove back to his house. A man, an experienced adult, not a high school boy learning the ropes of life, held her hand, massaging her fingers with his. As her conversation with Lucy replayed in her head, she realized how wrong faulting him for his past was. All those things he'd been through molded him into the man sitting next to her. Life had dealt him a losing hand, and he turned the card game around. He may have been a little broken, but who wasn't?

"I'm so glad Leslie didn't stay behind to badger us," Beth said. "I can't stand people like her."

"Like what?"

"Those who think everyone owes them something. She's not a good person." She didn't want to waste time around anyone who brought others down.

Harvey parked Beth's car right behind his. He unlocked his seatbelt and rested his elbows on the console. "Beth, I think you may be the nicest person I've ever met." Tilting his head forward, he pressed his warm lips against hers. "I'm enjoying our time together." He kissed her again.

She wanted to tell him she thought the same thing, but she couldn't speak. The moment his mouth was on hers, her body surrendered, her muscles weakened. In the few make out sessions she had in her past, none compared to a simple kiss from Harvey.

He unlocked from her lips and placed his hand on her neckline. "My dad isn't home. Do you want to come in?"

"Yes," escaped her before her brain even had a chance to register what going inside meant. Harvey's right cheek puffed up as his lips curled into half a smile. Only the two of them would be in the house, Harvey's house, alone, no one able to interrupt them. Her pounding heart had to quiet down before she passed out, and her nerves needed to calm about a hundred notches.

Bullet greeted them, his tiny, forceful physique relaxing Beth slightly. "Hey buddy," Harvey scratched the dog's head. "Let me get you something to eat and some water in your bowl."

Beth followed Harvey into the kitchen and waited while he fed Bullet. The minute after he set Bullet's dish down, he ran to her and put his arms around her. The moment she had been waiting for since she first saw his rippling body and messy hair was here. Her head started to float, the sound of the clock ticking getting further away until the gentle caress of his lips grazed her. She allowed his tongue into her mouth, so tender and inviting. His hand slid down her thigh, and as he kept kissing her, her body throbbing.

He pulled away. "Did you like that?"

Silly question. She didn't doubt he was the best kisser in the world. "Yes," she whispered. "I did. Don't stop."

She closed her eyes anticipating the next kiss. She waited, wondering if he changed his mind. Would he laugh if she opened her eyes now? His breath, hot against her skin, meant he was still close. Good. Time to take charge. Inhaling deeply before fighting past any fear, she stretched forward and pressed her mouth to his neck. Tongue. He needed her tongue on his skin. Warm and salty, she welcomed the taste of his sweat to her palate. Her lips detached from him and when they met again, he wrapped his arms around her waist and ran his hands down the small of her back. "Oh!" She clenched as he grabbed her butt.

"Is everything okay?" He asked.

"Yes. I wasn't expecting that."

He glided his hands upward, massaged her neck, and pulled her face toward him. "You're so beautiful. Has anyone ever told you that before?" He kissed her again. He rubbed his thumb against her cheek, moving his mouth to her ear, and whispered, "You're so innocent. So pure." Drawing his head away, he bit her lower lip. "I like that."