Sparkle (13 page)

They walked through the gate. Jolie spotted the van across the lot. She waved at Joe.

“I don’t want you to worry, Eddie. But if for some reason I can’t… I want you to promise me you’re going to come to the zoo anyway, even if I can’t always be your guide.”

Once again, Eddie looked right into Jolie’s eyes for a couple of seconds, but it was too much. He lowered his gaze and put on his sunglasses.

“Happy birthday, Jolie Walker,” he said, then turned and walked to the van.

Jolie watched Eddie’s broad back as he walked away. He had a calm, stiffly graceful way of moving. She waved at Joe and chewed her lips.

Fucking Mark. She was going to give him a piece of her mind. What he had done was unprofessional. She was willing to believe that Mark didn’t realize how close he had come to provoking Eddie into a meltdown. She could chalk it up to ignorance. But whatever it was he had experienced in his past, it was no excuse to take it out on Eddie, who he didn’t even know.

Joe got out of the van and waved to Jolie, distracted. He checked his bumper again; it didn’t look bad at all. That was something. The little car he’d hit sure was messed up, though. It was going to cost him. His driving record was not too good. Their insurance would surely get jacked up again.

What a fucking day, he thought, working hard to compose himself. Time to do his duty, forget his own crap, and get back to the everyday business of taking care of Eddie. Yeah. If Joe showed any sign of being pissed off, Eddie would know it. He might get agitated, and then Joe would get agitated trying to explain. Which could lead to who knew what. So Joe did his best to choke down his own feelings before his brother reached the van.

“You have a good day with Jolie?” Joe asked flatly, opening Eddie’s door.

Eddie looked down at his arm as he climbed in. It still hurt, and there was the definite outline of a hand there. Mark’s hand. He was extra careful as he fastened his shoulder belt. Don’t upset Joe. It was time for him to stop thinking about himself and remember his responsibilities to his brother.

“Shiny Gold, Joe. Okay?”

That meant Eddie wanted to go right home instead of going to a restaurant. He wanted to sit in front of his big screen and watch the Shiny Gold commercial, over and over, until bedtime.

“Okay.” Joe sounded tired. “Home and watch Shiny Gold. Another rockin’ Saturday night.” He shut Eddie’s door and headed around the front of the van.

“Actually,” he said to no one, “that sounds just fine.”

Jolie was on a tight schedule. She had to participate in afternoon feedings right after Eddie left. Her mind wasn’t on the work. As soon as she could, she made an excuse and headed back to the office.

When she got there, Mark was smiling and joking with her friend Tracy, drinking a bottle of Sparkle. Jolie looked at him briefly, a blank expression on her face, and then turned and opened the community fridge. Her Sparkle from Eddie was gone.

She held her breath. Now she was pissed. She turned and walked over to Mark.

“Excuse me,” she said, trying to keep her voice calm.

Mark and Tracy looked up.

“Is that my soda?”

Mark looked down at the bottle in his hand. “Oh. I don’t know. I was thirsty.” He forced a little laugh and looked at Tracy, who wasn’t sure what was happening. “Sorry. Can I give you a buck?”

Jolie took a few purposeful breaths. Was she PMSing? She wanted to scream. She held out her hand.

“Give it to me.”

“What?”

“The Sparkle. Hand it over.”

Mark slowly extended the half-full bottle. Jolie took it from him.

“Stop fucking with me, Mark,” she said. She held the bottle at arm’s length and dropped it into the trash with a loud clatter. Fuck the recycling. She turned around, and left the office without making eye contact with anyone. Once she was outside, she jogged the two hundred yards or so back to the feeding enclosure, hurrying so no one would stop her.

“That was quick,” her co-worker said when she returned.

“Yeah.” Jolie was out of breath. She wiped an arm roughly across her cheek. “We’ve got a lot to do.”

Over the course of the day, she calmed down a bit. When she replayed the facts over in her head, her incredible anger at Mark just didn’t add up to much. He was worried for her safety? Well, he was wrong about Eddie, but that was his job. He touched Eddie? There was clumsiness there, but not malice. And he took a stray pop from the community fridge? Etiquette lapse, but everybody knew unlabeled drinks were pretty much fair game in the zoo office fridge.

About the only charge that held water on reflection was the fact that he’d insisted on talking about the situation in front of Eddie—almost like he wasn’t there. That, at least, was total, unacceptable bullshit.

Finally, at six-thirty, she came in to gather her things to go home. No one was around but Mark. He sat behind his desk in his small office off the main space. Jolie walked up to the desk, planted both of her hands on it, and leaned forward. Mark looked up and smiled sheepishly.

“Okay. I have calmed down. But I need to know, Mark, what in the heck was going on today?”

“I know you’re not going to like this, Jolie, but I have to stand by my assessment. I don’t think it’s safe for you to be alone with Eddie.” Now Mark’s tone was dry and detached.

All of Jolie’s calm went up in a puff. She was suddenly so angry she could hardly speak. “Who called you from the State, Mark?” I want to know. What was their name?”

“Hey, you know what? I’m not going to put up with this.” He stood up from his desk and took his coat from the back of his chair. “Regardless of the spin you want to put on it, I am sincerely just trying to do my job.”

“I can take care of myself, Mark.”

He was standing close to her now, and he lowered his voice. “I’m sure you can, Jolie. But you think I was acting unprofessional today?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Then look in the mirror, because you’re not even making any sense.” Mark headed for the door. “Please make sure the door is locked when you leave. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Then he was gone.

Chapter 19

“I’m ready, Vonelle, and that’s all you need to know about it. It’s been too damn long. It’s not even healthy anymore.” LaVonne held the phone against her shoulder with her ear as she pulled on her favorite plum-colored, boot-cut velvet pants.

“You may be ready little sister, but that man you picked—you got yourself a way, I tell you. It’s not just about waiting. I’ve seen that man. Oh yes I have. There’s something wrong with that man. Don’t tell me that ain’t true. You gonna wait how many years then make the same damn mistake you’ve been making since you were fourteen? You tire me out, girl.”

“You worry too much.”

“Of course I worry about you. Who’s going to get called to fix things up when they go to hell? Vonelle. That’s who.”

“All right. But I made up my mind. Can we talk about something else? How’s Anton today? Is he feeling better?”

“He’s fine. He’ll be back in school on Monday. Did he tell you he got an “A” in subtraction? Mrs. Tolmer told me he’s in the top three in his class in math. That boy’s as smart as you were—before you got interested in boys. It’d be nice if you’d come take him to the movies tonight instead of going out on a date with that cracker loser, though.”

LaVonne was checking out her boots in the mirror, wondering if some pumps would look better. “Give that sweet boy my love. Tell him I promise I’ll come take him to the park tomorrow. I gotta go. Love you.”

“All right. Call me when the shit hits the fan.”

“I won’t.”

LaVonne rang off and gave herself a thorough up and down in the mirror. She liked what she saw. Vonelle’s words had hooks in them, though. LaVonne had never picked a decent guy yet.

Then again, neither had Vonelle. She was raising Anton on her own—with a lot of help from LaVonne—and she’d decided years ago that she was done with men for good. “Good riddance to those lazy-ass leeches” is how she’d put it if pressed. And LaVonne didn’t have to press Vonelle too hard for a response to just about anything. But men? Best not to even get her started.

Even though Vonelle had a point, LaVonne wasn’t going to let it get her down. Not tonight. Maybe she had made mistakes in the past, ranging from tragic to just plain ridiculous. But she was a different person now. She’d worked hard and nearly put herself through grad school, for God’s sake. And Joe, despite his obvious flaws, was just about as different from anyone she had ever dated as it was humanly possible to be.

Not that these things could ever be completely rational. In fact, LaVonne’s head was swimming and her heart was beating faster as she took one last look at the nice bottle of wine she’d picked up especially for tonight. Joe was a tough nut to crack, that was for sure. But now that LaVonne had set her sights on him, he wasn’t going to get off easily. She had openly declared her intentions, and she wasn’t about to hide. Being the pursuer was an energizing novelty. It added an element of control that made her feel safer about getting back into the world of love.

LaVonne was capable of subtlety, but she knew guile wouldn’t get her anywhere with Joe. What was needed was a direct, confident approach.

Fortunately, Joe had given her the perfect opening.

LaVonne couldn’t help smiling as she got into her car. “This is going to be interesting,” she thought. Then she turned up her stereo and let her mind go blank all the way to Joe and Eddie’s house.

As she stood outside Joe and Eddie’s front door, LaVonne felt a momentary wave of the shyness that had hit her so unexpectedly earlier at the bar. She felt differently than she did at work, in her funky blouse and best velvet skirt, with high black boots. Going-out clothes. Without realizing she was doing it, she touched her hair and her body before ringing the bell.

Joe opened the door.

LaVonne smiled.

He was stunned, all right. The look on his face was priceless. LaVonne was immediately in control and glad she had come. She held out the bottle of wine. Joe reached for it, knocked out of orbit.

“Housewarming,” LaVonne said. “Tell me you don’t already have a date.”

“Yeah. I mean n-n-no,” Joe stammered. “I’m…taking care of Eddie. Did I miss something today?”

“No. Actually, you hit something. Can I come in?”

“I don’t know.”

LaVonne had a hard time not laughing out loud, but she held back.

“If you don’t, Joe, you’re not as smart as I thought you were. Besides, you owe me.”

“What do you mean?”

LaVonne hooked her thumb to the street. “You smashed my poor little semi-brand-new car.”

Joe looked over her shoulder and his mouth dropped open. There was silence for a moment. “Come in,” he said finally, and stepped aside.

It was nearly eight o’clock. Eddie was working hard to keep his concentration on Shiny Gold and Sparkle.

Play, rewind; play, rewind; play, rewind. The pattern was good: solid and reassuring. Joe had, for once, hit all the right notes. He’d checked in with Eddie on schedule and brought him his Sparkle and popcorn. He’d even remembered to buy bottles instead of cans. The commercials themselves were, of course, perfect in every way. It was a big relief.

Still, the whole zoo day had been troubling. Eddie had taken a long shower; he’d scrubbed and scrubbed with Shiny Gold, but his arm still stung and was pink where Mark had touched him.

Firm definite action was needed to make things right.

A bright narrow path was slowly but surely opening in Eddie’s consciousness, which was key to his new direction—a way to fix things. A way to let Jolie know how he felt, to wake her up to the magic of their connection.

Mark’s touch was a shock, and a possible setback. He’d had similar reactions to unexpected touches in the past, but he had never experienced anything as intense as what happened today.

Tomorrow was Sunday. Joe was taking Eddie to the Mariners game. That was where he would make his first move. He was sure that something important was going to happen there. He didn’t know what, but that didn’t matter. Eddie could feel he was working out the problem, deep, deep inside. He could feel himself making progress. Eddie knew it had something to do with Jolie’s birthday on Monday. It would probably come clear in his dream tonight. For now, though, it was a huge relief to keep his concentration on Sparkle and Shiny Gold. Whatever had been trying to break through today felt safely tamped down, for now. He knew what was trying to break through. It was Lucy Silver—Lucy and his Mom—but he had made a sort of temporary truce with them, promising himself he’d pay attention to whatever it was they wanted once he’d figured out how to make things sparkle with Jolie.

And for now the deal was working. It felt good. Good enough that the black clattering noise far back in his brain was nearly drowned out. And soon it would be time to go to sleep. That was when he would really make some progress.

Although Joe was clearly sixteen minutes ahead of schedule, Eddie didn’t even blink when he hurried downstairs and asked him if he’d get ready for bed early tonight. Joe had done everything perfectly up until now. Eddie was eager to get to his dreams. And after all the curves the day had thrown him, he could force himself to handle one more slight break from his routine. But he had definitely reached his limit.

Alone on the main floor, LaVonne took stock of her surroundings. The living room looked as though no one spent much time in it. Everything was exceptionally clean, but the placement of the furniture seemed a little odd, slightly random. The uncomfortable-looking couch and matching chairs were a shade of orange that hadn’t been popular since the ‘70s. Despite their age and clunky obsolescence, they looked almost new.

Near the couch were a heavy, dark wood coffee table with a glass top and a couple of matching end tables with big ceramic lamps on them. There was a picture on the wall of a bullfighter in dark lurid browns, golds, and reds. It reminded LaVonne of a picture in her grandparents’ living room. Her granddad always used to brag that the local furniture store had thrown it in for free when he’d bought his living room set. In fact, LaVonne realized, the whole room was similar to her grandparents’ house, except for the unlived-in feeling and the gleaming, polished-oak floor.