Once he was dressed, he thought about checking out her profiles again to see if she’d posted anything new, but he figured her actual presence would be better, so he skipped the computer and headed towards Sunnybrook.
A bright yellow VW sat in the parking lot, and Jake wondered if it belonged to her. It seemed like the kind of car she would drive. He took a glance in the window, and a Sephora bag on the passenger seat made him grin. Yep, this was her car.
As soon as he entered the building, the sweet strains of “How Great Thou Art” tickled his ears, and he followed the sound to the room marked Conservatory. Tall, mullioned windows lined one wall, and the light shined through them like a beacon, spotlighting the source of the music. Charisse sat at a baby grand piano, her fingers caressing the keys as her voice made love to the lyrics.
Jake dropped into a chair in the back and stared with his mouth open as she serenaded the residents, oblivious to everything but her own pleasure. He could see the rapture in her face as she sang, eyes closed and head lifted. No girl had ever looked so beautiful. He couldn’t resist snapping a picture.
When the song ended, the residents gave a round of applause, but it was Jake’s loud clapping that caught her attention. She gave a small smile but dropped her head as he approached her.
“That was really amazing, Risse. I didn’t know you could do that.”
His sincerity caught her off guard, and she tilted her head, waiting for the rude addendum. When it didn’t come, she quickly said thank you. “They like to hear hymns on Sunday.”
“What do you sing on the other days — rock and roll?” Jake chuckled.
“Sometimes.” Charisse nodded, smiling. “The old songs, of course. They like Elvis and the Beach Boys.”
“Now, that I would like to hear.” Jake smirked.
“If you keep showing up, you will. I play a couple times a week.”
“Do you have any other musicians?”
“We have special groups that come in once in a while, but no regulars. Why? Do you play something?”
“I’m decent on the guitar. Do you think Hariden would let it count towards my hours if I spent some of my time playing?”
“I think so, as long as you’re doing some other stuff, too.”
“Cool. What songs do you usually do? Maybe we can work out a playlist of stuff we both know. We could get together and practice sometime.”
Jake’s enthusiasm made his handsome face radiant, and Risse got caught up in the excitement until she realized just what he was implying. Did she really want to spend any more time with him than she had to, especially outside the walls of the nursing home?
Dominion’s admonition drifted through her mind, and she decided that if she was going to help Jake become caring and considerate she was going to have to lead by example.
“Uh, sure. I’ll put together a list of my favorites.” Charisse brushed her hair behind her shoulder and flashed a nervous smile.
“So how was your date last night?” Jake asked, following her towards the kitchen. Risse raised an eyebrow and gave him a strange look.
“It wasn’t a date, but we had a great time. We went bowling. I tied for first place,” she replied with a saucy smile.
Jake tilted his head, more curious than ever. Knowing she wasn’t out with a boyfriend brought a touch of relief, but he still wanted to know who she was with. “Girl’s night out?”
“No.” Risse shook her head but didn’t expound, and Jake’s curiosity enflamed.
“How was your party?” she asked with a touch of cynicism before he could think of a way to squeeze more information from her.
“Oh, uh, kinda lousy, actually.” Jake grimaced at the memory of cheap beer and cheaper girls. “I probably would’ve had more fun bowling.”
“Maybe next time,” Risse said with a grin, and Jake’s heart fluttered up into his throat.
“Want some help filling the trays, Maggie?” Charisse asked the chef as they entered the kitchen, bringing Jake back to reality and dousing his excitement.
Get a grip, he told himself, shaking his head. It was a figure of speech not a personal invitation.
The two worked in silence for a few moments, adding cups of Jello to the dinner trays. The red gelatin reminded Jake of his recent prank, and he chuckled as he remember the look of horror on Lexie Allen’s face as the chunky, red slime poured down all over her perfect outfit.
“What’s so funny?” Charisse asked.
“Oh, just… reminiscing.” Jake tried to quell his laughter, but the harder he tried, the bigger his smile got.
Charisse squinted her eyes and stared at him, guffawing over a cup of Jello. “Are you laughing about that awful prank you pulled?”
“Yeah, sorry,” Jake said between chuckles. “It was just so perfectly epic! She was wearing this gawd-awful Glenda the Good Witch costume, trying to look like some perfect little prom queen, when she’s actually a hateful, back-stabbing, stuck-up little bi…”
“I get the idea,” Charisse interrupted his tirade. “You think she’s a terrible person who deserved to have something terrible done to her.”
“After what she did to me, she deserved every bit of retaliation she got!” Jake’s face was red and his eyes blazed with anger.
“Well, I don’t think anybody deserves to be treated that way, no matter what they did,” Charisse insisted. “What did she do to you, anyway? Turn down a date to one of your ‘awesome’ parties, or something?”
“It was a little worse than that. She got mad when I asked out her best friend instead of her. By the next day, she’d told everyone who would listen that I tried to molest her when she turned me down. I had every girl in the school scared of me and every guy ready to beat me up. I almost got suspended, but there was no proof. It didn’t stop the school from bringing my dad in for a counseling session, though. Of course, he believed the girl instead of me and gave me hell about it. It took weeks before the rumors died down and my life could go back to normal. So, yeah, she deserved every ounce of humiliation she got.” Jake spat the words like a nail gun, pounding them in with the force of his anger.
Charisse stared, wide-eyed, her mouth gnawing with speechlessness as she digested his story. Sympathy softened her expression, and her hand reached out impotently to soothe him, hovering halfway in-between their bodies before dropping back to her side.
“I’m sorry, Jake. That must have been really awful,” she said, astonishment reducing her voice to a whispered gasp.
“Yeah, well, now you know why it was worth it to get payback.”
“Was it, though?” Charisse murmured. “It seems to me like you hurt yourself just as much as you hurt her.”
Jake stared at her, contemplating. He’d never thought of it that way, but she had a point. He brushed off the revelation with a shrug of his shoulders. It didn’t matter, anyway. What was done was done, and he couldn’t do anything to change it now.
The pair grew silent again as they mulled over what had been said. While she still didn’t excuse his actions, Charisse had a bit more sympathy for Jake now.
“I watched some of your videos,” Jake said after a few more minutes of uncomfortable silence.
Charisse’s eyes grew wide with horror. What if he had seen the one about him? She didn’t think he had, otherwise he’d probably be looking to retaliate against her next.
“Which ones?” She gulped.
“I don’t remember — it was all girl stuff I didn’t care about. But you’re pretty good in front of the camera.”
Charisse sighed her relief. “Thanks, I guess. I actually watched some of yours, too,” she admitted with a smirk.
“Oh yeah? Which ones?” Jake’s heart puffed to twice its size with her admission. Maybe he wasn’t the only one feeling the spark!
“I don’t remember — it was all guy stuff I didn’t care about,” she mocked, tossing her blonde braid, her aqua eyes twinkling, “but you’re pretty good, too.”
The pair laughed till th
eir cheeks turned red.
“You’re really pretty when you’re not angry,” Jake blurted, and Risse pulled back in surprise. It wasn’t the whole truth. She was pretty cute when she was angry, too.
“Thanks,” she said, dropping her head. She tried to hide her eyes, but couldn’t disguise her smile.
The trays were ready, so the two pushed the unwieldy cart down the hall towards the residents. The first stop was Dominion’s room, and Charisse hesitated before entering, wondering what would come out of the old man’s mouth. He was bound to notice the sparkle in their eyes from her previous conversation. Charisse tried to put on a more serious face, but Jake was still all smiles when they entered the room.
“Rissey Cup, my favorite candy girl! How are you today, darling?” Dominion asked, pulling himself up with his arthritic knuckles. Jake raised an eyebrow at the nickname.
“Doing great, Dominion. How are you?” Charisse leaned over his bedside to give him a hug, and he snatched a candy bar from her pocket.
“Fine and dandy, must be the candy!” he teased, waving the pilfered treat with a toothy grin.
“And this must be Jake, eh?” He gave a nod and a wink.
Jake glanced between them with surprise. Charisse had been talking about him?
“Hi, Mr. Uriel; I’m Jake Henley, the new volunteer,” he introduced himself with uncharacteristic politeness, and Charisse took a turn looking surprised.
“Nice to meet you, Jake Henley. That’s a good name — Jacob. Means supplanter — to trip up or overthrow.” He gave Jake a knowing look. “The Jacob of the Bible was a rascally fella, but he made right with God, fell in love with a woman and worked his tail off to get her, and eventually God blessed him like nobody’s business. Not a bad life to strive for,” Dominion explained, his crackling voice doing nothing to lessen the power behind his words.
Charisse nodded at the similarities. Her Jake was definitely rascally, and he sure had tripped her up — invading her territory and doing unwelcome things to her emotions. The question was, could he turn himself around like that Jacob?
Jake didn’t know anything about Bible characters, but that Jacob dude seemed pretty interesting. He was curious to hear more of the story, but he didn’t want to admit how ignorant he was. Maybe he’d look it up later.
When Charisse turned to find his food tray, Dominion winked at Jake and beckoned him closer with the wiggle of a crooked finger. Jake came up to the bed, but Dominion urged him closer, so he bent at the waist, putting his ear right next to the old man’s head.
“You stop by later after everyone gets their food, and I’ll tell you all about how that Jacob finally snagged the girl!” A childlike grin animated his face as he whispered in Jake’s ear.
Jake nodded towards Risse and whispered back. “Think I have a chance?”
“Make a bad one good, make a wrong one right, power of love will keep you home at night,” Dominion said solemnly.
“Is that a Bible verse?” Jake asked.
“No,” Dominion shook his head. “Huey Lewis and the News.” A wide smile cracked his serious expression and made Jake chuckle. He could see why Risse liked the old guy; he was quite a character.
The next resident they visited was slightly less charming. In fact, Jake was pretty sure the woman ate nails for breakfast instead of the eggs and toast they served the rest of the folks.
“Hi, Ms. Anderson,” Charisse chirped as she entered the room. The blinds were closed and the air felt cold and stagnant. The woman in the bed groaned at the sound of Risse’s voice, warning her away, but Risse ignored her objections.
“Jake and I brought you some dinner. It looks pretty yummy.”
“I don’ wan any uh tha slop!” the woman bellowed, but her tongue was thick and lifeless in her mouth, and her words were too slurred for Jake to understand.
Jake’s eyes widened in surprise as her scrawny limbs pushed the bed table away forcefully. Her movements were jerky as she flailed her arms to shoo them away.
“Now, you know if you don’t eat they’re going to feed you intravenously. Wouldn’t eating be more enjoyable?” Charisse tried to persuade her, nudging the tray closer. Today’s meal didn’t look too bad — spaghetti with meat sauce. The scent of garlic bread almost covered the smell of urine and antiseptic.
“How am I supposed to eat that?” the woman garbled, waving her lifeless hands.
“I can help you, or Jake if you prefer,” Charisse offered, but Jake balked at the idea. No way did he want to hand-feed this belligerent woman.
“Let him,” she mumbled, and Charisse gave Jake a pleading look. He wanted to flat-out refuse, but one look at Risse’s tender face and he found himself nodding.
“I’m going to go deliver the rest of the meals; can you handle this?” she asked, her eyes imploring.
“Sure, we’ll be fine. How hard can it be to feed somebody?” Jake said, but his Adam’s apple bobbed as he gulped at the prospect of being left alone with her.
Once Charisse was gone, Jake slunk over to the bed and tucked a napkin into the woman’s collar. She batted his arm away, but didn’t try to remove it.
“So, Ms. Anderson, how do you want to do this? Do you just need me to help you cut things, or what?”
The woman rolled her eyes and gave him a scowl that aged her otherwise-smooth face ten years. She was probably around 40, if Jake had to guess, but her snarled face, her lifeless body, and her no-nonsense haircut made it hard to say for sure. Jake wondered what her ailment was but didn’t dare to ask.
“ALS,” the woman said, but the letters jumbled together into nonsense syllables on her unwieldy tongue, and Jake couldn’t decipher them.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t understand you,” Jake said, regrettably.
“ALS!” she spat the letters out again.
Jake shook his head, still completely clueless, and the woman rolled her eyes and waved the words away. Pointing at the plate of spaghetti, the woman mumbled something that Jake didn’t even try to interpret, but he got the hint she was ready for him to feed her.
Jake rolled a loop of spaghetti around her fork and held it up to her lips, but the woman pushed the utensil away, glaring at his stupidity.
“What? You don’t want it that way?” Jake asked, laying the fork back on the plate.
“Too much!” the woman complained, and Jake was surprised he actually understood her. He let the pasta fall off the fork and twisted a smaller portion onto the tines.
“No, no, no!” the woman shook her head as she rolled her eyes in disgust at his stupidity. “Cut it up!”
“Oh, okay, I get it.” Jake nodded, slicing up a small pile of noodles and scooping them up with the spoon. He managed to get the food into her mouth with a minimum of spillage, and the rest of the plate went down just as easily. She didn’t try to talk to him, but at least she quit complaining.
“Pretty good stuff, huh Ms. Anderson?” Jake smiled at their accomplishment. He was pretty sure her response was, “it’s edible.” He chuckled, and he swore he saw a smile peek through her armor.
Charisse chose that moment to return, and her heart melted at the sight of him caring for the contentious woman.
“How’s it going?” she asked, poking her head around the doorframe.
“It’s going all right.” Jake smiled. Ms. Anderson rolled her eyes, but she wasn’t making any moves to evict him, so Charisse took that as a good sign and returned to her duties.
When Ms. Anderson was satisfied, Jake took her tray back to the kitchen where Charisse was busy cleaning up. “Sorry you had to do the rest by yourself,” he apologized, jumping in to help empty the trays.
She startled at the unexpected, and unnecessary, apology. “It’s okay, I don’t mind. I’m used to it, actually. That was really great of you to help Ms. Anderson like that. I know she can be a bear sometimes.”
“No kidding! But I suppose I’d be pretty surly too, if I was trapped in my own body like that.”
Charisse paused and
stared at him, but he was busy wiping trays and didn’t notice. Was it possible he actually had some compassion buried under all that swagger and nonchalance?
Chapter 6
Jake watched the clock tick with immeasurable slowness towards the moment of his pardon. He didn’t normally mind school all that much. Unlike at home, where every choice was met with disappointment and every action looked upon with disdain, at school he was popular and admired — the handsome and wealthy athlete that every guy envied and every girl desired.
At least, he was until a few weeks ago when he had taken things a little too far, and even his superstar status hadn’t been enough to save him from the repercussions of that fateful night. Since he returned from his suspension, school had been almost as depressing as home, with students and teachers alike staring down their noses at him like he had committed a murder instead of what was intended to be a harmless, albeit heartless, prank.
His community service sentence was intended to be a punishment, but with the promise of seeing Charisse, it had quickly become the best part of his day. When the bell rang, he rushed from his seat, bypassing his locker and giving his friends the briefest of goodbyes as he dashed to his vehicle. He’d thrown his guitar in the backseat in hopes that he and Charisse might know at least a few of the same songs and could perform their first duet for the residents of Sunnybrook.
When he pulled into the parking lot, his eyes immediately scanned the rows for her Beetle, but the yellow bug was nowhere to be found. Maybe he was a little too eager to get there. He didn’t know what time she usually arrived; he just assumed she would come right after school like he did.
He lingered in the car for a few minutes, hoping he could pretend he had just arrived when she did, but when enough cold, Indiana air had seeped into his car to refrigerate the previously toasty interior, he decided to retreat to the warmth of the building. He carried the guitar, still hoping for a chance to show it to Charisse, and decided to run the idea by Mrs. Hariden.
Date with Destiny Collection: Angel Romance Series: Books 1 - 4 Page 17
