The Shoes Come First: A Jennifer Cloud Novel

by Janet Leigh

  ~

  After dinner the sun was a light crease on the horizon. Clear Christmas-tree lights were strung through the trees, and little lanterns hung from the branches, creating a very romantic atmosphere. A band began to play, and several people strolled toward the temporary dance floor laid out on the lawn. I saw Joey looking around the room and decided hiding would be a wise choice.

  Making my way to the back of the yard, I was aching to walk through the beautiful gardens and return to the old willow tree. The hedges of Photinias were way overgrown compared to the last time I was here. Pushing back the branches, I revealed the old white gate. Aint Elma’s sign still hung in the same spot. Darkness enveloped the gardens lingering beyond the gate. I could really use a flashlight.

  “Need one of these?” a voice asked. I pulled my head out of the bushes, and standing next to me holding a small light attached to a key chain was a very cute boy. I didn’t remember seeing him at the wedding, but I had been seated early, so maybe he was sitting in the back. He looked a little older than me, with blond hair that curled around his boyish face and a big dimple in his chin. I could tell he was of some relation to Vinnie because they had the same deep-set eyes. Unlike Vinnie, who had dark eyes that watched everything, this boy had ice-blue eyes tinted with a sadness that made my heart melt.

  “Um, no, I thought I heard a cat,” I lied.

  He raised a dark eyebrow, which sharply contrasted with his blond hair, reached around me, and pulled back the bushes, exposing the gate. Busted.

  “I caught a reflection off the sign when I was looking around earlier. Let’s go check it out,” he said, leading the way.

  I hesitated. I mean, he wasn’t family; was I supposed to take a stranger into the garden? It was too late to think about it, since he was already through the gate, holding it open for me to enter. I followed.

  We slowly wound our way around the bushes, and although I could only see fractions of the remaining gardens, my stomach knotted up like a fist ready to throw a punch. What were once beautiful flowers and green bushes were now brown and lifeless.

  “Looks like someone used to have a garden back here… must have dried up. I’m Marco, by the way.”

  “Jen. Are you a cousin?”

  “No, I’m a nephew.” He laughed. “Are you a cousin?”

  I laughed, thinking my question must have sounded dumb. “As a matter of fact…I am a second cousin.”

  We continued to walk and came upon the vegetable garden. Rotten watermelons lay wasted on the ground. Gone were the orderly rows Aint Elma had created. I held my breath as we passed the brown stalks of corn and turned the corner. The willow tree sat in the back. Its branches still wept like a waterfall.

  “Could you shine the light up on that tree?” I asked. Marco pointed his flashlight toward the willow.

  The tree looked tired, almost depressed. My heart ached. Marco must have felt my anguish, because he put a hand on my shoulder. I felt a warmth trickle down my arm. He immediately withdrew his hand.

  “It was so beautiful. I can’t believe Trish didn’t take care of it.”

  “Let’s go back,” he urged. “I think the fireworks are starting soon.”

  We made our way out of the garden, or what was left of it. As we walked toward the side yard, everyone was sitting in the chairs waiting for the fireworks show.

  I saw Gertie standing with Joey. I marched up to her, grabbed her by the arm, and jerked her around to face me.

  “What happened to the garden?” I asked sharply.

  “Ow.” Gertie looked surprised at my question, then jerking her arm free, she said, “We watered almost every day, but as soon as the outhouse was taken away, everything started to die.” She lowered her voice. “I always thought that thing was haunted.”

  I suddenly realized why my backyard was becoming a green wonderland. The outhouse was my fertilizer.

  Marco had been stopped by a family member but had finally caught up with me. I introduced him to Gertie. I found it funny they had not met, but Gertie explained Vinnie’s family was huge and there were several relatives who couldn’t even make it to the wedding. I listened as Gertie, Joey, and Marco made small talk about certain cousins they had seen recently. The outhouse kept coming back to my mind. Was it haunted like Gertie suggested?

  The fireworks started exploding overhead. I could hear the oohs and aahs of my family and the wows of the Italians.

  I felt Marco move closer to me.

  “Look up,” he coaxed me.

  I raised my eyes, and the fireworks were magnificent. I overheard my mom say Trish had hired a professional fireworks company for the wedding. Everyone seemed to be enchanted with the display. My mom and dad had arms around each other and were gazing upward. Even Uncle Earl had pulled a chair up next to Aint Mable and was whispering in her ear.

  “Let’s lie down on the grass so we can see better,” Gertie suggested.

  Marco and I, Gertie and Joey, the twins, and several other Gambinos and Clouds lay down together to watch fireworks light up the sky. After a short time, Marco eased his hand in mine as we watched together. A warm sensation flowed up my arm. He sat up on one elbow and ran his hand up my arm, caressing my shoulder. The warmth seemed to be emanating from his fingertips. He followed the outline of my collarbone with his index finger, pausing at the shallow in the base of my throat. I turned my face toward him, and he leaned over and kissed me. My first kiss. Fire spread through my body. I opened my mouth slightly for his tongue to enter, and I felt the heat go straight to my boy-howdy.

  My sister had told me Diane Valdez down the street had gone to third base with her boyfriend. If first base was this good, I was definitely ready to steal home.

  Marco pulled away.

  “Wow, that was pretty amazing,” he said.

  I put my hand up to his chest and followed his shirt up to his throat. Along the way, my hand passed over something hard, a necklace. I pulled the corner of his shirt back to reveal a familiar piece of metal. Mother Earth was formed out of a pale stone, and I saw something sparkle, but Marco pulled my hand away, then buttoned up his shirt.

  “I’m sorry,” I said, sitting up. “I was just admiring your necklace.”

  “Yeah,” he said, now completely sitting, hands resting on his knees. “It was a gift from my grandfather.”

  “Is he here too?” I asked.

  “No, he died recently.” He said it with such sorrow, I couldn’t find the words to offer condolence to this boy I had just met.

  The fireworks had finished, and Marco got to his feet. “I should go, but maybe I’ll see you at the next family function.” He leaned in and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek.

  “Um, OK. See you ‘round.”

  He was gone.

  The fireworks ended, and I stood up, along with Gertie and Joey.

  “So, you like Marco?” Gertie asked.

  “I barely know him.”

  “Ya know, his father owns Ferrari,” Joey said.

  “Like the car?” I asked.

  “Yep, thatta be the one.”

  “What does your father own?” Gertie asked Joey.

  “A funeral home.”

  “Geesh.”