Same Old Truths (The Reluctant Avenger)

by Delora Dennis

  Kay knew she shouldn’t have, but she just couldn’t leave it alone. “How was he when he brought you home this afternoon?” she called after Cory.

  “He didn’t. I had to catch a ride with Gina Delroy. Dad was tied up with something.”

  “Something” is right. Something is definitely going on.

  Kay poured the left over soda down the sink and threw the empty cans in the trash. The uneaten crackers went back in the box. She stood in the middle of the kitchen not sure what she should do next.

  Watch the news? No.

  Do a load of laundry? No.

  Empty the trash? No

  Water the lawn out front? That sounded good.

  There was still at least three more hours of sunlight left and at this time of day the east-facing yard was in full shade. Kay knew mindlessly spraying water on the grass would be the perfect way to relax and recalibrate on this warm summer evening.

  Some of her neighbors were out, too, and Kay felt comfortable smiling and waving - her yard was no longer a disgrace. As she stood there watering she surveyed her very basic landscaping. It wasn’t long before she had identified several potential areas for improvement. In her mind’s eye she could see trim, low hedges and attractive layouts of plants and flowers.

  I wonder where my gardening stuff is?

  Kay felt a burning itch on her ankle and realized the mosquitoes were out in full force. With the lawn sufficiently watered she hurried to turn off the faucet and re-coil the hose. She took off her wet shoes before going into the house to look for the anti-itch ointment.

  She was rifling through the drawers in the downstairs bathroom cabinet when the phone rang. Cory’s muffled steps thundered across the ceiling above Kay as she sped to answer it.

  “There you are,” Kay said to the wrinkled tube hiding behind bottles of nail polish, disposable razors and old eye shadow compacts. She put the lid to the toilet seat down and took a seat to apply some relief.

  Cory called, “Mom, it’s for you.”

  “I’ll be right there,” Kay yelled back. She squeezed what she could from the near-empty tube and rubbed it in frantic circles on the itching, swelling welt on her ankle. She hurried to wipe the excess cream off her finger and went in the living room to pick up the phone.

  “I got it,” Kay yelled one last time.

  “Kay. It’s Tina. I hope I haven’t caught you at a bad time.”

  There was an ominous tone in Tina’s voice that made Kay instinctively lower herself on to the couch.

  Tina must have read Kay’s mind. “Are you sitting?” she said.

  Tina picked up where she’d left off on her earlier call concerning a furious Sandy. She poured out an astonishing tale of intrigue, intimidation, deceit and betrayal. The most astonishing of all was the small, but pivotal role Kay had unwittingly played in the plot line.

  Tina began her story by confirming Kay’s passing suspicion of trouble in Dave and Sandy’s marriage. The problems went all the way back to the court order granting Kay her back child support.

  Sandy suspected the courts might not go easy on Dave, so she’d convinced him to keep mum about his bonus. When Sandy’s hunch came true she became enraged at what she considered cruel and unjust treatment from the judge. As far as she was concerned Dave had made his spousal choice clear, and it wasn’t fair she should be punished just because Dave no longer loved Kay.

  Sandy’s hate and resentment had to be appeased. She demanded Dave find a way to get some kind - any kind - of concession from Kay. Sandy was hell-bent on preventing Kay from enjoying the full benefit of the court’s decision.

  Dave knew his life would be hell unless he did what his wife wanted. But he also knew convincing Kay to concede a second time was going to be an even bigger challenge. Nevertheless, he reassured Sandy that Kay was an easy-sell, pointing to his success with his initial child support reduction snow job.

  Enter Dave’s tearful, post-mediation performance in the truck.

  When Kay responded to Dave’s deferment request with her written agreement he was caught completely off guard. He struggled to convince Sandy it was in their best interest to sign it.

  Ultimately, Sandy relented, but only on condition Dave take her to Maui - the one place she knew Kay had always wanted to go with Dave. Running into Kay at the band pageant was a heaven-sent opportunity for Sandy to gloat. Unfortunately, Sandy’s contempt for Kay got the best of her and she ended up spilling the beans about the bonus.

  Now, a new, even-harsher judgment from the courts, coupled with Sandy’s uncontrollable jealousy piled more stress on the marriage. Dave was weary of feeling like ping-pong ball between Sandy and Kay; Sandy resented Dave’s growing indifference to her expectations for attention and reassurance.

  Things finally came to a head when on a trip to the grocery store, Sandy spotted Dave driving in the opposite direction with an unidentified female passenger in the front seat of his truck. A quick u-turn and stealthy pursuit led Sandy to an apartment building where she watched Dave enter with the receptionist from his office.

  A long, agonizing hour later the two emerged and were confronted by a berserk Sandy. Afraid Sandy might become violent, the woman hid behind a high fence and listened as Dave vehemently denied she was of any importance to him. The woman ran back into her apartment crying and cursing at Dave’s disavowal.

  Dave pleaded with Sandy, saying anything that might dissuade her from leaving him. He was terrified she’d make good on her long-held threat to “pick his bones clean,” if she ever caught him with another woman.

  Despite her deep hurt and betrayal, Sandy wasn’t sure she wanted to divorce Dave; she knew a separation was necessary. Her rash decisions had gotten her into trouble in the past, so she vowed to do things more slowly and well-thought out.

  First, she’d make sure the receptionist lost her job. Next, she’d find a place for her and Little Dave to live. Finally, she would tell Dave they needed time apart if there was going to be a chance for their marriage to work.

  The morning of the townhouse showing Sandy had immediately recognized Tina. Sandy panicked. She remembered Dave mentioning something about Tina and Kay being friends.

  Her intuition screamed at her to turn and walk out, but she really liked the townhouse and was tired of touring properties. So she made up the story of the remodel, just in case Tina and Kay were still in contact. At the very least, she figured she could delay Kay learning about her true intentions.

  But the Fates had already lined up the dominoes. Bringing Tina and Kay back together was the trigger that set off the chain reaction of colliding individuals and circumstances:

  Against her loudly-nagging doubts, Sandy signed the lease.

  Tina promised to put a copy of the lease in the mail with the extra keys.

  Tina and Kay met for lunch, drank a lot of wine and called a cab to take them home.

  Tina forgot to tell the driver to take her to the Post Office.

  The envelope with the lease and keys was left on the seat of the cab.

  Kay called Tina to tell her she had the envelope.

  Tina told Kay to mail the envelope on Monday.

  Dave came to pick up Mariah on Sunday, and Kay gave the envelope to Mariah to give to him.

  Dave assumed the envelope contained more bad legal news and hid it from Sandy.

  Dave opened the envelope and found the copy of the lease and the extra keys.

  Dave raced to the townhouse.

  Using the extra key, Dave unlocked the door and discovered his neighbor, “Mr. Trash,” consoling Sandy with a passionate embrace that had them writhing in passion on the living room carpet.

  Tina finished her story by saying, ”Didn’t I tell you the Fates were at it again? Whenever you and I get together, watch out!

  “How in the world did you find all this out?” Kay said.

  The last thing Kay expected to hear Tina say was, “Ellen Cleary.” Kay winced at the name of the bookkeeper at Dave’s former office, reme
mbering her snickering alliance with Sandy that day at the pizza parlor. What Kay had forgotten, however, was Tina and Ellen had been good friends, before and after, Sandy arrived on the scene.

  “You know, Kay, Ellen never approved of Dave and Sandy’s affair,” Tina said.

  Kay scoffed. “She gave a pretty good imitation of it from where I was sitting.”

  Tina defended her old co-worker. She said Ellen had made a true effort to keep her distance from Sandy. She confessed to Tina she was very relieved when Dave and Sandy moved away.

  “When they moved back to town, Sandy got in touch with Ellen again and it wasn’t a happy surprise.” Tina said.

  Over the months Ellen did everything she could to discourage Sandy from calling her. And it had worked until this past Saturday when Sandy recognized Tina at the townhouse. Sandy immediately called Ellen, and in a highly-agitated state, relentlessly quizzed her about Tina’s professional integrity.

  Ellen was happy to vouch for Tina. She validated Sandy’s decision to sign with Tina and her property management company. Then she dispensed with Sandy as quickly as she could, hoping it would be the last time she’d hear from her. But on Monday, a hysterical Sandy called again accusing Ellen of purposely misleading her. Sandy worked herself up into such a frenzy she finally broke down and the whole story came pouring out.

  “Ellen called me immediately afterward,” Tina said. “And now I’m calling you.”

  Kay felt drained after hearing Tina’s story. Her emotions had been drug across the gamut from stunned, to validated, to angry, to giddy, to avenged, and finally to a little sad. She was about to ask Tina if Dave had beaten Mr. Knash to a pulp when the doorbell rang.

  “Let me call you back,” Kay said.

  She opened the door to an ashen-faced Dave. Next to him was a smiling Mariah, delighted to be at her mother’s doorstep.

  “I need to leave Mariah here for couple days,” Dave said. “I’ve got some urgent personal business to take care of and I think it’ll be better if she’s here with you.”

  Mariah crossed the threshhold with her customary skip, seemingly unaware of her dad’s distress. Kay was thrilled to see her, relieved she was out of the middle of Dave’s domestic mess.

  Dave wasted no time walking back to his truck where Kay noticed Little Dave sat strapped in his car seat.

  “Do you have anyone to help you with Little Dave?” Kay called to Dave.

  He stopped, turned and leaned slightly forward. “No. Not really,” he said.

  “Bummer,” Kay said, and slammed the door.

  “I’m hungry, Mom. Do we have anything to eat?” Mariah said.

  “I was just about to call Cory down to help me make some spaghetti,” Kay said with a smile. “How about helping me with the garlic bread?”

  Kay put her arm around her little girl and they walked into the kitchen.

  Epilogue

  Leo held his palm over the top of the cold barbecue grill. “The coals haven’t even been lit yet,” Leo said, as walked back to the patio lounger. He plunked into the chair and the lightweight mesh and aluminum structure threatened to fold like a Venus flytrap. “At this rate we won’t be eating for at least another hour.” Leo was pouting.

  “Shhh,” Lindy O’Malley said. “Ed’s gonna hear you.”

  Lindy was stretched out next to Leo on a comfy lounge chair of her own. She lifted her sunglasses to the top of her head and gave Leo a look of disapproval. “You don’t want him to think you’re an ungrateful guest.”

  Ed emerged from the sliding glass doors of his kitchen balancing a large platter of steaks, burgers and bratwursts on the palm of his hand. He carefully transferred the platter to his other palm, slid the door shut, then hurried toward the built-in brick barbecue grill stationed at the far end of his flagstone patio.

  “I didn’t expect you two so early,” Ed said. “You do know the party was scheduled for two o’clock?

  Lindy nudged Leo’s arm with her elbow, knocking it off the arm rest. “I told you we were too early,” she whispered.

  “I thought we’d get here ahead of everyone and see if you needed any help,” Leo said. His overly-relaxed position in the chair belied his magnanimous explanation.

  Lindy glared at him. Helping out was never mentioned as a reason for showing up thirty minutes early. She knew Leo was simply hoping to get a head start on all the party food.

  “Well, now that you mention it, I could use your help carrying a couple of coolers from the garage,” Ed said. He was busy preparing to light the grill.

  Leo didn’t respond to the request. “You’ll never get those coals started without lighter fluid,” he called to Ed from his stretched out, comfortable perch.

  “It’s a gas grill, Leo,” Ed called back. He opened two small doors underneath the grill, and gestured toward the large white propane tank.

  “Leo, go get the coolers,” Lindy said. “Ed knows what he’s doing.”

  With a disgusted sigh, Leo swung his long legs over to one side and reluctantly rose from his lounger. “Some party,” he mumbled to himself. “I might as well be at work.”

  Lindy shrugged and smiled at Ed. He gave her a wink and pushed the red ignition button on the grill.

  The sliding glass doors opened again and out walked Kay rubbing her arm. “I can’t crank the churn any more, Ed. Can we switch up for awhile?” Kay had been in the kitchen, hard at work on her old ice cream churn.

  “I’d be happy to give it try,” Lindy said, jumping up from her chair.

  Kay had missed the arrival of Lindy and Leo, who had let themselves in through the side gate of Ed’s home. As the unofficial hostess of Ed’s bi-annual employee appreciation party, Kay felt obligated to greet the guests and get them comfortably situated. However, Kay wasn’t prepared to see Officer O’Malley leap up in front of her and couldn’t help reacting with a knee-jerk alarm. But Lindy’s welcoming smile quickly put Kay at ease.

  “Wow. Are you making fresh butter?” Leo said. He joined the scene carrying a large, and seemingly heavy, red cooler. Leo’s wide-eyed excitement never failed to amuse Kay.

  “Home made strawberry ice cream,” Kay said with a laugh.

  Lindy relieved Leo of one end of the cooler and guided him over to a table sitting under the shade of the patio cover. Ed watched, ever amazed at the level of strength packed into Lindy’s diminutive structure.

  Kay looked at her watch. “Aren’t you guys here a little early?”

  Lindy rolled her eyes. “Don’t ask,” she said. Despite Lindy’s annoyance, Kay knew she had a true affection for Leo. She thought it was great they’d decided to give dating another go.

  Leo was about to lower himself back on his chair when Lindy stopped him short. “What about the other cooler?” she said.

  He popped up straight again and let out another sigh. “I’m going. I’m going. But you better not say anything when I have to pig out to make up for all this energy you’re making me burn.”

  Lindy playfully grabbed Leo’s arm by the elbow. “Oh, come on, you big baby,” Lindy said. “I’ll go with you.”

  Leo yanked his arm away. “Don’t come unless you’re going to help,” Leo said.

  “I swear, Leo. Sometimes you can be so…”

  The two disappeared through the back door to the garage before Kay could hear Lindy finish her sentence.

  “I’ve got the burgers and the brats going,” Ed said, walking up behind Kay. “You keep an eye on them and I’ll go work on the ice cream.” He smiled at Kay and gave her a quick peck on the cheek.

  “We’ll wait on the steaks ‘til everyone is here,” he said over his shoulder. This time he wasn’t in a hurry.

  * * *

  It was a perfect day for a party. Mariah and her guest, Alisha Resnick, splashed in the pool, while Cory and Violet talked quietly in a far corner of the back yard. The scene around the large patio table was both lively and relaxed, courtesy of plenty of cold beer and a bottomless pitcher of margaritas. Guests feasted
on Ed’s expertly grilled selections and delicious side dishes pot-lucked by the party guests.

  “What happened to the container of Mrs. Dash’s okra that was sitting here a second ago?” Leo asked, on an urgent quest to fill his plate for the third time. “They’re better than potato chips.”

  “Check in the kitchen, Leo,” Ruth said. “There should be another bag sitting on the counter next to the sink.” Ruth turned to Ed. “That reminds me, Ed. How are Addie and Owen doing?” she asked. “Have you heard from them lately?”

  “As a matter of fact, I got a call from Uncle O day before yesterday.” Ed said. “He and Adelaide really like Miami.” Ed went on to report their counseling sessions were going well and that O was feeling confident Addie would soon be moving out of their daughter’s home and back in with him.

  “That’s wonderful news,” Ruth said. “If there were ever two people who truly belong together, it’s Owen and Adelaide.”

  “What’s this about two people belonging together?” George McNab said, swinging his leg over the picnic bench, cozying in next to Ruth. He carefully set a hot casserole dish on the pot holder sitting on the table in front of him. He turned to Ruth and flashed her a dazzling smile. Ruth’s responded with a look of utter delight such as Kay had never seen.

  Kay’s heart squeezed at the tender scene. She knew Mr. McNab had probably once smiled at Emily the same way, knowing they had belonged together. But Emily was gone and Kay marveled at George’s willingness to open himself to belonging to someone else - especially when it was her lovely friend, Ruth.

  “You all have to try this amazing chicken casserole,” Mr. McNab said. “I hate to think what I would’ve missed if Ruth hadn’t insisted on showing me how to make it.” He scooped out a portion and served Ruth before taking some for himself.

  Kay excused herself from the table to check on the ice cream hardening in Ed’s freezer. The home-made strawberry recipe had turned out so well, she looked forward to trying a more-challenging flavor next time.

  What in the world ever possessed me to sell that churn?