She looked longingly at the swinging doors but then straightened up and said offhandedly, “Sure, fine whatever. If you're hungry.” I grinned at her poor performance then just grabbed her hand and pulled her through the doors.
She shied away from the crowd in the room. People were sitting at the rows of card tables and mismatched chairs arranged in the center of the big room. There must have been around eighty homeless individuals in the room eating off of divided plastic trays with plastic utensils. She stayed close to the walls with her eyes darting everywhere.
She snapped off to her left, “I didn't ask you now did I?” We got up to the line behind a couple others, she shielded herself behind me and we picked up a couple trays. I got some odd looks as we went through the line to get the sparse offering of scrambled eggs, toast and little sausage links. I must have looked out of place with my high-end clothes and grunge look. We reached the end of the line and grabbed some juice boxes a man with the white collar of a pastor was handing out. He appeared to be the man in charge here.
I waited for Vanessa to move on to grab her silverware, then I discretely reached into my purse and grabbed every scrap of the ill-contrived money that I had left over from my adventures the previous day, except a twenty, and handed it to the man. I whispered, “Do some good with this for these people.” He nodded with a smile.
I grabbed a fork and followed Vanessa, still no nickname, to a back table in the corner where she sat with her back to the wall. She smiled at me then started eating. I have never seen someone take so much pleasure devouring their food. She shoveled it in like she hadn't eaten in ages. I realized she probably hadn't. From the sounds of it, she made sure most of the food she scored went to Fran.
I ate enough to be polite then pushed my tray forward a bit and leaned back. “That was good.” My honey haired companion eyed my tray then me. I had laid my fork across the tray as a subtle indicator I was done. She asked hesitantly, “You just going to waste that?” I shrugged and she exhaled, “Mind if I...”
She left the question hanging and I just nudged the tray toward her and she grabbed it and scraped it's contents off onto her tray. She said, “So what does June do for fun?”
I snorted. “That sounded like the start of a joke. Hmmm... what everyone else does. Movies, hiking, reading, music.”
She nodded and said, “Friday night. Board-game night. I don't DJ on Friday's for Frannie.”
I tilted my head at her. “It's still a no?” She nodded and I continued, “Was that an invitation?” She shrugged and I squinted my eyes. “You want to hang around with me?”
She shrugged again. “You're about the only person who doesn't look at me like a freak... and the music, it's playing in your eyes. It's... calming.”
I studied her for a moment. “Your meds, how much do you need? How long before they have the desired effect?”
She put her fork down and stared at her food. Then said in a cold tone, “Too much, and it takes weeks, but I'll get clearheaded again. For Fran.” She smacked her head hard a few times. Then she snapped her eyes to me, almost like she were warning me not to offer to pay for her meds like I was about to. She had her pride, even though I could see she thought she had hit rock bottom.
She started shoveling the food into her mouth a second later and just said, “I'll tell Fran to expect you.”
Oh, I was being politely shoved off the plank into shark infested waters I take it. I stood and then reached into my purse and grabbed a pen and wrote Kathleen's address on it and handed it to her. “This is where I'm staying in case you get bored or need someone to make fun of.” Then I put the twenty on top of the note.
She shot me a glare full of fire and promised pain, but I held a hand up to placate her. “For Fran. Get her some food.” She stared at it then snatched it from the table.
I took my tray and left. She called out to my back. “But you'll be there? Tonight?”
I shrugged without turning, suppressing a smile as she said, “Good. She will be expecting you.” That was subtle guilt tripping worthy of me, using the little sister like that. Truth be told, I was sort of excited to see Vanessa again. Guilt trip or not.
I left the building in a good mood and turned west for the long walk back to Kat's since I didn't have the cash for a cab.
Chapter 7 – Game Night
Kat had admonished me properly like a mother scolding her child for not contacting her last night to know where I was. “I was worried sick.” She had signed, but then spoke with a smirk as she signed, “Who knows what kind of mayhem you were wroughting on my city. Is wroughting a word?”
I stuck out my tongue and signed, “Your compassion is overwhelming.” She just grinned and pushed my shoulder. Then she signed, “What's the plan tonight since you found the elusive Scratch? She sign on?”
I shook my head and said, “She hasn't, but I haven't given up yet. But about tonight. Umm I was sort of going over to her place to play some board games with her little sister. Come with?” I squinted an eye in anticipation of my doom and destruction.
She tilted her head and regarded me for a minute then said, “You want to see her again huh?”
I sputtered out, “No, I just need her for London Harmony.
She grinned and signed as she said, “Oh, you neeeeed her.” Stretching out need, quite sarcastically I may add.
I'm sure the heat of my blush could have ignited dry kindling. Then we'd be in campfire mode. “I don't remember you being this mean.”
She grinned like she had just won the Nobel Prize. “Sure, it sounds like fun. I'd like to meet the mysterious Scratch anyway. I'm off at five.”
I nodded as she grabbed her purse. “I'm going to be late for work, see you here after five? No disappointing?” I threw a couch pillow at her and she scurried off chuckling.
Ok, the first thing to do was to call Zil and see how the construction was coming along and then to the bank, I was going to need cash and my debit card had already been canceled.
I cleaned up for the day then grabbed my purse and then took off walking toward the nearest branch of my bank. After procuring a new debit card and withdrawing a few hundred for pocket money, New York is more of a cash town for certain things, I was off on another task.
I took a cab to Times Square and then made my way just past the Golden Arches to a little door that opened into a narrow stairway that leads up to a comic book shop I had frequented when I lived here. I perused their game selection. What? It would be rude to show up empty handed!
I wound up with Dr. Who Monopoly and a couple deck building games that had an average of ten to fifteen-minute play times. Then of course for the express reason of not ticking off the universe and having the Rain of a Thousand Deaths come down on me in the form of carnivorous chipmunks, I bought a couple comics to read at lunch. I mean, come on now, it IS a comic book shop.
I spent some time wandering some of my old haunts and then hopped a cab to the Park. I still cannot get enough of Central Park, it has to be the crown jewel of New York City. I went to the zoo and grabbed a hotdog, water and some chips from a vendor and just sat on a bench, snacking and reading my mentally stimulating texts. Texts, comics, whatever, leave me alone. My mind kept drifting to those impossibly blue eyes.
After looking at the animals, I made my way back to Kathleen's. After settling in to wait for my friend I gave Lizzie a call, she answered with her, “Go for the Liz!” It elicited a snort from me. She said, “Ooooo very snorty.”
I grinned, she's always so playful. “Hey, little sis. Just checking in on the homefront.”
I could imagine a silly screwed up look on her face with her eyes narrowed comically as she asked, “You no get robbed again?”
I sighed. “No, I didn't get robbed again.”
She chirped out, “Good, cuz I so wouldn't have helped you out again.”
I grinned. “Well, I actually found the thief and retrieved my things. Too bad I had everything canceled.”
She said, “
Ah, you went all Sherlock Holmes and tracked the culprit down? Had the cops slap the old irons on them did ya?”
I said, “I'd so rock that hat and pipe, but no. I'm going to their place tonight to play some board games.”
She blustered, “Are you nutso woman? You're... ah, wait... the sexy part of sexy pickpocket?”
I blushed. How can Liz and Zoey derail me like this so easily? “It isn't like that. She has a game night with her little sister every Friday.”
There was a pause. Then she asked simply, “Her? Oooooooo!”
I sighed. “I hate you.”
She giggled. “No you don't, you love me because as we both know, I'm lovable.”
I nodded. “That you are, and you have a big head too. Must be from breathing the thin air at such a high altitude.”
She tutted. “Tall jokes really J? Lame. You know I'm only this tall because they couldn't fit this much awesome into a smaller container. You know critical mass and all.”
I countered, “Or it's something else piled higher and deeper.” We bantered for a bit and we exchanged current goings on, then I let her get back to work. It always put a smile on my face to talk to my sis, she's a great sounding board.
Before long Kat was home. We got ready for a casual night and headed out to her car. On the way there I asked when we were stopped at a red light, “Mind if we hit a couple stops on the way?”
She shrugged and I asked her to stop at a convenience store or a supermarket. We picked up chips, snacks and a case of cola. Then a drive through for burgers and fries. We pulled up to the abandoned auto shop around six thirty. I asked Kat to park across the street so we didn't draw attention to the place with a car parked in front. This caused a nervous look on her face. “This – Is their home?”
I nodded slowly then said, “Yes, and please don't judge.”
She held her hands up in surrender but still looked nervous. We loaded up with our ill-gotten-booty, or is it ill-booten-gotty, and I led her into the alley and then knocked on the corrugated steel. A moment later Vanessa pushed the metal aside and poked her head out.
She looked through us then stepped out with a heavy metal bar in one hand. She stared directly into my eyes and relaxed a little after she poked me in the arm with her finger. “Just checking,” she whispered. Then looked at Kat and closed her eyes. “Are you alone?”
I put my bags down, shook my head, and responded and signed with surety when she reopened her eyes, “No, this is one of my oldest and best friends. Kathleen Schmidt, Kat.”
Then I turned my head more toward Kat. “Kat this is Vanessa Brighton.”
My friend said in her monotone-ish voice as she offered her hand, “Pleased to meet you. Any friend of JW is a friend of mine... or a fugitive from the international police.”
I chuckled as Vanessa shook her hand, staring down at their hands for a moment, no doubt realizing she was real. Then she cocked her head and said plainly and unabashedly, “You're deaf.”
Before I could say anything, Kat mimicked her head tilt and said, “So I've been told.”
This got a smile from Vanessa. Then she suddenly had rage on her face the next instant as she twisted to her left and said to thin air, “Shut up!” She smacked the side of her head then pulled the gap in the steel siding wider. She turned to look at us again with a grin, “Ladies?”
Kat shot me a worried look and I just gave her a reassuring smile and we entered carrying our offerings. When we got into the office, the blankets and sleeping bags were spread out across the floor where Fran sat crosslegged and putting a cheap old chess set away in a frayed and taped together box. There were three other boxes in similar disrepair beside her, Clue, the game of Life, and Pictionary.
She grinned and hopped up to her feet when we came into the office. I was surprised when she grabbed onto me and gave me a hug. “June! You came. Vannie thought she might have asked you, but she wasn't quite sure.”
She released me and looked over at Kat nervously as I put the bags down on a sleeping bag. I signed as I introduced them, “Small Fry, this is my friend Kat, and Kat this is Fran. Kat wanted to tag along for board game night. We brought games, burgers, and snacks!”
Fran's eyes snapped down to the bags and said, “Pleased to meet you Kat.” The girl was almost drooling at the plain white bags from the drive through.
I looked at her and said as I signed, “Small Fry. Kat is deaf and you need to keep your head up so she can read your lips when you speak. She is awesome at lip reading.”
She looked up and didn't miss a beat and simply repeated her greeting. Kat just grinned at her and nodded. Then Fran looked back at the bags. I don't think I've ever seen someone take someone's differences in stride like that. Maybe it is because of her own sister's affliction. What ever it was, I somehow felt a bit of pride for the young lady.
I grinned and looked at her. “Help yourself.”
She looked like she wanted to pounce on it, but she hesitated and fidgeted with her hands as she looked over at Vanessa. “Can I Van?”
Her older sister looked between Kat and I and said, “We don't need your charity.”
I shrugged and sat down on the floor and opened one of the bags, letting the smell of burgers and fries waft out. I signed as I said, “Charity? It's game night, I need to get my munchies on!” Then I unwrapped the burger and took a big sloppy bite to punctuate my statement with a huge grin bulging with burger-y goodness.
Fran looked at Vanessa, who just nodded once and then the little one dove on the bags like a velociraptor. We all sat in a circle and munched on the offerings, and washed them down with cola as we chatted. Vanessa wound up somehow right next to me and she whispered in my ear as she looked at her sister, “Thank you.” I could feel the warmth of her leg against mine.
I just nodded and grinned as I dug in one of the other bags and pulled out some Twinkies. I looked at her then Fran in question. She nodded again and I yelled, “Small Fry, incoming!” I threw her the golden spongecake.
When we disposed of the carnage left over from our meal. I opened some chips and we did something I haven't done in a very long time. We played board games, and it was fun! I can't even think of when I had stopped. I think maybe sometime in college. It is strange how we leave little bits of ourselves behind as we age, I hadn't really thought about it until that moment. Maybe it is a good thing to do like the Brighton sisters and put certain times aside to do the things that bring us happiness and joy.
After we determined Colonel Mustard did it in the library with the candlestick, and Kat destroyed us all in Doctor Who Monopoly, we moved on to Pictionary. Fran said in a melancholy and retrospection that was beyond her years as she opened the old worn box, “We haven't played this one since before social services separated me and Vannie. There's never enough people around.” But then she cheered up suddenly. “Kat's on my team! We're gonna kick your butts!”
More than once Vanessa had to shush us all from out excited squealing and yelling answers. Between my new honey haired obsession, me, and her voices, we kicked Kat and Fran's butts. We were so in sync. After strutting around in victory, we all settled down and just played the deck building games I had brought as we just chatted about our lives. It was comfortable to me, like family. It is how I felt around my tight knit group in Junes Eight.
At some point, we lost Fran. She was curled up on the sleeping bag she and Kat were sitting on with her head in Kathleen's lap, sound asleep. Kat didn't look too far from knocking off either. She was just sort of leaning back against the steel desk and smiling warmly at us. I checked the time. Holy porcupine wings! It was past two in the morning and I was feeling some fatigue myself. I didn't have the energy I had back in college, I couldn't do this out all night stuff anymore.
I turned to look at Vanessa and froze. Her face was inches from mine. Her hand raised up and cupped my cheek. There was a fire where she made contact. A warmth spreading into me. But then she jerked her face to the left and hissed in a low growl witho
ut removing her hand. “I know! You don't have to harp on me!”
But then I was face to face with her again. She smiled and I smiled back. She turned her head slightly and smiled at her sleeping sister then turned back to me and placed her forehead against mine and stared deeply into my eyes. Our noses touching, I could feel her hot breath on my lips.
I have never wanted so badly for someone to kiss me than in that moment. The moment that was stretching into an eternity as I gazed into her crystal blue eyes. I saw so much in them and it was threatening to make me cry.
Then she spoke in a whisper, her lips nicking mine as she said, “Thank you. I haven't seen Frannie so happy in a long time.” I couldn't have spoke if you paid me too, sparks were flying from the incidental lip contact and my being was buzzing. Her eyes seemed to dilate and she smiled and said, “The music in your eyes makes things seem ok.”
Then her eyes swung down toward our lips and her smile grew even bigger. I almost screamed, I couldn't take it anymore and I started to lean in, but to my embarrassment she leaned back as I did, keeping our lips separated by mere millimeters. I pulled back, but she was smiling. She whispered, “Not until I know what's real. That you're real. I need to get better.”
She grinned and grabbed one of my hands in hers then poked me with the other. “You seem real.”
I exhaled in exasperation, “It's because I am real! Gawd, you can't just heat someone up like this then douse them with cold water woman!”
She chuckled and said, “Seems I just did.”
Heaven help me if I didn't smile at the damn tease. “You're an evil, evil woman.”
She nodded with an impish grin then her eyes swept away. I followed her gaze and saw my traitorous friend staring back at us with a happy smile and hopeful look in her eyes with her hands pressed together against her lips like she were in prayer.
She dropped her hands and gave us a super cheesy grin. “Oh, don't mind me ladies.”
I threw a nacho chip at her and said and signed, “You're just as evil as Vanessa!” She grabbed the chip projectile and munched on it like the traitor she is.
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