by Jenna Brooks
“Filth? What?”
“I’ve done some thinking lately. My daughter comes home limping, her best friends take out a restraining order on you, and suddenly I can’t even reach Samantha. And my home winds up spray-painted with vulgarities, which happen to be the same uncommon color as your dining room.” She was genuinely angry now. “Too many events, all connected, all at the same time–and you are the common denominator.” She threw her linen napkin on the patio table, disgusted. “What on earth have I been doing?”
Jack knew he had to think fast. She was his only link to Sam, and he needed to keep her in his corner.
“Liz,” he held a hand out to her, as if pleading. “I’m so sorry.”
“Ha! You admit it?”
He shook his head sadly, pausing for effect. “No,” he sighed. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. You had a right to know. I just…I didn’t want to create any more trouble between you and Samantha.”
She narrowed her eyes, feeling the hair rise on the back of her neck. “What trouble? What are you talking about?”
He seemed tortured by what he was about to reveal. “Liz, you know your daughter…She tends to be unstable, lash out…”
“What are you saying?”
He was looking at his feet, his hands in his pockets again. “Never mind. Tell you what–I’ll pay for what happened here.” He met her eyes then. “Let me make it right, okay? And then, I’ll get lost, and you don’t have to see me again.” He bit his lip. “Ever.”
Rhonda moaned softly, “Oh goodness, Liz. Maybe you should hear him out.”
She was confused. “Jack, you have an obligation to me, to tell me the truth.”
He shook his head, dejected. “Just give me a number. I’ll write you a check, right now.”
“Jack!” she snapped. “Tell me!”
His eyes widened as if he was intimidated, and he muttered, “Okay, look, I did see what happened to your house, but I’m not the only one with access to that paint, Liz.”
Her skin felt prickly. “You mean Samantha…?”
He didn’t respond, didn’t move at all–he just stared into her eyes sadly, knowingly.
Rhonda gave a small, surprised grunt. Her chair groaned loudly as she leaned back in it, folding her arms. It was the only sound for a few moments. Liz seemed frozen, ticking off in her head the events of that day, of the things that had happened in the hours before her house was vandalized.
Reading her confusion, Jack said, “Look, Liz, I know I can’t measure up to Dave Delaney.” She shook her head, about to deny it, and he held up his hand as he hurried on. “At least, not in Samantha’s eyes. But on the day that I show up to make amends with her, to take her to dinner, and I give you roses, and then spend the entire evening looking for her, you think I took the time to indulge in a criminal act in between all that?”
He had her attention, he could see it. “Okay, just look at it logically. I happen to know that she was furious with you that day.” Again, he knew that was a safe bet. “Who uses bad language, Liz? Me, or Samantha? Would you say she has an issue with maturity, or that I do? It had to be one of us, right? Do a gut-check.” He sighed sadly, then said, “Look, I love her. But it’s way past time we stop protecting her. She needs to be treated like an adult, and be held accountable. For her own good, you know? She did it, Liz–and I know that, because it wasn’t me. There just is no one else who could have done it.”
She was gazing out over her gardens. “Oh, no…”
“She was much angrier than usual with you last week, right? You know why she was limping that night? Because she kicked me, and she did it so hard that she fell.”
Liz nodded, her eyes filling, remembering how cruel Sam had been as she left that morning. She could imagine her daughter doing exactly what Jack was accusing her of. She retrieved her napkin from the table, and dabbed at her eyes. “Jack. Can you ever forgive me?”
He looked unsure for just a moment, then approached her, his arms open. “She’s your daughter, Liz. I understand. Of course I forgive you.” As they hugged, he said, “We need to find her, you know.” He paused, then remembered. “And of course Tyler, too. He was supposed to come home last Monday. I miss them.”
“I know you do. I’m sure they’re okay. They’re with Maxine and Josie.”
“I can’t go over to their apartment building, though. You know that. I don’t even know what parts of Manchester I need to avoid, because I may run into one of them. They’re making it impossible to reach Samantha.” He stepped back, looking down at his feet and blinking hard. “I’ll probably wind up getting arrested for being in the wrong place.”
Liz nodded, sniffling. “Oh my, we can’t have that.”
“It would help a lot if we could just find Samantha.”
“I know.” She sniffed again. “I’m going to get a tissue. Can I get you anything, dear?”
“No, thanks. Actually,” he pointed upward, as if something had just occurred to him, “could you call her? Just see if she’s okay?”
She looked away, embarrassed. “I don’t have her new number, Jack.”
Damn it. “Oh.” He put his hand on her shoulder. “Oh, Liz, how disrespectful. I’m so sorry. You deserve so much better than that.”
She sighed. “You know how she is. She’s disappeared before. She’ll turn up eventually.”
“I wouldn’t take her back this time, Liz,” Rhonda said.
Jack gave them each a knowing, long-suffering look. “She’s got some serious problems. But she’s not beyond hope. Liz, would you be willing to call Jo? Or even Dave–I’m losing my mind here. Everything’s so upside-down these days.”
Liz reached just inside the patio door, grabbing a tissue. “I owe you that. Of course I will. But I’ll call Josie, not Dave. His is another number I’m not allowed to have.”
He looked at her with pity. “Here, I have my phone. What’s Jo’s number?”
“Jo, get up. You have got to see this day.” Max pushed the bedroom door open, where she saw that Jo’s bed was already empty. “Hey, Bim! Where’s you?”
“Behind you.”
Max jumped, letting out a small cry of surprise. “Geez, you scared me.”
Jo held out an oversized mug of coffee. “I’ve already seen it out there. It’s a beauty.” She raised her own cup. “All together now, mmmm…”
Max took a long drink. “Good coffee,” she finished. “Let’s go out on the deck.”
Grateful to find that Grady left all of his patio furniture in the garage, they had spent the two previous days preparing the massive deck to be their summer haven. A light breeze ruffled the impatiens in the planters Max had attached to the railing of the deck; they watched as a couple of seagulls bobbed and dipped, gliding effortlessly just inches above the surface of Bow Lake–so clear on that morning, they could see the floor fifteen feet beyond the dock.
Daisy ambled out to join them, taking what was becoming her accustomed spot under the oval, glass-topped patio table, resting her head on Jo’s foot.
Jo smiled down at her. “We need to go into town today, stock up on some food.”
“Hot dogs. Burgers. And let’s stop at a farmstand, get some of those early peaches. I’ll make shortcake for dessert.”
“Lettie has some. You sound like you’re all about the grilling tonight.”
“Oh yeah. My appetite’s gone exponential, living out here.” She gazed lovingly at the lake. “What an idea, Jo. I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you for this.”
She waved her hand, dismissing the idea. “Whatever. If anything, it’s a favor to me, having you here with me for this.”
“I almost feel sorry for the tourists who decided to do the ocean instead.”
“I know what you mean.” She thought about the crowds that would be forming on a weekend like this, especially at Hampton Beach. It would be wall-to-wall people, parking nightmares, and the usual tourists out of Massachusetts and Maine, who regularly invaded New Hampshire coastal towns for
the superior beaches and the better shopping.
Jo heard her phone ringing faintly in the dining room, just off the deck. “Hey, maybe that’s the Bimbat.” She jumped up to get it, frowning as she came back to the table.
Max looked at her questioningly.
“It’s restricted.” Jo flipped the phone open. “Hello…Liz! Your number didn’t come up…We’re fine, dear. How are you?” She listened intently for a few moments, then gave Max a shrewd look. “She’ll well, Liz. Absolutely fine. She’s just sorting things out.” Another minute passed, then, “Yes, she’s been with us all week.”
Max snorted sarcastically, going to refill their coffees.
“…Okay…I will definitely tell them. You take care, Liz. ‘Bye.” She took her coffee from Max. “I suppose Jack must be loopy by now.”
Max raised her mug in a salute. “Good.”
“Let’s go get ready. C’mon, Daisy,” she slapped her thigh, and the dog reluctantly got up, following them into the house. “Can’t go with today, baby. The car’s going to get too hot.”
Daisy laid down just inside the door, putting her paws over her muzzle and groaning, looking at them with huge, sad eyes.
Max laughed. “Oh, you poor pooch. I swear, Bim, she understands every word you say.”
Jo sat on the floor beside her, scratching her neck. “But I’ll let you swim when we get back, okay? Baby wanna swim?” She tugged her ears playfully.
Daisy reached up and licked her face, then put her paws on Jo’s shoulders, knocking her onto her back, slurping her cheeks and her forehead. Jo was laughing hysterically by the time she stopped.
Max watched them, smiling. “Let’s go so we can get back fast. That dog needs to play.”
They stopped at Lettie’s on their way to the larger stores in Rochester. A posterboard, with ORCHARD FRESH FRUITS scrawled across it in green paint, was propped in the front window.
“Lettie, you here?” Max called out as they entered.
They waited for a moment, then Jo noticed the cardboard clock on the counter, with the words “Back at” above the attached arrows, which pointed to 12:30. “Nope, she’s out.” Jo grabbed a brown bag from the side of the fruit display, inspecting the peaches as she filled it.
“What are you doing?”
Jo glanced at her. “I’m, uh, getting the peaches…?”
“But she’s not here.”
“Yeah, we established that.” She put two more large peaches in the bag, then put it on the antique scale which was hanging to the side. “Four pounds. Will that do for shortcake?”
“Yeah, plus snacking.” Max looked confused.
Jo rolled her eyes. “Maxine, tell me, have you ever lived in a small town?”
“Not this small.”
“Okay. You see, when you live in the boonies, you tend to do things like this.” She squinted at the index card that was taped to the front of the display. “Small, seventy cents a pound, large…What does that say?”
Max bent to look at it. “Ninety cents a pound.”
“So, all we need to do now is leave the money under the blotter on her desk. And a note if we feel like it.”
“Get out.”
“No, really. Why do you think she left the door open?”
A smile grew on Max’s face. “Here, I’ve got this.” She pulled a five dollar bill from her pocket. At the desk behind the counter, she took another index card and a pen, and wrote:
Hi, Lettie. Sorry we missed you. We got four pounds of large peaches, here’s the money. See you soon–Maxine and Josie
Jo ruffled her hair as she looked up. “Very nice, Bim. We’ll get you used to decent people by the time summer’s over.”
Fifteen minutes later, they crossed the town line into Rochester. “Ice cream,” Max moaned, pointing to the candy shop just beyond the town’s first intersection.
“Kind of early for ice cream. How’s about on our way home?”
Max stuck her bottom lip out, and Jo laughed. “Okay.” She pulled into the gravel lot. “Spoiled brat.”
“Thanks. I need ice cream. Now.”
They got hot fudge sundaes, arguing briefly over whether or not Max would pay, and then sat on the truck’s tailgate. “You know,” Jo said, carefully catching a few drips with her spoon, “you don’t need to keep paying for things. This whole summer was supposed to be my treat.”
Max shifted uncomfortably. “I just feel like such a freeloader.”
Jo didn’t like the miserable expression on her face. “Look, I’m getting worried that this is going to change us. You seem to think you owe me for this, and you don’t.” She looked out over the fields across the road. “You’ve been acting weird ever since we got here. Before we got here.”
Max scooped whipped cream into her mouth with her finger. “Actually, I think I started acting weird when you paid my rent through August. I feel strange, okay? I can’t help it.”
“Max, listen to me. You should be setting up the rest of your life right now, and instead, you came with me. When I said I consider it a favor, I meant it.” She squinted in the sunlight as she watched her. “I’m so glad you came with me. I’m grateful. Please, let me do this like I planned.” When Max didn’t respond, she went on. “Look, I would have been paying pretty much the same amount for this summer anyway, you know? You’re the one who’s giving something up here.”
Max studied her friend for a few seconds, touched by her earnestness. “Wow.”
“Wow what?”
Max put her arm around her shoulders, hugging her quickly. “You’re just an amazing friend, Jo. Absolutely amazing.” She sighed then, puffing her cheeks out as she exhaled. “Okay. I gratefully accept, and you’re welcome for whatever it is I’m doing that’s so wonderful, and now I’ll return to my smart-ass self. Good enough?” She stuck her spoon into Jo’s whipped cream, stealing half of it.
She sighed, relieved. “Yes. Thank you.” She paused with the plastic spoon halfway to her mouth, and nodded across the road. “Look at that.”
Max’s mouth dropped open as she spotted the deer wandering sedately through the field. “Oh…” She glanced at Jo, then back. “Oh, how beautiful…I haven’t seen one like that in ages.”
The deer disappeared into the woods that lined the far edge of the field, and she looked back at Jo, struck by the joy in her eyes.
“See? I get to share this with you. How much is that worth?”
“Okay, I get it.”
They ate silently for a while, scanning the field for more deer.
“I believe you can find God out here, Max.” She scooped the last of the ice cream from her cup. “I really do.”
Surprised by the shift in topic, she asked, “Is that what you’re looking for?”
Jo hopped off the tailgate, holding her hand out for Max’s empty container. “Maybe. I think so.” She dropped the cups in the trash container a few feet away. “It’s been a long time for me. There’s too many unanswered questions.”
“I know the feeling.”
“What are you looking for?”
She stared straight ahead. “I think I’m kind of a traveling companion right now.”
Jo’s eyes narrowed as she considered it. She nodded thoughtfully. “That’s a good way to put it, I suppose. Is that okay with you?”
“It is.”
Jo smiled faintly. “Talk about an amazing friend.” They looked at each other for a long moment.
Max got up and shut the tailgate. “Let’s go shopping.”
Jack made a quick stop for a disposable cell phone, not certain what he might do with Jo’s phone number now that he finally had it, but wanting to keep it–just in case he needed it.
He parked about a half-mile from Jo’s apartment, and carefully made his way to the Victorian house where Jo and Max lived. Inside the small reception room, he checked the names on the mailboxes: Allen 112 and Kane 214.
He broke into a smile as he read the note that was taped above the boxes.
&nb
sp; Have a great summer, everyone–see you in the fall! Daisy, Josie and Maxine
“They aren’t even here…?” he wondered aloud, reaching up and tearing the note away, stuffing it into his jacket pocket. He wasn’t pleased with the fact that he had no idea where to look for them, but at least he knew something now about what they were up to. The hardest thing was being left out of the information loop. He wouldn’t stand for that. He smirked, a short, bitter laugh.
They decided to sneak off, to hide like children, and to take Sam and the kid with them. Weak little bitches, running scared.
Which, he decided, meant that they had to get a good-sized place to stay for the summer–but where?
He looked down the hall toward Apartment 112, then took the stairs two at a time to the second floor.
Getting into Jo’s apartment was no problem at all: his bankcard slipped the cheap lock in a few seconds. He looked around, thinking that the nasty woman had done a half-decent job of turning the slummy apartment into something rather nice.
He was hoping to find some kind of information about where they had gone; however, after fifteen minutes of rifling through Jo’s belongings, he decided she had covered their tracks well.
Fine. I’ll figure out something else.
He winced as the pain in his back pinched again.
Probably picked something up in that cell.
He made his way to the bathroom, and something in the trash can caught his eye. He reached in, feeling the hair stand on the back of his neck, blinking to clear his vision as he held the pregnancy test in his hand.
chapter 11
“HOW MUCH DID we spend?” Max set four large bags of groceries inside the front door. “Had to be over a hundred, easy.”
Jo sighed, annoyed. “Never mind, remember?”
“Sorry. Habit.” She pulled the peaches from one of the bags. “This, I can’t wait for.”
“Yo, Daize!” Jo looked around, waiting for Daisy to appear. She heard a thump from the living room, then the jingle of the dog’s tags as she trotted out to meet them.
