How Sweet It is

by Sophie Gunn

  “Hey, you think I can have a ride?” Lizzie asked. “I need to get to work.”

  Tommy sighed. “Aiding and abetting,” he said. “It’s going to get us both in trouble someday, Lizzie. I’m not exactly a taxi service.”

  Lizzie shrugged and climbed in. “Who’s afraid of trouble? You’ve got a gun, Tommy.” She settled into the warm car. “Siren?”

  “You know, you’re just like your daughter.”

  “Please?”

  “Liz.”

  “Okay, okay.” They rode down the hill. “How’s Meghan?”

  “Perfect.”

  “Annie?”

  “Weirdly happy.”

  “Yeah, I noticed that, too. She actually wanted to have lunch with me. I don’t think she’s invited me to lunch in months. What do you think?”

  “I have no idea. Tell you the truth, she’s been kind of mysterious lately. But I’m going with it, no questions asked.”

  “Good idea.” They got to the diner. “Hey, Tommy, about my mysterious handyman. Did you ever look up his record like you said you would?”

  “Oh, no. Never did. I can if you want.”

  “Yeah, can you?” If she was going to open up to Tay, she wanted to be sure that he was telling her the truth.

  “You got it.” They pulled up in front of the diner.

  Lizzie opened the door to the cruiser. “Fight crime!”

  “Fight hunger!” he called back. And then he drove away.

  Tay was furious at himself. He had really messed up with Lizzie. What the hell was wrong with him, talking to her sister like that? But he felt that Annie was up to no good. He felt as if he had to protect Lizzie from something.

  But what?

  Things were getting complicated. More complicated than was good.

  Candy.

  The money.

  Lizzie.

  It was all coming together in ways that he didn’t like.

  It was one thing to want to fix things with Candy. That had been an accident, after all. But kissing Lizzie in that bar was no accident. He had headed straight for her, collided with her on purpose.

  And left another wreck.

  A hit-and-run.

  And now he wanted to get even more involved? Have dinner with her family?

  He had no business trying for a human connection when he felt so hollow inside. He had seen her face when he’d said no to her offer of coffee. And now he was contemplating busting into her life again.

  But Annie was up to something. He was sure of it. And while it was none of his business what it was, he couldn’t help himself.

  That damned Boy Scout complex.

  CHAPTER

  22

  Later that day, Tommy, in full uniform, pushed through the doors of the diner. Lizzie was taking an order and tried to go back to it, even though the grave look on Tommy’s face had spooked her to distraction.

  Tommy took off his police hat, shook hands with the regulars, and nodded at Freddie the grill cook behind the pass.

  Lizzie finished up, then came to the counter. It was always shocking to see the gun on Tommy’s hip, as if it were proof that the world was more dangerous now than it had been when they were kids, back in high school.

  He stared at Lizzie with a look of consternation.

  “You look like you saw a ghost,” she said.

  “Lizzie. I finally got around to running that check on Tay Giovanni. Can you take a break?”

  Lizzie’s stomach sank. She knew what Tommy was going to tell her. At least, she hoped she knew. What if there was more? “I’ve got three tables. Just talk.”

  Tommy looked around at the regulars. “It’s public record,” Tommy said. “But still, it’s not an ethical use of my position to spread rumors around town.”

  All the regulars nodded agreement.

  Freddie said, “Nothing I don’t know in this town,”

  “They’re not rumors if they’re true,” Mr. Campos said from his seat at the counter.

  “Go away, Freddie. Mr. Campos, back to your crossword,” Lizzie commanded.

  Everyone continued to stare at Tommy. A small crowd had formed around him.

  “Is this about the man Lizzie’s been kissing at Lucifer’s?” Joy asked.

  Gertrude said, “I heard that he’s been wandering Galton at night, doing good deeds. He stacked Lucille’s firewood last night. At least, she figures it must be him. Who else could it be?”

  “Rayanne, can you take my tables for a minute?” Lizzie asked.

  “Sure, hon,” Rayanne said on her way by with a platter of fries and burgers. She looked back with curiosity at the gathered crowd.

  “C’mon.” Lizzie pulled Tommy into a window booth. She sat down opposite him. “Spill.”

  “Your fence man. Dante Giovanni.” Tommy leaned in close and lowered his voice. “Lizzie. He killed someone. The mother of a student at Galton U. It was an accident. But still—”

  Lizzie shook her head. “I know.”

  “You do?”

  “Yeah. But tell me anyway. I want a second source.”

  Tommy pulled out the thick black book he carried in his back pocket. He flicked it open and started to read. “Dante E. Giovanni, thirty-four years old, legal resident Queens, New York. Police record as follows: November 22, 1:24 P.M., ran red light at Forty-third and Evergreen, traveling east. Head-on collision with Linda Goodnight, forty-two, traveling south. Goodnight pronounced dead on scene. Hospital report: fatal internal organ failure from impact. Dante Giovanni, minor scrapes, contusions.”

  Lizzie thought about the scar that marked his cheek. His slow driving. His aborted kiss. It was all true. It all made sense.

  Tommy went on. “Charged with vehicular homicide. Fined and ticketed, six points for failure to stop.” Tommy flipped the page. “November 24, ticket and fine withdrawn. Jan 24, DA brought charges to grand jury. Grand jury no-billed it.” Tommy paused. “That means they decided no crime took place and dismissed it as a criminal matter.” He closed the book with a snap. “End of story. No other records. No civil suit was brought that I could find. The guy never did anything else wrong. Not even a parking ticket.” He put his hands over hers. “Lizzie? Hello? You hearing this?”

  She was. It wasn’t anything more than Tay had said, but it threw her thoughts back to his predicament. A woman had died, and it was his fault. No wonder he had a Boy Scout complex. How did a person get past something like that? But she didn’t want him to be a Boy Scout. She had wanted him to be a man and come in and have coffee with her. She felt for him. She really did. But she also had to protect herself.

  Tommy squeezed her hands. “Liz? It’s not so bad. You can’t judge a man by one little unfortunate accident. That’s why they call them accidents. Life happens. I just thought you should know. Before, you know, before whatever.”

  She felt light, as if she was floating over the table. Tommy thought she was feeling bad for Tay, but she was feeling bad for herself. She tried to fight down her selfishness. What did it do to a person to kill another person, even if it was an accident? Could that person ever be whole again? Was that why Tay was a wanderer, why he couldn’t kiss her? What could she do to fix him? It didn’t matter. Wasn’t her business. She had her own problems to deal with. And right now, with Ethan coming back, the last thing she needed was to look out her window every morning and to feel like a woman who looked like she needed handouts from the local martyr.

  “Lizzie?” Tommy leaned in so close, Lizzie could see every pore on his face. She tried not to imagine the accident. One minute, driving calmly, the next minute…

  Slam!

  Lizzie startled from her thoughts. Someone was pounding on the plate-glass window.

  Slam! Slam! Slam!

  Annie.

  Her sister’s lips were a thin line, her eyes were blazing. She was going to break the window if she didn’t cool it.

  What was Annie’s problem?

  Tommy yanked his hands away from Lizzie’s, as if he’
d been doing something wrong. He jumped up, flustered.

  Lizzie let him go. Thoughts of Tay, sirens whirling, and mangled metal swirled in her head as she tried to ignore her sister. She could help him.

  No, she didn’t want to help him. The rush of shame at his withdrawn kiss, his refusal of coffee, came back. She had to be responsible for herself, now. Tay Giovanni wasn’t a fixer-upper, he was a teardown. She didn’t need a man like that in her life.

  I can help him.

  I’m done doing things for other people. It’s time I helped myself. It was like her wishes, ambiguous, confused, both for and against her best interests. Why was that always the case? Couldn’t it ever be simple?

  Tommy had gone to the other end of the diner to help Annie through the door with the bulky stroller. Lizzie got up slowly, still in a daze from thinking about all the contradictions that swirled around her and Tay, helping and being helped, charity and kindness, forgiving the unforgivable…

  Tommy and Annie were deep in angry conversation. Lizzie wanted to rescue Meghan, who was looking at her parents as if she was about to burst into tears. “Where’s my pretty niece?” She bent to the baby in the stroller, whose face metamorphosed from worry to a happy, goofy grin.

  “Leave her!” Annie screeched.

  Lizzie backed off, stood up. “What’s your problem?”

  “I don’t know,” Annie said. She looked lost, confused.

  “I was explaining to Annie that we were talking about Tay. And what happened to him,” Tommy said.

  “Holding hands?” Annie asked. “Staring into each other’s eyes?” She looked as if she was going to cry. She swatted at her eyes with the back of her mittens.

  “What?” Lizzie said. “No. It wasn’t like that.” She felt woozy and sick with shame, as if she had done something wrong. Which she hadn’t. How could Annie even think that? Mr. Campos was watching closely, shaking his head sadly. This was going to be all over town by the end of the day.

  Lizzie hoped that Paige wouldn’t hear about it.

  She had to make Annie see that she was wrong.

  “That’s what I’m trying to tell her,” Tommy said. He turned to his wife. “Lizzie was upset. She had sort of gone into a trance. I was just trying for contact, to bring her down to earth. Honestly, Anne. I was telling her kind of shocking news.”

  “Tay killed someone,” Lizzie said. She hated the way that had come out, and started to backtrack. “It was a car accident. Not his fault. I mean—it was just shocking, that was all. I was upset because he was on my property, and he was so—damaged.” She was trying to stop the gossip mill, but instead she was adding fuel. “And Tommy was trying to keep me from flipping out. That’s all.”

  “That’s all,” Tommy agreed.

  Annie didn’t seem satisfied. The hurt in her eyes seemed a mile deep.

  “Annie?” Tommy said. “You want to go home? C’mon.”

  “I’m sorry,” Annie said. She looked around her, as if just noticing where she was. “I just got, I don’t know—”

  “It’s okay. Forget it,” Tommy said, putting his arm around her.

  She looked at Lizzie. “I’m so tired. Meghan got up at five this morning.”

  “I know,” Lizzie said. “It’s okay.” But it wasn’t. Not really. Lizzie was almost as shaken by Annie’s outburst as she was by hearing Tay’s story confirmed. Why did Lizzie always have to be the one forgiving everyone? When did she get a break?

  CHAPTER

  23

  The next day, the grill fired up with a whoosh that always made Tommy feel good. He was going to do simple burgers tonight. Maybe a few dogs. The evening already felt too complicated with Annie’s crazy suspicions about him and Lizzie without adding his new grilled Chicken Tikka recipe to the mix.

  Annie came into the yard with Meghan bundled up as if there was a snowstorm. She spread out the big blue blanket and put Meghan on it to look up at the falling leaves. Meghan would be crawling any minute. She rolled over and pushed her tiny, diaper-clad butt into the air like a yogi. He was pretty sure she’d be the world’s best crawler. Then the world’s best walker. Then, well, the sky was the limit.

  God, he loved that tiny thing.

  “So, there’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you,” Annie said. She was wrapped tight in her black wool coat, her arms shoved into the pockets. “I invited Tay to dinner.” She looked into the grill’s flames through the glass of the hood.

  Tommy looked away from his daughter to his wife. “Sorry, what? I didn’t quite get that.”

  “I invited Tay to dinner. You know, Lizzie’s fix-it man.”

  Tommy looked to Meghan. “I know who he is. But why, Annie? To our house?” Annie’s explosion in the diner was still fresh in his mind.

  “I was walking Meghan yesterday and he was in front of Lizzie’s house and we got into a little chat, so I invited him. I don’t know if he’ll come or not. Probably not. But I think maybe we should check him out. I didn’t know then about his—issues. But now, I’m really glad he’s coming.”

  Tommy looked to his daughter. She was once again on her back, waving her arms at the falling leaves. If she got one, she’d try to eat it. They had to watch her every second. “Does Lizzie know?”

  “Why do you always think of Lizzie first?” Annie asked. Then she quickly backed down. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that. She doesn’t know.”

  Tommy watched the temperature gauge on his grill go past the yellow and into the red. “Maybe you’re right. It’s good to get another look at him. That kind of accident can change a person.”

  “That’s exactly why I invited him by tonight. So we can talk to him. Check him out.”

  They watched the flames for a while. The chilly wind was picking up. Tommy might even have to get his gloves.

  Then Annie said, “Okay. So that’s not the only reason. I think Lizzie needs a man. And even though this guy had a bad experience, I think deep down he’s a good guy. Tommy, I want her to have a man so she’s happy. But I also want her to have a man so that she’ll leave you alone.”

  Tommy didn’t look away from the grill. He couldn’t help feeling a flicker of hope: Annie still loved him enough to be jealous. Maybe there was still a chance for them. “I need a beer.” Tommy put down the grill brush and went toward the back porch for a celebratory Bud.

  She followed. “I think that maybe she’s still a little in love with you, Tommy. I know we’ve been through this, and I know I was wrong to freak out at the diner, but I can’t help thinking it and I think we should talk about it.”

  Tommy got his beer and came back outside. Celebration over. “Annie, I don’t love your sister except in a sisterly-in-law sort of way.” He turned to her. “I don’t love Lizzie Carpenter. I love Annie Carpenter Wynne. Annie, I’m sorry for not dating you first, but I can’t change that. And I’m sorry for helping Lizzie out when I can. She’s my sister-in-law. It’s my job. All I can do is tell you that I love you now. You. Not Lizzie. In fact, I didn’t ever really love Lizzie.”

  Annie watched him. “Really?”

  “Really. Annie, I love you. You better try to get used to that, because honestly, I’m getting pretty sick of this. I don’t know how much more I can take.”

  “You really never loved her.”

  “Tell you the truth, she kind of scared me to death.”

  “She was kinda—independent,” Annie agreed.

  “Kind of? She beat up Jill Kennedy for telling everyone her secret about being pregnant. She set poor Georgia Phillips on fire!”

  “That second one was an accident. And Jill deserved it.”

  “True, but still. I was a kid. Not the tough, manly man I am today.”

  Annie smiled and it felt like a gift.

  She sat down on the back steps. “Why is she always turning to you? I wish you’d say no to her sometimes. Just once in a while. I know she’s all alone. It’s just that, I don’t know, she’s gotten in the habit, that’s all. She treats you like—�
��

  “Like I’m her husband?” Tommy asked.

  “Exactly. And—”

  Meghan squealed as Paige came bounding around the house. “Where’s my baby?”

  “She’s my baby,” Lizzie said, coming behind Paige. She hip-checked Paige aside and made a grab for Meghan.

  When the scuffle was over, Lizzie had won again. She held Meghan on her hip. “Hey, honeys, we’re home.” She kissed Annie’s cheek, then Tommy’s. “What’s for dinner?”

  Lizzie and Annie sat in Annie’s front room, Coronas in hand, while Tommy grilled out back. Meghan was propped against couch pillows they had arranged in a semicircle on the floor. Poor thing kept tipping over like Uncle Louie at Thanksgiving. And just as with Uncle Louie, they’d straighten her without a comment, as if nothing had happened.

  The aroma of Tommy’s burgers wafting from the backyard was beginning to make Lizzie’s stomach growl in anticipation. Paige was watching TV in the back room, which Lizzie was glad about because she had been waiting for this chance to talk to Annie about her. “Paige started showing up with new clothes. I haven’t given her an allowance since she hit twelve.” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “I’m afraid she’s shoplifting.”

  Annie shook her head. “No way. She’s not a bad kid.” Annie handed a rattle back to Meghan, who promptly threw it across her blanket and out of reach. “Now there’s a bad kid.” She kissed Meghan on her way to retrieving the rattle. Meghan threw it again. “Stinker.”

  Lizzie said, “You know, Annie, when we were talking about that money you had found, Paige sounded so entitled. I think that’s why kids steal. They think they deserve stuff, so it’s somehow fair, and somehow it doesn’t hurt anyone if they take it.”

  Annie stiffened. “Are we talking about Paige or about the money I found?”

  “How much money did you find, Annie? You never told me.”

  “Not much. Just enough for dinner plus a little more. I think it was, I don’t remember, like eighty bucks. Why?”

  “Nothing.” Lizzie didn’t want to tell Annie Tay’s story. She felt as if he’d told her in confidence. She was relieved, though, that Annie’s money had nothing to do with Tay. She gave Meghan back her rattle. Meghan tossed it again.