“And I did what I did for Ben,” Eden told her. “And for me. And you. For the little girls we once were. And all the other little girls who need help escaping from dangers they didn’t ask for, in their crappy lives.”
She pulled open the curtain to reveal a dress that, yes, did make her look a little older, with its lace jacket and high-necked top. Still, it fit her nicely.
“I’ll wear this one,” Eden said, “if it’s okay with you.”
Jenn nodded. “You look very elegant. I approve.”
Mrs. Fudd was on her way back, holding out two different dresses, both of which looked like something Cher would’ve worn to the Oscars in 1985.
“We’ve decided on this one, thanks,” Jenn cut her off before she could speak. “I think we’re ready to move on to hair and makeup.”
Mrs. Fudd didn’t argue, she just put the dresses onto another rack and graciously led the way. “You both have shoes?” she asked.
“We do,” Eden answered as she grabbed her bag, too. “Jenn, pretend you’re not listening, okay? Or plug your ears.” She turned to Mrs. Fudd. “I’d like to pay for this—all of it—but my brother Danny, he’s the groom? I know he’d never let me. So I’m wondering if I can’t pay for most of it anyway, and have you charge him for only the very cheapest basic wedding, and I don’t know, maybe tell him you’re giving him some kind of special military hero upgrade? He’s a Navy SEAL and he was just wounded in Afghanistan, and he’s trying to get custody of our little brother, so he doesn’t have a lot of money to spend, but …”
Mrs. Fudd had stopped, there in the hall that led to the room with the makeup mirrors. She looked from Eden to Jenn and smiled. “Do you want to tell her, dear, or should I?” she asked Jenni.
“I pulled her aside and asked to do essentially the same thing,” Jenn confessed to Eden, “while you were in the shower. I know Dan’s stressing about money, so …”
Eden laughed. “Great minds think alike.”
“They do,” Jenn said, hugging the younger woman. “I’m going to love having you as a sister.”
Eden hugged her back, hard. “Me, too. And Lord, I’m so sorry for—”
“Shh,” Jenn told her, pulling back to look into Eden’s eyes. “No worries, no regrets. This is what it is. We’re going to make the best of it.”
“You’re not the only ones who think alike,” Mrs. Fudd told them, taking a tissue from her sleeve and dabbing at her eyes. “Both Irving and young Ben came in a few minutes ago, requesting to pay for the ceremony as a wedding gift to the bride and groom. My husband, Alistair, let them do just that—plus he gave them our deepest military discount.” She turned to Eden. “I’ll let you sort it out with the two of them, so you can be part of the gift giving, too.” Then back to Jenn, with a tremulous smile: “But not you—you’re the bride. You know, it’s a very good omen, dear—when you start your life together surrounded by such wonderful family and friends. Now, come along! Let’s do your hair and makeup. We’re going to make you both look marvelous!”
FRIDAY, 8 MAY 2009
2030
Izzy had a very definite sense of déjà vu when the music started and the doors at the back of the chapel opened but then immediately shut again.
All the rows of folding chairs, separated by a central aisle with a red carpet runner, were empty—as they had been when he and Eden got married.
But then, unlike now, he’d stood alone at the altar, waiting for her to “process” down the aisle. Back then, they’d invited both Eden’s mother and Ben, but Ivette had been securely under Greg’s thumb, and neither had showed.
Although if Izzy had known as much about Ben then as he did now, he would have insisted on driving over to the kid’s house and helping to arrange a little E&E for him—escaping out his bedroom window, and then evading Greg for the hour that Izzy and Eden had gotten wed.
Of course, that was back before Greg had boarded up both windows.
But right now the kid was standing next to Izzy, between him and Dan, as they all exchanged a look, like, I thought Eden and Jenn were coming in.
But then, okay, there it was, the doors opened again, and this time Mrs. Fudd, with her rockin’ 1960s hairdo, made sure they stayed open all the way and even stuck little jams into them with her pointy-toed shoes. She nodded and smiled at Mr. Fudd, who was standing in front of them, ready to officiate—if and when the bride ever made it into the room.
But then there they were. Eden and Jennilyn, both holding bouquets of silk flowers. Walking down that aisle together, arm in arm.
Beside him, Ben said, “Whoa,” and Danny drew in a deep, sharp breath.
Because, damn, Skippy. If Handel’s Water Music hadn’t been playing, Izzy would’ve been tempted to sing a chorus or two of that old ZZ Top song. She’s got legs, she knows how to use them …
Jennilyn LeMay had transformed into a bona fide, resplendent goddess. She dazzled in that dress, and if Izzy had had any remaining doubt whatsoever as to what Dan saw in her, it was gone.
Not that he was on the verge of hip-checking Danny to the side and trying to marry the woman himself. No, his appreciation was just that—admiration for a beautiful woman, with a capital W-O-M-A-N.
Besides, Eden was walking beside her. And Eden was Eden—she’d look gorgeous in a gunnysack. But in the dress she was wearing, with her hair up off her shoulders and her makeup artfully applied, she looked sophisticated and elegant.
Not at all like a crazy person who’d leap into a car and play demolition derby with a pair of truck-stealing, homicidal gunmen.
She looked back at him somberly, as if she, too, didn’t quite recognize him dressed up the way he was. And the smile she gave him was small and rather sad, as if she knew what he was thinking—that he no longer had any reason to hang around.
Dan and Jenn were going to gain custody of Ben. Izzy had absolutely no doubt about that. One conversation with Jenn, and the social workers were going to start begging her to take them in, too.
Which meant Eden was free to go live her life.
And that meant Izzy should probably go and schedule that appointment with that divorce lawyer, the sooner, the better. Because the longer he stuck around, the more likely he was to run into circumstances like this evening, where Eden did whatever the hell she wanted while he was forced to watch with his heart in his throat.
It would be a totally different story, if he could truly make himself not care, if he could just say whatever to everything but the freaking great sex.
But he did care. He cared too much.
And unless he got out, ASAP, he was going to get crushed like a bug.
The sound of Danny’s uneven breathing brought Izzy out of his private misery and back to the moment: music playing, women still marching down that interminably long aisle.
His lame-ass brother-in-law was having trouble keeping his air going in and out steadily. Danny-Danny-bo-banny sounded like he’d just run a 5K, or as if he’d just taken the stairs up, at a run, fifty flights. He was clearly as nervous as shit and it was entirely possible he was going to fall over. Just, bam! Hit the floor. Izzy had experienced a similar loss of blood to his brain when he’d been on the receiving end of a gorgeous processing bride.
Ben was oblivious, just standing between them in his rented tux, grinning his ass off, so Izzy nudged the kid and leaned close to whisper, “Be ready for your brother to faint.”
“I heard that,” Dan whispered back, his eyes never leaving Jenn. “And I’m fine. I’m not going to fucking faint.” But then he exhaled hard—pushing everything from his lungs, in a rush.
And that was not a good way to breathe if you didn’t want to faint. “Just be ready,” Izzy whispered to Ben, who was now wide-eyed.
“Zanella,” Dan whispered back, “I would really appreciate it if you would please keep your … thoughts to yourself for the duration of this ceremony. It’s kind of important to me.”
Well, wasn’t that a civilized request? “Absolutely, bro,”
Izzy told him.
“Starting right now,” Dan said, adding, “Please.”
Two pleases from the fishboy, within four-point-five seconds. That had to be some kind of relationship record for them.
Done and done. Izzy didn’t say it aloud. He kept it to himself, as requested.
It was then that Eden and Jenn made it up to the altar, where—thank you, baby jeebus—now Jenn could hold on to Dan and keep him from falling on his face.
Before Mr. Fudd began to speak, Izzy took the opportunity to cross over and stand next to Eden.
His wife.
For now.
But probably not much longer.
For richer or poorer, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health, as long as we both shall reside in the same apartment in order to take care of your brother Ben …
Yeah, definitely not much longer.
With this ring, I dub thee obsolete.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-TWO
FRIDAY, MAY 8, 2009
9:45 P.M.
Eden went into big-sister mode as soon as they walked into the apartment.
“Test your blood sugar,” she commanded Ben as she bustled into the bedroom to change the sheets on her bed.
She and Ben had put on their regular clothes back at the wedding chapel, but Izzy still wore his dress uniform. He stood in the little foyer rather awkwardly, holding his duffel bag—a gleaming white monolith of a man, with rows of ribbons on his chest.
Ben had counted them before the ceremony. He had exactly the same number as Danny.
“I think it’s better if I camp out here, with Ben, tonight,” Izzy said to Eden, his voice low, as she emerged from the bedroom to get clean sheets from the hall closet.
“Oh,” she said. His words had stopped her in her tracks, and she glanced quickly over at Ben, who lowered his head, pretending he was focused on pricking his finger and testing his blood.
“I think it’s … best,” Izzy said again. “We need to talk and … I’m sorry, but I’m too tired to do it tonight.”
Eden turned away from him. “You can have the bedroom,” she said. “I’ll sleep out here.”
“I’m not going to put you out of your own bed.”
“It’s not my bed,” she told him. “It’s just the bed where I sleep. So it really doesn’t matter.”
“If it doesn’t matter,” Izzy started, “then—”
“For the love of God,” Ben interrupted them, “just flip a coin. Or better yet, apologize to each other. Everyone makes mistakes. Get over it, and move on!”
They both turned and stared at him.
“What’s your reading?” Eden asked.
Jesus. “I’m okay,” Ben said. “Will you just—”
But she’d already turned back to Izzy. “If the mattress on the floor is too uncomfortable—”
“It’s fine,” he told her.
“But if it’s not …”
“I’ll tell you,” Izzy said, “and we can trade.”
“Fine,” she said, and went into the bedroom and closed the door.
Izzy took his bag into the bathroom and closed that door, leaving Ben alone in the silence. This was even more fun than that awkward car ride home.
The SEAL wasn’t in the bathroom for very long. The toilet flushed, the water ran in the sink, and he came out in a T-shirt and boxers, still carrying his bag. He set it on the coffee table that had been pushed aside to make room for both mattresses, and flopped down on the larger one, pulling the sheets and blankets over him. “Get the lights when you’re ready to turn in, kid,” he mumbled. “No need to rush, I can sleep through a hurricane.” But then he opened his eyes and lifted his head. “Stupid thing to say. Sorry about that.”
“Whatever,” Ben said with a shrug.
“You okay on that smaller mattress?” he asked.
“It’s fine,” Ben told him, inwardly rolling his eyes. They were all fine. Everything was fine. Except it wasn’t. It was very, very un-fine. “Izzy, come on. You’ve got to go in there and talk to her. I know she’s not perfect, but you’re not, either. I mean, Jesus …”
But Izzy just shook his head. “I can’t do it right now,” he said. “I’m still so …” He sighed heavily. “I’m angry—I’m not going to lie to you about that. But I haven’t done more than nap in two days, and I need to sleep before … Really, Ben, there’re times when talking doesn’t help. It only makes it worse, if you can’t be careful about what you say and how you say it. And I can’t, right now. I know myself well enough to … I’ll talk to her in the morning, I promise.”
Ben nodded, but he knew the truth.
They weren’t talking tonight, because he was here. And they wouldn’t really talk tomorrow, either, because Ben would still be in the way. They weren’t going to talk until they had real privacy, by which point it could well be too late.
Izzy had put his head back down on the pillow and it was possible he was already asleep.
Ben turned off the lights and went into the bathroom to brush his teeth, wishing that he’d never stopped to talk to Neesha in the mall. And yet, at the same time, he was glad that he had. Because without Eden’s help tonight, Neesha would have been killed.
Tomorrow? He was going to go out and find her. And he was going to persuade her to come home with him, and sit down with Danny and Izzy and Eden and Jenn. They would know what to do, and they would make sure that she was safe.
And maybe having someone with bigger problems to deal with would help Izzy and Eden realize that life was too short to throw away their relationship.
God, he hoped so …
For the first time in years, Ben had started looking forward to the future. Having Danny and Eden in his life again was a miracle he’d never dreamed possible. And then to add in both Izzy and Jenn …?
Over the past few days, he’d had a glimpse of what life with them would be like.
And after the hell of Crossroads and the purgatory that had been his life with Greg, it was nirvana.
It wouldn’t be perfect. He knew that. Money was and would remain an issue. And it wouldn’t be easy, either, when Danny and Izzy went overseas.
But there would be laughter.
And he would be hugged.
Even when he was little, Eden had been the only one who’d ever hugged him. But over the past few days, he’d been hugged by Izzy and Jenn and even Danny, too. That had been weird, and Ben had been surprised and he’d frozen before he could hug his brother back. But he’d hugged Danny tonight, after the wedding and …
It was amazing how such a little, seemingly insignificant thing could matter so much. It was amazing how quickly he could move from feeling isolated, desperate, and alone, to feeling surrounded by love and genuine affection.
Ben still didn’t quite feel completely safe, but that would change the moment they got into their car and drove away from this city and Greg. And yes, it was a little scary to think about living in San Diego. He’d never been there, not even to visit, and he had no idea what it would be like. School would probably suck, but school was probably going to suck wherever he lived.
It would be bearable, though, knowing he had a place to go—a home—where he could be himself, where he was loved for being himself.
Ben looked at himself in the bathroom mirror as he put his toothbrush back in the cup Eden had put out for him. With Dan, Jenni, and Izzy all staying here, all four of the slots had already been filled in the holder that stuck out from the wall.
Except, they weren’t. Not anymore.
There was an empty spot.
Which meant that Izzy had already packed his toothbrush.
Whatever talk he was intending to have with Eden in the morning? It was highly likely that it would include the word good-bye. That is, if he wasn’t lying to Ben, and was, in truth, planning to sneak away before the break of dawn, the way so many of Ivette’s countless boyfriends had done.
If Deshawndra were here, she would urge Ben to act. Helping Nees
ha could bring Izzy and Eden together. He could find the girl and kill two birds with one stone.
He could practically hear her voice: Neesha needs your help. So do those two fools, sleeping in two separate beds tonight. Don’t wait for them—you’ll be waiting forever.
But … The men who were after Neesha knew what Ben looked like. They were armed. And dangerous. He couldn’t just go to the mall and look for her.
But people see what they expect to see. You made yourself stand out. Now make yourself blend in.
Ben leaned in close to look at his hair in the bathroom mirror. His roots were showing, but to get rid of the black dye job, he’d have to give himself a buzz cut. And he wasn’t ready for that.
No, instead he’d go blond. There was a twenty-four-hour drugstore down on the corner. He could sneak out and pick up some Miss Clairol Whatever and be back here in a matter of minutes. He could bleach and color and even cut his hair tonight, and be ready to pop on over to the mall first thing in the morning, stopping at the Salvation Army to trade in his black jeans and T-shirt for a pair of shorts and a shirt in bright colors.
Once he did that?
Without his Goth costume and makeup, his own brother and sister wouldn’t recognize him.
Do it.
Ben left the bathroom and went back into the living room, where Izzy was sleeping soundly. He crept past him and lifted the chair cushion under which he’d hidden the stash of money that Izzy and Eden had removed from its hiding place in Greg and Ivette’s house. He didn’t take the entire envelope—he just grabbed a couple of twenties, because he was uncertain as to how much the hair color kit would cost.
One thing he did know? Coloring his hair was going to smell. When he’d dyed his hair black, it had stunk to high heavens.
With a little luck, both Eden and Izzy would sleep through it. If not, he would play dumb. I couldn’t sleep, and I wanted a change …
Ben pocketed the money and turned off all the lights, and with his clothes and sneakers still on, he climbed beneath the sheets and blankets on the twin-sized air mattress. All he had to do was wait for Eden to emerge from her bedroom to use the bathroom, and mumble good night as if he were already falling asleep …
Breaking the Rules Page 38
