Some Girls Do

by Leanne Banks

  He pulled into a Wal-Mart superstore. “I'll get the computer game. You get the cake and Gummi Worms.”

  She blinked. “How—why—”

  “It'll be faster,” he told her. “Are you okay? You seem kinda out of it.”

  You keep surprising me, she didn't say. She moved her head in a circle. “I'm still coming down from the flight. Let's go,” she said, then opened her car door.

  “Can I come too?” Wilhemina asked.

  Katie glanced over her shoulder in disbelief. “You want to go to Wal-Mart?”

  Wilhemina shrugged. “It's gotta be better than sitting here. When Chantal whines, it makes me feel like crying too.”

  Katie held the door. “Then you're welcome to come along.”

  In short order, they gathered their assigned items and converged at the checkout line. “Ice cream?” Katie said as Wilhemina put it on the counter.

  “And decorator frosting so you can draw his name on the cake.”

  “Thank you,” Katie said. I wouldn't have thought of that”

  Wilhemina sighed. “I wish I had a brother and two sisters.”

  When Katie started to pay, Michael stepped in front of her and pulled out his wallet. She frowned, not wanting his charity. “I can cover this. It's my brother.”

  “No problem,” he said.

  “I insist Jeremy is my responsibility.” She tried to elbow her way in front of him.

  Michael ignored her, shoving a wad of bills at the clerk.

  Katie's temper spiked. “I'm not a charity case,” she whispered to him in a voice that sounded more like a hiss even to her own ears.

  He threw her a look that mixed frustration and anger. “I never said you were.”

  They gathered the bag and Wilhemina picked up the cake. “Then why are you acting like it?” Katie asked.

  “I'm not It was just something I wanted to do. Don't get your panties, in a twist over it. You can pay me back later.”

  As soon as Wilhemina scooted into the back seat, Katie slammed the door closed and rounded on Michael. “Okay, what's going on here? Why are you being so damn nice to me? If you think I'm going to have sex with you because you paid for my brother's birthday, you're wrong.”

  Michael looked at her as if she'd completely lost it, then closed his eyes for several seconds. He had the look of a man who was counting to bring his temper under control. “I have no interest in using your brother's birthday as a seduction.” He opened his eyes and met her gaze. “I'm not that hard up.”

  Katie immediately felt like a crazy person. What had possessed her? She wasn't sure she wanted to answer that question. She took a quick breath. “That was pretty ridiculous, wasn't it?”

  He nodded.

  “Sorry,” she said in a low voice. “I'm just used to having to do everything myself.” She paused. “Thanks.”

  He gave another brief nod, then opened the passenger door for her. “We need to go.”

  Katie slid into her seat and wrapped Jeremy's gift while Wilhemina added Jeremy's name to the cake. Michael pulled into the drive just as the sun began to set. A group of children burst through the front door onto the porch, curious to see the visitors.

  “If you can remember to make sure that Jeremy can see your mouth when you're talking to him, please do. He can't hear hardly anything, but he's determined to be the best lip reader in the world. He speaks well because he lost his hearing two years ago in an accident,” she said, dropping the bomb, then scooting out of the car.

  “Priss!” Jeremy cried, pushing through the crowd on the porch.

  “Priss?” Wilhemina echoed.

  “Family pet name,” Michael said.

  “But Katie isn't prissy.”

  Jeremy flew down the steps and threw himself in Katie's arms. “What took you so long?”

  “Airplane problems,” Katie said, hugging him to her. “How has your birthday been?”

  “Okay. I'm glad you showed up.”

  Katie's heart twisted. “I wouldn't miss it.”

  Jeremy looked past her. “Who's carrying my cake?”

  Katie chuckled. “How do you know it's your cake?”

  Jeremy rolled his eyes. “Because it's my birthday and you promised and Priss always keeps promises.”

  Katie squeezed her brother again for the gift of his belief in her. She only hoped she could live up to it. “This is Wilhemina. I work for her dad.”

  Jeremy's eyes widened. “You're Ivan the terrible's daughter. But you look nice.”

  Wilhemina smiled, one of very few today. “Thank you. Happy birthday, Jeremy.”

  “Thanks,” he said, then looked at Michael. “Who are you?”

  “I work with your sister,” Michael said.

  “For Ivan the terrible?”

  Michael nodded, his lips twitching.

  Katie touched Jeremy's shoulder to signal that she was going to say something to him. “Michael fixed things so I would be able to get here tonight. He drove me here and he fixed things with the plane.”

  “He can fix a plane?”

  Katie laughed. “No, he found another plane for us to take when ours was broken.”

  Jeremy frowned. “I'm glad you didn't fly on a broken plane.”

  “Me too,” Katie murmured, remembering the turbulence during the flight.

  Jeremy looked up at her and squinted his eyes. “You look different. Prettier.”

  She smiled, feeling a little rush of pleasure at his approval. She had been so determined to be plain and invisible for so long that she hadn't known how nice it could feel to look like herself. “Thanks. Don't you want to open your gift?”

  “Yeah, come inside. Some of my friends will want some of the cake too. They didn't believe you were coming, but I knew you would.”

  Katie looked at Michael. He had made it possible. She wondered if he had any idea how important this had been to both her and Jeremy. His gaze met hers and she saw a light of recognition. He knew. What a strange connection she felt with him.

  Jeremy tore open his gift and gave approving sounds to the cake. There was a moment of panic when Katie realized she had forgotten to buy candles. Wilhemina had not. Katie impulsively hugged Ivan's daughter in gratitude.

  While Jeremy showed Michael the new computer game, Katie spoke with one of the staff who repeated Jeremy's request to spend the summer with her. As much as she would love seeing her brother every day, she wanted a better environment for him. Her apartment was cramped and she worked long hours. Jeremy deserved better.

  A staff member gently reminded her that the time for lights out was past and Katie looked for Jeremy. She found him talking with Michael on the front porch. Clearly unaccustomed to speaking to a hearing-impaired person, Michael turned his head at times during the conversation.

  She watched Jeremy catch Michael's jaw between his hands and position it directly in his eyesight. “I want to hear what you're saying. Keep your mouth right there.”

  Katie held her breath wondering how Michael would react to Jeremy's directness.

  Michael laughed and ruffled Jeremy's hair. “You're going to have to remind me.”

  Her heart swelled at the sight of the two of them. She hadn't expected Michael to be so generous. He was a busy man, a man with a mission, almost a vendetta. No time for little boys with hearing problems.

  “Can we really go to a baseball game sometime this summer?”

  She caught the look of delight on Jeremy's face and heard an alarm bell go off in her mind. She didn't want Michael making plans with Jeremy that he wouldn't keep. She quickly stepped onto the porch.

  “Sure if—”

  “We need to leave,” Katie said.

  Jeremy swung his head toward her seconds after Michael did.

  “We need to leave,” she repeated for his benefit.

  Jeremy scowled. “But you just got here.”

  “I know. I'm sorry, but it's not fair for us to foul up everyone else's schedule.” She leaned down to kiss his cheek. “Happy b
irthday.”

  He gave her a hug and they walked toward the car where Wilhemina waited. “You should take me with you,” he said.

  “You would be bored. My apartment is small. I'm gone all day long and the computer at school is much much better and newer than mine,” she said and tried to sign the words.

  “You just signed that whiskey is great for video games,” Jeremy told her.

  Michael appeared to cough to cover a chuckle.

  Katie threw him a chastising glance before she turned back to Jeremy. “Sometimes I think you're pulling my leg because you don't want to spend a lot of time on sign language.”

  “You signed whiskey.”

  “If you say so. I'll bring you to my apartment for as many weekends as you can stand this summer. How is that for a compromise.”

  His eyes lit up. “Great!”

  She smiled and her heart squeezed tight. “I love you.”

  “Me too,” he said and gave the sign for I love you. It was one of the few phrases he'd willingly incorporated.

  Jeremy turned to Michael. “Thanks for bringing my sister.”

  “My pleasure,” Michael said. “We'll have to try to go to a baseball game sometime this summer.”

  “That would be great.” Jeremy peered into the car at Wilhemina as she stroked Chantal. “What is that?”

  “It's a cat. Her name is Chantal.”

  Jeremy frowned. “Cat! She doesn't look like a cat. What did you do to her?”

  “Nothing,” Wilhemina said, giggling. “She's a hairless cat.”

  Jeremy shook his head and made the sign for ugly. Chuckling, Katie kissed him and got into the car. Michael slid behind the wheel, started the engine, and pulled away. Katie waved even though she knew Jeremy probably couldn't see her, then sank into her seat. “Thank you both very much.”

  “You're welcome. He's a sweet boy,” Wilhemina said. “I would have stayed at the house longer, but my stomach doesn't feel right. I think I just need to go to bed.”

  “I hope you're not coming down wife something. Maybe you can sleep on the drive back,” Katie suggested.

  Wilhemina gave an unintelligible murmur and turned quiet. After a few moments, Katie leaned toward Michael. “I really appreciate you talking with Jeremy, but you really shouldn't even mention things like baseball games if you can't—”

  “I wouldn't have said it if I didn't think I could make good on it,” he said, cutting her off.

  She opened her mouth, then bit her lip. “But he won't stop talking about this until the two of you go.”

  “Then I'll take him.”

  “Why?”

  He tossed a quick glance at her, then focused on the road. “He's a good kid. I liked being with him.”

  Not knowing what to say, she sank back into her seat. She was so tired that when she closed her eyes, she felt as if her body were spinning.

  “You're not the only one who can keep promises, Priss,” Michael murmured to her.

  In the darkness of the car, it was tempting to lean toward that voice, to lean against his shoulder, to let someone else be strong while she took a breath. A hazy image filled her mind of Michael, Jeremy, and her all together, living and laughing. Another followed of her held in the circle of Michael's arms. Katie rarely indulged in fantasies. They were a huge waste of time, but this one was more tempting than the fantasy of winning the lottery.

  “Can I go with you?” Katie asked after Wilhemina had gone to bed. They stood outside Ivan's room in the darkened hallway.

  Michael shook his head, both touched and uncomfortable with the offer. His mother represented a difficult, painful part of his life that he couldn't control, and he wasn't inclined to share that with anyone. Although, if there was anyone who could handle it, he suspected Katie would be the one. The woman was a rock.

  “You're tired,” he finally said.

  “So are you,” she said. “You helped me with my little mission tonight. I'd like to help you with yours.”

  He raked his hand through his hair. “Yours was fun. Mine won't be.”

  “All the more reason,” she said.

  “Someone needs to watch Wilhemina. She might escape again.”

  Katie shook her head. “She's exhausted and she doesn't feel well. She's not going anywhere. The least you can do is let me ride with you. How far is it?”

  “Not that far,” he had to admit. “But I don't want you along.”

  She paused a half beat. “I don't believe you. I'm riding with you,” she said, turning toward the stairs.

  Frustration cut through him and he went after her. “I meant it. I don't want you going with me.”

  Her face was set. “Then pretend I'm not there.” She proceeded down the stairs.

  Exasperated, he followed her down the stairs. “This is none of your business.”

  “I know,” she said, continuing toward the foyer.

  “I don't want you to go.”

  She ignored him and opened the front door. “Lots of stars out tonight, aren't there?”

  “You're dead tired on your feet.” He grabbed her arm and swung her around to face him. “Why are you doing this?”

  She stared at him for a long moment, her eyes filled with a dozen emotions he couldn't read, but he felt somehow warmed. “I'm weird,” she finally said.

  He sighed and strode toward his car. “I think it's so you won't feel like you owe me. This is your version of payback,” he said, and expected her to deny it.

  “That's partly true,” she mused, sliding into the car after he unlocked the door.

  Michael got into the car and looked at her. “You don't owe me anything. I don't want you doing anything because you feel you owe me.”

  Her eyebrows knitted while she sat for a moment. She met his gaze. “You were a friend to me, tonight. I want to be a friend to you.”

  The honesty in her eyes undid one or two knots that had been tied tightly for years inside him. At another time to another person, he would have doubled his defenses and said he didn't need a friend. And maybe he still didn't need a friend tonight either, but it felt good for her to care. He didn't know what to say, so he said nothing. He didn't want to go down that road again, that road of counting on someone. Even though he had more than a feeling that he could depend on Katie almost as much as he could depend on himself. Wanting to push aside his thoughts, he started the car, opened the moon roof, slid in an Aerosmith CD, and headed down the road. With Aerosmith playing and the wind blowing, he wouldn't be able to think, and that was okay with him. He didn't talk and neither did she, but he felt her presence with him, almost inside him, throughout the ride.

  When he turned onto the road where he could see the lights of the Liberty Mental Health Facility, his chest tightened up. Approaching the gated entrance, he cut Steven Tyler's volume in half and showed the attendant his driver's license. The man checked his list and waved Michael through.

  Michael drove directly to a row of visitors’ spaces in the parking lot, cut the engine, and looked at Katie. “I won't be long.”

  “I could go with you.”

  He immediately shook his head.

  “Not exactly the kind of girl you bring to meet your mother, huh?”

  Her words jerked him to a dead stop. He searched her gaze and saw the barest hint of vulnerability glinting in her eyes. Swallowing a sigh, he shook his head. “Trust me. This has nothing to do with your upbringing and everything to do with mine.”

  She nodded, but still looked unconvinced.

  “She probably won't even know who I am.”

  She nodded again, still unconvinced.

  “This isn't pleasant. You don't want to go in there.”

  She gave a half smile. “I've had more than a few unpleasant experiences in my life. On a scale of one to ten, this would probably only rate about a two for me. Don't put words in my mouth. I'd like to go with you.”

  He squeezed the bridge of his nose. After everything he knew about Katie, he wouldn't ever want to do a
nything that gave the barest suggestion that he didn't think she was good enough. “Okay, but if she starts screaming, I'm sending you out right away.”

  “Let's go,” she said, reaching for her door. She was out before he could meet her on the other side and Michael led the way to the double doors where a guard allowed them to enter. He checked in at the visitation desk, and after a couple of minutes, they were allowed to take the elevator to the third floor. The halls were darkened for the evening to promote calm, but Michael heard a few voices as they moved toward his mother's room. It was a sad fact that many of the residents struggled not only with mental problems, but also with sleeping difficulties. He inhaled the strong scent of antiseptic and his gut tightened again. He hated that smell. For Michael, it was the smell of his mother gone mad. An aide unlocked the door and allowed him and Katie to enter. His mother sat up in bed with the television on, her arms tied to the bars alongside her bed. Not a good sign. She was a small forlorn wisp of a woman in that bed. It always surprised him how small and delicate she looked.

  She glanced up and her face lit with joy. “I'm so glad you came. I've missed you.”

  Cautiously, Michael drew closer. “It's good to see you too. I brought a friend with me. This is Katie Collins.”

  Katie extended her hand, then quickly modified the usual plan by touching his mother's arm. “It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Wingate. What are you watching?”

  His mother waved her hand in a dismissing gesture. “PBS. It's the only thing I can stand.” She looked at Michael. “Where have you been keeping yourself, darling?”

  Michael felt a prickly sensation at the base of his neck. He still wasn't sure if she recognized him or not. “I had an assignment that took me down to Texas.”

  “The bluebonnets are beautiful there. Unless it was too dry, of course.”

  “There was so much rain it flooded, so we saw plenty of flowers,” Katie said. “Do you like flowers?”