Billy Austin (A Gathering of Lovers Book 1)

by Glover, Dan

“You should have seen your face, daddy. You looked so funny when mom got you!”

  “Oh, you! So you think it’s funny to see your daddy covered in Jell-O, do you?”

  “Yes… it is funny! Right, mom? Right, mommy?

  “Right!”

  Lisa and Allison chorused together, looking at each other and laughing.

  The kitchen floor, slippery with Jell-O, needed a good mopping so Billy told the girls to go on upstairs and clean up while he tended to it… he was a professional, after all. By the time they came back downstairs in fresh clothes Billy had mopped the floor and made a batch of margaritas for the adults and lemonade for Jem.

  After Billy took a quick shower the four of them went out to the back porch watching the sun dent the sea and drinking strong margaritas and sweet lemonade as stars wrenched the sky one by one until the darkness was furry with them.

  Jem fell asleep in an instant.

  Billy went into the house bringing out blankets and a pillow. He tucked one around Jem putting the pillow under her head before putting the other around Lisa and Allison; afterwards he went back into the house and made up another batch of drinks, stronger this time.

  “Did you ever have Jell-O fights when you were a kid, Lisa? Is that where you got the idea?”

  Allison sipped her margarita and smiling appreciatively at Billy as she raised her glass to him.

  "Come on, you. There's plenty of blanket left. Sit between us."

  “Oh my God, Allison, yes… not at my house, of course… my folks were like your nanny… they would have screamed bloody murder. I’d go over to my friend Alonzo’s house… his mother would fix bowls of Jell-O and join right in. Alonzo’s father was the preacher in town; he was well into his seventies by that time. He died not long after. Alonzo and his mother had to move away… the church owned the house where they lived and needed it for the new preacher to live in.”

  “Oh… I hear a touch of whimsy in your voice, Lisa… I’m sorry if I touched on a nerve.”

  “Alonzo was the only friend I ever had in Kansas. I guess you might say he could have been my first love. We were just kids though. After he moved away I wouldn’t go to church any more; I've resented preachers ever since. My mother tried to get me to go but I’d play sick. I didn’t want to meet the new preacher. I know it didn't have anything to do with him… what happened. But I still disliked him. I still hate churches to this day.”

  “My parents were never around much… my nanny Mrs. Stewart liked to play at being a religious woman though. When we were little she always dressed us up and made us go with her to church. God… I dreaded those days… everything seemed way too serious.”

  “My mother and father were pretty serious too. I never felt as if I could tell them how I really felt… like I was always trying to be someone I couldn’t be, but just around them… especially my father. He wanted me to be this perfect little girl… how does anyone be perfect?

  "I could never understand that… especially a man like him. All he did was drink and berate my mother for not making enough money when he didn’t even work. I begged her to leave him but she refused. She had some warped sense of values that demanded she stay with her husband until death. I never understood her. All the time I was growing up I watched her kowtow to him. In the end, he shot her just to get back at me.”

  "Come on, Lisa. You don’t know that. You did your best."

  "Thanks, Billy. I know that rationally but I still feel guilty over it. So what kind of terrible things did you perpetrate as a young man?"

  “I remember as a boy that I used to fill up water balloons and go to the top of the building where we lived and throw them off at the cars driving by on the street. Someone told my father about me doing it and all of a sudden the door on the roof burst open and here he came, looming over me.

  "He made me go down and apologize to the people whose cars I had hit and to promise to wash their cars for them. One lady said that she wouldn't worry too much about it… that little boys should have their fun. My father glared at her and told her that I wouldn’t be having any fun later. And he proved it too. He set my ass on fire.”

  “Now, see, that’s something I could never understand, Billy… how anyone could spank a kid for just having a little fun. Then again, there might be times where spare the rod and spoil the child is true… that sometimes kids do things because they’re testing the limits of behavior and if you let them get away with something they’ll do something even worse. Of course, my parents were never around long enough to care one way or the other so maybe I’m in no position to judge…”

  Billy watched Allison's face turn from happy to contemplative as she seemed to realize something about herself she didn’t feel the need to share.

  “My father didn’t spank me, Allison… he just backhanded me when I did something he didn’t agree with. I remember coming home from my first date… someone told him they saw me kissing this boy… just a teenage kiss, nothing more… no groping… no heavy petting. When I came upstairs to the apartment he hit me so hard that I saw stars. I couldn’t hear out of my left ear for a week it rang so loudly. I told my mother my ear hurt and blood came out of it but she said not to worry… to just wait and I’d be all right. But I still have problems hearing from that ear sometimes…”

  “Now that’s child abuse, Lisa. He could have been arrested.”

  “He should have been arrested.”

  Billy was running the rims of their empty glasses in a plate full of salt before adding ice and pouring more of the margarita mixture from the blender.

  “He should have been treated to some of his own medicine.”

  “I think some people weren’t cut out to be parents.”

  Lisa seemed far away yet close too.

  “And some people are… like Billy. I can’t imagine a better father.”

  “She’s right, Billy. And you make a wonderful mother, Lisa. Jem is a lucky girl.”

  “Did Lisa ever tell you what Jem asked us that first time I went along to visit her?”

  “No, not that I recall.”

  Allison shook her head and looked at Lisa.

  “What did she say, sweetie?”

  “She asked us where her other mom was at. She said she expected a pretty blonde woman to be with us… that she dreamed she’d have two moms.”

  “No she didn’t, Lisa. Did she, Billy?”

  “She sure did. She even knew your name. She was kind of upset you weren’t there.”

  “How could she know who I was?”

  “She said she dreamed of you, Allison.”

  Billy wondered how he could live without this gorgeous blonde girl sitting just inches from him.

  "Well, of course she did. You dream of me too, don't you, Lisa."

  "I dream about you all the time, sweetie. How about you, Billy? Do you ever dream of Allison?"

  Billy looked back and forth at the two women not knowing how to answer, suspecting they might share a secret.

  "Oh, sweetie, it's okay. I know about you and Allison. She told me about it the other night."

  "Are you angry I didn't tell you?"

  "That happened before we met so why should I be angry? It really turned me on, to be honest."

  "I should have told you."

  Billy felt like the wolf caught up in a lie of omission.

  "We have a secret too, don't we Allison?"

  "We're in love, Billy. Me and Lisa are in love. We want to share our lives together, all three of us, well, four of us counting little Jem. How do you feel about sleeping with the both of us?"

  "Is that a trick question?"

  Chapter 36—Apparitions

  "Do you like clowns, Allison?"

  Yelena had stayed later than normal at Twenty Nine Katz. Allison kept pouring her double shots of vodka and she kept tossing them back. She'd always had vivid dreams. Grandmother Zoya once told her that was part of the gift. The last few nights the dreams had taken on a disturbing tone that set her nerves on edge, ho
wever. The alcohol soothed them but did not alleviate the feelings of trepidation lurking in the haunted hallways of her mind.

  "I never thought much about them one way or another, Yelena."

  Allison poured the old woman another drink and one for herself.

  "Now that I think about it, they are sort of creepy. I can't say I like them, no."

  "When I was a young girl in Russia my father dressed up as a clown. He earned hi money in that way. He was a funny clown with a big smile and he made people laugh. They put lots of coins into his hat. For many years I dreamed of clowns. I would wake up happy knowing I was touched by my father once more.

  "But now, I dream of, how you say, terror clown."

  "You mean terrible?"

  "Yes of course this is what I mean. The terrible clown is very old. It lives on the blood of the innocent. It feeds on fear. This clown hides in shadows and is always moving. It uses others to do its bidding. This clown deceives people into thinking it cares for them. But all it cares about is to keep on living. To do this, clown must have fresh victims."

  "It almost sounds like your clown is a vampire, Yelena."

  "My people used to tell tales of vampires who came back from death. They seek revenge on those who did them wrong in life. This clown of my dreams is something far worse. I hear echoes of a name, hissing sounds, garbled. But these whispers, they sound like your name, Allison. Something is coming for you."

  "It sounds like my name? Something is coming for me? You're starting to scare me now, Yelena."

  "I do not wish to scare such a pretty girl. I only want to warn you. We must be ready for what is coming, Allison."

  Yelena found herself wanting to be much drunker than she already was. The thought of the pretty blonde girl in front of her being tortured and brutalized made her physically ill. She was never a strong woman like her Grandmother Zoya but she knew she would have to take charge of this girl's life was to be saved.

  Most people thought of her as a crazy old Gypsy woman. Yelena knew that. She had no illusions of saving the world or even her own soul. If she couldn’t convince Allison of her peril she would have to go to the others who had more faith in her abilities.

  Billy Austin knew. The first time she had seen the boy walk into Twenty Nine Katz she recognized him as someone she could trust. Yelena rarely divulged her secret to anyone, especially someone she had just met. Nor did she put herself out for others. It wasn’t her way.

  No one had ever stood up for her other than Grandmother Zoya. Yelena learned the hard way to fend for herself, to make her own way through the thorny thickets of life and to depend upon nobody.

  Billy changed everything. He was someone she could put her confidence in without worry that he would let her down. She sensed his fear of her yet it wasn’t she that he was afraid of... it was something inside of him that she saw and brought up to the surface.

  Yelena rarely used her gift. She never asked for it. If she had a choice she would have been a simple peasant woman like her mother. Of course she never knew her mother since the woman died giving birth to Yelena but she had heard the stories.

  Grandmother Zoya schooled her on the likes and dislikes of Yelena's mother, of how she loved to laugh and dress up in colorful clothes and cook her husband sumptuous meals that were the envy of the Gypsy camp.

  For some reason Allison Johns reminded Yelena of her mother, alive with mischief and a great longing for the better things in life that might well never come her way. In those long ago days her family had no ready access to cameras so she had no photographs of her mother or of any of her lost relatives.

  She remembered a time when her adopted Gypsy troupe was passing through a small village on the journey away from her beloved Volga when she spotted a sign that said: pictures taken here. She had entreated her new husband Ivan Ivanoff to stop. She wished to have a picture of him. Even then she sensed their time together would be far shorter than either of them imagined.

  He had laughed at her request telling her that she would have him to look at for the next sixty year. She was just a girl and not apt to argue with anyone, especially her husband. She had warned him too but it did no good in the end. Death found him just as it would Allison. Only the unforeseen might save the girl... the man-child called Billy Austin.

  "Warn me about what, Yelena?"

  "You do not believe in me. I understand. I am only a silly old woman who says things that are foolish, especially when she is drunk. I would not believe me either, Allison."

  "Oh no... that's not true, Yelena. I love you! You're one of my dearest friends. If you say something bad is coming for me, I believe you. I just don't know what to do about it. Tell me, please."

  "Long ago I was married to a young Gypsy boy. I loved him very much. We made plans for a life together in the farmland of Ukraine. Each night for a week I had such strange dreams that portended of a life alone. I told my Ivan, please, let us not go this way. Let us turn back. You are in danger, my love. My dreams tell me this.

  "But my young husband only laughed at me and told me, Yelena, you worry too much. I am young. I am strong. No one can hurt someone like me. I am invincible. Dreams mean nothing to such strong men like me. Come, we must pack up and continue our journey. You will see, Yelena. Ukraine is the promised land for our people.

  "I wanted to argue but I told myself, Ivan is right. I am just a young and a stupid girl. Now, I know I did not yet understand power of dreaming. Early one morning just a few days later the Soviet army appeared in our camp. They took all our young men to fight in the big war, old men too. Ivan would never return. I was left alone in the world just as my dreams had predicted."

  "So you're saying your dreams of a terrible clown whispering my name means something bad is going to happen to me. How can I protect myself, Yelena?"

  "I cannot see how. I am a drunken old woman. That is the only thing I know for sure."

  "Don't do that, Yelena. You're the wisest woman I have ever met. You see things no one else can see. What should I do? Tell me, please."

  "Let us go to yonder booth, Allison. Perhaps God will speak through me."

  Yelena noticed most of the regular customers eschewed her booth. Only the occasional stranger who didn’t know better would sit there. Her booth was in the corner sparsely lighted and isolated with a half-wall as if segregated from the rest of the tavern.

  Over the many years Yelena worked at Twenty Nine Katz she had chosen that particular booth to practice her fortune telling on account of its privacy but more, there seemed certain places on earth that were naturally more powerful than others and that particular spot was one of the most potent areas she had ever sensed.

  Perhaps it was the confluence of sea and earth coming together so close by or the fault line that ran directly beneath the building at that point. Yelena didn’t understand the dynamics or the workings of her magic. She only knew how to make use of it and only poorly at that.

  "Please put your hand on the table, Allison."

  "Are you going to tell my fortune, Yelena?"

  "No, pretty one... I cannot do that. Only God sees the future. You must listen to my words and repeat them to me carefully."

  When she laid the palm of her left hand over Allison's upraised hand the world blinked out. When she woke in what seemed like a moment, Allison was staring at her with questions in her eyes.

  "What did I say, Allison?"

  "You said: run, pretty girl. But do not run away. Run to the man I introduced you to when he first started working here. Remember? He will protect you. He will die for you if need be. This I have seen."

  "What do those words mean to you, Allison?"

  "I think you must mean Billy Austin, don’t you. We're all living together now, you know. I don't have to run to him. I'm with him already."

  "I think that is so. Did I say anything else?"

  "You said: Billy is your fire. He burns for you, Allison, just as you burn for him, and for Lisa. You must protect each other. When the t
ime comes you must act without thought. Otherwise you will die a prisoner in a black dirty hole... you and the girl."

  "I am so sorry, Allison. I do not remember anything. Do my words mean anything to you?"

  "They scare me. I don't know what girl you mean, Yelena. Is it someone I know?"

  "I think you might know what girl, Allison. She is your charge. Just as Billy is your protector, you are hers."

  "You mean Jem?"

  "Of course I cannot say what I mean. Those words were not my own. God spoke through me. Now, I must go. It is very late and I am a little drunk."

  "Come home with me tonight, Yelena. I'll be leaving in just a half hour. There's plenty of room and the house is only five minutes away."

  "Only if you pour me another drink."

  She watched as Allison filled the glass her again before filling one for herself. She liked this girl despite the shadow darkening her spirit. When Allison's shift was over and they walked from the tavern Yelena caught a glimpse of something hiding behind the trees that grew across the street. When she looked again she realized it was merely a shadow playing tricks on her eyes. When the shadow moved her heart fluttered in an unpleasant fashion as she told herself it was only the wind but not really believing it.

  Chapter 37—Pearl Ann

  Mornings often caught Billy Austin unaware.

  He had no ability to sleep when others did, no off switch that he could trigger. When he did get to sleep it was equally hard for him to wake. He recalled his father often helping him out of bed by hurling a cold glass of water into his face while he slept. If he thought it would have helped he would have hated the old man.

  "I've been thumbing through that old bible of mine. Remember that picture you asked me about, with the little girl in it?"

  "Of course I do."

  Daybreak brushed through the open window as birds began making love to their morning songs. Lisa hadn’t slept either... they spent the night entangled in the darkness of their desires. Now, she seemed to be talking herself to sleep while lulling Billy into following her with the gentle cadence of her whispers.

  “She was my sister. I don’t understand how I forgot about her, Lisa… she shined my life.”