Saving Jake

by Sharon Sala

  Boyd Fisher, the bus driver, pulled to a stop and waved as she darted across the road.

  “Thanks, Boyd,” Laurel said.

  Boyd waved. “Bye, Bonnie,” he said.

  “Bye, Mr. Fisher,” Bonnie cried, and leaped into Laurel’s outstretched arms, locked her legs around her mother’s waist, and then held on to the umbrella for both of them as Laurel carried her back to the truck and put her inside.

  Laurel dripped rain as she got in, and as soon as the bus drove away, she pulled out onto the blacktop to turn around and headed back to the trailer with her little girl high and dry.

  “You got all wet, Mommy,” Bonnie said.

  “Just on the outside, honey. Did you have a good day at school?”

  “Yes. Did you feed Lavonne?”

  “Yes, I did, and I put her up. You’ll just have to wave at the coop from the window tonight. Lavonne is warm and dry, and I want to keep you the same way.”

  “Did she lay an egg today?” Bonnie asked.

  Laurel smiled. “Yes, she did. A very pretty one.”

  Bonnie wiggled with delight, and when they reached the house, she let Laurel carry her to the porch. Within moments they were both inside, and so the evening settled.

  The trailer was warm. The vegetable soup Laurel had taken out of the freezer was thawed and reheating on the back burner, and Bonnie was sitting on her bed talking to Brave Bear. Laurel could hear part of the chatter as she moved about the house. After making sure nothing was wrong and Bonnie was just filling him in on the day, she let her play.

  It was already dark, but not quite five o’clock. She thought of Jake. Was he home, or was he still driving in this mess?

  No sooner had she thought that when her phone signaled a text. She ran to look and was grinning when she saw who had sent it. I am in Blessings getting gas. Home soon.

  And just like that, all the tension of her day was gone. Soup is done here. Come if you want. No RSVP needed if you’d rather go home. She hit Send.

  She laid the phone down and told herself she wouldn’t stand there and stare, but when it suddenly dinged, she jumped. Soup please.

  She sent a happy face and set the table for one more.

  * * *

  The moment Jake got that invitation for soup, he began to relax and the tension in his body eased until all he was thinking about was being in her presence. God help him, but Laurel Payne had become his touchstone to peace, an irony that would not have escaped her had she known how he felt.

  Jake was so focused on getting to her house that he didn’t notice he was getting close to his own driveway until he saw his mailbox. On impulse, he took the turn and stopped at his house long enough to turn on some lights and turn up the thermostat. Moments later, he was back on the road, watching for that certain hill and knowing when he topped it, he would see her house.

  And just as he’d expected, when he came over the hill and saw the trailer all lit up like a church on Christmas Eve, the last of his tension was gone. Despite the rain and the muddy drive, it looked like a piece of heaven, right down to the light on the porch marking the way.

  He parked behind her truck and got out on the run. The front door flew inward as he was coming up the steps, and then she was laughing as he leaped over the threshold and out of the rain.

  “Welcome home,” she said.

  He grinned. “If I wasn’t so wet, I would hug you. I am so glad to be back.”

  “Don’t let a little water stop you,” she said.

  He shed the coat where he stood and then wrapped his arms around her. “Oh my lord, you even smell good,” he said, as he buried his face in the crown of her hair.

  “It’s either lemon furniture oil or vegetable soup,” she said, while trying not to make a fool of herself in his arms.

  Jake chuckled. “You are the first pretty woman I ever knew who was willing to make fun of herself,” he said as he let her go.

  “Extra soup for that compliment,” she said, and pointed to the old bath mat she’d shoved off to the side. “You can wipe your shoes on that rug to dry them off, and the food will warm you up.”

  “You have no idea how happy I am to be here,” he said.

  She couldn’t have wiped the smile from her face if she’d had to. “I am happy you’re here, too. Hand me your jacket, and I’ll hang it up in the utility room to dry. I’m doing laundry, and it’s warm in there.”

  Jake handed her the jacket and followed her to the kitchen. “My lord, it smells good in here, too,” he said.

  She hung up the jacket and then flashed a quick smile as she headed to the stove.

  “There’s fresh coffee on the counter if you want some. I made sandwiches to go with the soup. They’re in the fridge on a plate. I’m going to get Bonnie washed up to eat. She did not know you were coming, so prepare yourself.”

  “I’ll put the sandwiches on the table for you. What does she drink?”

  “Her milk is in a carton in the door of the refrigerator. Her cups are in the cabinet. They’re the plastic ones with handles. Pour about a half a cup for her.”

  “Will do,” Jake said, and was suddenly at ease.

  The calm in this house was the solace he needed, but it didn’t last long. He heard Bonnie squeal and then doors banging, and laughed to himself. Who would have ever predicted he would become a rock star to a six-year-old?

  Bonnie came into the kitchen carrying Brave Bear and talking.

  “Hi, Jake. We’re having soup. I have to blow on mine so it won’t burn the hair off my tongue. Brave Bear is going to sit with us, but he won’t eat. Bears don’t like soup.”

  “And hello to you, too, Bonnie Bee. You buzz around like a little bee,” Jake said.

  She giggled, delighted with her new nickname, and then went straight to the table, seated the bear, and Laurel lifted her into a chair that had a booster seat.

  “I’m sitting on a rooster seat for now, but I’m growing. One day I won’t have to sit here anymore.”

  Jake laughed. “Rooster seat, huh?”

  Bonnie nodded.

  Laurel motioned toward the table. “Please. Have a seat.”

  “I’ve been sitting all day,” he said. “It feels good to stand. What else can I do to help?”

  “You can help do dishes afterward,” she said.

  “Deal,” he said, and slid into a seat across the table from Bonnie, leaving the chair at the head of the table for Laurel.

  And so the meal began.

  Soup was salted, and soup was cooled with a small piece of ice, and Jake looked on with delight as Bonnie’s quirks were duly noted.

  “Mama, don’t forget. I like baby samwishes.”

  “I never forget that,” Laura said, and cut a half sandwich into thirds, and put them on Bonnie’s plate.

  “I don’t need my samwishes cut,” Jake said.

  Laurel laughed.

  Bonnie giggled, but she wasn’t sure why. It was just very exciting to have company at night.

  Bonnie glanced down at her soup, then back up at her mama. “Mama, is my soup cool enough to eat?”

  “Probably,” Laurel said.

  Bonnie eyed the bowl again, and then instead of picking up her spoon to take a bite, she stuck her finger in it instead…a kind of six-year-old version of testing the waters. “Yep, it’s fine,” Bonnie said, licked the soup off her finger, and picked up her spoon.

  Laurel started to correct her then let it slide. All that mattered was that she could hear Jake chuckling, which meant her daughter didn’t rattle him.

  Jake ate without much comment, taking in the back and forth chatter happening between mother and child. Laurel intrigued him. She delighted him. One day he would lay her down beneath him and love her like it was the last day of his life. He knew that in his soul, and they had yet to even kiss.

&nbs
p; Laurel was antsy. Jake’s presence at the table was distracting enough, but she knew he was watching her, and she didn’t know how to take that. Was he thinking to himself that she was too engaged in her daughter, or that she was too ordinary to consider her anything more than a friend?

  She glanced at him and caught him staring, but instead of looking away, Jake met her gaze. Then she forgot to breathe.

  Everything she’d ever wanted in life from a man, she saw promised in his eyes. She glanced at Bonnie, then back at him, and his gaze hadn’t wavered. The steadfast look said it all. He understood they came as a package deal.

  “Did I mention how glad I am to be here?” Jake asked.

  “Maybe, but I don’t mind hearing it again,” she answered.

  Left to her own devices, Bonnie snuck the cheese out of a sandwich still on the plate and was happily biting into it when Laurel realized what she’d done. “Bonnie! What on earth made you do something like that? What if Jake had wanted that sandwich?”

  Bonnie pointed. “Jake can still have it. I only ate the cheese.”

  Laurel heard a soft snort and glared at Jake. “Don’t you dare laugh at her,” she whispered.

  “Thank you, Bonnie Bee. I believe I will have it,” he said, and picked it up.

  Laurel was still trying to make a point. “Bonnie, would you do this if your Granny and Gramps were here?”

  “No.”

  “They why did you do it now?”

  “Cause your mean faces don’t scare me. Granny makes scary faces when she’s mad.”

  Laurel thought about it a minute and then looked at Jake and shrugged. “She’s right. Mom does make scary faces when she’s mad.”

  Jake chuckled. “So did mine. I was always afraid to let her down.”

  “Speaking of parents,” Laurel said. “Mom and Dad are coming here for dinner Saturday evening about six. I would love for you to come, if you want, but I’ll totally understand if—”

  “I’d love to,” he said.

  Laurel exhaled slowly and gave him a quick smile. She’d set the wheels in motion. Now all she had to do was pray everything went okay.

  “Yay!” Bonnie cried. “Are we having fried chicken leg? Mama only fries chicken when company comes.”

  Laurel sighed. “She’s already keyed in on my routines.”

  “Is there anything I can bring for the meal?” he asked.

  “Mama said she would bring the dessert. I think all you need to bring is yourself.”

  “I can do that, and with thanks.”

  He finished off the last two bites of the sandwich as Laurel got up to help Bonnie down.

  “You can go play for a little bit. I’ll be back soon to help you with your bath and to get ready for bed.”

  “Okay, Mommy,” Bonnie said, and grabbed Brave Bear. “If it’s already bedtime, is Jake going to have a sleepover?”

  Laurel gasped, and for once Jake was silent. “No, he’s not, now scram.”

  “Bye, Jake.”

  “Bye, Bonnie Bee,” Jake said.

  Laurel’s face was flushed as she turned around.

  “I’m sorry. Kids do say the most embarrassing things and at the worst times.”

  “I wasn’t embarrassed at all. It was an interesting thought,” Jake said, and began gathering the dirty dishes and carrying them to the sink.

  Laurel blushed.

  Interesting thought? My knees are shaking at that interesting thought.

  There wasn’t soup left to put up and only a few dishes to load into the dishwasher. The kitchen was clean in minutes, and then there was nothing between them but a few feet and an uncomfortable silence.

  “So, I better let you go get your girl in bed. One more day of school this week. Do you have to work tomorrow?”

  “Yes, I’m back at the bed-and-breakfast tomorrow.”

  Jake took a step forward and, with one finger, lifted a stray lock of hair away from her forehead, then hesitated. “May I?” he asked.

  Her pulse began to race, and her mouth was suddenly dry. “May you what?”

  “Your hair… I just want to…”

  She sighed. “Yes,” she said, and turned around to give him free rein, and thought she heard him take a deep breath.

  Then his fingers were combing gently through the length, smoothing it, bunching it then letting it fall free. When he began gathering it up, she wondered what he was going to do, and then draped it over her right shoulder.

  “Ahhh. I thought I’d seen something. I knew you were hiding a secret,” he whispered.

  Laurel frowned. “Secret, there’s no—”

  His mouth was on the back of her neck, and he was kissing it. The sensation was unexpected and so sensual she reached for the back of the kitchen chair to keep from going to her knees.

  Then he moved from the back of her neck to the curve of her ear. “I won’t tell,” he whispered in her ear.

  She stifled a moan. “Tell what?”

  “What you’re hiding beneath all that hair.”

  “I don’t—”

  Jake pulled her hair back in place and turned her around. “I’m going home now. You two and the soup were my lifesavers tonight.”

  He ducked into the utility room to retrieve his jacket and walked past her with nothing more than a parting look to get his shoes. She was still standing where he’d left her when she heard his truck start up and drive away.

  “Mommy! I’m ready for my bath!” Bonnie yelled.

  “Coming!” Laurel said, and then ran her hand beneath her hair to feel the back of her neck. She frowned. There was nothing there. What was he talking—?

  Oh!

  She ran to the bathroom and grabbed the big mirror, then pulled her hair aside and angled the mirror so that she could see the back of her neck. The heart-shaped birthmark.

  “Mommy, what are you doing?” Bonnie asked, as she came in carrying her nightgown.

  “Just checking stuff,” she said, and grabbed a band and pulled her hair up in a ponytail, then looked at herself in the mirror.

  He kissed you.

  She shivered, sighed, and then turned around.

  Bonnie was naked, rubbing her little belly, and poking her fingers at the tiny nubbins on her chest that would one day become breasts.

  Laurel grinned. “Move aside so I can run your bathwater.”

  Bonnie moved, but she dropped to her knees beside the tub and ducked her head under Laurel’s arm to watch the water gushing out of the faucet, and then giggled as the bubbles began to appear from the capful of bubble bath Laurel poured in.

  “Maybe two tonight?” Bonnie said.

  Laurel looked down at her daughter and smiled. “Maybe two tonight.”

  Bonnie wiggled with joy at the idea of even more bubbles.

  Finally, the water was ready, and the bubbles were bubbling as Laurel lifted Bonnie into the tub. Immediately, her daughter scooped up two big handfuls of soapsuds and plopped them directly onto her chest.

  “Look, Mommy, I have boobies.”

  Laurel laughed. “I see that you do. Now I’m watching the time. You have ten minutes to play in the soap, and then you have to get out.”

  “Okay! Will you stay and watch me?” Bonnie asked.

  “Of course, Mommy always stays when you are in the tub,” Laurel said, then sat on the closed lid of the commode and watched her daughter making magic with the bubbles.

  She had bubble rings on each finger, a big bubble nose. She made fuzzy bubble eyebrows and lots of big bubble boobies—sometimes one, sometimes three—until finally time was up, and the bubbles were quickly dissipating.

  “Time’s up,” Laurel said. “Open the stopper in the tub so the water can drain out.”

  Bonnie did as she was told, then Laurel lifted her out and began drying her off on t
he bathmat between them, while Bonnie continued to talk.

  “Will you read me a story tonight, Mommy?”

  “Yes, I will. What story do you want to hear tonight?”

  “The Velveteen Rabbit, please,” Bonnie said.

  Laurel groaned. “But, honey, you cry every time we read it.”

  Bonnie shrugged. “Tonight I want to cry.”

  Laurel frowned and then wiped a string of bubbles from Bonnie’s chin. “Why, baby? Why do you want to cry?”

  “Someone told me at school today that my grandma died. It made me sad.”

  Laurel gasped. “Oh, honey! Not Granny Joyner! She didn’t die. She’s coming to eat supper with us Saturday, remember?”

  “I know. It’s another granny, right?”

  Laurel wrapped Bonnie in the towel and sat her in her lap. “Yes, it’s another granny. Your daddy’s mother.”

  “Do I know her?” Bonnie asked.

  “You used to.”

  “Did I love her like I love Granny Joyner?”

  “You used to.”

  Bonnie’s eyes rounded, mirroring her confusion. “I don’t remember,” she said.

  “It’s not your fault,” Laurel said. “They uh…they sort of moved away from us, and you just forgot her. That happens when people don’t stay in touch.”

  Bonnie leaned back against Laurel’s chest and slipped her head beneath her mother’s chin. “Will you read The Velveteen Rabbit?”

  “Yes, I will,” Laurel said.

  “And then I will cry. Can we say God bless to my dead grandma tonight?”

  It was all Laurel could do to keep from crying. “Yes, we will add her to your prayers.”

  * * *

  Jake unpacked his luggage as he went through his regular bedtime routine. He even put a load of towels into the washer. It wouldn’t hurt if they stayed in it overnight. He’d put them in the dryer tomorrow.

  He paused in the kitchen to acknowledge the bottle of tequila.

  “You have good people, Joaquin. Thank you for the trip. It was almost like seeing you again.”

  He got a cold pop from the refrigerator and took it with him to the living room to watch some TV. After spending this evening with Laurel, there was no way he would ever get to sleep this early.