“Apparently Joanne doesn’t trust anyone else to run the store on Fridays and Saturdays and especially to close. Their most profitable days,” he explained as he pulled away from the garage. “Chris sits behind the counter while she counts the money. He usually reads a book. He’s so shy, he won’t even wait on the customers. He just calls her out when someone comes in.”
“So he really doesn’t need to be there?” She asked.
“No, not really.” Perry pulled back into the street and headed for town. “She has one of these other young men to close up the garage and clean up for her.”
“Ah, the manual labor,” Angelica nodded. “Then it should work out perfectly.”
“Yes, perfectly,” Perry agreed. They were on their way to order the flyers and ads for the grand opening of the New Castle Gift Shop. It would coincide with the library fund raiser the following Saturday. They would donate ten per cent of their profits for the weekend to the library fund. A good way to make a lasting first impression on the town as if they had not already begun to make one.
At precisely six forty-five the Mercedes returned to the gas station and pulled up to the gas pumps. Joanne Parker glanced out the window in time to see a tall, slim blonde man emerge from the car to take the nozzle from its cradle. She pressed the clear and reset buttons on the control console for him.
“Look, Chris.” She nudged her brother who sat beside her on a stool with his nose in a paperback novel. “A real beauty. Isn’t that a CL500 Mercedes Sports Coupe?”
Chris raised his head to look at the car. His sister never failed to amaze him with her knowledge of cars. She could spot a Buick five miles away and a Ford even further. She loved to look at the car magazines from the magazine stand at the front of the store during slack times and had recently won a contest wherein she identified the year and make of a number of cars simply from pictures of their headlights. Yep, she knew her cars.
“Yep. A fine piece of work if I ever saw one. Starting price $86000. Never seen one up close. Even if it ain’t American made. Those Germans sure know how to build a fine engine.”
“I think that’s the guy who bought the old junk shop,” she said as she rang up a purchase for the customer at the counter in front of her. “That’ll be two eighty-three. Will that be all, sir?”
She gave the man his change and watched him leave before returning her gaze to the pumps.
“What’s their names... quick,” she said suddenly.
“For Chrissakes Joanne, I don’t know their names,” he grumbled and went back to his book.
“Oh, he’ll probably have a credit card anyway,” she said as she watched him approach the front of the store. “They always do.”
Perry entered the store with his wallet in his hand and promptly handed her a twenty dollar bill. She was disappointed. She rarely missed her guesses about people and their money. She stopped short when she met the man’s gaze. She had never seen such eyes in all her life. Her mouth fell open slightly and her hand stopped short of taking the money from him. She quickly regained her composure.
“Will that be... ow!” She jumped back as an electric spark jumped from his hand to hers. The twenty fell on the counter.
Chris looked up momentarily then resumed his reading.
“I’m sorry,” Perry said as picked up the bill from the counter and handed it to her again. His smile was almost as beautiful as his eyes.
She took it cautiously and kicked at Chris’s stool trying to get him to look at the man. She wanted him to see those eyes. Chris frowned up at her. The man was looking at the all the knick-knacks for sale on the counter. Joanne pointed at her own eyes and then at Perry who was holding one of the rubbery koosh balls in his hand. Chris followed her instructions as Perry looked up from the ball. Chris’s chin dropped as he gawked at the man.
“What is this?” Perry asked them.
Joanne was ringing up his gas. She looked at the ball as if she’d never seen one before. Chris said nothing.
“Oh, that’s a koosh ball. A toy,” she told him after a moment. “It’s nothing. Just silly, I guess, but it feels good to hold it.”
“I’ll take it,” he told her.
Joanne scanned the tag of the ball into the register and then counted out his change. Perry picked up the ball again and looked at it closely. It seemed to be hundreds of small rubber strands tied together in the center to form a wobbly sphere. He tossed it up and then batted it purposefully on the floor beside Chris. Chris got up automatically to retrieve it for him.
“I’m sorry,” Perry apologized as he reached for the ball. A spark jumped from his fingers to the ball and traveled into Chris’s hand.
“Ow!” Chris dropped the ball on the counter. “Damn!” His face reddened and he looked very put out. “I’m s... s... sorry,” he apologized.
“No, I’m sorry,” Perry told him. “That’s been happening all day. Must be the weather.”
“M... m... must be,” Chris agreed. “St... st... static electricity.”
“Yes, it has been dry lately.” Perry smiled.
“Yes, dr... dr... dry,” Chris nodded and picked up his book.
“My name is Aliger. Perry Aliger,” Perry introduced himself to them as Joanne counted his change back and put the little ball in a small bag. “My wife and I are having a bit of trouble with the static buildup in our new carpet. We bought the old junk shop downtown at Catherine and Main and we’ve been remodeling. Someone suggested that we buy something called Static Guard. Do you sell it here?”
“No, sir.” Joanne looked at her brother. “Dollar General Mercantile downtown.”
She kicked at him as he stood staring at the man. It was totally out of character for her brother to do such a thing. “I’m Joanne Parker and this is my brother Chris.”
“Ah, the owners.” Perry smiled again and Joanne thought she’d never seen a more perfect set of teeth. She felt stupid somehow looking at him.
“Yes,” she said shortly. “My brother is the mechanical genius. He specializes in foreign cars like yours. He can give you real fine service. If you... when you... need anything,” her voice trailed off.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” he told her. “It was nice to meet you.”
“Yeah, same here.” Joanne smiled at him and kicked her brother again.
“Ow! Yessir! A real pl... pl... pleasure.” Chris frowned at him.
“Thank you, Mr. Aliger!” Joanne called after him as he left the store.
Chris sat down on the stool and stared at his hand where the shock had stung him.
“Why didn’t you ask him about his car?” Joanne asked him irritably. “I swear, Chris, you miss the prime opportunities of your life.”
“His car seems to be brand new, Joanne. Besides they always take them to the dealerships. Warranty requirements.” Chris reached down to rub his assaulted leg. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. That’s what I always say.”
“Yeah? That’s what Tyler McDaniels always says. Chris Parker don’t ever say nothing.” She swatted at him.
“Well, I think it!” he argued defensively. “You know I don’t like talking to strangers.”
“You don’t like talking to anybody.” She reset the pumps as a pickup truck pulled up to the store and then craned her neck to see past the truck. The silver Mercedes was still parked on the other side.
“Say, look.” She kicked absently at Chris again. “It may not be as new as it looks.”
“Stop kickin’ me.” Chris stood up. “You’re gonna get my jeans all dirty!”
She looked down at his starched boot-cut jeans and shining boots.
“I don’t know why on Earth you bother to get all dressed up every Saturday night,” she said eyeing his sharply pressed western shirt. It must have cost him at least seventy-five bucks and then there was the laundry bill. He wouldn’t even trust her to wash his beloved outfits for him. The python boots were over eight hundred dollars, she knew. She never understood him. He was young, handsome a
nd talented. Someday he would maybe even expand his garage business over to Carrollton and make somebody a real good catch. Here he sat on Saturday night, afraid to speak to his own shadow without stuttering and turning inside out. She wished there was some magical pill she could get for him and solve all his problems.
“I like to look nice,” he said plaintively and she immediately felt bad for having been mean to him. He was her whole world and had been ever since their parents were killed in an accident when they were only small children. They had always stuck together and now they had their own business together. It had been a dream they had always shared.
“Uh, oh,” she whispered, but did not give him the accompanying kick. “Here comes Mr. Angel Eyes.”
“Angel Eyes?” Chris looked at her incredulously. “I thought he said his name was Aliger?”
“Miss Parker?” Perry approached the counter again with a frown creasing his flawless face. “I know your garage is closed, but I’m afraid I’m having a bit of car trouble. It won’t start. I don’t know a thing about cars except how to start them and drive them.”
“I’m sure it doesn’t matter,” she told him and then wondered why she said that. “I mean, yes, the garage is closed, but we're almost neighbors, right? Maybe it’s just a loose cable or something. Chris would be glad to take a look, wouldn’t you Chris?” She looked at her brother and made a face.
Chris looked perturbed, but walked around the counter and outside to yell at the boy still washing down the slab in front of the garage.
“Hey, J... J... Joe! C... C... Come ’ere!”
Perry stood watching him and Joanne stood watching him. He’d called her Miss Parker. No one had ever called her Miss Parker except the principal at High School and he had used a different intonation altogether. This was infinitely better.
Chris talked to Joe at the door and the two of them started for the car. Perry followed after them. He popped the hood for them and they set about wiggling and jiggling all the wires. They tried repeatedly to start the car without success. Chris brought his pickup truck over and attached jumper cables. Still no response.
“M... M... Maybe it’s the in j... j... jectors.” Chris scratched his head. “That’s m... m... major job. I’ll t... t... tell you what. You j... j... just leave it here and I’ll t... t... take a look at it t... t... tomorrow. I’ll g... g... give you a r... r... ride home.”
“That would be excellent.” Perry smiled at him and went to help Chris and Joe push the car over by the garage doors.
“My wife,” Perry told them as Angelica stepped down from the curb of the building where she had been waiting while they tinkered with the car. “Angelica.”
She smiled up at Chris and Joe and shook their hands. Chris stood looking down at her in shock.
“Thank you so much, Mr. Parker,” she told him and he dissolved into himself. He let go of her hand and literally ran back to get his truck to bring it up to the curb. Perry opened the door for Angelica and gave her a hand up. She slid over in the seat next to Chris. Her perfume smelled like the inside of the Neiman Marcus perfume counter where Joanne had dragged him once to look at some two hundred dollar bottles of perfume.
“Mr. Parker.” Angelica looked up at him as he stared straight ahead. “May I call you Chris?”
He nodded rapidly, his face, if it was possible, became a deeper shade of red.
“I’m really sorry to bother you like this,” she told him. “But we have a very important engagement and we are late already.”
Chris still did not respond as he drove them back toward town.
“Would it be too much trouble if we asked you to stop by and pick up someone else for us? We were supposed to pick her up at seven and it’s five after.”
“No p... p... problem.” Chris glanced at her quickly and then averted his eyes. “Where to?”
“605 Franklin,” Perry supplied the address. “Nice truck.”
Perry went on to talk about his experiences with cars and trucks which did not seem to be very extensive. Chris sat frowning out the windshield. He had recognized the address Perry had given him and wondered why in the world they were going to pick up Cheryl Martin. She was his girl. That was a fact and everybody knew it. When had she met these people and why were they picking her up? He would have asked, but he reasoned that he should not interrupt the man while he was showing his ignorance about cars. It just wouldn’t be nice at all. He’d just have to ask Cheryl about it some other time.
They pulled up in front of Cheryl’s house and parked in the drive. Perry got out and helped Angelica down. He then opened the back door of the truck and helped her back inside. Chris watched them without speaking. Perry walked up the steps to the front door and knocked on the screen. Chris rolled down his window so he could hear what was going on. His curiosity was killing him. The insects fluttering around the gas lamp in the Martins’ yard darted and flew past the window. A large, green Luna moth almost the size of his hand made a haphazard dash for the interior of the truck. Chris swatted at it, but missed and it fluttered into the backseat with Mrs. Aliger. Chris turned to watch it, expecting her to be startled.
It flew past her head and began to beat its wings futilely against the rear window.
“I’ll g... g... get it,” he told her and started to open his door.
“No!” She said and he froze. Something in her voice made him turn back around to look at her. She smiled at him and said “look!”
She held out her hand and the moth came to rest on her fingers folding its wings. She held the moth up to her face and looked closely at it.
“Sweet Cheryl,” she said softly to the moth. “Come and give your Christopher Robin a kiss.”
She held out the moth to him and the moth fluttered its wings against his cheek. He was mesmerized by her voice and what she was doing. Chris reached up slowly to allow the moth to crawl onto his own hand. He turned around in the seat and sat staring down at the beautiful creature he had been so willing to destroy only a few moments earlier.
Perry was about to knock again on the door when it opened as if Cheryl had been standing on the other side waiting for the perfect moment.
“Miss Martin.” He nodded to her. “You look truly wonderful.”
“Thank you.” She smiled broadly at him. She hadn’t really expected him to come at all. “Please call me Cheryl.”
“Of course.” He smiled. “I would have brought flowers but I had a slight setback. I hope I have inconvenienced you by arriving late.”
“No problem,” she lied. His ten minutes had already started her on a slide into the deepest depression. She leaned to look around him at the truck in the drive and a frown creased her forehead. That was Chris’ truck! A million thoughts struck her at once. Had Chris been the setback? “Hmmm,” she mused to herself.
“Is something wrong?” Perry glanced back at the truck.
“No, I just didn’t think you were the pickup truck type,” she said hesitantly knowing full well that it was not his truck. She opened the door and stepped back to allow him to come inside. “My mother would like to meet you.”
“Of course,” he said as he stepped inside, without offering any explanation for the truck.
She led him through the living room full of Early American furniture which was well worn, but comfortable looking. Her mother’s bedroom was at the end of the hall with the door standing open. She felt weird walking through her home with a stranger in tow. She was having second thoughts already. Her mom was sitting in the bed, working a crossword puzzle.
Mrs. Martin looked up as they entered and her face took on a strange expression as she surveyed Perry.
“Mother, this is Perry Aliger,” Cheryl said. “And this is my mother Amelia Martin.”
“A pleasure to meet you.” Perry smiled at her. “I hope you are feeling better.”
“Yes, I am,” her mother said quietly. “I hope you will be able to take her mind off me for a while.”
“Oh, Mama!” Chery
l blushed. There was no doubt in Mrs. Martin’s mind that Perry Aliger could have taken her daughter’s mind off most anything.
“We’ll be having dinner at the Bluebonnet and then we’ll be at home listening to music, if that is alright with you and Cheryl.” Perry reached into his pocket to pull out another of his cards to hand it to the woman.
“At home?” Mrs. Martin frowned. She looked at the card and Cheryl noticed that this one was a bit different from the one he had given her at the bank.
“Yes, that’s my address and phone number, if you should need to call,” he told her.
“I’m sure I won’t.” She laid the card on the bedside table. Cheryl went to give her a peck on the cheek.
“You call if you need me,” Cheryl told her.
“It was nice to meet you,” Mrs. Martin told him and continued to stare at him with the peculiar look on her face. It was very obvious to Cheryl that her mother did not trust him and did not approve of her going to his home on a first date. Her mother often forgot that she was almost twenty-five years old.
“Come on,” she said taking his arm before her mother could say something further to embarrass her.
“It was my pleasure,” Perry said as Cheryl pulled him from the room.
“Have a nice time!” Her mother called after them.
Perry stopped before they reached the front door and turned to face her. She looked up at him unsure of what he planned to do. Was he going to kiss her now? Before they even left the house? She vaguely wondered if she would mind and quickly decided she wouldn't.
“I hope you won’t mind,” he said slowly.
“No, I don’t mind at all,” she said expectantly raising her chin slightly.
“We won’t be alone,” he said simply and she blinked up at him. “I have some people with me.”
“Some people?” She frowned in confusion. What had happened to the kiss?
“Yes,” he nodded. “I brought my wife, Angelica, and someone else I believe you already know.”
“Your wife!” Her eyes widened and her mouth fell open. She tried to pull her hand from his. She hadn’t even realized he was holding it.
The Pandora Effect Page 7
