12. 12
12
Will scrubbed at a ring around a jetted Jacuzzi. Today’s uniform was a pair of tuxedo budgie-smugglers,a fire-engine red bowtie, andshirt cuffs sans sleeves. The ChippenMale Dancer, as he called the outfit on his website, to avoid a copyright infringement suit.
In a town chock full of lawyers, he could never be too careful.
His bare chest flexed as he scrubbed on hands and knees,giving CarlaO’Neil an unimpeded view of his spandex-covered ass.
She sat on the edge of the tub, sneaking glancesand looking awayagain, cheekspink with embarrassment. Her voluptuous form tugged at the buttons of her blouse. Her stretchyslacks were more taut than he remembered. The Tuscan-style bathroom, with beige walls and pale brown tile, bathed her in a golden hue. The favorable light softened her striking featuresinto those of a cherubstatue in a museum.
“She said Vicky told her that I said she was allegedly aslut, which is not true. That’s not something I would ever say.I wouldn’t slut- shame someone like that. It’s not in my nature. I’m very sex-positive.” Her soft, excited tone made Will smile. He couldn’t tell if she always spoke so much because she was nervous or if she was simply lonely.
“Of course. In my experience, that’s not at all like you.” He stopped scrubbing for a moment and addressed her over his muscular shoulder. “You stoodup for yourself, right? I hope you gave her a piece of your mind.”
Her eyes drifted to the floor, embarrassed. Her shoulders slumped.
“It’s okay, Mrs. O’Neil. Don’t beat yourself up over it. It sounds like they don’t know you at all. And that’s their loss.”He resumed scrubbing.
“That’s what I was thinking,” she shoutedwith a wince. She spoke again, quieter. “I’m sorry. That was so loud—”
“ Frankly, dear, I don’t give a damn, ” he said in his best Rhett Butler impression. “Nomore apologizing for little stuff like that. Be who you are. Don’t let people force you into some little box. This is your house. If you wanna be loud, girl… be loud .”He rinsed his sponge under the faucet. “You are allowed to take up spacein this world. You’re allowed to speak your mind.You’re allowed to exist freely. People can like it, or they can kick rocks. That’s their problem. Not yours.Remember, nobody puts baby in the corner .”
She snickered, but Will could see a hint of sadness in her smile. “You’re sweet. Thank you for listening. I know I talk your ear off when you’re over here.”
“I’m always happy to listen.”Will stood, abdomen rippling, and positioned himself on his knees at the other end of the large Jacuzzi to scour the other half. “We, as humans, need to be good to one another. And I, myself, have always depended on the kindness of strangers. ”
“Gone with the Wind?”
“Nah, Streetcar Named Desire. But not a bad guess.” Will wiped the sweat beading on his forehead with a cuffed forearm. “Is it hot in here to you?”
“I probably have the central heat cranked too high. I can go turn it down.”
“No. Please don’t trouble yourself. I’m almost done.”
Carlarolled up the sleeves of her blouse, feeling heat rise from beneath her buttoned collar as she watched his glorious body hard at work. “You always makeme forget what I’mtalking aboutwhen you get scrubbing like that.” A smile crept onto her full cheeks. “That little tuxedo get-up looks good on you. ”
“Thankyou. Ihad to special order it. I’m glad you approve.”
“I think it’s my new favorite.” She giggled. “I need to get you some of those underwear in every color.”
Will stopped scrubbing. Hiseyes followed the bruised flesh of her forearmup to amarking that looked eerily similar to a partialhandprint.
She followed his gaze and quickly pulled her sleevesback down.“That’s why they call me ‘Clumsy Carla,’always showing up with some new bruise,”she muttered unconvincingly.
Will setthe sponge down in the bottom of the tub before leaning back on his heels to face her. “Did you put that dent in the pantry door with your fist,too?”
Silence filled the room for a moment as Carla thought of a believable excuse. “I tripped over a bag of groceries. I tried to catch myself but ended up putting a hand almost straight through the darned thing. Pfft. Only Clumsy Carla .” She shook her head and swallowed hard, praying he believed her.
The disappointed look he offeredsaid he knewshe was lying.
Her shoulders sank further with defeat. “It’s fine. Just leave it.”
“You know you don’t have to stay, right? There are places you can go. Shelters. Afriend’s house. A hotel.Icouldtake you myself if you need a ride.”
Her eyebrows shifted, her face morphinginto an angry expression. “Are you kidding? Look around, Mr. Jessup. You see this house.Look at me. Hair styled. Nails manicured. Expensiveclothes. Financially, I’m set for life. My kids are set. They have a life I could never even dream of as a child.Do you think I could give them this kind of life on my own? I don’t even have a high school diploma.”
“Money isn’t everything, Mrs. O’Neil.” Will shook his head, frustrated. “Money doesn’t give people like your husband the right to hurt the people he issupposed to protect.”
“He does love me. And he adores the kids. He’d never hurt them.”
“You sure about that?” Will muttered.
“Trust me,Will.I’m no saint. Ican be infuriating. My mama always said I could make a preacher swear.”
“Oh, come on,” he grabbed her hand, “no woman deserves that, Carla. I don’t care what the circumstances. There’s no excuse whatsoever.”
She pulled her hand away and stood, crossing her arms defensively. “When things are good, they’re so good. The bad times are much more rare. That’s what marriage is.Through the good times and the bad, that’s what our vows said.He’s made some mistakes. We all have. He’s just stressed out with work right now.”
Will didn’t believe that this abuse was some sort of recentdevelopment. In fact,she wore long sleeves in the summertime,too, which always struck him as odd.
Now, it all made sense.
“I get that this isn’t an easy decision for you, but please consider what I said. When you’reready, I’ll happily be the one to take you wherever you need to go.”
She smiled weakly. “Thank you.”
Will nodded and looked around, trying to figure out what part of the already clean bathroom to pretend to scrub next.
“You won’t tell any of the other ladies, will you? You know how they like to talk.”
“No.” Will shook his head.“That’s your business. I’d never gossip like that or betray someone’s confidence.”
He knew now was not the time to push her. Now was the time to let his offermarinate. All he could do was hope.
He walked over to the mirror and hosed it down with blue glass spray. He pulled off some paper towels and started wiping, changing the subject as his thighs flexed to reach the higher spots.He watched in the reflection as Carla’s eyes locked back onto his body.“How’s Laura?”
“Oh, that daughter of mine’s gonna put me into an early grave. I swear, she is nothing like I was when I was her age.”
“Well, thankfully, she has a strong female role model to help guide her.”
Will let the words sink in, not saying anything more.
In the silence was the realization that Carla was, in fact, an example for her daughter. In the right ways…
And the wrong .
At that moment, fully dressed, she suddenly felt far more exposed, naked, and vulnerable than the man in front of her, wearing little more than a bow tie.