Chapter Nine
L evi and Dana spent as much time together as they could over the next week. Which was a lot. They didn’t see each other much during the day, except at lunch and other odd times. But the nighttime after the workers left was their time. They spent it making love, talking, discussing the house plans, eating, watching a little TV, and making love some more. The nights they didn’t make love they still spent together. In fact, Dana had only stayed at her place once since she and Levi had gotten back together. Levi had been surprised and a little worried by how much he’d missed her for just one night. Damn, he had it worse now than he ever had before.
One night they were having lasagna, which Muriel had made and left for them for dinner. The workers had stayed until after eight that night, so they ate dinner fairly late. Muriel’s lasagna was one of Levi’s favorite meals so he dug in with gusto.
“Hey, do you want to go to the movies tomorrow night?” Dana asked him.
“You mean at the Palace in town?” The Palace was Whiskey River’s original movie theater, which had been revitalized a few years before. They showed an eclectic mix of movies. The new ones showed at the movie complex on the outskirts of town, one that people from other small towns in the area frequented as well.
“Yes.”
“Depends. What kind of movie?” Right now he was a lot more interested in lasagna than in movies. He hoped it wasn’t one of those foreign films with subtitles. Those were so not his thing.
“I’ve heard it’s really good.”
“You know I’m not into those foreign films.”
“It’s not foreign. But it’s not the kind you usually like.”
Code if he’d ever heard it. “So it’s a horror movie. No way. But don’t let me stop you from going.”
“It’s not exactly horror. But it’s a little scary.”
Marginally better but not much. “Scary as in a thriller?” Those he could deal with. Usually.
“It’s not a thriller.”
“Sounds like horror to me.”
“I don’t know, Levi,” she said, sounding exasperated. “I’ve just heard it’s really good. And only one person thought it was terribly scary.”
“One person out of how many?”
“Two,” she admitted.
It did not sound at all like something he wanted to see. He put down his fork, suddenly not very hungry. “Sorry. Nope. Why don’t you go with one of your girlfriends?”
She looked at him for a long moment, then shrugged. “All right.” She ate a little bit and then asked, “Have you always disliked horror movies? And scary ones?”
Always? Why go to a movie that scared the shit out of you when you got to experience that every night at home? “Yes.”
“Why?”
Couldn’t she tell he didn’t want to talk about this? Dana wasn’t usually dense, but she was sure working on it now. “Do I have to have a reason?”
“Most people do.”
He told himself to be reasonable. She was talking about movies, for God’s sake. He should be able to talk about movies without losing it. He’d come to terms with his past. At least, he thought he had. But some things still got to him. He couldn’t put into words the way he’d felt when he was little and heard his parents fighting. Throwing things, yelling, and God help him if he got in their way. One was as likely as the other to knock the hell out of him if he so much as showed his face. Then later, after his mother left, he’d dread every night, wondering when his father would come home. When he did he was drunk, always. Sometimes, times Levi would pray for, he’d just pass out. But the other times he’d think up any excuse to beat the hell out of Levi. Or he’d go after Asher and Levi would put himself between them, even though Asher begged him not to do it. He’d never talked to Dana about that shit and he didn’t intend to start now. So he said, “They’re too realistic.”
“Realistic? Horror movies are too realistic?”
“That’s what I said. Now can we drop the goddamn subject?”
Dana stared at him. Then she put her hand on his arm and squeezed gently. “I’m sorry, Levi. I really didn’t mean to upset you.”
He shrugged. “It’s no big deal.” Did it count as no big deal if he wished to hell it wasn’t?
“Obviously it is. And I’m sorry.”
He should give her some kind of explanation. It wasn’t Dana’s fault he’d had a shitty childhood. “They remind me of when I was a kid,” he finally said.
“Because you saw a lot of those movies then?”
“No. Because I lived them.”
He expected her to ask for more details. And he braced himself, trying to think of how much or how little to tell her. But she surprised him. She had a way of doing that. Instead of demanding answers, she simply squeezed his arm. Then she got up, pushed back his chair and sat in his lap. And hugged him, still without speaking. A comforting hug. A loving hug.
Levi’s throat started to close up. He buried his face in the crook of her neck and held on. He swallowed the lump in his throat, horrified that he felt so close to crying. He’d cried when he thought Asher would die but that was the only time since he was a kid that he’d done it. It wasn’t an experience he wanted to repeat.
For the life of him, he couldn’t think of anything to say. Dana released him, took his face in her hands and kissed him. So damn sweetly.
“Dana, I—”
She put a finger to his lips. “You don’t have to say anything.” She kissed him again, then got off his lap and held out her hand. “Let’s go for a swim.”
“It’s a little cool tonight,” he managed to say.
“It’s a heated pool. Besides, I know of a great way to stay warm.”
“Oh? How’s that?”
“I’ll have to show you.”
“That sounds like a plan,” he said and followed her out the door.
*
A couple of days later Levi was waiting for Dana to return with some takeout for dinner when his doorbell rang. He checked his app and saw Travis on the doorstep. “Be there in a minute,” he said into the intercom. Sometimes he let Minerva unlock the doors for him but most of the time he liked to answer it himself.
“I come bearing gifts,” Travis said.
Levi let Travis inside, taking the six-pack of beer he held out. “So I see. What’s the occasion?”
“Tobi and I are getting married.”
“Congratulations but that’s not exactly shocking news. You’ve been living together for months now. Come on,” Levi said, leading the way to the den. He’d always called it the den and Dana agreed the word fit the room best. Once there he took out a couple of beers, handed Travis one and put the rest in the refrigerator.
“We set a date. A week from this coming Saturday.”
Levi rubbed his jaw. “Well, when you make up your mind you don’t mess around. Why so soon?” A possible reason for haste dawned on him. “Is Tobi pregnant?”
Travis laughed. “No, nothing like that. Like you said, we’ve been together for months. This is making it official.”
“We should toast,” Levi said, holding up his beer. “To you and Tobi.”
They tapped beer cans and Travis continued, “The ceremony is going to be at our house, so it will be small. Then we’ll have a blow-out party-slash-reception at Blue, the restaurant at the winery.”
“That’s a great place.”
“Yeah, it’s one of our favorites. They had a cancellation for a party they were hosting that night, so we took it. Seemed like it was meant to be. Well, except Tobi’s mother and my mother kind of had a stroke because we’re going to have to email the invites to the reception. Apparently, since Laurel and Zack didn’t give Mom enough time to mail invites to their wedding she’s decided I can’t do that to her again. We were going to call people for the ceremony but the moms talked us into sending mail invites for that. Tobi’s at home addressing them right now.”
“Which is why you’re here.”
Travis tried to look innocent. “My handwriting sucks.”
“Tobi’s a doctor. Her handwriting probably sucks too.”
Travis laughed. “True, but someone has to do it. But that’s not the only reason I came over.”
“Okay, why did you then?”
“Will you stand up for me? Harlan is going to be my best man but I’d like you and Zack to stand up with me too.”
“Sure. Thanks for asking me.” He and Travis shook hands and Levi clapped him on the shoulder. “I’m happy for you two, Travis.” Marriage. Almost everyone he knew was getting married or was already married.
“Thanks. I can’t believe it’s finally going to happen.”
Dana came in to the den carrying two large white paper sacks. “I brought Chinese. Oh, hi, Travis. I thought that was your truck. There’s plenty if you want to stay.”
“Thanks but I’ve got plans with Tobi.” He made a face. “Writing out invitations. Aren’t you working pretty late?”
Levi and Dana exchanged a glance and Levi lifted his shoulders. “She’s not working.”
“Oh, then—Oh,” Travis repeated, his expression clearing. “I get it.”
“You always were quick,” Levi commented dryly .
Travis ignored that comment. “Dana, I was just telling Levi that Tobi and I are getting married a week from Saturday.”
“Congratulations! That’s wonderful, Travis.”
“Thanks. We’re pretty pumped about it. You’re invited to the ceremony as well as the reception. Levi can tell you the details but you should get an invite in the mail for the ceremony. Gotta go.” He winked at Levi. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
“I didn’t know there was anything you wouldn’t do,” Levi said.
“There is that,” Travis said with a grin. “Don’t get up. I’ll show myself out.”
Dana began taking paper boxes and covered plastic dishes from the sacks and putting them on his coffee table. “Don’t you have something to put this stuff on so it won’t ruin the table?”
The table was one of Gabe Walker’s creations. Made of a beautiful oak with a blue resin “river” bisecting it, the table was, like all of Gabe’s work, unique. “It’s covered with epoxy resin. Nothing’s going to hurt it. Well, unless you take an axe to it. That would probably mess it up.”
“I should have thought of that. It’s a gorgeous table.” She ran a hand over the smooth top.
“Gabe’s work always is,” Levi told her.
“Tell me you didn’t win it in a poker game.”
Levi grinned. “No, I paid for it. ”
“I thought he mostly worked with metal?”
“Usually he does. Occasionally he’ll make something in wood.”
“I hope you’re hungry. I got Kung Pao chicken, Mongolian beef, fried rice, eggrolls, and crab rangoons.”
“Sounds great.” He glanced at her. “So, now that Travis knows about you and me the whole town’s going to know.”
“Is that a bad thing?”
“Not for me,” he said.
“Not for me either,” Dana said.