Chapter 8 #4
“Let her take you out for a spin,” I urged. “But put on a motion-sickness patch first.”
Luke insisted on walking us into the NGS, then kissed me full on the mouth. Martha’s eyes almost bugged out of her head. “I’ll pick you up later to take you to Roy’s,” he told me.
“Well, well, well,” Martha said, the second Luke left. “Looks like you have been keeping a little something close to the vest! Frankie and Charlie, head out over to the playground. I’m ready to hear you dish, honey!”
Martha fussed over my arm when she saw the bandage, but I didn’t tell her how it had happened.
Just an accident. She drove me home after my shift, and she and Charlie put together an overnight bag so he could have a sleepover with Frankie.
The kitchen cupboards were still bare, and Mike was gone.
I crossed my fingers that he had actually headed to Costco, but it was a long-shot.
Cassie was lying in bed, listlessly thumbing through library magazines.
“Hey,” I greeted her. “How are you feeling? Have you eaten today?”
She turned another page, then responded, “I’m not hungry.”
I set down a stack of new magazines and books we had checked out for her. “Where’s Mike?”
“Out.”
I huffed impatiently. “I can see that. I asked him to get us some groceries this morning.”
“Why can’t you do it?” Cassie asked me. “Isn’t that your job?”
That made me mad. “You mean, because I work at the NGS, or because I’m the responsible adult around here?” I responded, trying to keep my voice even.
“You do work at that horrible grocery store.” she said angrily, now sitting up and slapping the magazine shut. “I mean, why would you stick him with the shopping?”
“It’s cheaper to go to Costco. And it doesn’t seem like he’s so busy that he can’t get some food. He has eaten us out of house and home. And he has the only car around here.”
“He has it when you don’t take it. You know, I’m really sick of the way you’re treating Mike. You’re driving him away!” she snapped.
“What?” I was amazed. “You think I’m trying to make him leave? I’ve gone out of my way to be nice to him. He took my room and I didn’t even yell at him, for goodness sake!”
“‘For goodness sake,’” she mimicked in a high voice. “What are you, five years old?”
I took a deep breath. “Cass, it seems like you’re trying to pick a fight with me. I’m not sure what’s going on with you and Mike, and I’m sorry if you’re not getting along. But don’t take it out on me.”
“My relationship with my husband is none of your business. And don’t think he’s going to chauffer your ass tonight!” she told me.
“I don’t need his help. I have a ride.”
“With who?”
I bit my lip. This wasn’t going to go over well. “Luke.”
“Luke Whitaker is driving you around? Nice work, Emily. You move pretty fast.”
I flushed. “No, you don’t understand. He’s helping us out, Cass.”
“What is it that I don’t understand? I totally get that my sister is fucking my boyfriend.” She stared at me, then smiled triumphantly when I didn’t respond. “I knew it. You act like you’re a fucking nun, but even you couldn’t say no to a Whitaker.”
“Just shut up, ok? Can you just shut your nasty mouth, for once? I like him, Cassie! He’s a really great guy! Just because you screwed up your chance with him and got stuck with a loser…” Oops.
Cassie’s face turned bright red with anger. “Get out of here! You ugly, conniving little bitch! Get the hell out of here!”
I was breathing as if I had just gone for a run.
I went into my bedroom, which was a mess, and reeked of Mike.
Disgusting. I grabbed my old bookbag, and started stuffing clothes and makeup inside.
I wasn’t spending the night here on the couch with Charlie gone.
As I walked to the bathroom to grab the rest of my things, I paused slightly in front of Cassie’s open door.
But she didn’t say a word, and neither did I.
Fine. I was tired of being the bigger person.
I went down to the moon garden and aimlessly weeded, picked up sticks, and raked up more dead leaves from around the sprouting bulbs.
These were the early white narcissus; under the maple tree in the shady corner I saw the snowdrops coming up.
I ran my hand across their white buds. Cassie and I had talked about planting more tulip bulbs in the fall, and maybe a white peony bush.
But those were expensive items. I looked up at her window, and raised my hand in a wave.
Maybe she was watching. I was sorry now that we had fought.
Forgive, and you will be forgiven. I started to walk toward the house.
Luke’s Tahoe pulled into the driveway, crunching down the gravel.
“Hey,” he called, and I changed course and walked to meet him.
“Let me check.” He took my face in his hands, turning it back and forth.
“Nope, nothing on you today. No dirt, no price tags.” I hit him in the stomach and he let out an exaggerated “oof.”
“If you were a gentleman, you would have pretended to be blind to my faults,” I told him. “Nana instructed me to only spend my time with gentlemen, so I’m sorry, but.…”
“What faults?” he asked. “I thought that your dirty face was part of your charm.”
I laughed, and he leaned down and kissed me, pulling me close, reaching under my coat to grab my ass to pull me even closer. His hands were gripping and rubbing me, and I gasped into his mouth. He let go and lowered me back off my tiptoes, and brushed the hair out of my face. “Ready to go?”
“Uh-huh.” I threaded my fingers in his hair and pulled his mouth down to my neck.
“Not quite ready?” Luke bit my throat softly, then ran his tongue around my ear.
“Ohh…” I breathed out.
“We better get going, to get you there on time,” he whispered.
“Mmmm.” I was more interested in his tongue.
“You get loopy when I kiss you,” he said, pulling back. “I like that I drive you to incoherence.”
“Yes,” I muttered, trying to reach his lovely mouth, then giving up, and resting my cheek against his chest. “I guess we should go. Let me get my bag.” I still needed a break from the situation with Cassie and Mike.
I went back around the house to get my bookbag, and gave one last wave at Cassie’s window, hoping she would see me. “What’s the bag for?” Luke asked, as I hopped into the car.
“I’m going to spend the night at Tara’s. I think. Can I borrow your phone to ask her?”
Luke didn’t say anything, and he didn’t move to give me his phone. “You could spend the night at my house.”
I froze, staring at him, and he looked over and laughed. “I also like it when I make you blush.”
“I’m just hot in this coat,” I explained. “Sure, if you don’t mind, that would be good. I could spend the night at your house, you know, to sleep, and stuff.” Very casual. Excellent. My heart hadn’t gone into paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, not at all.
“Good,” he said, and reached over for my hand, which he brought to his mouth for a kiss on my knuckle.
We parked at Roy’s, then Luke planted himself at a corner table to watch over the customers and glower at them. “Tell your boyfriend that if he wants to sit at a table, he’s gotta order,” Roy told me. “And where’s your shirt?”
I was wearing a grey University of Michigan t-shirt that left a lot more to the imagination than the neon one of his design.
“It got a lot of blood on it, from my arm,” I explained.
“I can’t wash it out.” Which was true: I couldn’t really wash out the blood when the shirt was at the bottom of the trash can in Nana’s garage.
He made an angry huffing sound. “Maybe for the best. Maybe you got too much attention in that getup.” He scowled at me.
“I’m not letting that piece of shit pretty-boy in again, so don’t worry.
I’ve always got my girls’ backs in my place.
How’s the arm?” Roy, at 5’7” and about 130 pounds, was not someone who filled me with confidence in the protection game.
But he had come up big for me the previous night.
“Thanks, Roy. My arm is fine. Don’t worry, no workers’ comp claim.” He looked horrified, and I went to get a beer to put on Luke’s table.
Everything was going much more smoothly than the night before. The regulars, who had seen the dust-up the previous night and who were curiously eyeing Luke, gave me a wide berth.
Towards the end of my shift, I heard the tired sounds of my least favorite Australian band. “Roy!” I hollered across the bar at the end of the night. “AC/DC!”
Hank was leaned over the jukebox, “Hells Bells” blasting away. “You take it this time,” he ordered me.
I went over to Hank, and shook his shoulder. “Hank, you know our AC/DC policy. Three songs tops, then you’re cut off.” I shook him harder. “Hank!”
He leaned off the side of the jukebox, and vomited all over my legs and feet.
“Ugh!” I stood in shock, puke-covered shock, as Hank gracefully sank to my feet. Again, everything in the bar stopped, all eyes turned on me.
“You just can’t catch a break, can you, sugar?” Roy said, handing me a bar towel. He reached and turned Hank on his side. “I’ll get his wife. LAST CALL, EVERYONE!”
I was still standing frozen, jeans and Docs covered in hot, beer-filled barf.
It was in my apron pockets. I gagged, and almost threw up too.
I wheeled around and went into the ladies’ room, and emptied the paper towel dispenser trying to clean myself up.
It was useless. The smell of me was absolutely revolting.
I fruitlessly pulled my jeans away from my skin, trying to dry them, and in the confines of the dirty bathroom, with the garbage can filled with paper towels covered in puke, I nearly retched again.
When I came out into the bar, it was empty except for Roy and Luke. “I let him stay,” Roy hooked a thumb at Luke. “Now both of you get out. I have to hose down the floor.”
We walked across the parking lot to his car. I kept my distance.