Chapter 11
Our summer on the beach drifted by. By late July, we were pretty well recovered, at least physically. I was freckled and actually a little tan. Jessie had darkened to a nice nut brown, and our scars were various shades of pink. After a damp two-night outing we broke camp and rode our bikes back to the house. We needed to wash our clothes and restock our food supplies.
Right away, we knew something was up. The lawn was mowed, Dad’s truck was gone, and I momentarily wondered if he had moved away without us.
But our furniture was still inside. There was fresh fruit in the kitchen and pop in the fridge. There were no bottles on Dad’s nightstand, and the trash cans were empty. The beds had clean sheets, though they weren’t made to military standards.
While Jessie showered, I unpacked the funky clothes and sleeping bags downstairs.
“It’s amazing how much crud one body can carry,” Sis laughed when she came out.
Still wrapped in a towel, Jessie made us some scrambled eggs while I took my turn in the shower. Where my shorts blocked the sun, my skin was still white as bone. And she was right; there was an awful lot of sand and dirt.
A warm, muggy breeze ghosted through the kitchen window as we ate our lunch and tried to figure out what was going on. We read each other’s faces.
Jessie’s look said she was scared. “Maybe Aunt Mel had him kidnapped,” she tried to joke.
“More likely the women from the church,” I grinned. My eyes told her not to worry, but her face didn’t believe me.
“It’s not funny, Cory, what could’ve happened, really?”
“Don’t have a clue, but we should stay home tonight in case he comes back.” Then I realized I’d said aloud that he might not return. “I mean, in case he comes back late.” Her eyes weren’t fooled by that.
I was folding clothes from the drier when I heard Dad’s truck pull in. I bounded up the stairs, almost crashing into Jessie at the back door.
“Dad?”
But it wasn’t Dad. A heavyset, older man with suspenders and a walrus mustache was getting out of a rental car from the airport. A thin, white-haired woman was emerging from the far side. They didn’t look like social workers from Child Protective Services, but my adrenalin was pumping anyway. Whoever they were, this wasn’t good.
“See, Maw? Told yah they’d be back.” His voice sounded vaguely familiar.
“A few days late,” she said. “We were worried about you two.”
He shut the car door and winked. “Maw was worried. I told her yah knew how ta take care of yerselves.”
The woman pursed her lips. “Well, don’t be rude, you old fart. Introduce yourself before they run us off.”
A kind, slightly weary smile appeared under the mustache. I noticed that he remained standing by the car, and hadn’t taken a step toward us.
“Judge Daniel Franks, retired, at your service.”
I remembered the name – he was a friend of Dad’s from the Army, like Father John at St. Ann’s. We’d talked to him on the phone a few times, but never met. He lived out in Denver or somewhere. What was he doing here, and where was Dad? I felt Jessie’s hand slip into mine.
“If you’re who you say, prove it,” she challenged.
“You’re Jessie. Your Dad warned me that you’d be suspicious.” He scratched the side if his face as if stumped, but his smile widened a little. “Let’s see... proof... Well, I think the last time we talked was when I called to say happy birthday to both of you. You’re good at karate but wouldn’t be caught dead in a cheerleader outfit. You love French toast and despise oatmeal. Oh, and only your Dad gets to call you Bug, and even then not in front of your friends.”
We exchanged a look that meant he was legit.
“Where’s Dad? Is he okay?” I asked.
“Yeah, he’s okay. If you’ll humor me with some coffee, I’ll explain.”
Jessie and I looked at each other and silently agreed that it was alright.
While the percolator bubbled on the stove, we settled into the living room. The Judge and Maw took the sofa. Jessie took Dad’s chair, and I stood beside her so I’d be dominant. Dad said that was part of establishing the power in a relationship.
As if reading my mind, the Judge said, “Have a seat, kid. You’re not in charge right now.”
The weight of his presence was reassuring, and I was relieved to sit on the floor in front of Jessie.
“He’s an imperious old bag of dirty socks,” the lady apologized, “but he’s harmless. Since he’s forgotten his manners, I’ll introduce myself. Please call me Grace. You go by Cory and Jessie, right?”
We nodded. Grace turned to the Judge and said, “Well?”
He hrumfed, then conceded, “You kids can call me... Daniel.” Grace looked surprised and pleased.
“Okay kids, here’s the situation,” he began. “Your Dad’s in rehab. He needs a few weeks to git the liquor out of his system, and to rethink his priorities.”
Jess and I exchanged a look and agreed that it was a good step. I spoke for us. “We’re glad. He needs help, and we couldn’t...”
“Wasn’t your job, kid. You two done just fine.”
“Well, I want to talk to him.” Jessie said.
“They won’t let you get calls while you’re in rehab.”
She looked to me for confirmation. I nodded – it seemed plausible.
He looked a little uncomfortable. “Yer dad suggested that ya could go live with your Aunt Mel for a while...”
I felt Jessie grip my shoulder from behind. This was very bad news. I’d rather chew barbed wire than stay with her.
“But I’ve met your Aunt Mel,” he continued, “...and I think she’s a...”
“Paw! Watch your words.”
“...a fine woman, but perhaps an inappropriate choice for the job,” he finished, patting Grace’s knee reassuringly.
“So where does that leave us?” Jessie asked.
“Well, here’s the thing. I’m short a cupla hands this summer and could really use some help. If you kids wouldn’t mind pitchin’ in with the chores, you’re welcome to come out visit me and the missus for a while.”
“You want us to go out to Denver with you?”
“Denver?” he scoffed, “Denver’s for city folk, kid. But yeah, come out to the sea bar sea.”
“The what?”
“C-Bar-C. It’s the name of the ranch. Up by Steamboat Springs.”
“And if we refuse?” Jessie asked.
Daniel shrugged. “Like I said, there’s always your Aunt Mel’s place.”
“We’ve been just fine on our own,” Sis said, “We don’t need a babysitter.”
The Judge seemed to ponder that a bit. “I agree, Jessie, you don’t. You’ve proved to be mature and mighty resourceful.” I felt her relax a little behind me.
“If it was jus’ upta me,” he went on, “I’d tell ya to keep up the good work and I’d get outa your hair.”
“But?”
“But for your Daddy’s sake, you need to at least pretend ya have some supervision, or he could be in a boatload o’trouble.”
“What do you mean?”
“Some folk might think he’s been... neglectful.” He paused for the full effect of that word to sink in. “That’s a serious charge against a parent.”
I looked back at Jess. She thought about that.
“For what it’s worth, Jess, I think it might be fun.” Then to Daniel, “You’ve got horses, right?”
“Yep, we board a few for the rodeo in town, and we’ve got a couple of our own that’re fit for riding.”
“You’ll teach us how to ride?”
“Yes, Jessie,” Grace said, “As a matter of fact, it’s kinda required at our spread.”
Jessie looked at me to confirm it. “Okay, I guess. Deal,” she said.
“Good, that’s settled. Now somebody get me some black coffee before I die of thirst.”
Grace made
us a nice dinner. It was weird having normal food, but it tasted good. After supper, Jess and I put the sleeping bags in the drier and hung the tent in the basement to air out.
“Daniel said we can fly out tomorrow morning.”
“I don’t like the idea of them sleeping in Dad’s bed,” she said.
“They aren’t going to. They’ve been staying at the Breakers, and I told them we’d be fine tonight.”
“And they said okay? Really?”
“Really. They seem alright.”
“Maybe we should run while we can.”
“I promised we wouldn’t. If it gets out what we’ve been doing, CPS could charge Dad with abandonment. I don’t like it either, but they’re right. We have to at least pretend to be supervised.”
Her shoulders slumped.
“It’s not fair. I wish we were adults now.”
“Me too, Jess. We’re not even teenagers, but we’re more responsible than a lot of so-called grown-ups.”
“I’m going to miss...” Her eyes spoke volumes.
“Yeah, me too. I’m glad we get one last night alone, just you and me.”
“They probably won’t let us sleep together anymore, huh?”
“No, probably not. It’ll be weird.”
“Everything will be weird, Cory.”
“I think it’s going to be okay, Sis. I get a good feeling about Daniel; I like that he knew not to sit in Dad’s chair.”
“You noticed that, too, huh?”
After the Franks left for the motel, we brushed our teeth and got ready for bed. The fresh sheets were soft, and felt good against my clean skin. They smelled like bleach.
I lifted the quilt and Jess slid in next to me, wearing just her panties, as usual. When I switched off the lamp on the nightstand and turned back, Jessie was still sitting up, looking at me.
“What?”
She didn’t say anything, but reached her hand around the back of my neck. Then she leaned in and kissed me, right on the lips! It was soft and tasted like toothpaste. She didn’t release me right away, but just smiled and stared into my eyes. I didn’t know what to make of it, but it was kind of enjoyable, so I smiled back.
She let go and lay down on her back. “I’ve wanted to do that for...” but decided not to say how long.
“Cool,” I said. “That was nice.”
“Yeah. I thought this might be my last chance for a while.”
I slid down and pulled up the blanket. Normally this was when she’d turn away and I’d curl up around her. But tonight she stayed facing me. We looked at each other across the pillows. She reached for me and we held each other close. It was a lot different from spooning.
“D’ya want to try it again?” she whispered.
“Try what?”
“Kissing.”
“Okay.”
So we did, and it was even better. Minutes slipped by as our lips embraced each other. We didn’t know what we were doing, but it didn’t matter. Our noses bumped. I brushed the hair from her face. My heart was beating hard, as if I’d been running.
“Cory...” she started. She seemed uneasy.
“What is it?”
“I want to... I want... more.”
“You mean... again?”
“No... More.”
I felt her clean, dark skin against mine and my stomach fluttered. Her hand trembled a little when she rested it on my hip. My cotton boxers suddenly seemed so thin.
“Like what?”
“That’s just it. I don’t know what, exactly. Just more.”
My heart was beating even faster.
“Um, yeah, me, too.”
“Like maybe we could take our underpants off?”
My body was excited and I shuddered.
“You mean…?”
“I think it would be different with you,” she whispered.
I pictured the things she’d told me about the orphanage… There was an urgency inside me I had never known, something visceral and terrifying. I wanted to give in. I wanted to grab her hard and…
“Sissy, I’m too scared.”
“Why?”
“I think right now I could hurt you. I think it would make you afraid of me.”
“Afraid of you?”
“It could ruin everything.”
“You really think so?”
“Yeah. I do. Even kissing could be...”
“What?” She searched my eyes.
I wasn’t sure what it might be, so I said, “Dangerous.”
“Are you sure? I think it would be nice.”
“No, I’m sure.”
She buried her face in my neck as my heart pumped every vein to overflowing. We lay like that for a few minutes, flushed and aching for more.
She sighed. “Alright, but can we be dangerous again?”
“Okay, but then you have to turn around.”
“Deal.”
This kiss was deep and hungry, lingering, neither of us wanting it to end. But it did, and as promised, she rolled over, pulling my arm tight around her.
Just like always, I whispered, “Goodnight, Jess, I love you.” She didn’t reply, but I heard her smile.