“I just… Liz. I didn’t ask, I just acted. W-what if… What if I end up likehim,” I got out, finally naming my worst fear, but unable to bring myself to say Ricky’s name. I dropped my hands into my still damp hair, grabbing it tightly. Over the years I'd shared my whole story with Lizzie, so she knew damn well who I meant when I said “him”.
“Oh Bug,” she said, her voice low with sympathy. “I wish I could get you to see yourself the way I see you. You are not now, nor ever could be, anything like your uncle.”
I sighed. I wanted her to be right. Hoped she was, even. But I kept remembering the look on Lee’s face when he’d told me I’d been out of line…
“Speaking of family,” I said, deciding a change of topic was in order, “How’s your mom doing?”
“Smooth, Mason. Real smooth. I’ll allow you to get away with sucha clumsy transition just this once, because she’s much better,” Lizzie answered. “We finally got her blood sugar levels under control. They’re talking about installing an insulin pump to help before she goes home.”
Lizzie’s Mom had been a type II diabetic for most of her life. Lizzie had planned to come with me to Akron, but two days before we were supposed to leave, Lizzie found her mom unconscious in her apartment with sky high blood sugar levels. If Lizzie hadn’t been there, she would have died.
“I’m glad she’s doing better, LizzieB,” I said. Lizzie’s mom was a sweetheart. She’d raised Lizzie as a single mother and the two were very close. We’d spent many college weekends at their townhouse in Seattle.
I’d shared an apartment with Lizzie for most of our college years, but she had finally gotten her own place once she graduated. I’m sure that me walking in on Lizzie and her boyfriend, Everett, having sex in the living room one morning had nothing to do with that decision…Right…
We chatted for a few more minutes, but I knew she had to be at work soon, though it was only 11 a.m. my time. Time zones were a bitch.
Lizzie worked for Crowe International Talent Management in Seattle. She represented a number of artists, writers and performers, though she always insisted I was her favorite…
We finally said goodbye and I decided I needed to get some work done. The next few hours were spent working on my upcoming graphic novel. Dark Angel II introduced a lot of new characters and I was a little behind on completing character profiles and sketches.
I took my things out to the kitchen, powered up my laptop, and went to work. Every now and again I was distracted by some random animal wandering across the backyard. So far, I’d seen squirrels, both black and brown, birds of all colors, and some little mini squirrel-like creatures running over the deck. This whole place was so different from anything I’d ever experienced before – I really had thought that nature shows and whatnot were bullshit, but after watching all thecritters today and listening to the tiny squirrels chitter and yell at the birds, it made me smile.
A long time later, I came out of the fog that usually descended on me when I worked. My stomach was growling, and a glance at the clock told me it was almost 5 p.m. I smiled down at the pictures I’d drawn and the outline I’d completed. I’d gotten alotof work accomplished today.
Lee’s note said he’d be home at 6 p.m. Maybe I could make dinner by way of apology? I took a look at the contents of his refrigerator and the cupboards. I spied some ground beef, pasta, and tomato sauce. Spaghetti, maybe? It was one of the few meals I really knew how to cook. I got the ground beef out of the refrigerator and started it cooking. I found bread in the pantry and was delighted to discover a whole lazy Susan full of spices. Not that I knew what to do with anything except cinnamon or garlic, but still…
Within a few minutes, the house started to smell amazing. The pasta was boiling on the stove and I'd just got done brushing the garlic butter I’d made on the bread and putting it into the oven to toast when I heard the door to the front of the house open.
I’d successfully managed to avoid thinking about what I was going to say to Lee all day. Guess my reprieve was over.
13
Lee
Longest.Day.Ever.
I’d taken a number of my regulars out and about today, which always made me feel good. While I’d really rather have stayed home, I hadn’t been ready to face Mason this morning when my alarm went off, so I figured I might as well get some work done.
I’d just dropped a couple of my regulars, Vivian and Sarah, off at their house. They were teenagers who attended a charter school for kids on the autism spectrum. Both of them were smart as whips, but had struggled in the public school system.
Their current school had much smaller classes and teachers specially trained in helping kids learn to manage their education. The state paid for the charter school, but didn’t provide busing, when the kids lived in a different county. Their parents needed someone to pick them up most days, and that person had become me.
Vivian, as always, had her nose buried in her phone. Sarah, the much more outgoing of the two, kept up a constant chatter about school all the way home.
I'd just dropped them off when my phone beeped with an incoming message.
KAINE: Hey slacker! Whatcha’ up to?
ME: Just dropping off some kids. Why?
KAINE: You want lunch?
ME: Dude, it’s 3 o’clock!
KAINE: So? I just got up. Be glad I didn’t call it breakfast.
I laughed. Kaine was going to school days and working nights at a gay bar downtown called The Belt.
