Standing In Shadows - 12. Chapter 12

SIS 12

The next morning I woke up with the sun shining in my window. I didn’t know what time it was as I fumbled across the hall to the bathroom. Nearly forgetting the cast completely, I stepped into the shower, just to turn around and try to wrap it in plastic by myself. I didn’t want to bother Dad, not with his weight on his mind, he would probably explode with any request or prodding.

After my shower I hesitated in my room in my towel. Not having a plan for the day, I didn’t know how I was going to dress. I wasn’t going to look for Clinton, not after what happened in his kitchen. Mostly, it had embarrassed me, since I didn’t stand up for myself and walked out the front door. He didn’t defend me, but it really wasn’t his place to. We weren’t really friends and him and Cj are. I didn’t even know if I wanted to be his friend, I couldn’t really trust him not to fall into line behind Cj; I wasn’t going to end up in the river again.

Finally getting dressed in a pair of khaki shorts and a polo, I slipped into a pair of old flip-flops I had in the back of the closet and rarely worn. My hair was just long enough to fuss over with a comb, but I just smoothed it down with the palm of my hand. Sighing, I saw the Apron I sometimes wore to work with my name on it hanging on the doorknob of my closet door, it had been there since Mom fired me for the summer. At least time passed at work, now that I had nothing to do the days and summer would drag on. The freedom of my last football season and my last year of high school seemed like it would never come, let alone pass.

When I finally did leave the house, I didn’t see Dad anywhere around. It almost made me want to turn around and go back inside, but there wasn’t really anything to do in the house either. It would be better to be at least outside when Dad came home. It was the first time this summer the old man had really left the property and I was thinking about where he had gone as I sat on the porch swing, the humid hot hair making it difficult to breathe, even in the early morning.

Not long after I settled into the swing though, Jenny drove past the driveway, then quickly put the car in reverse and backed into the drive. I stood and walked to the end of the porch, I hadn’t seen her for a few days as she stepped out of her car. She had a frown on her face as she waved me over to her car and I wondered if she was about to yell at me as I made my way over to her car.

She ignored me though and opened the back door of her car and I heard high pitched whines coming from the open door. When I stood by the door a little brown puppy with one blue eye fell out of the car and rolled into the grass. It made a little thump then made its way cheerfully over to my feet. I danced when it began to lick my toes, but Jenny picked up the puppy and held it in her arms.

“Can you believe some ass left them in a box on the side of the road?” She asked as I looked into the car and saw four more puppies looking back at me.

“Dumped?” I asked and she nodded.

“The poor things couldn’t even get out of the box, let alone find water,” Jenny answered putting the puppy back into the car and carefully closing the door. All the windows in her car was cracked, but in this weather it wouldn’t matter

“What are you going to do with them?” I asked still glancing at them in the car. After she shut the door the whining became louder as they all wanted out.

“Well since you looked free, I thought you could help me,” Jenny answered with smile as she leaned against the car. “I was going to go shopping, but saw them on the way.”

“Why do you need my help?” I asked not knowing how I could be of any help. I hadn’t had a dog or a pet that really counted. Dad figured it was easy enough to take care of goldfish, so he allowed me to have those. None of my goldfish though had lasted over a few weeks, so I gave up on ever owning a pet.

“Well you can come with me, silly,” she said, “I need to get them to the vet first, then we need to find them homes!”

“I don’t know,” I hesitated trying to think of any lie to get me out of going. The whining of the puppies were getting to me though and the brown that had rolled out of the car, was now standing up in the seat looking out at me from the car window. Jenny was teasing it with her finger and it gave a happy little bark as it chased her finger, frustrated that it couldn’t get to it through the glass.

“Please,” Jenny said her eyes hopeful that I was about to say agree.

“Oh, alright,” I said and she clapped her hands and opened the door. I walked around and got into the passenger seat. I barely had me seat belt fastened when she pulled out of the drive onto the street, heading towards town.

“Sorry, Dr. Pflum was expecting me about ten minutes ago,” Jenny said and I shrugged looking through the rear view mirror at the five puppies. They were all trying to keep their balance through the curves, that Jenny sped through. I hoped none of them were getting as car sick as I felt, I didn’t think I could take any of them puking in the back seat. When I saw one of them squat and pee on the seat, I glanced toward Jenny, expecting her to complain about her sudden good deed.

“The white one peed on the seat,” I said and she let out a small sigh.

“I thought they would,” she said, “I couldn’t leave them in that cramped box though, it was disgusting.”

“I’ll help you clean the car after we get rid of them,” I offered and saw a tight frown cross her face.

“Get rid of them Corey?” She asked, glancing at me. “Not the best words to use.”

“Well, find them new homes I mean,” I said, it seemed to satisfy her as we entered town.

By the time we arrived at the clinic, four of them had used the bathroom in the car and it was starting to stink of urine. I hurried out of the door to get fresh air, but Jenny seemed to ignore the smell and opened the back door, picking up two of the puppies. She handed them to me and wrangled the other three into her arms. I fumbled with the door and held it open with my back as she slid inside, touching my crotch with her ass, something I didn’t think was necessary since we had plenty of room.

“Ah, Jenny, are these your new charges?” A woman at the front desk said as she walked around to take one of the struggling puppies from Jenny.

“Yep,” Jenny said, “found them on the same dirt road as all the others.”

“That does seem to be the place to drop them, isn’t it?” The receptionist asked, with a similar frown Jenny had when she told the story of where she found the puppies. “At least you have help this time and a nice looking young man at that.”

“Oh Molly,” Jenny said her face flushing slightly. “This is Corey, a friend from school.”

“Nice to meet you, I’m Molly, the vet-tech, receptionist here,” she said then she nodded her head for us to follow her through a white swinging door. We entered a small room where we sat the puppies down in the floor. They started to explore the small room. It had a scale to take their weight a few other utensils I wasn’t really familiar with already in the room.

“Dr. Pflum wants the works done on them,” Molly said as she looked down at her feet. “Is that ok with you Jenny?”

“Of course,” she said, “they probably haven’t had any shots or anything.”

“Ok, I’ll run and tell him you’re here, then I’ll have you start the paperwork,” Molly said then she turned and left us alone in the small white room. My eyes darted around to the various posters on the walls. They were mostly ads for flea medicine. Jenny was quiet, but when I turned to look at her I noticed her watching me. The puppies were still sniffing around the room, but they had slowly started coming back to us, licking my feet and wanting to be petted by Jenny.

“Calm down Corey, I meant what I said about just being friends,” she said offering me a smile.

“It wasn’t that,” I lied sitting down and picking the little brown puppy with the blue eye into my lap.

“I think she likes you,” Jenny said as the puppy started licking my fingers with her small tongue. She had lighter brown spots around her face and lighter brown socks on her paws.

“Don’t say that, you’ll make we want to keep her,” I said smiling down at the puppy in my lap.

“Well why don’t you?” She asked, “I’m thinking about keeping the white one.”

“Dad would flip,” I answered and Jenny rolled her eyes. “I’ll be in college soon too, it wouldn’t be right.”

“We’ll see,” she said still looking at me, “I bet by the end of the day you won’t be able to let her go.”

Dr. Pflum opened the door followed by Molly with a small stack of papers after that. Molly gently closed the door and they both dodged the puppies that scattered underneath their feet trying to keep out of the way.

“So Jenny, five new ones I see,” Dr. Pflum said as he adjusted is large, thick lensed glasses to the end of his nose. He picked up the bravest puppy that was jumping around his feet. It was the largest, solid black with two blue eyes. He placed the puppy on the table as Molly handed her the papers on a clipboard. Then Molly grabbed a second clipboard and looked ready to jot down any notes Dr. Pflum had for her.

“Young man, could you hold this little guy while I put a collar on him?” He said turning to me. I put the little brown puppy down and grabbed hold of the black one on the table. Dr. Pflum put a small white collar on it. It had a set of numbers and letters on a wider strip at the top. He read the numbers off to Molly who scribbled them down on the top of the first sheet. When the collar was on, Dr. Pflum gave me a slight nod, then took the puppy over to the scale as I sat back down.

“He’s of good weight Jenny,” he said then started checking the heartbeat, and lungs of the puppy. I grimaced when he brought out a series of shots. The puppy only whined a little as he was jabbed with the last one. “Now for the crucial Parvo virus test.”

“I hate this part,” Jenny whispered turning to look at me. “Parvo is almost always a death sentence.”

“How many times have you done this?” I asked looking over her writing on the form.

“About four or five times since I got my lisence,” she answered and I raised my eyebrows. It changed what I thought about Jenny. The preppy, cheerleader with bouncy red curls, that looped her arm with mine all year faded slightly. She definitely had more to her than I gave her credit for and it made me feel bad for ignoring her and a bit more guilty for not going to Junior Prom. I couldn’t picture any of her friends or her sister doing anything like this, wasting their time in a vet clinic, paying for the care of puppies when they could be out buying the latest cell phone or shopping for clothes they didn’t need. Mom thought that sort of thing was wasteful and I had agreed with her, but I knew Mom would approve of Jenny spending her money like this though.

A few minutes later Dr. Pflum announced that the first puppy was clean of any viruses. Then the puppy got a few more shots, to prevent it from getting them. A third person entered, a young woman and took the black puppy out of the room as Dr. Pflum started the second examination on a small white and black puppy. It was the only one that didn’t have a blue eye.

With each clean check-up and round of shots I noticed Jenny relaxing. It was my turn to be nervous when Dr. Pflum reached into my lap and scooped up the puppy that I had been holding. It caused me to jump, but he didn’t seem to notice the invasion of space. I stood, frowning when I noticed my hands were shaking, but all the other puppies had been fine, so the last one should be as well. I heard Jenny giggling behind me as she stood, done filling out the paperwork.

“What’s entertaining you Jenny?” Dr. Pflum asked eyeing her over the top of his glasses, then paused to listen to the puppy’s breathing.

“I bet Corey that he’ll adopt her,” Jenny answered, “and he looks nervous about her health.”

“I see,” he said glancing at me with a quick smile, before he started the tests the other puppies endured.

“Where are the other ones?” I asked, the room a lot calmer and quiet now that there was only one left.

“Getting a bath,” Jenny answered standing up beside me when Dr. Pflum completed the virus test.

“She’s nice and healthy Corey,” Dr. Pflum said and I felt the release of tension in my stomach, that I wasn’t really aware of before. The relief must have shown in my face because Jenny giggled again as I picked her up after her last shot and handed her over to the assistant that took the other four out of the room. This time we followed her out and the other four were bouncing around the empty waiting room, their hair damp from the bath.

“Let me go pay for them, then we can leave after the last bath,” Jenny said, leaving me to step up to the desk where Molly was punching things into the computer. I heard them arguing about payment, but Jenny won when she swiped her credit card and put it back into her purse.

“Now Jenny, they’re not your dogs!” Molly countered, but printed her receipts out to sign. I reached into my back pocket for my wallet, wanting to help pay.

“I said I would pay for everyone I brought in,” Jenny said, “Dad and Mom don’t really care as long as I can keep up with all the payments I make with my cards.”

“Well ok dear, if you insist,” Molly said after Jenny signed the first receipt then slipped her copy into her purse. Molly helped us take the puppies back out to the car that now smelled even worse since it was stationary in the sun. We cracked all the windows again, Molly waved and we left the clinic with all five of them in the back seat. This time though they all seemed tired and wandered over to the unsoiled side of the back seat to lay down together.

“After we drop them off at my house, and you too I guess, I’ll come back and get the seats cleaned,” Jenny said glancing at me.

“Well I can help you, with the car,” I said and she smiled, driving a little more determined. I didn’t have anything better to do. I knew if I went home I would be mowing the lawn; if the lawn mower was fixed. Dad would make sure I was doing something that he thought would put some character in me.

“I was going shopping after, well I was going before I found the puppies,” she said as we pulled into her house. My eyes darted to the room above the garage, remembering the conversation Greg and I had there and the closeness our bodies were. When Jenny opened the door, it snapped me out of the intrusion. Greg would never be right for me, not if he kept living in the shadow of the life he created and seemingly wanted. The fact that he wanted me to leave him alone solidified that and I was just going to have to forget about him. I didn’t really know who he was to begin with, but I couldn’t disregard the jump my stomach made when I thought about him.

I helped Jenny put all the puppies into the large air conditioned garage. She already had dog beds and puppy food and potty training pads ready. More evidence that she has been doing this for awhile. I smiled watching the tired puppies go right for the large bed, the little brown one taking the time to sniff and lick my toes before bouncing off to join the rest of them.

“I’ve not lost the bet,” I said when she looked at me.

“You know, we can drop her off at your house,” She said elbowing me in the stomach. The thought of taking her home and leaving her with Dad didn’t seem like a good idea.

“Maybe after we get back,” I said, “maybe though, so don’t get your hopes up.”

“Right,” she said then I followed her back to her car.

The car wash wasn’t crowded, Jenny left me alone with her car as she was exchanging some of her dollars for quarters. I helped her vacuum, taking time to notice the broad smile and the slight flush of her cheeks. She was enjoying herself and I was enjoying myself. I wasn’t scared about her intentions, not like I was around Greg and I didn’t feel the uneasiness that I felt when I was with Clinton. I knew that Jenny wouldn’t go running off to tell Cj. She wouldn’t let him bully her into not being my friend either, for he had plenty of time to do that over the past. In her kitchen she promised to be friends and I knew, more so after today, that Jenny might actually keep her promise.

“I really do hate to wash the car,” Jenny said as we both used scrubbing brushes on the back seat, damp with a little bit of water and soap. It was definitely smelling better in the back seat and the yellow urine stains were lifting as well.

“Yeah Dad threatens me if my car gets too dirty,” I added causing her to laugh.

“Your Dad is a teddy bear,” she countered, but she knew the truth, just like everyone else.

“Yeah you should hear him when he splits his pants, bet his growls do sound like a bear,” I whispered and she stopped brushing the back seat because she was laughing.

“I knew he was getting fatter,” she said trying to breathe, “he’s probably stressing out over your broken arm.”

“Nah, I saw his notes,” I said, “he’s planning on me throwing with my other arm.”

“I can’t do that,” she said as we wiped the back seat with a drying cloth, “I mean something doesn’t seem to click with my brain and the ball doesn’t do what I want.”

I laughed, nodding my head. It would probably be the same with me. I had never really practiced throwing with my other arm, but I knew great quarterbacks could at least make a few good passes with their off arms. “We’ll see what I can do, won’t we?”

“He should just let you off the hook,” Jenny said, “the whole town loves your Dad, he’s the best thing that ever happened to the football program.”

“He doesn’t have a championship yet,” I shrugged, “Cj says he needs one to keep his job.”

“Oh that’s stupid,” she countered rubbing her hand over the back seat to feel how dry it was getting. It wouldn’t take long for it to dry in the sun. “My Dad is a booster and he said your Dad will be offered an extension if he does good this season.”

“Yeah?” I said and she nodded.

“Cj just likes to talk,” Jenny responded shutting the back door. I closed the back door on my side and slid into the passenger seat. “Ready to do some shopping?”

“Yeah, sure,” I said not wanting to go shopping with her really. She was driving though and we were close to where people liked to shop. It would be out of her way to take me home now.

“We’ll go to the pet store first, so you can buy your things,” She said raising her eyebrow, glancing at me. I smiled, knowing that it was a lost cause now. I would be taking the little brown toe licker home with me. I just hope Dad doesn’t make me take her back.

Jenny took my smile as an answer and we stopped at the first pet store in town. It was mostly for farm supplies and over the counter medicines, but it had puppy food and beds. Jenny suggested the best puppy food, I only shrugged and put the one she liked the best into the cart. It was all I was going to buy at the store, but by the time we were finished looking I had a full cart. I also knew that it was likely I didn’t have enough money in my wallet to pay for it all, but Jenny wouldn’t take no for an answer. Most of her arguments made me laugh as well. Saying that my puppy would look cute with a green collar and matching leash. I wanted to argue more about the clothes, thinking that dogs, especially shaggy ones, didn’t really require clothes. Clothes that I knew the puppy would out grow in a few weeks anyway. It didn’t matter though, I had three outfits for her in my cart and no way of slipping them out with Jenny watching me.

When I started putting things on the counter to pay though, Jenny took out her pink wallet that matched her purse and grabbed the credit card again. My wallet was in my hand and her eyes narrowed when she saw it.

“Jenny you can’t pay for my stuff,” I said and she glared at me, her lips set in a tight smile.

“Sure I can,” she said as the cashier kept ringing up the purchases. We both watched as the price jumped into an amount I didn’t have and kept going.

“Half and half?” I said and she smiled, but shook her head no.

“Its easier if I just pay in full,” she answered, “and besides you’re taking her off my hands anyway.”

“But Jenny,” I protested, but she just waved her hand and handed the cashier her card. He slid it through and punched a few things, then handed her back the card. She signed the receipt and helped me carry the bags out to her car. We put them in the back seat and I slid into the passenger side feeling lousy. I hated when people spent money on me, I wondered if people thought I didn’t have any, which I didn’t have much of, but still.

“Where to now?” She asked and I shrugged.

“Where ever you want to go,” I answered, not turning to look at her. My face was flushed so bad that I could feel my ears burning.

“Look Corey,” Jenny said, “there’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”

“I have my own money Jenny,” I said glancing at her. She smiled, her red hair blowing in the breeze coming in from the open windows. I could still smell the soft flower fragrance from the car and I frowned when I realized I didn’t even help her pay for that.

“And I have my own money,” Jenny countered, “look my parents just spent enough money on my sister’s wedding to pay for my college three times over, so spending a little money on a great summer day like today won’t hurt anybody.”

“Yeah, but you’re not spending it on yourself,” I countered smiling at her reason anyway. Looking at her I was starting to wonder if I ever paid attention to her. I didn’t know much about her outside of school. I knew that was pretty bad of me since we had dated most our Junior year. It only made me feel more guilty and she seemed to notice when I stopped smiling and turned to look straight ahead again.

“So, what?” She answered reaching over and grabbing my hand. She pulled it over to the hand rest between us and patted my cast. “You’re a great guy Corey, so don’t feel guilty, not about Junior prom or anything, ok?”

“I’ll try not to,” I said feeling nervous about the sudden contact again.

“You know, I really don’t have a gay best friend,” she said as she pulled into the parking lot of the most expensive clothing store in town. I didn’t notice any of that or if I was even still breathing.

“What did you s-say?” I said, even though I heard her clearly. I had never admitted to being gay, I couldn’t even bring myself to call it that. Hearing it now seemed completely out of place.

“You heard me,” she said her attention focused on me completely.

“Th-that’s not the reason I dumped you before prom,” I stammered not looking at her. I pulled my hand away, slamming it into my lap. I grunted, hurting myself with the hard plaster. She laughed slightly and I turned to look at her.

“Oh? So it was my dress then? Or was I too fat?” Jenny said still smiling, because she knew and I hadn’t ever took the time to realize if I was obvious or not.

“Jenny please,” I hissed, “I’m not...”

“Don’t lie to me, because I don’t care either way,” Jenny said cocking an eyebrow. “Do you think I’m some dizzy cheerleader?”

“Not really, no,” I offered and she stifled another laugh. My stomach was tight and I felt my heart hammering in my chest. My palms and underarms were also starting to sweat and I knew that I couldn’t hide the truth from her, my body was already giving me away.

“I see how you look at guys, it’s the same way girls look at guys, and straight guys look at girls,” Jenny said, and I was amazed at how easy she was talking to me. Not when my mouth seemed to dry and my throat too tight to form comprehensive words.

“Oh, so is it just so obvious then?” I asked trying to keep my anger in check. It wasn’t her fault to noticing those things, but I didn’t want them brought to my attention either. Now I was scared that I was just some huge joke that everyone knew about, but me.

“God no,” she answered, “so relax, our little secret, I swear.”

“Ok,” I said letting out a long sigh, trying to get my stomach to relax.

“Are you ok?” She asked when I wiped my palms on my pants.

“Yeah,” I lied, “you just dropped a big ass bomb right into the seat of my pants here.”

“Its the only way I knew how to approach it,” she said, “I mean a phone call, letter, a date even, this just seemed like the best way to do it.”

“You’re the only person that knows right?” I asked and she nodded her head.

“Now lets go shopping, I’m taking you as my date to Amber’s party,” Jenny said and I suddenly felt like a second, smaller bomb exploded, but I stood on shaky legs as she hooked her arm with mine and walked into the store with her.