The Pendleton Omens - 24. Chapter 24

“I was wondering where you’d gone,” Scoot said when I came back.

“I knew you were okay.”

“I am. But you said you had these questions.”

“I do. Want to come out and talk?”

“Not just yet,” he said grinning.

“Looks like a great pool.”

“It is. And I watch it every day. Julie leaves the doors open when it’s warm.”

“And the lights on when they’re closed?”

“Not at night.”

“I meant during the day.”

“Nah, I try and keep things as limited a possible. Not even a blanket.”

“I saw.”

“And she wanted to sleep out here, too – set up a cot. But I wouldn’t let her.”

“She said you made rules...”

“The two of you were talking?”

“What else?”

“She’s great.”

“No argument there.”

“You don’t miss women at all?”

I grinned. “You’ll have to meet Noah.”

“When am I going to?”

“When you come east.”

“Kinda tough right now.” And he laughed. Then he asked, “Did you talk with Mom?”

“Not yet.”

“Why?”

“I still don’t know what to tell her.”

“I told you...”

“I know...”

“But what?” He waited.

“She might have trouble with the truth,” I finally said.

“Or you do?”

I said nothing.

“Or you’re not used to telling her that?” he went on.

I smiled. “Sometimes you can be a pain in the ass.”

We laughed.

“Maybe I’ll just lose that key,” I went on.

He shrugged.

“Where is it, anyway?”

“What?”

“The key to the cage.”

“Right there.”

On the floor, accessible through wider slots at the base of the cage, was a tray. On it sat a plate with part of a sandwich, a couple of bottles of water, another container, and a padlock key on a ring.

“It’s always there?” I asked.

“From the second day.”

“In case you go crazy?”

“More as assurance for Julie than me. I’m not going anywhere.”

“You’re sure?”

“I was, after the first night.”

“How was that?”

He hesitated. Then he grinned. “Fun.”

“Honestly? You weren’t uncomfortable?”

He shrugged. “It took some getting used to. I’m used to sprawling when I sleep. Carla always said I took up two-thirds of our bed. Here, I have to curl. And I had to find a place to rest my head.”

“But when Julie came to get you, you didn’t want to get out?”

“It surprised us both.”

“What did she say?”

“She told me I was nuts.”

“It wasn’t part of the bet?”

“No, that was for overnight – or as long as I lasted... till we both were sober. I told you we were drinking. Pretty drunk. And the cage wasn’t even locked that night. Julie had to hunt down a lock before she left that day.”

“What did you say to convince her?”

“Actually, I didn’t.”

I thought about that. “I don’t get it.”

“There was nothing she’d believe. It was more something I did.”

I waited. He went on.

“When I first told her I wasn’t getting out, I also told her I needed a jar. Or a bottle. Something to piss in. When she refused, thinking that would get me out, I called her on it and just pissed on myself. She’d never seen a guy do that before.”

“And?”

“She thought it was really hot.”

“And you?”

He grinned. “It was hot. I’d never done that, either... well, probably not since I was less than two. And if I hadn’t been in the cage, we probably would’ve had a lot of fun. Right there. But that’s when I decided to quit having sex.”

“And you didn’t get out to clean up?”

“She thought she had me there, too.”

“You stayed?”

“I knew she’d bring me a wash cloth. She wasn’t gonna let me sit in my own mess.”

“So you cleaned yourself?”

“I cleaned the cage first. That really impressed her.” He grinned.

“And then you stayed.”

“She said, I’ve got to go to work. And I said, Go. And we played like that for maybe twenty minutes. Till she said, If you don’t get out, I’m gonna lock you in. And I said, Fine. That’s when she found the bike lock. But she didn’t want to use it, so she left the key right outside – sure I’d be out when she got home.”

“And?”

“I threw the key in the pool.” He laughed. “It was a lucky shot. It took her ten minutes to find it when she got home. It wasn’t on the ring then.”

“But she still couldn’t coax you out?”

“No way.”

“Why?”

“Because she wanted me out. She had no idea what to make of me.”

“And you liked that?”

“I really liked it. I can’t tell you how much. She’s not a woman who shakes easily. You should see her when we’re shooting. She’s scares the union guys as much as she charms them.”

“But you got her?”

“Oh, yeah. I shook her up. And she liked that, too. It’s when our real bet began.”

“For a month?”

“It wasn’t definite at first. But I kind of thought a week. I figured that’s all I could get away with. I had some work coming up, and there was Amy. But when the week was up, my hormones had kicked in, and I was flying. And I wanted to see how long it could last.”

“So you bet a month?”

“We never really did. We went day to day. But I had a month in mind.”

“And your work?’

“There’s always someone else they can call.”

“And Amy?”

“She really caught me for a while. I mean, I told you I’m not ready to get married. But right now, she’s my closest friend.”

He could tell I didn’t think it stopped there.

“Okay, we’re more than that,” he admitted. “But there were no promises even asked – we were both having fun. And she knew about Carla. As I knew about Dean.”

“Dean?” I asked. “The stockbroker?” I was trying to remember.

“Some kind of businessman.” He laughed. “You really did get to know her – I didn’t realize that. She wouldn’t tell that stuff to anyone.” He hesitated. “Did she tell you they had an affair?”

“No,” I admitted. And I’d wondered if Amy had been lying.

“Not a real one,” he quickly corrected. “More in her mind – Amy isn’t everything she seems. She’s not just some hard-working nurse... she’s really intense... but privately. And she loves helping people.”

“She told me how they met.”

“That was really sad.... the poor little girl...”

“I didn’t know about the intensity though. She seems pretty loose.”

“She keeps it hidden. As I said, it’s very personal. But once you get to know her, you realize how deep it goes.”

“I never saw that.”

“Almost nobody does. They just see this pretty blonde and think, God, I wish she’d smile at me. I thought that myself. But I got lucky.”

I considered. “But you risked losing her? Even as a friend?”

”We’re not gonna lose that. I’ll bet you anything.” He grinned. “Besides, I figure two things. One, if the relationship’s really there, we’re fine. And two, if it isn’t there, I have a chance with Julie.”

“For a while.”

He laughed. “Yeah – I know she’ll dump me.” For a moment, he let his disappointment show. Then he shrugged. “But what the hell...”

“Unfortunately, you can’t have them both.”

“Why not? You did. For years.”

That was a gut-punch I didn’t expect, and I tried to soften it. “You’re not gonna let me off?” I asked.

“You fuck around, Dad, you fuck around. Then you face it.”

He was staring straight at me.

“There weren’t that many,” I offered slowly, in defense.

“It doesn’t matter. If there’d even been one...”

He had me, and I surrendered. Then he laughed.

“And I didn’t expect it was going to last,” he went on. “I thought Julie would fuck me... fuck with me... then kick me out. I’d seen her do that before. Never thought I had a chance.”

“But you did.”

“More than...” And he stopped.

“Then you know?” I asked.

“Who couldn’t? Just the way she looks at me.”

“What are you going to do about it?”

“Stay in the cage. It’s safer.” He laughed again.

When he’d finished, I asked, “What’s the real reason you’re in there?”

“He shrugged. “I told you, it’s way more than one. There’s at least a thousand... But mainly, it’s hot.”

I waited for him to go on. I think he was waiting for me.

“It’s time to get out,” I said.

He shook his head.

“Then it’s time to make some decisions.”

“About what?”

“Julie. Amy.”

“Why not add Carla in? I’ve spent lots of time thinking of her.”

“What would she say?”

“About this?”

I nodded and almost laughed, remembering how controlling Carla could be. But Scoot saw it differently.

“She’d have as much fun as Zak. She’d never let me forget it, but not in a mean way.” He paused. “Of course, Zak isn’t gonna let me forget it, either. That’s why I can’t wait to tell him. We have this kind of competition going, and this is the sort of stunt he’s pulled on me. He’ll try and top it.”

“What could he possibly do?”

“I can’t imagine... but I’m looking forward to it.” He laughed. “Though I know what Carla will do. She’ll always jokingly remind me how happy it makes her... just thinking of me in this cage.”

“She’s not nasty.”

“No. Strong, yeah. But I liked that. Hell, I was nineteen, and she was a grad student in a professional company. And she chose me. I’d been flirting but didn’t think I’d get anywhere. I mean, there were guys outside theater she dated. Guys with money. But she liked my looks, and that went a long way. And she liked the fact that I wasn’t in theater... that I was only hanging out with my friends... had a different career in mind. And it worked for three years.”

“You even managed to graduate.”

He grinned. “That was always gonna happen. That was easy. No matter how much Mom worried.”

“I did, too. I thought you were over your head.”

“Oh, come on, Dad. You never worry about a thing.”

I laughed. “Is that how you see me? That I never worry? About you? Or Jamie? Or your mother?”

“I’m sorry, Dad. I was mouthing off. To tell you the truth, I meant it as a compliment.”

‘Oh.” I wasn’t sure that was better.

“Anyway, I don’t know how long this thing with Julie will last. I’m not sure how long I want it to. I’m so damned busy. I’ve got so many plans. I’ve been lucky in so many ways. And I’ve never had to worry about women.”

I wanted to tell him something but didn’t. That I’d never had to worry about guys.

“It’s time, Scoot,” I said instead. “You’d had your fun.”

“That’s just it,” he insisted. “I still am. And the part I like most is the thinking... it really clarifies things. I’ve laid out whole films in my head... knew just where they’d go... how they’d look... what I’d do. And you know what? Now I never have to make those films. And it’s the same way with Carla. When we were together, we were always in the middle. She was hunting work... I was working... we were too busy to think. Here, I spent one week just focused on her. I worked out our whole relationship, from the start, right up till we were old and dying, with great-grandchildren. And it was great. I mean, most of it was. But now I don’t have to do it.”

“It wasn’t real, Scoot.”

“But it was. In one week, I worked through every possibility, like one of those video games. I went moment by moment through our lives. And I discovered I didn’t want to do it again. Carla will always be there. She’ll always be my friend. I’ll work to keep that. But I don’t want to live it out.”

He was throwing more at me than I wanted. Some of it was stupid. Some was his still being high. And all I could do was keep reminding him it wasn’t real.

“And what is, Dad? Besides the fact that you know I’d never hurt anyone on purpose? Once you get past that, what does it matter what choices I make? I mean, for someone like me, they’re always gonna be good. And even if I have a really bad year. Say I wake up one morning like that guy Dean and discover my eight-year-old daughter’s gonna die. I know I’ll still live. And maybe my other kids die, and that will tear me up. But I’m still going to be alive. It trapped Dean. It may be why he pulled close to Amy – someone outside his life. But his daughter’s dying didn’t end his life. He didn’t leave his family. They all went on. At some point, we all do – with luck happily. And that’s something I never had time to think about before. Now it’s all I do. So why would I possibly want that to end?”

“Why ever get out then?”

He laughed. “Well, I would like to piss standing up.”

I had to laugh with him. He might be the best balanced kid I knew. Or he could be a naked jerk. I think he was feeling some of that, too.

After maybe a minute watching me, he reached through the slot and picked up the key.

“Do me a favor, Dad. Take this with you tonight. It’s our only copy, Julie lost the dupe, and I’m kind of ready to come out but really don’t want to yet. Tonight, I don’t want the choice.”

He held out the key. I thought about I, then took it. Then I opened the lock and stuck it in my pocket.

“If you stay, you’re doing it on your own.”

He grinned. Then he laughed. “You always were a fucker – that’s what I love about you. But now you’ve kept me in here better than any lock.”