Crayons Page 11

  “There you go. Now you shouldn't be caught out that way. It isn't everything you need to know, but as much as my relationship allows me to tell you. We'll get you a book for the rest. Really, let's not mention all of this to Mercy, come to think of it. There is no good way to tell a woman that you spent the evening teaching her minor son how to go down on a girl.”

  Josh nodded. That was just the truth. Plus, not a topic of conversation he wanted to have with anyone soon. Except maybe Amy. That could be... fun.

  The rest of the evening they just talked, mainly about girls, dating and a host of other stuff that he didn't have any experience with at all. At nine he checked the weather reports for the next day and sighed loudly enough that the blond woman came over and stood behind him at the computer, hand on his shoulder.

  “What is it Kimosabe?”

  “Snow. It looks likely for us here and is definite for the falls. A lot of it there. No way can we drive in that safely. I guess I should call and cancel... Except that Amy will be at that party thing being a trophy child right now. That kind of sucks, I was looking forward to seeing her.” More than just that, the feeling of loss yanked at his bones, a yearning so strong that he could hardly stand it for a few seconds. He did though.

  “Hmm... Well, do something else then? Closer to town? Trust me, if a girl likes you she isn't worrying about you looking too eager. Not at all. It's the opposite that's the problem. Guys always think they have to wait three days to call back, and it kind of works, in a whole “push-pull” way, but if you want something more than a hook-up with a woman, don't play with her like a fish. Just be upfront. If they need games they aren't worth the effort in the end. Same goes for guys, but for some reason I don't think you care about that part.” Grinning she put an arm over his shoulders and hugged him to her slightly. The edge of her breast pushed against his shoulder and then his face when she cuddled him a little more closely.

  He snorted into it, laughing. “Hey no fair, I'm a walking hormone factory and today has not been kind to me that way. If you aren't trying to get laid, you might just back off a little bit. Back, Back!”

  At first her eyes went wide, then she sighed and shook her head.

  “You're cute, and it's habit. A very inappropriate one. You, however, are right though. Sorry. Backing the heck off now. Didn't mean to offend.” She sounded a little stiff, which got Josh to laugh a little.

  He leaned into her breast again, hugging her as she stood next to him.

  “God, it wouldn't be a problem if I was offended, this is the exact opposite, now back temptress, before I do something you have to tell my mom about. Have me shipped off to military school or something...”

  They both cracked up for a bit and then she really did back away, hands up.

  “Got it. I'll be good and not as flirtatious with you. I really am like that with everyone you know, it's not like I'm specifically a pervert after my girlfriend's teen son. Or after anyone, I'm just... like that. Always have been.”

  He waved this away and smiled.

  “I get the idea. Still, probably best if, you know, I act like you have leprosy. The kind that gets passed with contact. I mean I probably won't, especially after Amy dumps me, which will be hard since we aren't even going out, but you know, what my heart believes is going on and what reality is are two very different things.” Josh shrugged.

  That, of course was a real problem. He loved Amy and wanted her all to himself, but she was more or less just being nice to the odd kid, wasn't she? As soon as she felt better about things, her break-up and all that, they'd be back to just being friends. Maybe not even that really. It had been hard before watching her go out with another guy. Now it would be... blistering, to watch the same thing. Not really fair to her, for him to get all jealous and stuff, but it would happen. Just thinking of it now made him tense.

  What would it be like later?

  Hellish came to mind. But this was better. Having even a little bit of time with her was worth it. Even if nothing else ever happened, just having told her that he loved her was good enough. Not perfect, and not all he wanted, but... yeah. It was something to be happy about in the long run. When it stopped hurting, a long time in the future, Josh would have that to remember.

  He'd have now.

  The phone rang then, making him jump, Joanie answered it almost instantly.

  “Harding residence, how may I help you?” Her tone had gone very professional, and her face went flat and considering.

  “He's right here, one moment please.” The phone was held out then, the cordless cream colored hand piece caught just a little of the light from the overhead lamp. They hadn't added any twinkle lights to the room. It would help brighten things he decided.

  Josh expected it to be his mom, since the only other person that ever called him was Joanie. It could, he realized, be Amy, but a light blond head gave him a slightly wide eyed look as the phone was passed to him.

  “Bill Banister.” She said.

  Right. Because that made sense.

  Chapter nine

  “Joshua. Bill Banister here, I heard there was a trip planned for the morning and wanted to get an update on that situation. I was told you'd be in charge of that?” The voice didn't boom, but it held a gregariousness that hadn't been there the last time they'd spoken.

  Josh didn't trust it. Adults didn't act all friendly toward you unless they were hiding something. Not people like Bill Banister. That he was his mom's boss meant Josh couldn't just go all suspicious though. Why he was calling from his own party, or meeting, didn't make sense either, but he obviously cared about the girls a lot. They may not always like his rules, but most of them made sense, at least from an adult perspective.

  Josh suppressed a sigh and put his voice into the same mode, dropping it half an octave so that he wouldn't sound like a squeaky toy to the large man and trying to sound very adult.

  “Right. Well, I was just checking the weather and it looks like snow is coming. We pretty much have to cancel out. At least I do. It's that or sleep in a car stuck by the side of the road for three days. You know how it is here, if we get half of the eight inches possible, the city will just stop.” He tried to keep his voice light, but the idea made him feel kind of sad.

  There was a grunt from the other side of the phone.

  “Both Mercy and Amy said you were smart. I already told Amy she couldn't go, but wanted to make sure I wasn't just running roughshod here, killing all the fun when it wasn't needed. I'll see that this gets handled then. Well... there will be time for other trips. Don't let that worry you. Benefit of being young, having time to get to things. What?” The voice sounded a bit pissy for a second but it got followed by a chuckle. “Alright, but this is my cell, don't run the battery down, I need it for work.” There was a fumbling.

  “Hi Josh.” The voice was young and smooth. “This is Meridith. From what I just heard Amy's pretty much going to be locked in tomorrow, with the snow, so why don't you come over if you can? I know she wants to see you. Should I warn her you're coming?”

  Taking a deep breath he tried not to feel like a complete freak answering.

  “Um, shouldn't I ask her first? I don't want to bug her if, you know, she has something else lined up already. Oh!” He grabbed his forehead, remembering his manners. “Hi Meridith! Sorry, being all rude, just talking like that. How are you doing?”

  “Not bad. Mopey little sister problems, but I can't blame her for it overly. Sure you don't just want to show up? Amy loves surprises.” The voice on the phone giggled, something he'd never really heard Meridith do before. Another thing he didn't trust, giggling.

  “No one wants someone to barge into their home unannounced. She'd probably think I was some kind of weird... I don't know, do stalkers come over to visit like that?”

  This got a strange sound from the other side of the phone, a sound of movement and walking.

  “Good point.” A solid knock came then. Softly in the background he heard Amy yelling “
what”. She did not sound happy.

  “Amy?” Meridith called out. “I invited Josh over tomorrow if he can make it, but he won't come unless you want him to. Apparently he's really polite, so that's like four people we know now. What should I tell him?”

  There was a scramble, an opening door and muffled giggling that sounded like Meridith again.

  Finally Amy's voice came over the phone.

  “Josh?”

  She didn't sound angry now at least. Just tired, like she'd been asleep or something.

  “You can come over? I mean, you would? That would be... oh, please do. I felt so bad that we weren't going to go, I... want to see you. A lot.” She sounded genuine, but Meridith kept making noises in the background, teasing her most likely. If they were like sisters from TV that would be what she was doing. As an only child that was about all he had to go on.

  “Sure. I mean, I want to see you too, a lot, I just didn't want to just show up unannounced or anything. Being a good friend like I am means being cool like that...” His chest felt like it was going to burst for a second, just at the idea of getting to see her. Joanie's eyes twinkled at him but she was kind enough not to tease him about it. At least while he was on the phone. Way better than a sister it seemed.

  “Would... noon be alright?” Amy asked, her voice thick sounding, a little clumsy. “I'm a bit tired and I want to be fresh when you get here.”

  “Sounds like a plan. Great. I'm really looking forward to seeing you.” They said their good-byes, but for some reason Meridith took the phone back as she went down the stairs again.

  “Josh?” Her voice came across low, pleasant but suddenly serious. “Um, if you can make it at all, please do? I'm kind of worried about her given everything, and I could use the help. We're close, but it's that kind of love-hate thing sisters always do. We just don't have that much in common. If you could help keep her mood up...” She made a strangled noise. “It would be better than I can say.”

  Then she suddenly said goodbye and hung up, leaving him looking at the phone in his hand.

  Odd. Very strange. It gave him a plan for the next day though, if it wasn't snowing too bad, or maybe even if it was. He could take the bus if it was in service. If not, well, it was what? Seven miles each way? He could do that. They were going to get some snow, maybe. It wasn't a blizzard after all. What was the point of all that running if he couldn't even put the extra endurance into action, right?

  Joanie stayed up late, waiting for Mercy, but Josh hit the bed as soon as he got tired enough for sleep, which was about midnight. It wasn't snowing when he lay down, but when he got up at eight there was a thick blanket of white on the ground. Nearly four inches. The streets were silent, untouched by tire tracks and a white lace curtain of the stuff was still coming down outside. It was lovely. Mercy's purse was on the table, meaning she'd gotten in alright, and Joanie's was still on the counter, so she'd stayed like she'd planned.

  Josh made up two packs of instant oatmeal in the microwave, apple cinnamon, since it had a snow day feel to it and ate it while planning out what to wear. He'd have to hurry, he decided, since it would take about three hours to make the walk in the snow, each way. He wasn't due until noon, so he had time, if he didn't dawdle. Thinking about safety Josh did check the weather, but while more snow was coming, it didn't seem like too big an issue for walking. Nothing over ten miles per hour winds and the temperatures wouldn't get too low.

  A shower, shave and bundling up got him ready for the day, including his old hiking boots, and three pairs of socks. That was mainly to keep him from wearing blisters in the boots. They were good enough quality to keep his feet dry, at least from the outside. Sweat would be an issue but there was little Josh could do about that. Grabbing some paper he left a note for his mom and Joanie, making sure to include her, since she was kind of part of the family now. It just lined out his plan and the fact that he should be back no later than seven or so. Maybe a little later. Really he planned on six, but if it took longer than he thought he didn't want everyone to panic.

  No one else was up before he left, so he went out quietly and started trudging through the snow. It meant taking high steps, and he slipped a little every now and then until he learned to balance his weight correctly. A subtle tensing of his stomach muscles that pulled his weight forward just ever so slightly at the shoulder. Then it was just one foot after the other for a few hours. He didn't know the route well, but didn't get lost either, even on the tricky switch back portion that worked to give Amy's house some extra privacy from the road. He didn't wear a watch, so he had no clue as to what time it was when he got to the front door.

  He rang the bell, but nothing happened.

  A bell rang, sure, there was that, but no one answered at all. He waited for several minutes and rang again, looking around. It was the right place, wasn't it? Yes, he was sure of it. It even had the same white columns on the porch. It just didn't look like anyone was home.

  Had he... gotten the day wrong? Or was he just so late that Amy had given up on him and left? Frustrated and a little sad he turned to leave and was about to the end of the snow covered walkway when the door opened and Meridith stuck her head out.

  “There you are! Everyone comes to the side entrance most of the time. Closer to the parking area. I checked the wrong one first. Shake some of that snow off and come in.” She waited for him standing outside, dressed and with shoes on, but this time just jeans and a t-shirt. Way more casual than what Amy normally went for. Then Meridith was a science geek, not a drama-girl. That made a difference in dress codes probably.

  Taking his time Josh stomped and clumped for a few minutes, then removed his boots when Meridith suggested it and waited while she got him a towel to get the rest of the snow off, standing in the rather large hallway that had a stone floor and a few hooks where he could hang his slightly damp blue scarf and deep blue jacket.

  Meridith still looked good, even if dressed down, hair pulled back simply this time, she looked at all the gear he had on and nodded.

  “You walked?” It was obvious that he did, but her tone still held surprise.

  “Yeah. It's not too far.”

  “Oh? How far is it?”

  “Seven miles or so.”

  She just started nodding and waved toward the front room, which was clean already, even if another party, or meeting had taken place the night before. There was a sunken section on the far side, where the kids had watched videos when he'd last been there, it was done in sensible dark brown and leather, which looked rich, but could also possibly put up with the slight damp he carried with him.

  “Alright, stay here and try to be quiet, we don't want mom to figure out there's a boy in the house. Seriously... Bill should just divorce her. I mean, I love my mother, but there is something very wrong with the woman.” The look she gave him didn't fit the pretty face, it was sour and sad, kind of like she wanted him to fix everything, but really, he didn't know how. Not at all. Her idea of Bill getting out of the situation was probably about the best option.

  What kind of woman went and slept with her daughter's boyfriends so much they were willing to talk about it openly? That was insane. Or at least a real condition at work.

  He sat trying to blend and making an effort to not be noticed, until a soft pair of hands slipped over his eyes from behind.

  “Guess who?” A soft female whisper came. It was just possible that Amy could have faked the voice, she did a wide range of them, but this felt wrong. The scent was wrong. More spice and less flower in whatever she wore. It wasn't Meridith coming back to get him as a joke either. She'd smelled a bit like strawberry shampoo. Sucking in a breath of air, Josh went very still.

  “I don't know, but if this is Laura, get your hands off me now.” He half growled, sounding a lot more angry about the whole thing than he'd meant to. Oops.

  The hands flew away.

  “Sorry, I thought you were someone else.” The woman still looked good, wearing a matching top and pair
of slacks in a deep brown. Sofa colored camouflage for the room. Ninja mom on a slut mission? “Someone interesting.”

  It was a dig meant to make him feel insecure, because he'd rebuffed her.

  Fine.

  Josh didn't want to fight with Amy's mom, but they needed some clear boundaries, even if just for now. He wasn't ever going to sleep with her, after all, he'd promised. Even if that didn't mean anything to anyone else in the world, it mattered to him. Josh let his voice go serious and didn't turn around to look at the woman.

  “Yeah, I get that a lot. Look, I'm here for Amy, until she gets rid of me. Leave her that. For that matter leave both your daughters their lives while you're at it. I really don't want to fight with you, but seriously, you need to fix yourself. Now.” He turned far enough to look at her, half turned, the glare from the window that had the drapes pulled back showed a lovely fall of white over the Columbia river, everything was white and a slate gray on the water. The house was on a hill, the river about half a mile away, with only trees between them. It probably meant the house was worth a lot more than he'd thought at first. It was a nearly perfect view. Prime real estate.

  “After all, things are about to change around here Laura... you need to calm the heck down and go lower profile right now and stop messing around with... inappropriate people totally. An affair can be overlooked, maybe, if the press isn't on a witch hunt, but this Jerry Springer show crap has got to stop.” He took a breath and then made his voice go even lower.

  “Think politics and remember that things you do now can, and most likely will, come back and bite you later. No one wants that. Especially since it isn't you that this will end up screwing over.”

  Josh nearly laughed at his bit of improv and wondered if the woman was going to play back or go all “evil boss' wife” on him, or even just kick him out, it was her house after all. Josh wouldn't have blamed her for getting a bit angry with him. Maybe even a lot angry. None of those things happened, she took a half step back and made a small noise.