JOSIE
School is out and Stacey offered to drop me off at work. I know she's doing this not because she's such a nice person.Stacey isn't a very nice person. She eats lunch at Patty's. I guess she figured she could get an extra cup of a milkshake if she saves me the ten minutes’ walk.
We are standing beside Stacey's truck she prefers to call 'Reddie'. It is an old beat-up truck that used to belong to Frankie as a present for his sixteenth birthday. Well, that was years before I came to Kansas.
Reddie is in bad form today and has refused to start. Stacey has this toolbox she takes around with her. It contains all she needs to fix the truck whenever it is in one of it's moods such as today. I stand by and watch her get down to fixing God-knows-what in the bonnet.
"Reddie needs a new coat of paint." She says and leans over to blow on something shaped like a box. I suck at mechanics and can hardly identify anything in a vehicle. This isn't strange as I don't own a vehicle, give me a patty flipper anytime, thanks.
"Well, you can always save up for that." I tell her
"Naaah, gonna get dad to float me the money." That's Stacey, ever so carefree.
I notice a new car in the parking area a few meters before us. Looks posh, not many teachers around here drive sleek cars. I catch a glimpse of the driver head and recognize that chestnut colored hair from earlier. It's Mr. Greek god Winchester. He's watching me through the review mirror or so I think. For a moment, I think his gaze locks mine. My heart skips a beat. It barely lasted for a second but I am sure it happened. The posh car speeds down the coal tar road. My heart is still beating, feels like a dream only this time it is reality and not my teenage fantasies.
"Hey Patty! How's it going around here?" I wave at Patty and kiss her on the cheek.
"Smells great in here too. Missed me?"
"Girlie! School's out already? Man, they let you guys out so early these days. Back in my days wasn't so you know, today them teachers let you out like they tired."
Patty, bless her sweet soul, the African American woman I work her is such a one for a great talk. Always going on about "back in my days " in that drawl that reveals how much time she's spent up North.
" No Patty. They don't let us out so quickly. Looks like you have been here so long without a timer. See how stressed you look."
" Yeah, I been here for quite a while. I am mighty tired too." She says" The diners be coming in by the numbers.Here, give me a hand with the burgers would 'ya honey?"
I put on my favorite apron, the one with the red stain on it and take out burgers on the platters ready for serving.
" So, anything different happened today? " Patty asks.
" Test didn't hold. Mr. Jeremy is away on a sabbatical. A handsome guy showed up instead." I recall the way those brown eyes made me feel earlier. Shivers run down my spine.
" Yeah, I heard Jeremy has left the town. Also heard his nephew is around. They say the boy is a nut case though" Patty's Kitchen is the best place for juicy gossips.
" I am gonna miss Jeremy though. He's a friend of the house ya know. Now handsome guy shows up in his stead." She adds with an unpleasant look on her face.
" That school with them girls like sharks...mmmph !"
" Aww, Patty...not sharks, Dolphins. It's written almost everywhere in the school!" This woman is ever so full of sarcasm.
" Them girls like Sharks!" Patty obviously didn't hear me. " Back in my days you know..."
I let her drone on about her favorite topic of comparison. My mind strays to Mr. Winchester. Did he really look at me in the parking lot? Teenage girl with an overactive imagination sights new teacher and goes bananas, would surely make great news headline.
" Suck it Josie." I tell myself and move on with my duties.
*. *.
DANIEL
I pull up in Stan's driveway. The Cadillac I drive is my only investment and one of the only other thing I do care about next to painting. Apart from getting a college degree, I think it is the best thing I have done for myself so far. I walk up the flight of stairs and ring the bell. It's sound echoes inside the terraced house. I hear footsteps approaching. A pregnant lady with streaks of silver in her blond hair opens the door.
" Hello." I wave. " Stan's in?"
" Who are you?" She also ever sizing me up. I wonder if she's afraid of me.
" Name is Daniel Winchester." She does not say a word, rather she turns and call into the house.
" Stan, your guest is here!" Turning back to me she invites me in.
The room I step into is surreal. The warm colors of the wall match perfectly with the carved mahogany furniture. Paintings hang from the wall varying from landscape to life. I find myself dreaming of owning a place like this someday. This passion is one thing I really can't do without. Who knows, I can be lucky enough to be loved by a pretty woman too. I quickly stop myself. Stan is dressed in paint stained jeans and an equally stained tee. He's quite tall and looks like one who spends a lot of time in the gym.
" Hey Dan " He greets in an equally booming voice.
" Hey Stan. Your place is simply outta it"
" I know right. The colors do it " He flashes me a chipped toothed smile.
" She hated it ya know" he nods towards the lady.
" Place looks like a damn Yuncan shrine" The lady spits
aggressively.
" Hi, name's Trace, Stan's voice. Welcome to our home. These pregnancy hormones really do get to me sometimes.. "
The smile that spreads across my face is genuine for the first time in a long while." Hey man!" Stan bellows " wanna spill some paint?"" Let's do it." Adrenaline is pumping through my veins. I can already feel the pleasure of holding a paint brush in my hand.The smell of a long-lasting friendship hangs thickly in the air.*. *. *I am tied to one of the dining chairs in the room. Randy is sitting on an empty beer crate before me, a can of beer in hand. The ropes cut deep into my wrists and I cry out in pain. Randy's face is a contorted mask of delight. Saliva po
Josie had just introduced me to the talkative old lady when she began to talk about Jeremy's nephew being in town. Obviously Riverside isn't aware of who I am. I don't think they know who my Mama was either. The papers, its the only way they must have known.I am blinded with rage by the time I pull up in my driveway. I had left the kitchen in a hurry leaving Josie and Patty confused. I haven't been this mad since I left Florida." I would only be the ruin of her. " I tell myself about Josie. She's young and pretty and would soon be leaving high school. Bringing my cursed self into her life would cause her nothing but pain. I am determined not to see Josie again to save her the pain and to stop myself from wanting her, only this would be near impossible to achieve.
Thinking about her makes me want to see her. I push away the thought." I don't need the girl. I don't worth her. " I say silently." What girl? " Trace asks. I must have said that aloud.My face goes red with embarrassment and I laugh nervously to hide it."Aww, Trace, nobody. There is no girl. "Trace looks at me with that cynical look of hers. I am convinced the lady is a mind reader. She laughs mockingly at me and sluggishly push her pregnant body away from the studio. I am left alone with Stan." I painted that during the one week I spent in Florida some years back" Stan says pointing to a watercolor hanging on the wall." It's be
Prom Night"Ann, Ann is that you? " Dad asked playfully upon seeing me in my mother's prom dress."No dad. It's Josie" I reply smiling" You look so much like her on that blessed night. " Dad walks up the short flight of stairs to me." Princessa, you know she's proud of you wherever she is right? " he asks taking my slender wrist in his large hand."I know. "" Good girl. So, what are you gonna do? "" Make her proud, Dad. " I reply. This has been our thing since mom died: Dad reminding me of how great I was and how mom expects me to make her proud from the great beyond. I know Dad wants me to be the perfect daughter, he's so scared o
JOSIESitting out here with Daniel is cool. I shock myself by using his first name. I feel like I have known him forever. While we talk, I can't see the clouds anymore in his eyes. His brown eyes are warm and friendly. They make me think about puppies."Josie" He calls. His voice is very small, yet deep. I look up to see him fidgety."Done the couple dance thing before? "" Uhm, no why? " I ask, genuinely surprised."Come. " He says, standing up to his feet. He stretches his hand towards mine. I think it's the timbre in his voice that does it. It calls me to him, it's beyond the simple command. It reaches out to my soul. I stand to my feet." Do you like the Judds? " he asks, wrap
Saturday morningIt is the buzzing of my cell phone that wakes me up. I had fallen asleep with the paper on which I sketched Josie plastered to my chest. The sweat on my body made the paper stay stuck. The events of the previous evening come rushing back. I smile, I can still smell her on me."Hello," I say picking up my phone"Hello Dan" It's Trace screaming at the top of her voice, she sounded traumatized."Trace, is that you? " Tension begins to rise in my chest."Where's Stan?" I ask apprehensively. How can he leave the woman alone at this time? She's near her due date for Chris sakes."Stan's not here, he has some businesses up in Detroit to handle."
JOSIEDaniel Winchester is Mr. Jeremy's nephew, the one who moved down here from Florida. The guy whom they say killed his father. This is so much information for me to process at the same time. I have been moving around the house like a shell-shocked person since breakfast. Stacey had left to an errand for her father. Dad does not seem to understand the sudden change in my mood. I have never been one for hiding my emotions."Hey Hijita, " Dad calls from the doorway, I turn towards him eyes blank and revealing nothing."Are you okay? ""I am, Dad. " I answer and nod my head."You look like one who has seen a ghost, are you sure you are okay? ""I am. "
JOSIEI stand starring fixedly at Daniel. It is hard to believe I just confessed my feelings to him, yet he is sending me away like an errant child."What? " I ask, I cannot believe my ears."You should leave Josie." He replies, not looking at me."Did I do something wrong?" My confusion is so real.This man is like a winter sky, his mood changes so swiftly like a clear sky suddenly turning into dark clouds. He turns to me. The look in his eyes makes me recoil in fear. The brown of his pupils has grown so dark within the last minutes they could be mistaken to be proper black. The look in Daniel's eyes are suddenly a chilly cold. They look like Death itself to me. When he speaks to me, it was in a voice