Disgruntled (5 page)

***
Todd slowed to a stop at the corner Reva mentioned, which
segmented her street from the community park. The park
spanned five blocks and had a walking path around it with a
duck pond opposite the pool, and a lone baseball diamond
nestled in the bosom. Her house was the third door away
and he imagined she could hear the park noises on a still day.
A nice-sized Texas pecan tree graced the corner and he
rested a shoulder against it as he waited on her approach.
The breeze glancing along his temple predicted a reasonably
cool
evening
for
spring.
It
also
funneled
the
scent
of
ligustrum toward him, a scent that either made one smile or
sneeze…depending on the tendency toward allergies to plant
life. Todd smiled and twitched his nose.
Reva’s dimples were in full force as she bounced toward him
in a gray T-shirt and navy shorts. Her ponytail wagged in
rhythm to her steps, a few tendrils slipping out in wisps
across her face. She always looked so—clean. She also
normally appeared outwardly happy but in the short time
they’d spent together, he noticed a rumbling unease hidden
behind the smiles. It occurred to him the warmth never
seemed to completely sink into her eyes. She had great
dimples and a ready smile, but something more lurked in the
background and it made him curious.
“Thanks,” she said.
“What for?”
“Getting me out. Today was a rough day. I needed out.”
It wasn’t his nature to pry. Annie had hated that about him.
Whenever she was upset about something, she had expected
him
to
pick
and
prod
information
from
her
until
she
spouted her feelings like a fountain. She liked the attention.
He had thought it a stupid game. If a person wanted
someone to understand them, they should just say what they
meant. No need for pretenses.
“Sorry to hear that but on a night like this, you can’t bring
your work home. It’s too perfect.” He raised a hand at the
sky, noting that the sun was blinking its last bit of light on
the horizon. “We’d better hurry before it’s too dark to see.”
He fell in beside her and picked up the pace.
“Feel like running?” Reva asked.
“Running or jogging?”
“Whatever you want. I think I could beat you.” She moved
in a mock trot and glanced back at him.
“Only if you take the head-start you’re working on right
now, cheater.”
She laughed. “Okay, count to three then.”
He recognized the challenge in her eyes. He’d seen her
jogging in the neighborhood so he knew she was confident
he’d never keep up. Obviously, she didn’t pay as much
attention as he did.
“One, two, three, go.” He took off in a sprint after giving a
quick wink that caught her off guard.
“Hey! I wasn’t ready.”
She gained on him in two seconds. He expected her to pass
but she didn’t, she fell into step beside him and matched
step for step. A loud shout in front of them caught their
attention. They swerved their heads just in time to see the
softball barreling toward them from one of the yards. A
young girl lunged after it in white baseball pants with stained
knees. Reva ducked and the ball caught Todd hard on the
forehead. Wham! He was blinded for a second as it bounced
off his hard skull and landed in the crook of a nearby tree.
He staggered to catch his footing.
“Now, look what you’ve done, mister!” The little girl glared
at
him
with
hands
on
hips.
Her
frown
threatened
to
permanently wrinkle her feminine face. She threw a hand up
to point at the tree. “How am I supposed to get that down
from there?”
She didn’t even ask if he was okay. She certainly didn’t
notice the beginning of a goose egg on his forehead, nor did
she see the water forming in his eyelids. Tough little turd.
“You’re the one that bounced it off my head, kiddo. How
was I supposed to control where it went from there when I
didn’t know it was coming?” He rubbed his temple.
The girl picked the cap off her head and turned it backward,
placing it over the loose braids. “Technically,
he
bounced it
off your head.” She pointed to a boy standing in the yard
with eyes averted. “If he threw better, I could have caught it
but
he
stinks
at
baseball.
Still,
it’s
better
than
nothin
so…you’re gonna have to get the ball down. My parents
won’t let me climb trees anymore, since I fell and broke my
arm last summer. That’s the only ball we have.” She crossed
her arms over her chest and waited.
Todd blinked twice to focus and peered up at the ball
nestled perfectly in the crook of two tree branches about
eight feet up. He stepped to the tree, raised a hand and
reached. The blurriness sent his hand into the bark first.
Once
he
regrouped,
he
stabbed
at
the
ball.
Plunk.
It
disappeared into the tree.
Crap.
There was a hole in the
trunk.
“You’re kidding me.” The little girl huffed and wagged her
head back and forth. Todd pitied the little boy.
“Whoa. Don’t worry, I’ll get it,” he assured. He stood on his
toes and bent an arm into the crevice, feeling around for
leather. No luck. He strained further, patting again in the
opening with no success. “I’m sorry, I can’t reach it. Do you
have a ladder?”
Reva chuckled. “Let me help. Lift me up and I’ll get it. My
arm’s smaller—I can probably reach better.”
“You really want to put your arm down there? Who knows
why that hole’s there.
her.
“Yeah,
an
arm-eating,
motioned for him to come closer and lifted a leg. “Come on,
lift me up.”
“Okay, but don’t blame me if you come out with more than
just the ball. Say a bite mark or two,” he cautioned.
“You’re really not building confidence, you know. I was
perfectly ready to do this until you said
that
.”
Todd grasped her foot with both hands and balanced it
against his knee. He gave her a boost that sent her up into
the air. She leaned against him, her butt balanced on his
shoulder. He could smell her lotion, a nice earthy scent. She
shifted and without warning, he had a butt cheek flattened
against his eye, blocking the view. She leaned into the tree,
floundering for the ball.
“Uh, Reva?”
“I just need to…” she grumbled, “get farther. There. Almost
have it. Just a little more. Give me a push.”
He guessed she didn’t know her ass was plastered to his face.
The little girl and boy had moved away and tried hard to
contain their giggles. When the boy started to speak, the girl
punched him in the arm and shushed him.
“Reva,” Todd said.
“Just a little more. Come on. I can feel it at the end of my
fingers.” Her toes dug into his palm.
“Reva! I can barely hold you. If you keep shoving your
behind in my face, I’ll drop you. If you can’t get it, I’ll buy
them another ball.”
Awkward.
“Oh, God. I’m sorry.” She tried to pull up. “Oh. No.”
“Now what?” Todd asked.
“I’m stuck….my arm is stuck.”
Might be something in it.” He eyed

killer
softball,”
Reva
teased.
She
He squinted through the one eye that wasn’t blocked by her
hip. Her torso was completely invisible. “You’re kidding.”
“No. Not kidding. Why would I kid about that? I’m stuck!”
“Well, get unstuck before I drop you,” Todd answered.
He staggered for a second as she dug a foot into his stomach
and tried to move. The two kids laughed outright, clutching
their stomachs with gloved hands. “Hey!” He scowled at
them. They sobered instantly. “Go get some soap or some
oil or something. We need to lubricate her arm and see if we
can pull it out.” He motioned with his head toward their
front door.
“Yes sir.” The two disappeared inside, returning with their
parents and a younger brother in tow. The mother had a box
filled with things. Dish Soap, bar soap, bath oil, Crisco,
butter and yum – whip cream? What kind of family is this?
He crooked an eye at the approaching woman.
“What do you have planned there? A greasy arm sundae
with whipped cream on top?” Todd asked.
“Well, the kids told me what happened and we saw you out
the window. I thought we’d start with the soap and then just
work
through
the
rest
until
we
found
something
that
worked.” She stifled a grin as she looked at Reva’s butt
smashed against the side of his head. “Are you okay up
there, honey?” the woman asked.
“Not really,” Reva snipped. “Things could definitely be
better. My arm hurts, my legs are cramping, and I have
something crawling down my elbow.”
That brought a snicker from both parents. Todd was amazed
at her composure. She didn’t freak. She didn’t scream. Wow.
“I’m Carlie and this is my husband Ronnie. The baseball
throw came from Ron, Junior and the mouthy one is our
daughter, Reva. Don’t worry, we’ll get you out.” Carlie
glanced at Ron. “Get the ladder, babe.”
Todd lifted the side of his face that was free into a smile and
tried to nod. “I’m Todd and this is Reva. I would say nice to
meet
you
but
I’d
rather
do
so
under
different
circumstances.”
Reva’s muffled voice came from somewhere on the other
side of her hips. “Cut the small talk, guys. Just hurry up and
get me out of here! Whatever crawled down my elbow has
just found a friend that’s headed up toward my armpit!”
Holy Shit, you’re a tough one.
He tried not to chuckle. Todd
could
feel
Reva’s
legs
trembling.
Muscle
spasms,
he
assumed. He stroked her ankle with his thumb and she went
completely limp. “Are you okay?” he asked.
No answer.
“Reva?” One, two, three seconds passed.
“Yeah, I’m good.” Her voice softened and he knew she had
lied.
The ladder arrived and Ron, Senior climbed it. He squeezed
dish soap into the small opening below Reva’s shoulder. She
attempted to work her arm to distribute the liquid.
“Well?” Todd asked.
“Nope. Not working.”
“Okay then,” Carlie said, not to be deterred. “Try this.” She
handed Ron the oil. Even if it didn’t work, it sure smelled
good. Minutes later, they had gone through all but the
whipped cream. No change, and Reva’s voice weakened
considerably. Todd’s shoulder ached from Reva’s weight. As
much as he liked looking at her, this was not the angle he
had hoped for. His hands were beyond numb but he knew if
he let her fall, she’d likely yank her arm and cause damage.
“What do you think, Todd?” Carlie held the can up and
shook it to and fro.
“Don’t bother. With everything else we’ve poured in, there
will be all sorts of insects swarming. Add that and she’s sure
to get stung. I doubt it’d help anyway.” He raised his free eye
to meet hers but she stared over his head.
“What’s wrong?” Todd asked.
“Nothing. There are a few neighbors watching.” The distant
sound of sirens crooned in the night, gaining volume as they
approached.
A few neighbors and here comes the city fire department.
“The fire department?” Reva asked from the depths of the
tree trunk. “You called the fire department? That’s just
great.”
“No, we didn’t call,” Todd corrected. “Someone apparently
did, but not us.”
At least fifteen people stood around. They talked, giggled,
pointed. Good thing she couldn’t see any of this. He felt her
legs tremble.
The sirens and flashing lights pulled to the curb, the crowd
broke to allow access. Todd was pushed aside as a burly
fireman took his place.
Thank God.
Thirty minutes later,
Reva was freed from the tree with a bruised and well-oiled
arm…covered
in…ants.
The
tree
had
sustained
worse
damage. It had a gaping hole where one limb had been
removed.
When Reva’s head surfaced for the first time since the
incident started, the crowd broke into cheers and clapped. A
wolf-whistle came too, and her face changed from sheetwhite to crimson in seconds. Only her eyes betrayed the fear
that she suppressed. She didn’t cry. She didn’t scream. She
didn’t yell. She didn’t move. Still there was pure terror in her
expression.
Was that fabricated stillness her coping mechanism?
Todd realized he had sorely underestimated the level of
abuse she had survived. Until tonight, he had hoped to
spend more time with Reva. Now, that seemed tinged with
potential
drama.
Drama
wasn’t
something
he
normally
endured. Not anymore.
Reva snapped out of her trance and readjusted the ponytail
in her hair to remove the entwined bark. “You are sooo
buying me dinner and a beer or two.”
Todd relaxed and smiled. There was hope. Yay. Atta girl.
“That’s sooo not a problem. Let’s go. We’ll make quite a
pair—me with a knot on my head, and you with scratches all
over your arm.”
“Been there done that. The hard way.” She shrugged. “This
should be a cakewalk.”
He didn’t dare push for details.

Celebrity
Status
achieved
through
humiliation
leads
to
exhaustion. Reva’s front door took a beating over the next
few days from the barrage of neighbors checking in. She
assumed it was more for amusement than concern over her
well-being. Regardless, in quick time she had learned every
detail about the people that surrounded her. Plus it had
served to lessen her panic at the sound of a door knock.
Her concerns at work paled compared to the stories that
traversed the neighborhood. She much preferred her preexisting blindness to the many flaws and drama that had
previously escaped her attention. Knowledge, in this case,
was definitely
not
power, but rather another mechanism to
increase
her
fear
and
agitation.
For
the
community,
it
appeared to be a source of pride to share a tidbit of
information on a neighbor that had not yet been heard. Her
story was obviously the biggest excitement since Bradley
Harris
on
West
Sycamore
was
arrested
for
growing
marijuana in his attic. There was a little humor in that story
as well. Who guessed that old bald guy had it in him?
When
a
knock
on
the
door
occurred
Thursday
night
simultaneous to her cell phone ringing, Reva practically
jumped out of her skin. Temptation to ignore the door and
the curious neighbor crowding it surfaced as she glanced at
the
phone
display.
She
still
checked
every
time
before
answering to make sure it wasn’t Nick calling. There had
been no reason to suspect he wanted to but she couldn’t
suppress the learned reaction even though months had
passed. She recognized her sister’s number.
She had a
dilemma; ignoring the door would tell the person standing
outside it she was in when the cell stopped ringing. Ignoring
the cell would allow her to bypass both and, at the moment,
that certainly was appealing.
She answered it at the same time she unlocked the door.
“Have I caught you doing anything illegal?” Maria asked. She
really needed a new greeting. Reva jerked the door open and
grinned. Todd.
“Do thoughts count?” she answered.
“Huh?” Todd asked. When Reva pointed to the phone and
mouthed her sister’s name, he nodded. “You ready for
practice?” he said.
“Reva?” Maria’s voice echoed. “You have someone there?
Please don’t tell me it’s that guy you brought to Mom and
Dad’s—and he better not be moved in.”
Reva giggled. “Yep, it’s him and no he’s not, but don’t rule it
out yet. I’d do just about anything to get Mom and Dad out
of my hair.
I’m on my way out, Mar. Can I call you in a
couple hours?”
Maria reluctantly let her go and it pleased Reva that her
curiosity had been aroused.
She dropped the phone in her sports bag, zipped it closed,
and stepped out to lock the door. It had been nice of him to
stop by and get her. It’s really odd the things that bother a
person when they’ve dealt with an abusive relationship. For
those small few that had already passed beyond the potential
of danger and experienced what came next, the possibility of
walking alone at night might have been unthinkable. It
definitely
was
her
least
attractive
mode
of
travel
or
entertainment. She rarely ventured out just to walk, and
certainly not alone. Running felt safer. Being out alone had
become a vulnerability in her past life; one that she had no
intention of repeating. That had been placed firmly behind
and this was the time to start refreshed, confident, and as
Neil Armstrong said on the moon,
go boldly forth where no man
has gone before
. Okay, maybe a lot of people have been in this
situation before. Still, they weren’t living her life at the
moment, which substantiated the reasoning that she had no
intention of being stupid. Been there, done that. Not going
back.
As Reva and Todd walked leisurely to the ball diamond, they
spoke casually, making idle conversation. The slow pace
tortured her.
Can this man not walk any faster? Does he always
meander through life as if nothing matters?
“We’re twenty minutes early, you know,” he said.
She forced herself to release the fist that she’d clenched her
right hand into.
“We’ll be the first ones to show up so you don’t need to
rush.”
“Sorry, it’s habit. I always walk fast.”
“And you run. Or at least when I see you, you’re running
somewhere.”
She ran in the mornings, and made sure to watch every
movement
around
her
when
she
did.
He
had
already
mentioned seeing her. She wondered if he’d noticed her
other habits. Like that she always crossed the street when
someone was
in their
yard or
approaching her
on the
sidewalk. She even did so when a car drove toward her
sluggishly.
“Would you prefer to run now?”
“Actually, no. I’m sorry. I’ll slow down.” She hesitated to
explain. It could be an instant conversation killer to do so.
Besides, apparently her family had already said something.
No need to dwell on it.
Go forth.
The softball practice was a nice tension reliever, and it
proved a pleasant surprise to discover she hadn’t lost her
skills. The team was made up of a great deal of young
parents
or
newlyweds.
Only
one
other
single
person
attended, a young man named Rod. “As in Stewart” he had
told them when introduced. Reva guessed his mother had
been a fan. Rod took an instant liking to Reva and didn’t
attempt to conceal it. Apparently, he had signed up at the
request of his brother and wife, who felt it would help him
to meet people. Rod had moved nearby less than three
months before.
“I knew you’d nail this.” Todd smiled when he returned
from rounding the bases after his ground hit made it past
two fielders.
“What are you talking about? You’re the one that just hit the
snot out of the ball.”
“Errors. I made it around on errors, not on the hit, but I’ll
take it any way I can.”
After practice, the group lounged in the dugout around a
cooler
filled
with
drinks.
Idle
conversation
about
kids,
friends, parents, and the home owner’s association seemed
to be the main topics. Reva contributed little as she took a
random swig of beer. Though quiet, it had been a welcome
feeling to be outside with a group, almost relaxing. When
she gathered her things and headed home, Todd fell into
step beside her, and she was glad for it.
“You seemed a bit distracted earlier. Everything okay?”
He had no idea.
He was just being polite and she certainly
didn’t intend to dump her baggage on him.
“Work is… Work. I have a small co-worker issue but it’ll
resolve itself in a few days.” She had been confident of that
last week but now that confidence had wavered.
Brent’s
confrontational attitude, coupled with his lack of response,
made her think back to her original unease. She needed to
really think about the best way to proceed with him.
“Want to tell me about it?” He offered it almost as an afterthought.
She sized him up for a brief moment. “Nope. Not really.”
”Okay. Maybe some other time then. You know, you’re a
pretty good athlete. I’ve seen you run and you move easily
and more graceful than most. I assume you ran track and
played ball in high school?”
“Does it matter? That’s all over with now. I run now to stay
in shape and be prepared.” She realized the last word was a
bad choice after it was already spoken.
“Prepared for what?” He stepped off the curb to cross the
street as a car whizzed past. Reva jumped back, yanking on
his arm. “Don’t panic. They saw me.”
“I know – but they were so close.” She hesitated until the
car
had
reached
the
corner
and
turned
away
before
following.
She picked up the pace and clipped across the
street to the sidewalk, darting a glance to ensure no other
pedestrians were nearby.
“Reva, stop for a minute.” He still hadn’t made it to the curb
and she fidgeted as she waited. “You have dirt all over your
back from where you dove after the ball at second. Let me
dust it off.”
“No.” She craned her neck to see her backside and swatted a
hand across her butt twice. “I’ve got it.”
Todd’s hand swiped down her hip in a pat, catching her off
guard. Reva jolted and ducked.
“Hey. Hey.” He lowered his
voice and crooned. “You
missed a spot. I’m not going to hurt you.” Todd pulled his
hand back to his hip and stood watching her face. Reva
couldn’t meet his gaze. She couldn’t let him see the barely
concealed
panic
that
occurred
whenever
an
unexpected
touch happened.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do that. I just – was surprised.”
Another car turned toward them and slowly moved by. She
watched it as it trailed along, a mother and her children on
the way home from somewhere. The mother waved and
smiled, and Reva returned the wave. Is it normal to peer into
each car and take a mental note of the features? She’d done
it for so long it was impossible to stop.
“You’ve become a celebrity around here,” Todd mused.
“The girl with her butt hanging out of the tree. Just what I
always wanted to be remembered for.”
Todd laughed. She liked the sound, and the way the muscles
in his neck flexed when he tossed his head back. He reached
for her softball glove and dropped it over the handle of the
bat he carried, letting it slide to rest over his own well-worn
glove.
“That’s better than being the guy whose face was smashed
against your ass for two hours.”
She felt heat rising in her face. “About that. Can we just
pretend it didn’t happen? You know, not talk about it
again?”
“That might be a little hard since we’ll probably walk by that
tree every time we go to the ball park. Not to mention the
neighbors have been around checking on us all the time.
Pretty nosy bunch, don’t you think?”
They reached the corner by her house and she turned.
Before picking up the pace to walk the last few steps alone,
she smiled. “It’s kind of like going to my parents.”