Lights Out (16 page)

“Thanks, Joe,” Shane said, greeting his uncle at the door of their classroom. Taylor seemed equally excited as Piper handed McKenzie over to her.

The kids were talking amid a mix of fish, dogs, cats, and other things in cages. Was that a snake? Okay, so maybe it was time for her to leave. She gave one final glance at Joe on her way out of the room and found him in a conversation with Mr. Marshall. She needed to get Pepper to Ken before the ceremony started. She looked at her watch. She had fifteen minutes. She didn’t want him to get the idea that maybe she was waiting for him. She felt oddly nervous around him now, that awkward moment when you like someone but you’re not sure what to do with it yet.

She dropped Pepper off with Kennedy and, a few minutes later entered the gym, taking in the chairs that had been set up in rows for parents and guests. She decided to sit near the wall, on the left side. It was relatively empty there, and a few rows back from the animals.

A microphone had been set up in the front of the room for the speakers. Piper took her seat and relaxed. That hadn’t been bad after all. This motherhood thing was working so far for her. She patted herself on the back for having successfully and safely handed the dogs off. She was interested in watching the proceedings of this, her first Blessing of the Pets ceremony.

Joe entered the gym and spotted Piper seated alone to his left. He glanced over to the other side of the room, his right, where mothers, fathers and some grandparents had taken seats, waiting for the show to start. He turned back to Piper, catching her eyes as she’d looked up and caught his, gave him a smile, tentative and interested.

He turned and walked over to her. “Lost all of your animals, too, I see,” she said once he reached the chair and sat down next to her.

“Yep. The lizard is with a friend.”

“I feel naked without kids. Who would have thought, huh?”

“It doesn’t take long for them to become a part of you,” he said, glancing around the room. The kids were entering the gym now. The younger grades were entering first. Piper turned to find Kennedy walking with Pepper by her side. She waved.

Dogs were barking at each other, pulling kids on leashes. Cats in cages were scared out of their wits. There were also all manner of lizards, small amphibians in cages, a few fish in small jars, and one stuffed animal on a leash being dragged behind a child. It was a strange sort of Noah’s ark as the children strolled in, not two by two but class by class.

Piper hit Joe in the side with her elbow and pointed toward Shane with Charlie followed by Taylor with McKenzie, as the fifth grade began entering. Once the kids were seated, the principal stood up and approached the microphone.

“I would like to welcome you all to our annual Blessing of the Pets Ceremony. We’ve adopted St. Francis as one of our representatives of the school. As you know, he is the patron saint of animals and the poor. We’ve invited Reverend Salizar to conduct our ceremony today, so let’s start by bowing our heads in prayer.”

The ceremony went smoothly from there. The animals mostly cooperated, or at least as much as one could expect animals to behave stuffed in a gym with three hundred children, parents, and teachers. It was controlled chaos in here, Piper thought, taking it all in, amazed and impressed by the teachers and staff’s calmness and air of confidence. That is, until the back door swung open, hitting the wall with a crack.

A horse stood in the middle of the door, regal in its bearing. A white spot was in the middle of its chest, the only mar in its otherwise black coat. He looks like he’s wearing a tuxedo, Piper thought. A white top hat sat upon his head, completing the ensemble.

The reins were held by what looked to be a middle-school aged student who was standing beside him, also decked out in tuxedo shirt and white top hat. Everyone in the room turned at the sound, surprised into silence at the sudden appearance of this guest.

And then it was total and complete pandemonium. The dogs, in unison, began barking, while one small dachshund broke away from his child and took in an all-out pursuit of the horse like he’d been shot from a cannon. Two other small dogs escaped from their owners and gave chase to the dachshund.

The owners of the dogs, followed by a few parents, ran to catch their animals. Piper looked over and found that Joe had left his seat and was making his way toward the front of the gym. He and two other students, middle-school aged, she guessed, were moving quickly to try and recapture the dog and his companions. The dogs, however, had a different idea in mind. For them, this had turned into a classic game of chase. Things were heading south fast. Mrs. Foley stood and made a dash for the microphone.

“Children, please take your seats. Children! Teachers, please gain control of your classes,” she said, her words ineffective. Bedlam reigned, and was moving speedily toward the point of no return.

Coach Stanton, the athletic director, walked to the front of the room. He blew his whistle. Loud. She didn’t know it could be that loud, but it cut into the noise and everything stopped, like a game of Mother May I.

Piper laughed, watching as the horse disappeared from the door and the dogs were recaptured. Joe held the main culprit, the dachshund, in his arms. A child stood next to him, a dog in his arms, too. Piper watched as Joe gave the kid a high five, a smile on his face as he handed his dog off to his owner.

He walked back to his chair and sat down, trying to contain his laughter. He turned to look at Piper. Why did he do that? She made a face and he started laughing. She joined in, sharing the moment, before it changed. He saw something more in her eyes, a match for what he felt inside.

It was still loud in the gym, but more settled now. The atmosphere returned to a more normal state for this type of ceremony. Reverend Salizar was sprinkling water over the room, finally giving the animals their blessing.

She turned to look at Joe again, but his eyes were turned forward. Okay, she wanted more. A hookup, but more if she could get it. If not, she’d work with that for starters. This Joe was someone she could see herself with. They sat in silence until the program ended. The children filed out first, followed by the teachers and the parents.

Piper and Joe went to pick up their respective animals. She went to Ken’s room first to pick up Pepper, and then to Taylor’s. She must have missed Joe. Shane stood next to Taylor, minus both his animals.

With both of the dogs and their leashes in hand, she made her way to her car. She opened the doors to let both schnauzers in when she felt someone at her side. She turned to find Joe there.

He couldn’t leave well enough alone, it seemed. He’d seen that look of longing in her eyes, and it had pulled him in. He’d left Charlie and the lizard near the front door with a parent who liked him. He told her he’d forgotten something in the gym and would be back in a second.

“You got your dogs all in?” he asked.

“Yep,” she said, closing the door, turning to face him. He walked closer to her, moving still closer until his body lined up with hers, touching hers. In her heels she was the same height as he, and he leaned into her, watching her widening eyes. He took in her hair blowing around her face, and moved it from her eyes. Then his eyes moved to her mouth, and he moved in close and kissed her softly on the lips. The feel of her was as old and as fresh as yesterday.

Her hand had moved downward to his waist. He remembered this. They played at each other’s mouth for a good minute or two before Joe straightened and pulled back from her.

Joe, Joe, Joe, he inwardly admonished himself. So much for keeping a distance, as he continued to gaze into her eyes.

Why in the world did I say no to him? Piper wondered.

They looked at each other’s mouths for a good two or three seconds more, remembering, before he pulled back further. He didn’t say a word, just pulled back, and she had no idea what he was thinking then.

“See you later,” he said.

“Sure,” she said, watching as he turned and walked away. She pushed her hair from around her eyes, catching her breath, trying to calm down, looking over her shoulder at his departure. What the hell, she thought again and got into her car, checking on McKenzie and Pepper moving from one window to the other, scanning the streets for prey.

“What do you think?” she asked them. McKenzie scampered over and licked her hand. Pepper wasn’t interested. Her eyes remained glued to something going on down the street.

“What to do?” she asked McKenzie, who was looking at her like he understood her dilemma. Piper turned again, catching Joe as he disappeared around the corner of the building. She started her car, and pulled out of the parking lot.

“Okay, now move your feet this way,” Piper said, grimacing as Shane stepped on her toes again. She should have put on some shoes, but she avoided wearing them at home. They were in the kitchen, zydeco music turned up loud. She was trying to teach the kids a simple two-step.

Kennedy was the most adept of the group. Shane, however, was willing in spirit, even if his feet weren’t. Her feet, however, were paying the price for his willingness. Taylor had gotten angry, decided to sit the whole exercise out.

“Piper, why do you like this music so much?” Ken asked, doing her own dance in the corner of the room, picking up McKenzie’s two front paws and moving him around with her.

Piper laughed at them, then grimaced as Shane stepped on her toes again.

“I grew up with it, listened to it on the radio all the time,” she said. “My grandparents played it all the time. I like it. I like the instruments, the sounds the rub board makes along with the sounds from the guitars, violin, drums, and accordion.”

“What’s a rub board?” Kennedy asked.

“It looks like a washboard,” Piper replied.

“What’s a washboard?” Kennedy asked.

“Forget it, and that’s enough dancing tonight,” she said.

“Don’t forget to ask Joe if Shane can come with us tomorrow night,” Taylor reminded her again. “He might agree if you ask him. He likes you. You can invite him to come, too.”

“I won’t forget,” Piper said. Saturday was the next zydeco night event at her shop, and the girls had invited Shane. She had planned on asking Joe to attend, even before the kids had made the suggestion. She remembered the way he moved on the dance floor, the way he’d moved into her, welcoming any opportunity to be near him again. That recent kiss was just fuel to the fire. All he had to do was ask her again. She’d say yes.

* * *

Piper stood in the utility room an hour later, after stuffing her last load of laundry into the washing machine. She closed the door, shutting off the sounds emanating from the washer and dryer, and heard for the first time McKenzie and Pepper barking near the front door.

Joe must have arrived. She removed the scarf from her head, ran her hands through her hair, and walked to the door. Joe stood on the other side. He seemed tired, more so than usual for the end of the week.

“Hey,” he said.

“What’s up?”

“Nothing much. How are the kids?” he asked, walking in.

“Fine. Hey, before I forget, tomorrow is zydeco night at the shop. Thought you and Shane might like to come. The girls made me promise to invite the two of you, and Shane’s hounded me since he’s been here. So you’ve been officially invited,” she said, offering him one of her more enticing smiles.

“If I’m not on call,” he said. Hell yes was his internal answer; he had given up on his attempt to put distance between them. He was back to the hookup question. He’d figured out how to prevent it from morphing into more. The kids’ schedules they could work around.

He watched as she turned and headed up the stairs, taking them two at a time. What a nice stride, what energy. He stepped into the foyer, picking up Shane’s backpack from the floor near the door.

He stood there waiting while she rounded up Shane. In less than five minutes, all four were heading down the steps, kids and dogs in front, Piper bringing up the rear.

“Good night,” Shane said to his friends and he and Joe left, waving goodbye a final time as they drove away.

“Did you ask him?” Taylor asked.

“Yes, I invited them,” Piper said.

“What did he say?”

“If he’s not working.”

“That’s means no,” Taylor said.

“Not necessarily,” Piper said.

* * *

Joe pulled up to Lights Out the next night. He was free, not on call, and energized. He was one big knot of anticipation, probably more than what was healthy. But so what? The extraordinary pull he felt from Piper convinced him to try the hook-up again.

He parked. Shane had gone in, hopping out before Joe had a chance to put the car in park. He’d seen Taylor standing at the window, peeking out, her baseball cap’s brim pushed against the glass, watching and waiting for her buddy.

Joe peered through the windows, amazed at the size of the large crowd. He entered, his eyes scanning the crowd immediately for her. There she was, low-riding jean shorts clinging tightly to beautiful and shapely thighs. A tight Lights Out polo tucked into them, showing off a slim waist and breasts he knew fit perfectly in his hands. His favorite Ropers were on her feet, and her hair was in curly ringlets surrounding her head. As she smiled she showed those lips he longed to taste again. She stood behind the counter, working, talking to some African-American dude, not bad looking, who was smiling back at her.