Saving Toby (3 page)

4. Toby

Ray Rudack hadn’t changed much since high school. He was
still smaller than Devlin and I. Still the sidekick, our comic relief. We
pushed him around and teased him for years, and he took it all without
complaint. He stuttered when he was nervous and had no other friends. He was
also still a freaking mess. Hair hung in his eyes, his breath stank, and the
nasty sweatpants he had on looked like he’d been wearing them for days.

Through most of high school, I’d spent a lot of time at the
Rudacks’ house, mostly to avoid home. And Al Junior. It was a place where no
one cared what you smoked, how long you stayed, or if your family was messed
up.

We were hanging out in Ray’s kitchen, the same now as then,
having a few beers. Leaning against the sink, I looked around. The wall above
the stove was yellow with oily residue, the sink had a few dirty dishes in it,
and trash overflowed the container. Ray and Dev pushed aside a cheap-looking,
plastic flower basket and sat at the table with their stash and rolling papers
spread out on the pitted surface. The scent of a burning blunt blew in from the
den. Ray’s younger brother and a few friends were hanging out much like we had
a few years ago.

Nothing ever changed.

We heard a crash from the other room, followed by laughter.
Ray leapt out of his chair to investigate, yelling, “Little shit, you’d
b-b-better fix that!”

“Ah, the familiar sounds of brotherly love,” I drawled. Dev
snorted.

The back door opened, and Mrs. Rudack came in. Despite the
cool night, she had on a tight, open-neck shirt that made it hard not to notice
her perky, surgically enhanced boobs. She was clearly coming in from her own
little party out back.

“Tobeee,” she crooned, pulling me into a hug. “I’ve missed
you.”

Dev and I both agreed. She was a MILF. Her body was tight
for her age, though her face was wrecked from years of drinking and hard-core
partying—she made us guys look like amateurs.

“Hello, Mrs. Rudack.” The hug lasted a few awkward moments
longer than it should have. I drew away from her.

“Please call me Diane—I’m not married anymore.” She wagged a
finger and smiled at me. “‘Mrs.’ makes me sound so old. If you guys don’t have
plans, my girlfriends and I are having drinks out back around the fire pit. You
can join us if you want.” She might have meant the invitation for all of us, but
her eyes were only on me.

“No, thanks, Mom,” Ray jumped in. “We’re going into town.”

“Oh, okay. Maybe some other time.” She batted her eyes at
me.

When she left the room, Dev let out a low catcall.

“What’d you think of that rack? She took out a loan for
those puppies.”

I raised my eyebrows and smiled. “Impressive.”

I could see Diane with her two friends through the back door
outside drinking and laughing around a small, steel-bowled fire pit. I eyed the
prospects. “I don’t know, guys. There are three experienced cougars out there
all primed to pounce—one for each of us, but I call dibs on your mother, Ray. I
think she’s hot for me.”

“Shit, with the way she was all up on you, you could
definitely get her,” Dev nodded and grinned. “In fact, you’d be my
motherfucking
hero if you did.”

“G-guys, come on, that’s m-my mother,” Ray protested weakly,
more concerned with rolling and lighting the next joint.

“Come on, Ray. I haven’t gotten laid since Florida,” I continued,
just to bust his chops. “If I hook up with your mom, you can call me ‘Daddy.’”

Ray’s eyes grew wide. “Screw you, Faye!” he roared. Dev and
I broke up.

We settled down, but Dev still eyed me with a smirk.
“Seriously, dude, you’re not hitting that hot little number hanging out in your
kitchen?”

“I told you she works at the house with Julia.” Playing it
casual, I leaned back against the counter and took a sip of my beer.

He leaned forward. “If you’re not interested, I’d like a
crack at her.”

“Man, you are delusional if you think you have a shot with
her.”

Dev smiled. “Not delusional. Not with these,” he pulled out
a baggie with a couple of pills in it. “I’ll mix her a cocktail that will
ensure a night of sizzling interaction.”

I choked on a mouthful of beer, and it dribbled down my
chin. I wiped my face with the back of my hand. “You’re fucking crazy if you
think I’d let you slip any of those to her.” Just the thought of him touching
her pissed me off.

Dev gritted his teeth and squinted at me. Just as quickly as
it came, the anger slipped away, and he leaned back coolly and smiled.

“Ah, you just want her for yourself.” Dev threw his hand in
the air. “And you’ll probably get her, too. Girls like you. Shit, Ray’s mom was
practically ready to blow you.”

“Goddamn it, Dev!” Ray was suddenly on his feet. “Don’t talk
about my mother like that!” Totally out of character, with his face twisted in
anger, he punched Devlin in the arm.

We all became quiet. Dev’s eyes flashed. I considered
intervening. Provoking Devlin was a death wish. Understanding that he’d
overstepped, big time, Ray dropped his arms limply at his sides as his face
went blank. Without another word, he sat back down.

Dev’s nose twitched followed by tight moment of uncertainty.
He seemed to calm down … and then he lunged towards Ray, quick as a shot. I
thought he might hit the kid after all.

Instead, he reached forward with a giant hand and swiped the
joint Ray was holding. He took a hit and held it out to me. I waved it off.

Dev slowly exhaled a stream of heady smoke. “Come on, let’s
get stewed and rip up the town like we used to.”

“Not me, man. I told you I’m not interested in repeating
that stuff. Besides, I can’t get wrecked, not while Julia’s sick.” The smoke
wafting around the room was already creeping into my mind. “But we can still
get out of here for a while.”

“Ye-yeah, let’s go to Murphy’s. They have the Yankee-Red Sox
p-pre-season game on the big screen. And free wings during the g-game,” Ray
said.

“I’m not going anywhere with you unless you freaking put on
a clean pair of pants and brush your teeth,” I snapped.

“Shut the hell up, Faye,” he grumbled, but he disappeared
and came back with different pants on.

Dev offered to drive. There was no question I’d be up front
with Dev, which put Ray in the back seat of the fully refurbished black
Cutlass.

As I climbed in, my shoe caught on a large canvas bag on the
floor of the passenger seat.

“Just throw that in the back,” Dev said.

“What is it?” I lifted the bag, intending to hand it to Ray,
but then I saw envelopes inside. “Working for the post office?”

“Yeah, undercover,” Dev laughed. He turned the key, and the
engine roared to life. “It’s from my job. You know, looking for cashable
checks. I hit a good bag last week, but I can’t take anymore after this one.
They’ll get suspicious.”

“Glad to see you raised your crime standards from petty to
federal,” I said, needling him.

“God, what the hell is up with you, Faye? Stop getting all
over me. You ain’t so fucking clean either.”

“You know man, I don’t do crap like this anymore.” I shook
the bag. “And I’m not cool driving around with it. Either you leave it at Ray’s
or I’ll take my Jeep.”

Dev looked at me and shook his head. He twisted around to
look behind him. “Ray, throw that bag in the house, will you?” He looked back
at me as Ray grabbed the bag and hopped out.

“You sold out.”

“What the hell are you talking about? Working a legit job is
selling out?”

“Yeah. Come on, not getting high, and working that nine to
five every day? Bet you’re breaking your fucking back. And for what? How much
is old Abe paying you?”

“It doesn’t matter. It’s a job,” I ground out, not wanting
to talk about the crappy money I was making. “As soon as Julia’s in remission,
I’m outta here.”

5.
Claudia

It was easy to work with Mrs. Faye. Within the first week, I
became familiar with her preferences and how orderly she liked to keep the
house, right down to the medication bottles lined up neatly on a tray at her
bedside. There was very little accumulation of items in any room of the house, so
I was careful to put everything I used away.

I spent most of my time cooking, cleaning, and checking in
on Mrs. Faye. I saw very little of Toby. Most times we would say a quick hello
before he went out, and each night before I left I would bring him up-to-date
on anything that happened during my shift.

It was the end of the night, just before he came home that I
liked best. It was then I could sit with Mrs. Faye and talk. I liked to listen
as she told me about what was happening in the lives of her church friends. Her
insight and clarity intrigued me, so much so that when she started to ask me
personal questions, I felt comfortable opening up to her. It was easy to talk
to her, and she took an interest in what I had to say.

On Friday of my third week, I had to leave my car at the
mechanic shop overnight. I was not happy about the inconvenience, but I didn’t
have classes. Dad drove me to the Fayes’ that night. I intended to walk home
later.

“I heard your mother moved back to California. What’s she up
to these days?” Mrs. Faye asked, as we were finishing up that night. Propped up
in her bed, she looked older than her fifty-three years.

“She’s a real estate agent in San Diego,” I said, handing
her the evening’s medications and a glass of ginger ale to settle her stomach.

“That must be difficult having her so far away.”

I shrugged. “Sure, but my parents can’t be around each
other. They just fight. But, I see my mother as much as I can. She’s always
trying to get me to come out there. So I decided to transfer to school out by
her in the fall.”

“You’re going away?”

“Hopefully,” I said. “I’m crossing my fingers and my toes
that everything goes through. And that my dad goes along with it.”

“He doesn’t approve?” Her eyebrows arched over her bright
blue eyes as she questioned me.

“Dad’s so old-fashioned. He’d much rather I settle down and
pop out a brood of kids. But kids and a husband? Not me, not yet.” I made quick
work of folding a blanket at the foot of the bed. “I don’t want his
conventional life. I like school. And USC is amazing. I visited last time I was
in California. That’s when I decided I was going to make it happen.”

She patted my hand. “I love that you’re following
your
dream. That kind of enthusiasm is contagious.”

I assisted in turning her onto her side and tucked the sheet
and blanket over her. “It means I’ll be gone for most of the year, but I’ll try
to come visit.”

“Please do. It’ll be wonderful to hear all about it,” she
told me, then smiled. “I never went to college. Maybe I can experience it
through you.”

“Sure,” I agreed. It pleased me to think I’d made a
life-long friend in Mrs. Faye.

Just then, the front door creaked, announcing Toby’s arrival
and the end of my shift. With Mrs. Faye settled, I wished her a goodnight and
went downstairs to leave.

Toby was rummaging through the refrigerator and came out
with three beers. “Hey,” he said. “Stay for a beer?”

“Thanks, no,” I replied. “Your mother is all set for the
night. See you Wednesday.”

He nodded, and I headed out the door.

It was a nice night, and I didn’t mind that I had to walk. When
I stepped outside, two guys were leaning against Toby’s red Jeep Wrangler. I
recognized his friend, Devlin, from the other night. The second guy was smaller
and raggedy-looking, with messy, dark brown hair. They both stared at me as I
started down the steps.

Devlin pushed off the car, coming forward. “Hey, beautiful.”

His hulking size and overfriendly smile was intimidating,
but I forced myself to walk past them rather than run.

“Hello.” I acknowledged him to be polite.

“Have a beer with us?” Devlin asked as Toby came out onto
the front steps behind me.

“No, thanks.” I kept walking even though the smaller guy
stepped towards me.

I caught a glimpse of overlapping front teeth as he grinned,
but I was unprepared when he slithered his hand over my backside.

“Na-na-nice ass,” he stuttered.

Shocked, I turned and whacked his hand. He yowled as I
stepped forward and jabbed a finger at him. “Ever touch me again and you’ll
lose that hand.”

Despite my boiling anger, a cold sweat dampened my armpits
and crept down my back. The guy raised his hands in mock surrender and backed
away. Devlin and Toby rolled with fits of laughter. I eyed the three of them,
my glare sharpening on Toby. Feeling betrayed, I started running down the
block. I ran until I rounded the first corner, out of their sight, before I
slowed down.

A few moments later, though, I heard running footsteps
coming from behind me.

“Claudia!” Toby called. “Wait up.”

I walked faster. “Asshole,” I hissed under my breath.

It was only seconds before he’d caught up and kept pace with
me.

“Hey,” he said slightly winded. “Are you okay?”

“Perfect. I’m always glad to provide amusement for a couple
of rowdy jerks,” I growled, and kept walking. “I’ll be back again next week,
and we can really yuck it up.”

“‘Yuck it up?’” A dubious smile flitted across his face.

I whirled around to face him. “Shut up!” I was furious that
he’d somehow made me feel self-conscious. “Did you follow me just to make fun
of me?”

“No.” He backed up a step and put his hands in his pockets.
“I just wanted to tell you I’m sorry and that I shouldn’t have laughed.”

I bit my tongue and turned away from him, stomping on.

He began walking also, continuing his lame apology. “Ray’s a
bonehead. Neither of those guys knows how to behave around a beautiful girl
like you.”

“Your friend harassed me, and you laughed.” Clenching my
fists, I kept my head down and refused to look at him. “Don’t try to flatter me
now. Go away and leave me alone!”

Without warning, he took a large step and positioned himself
in front of me. I almost crashed into him. Stopping abruptly, I snapped, “What
are you doing?”

He tilted his head to look into my eyes. “Hey. I mean it,
I’m sorry.” He had the decency to look ashamed. “It will never happen again,
okay?”

“Oh, it won’t because I’ll … ”

He put a tentative hand on my shoulder, his expression
serious. “If anyone even thinks about touching you again, I will kick their ass
up and down the street.”

“Great. That’s very comforting,” I couldn’t hide my sarcasm.
“Now get out of my way. I want to go home.” Thankfully, he stepped aside.

“Where’s your car?” he asked, falling into step with me
again.

I sighed and mumbled, “Auto shop.”

“I would have given you a ride.”

I stopped and faced him. “Listen, I’m all right. I don’t
need a ride. I can get home just fine all by myself. Go home. I feel safer
without
you.”

“Ouch. That hurts,” he said, and although he claimed to be
injured, a little smile tweaked the corners of his mouth. “Come on, I feel bad
about what happened. Let me walk you home. If it makes you feel better, I can
walk behind you, like a shadow. You won’t even have to look at me.”

Sighing again, I put a hand over my face, and, despite it
all, I started to laugh. “You’re ridiculous.”

“But I’m cute, aren’t I?” He cocked his head to one side and
grinned.

I shook my head at his arrogance. I was too tired to fight
any more. I let him walk me home.