Sparkle (8 page)

Tomorrow, if everything went well, he would start to let Jolie know how he felt about her. He stretched out straight under the blankets on his couch, closed his eyes, and drifted off instantly.

He was in the big Victorian on Queen Anne Hill. He was six years old. He floated into the room and stretched out his arms, and blackened blood dissolved and disappeared beneath him. The spirits of the dead began to stir and stretch, freed from the frozen bitter spite that held them. They wafted up with lovely iridescence and hovered near Eddie.

The little girl was there, and she smiled and waved, safe between her parents. Then she and her parents flitted on and up, right through the ceiling, and Eddie sailed out after them, going his own way.

The Sparkle Soda music began and the sun glinted everywhere, spreading warm magic.

Little Eddie and grown-up Jolie, dressed in ’70s clothes, floated side by side through an old-fashioned zoo, where Kodachrome animals lived happily in antique circus cages.

Jolie sipped, content, at her green bottle of Sparkle.

The announcer said, “Nothing brings out the fun like Sparkle. Its lemony goodness takes you places you’ve never been before!”

The singing started. “Sparkle … Shine your love light, Sparkle! You got the taste we love, that’s why we love to love you when you love to Sparkle.”

Little Eddie and Jolie strolled to an old-fashioned cage. A huge tiger leaped at the bars and roared. Jolie, startled, drifted into Little Eddie, brushed against him.

Eddie reached out, and Jolie reached out, and they held hands. Amazingly, her touch didn’t make him the least bit uncomfortable. In fact, Jolie’s hand felt good. Amazing, safe, and warm.

Little Eddie held Jolie’s hand, and the sensation was rich and interesting. He looked at her face, and she was Jolie and Mom and Lucy all together. But somehow the combination was not disturbing; he and Jolie seemed to be giving and receiving information without words.

Little Eddie lifted his beautiful bottle of Sparkle. It glittered like a diamond. Hundreds of beautiful blue wisps floated up around them, brushing against their skin with rainbow sparks, as they floated off into the glorious unknown.

“You never know what might happen when you Sparkle!” the announcer said. “You never know!

Then Eddie felt a tugging at his pant leg and a cold feeling washed through him. He looked around and there was Lucy looking up at him. She seemed to be sinking into the earth although her distance from him never changed. Her face looked swollen with disappointment and her eyes brimmed with tears that never did fall.

“You never know,” Eddie said.

“Yes you do.” Lucy Silver mouthed the words but there was no sound.

Chapter 11

Saturday

At 8:59 a.m. Joe was out cold, snoring like a buzz saw, sprawled on top of his covers in his boxer shorts. A copy of Baseball Digest was draped over his face, and the ashtray on the nightstand was overflowing.

His folded pants sailed across the room, knocking the magazine from his face.

He coughed and sat up groggily. Eddie stood at the foot of the bed, neatly dressed, holding out a hot cup of coffee.

Joe lit a smoke. He was tired and a little hung over, as much from all the crappy television as from the six-pack he’d polished off. He swung his feet wearily to the floor and took his coffee from Eddie.

“Thanks.” He reached over and grabbed his cell to check the time.

Eddie looked at his brother. He knew Joe felt crummy. This might be a good time to make his point.

“Cab, Joe.”

“No, Eddie. I’m driving you, bro. I don’t want you to go by yourself.”

“Mrs. Kim’s.”

Joe let Eddie walk the four blocks to Mrs. Kim’s corner store alone to buy his Shiny Gold. The cleaner had been out of vogue for years and most stores didn’t even carry it anymore. But Mrs. Kim, a friendly, blowsy, 50-something blonde, had an infallible source. She kept a constant supply in her tiny store, pretty much just for Eddie.

“Mrs. Kim’s store is different, Eddie,” Joe said. “It’s closer. It’s a lot closer. And it’s walking. Not taking a cab. I’m telling you Eddie, you’d freak out if I let you do that.”

Eddie took a moment to answer. “You never know, Joe.”

“Forget about it, Eddie. We’ll talk about it another time. Today, I’m driving you.”

Eddie turned and left the room. Recently, he’d become convinced that it was wrong for Joe to insist on driving him to the zoo. It wasn’t fair that Joe could go wherever he wanted and Eddie couldn’t. Eddie hadn’t planned on making an issue of it this morning, but something about his dream pulled at him. It was leading him for sure. And right now it made him want to press the point.

It was tough for Eddie. He had to take care of Joe all the time, walking him through rituals he should be totally comfortable with. Joe couldn’t seem to get it, always trying to change stuff that needed to stay the same, like last night. When it really was time for something to change—like today—Joe would hang on to it with all his might.

Eddie knew it was only a matter of time before he would be able to make his way to the zoo on his own. Maybe it wouldn’t be today, but he would at least make his point. Joe might be stubborn, but when you’re right, you’re right. And Eddie was right.

The cab debate had been simmering for more than a month. Joe had started it unintentionally.

One Saturday on the way home from the zoo the van broke down. Joe got out and fiddled noisily and aimlessly under the hood. After five minutes he gave up, leaned against the side of the van, and smoked a Pall Mall with greasy fingers. Then he climbed back into the van, where Eddie sat placidly.

“The van’s busted,” Joe said.

“I know,” Eddie replied.

“I can’t fix it, okay?” Joe was loud.

“Uh-huh,” Eddie said. “Okay.”

“Just don’t freak out on me, okay, Eddie?” Joe yelled. “Just don’t!”

Eddie looked out the side window. He didn’t say anything. He was thinking about how much Joe reminded him at that moment of what little he remembered about their dad.

Joe rolled down his window and smoked another Pall Mall. After ten minutes, he said, “I’m going to have to call a tow truck. They’re going to come and take the van to the shop. Okay?”

“Uh-huh. Okay.”

“Darn right. Listen, Eddie,” Joe went on, taking a deep breath, “I’m going to have to call a cab to come and take us home. It’s just a car, okay? I need you to help me out here. When it gets here, I want you to please, please, just get in and sit down. It’s just g-g-going to take us home.”

Eddie wondered why Joe was making such a big deal about it. “Okay, Joe,” he said.

“P-p-promise me, Eddie.”

Joe sounded serious. Eddie hesitated. “Okay,” he said, looking out his own window. He didn’t like to make promises. They were serious business. But this one seemed small and important to Joe.

Joe made the call, and the tow truck came within twenty minutes. Eddie enjoyed watching the van get hooked up. It was a very interesting procedure.

A few minutes later the cab came. Eddie had seen cabs plenty of times. He definitely knew what they were for, but like most other things he didn’t deal with directly, cabs were filed under “miscellaneous” in his brain, a category that didn’t get much notice.

As he focused his attention on a real cab for the first time, Eddie suddenly realized what Joe was concerned about. The thing was quite new and strange. In fact, it was nothing at all like riding in the van. Despite himself, Eddie was gripped by a sudden powerful urge to rebel. He hadn’t ridden in any vehicle that Joe hadn’t been driving for a long time. But just then, an even stronger force asserted itself.

Joe looked at Eddie. “You promised,” he said quietly.

“Man-sized mess.”

“A promise is a promise.”

Eddie knew Joe had him. Eddie reminded himself to breathe.

Joe opened the back door and waited. Eddie hesitated.

“It’s going to be okay, Eddie. I promise.”

Eddie put his bag on the ground, pulled out his sunglasses, and put them on. Picking up his bag, he swallowed his anxiety and climbed into the cab.

The remarkable part was that once he got past his initial hesitation and forced himself to breathe regularly, Eddie found the cab ride pleasant, even relaxing. There were hardly any of the jerking stops and near misses that characterized Joe’s driving.

As they drove home and Eddie looked out the window, he momentarily forgot Joe was even there. The ride was so smooth that he found himself drifting, and he began mechanically rubbing his arm, back and forth, back and forth. It didn’t feel like being in a vehicle at all.

Then Eddie realized where he was and what he was doing. The realization started a powerful cascade of thoughts. By the time the brothers reached their little white house, the thoughts had coalesced into a powerful, potentially life-changing revelation: Eddie didn’t need Joe to get around. He could, given the opportunity and the right amount of mental preparation, take a cab.

More than a month later, Joe was finally starting to fully comprehend Eddie’s intentions. Joe had a few ideas about why Eddie wanted to start taking cabs so badly, but he wasn’t going for it. Maybe someday, but not now.

Eddie just wasn’t ready.

Chapter 12

When Jolie walked into the zoo office, it was still dark outside. Her day didn’t officially start for more than an hour, but she was looking forward to doing a leisurely, peaceful walk-around alone before starting.

Mark was already there. “Happy Saturday,” he smiled broadly, flashing white teeth. “You’re up early.”

“Yep.”

“Exciting Friday night?”

Jolie laughed as she finished stashing her stuff in her small locker. “Stayed home and watched a movie. Actually, I didn’t even finish it.”

“Coffee?” Mark offered.

“Sure.”

“I ground the beans myself. Torrefazione Italia. White and sweet, right?”

“Uh, yeah, actually.”

“This is your mug, right?”

Jolie nodded. Mark poured the coffee, added a healthy splash of organic half-and-half from the small fridge under the counter, and stirred in a packet of raw sugar.

“I’m getting the hang of this whole Seattle coffee thing.” He presented it to her proudly.

“White and sweet. I’m forcing myself to not say ‘just like you.’”

Jolie grimaced. “Ooooh.” She took a sip. “Good coffee. Bad joke.”

“Actually, your night sounds about as exciting as mine,” he went on, oblivious. “I was kind of bored.” Mark took a sip of his own coffee. “In fact, I almost called you.”

“Oh, yeah?” She hadn’t given him her number. Not that he couldn’t just look in the staff directory.

“Yeah. Remember Jim, the old on-call vet? His sister sings with some jazz group, and he called me up last night to say she was playing at a club in Fremont. Do you like jazz? I haven’t really listened to it much, but I thought it might be worth a try. I almost called you to see if you wanted to go.”

“Oh, wow. Yeah, I remember Jim.” Jolie grabbed her clipboard. “Well, I guess I should get going. Thanks for the coffee.”

“Hold up,” Mark said. “I’ll come with you.”

They walked out into the rising sun.

Mark was quiet for a moment. “So…do you think you might’ve gone?”

“Well, I liked Jim,” Jolie said.

“Yeah, he’s a nice guy.”

“But…I’m not really into jazz,” Jolie said. “I guess I probably wouldn’t have, to tell you the truth.” She noticed Mark’s discomfort. “It’s not you, though. Just jazz.”

They walked in uncomfortable silence for a few moments.

“Is it me, though? Mark said. “Because I’m kind of getting a not-too-hopeful vibe here. If it’s me, just tell me so I can retire from the field with dignity.”

Oh boy. Jolie blew out a breath. “The thing is, Mark, I do think you’re a great guy, and a good boss, but that’s the problem. The whole work thing.”

“It’s not really a problem if you don’t want it to be. There’s no actual policy against it.”

“You checked?” Jolie laughed.

“Yeah, “I did. Wanna know the page number?”

Jolie smiled. Maybe she was being too hard on him. “It’s not about the policy, Mark. You seem like a very nice guy. I’ve just never really had good experiences dating coworkers. And especially bosses.”

“Dated a lot of your bosses, have you?”

“None, actually.”

“Well, at the risk of sounding hopelessly pathetic—will you at least think about it?”

“You know, I’m absolutely at a loss for what to say.”

“Your birthday’s in a couple of days, right?”

“Yeah. How’d you know?”

“I’m your supervisor. It’s my job to know.”

“Uh-huh,” Jolie said.

“Listen, I’d love to buy you a beer or something on your birthday. It doesn’t even have to be a date. I bet everyone would want to celebrate after work. Will you just think about it?”

Jolie hesitated. She suddenly felt she was acting like a prude. Mark “wasn’t her type?” Actually, she hadn’t dated enough guys recently to even know what her grownup type was. The bad boy musicians she’d favored in college had been uniformly disastrous.

“I guess I am thinking about it,” she finally said. “Would you mind if I invited everyone but you?”

Mark’s face fell. She saw him stiffen.

“I’m just kidding. Sheesh. I’m not going on a date with you, okay, Mark? Not now. But sure, let’s all go have a beer.”

“Say no more. Besides, you’ve already got a big date today.”

Now Jolie stiffened. “What do you mean?”

“You know, your boyfriend. The guy you take around. Your big date.”

Jolie was genuinely looking forward to seeing Eddie today. “You’re kidding, right?”

“Of course,” Mark said. But the joke sounded a little flat.

“Seriously, Mark, do you have some kind of problem with it?”

“Only professionally. It’s a little…okay. Can I be really honest with you?”

“Yeah, sure,” Jolie said drily.

“I’ve…had a very bad experience with a similar situation. And there’s something about Eddie that makes me uncomfortable. Reminds me of something…something not good.”

“Like what?”

“Well…I’d rather not talk about it right now,” Mark went on. “But I am speaking from personal experience. Look, Jolie, if it’s the money, I’m sure we could find somebody else to take him around. I mean, if you’re worried about the extra salary, I’m sure we could figure something else out for you, and for that poor guy.”