“You were the first one I was going to talk to,” she said. My pride swelled, knowing that she trusted me and viewed me as an adult. She pulled away but took my hand as we started walking.
“Listen,” she said. “There may be a shit storm when we get back. Let’s just tell the truth. Howie was being horrible, you stood up for me, then you hit him in self-defense.” Well, I thought, the slap wasn’t exactly self-defense. But, okay, the punch was.
“Whatever they say, whatever Howie says, I got your back,” she continued. A warm feeling spread through me when she said that. But as much I liked being a co-conspirator with her, I wasn’t that worried.
“Howie won’t say anything,” I said. “He’d rather die than admit he got his ass kicked by his little brother.”
“Hmmm….maybe…but the others?”
“They’ll follow his lead. They always do.”
But my confidence was tested a few minutes later when I saw my mom waiting for us in front of the house. Jenny nudged me with an elbow, which I knew meant she wanted me to shut up and let her do the talking.
“Hi Aunt Rose,” she said.
“There you are,” my mom said, but she was looking at Jenny not me. “I wanted to talk to you, honey.”
“Oh, okay. Jake and I just wanted to…get some air.”
“Oh, you poor thing,” she said with a sympathetic smile, and I realized that what she was worried about was how Jenny was being treated by the family. So I was right, nobody had told the grownups that I’d put Howie on the floor. Instead, my mom was actually beaming at me, apparently pleased that I’d gone walking with Jenny instead of shunning her like everyone else.
“Come on, dear,” she said, hooking arms with Jenny and steering my cousin toward the front door.
“Oh, Jake,” she said, glancing over her shoulder. “Is something wrong with Howie? He’s sulking in his room and won’t come down for lunch.”
“I think he said he had a headache,” said Jenny.
“Oh well. Probably jet lag, we’ll just let him nap this afternoon.”
++++++++++
Jenny was putting the last of the dishes in the sink when I got back to the apartment. She turned to me, and for millionth time in my life, took my breath away with her devastatingly beautiful smile.
“Thanks for walking her down,” Jenny said. “She’s okay?”
“Yeah…seems a little sad about leaving you. Maybe worried.”
“She worries too much. It’s nice to be loved and pampered, but I think she takes on too much stress trying to make everything perfect for me.”
“You’re lucky to have her,” I said. “Almost as lucky as she is to have you.”
“Aww….” She literally ran the four steps across the room into my arms. “You’re the sweetest person in the world.” She held me close for a few heartbeats, and I could feel her purr like a kitten, even through the thick bathrobe. And then she suddenly pushed away, stepping back and giving me a naughty smile.
“I almost forgot,” she said. “I promised you.” She fiddled with robe’s belt. Untied it. For a dizzying instant I thought she was naked underneath. Then I remembered, she had tempted me earlier by describing the lingerie she was wearing.
wpDiscuz