Chapter Thirty Three

 “How did it go?” I asked Jay when he joined me in my bedroom.

 “Madison forgives me too.  She’s all tucked in and falling asleep.”  He sat on my bed.  “She reminded me that knights don’t yell at princesses,” he said with a smile.

 “Well, she had to tell me that princesses don’t associate with trolls.”

 “Have you ever felt like that little one’s calling the shots?”

 I closed the book I was reading, and set it on my night table.  “She seems to say the right thing at the right time often enough, that’s for sure.”

 “‘How can anybody’s butt be cute...’” he recalled fondly.

 “Jay?  Will you tell me about the other girls?  The ones that hurt you.  How many were there?  What did they do?”

 “Why do you ask?”

 “I’d like to understand better, why...”  He won’t get offended...  “Why you’re so afraid.”

 He undressed and got into bed with me.  “Started with my first girlfriend.  Only official one I’ve had, really.  She was getting over a relationship with another guy who was a jerk to her.  I’ll skip the stories she told me about him.  Only, she wasn’t getting over him, because she was having more sex with him than she was with me.  So she said, after the breakup...

 “After awhile, I met a girl who seemed into me.  Trouble was, she had a boyfriend already.  I’m not proud of it, but yeah, I was that guy.  I’d met him, and he was a jerk too.  This girl and I fascinated each other.  She said she just wanted a quick fling, that it could not turn into a relationship, and I was okay with that back then.  With where I was emotionally at that time, I wasn’t going to concern myself with that a*****e’s feelings.  I wanted her, and it wasn’t just about sex.  I didn’t care, but I learned to.  We had sex several times over the course of a weekend, and then she changed her mind about wanting a relationship and got me all messed up in the head.  Of course it couldn’t be so simple.  In the end, you know who she chose.

 “After that, there was a whole string of girls, all nineteen year olds coincidentally, that either had boyfriends they finally decided they wouldn’t leave or other guys they chose over me.  One girl who had been flirting with me said she couldn’t go out with me until she broke up with her boyfriend, but wouldn’t do that until he moved at the end of the semester.  She didn’t want to hurt his feelings.  Yeah, that didn’t hurt mine at all.  Another girl, I moved too slow for and about a week later I saw her making out with some dirtbag out in the quad.  Legs wrapped around him, massaging each other’s tonsils kind of making out.  I could go on all night with these, you know.  College sucked...”  I moved closer to him and rubbed his chest, and he gave a long sigh.  “Does that help you understand?”

 “Yes...  Jay, I’m not like them.”  Words from earlier came back to me.  “So that’s why you pointed out before that I’m not nineteen, huh?”

 “Yep.  Experience.”

 “Well, you’re right.  I’m not.  Thank you for trusting me still, I swear I won’t let you down.”

 “I believe you.”  We kissed each other goodnight, but fell asleep talking.

----

 In spite of the feeling of dread for the conflict I knew was coming, the next week was wonderful.  Having Jay at home in the evenings for the week was, I hoped, a taste of what life might end up like someday.  We went to the park almost all of the nights, and he read to Madison each night.  Cooking took longer because he often couldn’t help hugging me from behind, or so he said, but was even more enjoyable for it.

 I came home frustrated from work one night, hiding it well enough for Madison not to notice.  Jay sensed it immediately when he walked through the door.  “Alright.  What’s eating you?”

 Just tell him.  “Customers...” I sighed.

 I went into his offered arms and he said, “May I draw you a bath?  You can tell me about them while you soak it out.”

 “You’re wonderful...  Yes, please.”

 I changed into my bathrobe, and went into the bathroom to find he’d also poured me a glass of wine.  “It’s early,” I said without conviction, really just wanting him to talk me into drinking it.

 “Time’s different after a long day.”  Good enough!

 I disrobed and sank into the water, smiling instantly.  “How’d you think of this?”

 “I learn from the best,” he smiled.  I noticed he was looking at me openly, and was surprised to find I enjoyed the fact.  “So, what happened?  Customers, or a customer?” he asked once I’d had time settle in.

 “A few of them today...  I got stuck with one lady we all recognize by now.  Every time, she does the stupidest things to try and make it look like we don’t know our job.  ‘Have you got Dewbie Farms smoked turkey,’ she asks.  There is a smoked turkey they make, and we don’t carry it.  So I said no.  She pretends to browse quickly and says ‘Oh, yes, here it is.’  She pointed to a honey turkey, which said in the finest print that it was smoked.  I don’t know why I bothered, since I knew what she was doing anyway, but I said ‘Well, that’s honey turkey, is that what you wanted?’  ‘It says right there it’s smoked.’  ‘So, that’s what you want?’ I ask again.  Oh god, this sounds so petty and stupid now.”

 “Then the bath’s working,” Jay said, and I laughed.  The wine was working, too.  “How long before she finally said ‘yes’?”

 “Third time I asked...  But by then she was satisfied, acting like she was repeating herself because I was the stupid one.  Then another woman comes, who we also recognize.  Kris took extra long washing her hands so I’d get stuck with her.  It worked.  Same as ever, she’s pointing out how she’s there on her lunch break so I have to hurry.  I know what she wants.  She wants me to get all frazzled.”

 “Power games,” Jay said.

 “Exactly!  She says she’s in a hurry, but still wants to try a piece of every single type of ham we have, as if she’s never been there before.  Well I moved quickly, but I didn’t hurry.  Of course that wasn’t good enough for her, and she started huffing and puffing.  By the time I was putting the third piece on the slicer, it was just absurd and funny to me.  So I smiled, like I’m supposed to anyway, and you know what she did?  She went and complained about me at the front desk.  How the hell does she have time to do that if she’s in such a hurry?”

 “Maybe she doesn’t work and her lunch break is a few hours long, and she’s still in a hurry?”

 I laughed.  “Yeah, maybe...  Come to think of it, ten thirty is kind of early for lunch.”

 “Any kids with her?”

 “No.”

 “Heh.  Probably for the best.”

 I chuckled, and drank some wine.  “The worst though, was a guy I had toward the end of the day.  I ask him what I can get for him, and he just stares at me.  Finally he says ‘You gonna change your gloves?’  Thinking nothing of it, I did, and still he stares at me.  ‘You do know you just touched your face, right?’  I tell him I must have done it without realizing and what can I get him.  ‘How many people have you done that to today?  That’s disgusting!’  ‘Sir, I really don’t know, I didn’t notice that I did.’  I still wasn’t really upset, so he kept going!  ‘You know, that’s exactly the same as if you reached back and touched your butt!’”

 Jay’s jaw dropped.  “No kidding?  Does that make me an a*s kisser?”

 I laughed at that.  “No, but if you ever hear Manny call me ‘a*s-face’ that’s where it comes from.  Even other customers started looking at him like, ‘what’s his problem’.  I was stunned, and he just kind of...  Bugged his eyes out and nodded obnoxiously.  God, I wanted to hit him.  And after all of that, do you know what he got?”

 “What?”

 “A quarter pound of cheese.  That was later found on a shelf and returned to us.”

 Jay understood.  “So, nothing.  He just wanted to bully you.”

 “I almost cried!  After he was gone, a couple customers said they were sorry, and Patty gave me a couple minutes.”

 “He actually made time in his day just for that...  Amazing.  Well, how do you feel now?”

 “Still a little frustrated, but way better.  Thank you, love.”

 He got up and kissed my cheek.  I put my hand to his face to hold him there as I turned to him and kissed his lips.  He knelt by the side of the tub and took the washcloth to my back, not stopping until he’d slowly gone over every inch in every direction.  “Want me to make dinner tonight?  You have everything I need for a soup I know how to make.”

 “Jay,” I started to protest.

 Knowing how the argument would end he said, “I’ll get started.  Enjoy your bath.”  He kissed the top of my head and left me to relax in the hot water.

 It was a thick potato soup loaded with bacon.  ‘Traveler’s soup’ he called it, and advised us not to eat too much.  “Jay, this is delicious!” I said.

 “That’s because it’s terrible for you.  At least I drain the bacon grease nowadays.  Still, it’s very rich.  It’s meant to be eaten in small amounts on cold hikes.”

 “Thanks for making it...”

 Before he could say anything, we heard Earl’s engine gun past out house.  Our heads turned to the direction of the street.  “I’ve been hearing that,” Jay said.  “What do you think he’s waiting for?”

 I swallowed nervously.  “I hate to say it...”

 “He saw my car here and went on by...” Jay finished, and looked for something else to say.  “How’s the leop...  Claw sharpening coming?”

 “What claw sharpening?” Madison asked.

 “Angel’s claws,” I spat out.  “We’re keeping them trimmed so she can run extra fast at the you-know-what.”

 “Oh, good idea.”

 “It’s going, but slow like you said,” I said to Jay.

 He nodded, and said, “Be careful.”

Reviews

[Sarah]

The conversation felt too natural. I commend you on your writing because it doesn't even feel as though I'm reading, but rather watching this interaction take place. Felt like a movie even. The good kind of reading where you forget what you're doing because you're so involved in the story.

I enjoyed Jay's responses lightening the mood after Laura's horrible day. He is admirably sweet to Laura and it makes the love seem genuine. I'm eager to read about Earl and what Laura will hopefully find the courage to do this time!