ONE SMALL VICTORY (23 page)

How’s my girl? He can just barge in here and
act like it’s just a friendly father visit?

“This isn’t a good time, Ralph.”

He released Alicia and turned to her. “You’re
right. We’ll talk after dinner.”

“I’ve got plans.”

“Oh? Something more important than the
family?”

Jenny bit her lip hard. How dare he take that
tone?

Forcing a calmness she didn’t feel inside,
Jenny turned to Alicia. “Why don’t you hang up Daddy’s coat.”

Ralph shrugged out of his overcoat and handed
it over. Alicia took it to the front closet then headed down the
hall. “I’m going to tell Scott that Daddy’s here.”

Jenny faced Ralph, her voice a low hiss.
“Don’t think you can just come in here and take over. You haven’t
given a good goddam for too many years to pull this shit.”

“Let’s save it for later. For the kids’
sake.”

“Of course. We’re so concerned...” She let
the rest of her thought fade as Scott walked in.

“Hello, Dad.” He gave Ralph an awkward
embrace, then stepped back. “I didn’t believe Alicia when she said
you were here.”

“Guess I shocked everyone,” Ralph said. “Took
a few days off work. Thought it would be a nice surprise.”

Some surprise. But I’d hardly call it nice.
Jenny forced a tight smile.

“It’s cool,” Alicia said, snuggling up to the
other side of her father. “I like surprises.”

“So how is everything?”

Ralph directed the question to Scott, and in
the few seconds it took for him to glance at her, then back to
Ralph, Jenny held her breath.

After what seemed like forever, Scott
shrugged. “Same ol’ same ol’.”

Jenny didn’t miss the significant pause as
Ralph studied their son’s face. Then he put on a broad smile. “How
about I take you all out for dinner?”

“Goody. I want McDonald’s,” Alicia said.

“How about some place nicer?” Ralph turned to
Jenny. “Is there a family restaurant in town?”

“There’s Randy’s Steakhouse on Main. Scott
knows where it is.”

“You’re not coming?”

It was as much challenge as question, but
Jenny held her temper. “No. You and the kids can have some time
together. It’ll be good.”

His lips worked for a second. Like he was
trying to find the right thing to say, then he nodded. “We’ll talk
later.”

It seemed to take forever for Ralph and the
kids to get out the door. Alicia decided that she wanted to dress
up and scooted off to her room before Jenny could assure her she
was fine in her jeans.

Jenny didn’t want to be too obvious about
checking her watch, but time was getting critical. She was supposed
to meet Leon and Frank in half an hour. It would be a real hassle
to try to leave first.

It was only five minutes, but it seemed like
forever, before Alicia reappeared. At first glance, she didn’t look
much different, but she’d traded rumpled jeans for ones with
creases and a t-shirt for a peasant blouse; and her hair was
freshly brushed.

“We won’t be long,” Ralph said as he herded
the kids out the door.

Jenny almost told him to take his time, but
held it back. She smiled at Scott and Alicia. “Have fun.”

After she saw the taillights of Ralph’s
rental car round the corner, Jenny ran to her room and changed into
one of her “tart” outfits. On the way out she grabbed a jacket,
locked the door and raced to her car.

One benefit of small town living was it
didn’t take long to get from one place to another. Thank God. She
drove to within a block of the high school, found a parking space,
and got out. Walking toward the edge of the sport field she heard
the hoot of an owl from the stand of trees that bordered the fence.
The sound jangled nerves that were already stretched to a breaking
point, and sweat pooled in the small of her back despite the cold
night air.

A rustle of movement commanded her attention
and she saw Leon step out of the trees into the light provided by a
moon that was almost full. Frank was a dark silhouette behind
him.

“You’re late,” Leon said. “We were about to
boogie.”

“Well, I’m here now.” Jenny fought to keep an
air of nonchalance in her stance and her voice.

She dug in the pocket of her jeans and pulled
out a hundred dollar bill. Leon glanced at it, then at her.
“Business drying up?”

“Just a little light this week. You know how
it goes.”

“Yeah.” Leon took the money and passed her a
bag.

After stashing it inside her jacket, Jenny
turned to Frank who hadn’t moved during the entire exchange.
“What’s the word on my other deal?”

“What? We don’t even get a little foreplay
first?” Leon cast a quick glance at the other man as if seeking his
approval for the clever line.

“Sorry,” Jenny said. “It’d be different if we
were someplace warm.”

Frank stepped out of the shadows, and Jenny
suppressed a shudder when the moonlight touched the ugly scar on
his face. “Friday night.”

She was about to ask, Friday night, what?
when it hit her.
That’s when we make the buy
. Despite a
surge of excitement and apprehension, she kept her voice steady.
“Sure.”

“You’ll have the money?”

“Yeah. Sure.” Three days. That only gave them
three days.

“Come here at eight. We’ll take you to the
stuff.”

When Jenny got back to her car, her hands
shook so bad she dropped the keys twice before she got the door
open. Then she sat behind the wheel for a full minute, taking deep
breaths to settle the rush of adrenaline. How were they going to
pull this together in three days? And what on earth was she to do
about Ralph?

A finger of icy air crawled up her leg and
reminded her she wasn’t going to solve any of those problems
sitting here in a cold car. She brought the engine to life and
drove home. If she was lucky, she’d have time to call Steve before
Ralph and the kids got back. She had to tell him about the buy. And
the complication of Ralph showing up.

As she expected, Steve was as juiced as she
was about the buy, but he didn’t share her doubts about pulling
things together in time. “We’re pros, remember?”

The little joke eased her tension, and they
talked a bit about the logistics of setting up for Friday. Then he
asked what he could do to help her handle the situation with
Ralph.

“I don’t know. I’m just not sure I can
bullshit my way through.”

“Maybe we should talk to him.”

“I thought that was verboten.”

“It is. And I’d rather not. But let me run it
by the Chief. Call me later if you need to.”

“Okay.” Jenny kicked off the stiletto heels
and rubbed her foot. She would be so glad when she didn’t have to
be ‘Connie the tart.’ “I’ll see what I can do when Ralph gets
back.”

She heard the front door slam. “They’re home.
Gotta go.”

Jenny hung up the phone, stripped off the
sleazy clothes and pulled on jeans and a sweatshirt. She took a
swipe at the makeup with a tissue, then went out to the living
room.

“You stayed home?” Scott’s tone implied the
question, but his expression held a hint of challenge.

Jenny considered just letting it go, but her
perverse side took over before she could stop it. “I did run up to
the store for juice. But I came straight home.”

The minute she saw the look of confusion on
Alicia’s face, Jenny regretted taking Scott’s bait. He said
nothing, and for a moment they were all caught in a moment so
fragile Jenny thought it might break if someone didn’t say
something. She went to Alicia and put an arm around her. “That was
just way too hateful for me to say,” she said. “I’m sorry.” She
directed the final comment to Scott. He gave her nothing in return,
standing rigid with his hands deep in his pockets.

The silence was still painful, and Jenny
mentally scrambled for something to lower the emotional
temperature. Scott finally broke the mood, shifting and making a
vague gesture down the hall. “I’ve got to call Caitlin.” He moved
toward the darkened hallway. “Thanks for dinner, Dad.”

Jenny let out her breath in a soft whoosh as
Scott disappeared into the shadows. Ralph sat down on the
overstuffed chair across from the sofa, and Alicia balanced on the
arm.

It’s like she’s Velcroed to him. Jenny fought
a surge of resentment. It had been weeks since Alicia had snuggled
with her.
And who’s fault it that
?

Oh, shut up.

Noting the contented smile on Alicia’s face,
Jenny pushed the resentment aside. It wasn’t productive. For her or
her daughter. Better to just let the girl have this time and hope
like hell she could go to sleep tonight with a smile.

“You want anything? Coffee?” Jenny asked
Ralph.

“Got anything stronger?”

She had to think a minute. It had been so
long since she’d entertained – the funeral definitely didn’t count
– she couldn’t remember if she had anything besides cooking sherry.
Wait. Carol had brought that bottle of Jack Daniels. “Strictly for
medicinal purposes,” she’d said. “Beats the hell out of sleepless
nights.”

That had been before the funeral, and Jenny
had stashed the bottle high above the refrigerator, too afraid to
take the first dose.

She pulled herself away from the pain that
memory caused. “I might be able to scare up some bourbon.”

“I like it neat.”

“I remember."

Jenny went into the kitchen and dragged the
bottle down. She found a reasonably clean small drink glass and
poured a couple of inches of amber liquid. She set the bottle down,
then thought, what the hell, grabbed another glass and splashed
some bourbon in it. Maybe some medicine would help the rest of the
evening go down a little easier.

She stepped back into the living room in time
to hear Alicia telling Ralph about the recent school trip to the
Dallas Art Museum. He appeared to be listening with rapt attention.
Does that mean he really cares?

She handed him his drink and nudged Alicia.
“Time for bed, Punkin.”

“Aw, Mom.”

“Mom’s right,” Ralph said. “You’ve got school
tomorrow.”

The reasonableness of his tone took Jenny by
surprise. She’d seldom known him to be reasonable. And back when
they’d ‘shared’ responsibility for the kids, he’d seldom backed her
in anything. There were times when she’d thought she was raising
four kids.

Ralph hoisted Alicia off the arm of the
chair. “You go get into your PJs and I’ll come look at your
painting in a minute.”

He sounded so domestic, Jenny choked on a
swallow of bourbon. Who is this man sitting here and what has he
done with the real Ralph?

Or was this all part of some plan. Had he
come here to take the kids? Was he trying to make it easier by
winning them over first?

Jenny studied him, searching for a clue, some
indication that he was merely acting. But there was nothing devious
in his actions or expression as he kissed their daughter. Alicia
came over to Jenny and she gave her a quick hug before sending her
down the hallway.

“Nice place,” Ralph said, gesturing around
the living room. “I don’t think I told you that when I was
here...before.”

Jenny sat down on the sofa. “We were a little
busy.”

Ralph nodded, as if acknowledging the
understatement of the year. “How’ve you been holding up?”

“So-so.” Jenny dropped her gaze before he
could see the swell of tears. “You?”

“I’m managing.” He looked around again.
“Sometimes it’s so hard to believe it’s real. I can go days without
remembering, then, bam. It hits me.”

“I don’t have that luxury.”

Ralph winced as if she’d slapped him and
drained half his bourbon.

Jenny resisted the urge to continue to pummel
him with all the angry, hateful things that came to mind. It would
feel so good to just beat up on someone. But she realized he was
already a crushed man. He’d lost a son he’d hardly known and had to
live with regrets the rest of his life.

The only regret she had was that she’d never
see Michael’s future. The past had pretty much been okay between
them.

“I’m sorry.” Jenny tried a slight smile.
“Sometimes my mouth opens before I’ve exercised any caution.”

“Sometimes? That was one of—” He stopped,
shook his head, then took a deep breath and faced her again.
“Truce?”

She hesitated, not sure about giving up the
anger quite yet. He’d just waltzed in here, playing doting father,
and she should just step back? Let him...? She stopped that
run-away-train thought process. If there was to be any hope of
keeping Ralph from screwing this whole deal, she needed to be
reasonable. She nodded. “I’ll get us another drink.”

Ralph handed his glass over, and Jenny stood,
then walked into the kitchen. She poured generous amounts into each
glass, then set the bottle down and glanced out the window above
the sink. The bare branches of the elm stretched like black fingers
into a moonlit sky, and against the inky silhouettes she could see
parts of her face reflected in the glass. It was like looking at a
bizarre Picasso painting.

The analogy prompted an urge to laugh, but
other emotions were too strong to allow it. She still had to answer
that all-important question Ralph had asked when she’d first opened
the door. And she was still no closer to knowing what to say than
she had been then. Should she just tell him the truth?

That was absurd. Of all the people she wanted
to tell, Ralph was not even among the top ten.

The living room was empty when she stepped
through the doorway. She set the drinks down on the coffee table
and walked down the hall. She heard the god-awful screech of guitar
from behind Scott’s door. How she hated what some of those folks
did to a fine instrument. She debated about knocking to see if he
was okay, then realized he may be still talking to Caitlen.
Although how they could converse in the midst of all that racket
was a mystery.