Pewter Angels (13 page)

Henry rolled down his window and shouted Jenny’s name.

J
enny was only semi-conscious
when Pete dragged her from the back seat. She’d fought and scratched and he’d had to … subdue her a bit. John got out of the car and came over to help him. Bud stayed inside and turned his face away. As soon as they reached a secluded area beneath the trees, John forced her to the ground. Jenny, dazed and now overcome with fear, went limp.

“Oh, guardian angel, guardian dear, please help me …” she moaned. The guys snickered and exchanged a few heated insults, but Jenny registered none of it. Her body and mind shut down as she passed out completely.

John shoved him and Pete got down on his knees, pushing Jenny’s legs apart as he half fell on top of her. God, she smelled good. Something flowery and feminine. He could hardly wait. He fumbled with his zipper, then with her skirt.

“Damn, she still has her underwear on,” Pete panted. He pulled aside the scrap of fabric and did his best to shove himself into her. He was so ready; he’d been wanting this since they’d first seen her and her futile struggles in the car had only fueled his desire.

“Hurry up, man, I want some of that, too,” John whined.

From the distance came a voice calling Jenny’s name.

“Holy shit! Let’s go!” John crouched down to avoid the headlights of the oncoming car. Hoisting him by the back of his shirt, John yanked Pete off Jenny.

Pete hastily pulled his pants up and grabbed hold of Jenny’s arm, dragging her over the grass towards their car, making her skirt slide back down over her knees. Pete struggled with her dead weight.

“Leave her! We gotta get outta here!” Bud’s voice was frantic in the chill air. Reluctantly Pete dropped Jenny’s arm and dove into the car.

“There they are!” Henry shouted.

The man braked and Henry jumped out.

“Be careful, young man!” the woman called after him as she and her husband stepped out of the car to follow.

Henry ran towards the other car, but was only in time to watch it screech away, leaving him in a cloud of exhaust fumes and burnt rubber. A knot of dread twisted his guts. Where was Jenny? Did they still have her? He called her name again, his voice hoarse with worry.

Something stirred. Then Jenny sat up on the grass, holding her arms around her stomach. Henry rushed to her side, kneeling down to put his arm around her.

“Jenny! Jenny, are you all right?”

She looked up at him in confusion, trying to take stock. Frightened as she’d been, she wasn’t entirely sure she knew what all had happened after she’d been shoved into the boys’ car.

The man and woman who’d driven Henry to the park appeared at their side.

“Are you okay?” the lady asked, leaning over to study Jenny.

“I—I … think so.”

“Did they hurt you?” she wanted to know.

“I’ll kill ’em if they did,” Henry muttered.

Some of the colour returned to Jenny’s face and Henry realized how ghostly pale she’d been at first.

“I think I’m all right. This arm is a little sore,” Jenny stretched her shoulder, testing it, then brought her arm down to cradle her midsection again, “and my stomach kind of hurts. That one guy was sure drunk, though. I can still smell his awful breath.” Jenny was now more aware, regaining her composure with each passing moment. More colour returned to her face.

“No, I’m fine,” she said again, slowly getting to her feet. Her legs were a bit rubbery beneath her. “I just want to go home.”

The man looked skeptical, “Are you certain you’re all right? I can drive you to the hospital.”

Jenny shook her head, vehement—the last thing she wanted was a hospital trip; she just wanted to go home. Jenny looked over at Henry. “I’m fine. I’ve really got to get home, though. My parents are probably beside themselves.”

“Oh, geez, it must really be late. What time is it?” Henry asked the man.

He tilted a wrist, trying to catch some light. “It’s ten to eleven. You know, we should report this to the police. Those boys need to be reprimanded.”

“Oh, no,” Jenny said, urgently. “I’m fine.” She’d promised they would be home on time and her mom would be furious. Besides, she really wanted to lie down and sleep and just forget about all of this.

“Are you sure, Jenny?” Henry asked. “Those guys should be sent to jail.”

Jenny put her hand on Henry’s. “Really, I’m okay, Henry. They were just drunk. We’ve got to get home.”

The woman seemed as uncertain as Henry. She looked Jenny up and down, scanning for bruises. But seeing nothing more than a few grass stains, and understanding the girl’s anxiousness to placate worried parents, she only said, “Well, if you’re sure…?”

Henry held onto her as they led Jenny back towards the car.

“Yes, I’m okay. Just a little shaken up, that’s all.” Her next words were quiet. “Thank you for coming to get me. I sure was glad to see you.” Jenny smiled into Henry’s eyes as he tucked her into the back seat and he was gratified that something of her sparkle had returned.

Henry directed the man where to go. When they got to Mr.

Engelmann’s grocery store, he asked him to stop.

“We live just up the street,” he said, motioning. “Thank you so much for the ride and for helping us. Not everyone would have come back to see that we were okay.”

“Well, we’re just glad we were there. My name is Jed Thomas, and this is my wife, Edna, by the way. If you decide to report this, let me know.” He reached into his pocket, took out a business card and handed it to Henry.

“Thank you very much, Mr. Thomas. I’m glad you were there, too. God knows what might have happened if you hadn’t been.”

Jenny and Henry got out of the car, thanked them once more, then waved as they drove off.

Henry turned to Jenny and studied her for a long moment. “Are you sure you’ll be all right?”

Jenny gave him a watery smile, tears brightening her eyes now that they were finally so close to home. “I’m certain.” She squeezed his hand, “I just really want to get back home.”

The sight of her tears sent a wave of fury through him. “I’m going to kill that Eddy when I see him. I’ll find out who those guys are and get even with all of them.”

Jenny blinked the tears back and put a hand on his arm, stopping him. “Henry, what they did was bad, but I just want to forget about it. Nothing happened except me being scared half to death. I don’t want to start a fuss at school … or at home.”

“Are you going to tell your parents?”

Jenny thought about it for a moment, fear of her parents’ reactions rising like a sudden tide. “No, please, let’s just keep it to ourselves, okay? God knows what my parents might do. I’d hate for either of us to have to deal with the police and I really don’t want any trouble when school starts. Besides, I’m sure those guys wouldn’t have done anything if they hadn’t been drunk.”

“Oh, Jenny, I was so scared they would hurt you.” Henry let go of her hand to put an arm around her and pull her close. She put her head on his shoulder as they walked. “You know, this is the second time you almost got hurt. I almost died when I watched you cross the street yesterday and nearly get hit by that car, but you jumped out of the way in that last split second. I meant to ask you, what happened there, anyway?”

Jenny thought for another long moment, and then softly she said, “All I really remember is lifting my hand, and then it was like I floated for a second, you know? It was the strangest feeling. In the blink of an eye I was out of harm’s way. And somehow I knew the car wouldn’t hurt me. I can’t explain it, but whatever happened, I’m glad it did.”

“Mr. Engelmann said you must have a guardian angel.”

“Oh, Henry, I think so, too!” she exclaimed, turning to him. “I didn’t want to say anything in case you thought I was crazy, but all the way home after that I just kept thanking God for protecting me. I think we all have a guardian angel who watches over us.” Almost under her breath, she added, “Angel of God, my guardian dear, to whom His love….”

Henry looked at Jenny, stunned. “You know that prayer too?”

“Oh, yes, I learned it when I was little. I hadn’t thought about it for a long time, but last night when I lay in bed it came to me and I said it over and over until I fell asleep.”

Henry could hardly believe it. “That’s exactly what happened to me, too! Saying that prayer was the last thing I remember before falling asleep.” They held each other’s gaze for a moment then, without another word, linked hands and continued home.

At Jenny’s place, Henry followed her up the steps to the front door. He was glad the stoop wasn’t very large so he could stand closer to her.

Jenny looked up at him. “Oh my, Henry, your shirt sleeve is torn and there are a couple of buttons missing.”

“My mom will sew it up, don’t worry.” Henry gazed at her, happy to see that the frightened look she’d had earlier had been replaced by her usual radiant smile.

“You know, even though those guys tried to ruin it, I sure had fun with you tonight.”

“So did I. I’m just glad you’re all right,” Henry said. “Will I see you tomorrow?”

“We’re going to church in the morning, and after that I’m not sure if my parents have anything planned.”

They fell into silence. Henry ached to hold her. He so wanted to kiss her and inched a bit closer. Jenny sort of leaned into him, tilting her head slightly and Henry automatically lifted his arms to hold her, pulling her closer—so close he could feel the warmth of her breath on his mouth.

Then the door creaked and Jenny’s mom appeared behind it. Henry stepped back, almost falling down the stairs.

“Jenny! It’s about time you got home. We were getting very worried about you. Your dad was just about to call the police!” Mrs. Sarsky said, eyeballing the two of them, but saving a particular glare for Henry.

“I’m so sorry, Mom,” Jenny apologized. “After the movie, it was so crowded that we got separated and then we missed the bus. We decided to walk home—the next trolley would only be coming about now anyway and that would have made us even later!”

Mrs. Sarsky’s words were stern, “Well, I’m just glad you’re home. Better come in and get to bed. I’m sure your father will want to have a word with you.” She turned to Henry. “Good night, Henry.” Her tone was curt.

“Good night, Mrs. Sarsky, I’m very sorry we were late. It’ll never happen again,” he promised. Mrs. Sarsky nodded briskly and backed into the house, followed by Jenny. She gave a brief half-wave and quickly closed the door behind her.

Henry stood there for a second, hugely disappointed with the way the evening had ended. The chill in the air threw an even bigger damper on the warmth of his tender feelings. But at least Jenny was home now. And safe. He turned and headed for home himself.

His dad had already gone to bed, but his mom was waiting up. “Hi, Henry, you got Jenny home okay? Her mother called here about fifteen minutes ago and seemed quite concerned her daughter wasn’t home yet.”

“Yeah, we missed the trolley and had to walk back.”

“How was the movie?”

“Oh, it was okay.” He wanted to tell her about the guys who’d grabbed Jenny and how he’d found her and her near-miss with the car the day before and whether or not there were guardian angels, and, most of all, how he felt about her—but he’d promised not to say anything. His mom would only tell Jenny’s anyway, and then she’d really be in trouble. Still, he wished he had someone to share it with, someone to help him sort it all out.

He’d just opened his mouth when his mom spoke again, “Well, I’m headed to bed. I worked out in the yard most of the day and helped Mrs. Goronic with her weeding. She misses you now that you’re working for Mr. Engelmann. Anyway, I’m bushed.”

She stood to kiss Henry’s forehead. “Is that blood in your hair?” His mom took a closer look and noticed that his sleeve was torn and buttons were missing. She stepped back and looked Henry over like a seasoned detective picking up clues.

“What on earth happened, Henry?”

“Oh,” he hesitated only slightly, “Jenny and I were running and I fell.”

“Well, put the shirt in the hamper. I’ll wash it and see if I can mend it.” She stepped closer again, assessing the bump on the side of his head. “That’s quite a bruise you have there. Better put some ice on it before you go to bed.”

“Yeah sure, Mom.”

She patted him on the shoulder and smiled. “Good night, Henry.”

Henry sat for a little while, debating what else he could have done, then got up and went to the bathroom. The swollen knot on his head was sore and he dampened a washcloth with warm water and dabbed at the bruises a few times like his mom used to do when he was little.

He crawled into bed and lay there, enveloped by the darkness, listening to the ticking of the clock on his end table. His dad’s snoring wafted in from the next room. His feelings for Jenny were so strong he felt he would burst if he didn’t share them with someone. Timmy? Nah. Maybe Gary Franklin. He’d be back from holidays near the end of the summer. But neither of his friends had ever even had a girlfriend. Besides, they’d probably just tease him mercilessly if he starting spouting feelings about girls and angels.

Then Henry thought about Mr. Engelmann. Sure he was old, but he was experienced, mature and insightful. It was obvious he really loved his wife, too, so maybe he would understand how Henry felt.