Tattoos: A Novel (19 page)

“Why aren’t you with your family?” I asked. I took her hands in mine, savoring the feel of her silky skin in my grasp.
 

Marilee dropped her gaze to our hands. She tried to pull away but I held on, not willing to let go of her. Reluctantly she brought her focus to my face. I noticed her expression of indecisiveness and seeing her like that made a million alarm bells ring in my brain. Had something bad shown up in her blood work that forced her to stay in the hospital over the holidays?
 

“I lied about going home,” she said in such a low voice that I had to strain to hear her.
 

I let out a long exhalation, relieved that her confession had nothing to do with her health.

“But why?” I asked a minute later.
 

Even though I didn’t think it was physically possible Marilee managed to go a deeper shade of red. “Because I was embarrassed that my parents had refused to take me home,” she said, keeping her eyes on our hands.
 

She no longer struggled to break free. Her body went slack as if in defeat. “Besides, you have all this stuff with your Gran and I didn’t want you to feel like you needed to come here when…”
 

I caught her mouth in mine before she could finish, pulling her to my chest. In that moment I wanted to kill her parents for what they’d done to her. Cancer was already hell, but to have their rejection thrown into the mix was beyond cruel.

“It’s not fair,” I said against her cheek. “They prance around in their fancy house with their artificial grace while you’re here alone.” I pulled away and was on my feet, too pissed to think straight. I couldn’t begin to even imagine how if not for Fred’s death Marilee would have spent the entire holiday alone. I felt physically sick at the concept of it because no one should have to deal with that kind of blatant rejection. My disgust rapidly turned into rage and indignation at what Marilee’s parents had done to her.

 
Fire burned in the pit of my stomach. My hands clenched into fists and I wanted to hit something, anything to release my anger at how she’d been dealt yet another blow.

“It’s not fucking fair,” I growled using all my reserves not to holler the words. “I’m going to fix this,” I said. I moved toward the door and even though I heard Marilee call me it wasn’t enough to make me turn around. I couldn’t just let this go, not this time. I’d let down Fred already, I’d be damned if I was going to do the same for Marilee.
 

As soon as I was outside the hospital I scanned the area for an available taxi. Since the next day was a holiday I didn’t hold out much hope that I’d get lucky and nab one, so I strode in the direction of the posh area where I knew Marilee lived. I didn’t know exactly which house was hers but I was sure a quick web search on my phone would reveal the address.
 

I sprinted down the sidewalk, anger propelling my legs faster than I thought possible. As expected there were no taxis around. I didn’t let that little problem dissuade me from what I’d planned. Despite the sub-zero temperatures I felt sweat coat my body and run down my temples. I opened my leather jacket and was tempted to take it off completely, but Gran’s familiar words ran through my mind as she warned me to keep warm. As my feet slapped the sidewalk I thought about Gran and how upset she would be if I got in trouble. For a split second I entertained the idea of abandoning my plan, but an image of Marilee’s broken expression kept me on course.

It wasn’t hard to know when I’d reached the better part of town since it was festively decorated with a grandeur that made shopping malls pale in comparison. Sky high evergreens were lit from top to bottom with clear white, green, red and even blue lights. The trees were so tall that I wondered how they ever managed to get the lights that high in the first place. I’d never been to this part of town before, never needed to be, and I couldn’t help but be in awe of the places that people called home. Even the trees were dwarfed by the colossal mansions.
 

Every house had as much square footage as my whole apartment building and boasted at least three and even four car garages. Polished and gleaming beneath the twinkling lights in the tennis court sized driveways, were two to three of the latest models of every kind of luxury car I knew. If I worked everyday at Vinyl for the rest of my life I still wouldn’t have been able to afford a down payment on even one of those cars. A few houses had huge white pillars at the front that were wrapped in green and red garlands. Santa, Rudolf and several lit up snowmen, smiled and waved gaily from snow- dusted lawns.

I stared down at the address that I’d pulled up for one Luanne and Harold Lawrence. I matched it against the houses that I passed. I cut right onto Forest Top Drive and knew I was getting close. I spotted the house easily. I would’ve had to have been blind not to, since it was by far the biggest house on the street.
 

Built at the end of a cul de sac, the mansion stood alone in all its splendor. I’d known Marilee had money but even I hadn’t predicted how much. Witnessing her wealth shocked me, but also made me a little more self-conscious about where I lived. Compared to her house I might as well have been one of the Tunnel people.

Even at night I could see how her house was backed by a sprawling golf course, that gave the appearance of the place standing alone on a massive field. A curving stone walkway led to the heavy oak front doors. Beveled glass windows that stood above polished brass knobs, glittered. The driveway, as large as some of the houses on the street was packed solid with expensive cars. I knew immediately that they were in the midst of a party. If the walk over had calmed my temper at all, seeing that Marilee’s parents were whooping it up while she rotted in the hospital fueled my abhorrence.
 

I marched to the front doors, that loomed even larger up close. Grape vine balls complete with clear lights dangled from the branches of the mature trees that abutted the house. Unlike other houses, there were no cutesy lawn ornaments. Though the decorations tried to give the illusion of being tastefully understated, in my opinion they screamed that the Lawrences had loads of cash and wanted everyone to know it.
 

Even before I rang the doorbell I heard boisterous laughter from inside the house, and it served to infuriate me so much that my body vibrated. How could Marilee’s parents go on with their lives, as if they hadn’t tossed away their sick daughter like so much trash?

I pressed the glowing button for the doorbell. The musical sound that came reminded me of the organ the Phantom of the Opera played. I heard the dead bolts being disengaged. A few seconds later a petite woman with glossy black hair, drawn up into a severe bun and dark eyes to match, stared out at me. In her early thirties, the woman was obviously the maid. She was dressed in a crisp black mid-sleeve dress that fell below her knees. A snow white apron was tied at her waist as if to prove a point that she was indeed staff.

“Can I help you?” she asked, her tone bordering on snooty. I guessed from her chilly demeanor and the way her brows lifted in what I clocked as wariness, I didn’t match what she was expecting to see at her front door. I guessed people who looked like me didn’t frequent this part of town much.
 

Beyond the maid I spotted a swirling hardwood staircase, a little off the foyer. What appeared to be a white feather boa that had been dipped in silver glitter, twined in and around the length of the brass banister. Sparkling clear carved crystal balls the size of walnuts were daintily suspended in intervals along the railing. At the foot of the staircase, a tree made of the same stuff as was on the stairs, and that was at least ten feet tall, was adorned by even more crystals. To me all the decorations looked absurd and not even remotely like Christmas.

“I’m here to see Luanne and Harold,” I said. I crossed my arms over my chest in a move that I hope conveyed that I wasn’t leaving until I saw them.

“What’s this about?” she said, taking a tentative step back as if my presence threatened her. I knew I was a big guy and with my razor cut hair and leather jacket, I might have looked a bit edgy, but I wasn’t exactly holding a knife to her throat either.

“They’ll know,” I said, taking a step forward. I could tell by the way her hand twitched at the edge of the door that she was a second away from closing it in my face. I couldn’t let that happen. Not before I had a chance to say my piece. The maid took a few more steps back. There was no mistaking the fear in her gaze now. As much as I was sorry that she was scared of me, it wasn’t enough for me to leave before I talked to Marilee’s parents.
 

Luckily I didn’t have to force my will because just then Harold, dressed in nothing less than a tuxedo with a white bow tie and looking like a dwarf penguin, joined the maid.

“That’s okay Karla, I’ll handle this,” Harold said in a clipped tone. Karla, looking more than relieved to be dismissed, left without a backward glance.

“You shouldn’t be here?” Harold said. Though there was mild irritation in his voice, his face was quietly impassive. Before he could shoo me out the door I closed it behind me. From the look in his eyes the move surprised Harold, but he rapidly recovered, his face remaining expressionless.

For the whole walk over I’d rehearsed what I’d planned to say to these deadbeat parents that claimed to be Marilee’s guardians, but now that I was there I was oddly speechless. Harold moved a smidgen closer. I realized that in his own way he was trying to be imposing. It was impossible given that I had almost two feet of height over him. Harold opened his mouth to say something but before he did, Luanne swept into the room.

She was garbed in a black silky dress that hit every one of her curves. Her outfit reminded me more of something a person might wear to bed not a dinner party. Her platinum blonde hair was swept up with strategic curls falling loosely to her shoulders. Her hair style, much like the outdoor decorations, was supposed to have given the illusion of casual elegance, but missed completely. In my opinion with her fire engine red lipstick and overdone eye makeup she looked like someone who wanted to appear like a movie star, but didn’t have even a tenth of the beauty to pull it off.

 
“Has something happened to Marilee?” Luanne said in a voice much higher and hysterical than was required. She shot an appraising glance over her shoulder, clearly putting on a show for any of her guests who might had cast their eyes our way. When she saw that my presence had gone virtually unnoticed, her face darkened and her eyes turned to slits of fury. I had to admit I liked her better like this because it made it easier to say what I needed to.

I threw my shoulders back, straightened my spine and tried to look as tough as I could. It was something that, given my height and stature, I’d always been good at. I reached into my pocket. Before I retrieved what I’d intended, Luanne released a tiny shriek, clutching at the sparkling diamond necklace at her throat. It had so many diamonds on it that I wondered what princess she’d stolen it from.

“What’s wrong?” Luanne said, fingering the grape-sized diamond at the center of her necklace. I stared at her for a minute, stunned by the bullshit she was slinging. I wondered how someone as calculatingly shallow as Luanne, could ever have had a daughter as amazing as Marilee.

“Well besides the fact that you’ve decided that Marilee isn’t welcome in her own house anymore, not much I guess,” I said, shaking my head.
 

I felt my temper crest. I knew that if I didn’t keep it under wraps I might end up doing something stupid. I refused to put Marilee through any more than she was already dealing with.

I pulled out the picture that I’d been carrying for quite a while. Just looking at it, dog-eared and a little crumpled, made a vise tighten around my heart.

“If it were up to me I’d cut my losses and say screw you both, but Marilee’s a better person than I am. She actually still cares about you two, despite how you’ve treated her,” I said. My voice caught. I glanced down at the picture, all the while trying to keep a handle on my emotions.
 

I locked eyes with Luanne who had moved in beside Harold, clinging to his arm like she was a scared child. I absently wondered if she would turn on the waterworks or if she’d preserve her tacky makeup job instead.

“As you can probably tell I didn’t grow up with a silver spoon in my mouth. Truthfully I’ve always kind of hated people like you, because as far as I could see you guys were all stuck up assholes. You of course both fall nicely into that category.” I raked a hand through my hair then shook my head.
 

I took two long steps, closing the distance between Luanne and me. I shoved the photo toward her. Instead of looking at it she glared at me, giving me a stare that might have made most people cower. It didn’t phase me though.

“Look dammit,” I said, my voice going up a few octaves. “Look at her, can’t you see how beautiful she is and that her hair and makeup and all that other stuff that girls do to themselves, means nothing. It’s her core that matters. How can you ignore her, how can you not see her perfection?”

Harold’s eyes drifted down to the photo. I was shocked when he gingerly took it from me. He gazed down at Marilee’s image, a picture I’d taken of her when she’d been asleep. In the picture, swaddled in her pink and lilac quilt she looked like a cherub painted by Michelangelo.
 

Harold pressed his lips together, tenderly touching the photo as if it were a living being. That simple act warmed me and made me hope that he wasn’t as far gone as I’d imagined. I glanced at Luanne. Unlike Harold she seemed to be doing everything in her power not to look at the picture.

“Look at her,” I whispered my voice going deep with emotion. “Look at your daughter and see her, really see her.”

As if a string had been attached to the top of her head, Luanne’s eyes, the only part of her that had any similarity to Marilee, caught sight of the picture that Harold seemed mesmerized by. And when she did, something happened, a tear trailed down her cheek. But unlike the fake tears she turned on at will, I was quite sure that it was probably the first real one she’d cried in a long time.