Tribe (28 page)

Staring at his beautiful young face, so innocent, so desirous of love, the question took her by surprise. What he wanted to know was just so simple, so honest, but at first Janice couldn't think what to say, merely because she'd never pondered the issue from that side of the fence.

“Oh, my God, Zeb.” She reached out and took one of his hands in hers, felt herself choking up. “It doesn't matter who you are or who you love, whether you're gay…or straight.” Then she had to stifle a small and incredulous grin, for she never, ever expected to be saying these words. “Sweetheart, I just want you to know how incredibly proud I am of you. You don't even know how much I love you.” She paused and added, “And how much I hope to one day earn your love as well.”

“But you already have,” he said. “Earned it, I mean.”

At the same moment they were both reaching out, birth mother and son, embracing each other with the small baby cradled in between. Janice felt her granddaughter squirming against her, felt the strength of her son holding on to her, and was amazed. To her it was a miracle, this sense of fullness that she thought she had so long ago abdicated.

“Ahem. I'm sorry to break up this little love fest, kiddies, but this girl's got a song to sing. My pal Pedro will be here any minute.”

Janice and Zeb pulled back to see Jeff standing in the doorway, a small cosmetics case in hand.

Janice wiped her eyes with the back of her right hand and said to Zeb, “Okay, you stick with Jeff and he'll make sure everything's all right.”

“That's right, if anyone tries to hurt you,” interjected Jeff, “I'll beat them with my pearls and tie them up with my feather boa.”

Zeb asked, “But when am I going to see you again, Janice?”

“Soon. I hope all this will be over real soon.”

Todd had been sitting
on the living room couch for over ten minutes when he heard her key in the rear door. He didn't move, just sat there in his beige down parka and listened as Janice stomped her feet and took off her coat in the kitchen.

“And where were you?” he finally called.

“Todd, is that you?” she responded, unable to hide her surprise.

“No, it's just your friendly neighborhood thug come back for another violent assault.”

“You scared me.” She appeared at the edge of the living room. “How did you get in?”

“You left the back door open. You must have been going somewhere in a hurry, huh? I checked and saw that your car was gone. And don't tell me you just went to the post office.”

“I didn't.” She came in, crossing through the large room and dropping herself in an overstuffed armchair alongside the couch. “Actually…actually, my dear, Zeb called.”

Little could have surprised him more, and Todd sat up and demanded, “What? Where is he?”

“He phoned from a gas station.”

“I can't believe it.”

“I went and picked him up.”

“So where is he? Outside?”

“No, I took him somewhere.”

“Such as?”

“Somewhere safe.”

“Janice,” said Todd, clasping his hands and his voice growing tense, “don't hold out on me. We need to start being real frank with each other. This kid's in serious trouble.”

“No, he's in serious danger.”

“That too, but you haven't heard. Rawlins just called me on my car phone. Some guy was attacked—it just happened a couple of hours ago—and they have a warrant out for Zeb's arrest.”

“Oh, no.” She put both her hands to her face. “Not the minister.”

“How the hell did you know that?”

“Zeb told me.”

“So he did it?'

“No, of course not.” Janice took a deep breath. “Zeb's car got stuck in the snow last night, and this minister took Zeb and Ribka in for the night.”

Todd had been holding on to the hope, however small, that the police were somehow mistaken. But quite obviously they weren't. Todd shook his head, unzipped his coat, wondered how much worse it could get.

“First some religious kooks are after Zeb, and now the police,” Todd said. “What else did he tell you? Like who went after this guy, this minister?”

“Maybe.”

Todd sat there in disbelief as Janice recounted the entire sequence of events, from getting the phone call, to picking up Zeb, to Zeb's story of what had happened at the minister's house. Piecing it all together, Todd was relieved that it made sense, particularly since Todd had come face to face with this guy, this Paul.

“So what do you think?” asked Todd. “Do you believe Zeb? Do you trust him?”

“Implicitly.”

He sat back, glanced around the large room with its tall ceiling, then gazed out at the sunny, white day. He didn't even know Zeb, barely knew what he looked like.

“Call me nuts, but I guess I trust him too.” The next moment Todd eyed her and asked rather lightly, “See anyone else today?”

“Actually, yes.” Janice stared down at the floor as if in shame. “I saw Pat—Pat from Northwestern. He's here in town, and I met him just a little while ago. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, Todd, but I was trying to keep it as simple as possible.”

“So what happened?”

“I ended up telling him to go to hell.”

He couldn't help but grin. That was just like Janice. Always moral. Always—well, almost always—forthright. Relieved that she had told him and that finally, perhaps, everything else was being laid out, he knew he had to tell her too.

Todd said, “I saw him too.”

“What?”

“When I stopped by my place he was waiting for me in the lobby.”

“You're kidding. What did he say to you?”

“Among other things that he had a son, namely, specifically, Zeb.”

Completely silent, Janice bowed her head and lifted her right hand to her eyes. She looked as if she were about to say something, but instead she just sat there, completely silent.

“Well?” asked Todd. “Is it true?”

Janice shrugged.

“So he's possible dad number two?”

She nodded.

“Any other candidates?”

She shook her head.

He said, “That's kind of what I assumed.” “And that's kind of why I didn't tell you. I didn't know how,” she finally said. “What happened between Pat and me, well, it wasn't pretty, I can say that much. We were—”

“Later,” said Todd, standing and walking toward her. “I don't need the gory details, but if you want to tell me, tell me later.”

“Are…are we still friends?”

“The best. That is, if you can forgive me and my temper.” “Well, it is something you need to work on.” Janice pushed herself up from the overstuffed chair, and Todd wrapped his arms around her thin body, holding her tightly against himself. Outside of his small family—his mother and brother, who both lived in distant states—he shared more history with Janice than any other person in the world. They'd gone from youthful love and lust to avoidance and distance, then all the way back to a profound kind of respect and love, a familial kind that could never be broken. As he held her in his arms, his face nuzzled in her thick hair, her face pressed against his chest, Todd couldn't help but wonder if the thing that had always been binding them wasn't cosmic destiny, but simply and actually a child.

Janice asked, “So you want to know where Zeb is?” “That's kind of a loaded question. We're not only legally obligated to contact the police with any information we have, but I'm dating a cop. I promised I'd give Rawlins a call as soon as we spoke.”

They broke apart. There just wasn't any easy way of doing this, thought Todd, as he drifted into the center of the room. Glancing at Janice, he not only saw the worry on her face, but knew she was contemplating all the legal ramifications as well. She said, “Todd, don't you see how easily this could get out of control? My God, it'd scare Zeb to death if he thought he was wanted by the cops. And what if Rawlins can't control all this, what if the police descend upon Zeb and haul him down to the police station for questioning? You of all people know how terrifying that is. What if they want to hold him overnight? Not only would he be separated from Ribka, I might not be able to take her.”

“I hadn't thought about that.”

But she was right. The authorities could easily insist on placing Ribka in a foster home, which would shatter the already spooked Zeb.

“Todd, you and I both know that Zeb didn't try to kill anyone, so how can we protect him as much as possible?”

Todd thought for a moment. “Okay, let's do it this way. Let me call Rawlins down at the police station. I won't tell him anything, not over the phone anyway. I'll just get together with him and then bring him to talk to Zeb. No one else involved. Zeb's going to have to talk with the police sooner or later, so it might as well be sooner and it might as well be Rawlins.”

“I don't think we have any other choice.” She rolled her eyes. “I guess that makes me not only Zeb's birth mother but his birth lawyer too.”

“So dispense with the secrecy—where's Zeb?”

“Down at the Gay Times.”

“Oh, great, so much for maternal instincts, sending your son and granddaughter down to a gay bar.”

“Listen to yourself, Todd, you sound like Rush Limbaugh.”

“Gee, thanks.”

They discussed the logistics and decided upon a reasonable plan, which Todd hoped to God made sense. Janice then gave him Jeff's dressing room phone number and dashed to the upstairs bathroom.

“Just call and check on Zeb, will you?” she asked as she hurried out of the room.

Of course he would, replied Todd, as he sat down on the living room couch and picked up the phone. He dialed the number and a deep voice answered on the first ring.

“Miss Crystal's dressing room.”

“Hi, Jeff, it's me, Todd.”

“Well, hello, my darling Mr. Manly Man. What a wonderful treat to hear your suave voice. Do you miss me or are you just calling for a fashion tip? On a bright wintry day like today I recommend blazing blues to go with your brilliant eyes.”

“Thanks, Jeff,” began Todd, “but Janice just wanted me to see how everything is.”

“Just fabulous. You can tell that dyke hen that we arrived at the Gay Times a few minutes ago and I'm doing my makeup—brilliant red lipstick, some nice rouge, and great eye shadow, a nummy evening blue. My rehearsal starts in fifteen minutes.”

“I think she's more concerned about Zeb and Ribka.”

“Well, you tell her that I think she should spend as much time worrying about her cosmetics as she does about them. Father and daughter are wonderful though. Not to worry. In fact, they're right here dozing.”

“Great.” Todd wondered how much to tell him and decided the less, the better. “If Zeb wakes up you can tell him that Janice is on the way down.”

“Oh, fab. I love an audience. Ta-ta.”

Todd had hung up when, his hand still on the receiver, the phone rang again. Although he wondered if he should, he impulsively answered it halfway through the first ring.

“Hello?” he said.

“Yes, Janice Gray, please.”

“Who's calling?”

“This is Denise from her office downtown.”

Great, thought Todd. That was all they needed, a call regarding some court case or divorce settlement or whatever. He could easily imagine her getting tied up on the phone over some petty issue.

“Listen,” said Todd, “we're on the way out. Can Janice call you back on my car phone in just a few minutes?”

“Of course. Just make sure she calls. It's urgent.”

“Right.”

He hung up, and by the time he had his coat on she was on her way down the stairs.

“I thought I heard the phone,” she said. “Was it a hangup?”

“No, I answered. It was Denise from your office calling on some business.”

Janice rolled her eyes. “Being a lawyer is just so much fun I can't stand it.”

“I told her you'd call her back on my car phone. We should get going. I'll call Rawlins from the car too. That way I can keep the conversation short and not explain much.”

Janice went to the front hall, where she put on her coat and boots again. Just as they were about to leave, Todd eyed the control panel of her security system.

“This time,” he said, “I think it would not only be advisable to lock the doors but also set the alarm.”

Giving him a snide look, she said, “You sound like my father.”

Janice went up to the panel, a small plastic box with a keypad in the center, and punched in her security code. Immediately, however, the system started squawking and a digitized voice began barking.

“Warning, system error! Phone lines not accessible! Warning, system error!”

“God, I'm sick of the way this thing yaks at me,” muttered Janice.

She re-entered the code, but the same thing happened again, the system sounding the same warning.

“What's that mean?” asked Todd.

“Beats me. It's never done that before.”