Still Life in Shadows (15 page)

She hurried out to find Moriah, who was making his way to the parking lot. She called out to him, “Where is it?”

Turning, he stopped walking. “What?”

Rushing to his side, she cried, “The thing I was supposed to keep for you. The package.”

“What are you talking about?”

Perhaps someone else had found the package and had it. Kiki ran inside and asked Luke if he’d seen it.

Luke stood at the counter by the coffeemaker with a cup of coffee. As he stirred sugar into it, he asked, “What package? Has Santa come early?”

Moriah stormed in after her. “Shut up!”

Kiki felt her knees quake. “What?”

“Don’t be acting all loud about it.”

“You gave it to me to take care of. I hid it like you told me. Then it was gone.”

Under his breath, Moriah said, “I got it, okay?” He gave a little
smile to Luke and with that, Luke’s confusion faded. Taking his coffee, Luke walked toward his bay.

Kiki knew that smile at Luke was fake and that Moriah was pretending that everything was all right. Well, it wasn’t.

“Just mind your own business,” Moriah said after Luke was gone.

“What business? You mind your own!” Kiki knew her voice was loud; she felt her head grow queasy, like it did when she stood up too quickly.

Gideon came out of his office and asked what the commotion was about. Kiki looked at her hands as Moriah placed an arm around his brother’s shoulders. “It’s all good, bro. Kiki and I are just having a little fun.” Then he smiled his wide movie-star smile, the one that always reminded Kiki of the smile that belonged to the Professor on
Gilligan’s Island.
He patted Kiki’s head then walked over to where Luke was changing oil in a vehicle. Next thing, they were both laughing, like old friends.

When Ashlyn stopped by after what she called a grueling day at the
Twin Star
, Moriah suggested that what she needed was a donut.

“Donuts?” Ashlyn laughed and Kiki thought how pretty her dark wavy hair was against her olive skin. She must have got her good looks from her mama because Sheriff Henry sure didn’t have any to pass down.

Moriah winked at Kiki and said, “Wouldn’t you like a donut?”

Kiki was relieved. Moriah was acting more like the friendly man she’d first gotten to know. With enthusiasm she said, “I would.”

Without further ado, Moriah took off, his long strides cutting across the parking lot toward the Piggy Wiggly. Fifteen minutes later he sprinted back with a box of Krispy Kreme donuts. He grinned and set the box on the hood of the car Luke was servicing. Opening the lid, he exposed an assortment of a dozen donuts. “Dig in!”

The others laughed, carefully deciding which treat they wanted, while Kiki went for the lemon one. She knew it was lemon because a little bit of the gooey yellow filling inside oozed from the edge.

The donut was delicious; it made her mouth and tummy feel sugary
and warm. She looked at Moriah who smiled at her. Perhaps he wasn’t a meanie after all. Maybe he hadn’t meant to be so thoughtless and ungrateful an hour ago. When no one was looking, she grabbed a sugar-glazed, popping it into her mouth so quickly, she could hardly move her jaw to chew. Mari wouldn’t be pleased that she was consuming so much sugar, but thankfully, Mari wasn’t here.

“You work at the paper, don’t you?” Moriah asked as he drenched his throat with a large swig of bottled water from the fridge.

Ashlyn said that she did.

“Can you put me in the paper?”

Lightly, Ashlyn said, “Why do you want to be in the paper? For bringing donuts to us?”

Moriah laughed. “Even better than that! Put me in there for a good reason.”

Reaching for another donut, Luke said, “What good are you going to do so you can get in the
Twin Star
?”

Moriah thought as he took another drink of water. “Something noteworthy. Something grand.” Smiling at Kiki, he said, “Just watch. I’ll do something to get in there.”

Gideon came out of his office after that. Kiki thought he might order everyone back to work, but he didn’t. He accepted Moriah’s bear hug, laughed, and also accepted the last donut in the box. He didn’t seem to mind that it was only an Old Fashioned.

K
iki drove her bike home in a fury. What was his problem talking to her like that? She’d done him a favor and yesterday he was rude to her. Then he was all nice, buying donuts for everyone.
Well, that didn’t last,
thought Kiki. This very afternoon he was back to being rude, telling her to not talk so loudly and ask him so many questions. She’d only wanted to know what became of the item she’d carefully stored for him. Why couldn’t he answer that question? Instead, he told her he needed her to take care of another package that was to come by. Then he’d left the shop and when he returned an hour later, he demanded that she tell him where the item was.

“No one dropped anything off for you,” she’d said as she washed her hands.

“What do you mean?” The veins in his neck pulsed like angry ripples in a gushing stream. “I told you that someone was coming by.”

“No one came by. No one did,” she’d said as he groaned.

“Forget it then!” And with that, he cursed her and once again, left the repair shop.

Don’t be rude, Kiki,
Mari often told her.
Be polite.
Well, Mari needed to tell that to Moriah, because he certainly was lacking manners. “He’s a retard,” Kiki muttered, knowing that was a hateful word and she loathed it when anyone called her that. “No, he’s crazy. He’s no good.”

The air was cool now and daylight, fading. Kiki was grateful to see her driveway and eager to get inside her house and make a cup of cocoa. She put her bike in the garage, then climbed the front porch steps and realized she didn’t want cocoa, she wanted to sit and stew some more.
Sit and stew,
that’s what Mama said Kiki did when she was upset. “Are you going to sit and stew? I’ll leave you alone to sit and stew.”

Kiki plopped down on the top step and put her head between her hands. “You are a moron, Moriah!” she shouted.
Why, oh, why did this day have to be such a bad one? When am I going to have a good day
?

Just then Angie stepped from the shadows over by her grandmother Luva’s house and made her way to Kiki’s front lawn. “Hi,” she said. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing … Everything.”

“Are you mad at someone or something?”

“He thinks he can do whatever he pleases.”

Angie continued to stand in front of her, so Kiki, enjoying an audience, continued, “He’s a no-good loser!” Spouting the line made her feel powerful. “He’s not so great!”

“Who are you talking about?” asked Angie. She made a face like she thought Kiki was crazy.

Kiki took a breath, realizing she had not shared Moriah’s name. Dare she tell Angie who she was talking about? What if Angie laughed at her? “Moriah,” she said and waited for Angie’s response. When there was none, she added, “He flirts with all the girls. I mean every single one of them.”

Angie nodded and let a smile slip between her lips. “I’ve seen him. He is really cute.”

Why did Angie have to say that? Kiki wished Moriah wasn’t good-looking. Hotly, she shouted, “He is a big fat loser and he thinks he’s all
that and a bag of chips.” She yelled to shut out the music from her heart that repeated like a soft refrain,
I wish he liked me. I wish he liked me.

“What did he do to you?”

“He asked me to take care of a package for him. And I did. And he never even thanked me.” She was on a roll. Without taking a breath, she continued. “And then, he bought us donuts and acted all happy and laughing with everyone, but today he was back to being mean again.”

“Guys,” said Angie, disgust lining her face. “They are such problems.” She made her way up to the top step and sat next to Kiki. “Don’t let it get to you.”

Kiki nodded. Having Angie seated beside her was strangely nice. But it didn’t last long, because as usual, Angie said she had to go.

Kiki watched the girl walk toward her grandmother Luva’s house. When Angie was out of sight, Kiki ambled inside to her bedroom. Her arrowhead collection was scattered on her dresser. She wished again that she had a cool box like the one at work to store them in. In the living room, she flicked on the TV to the animal show. She saw a commercial for dog food, a flashy boxer eagerly eating from a stainless steel bowl.
Why couldn’t I have a pet like that?
She knew dogs made great and loyal companions.
There was Lassie and Skip and that movie called
Beethoven.
If I had a dog, I’d take good care of it.

Wishing, she was always wishing. One day, she’d told Dr. Conner she wanted something grand to happen to her so that she didn’t have to keep wishing her life away. He’d said that she could have good things happen to her. She just had to be patient.

G
ideon was relieved that Amos seemed to be fitting in well at Another Cup. The two had agreed that Amos would pay off the rent he owed Gideon for his first month, and then lease the apartment under his name so that Gideon was not responsible for the payment. Amos seemed lighthearted again, the same boy who had stepped off of Bruce’s truck, only a little more familiar with the ways of the real world and much more confident. “I think of home,” he told Luke, Moriah, and Gideon one night when Gideon had them over for a dinner of beef stroganoff and seasoned carrots. “But then I think of now, this experience, and I don’t want to trade it for anything.”

Moriah smiled. “Well,” he said as he lifted a glass of sweet tea. “I’d like to work at Another Cup, too. You’ve got great scenery there. The owner is a doll.”

Gideon gulped. His brother’s freedom to flirt around women was starting to bother him. What had living in Florida taught him? Had he taken some course on picking up women? Quickly, he tried to think of where the conversation had begun and get back to it. “Uh, Amos.” Seeing
that he had the boy’s attention, he continued, “Do you think you’ll go back to Lancaster for a visit?”

“No way. My dad would never let me come home now that I’ve left. I snuck away and left no trace of where I was headed.”

“How many times?” Moriah asked.

Amos raised a puzzled look.

“How many times did you try to run away before you actually succeeded?”

Amos’s face lightened. “Let’s see. Three. How about you?”

“I planned it all out and left and then realized I’d forgotten my wallet, so I came back after walking two miles and tried again two nights later.” Moriah beamed. He looked at his brother. “Gideon made a clear escape his first try.”

Gideon didn’t want to get into the memories of that night. “So,” he said to Amos, “you’re here to stay?”

“It’s a nice place,” said Amos as he helped himself to more stroganoff. “I like the church here.”

“Church?” said Luke. “Which one are you going to?”

“Mari invited me to her church and I went. Different. But nice.”

Gideon wanted to change the subject. He had no interest in hearing more about Mari’s church. He supposed that she invited everyone to her church as he recalled how she’d asked him about attending that rainy afternoon at the tea shop.

Halfway through dessert, Moriah looked at his wristwatch and said he had to go. Politely, he thanked Gideon for the meal and stood.

Gideon didn’t ask him any questions, but later that night wished he had. As he tried to get comfortable in his bed, Gideon wondered about his brother. Moriah seemed to take a lot of cigarette breaks and at lunchtime today, he’d wandered off and didn’t return until a few hours later.
What is wrong with Moriah? Has he forgotten his hardworking roots?

The next morning, Gideon noted that the sofa had not been slept on. Moriah usually left his blanket swung over the back of the sofa when
he woke, but the blanket was still folded in a little pile on one corner of the couch.

Gideon headed out to work, hoping Moriah would be in the garage, working on Mrs. Peterson’s old Ford with Luke. He entered the bays and saw Luke, but no sign of his brother.

W
hen Kiki got to work, she placed her bike by the storage room door and then said that she’d told everyone at school to come to the shop with their bikes. “I told them eight dollars.”

“Eight dollars?”

“I have to charge them something! This shop needs to make money.”

Ormond chuckled from his desk. “A girl after my own heart.”

“But what made you decide to come up with eight? Why not ten?” Luke asked as he washed his hands.

“Eight is what Mari said we should charge. Not as much as ten, so people will think it’s a bargain.”

Luke laughed. “That’s what everyone wants around here, something for nothing.”

“Gideon told me that eight is only the beginning.”