Fuzzy Logic (22 page)

Thanks to Rosa’s digestive disturbance on the way to Kat’s place, the drive back from the airport was just as stinky as Jan had feared it would be. Even with all the windows rolled down, the offensive odor still pervaded the car. The stench of aged sun-baked dog vomit might never come out, unless she paid for expensive professional detailing. Or fumigation.

As she drove up to her tidy 1940s cottage in Alpine Grove, she smiled. Even if the drive had been unpleasant, it was still good to be home. She pulled her mail out of the little green mailbox out front and thought about seeing Rosa again. Maybe her life seemed boring to other people, but she loved this little house at the end of the street in her quiet neighborhood. It was a relief to be away from the crowds in Southern California. Not to mention her mother’s New-Age-speak and turmoil. Being around her was exhausting, partly because it was so difficult to tell what she was saying much of the time.

Jan put away her clothes and reflected on her week away. It certainly hadn’t been all bad. Spending all that time with Michael had been downright magical, in fact. Now being here in her familiar, comfortable home, the whole experience seemed far away and unreal, almost like it hadn’t actually happened. But it had. She wrapped her arms around her waist and remembered the warm, passionate sensations of being in his bed. And all their conversations at restaurants and coffee shops. Time had melted away so quickly when they’d been together. Even the awful, sandy cleaning exercise had been an adventure. And then of course the horseback ride. It was like a dream. Even if she never heard from him again, she’d still have the memories.

After Jan unpacked, she got back in the car to pick up Rosa. She couldn’t wait to see her round black dog again; the house seemed extra empty without Rosa’s furry presence. Jan sang along to bad 80s music as the smelly car bumped down the long driveway toward Kat’s house. She approached the house and noticed Kat and Maria were sitting on the steps in front of the house. Rosa was with them on a leash, lying at their feet. At the sound of Jan’s car, the dog stood up and began barking.

Jan parked the car, got out, and ran toward Rosa. She crouched down and rubbed the dog’s head. “Oh, look at you! How are you? I missed my girl!”

Kat smiled. “I guess you’re glad to see her.”

Jan stood up. “Yes, I missed her so much. Thanks for taking care of her on such short notice. And she’s so clean. You must have washed her. I wish my car smelled that good. Thank you for doing that. I hope she was good.”

“Well, not exactly,” Kat said. “But I dealt with it. I was glad to hear your mom was okay too, and you didn’t have to spend your time there at the hospital.”

“Yes, I ended up having a much better time than I expected, although I’m not sure my mom’s marriage is really going to make it. But then, that’s nothing new, either.”

Maria got up from the step. “Hey Jan, it’s good to see you again. San Diego must agree with you. You look different.”

Jan looked down at herself. She was wearing a fairly standard outfit. White blouse and navy blue slacks. “Different how? I always look like this, I think.”

“Hmmm. I don’t think so. You had some fun with a man, didn’t you?”

Jan looked at Maria, then at Kat. “What?”

“I think Maria is delicately implying that she suspects you had sex,” Kat said. “She can tell these things. I don’t know how, but she can.”

Maria nodded. “Doesn’t the Marlboro man live in San Diego? Did you do the deed with him? I hope so. Because he sounded totally hot.”

Jan’s cheeks reddened and she bent down to pet Rosa with the hope that maybe Kat and Maria might not notice. “I did see Michael. There was a problem with our parents living together. Technically he’s my step-brother, since his dad married my mom.” She stood up again. “So yes, I saw him again.”

Maria raised an eyebrow. “Naked?”

Jan dropped her hands to her sides. “Okay fine. Yes, naked.”

“Excellent,” Maria said, clapping her hands together. “I knew it. And I’m guessing by that little smile on your face that he was looking good. And that
it
was good.”

Jan grinned. “Yes. Really good. Far better than expected, in fact.”

Maria nodded. “And better than that low-life boyfriend you had too, I’m guessing.”

“Way better. No comparison.” Just thinking about it gave her a little thrill.

“Good. If I can’t be getting any myself, at least I can hear about it from you two.” Maria nudged Kat. “That’s another thing we need to talk about. How is it that someone as fine as myself does not have a man? That’s just wrong. After Larry, there’s been a whole lotta nothing and I’m getting cranky.”

Kat nodded. “Yet another question to ponder. It could be a long evening.”

Jan took Rosa’s leash from Kat. “I should be going, since I have to work tomorrow. Jill covered my whole vacation at the library, and she’s probably ready for a break. Thank you again.”

As Jan’s car clunked through the potholes in the driveway, she thought about what she’d said. There really was no comparison. She missed Michael in a way she had never missed Steve.

When Steve had left to go back to work after their weekends together, she pretty much forgot about him. But she couldn’t get Michael out of her mind.

The next day Jan and Rosa went to work at the library. It was great to be back in her familiar space. The library had always been her haven and she immersed herself in genealogy research related to one of the founders of Alpine Grove for a patron who was working on a written history of the town. Learning about the original settlers of the area was fascinating and the day flew by. Doing major research also was a great distraction from thinking about Michael. But once it was time to lock up the library and go home, her mind was swirling with memories and questions about San Diego again.

She opened the door to her cottage just as the phone was ringing. Rosa ran into the house and jumped on the sofa. Jan dropped her bag, slammed the door, and ran to answer the phone.

On the other end of the line, Michael’s deep voice greeted her. A sparkle of excitement fluttered through her. “Hi Michael. How are you?”

“I’m fine. How’s library life?”

“Great. I worked on research all day, which is my favorite thing to do.”

“Did you learn anything good?”

“Oh yes. I got lost in stories about the Miller family. They were one of the original settlers here.”

Michael cleared his throat. “So, I’m calling to let you know about my dad. I don’t think your mother is going to tell you.”

“Is he okay? Did something happen? He didn’t have an accident or something, did he?” What had her mother done now?

“No, he’s fine.” Michael paused. “But I’m pretty sure the marriage isn’t going to work out.”

Jan bowed her head and put her hand over her face. Not again. How did her mother manage to destroy marriages so quickly? “But we cleaned the house. That was supposed to fix their problem with living together. What did my mother do?”

“It’s not really anything she did. It’s who she is.”

“Did the New-Age stuff finally get to him?” Jan rubbed her eyes. That would figure. “I know it drives me nuts. I definitely could see that driving him away. He’s so much more down-to-earth and plainspoken than she is.”

“No. It’s because she’s a woman.”

Jan dropped her hand to her side and straightened. “What?”

“Well, I was talking to my dad and he was telling me that your mom has been trying to deal with the root of his chakra problems. She thinks his energy is blocked and brought over crystals. I guess she brought some stone that influences the sacral chakra.”

Jan paused to think for a second. “Wait a minute. That’s the chakra that affects sexuality and procreation. And pleasure. Is this about sex? Please, please say no. I really don’t want to talk to my mother about that.”

“Do you think it was fun talking to my dad about it?” Michael said in an amused tone. “I mean we had to have the birds and the bees talk when I was thirteen. That was enough for me.”

“So, I’m guessing their sex life is not good?”

“After last week, I’d say ours is probably a whole lot better.”

Jan was glad he couldn’t see her blush. “I can’t argue with that. But what did he say?”

“Well, it’s not what he said exactly. It’s what he didn’t say. I think he might be gay.”

“What? Gay as in he prefers men?”

“It would explain a lot.”

“Did he tell you this? Did he come out to you?”

“Not exactly in so many words. I should have stayed longer, but the conversation was so awkward, I couldn’t stand it anymore and I left. I ran over there with Swoosie to have breakfast like I always do. I feel a little bad, since my dad has never said anything like this to me before. I think he really needed someone to talk to, but it was too weird. I was thinking about my mother and...I don’t want to go into all that. But it was strange, so Swoosie and I left.”

“Telling someone you’re gay is a pretty big deal. You are such a chicken.”

“Hey, you’re one to talk. You’re the one who doesn’t want to talk about sex crystals with your mother.”

“You’re right. Sorry. Is he going to discuss this with my mom?”

“I’m not sure. Mostly I thought you should know. From what you’ve said, it sounds like failed marriages are nothing new with her, but I think this time the problems with their relationship are not her fault.”

Jan smiled. “If this is true, we cleaned that sandy house for nothing. And killed Evette’s fine machine.”

Michael chuckled. “I’m sure she has had the fine machine fixed by now. But some things you can’t control. Or fix. I think this situation may count as one of them.”

“Should I try to talk to my mom? I know I don’t want to. And if your dad really is gay, he needs to tell her. But maybe I should find out if she’s okay.”

“That’s up to you. I also wanted to let you know that I have to come back up to Alpine Grove next weekend to do some more shooting for the commercial. We need some background, establishing shots of the area. We spent so much time dealing with the actor and horse problems that we ran out of time to do them.”

“Maybe I can return the favor and show you the sights of Alpine Grove.”

“I think that would take all of about ten minutes. But I would like to see you.”

“That would be great.” Jan said, trying to modulate her voice so she didn’t sound like a love-starved teenager. “I’ll be here. So will Rosa.”

“I should go. But good luck talking to your mom. I’ll see you soon.”

As Jan hung up the phone, she closed her eyes. She had really wanted to invite him to stay here at her house. But he wasn’t the only one who was a big chicken.

For the rest of the evening, Jan debated calling her mother. But what would she say? “So, I hear your sex life with the Toilet King isn’t so good.” Ugh. No way.

In the end, she decided to put off any call until tomorrow. Or the next day. Maybe if she had some time to process the information, she could think of something to say that wasn’t utterly stupid.

Two days later after much deliberation, she had a plan. Instead of talking, she’d just listen. Yes, Mom was hard to understand, but maybe she’d let Jan know what was going on in her own oblique way. And then Jan could at least try to be supportive of what was going on. Whatever that might be.

She picked up the phone and dialed Bruce’s house. Her mother picked up the phone.

“Hi Mom. I’m just calling to see how everything is going.”

“It’s lovely to hear from you, dear. I’m fine, but I’m about to go out to an astrology class. Did you need something?”

Jan paused, desperate for something to say. “Not really. I just wanted to see how things were going with Bruce now that the house is clean.” Sheesh. That was lame. Maybe mom wouldn’t notice.

“The energy in the house is much better. But Bruce’s energy is not good. His root chakra is blocked. I think it is causing dysfunction in areas of his body because the energy is not flowing properly.”

Uh-oh. Jan wasn’t sure she wanted to hear about those areas. “Um, that doesn’t sound good. I hope he’s not sick.”

“No dear, it’s not a sickness. His sexual drive is not what it should be. The human sex drive is strong. With a man like him, it should be a powerful energy. But it isn’t.”

Jan cringed inwardly. She so,
so
didn’t want to hear any of this. “Oh, uh, well, that doesn’t sound good, either.”

“I’m sure it’s not me. My heart is united with my sexuality and I am a passionate person. I need to have both love and sex in abundance. Fortunately, I have rose quartz, garnet, and other crystals to help stimulate the creative expression of love.”

“Well, um, I hope the, uh, stimulation works out. You always say crystals are...um...powerful.”

“You were spending a lot of time with Michael when you were here. I assume you spent time in the bedroom, too. How is he sexually? Perhaps there is a hereditary dysfunction. I can give you some crystals if you need help.”

“Fine, mom. Michael is fine. No hereditary...anything.” Help! She was not going to talk about sex with Michael with her
mother
. No. Way.

“Sex should be more than just fine, dear. I hope you know that. Perhaps you are just missing Steve. You were together for a long time, after all. Is everything okay? You sound nervous.”