Long Memory (12 page)

“Two slushies,” Beth said, holding up her hands. “Two hands.”

“I’m going to get one too.”

“Right.” Beth started walking away so James hurried after her. “You’re making this worse,” she muttered.

“Miss Wilson, how are you?” A portly woman who needed more sunscreen or a heart monitor based on the color of her skin stopped them behind the Turbos dugout.

“I’m fine and how are you?”

“Good, good. Who’s your friend?”

“This is Nonie’s grandson, James Leoni.”

“How nice to meet you.” The woman held out a sweaty hand, which James felt obligated to shake. Her hands were slicker than the bank manager’s. “How is Nonie doing? I heard you had to go to the hospital the other night.”

“Nonie got another nosebleed and lost a lot of blood. Her skin is so thin, and she forgets not to blow her nose so the scabs kept coming off.” Beth shrugged. “She just doesn’t remember anything five minutes later.”

“That’s such a shame. Is she doing the team book?”

Beth pursed her lips. She jammed her hands into her rear pockets. “No, not the official one. Zack got her a page to work on though. Just so she has something to do. The more stimulation her brain has, the better she’ll do.”

“Oh, of course.” The woman smiled. “Well, I shouldn’t keep you. I hope you enjoy your visit, Mr. Leoni.”

James followed Beth away, wiping his hand on his leg. Beth’s hips swayed provocatively as she walked. He’d follow her anywhere.

“Sunscreen on your hand?” Beth asked.

“Something.”

“Angie is a sunscreen nut. Hello, Mrs. Vorac.” Her stride was hypnotic.

“Hello.”

James tore his gaze from Beth to glance at the elderly woman walking past them and found the old bird giving him the once-over. “Do you actually know every single person in this town?”

Beth shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess so.” She said hello to another woman who passed them pushing a twin stroller the size of a semi.

“One of the balls went into the woods,” James announced. “Let’s go get it.” He seized her hand and pulled her into the trees.

“I didn’t hear the bat,” Beth protested. “None of those kids could have hit a ball this far into the trees. They’re eleven, not professionals.”

James stopped when he could no longer see the ball field through the trees. Then he looked at Beth. Her cheeks were pink in the cool shade, and one of her eyebrows arched with Spock-like superiority.

“There was no ball, was there?” she asked.

“No.” The tops of her shoulders were pink too. She needed sunscreen.

“So why are we in the middle of the woods?”

“Why do you think?” He leaned against a tree, pulling her into his arms. She was just as sweaty as he was, but that fueled thoughts of making her sweat in other ways. Her hands clutched his shoulders. The sensation of her fingers digging into him made him shudder. What would they feel like against his bare skin? In the distance, the aluminum bat cracked. The crowd shouted. James started tasting her salty neck. “You are driving me crazy.”

“Thanks.”

“Aren’t you worried about someone seeing you?”

“In a minute.” She arched her neck. “Are you allergic to poison ivy?”

“What?”

“Poison ivy, are you allergic?”

He found the curve where her neck met her shoulder. His lips fit the small space perfectly. “Why?”

“This tree is covered in it”

“Poison ivy.” James lifted his head up. That seemed like it should be important. Poison ivy.

Beth pulled him away from the tree, turned him around and pointed. “Leaves of three, let it be.”

A long vine wrapped around the tree with clumps of three shiny leaves. Some of them were red. “Poison ivy.”

“Yes, are you allergic?”

“I have no idea. Nonie would know.”

“No, she wouldn’t.” Beth laughed. “You
are
a city boy. Go to the bathroom and wash up wherever you might have touched it. Use cold water, no soap. Go that way and meet me at the concession stand when you’re done.” She pointed toward another path before turning to go out the way they came.

James worked his way out, studying every leaf that reached toward him. Poison ivy. All day he’d been sitting next to her wondering how to get her alone for a couple of seconds where the whole town wouldn’t see them, and what was there? Poison ivy. Hopefully, she wasn’t allergic. He didn’t need to have her mad at him for that too. Any minute she was going to realize that someone might have seen them go in.

They wouldn’t really question her morals for slipping into the woods with a man, would they? She was an adult and so was he.

James pushed through the door to the bathrooms. The cement-block room was fragrant with mold and urine. Someone had clogged one of the sinks with toilet paper. James used the other one, washing as instructed with cold water and without soap. The cold water felt great trickling down the back of his neck. A toilet flushed behind him.

“Hi there. Hot one, isn’t it?” The other man smiled, flashing extremely white teeth.

“Very.”

“I don’t seem to remember your name. I’m Johnny McMannus.”

James frowned at the man. He was tall and lean with a rime of dirt under his fingernails. Also, he had not at any point recently had a heart attack. “Johnny McMannus?”

“Well, I suppose we could have the same name.” The guy shrugged. “Seems unlikely though.”

“I thought you had a heart attack.”

“That was my dad. That’s why I’m back home.”

“Oh, sorry. How is your dad doing?”

“He’s still in CCU. He’ll be fine.” Johnny shuffled. “The man has the constitution of a cockroach. He could survive a nuclear holocaust.” Johnny looked toward the door, a shadow of a frown crossing his face, but disappearing when his grin buoyed to the surface again. “Are you dating Beth Wilson?”

“Dating? No, I’m visiting my grandmother.” James dried his wet hand before holding it out. “James Leoni.”

“Nice to meet you. Now I know why you seem familiar. Mrs. Bennetti’s grandson. She had a picture of you on her desk. I spent a lot of time beside that desk.” Johnny rolled his eyes. “I heard you were an accountant.”

“I am.”

“My dad made a mess out of the garage books. Do you think you could swing by and maybe help me straighten things out? I’m just a dumb grease monkey.” He knocked on his head. “And I don’t even know where to start.”

“Things are pretty busy right now.” What with chasing Beth and his mother’s impending arrival.

“Maybe after the festival,” Johnny suggested.

It didn’t sound like a bad idea. A little work to keep him busy and keep him in town for a while. The bank manager had a line on some work too. He’d have time to enjoy Beth’s company and help her with his grandmother. “Yeah, I’ll call you after the festival.”

“Great.” Johnny shook his hand. “I guess I should get back out there. I have no idea how to coach a Little League team.”

“I couldn’t help you with that one.”

Johnny stopped at the door. “You should be careful going into those woods.”

“Oh?”

“Poison ivy everywhere. The high school kids go back there to have sex so the school lets the ivy run wild to keep them out. It only works part of the time. Don’t forget to wash the backs of your arms. That’s where it always caught me.” Johnny walked out.

James rubbed cold water on the backs of his arms. There were officially no secrets in a small town. When he met Beth at the concession stand, she was deep in conversation with a couple of women her age. The one with long hair had a notebook in her hands and was running through a list. The other one wore a huge pink hat that hid her face. He tapped Beth on the shoulder. “What flavor?”

“One blue, one pink,” Beth said.

The idea of food ordered by color gave James the willies so he got a Coke for himself. While he waited, a cute girl in short shorts and a crop top sauntered over. “Hi there.”

“Hi.”

“I’m Kitty. Katherine, really. But it doesn’t suit me.” The way her lips curled into a feral smile, James agreed. “You must be James Leoni, Nonie’s grandson. I was hoping to meet you.”

“Why?”

“I was thinking about moving to Atlanta. Maybe you could show me around.”

James glanced toward Beth. He had left Atlanta for a reason, but he hadn’t realized he’d have such a good reason for coming here. “I don’t think I’ll be moving back there.”

“Really? Why ever not?”

“Kitty!”

James jumped at the voice, but Kitty only rolled her eyes.

The woman in the pink hat descended on her. “What are you doing here?”

“It is the only entertainment in town,” Kitty drawled.

The woman in the pink hat grabbed Kitty’s arm and jerked her a good two feet backward.

“Lanie!” Kitty wailed.

“Hey, Elaine, calm down.” Beth stepped between the two of them. She glanced at James, but he couldn’t read her expression. “Let’s not blow anything out of proportion.”

“From the queen of out of proportion,” the long-haired woman quipped.

The look Beth gave her was much darker than the one she gave him so she must not be irritated with him. He picked up the Coke and the two slushies from the counter and then stood trying to figure out what to do with them. Indecision was a new and bitter experience. Instinct told him to stay and help Beth out of her jam, but it looked like something requiring history. She probably wouldn’t appreciate his nosing in either. Too much fodder for the local gossip mill. Maybe he should go back and sit with Nonie and Jean. “Beth?” he asked.

“What?” She focused on him, flicking on the fakest smile James had ever seen. “Why don’t you take those over to the girls? I’ll be there in a minute.”

James walked as far as the far edge of the Turbos’ dugout, where he found Johnny McMannus standing in the shadows watching the women. The man looked like he’d just sucked a lemon dry. He didn’t even seem to notice James walking past him. James looked back. The four women were locked in some kind of long-running battle he didn’t know anything about. Then he experienced a more familiar feeling. Exclusion. Beth, Kitty, Elaine, the long-haired woman, even Johnny McMannus, they all belonged here. He didn’t belong anywhere. Most of the time, this didn’t bother him, but suddenly it did.

Chapter 8

Beth sat down on the chaise on her porch and rubbed her face with both hands. After the games, Nonie and Jean always needed naps. All the socializing and sun wore them out. Did a number on her too. Elaine’s public meltdown didn’t help either. Elaine was always the stable, calm one. Beth had her atrocious temper and Lily had her crying jags, but Elaine was the steady one. She hadn’t freaked out like this since junior year of high school. Hopefully she wasn’t headed for another one like that. It had lasted most of that year.

Someone sat down beside her on the lounge. Since the options were limited, she didn’t bother to look. “Itchy yet?”

“Not so far. Does it happen that fast?” James asked.

“No. If you got it, you’ll know tomorrow. If you see little red bumps that look like mosquito bites, don’t scratch them. That’s how they spread.”

“What happened with your friend today?”

Beth opened one eye. “My friend?”

“Your friend who yelled at that girl who was talking to me. Kitty.” James leaned his elbows on his knees. “She seemed very upset.”

“Kitty is Elaine’s younger sister and she’s–flirtatious. Elaine didn’t want her flirting with you.”

“Why?”

Beth ran her tongue over her teeth. She had theories of course, but she didn’t want to share them with James. Elaine might have decided that James was Beth’s and wanted to keep Kitty from interfering, but that didn’t explain her freak-out. “Elaine has been trying to keep Kitty out of trouble all her life, and Kitty has been actively seeking trouble all her life.”

“I never realized I was such a bad boy.” James stroked his chin. “Perhaps I should grow a curly mustache.”