Love Scars - 4: Exposed

By now it was clear no one used the front door at Nora’s house. All the action happened in the backyard. Brad and I went through the side gate. Up on the deck hamburgers were cooking on the grill, but there was no one around.

“Hey, guys!” Lisa called through the open window at the kitchen sink, waving us in. Brad grinned like a fool as he opened the sliding glass door. My heart went out to the guy, but he needed to move on.

Lisa stood at the counter with a young girl, the two of them slicing tomatoes and onions for the burgers. The girl was like Nora, a few inches taller and more athletic. She had the same brown hair, though curlier and short, and her eyes were green.

I must be getting old. Eighteen looked younger every year.

“Happy birthday, kid,” Brad said.

“How nice. You came,” Frank said. In the history of sarcasm, no one ever meant the opposite more.

He walked past us with an empty tray and went outside. A few seconds later he appeared on the deck, framed by the wisteria at the kitchen window. If I owned the place I’d take out that wall, make it nothing but glass, and extend the deck another ten feet. The view of the lawn, the granite outcroppings, and the oak trees would be amazing.

Actually, I had no business even being there, let alone making renovations in my head. I hardly knew these people. I didn’t know Nora’s niece at all. But I couldn’t help myself. I told myself I was being a good friend, supporting Brad in his misplaced devotion. I really just wanted to see Nora again.

“Happy birthday, Stacey.” I handed the kid “my” present—the bike helmet Brad had picked out and bought and wrapped.

“Birthday loot. Awesome.” She grinned and put down her knife and accepted the box. “What could it be?” She was a cutie. I liked her immediately. Basketball must be her game. She wore a jersey with the team name
Waves
and a number 10 on the front. “Is it from both of you?” She flashed a smile at Brad. “Or did you get me something too?”

I got it then. She was like Veda, with the same aura of mischief about her. Brad was nuts for Lisa, no doubt about it, but Stacey drew him to this house in equal measure. She made him feel like a big brother again.

The dude was just your basic good guy. He didn’t feel right unless he had someone to take care of. Who better than an avatar of his dead little sister?

“Don’t worry, there’s more,” he said. “My present is too big to bring in the house.”

“Yeah?” Stacey smiled at me and wiggled her eyebrows,
then
her gaze shifted behind me. “Hey, Aunt Nor. Brad got me a car for my birthday!”

Aunt Nor.
Everybody laughed at the joke as Nora joined us, but Stacey’s words hit me in the gut.
I’m attracted to someone’s aunt.
I knew Stacey’s father had been a lot older than Nora, but still. Life was clicking along, whether I joined in or not. Somebody’s aunt was five years younger than me.

And it drove me crazy to be near her.

She walked by to give the kid a hug, and the fragrance of rosemary and mint caught me. She had her hair up in a ponytail, showing her perfect shoulders and arms. Her tank top had flower-shaped holes all over it, exposing more skin, and her little flower earrings bounced when she moved, enticing a guy to come nibble.

I want to be Nora Deven’s man.
Desire swarmed over me like a wave. I wanted the right to grab her right there in front of everyone, wrap my arms around her and pull her close, kiss her neck and whisper something—anything—in her ear.

Finally I’d found someone who made me feel at ease in the world. I felt great—and I felt like shit. How could she ever trust me? I’d begun with a lie.

The sliding door opened again. “Burgers are ready.” Frank brought in a plate of patties and buns from the grill and set them on the counter. “Dive in.”

“No fries. Chips.” Nora mimicked John Belushi from the classic Saturday Night Live skit as she tore open a bag of crinkly potato chips and poured them into a bowl.

“And no martinis,” Lisa said.

Thank god.

“Beer and iced tea tonight. Nothing fancy.” She pointed her Teavana toward the refrigerator and smiled at Brad. “There’s Pale Ale.”

No one else would notice, but I knew Brad. I saw the wistful longing pass over his face and his quick effort to suppress it. Poor bastard. I handed him a beer from the fridge and fixed myself a burger.

I followed Nora out to the deck and sat in a chair beside her. “Is it just us? No big party tonight, huh?”

“Stacey’s friends are coming by in a while to take her to the new
Star Trek
movie.” She smiled. “To my relief.” Again I wrestled with the urge to touch her.

“So we’ve set the date.” Frank sat down next to Lisa and casually knocked his leg against her thigh, a small sign of possession. “The third Saturday in July. We’ll have time for a honeymoon and a week at home before I start my new position at the center. My brother’s coming from Africa to be my best man. He’s with MSF. Doctors
Without
Borders is the American name.”

“
Médecins Sans Frontières,
” I said. BlueMagick was high on their donors list. “That’s awesome, dude. They do real good in the world.”

I regretted the
dude
part. Frank wasn’t really the dude type.

“I assume Nora’s your best lady,” Brad said to Lisa. “Or what’s that called?”

“Maid of honor, silly,” Stacey said. “And I’m a bridesmaid. My first time. I agreed on the condition our dresses don’t suck.”

“They won’t suck,” Lisa said. “I’ll give you veto power. How’s that?”

“Excellent.”

“Where are you having it?” Brad said. “The ceremony.”

“Here,” Nora said. “In the backyard. It’ll be great.”

“This yard would be great for anything,” I said.

“I wish I didn’t have to work tonight,” Lisa said. “I’d rather have a beer. Split shifts. Gotta love ‘em.”

“You won’t have to work at all when we’re married.” Frank covered her hand with his.

“I like working.” She squeezed Frank’s hand then dropped it as she bent down for her iced tea. “I like paying my bills, anyway. I just wish I set my own schedule. But I’ll take you up on that offer next fall while I finish my masters.”

“Are you going to try for a job at the capitol?” Brad said. “Any politician would be lucky to have you on their staff.”

“The capitol?” Frank said. “Commute to downtown Sacramento every day?”

“My major
is
public policy and administration,” Lisa said. “I could probably try and get on with one of the cities, Roseville or Rocklin. But yeah. Working for the state would be a dream come true. I’d really love to work for the Water Board.”

“Soon wars will be fought over water instead of oil,” Brad said.

“I doubt that,” Frank said. “The world contains more water than anything else.”

I didn’t think for a second they were arguing about water.

Stacey stood up and put a stop to it. “So should I open my presents? I’m dying to know what’s too big for the house.”

“Ours first,” Lisa said. She handed Stacey a small box. “Frank contributed.”

“Yowza!” Stacey held up a Nordstrom’s gift card. “Five hundred bux? No way.”

“You only turn eighteen once,” Frank said. “Knock yourself out. Happy shopping.”

“
Here’s
mine.” Nora handed her a card. “Read it aloud.”

“
Happy birthday to my wonderful niece. Let’s go car shopping tomorrow. Love, Aunt Nora.
” Stacey threw her arms around Nora’s neck. “A car! I was just kidding. Really? You’re kidding.”

“You can’t always count on a ride,” Nora said. “Now that you’ll be working and going to Sierra, you need your own car.”

“Sierra?” I said. That wasn’t right. I looked at Brad, but he was going for the bike and his back was to me. I caught Stacey’s eye and gave her a questioning look. She blushed and turned to Nora.

“But you need a new car too, Aunt Nor. Yours is getting too old to find spare parts, and your air conditioning is whack.”