Pearl (12 page)

Another hour passed, the supper turning cold. She searched the house for a phone number she could reach him at, coming up empty.

She placed the meatloaf back in the oven on low, hoping to keep it heated until he returned. As she blew out the wilting candle, she heard the roar of his truck coming up the driveway. She stood still, listening to the squeak of the door slam behind him as his boots trod heavily to the front door. She closed her eyes and held her breath. It was silly, of course, for her to feel so nervous around her own husband. And still the trembling of her fingers continued as the front door flew open and she could sense the tension of his presence. She peeked behind the wall, wondering if she should greet him or stay silent. She didn’t have time to decide. He walked past her, his head low, his nostrils flaring, and headed to their bedroom, slamming the door behind him. She released her breath, her apprehension turning to guilt. Was he still upset with her from the night before? Hadn’t they put that behind them?
 

She pressed her fingertips to the bedroom door, tapping lightly. “Roy?” she called out. “I made meatloaf. Do you want me to heat it up?”

Silence answered her through the barrier. She turned the knob, peering through the slit of the door and seeing only darkness. On the bed lay a thick mass that could only be Roy. And by the sounds of his snoring, he was already fast asleep.

It was a slow night at Vinny’s. The hours seemed to drag, and it was still far from closing time. The waitresses fought over the few customers who walked through the door. Sammie spent most of the night sneaking shots of tequila with the truckers in the bar, as Pearl continued to wipe down unused tables.

“Girl, what the hell are you doing?” a waitress Sammie referred to as “Trashy Trish” called out from the group of friends who surrounded her. Pearl looked up from the table she was cleaning, realizing she had been dozing off, sponging the same area over and over.
 

Sammie cocked her head in their direction, a glare in her chocolate-brown eyes.
 

“Fuck off, Trisha, leave her alone.”

Trisha turned her husky body to Sammie, a threat in her tone. “What, you gotta protect Little Miss Innocence?”

Sammie stood from her chair as the men beside her turned back to their beers.
 

“Protect her from what? You think we’re scared of an old fat-ass trash whore?”

The women behind Trisha stopped laughing and looked to their leader for her reply. “I may be older, but I can still take your men.”

“Nothing like sloppy seconds,” Sammie said with a brilliant smile.

Trisha ran to her, fury dripping from her mouth like a rabid dog, as she screamed bloody murder. Sammie jumped behind the counter, giggling like a schoolgirl who was getting chased on the playground by a cute boy. The eruption pulled Vinny from his hiding place in the back. He was in the line of fire as Trisha crashed behind the counter, her arms waving in the air. The second Trisha’s fist connected with Sammie’s wide grin, Vinny had her hands behind her back and out the front door.
 

Sammie was hunched over the floor, her skirt pulled high above her waist. Pearl knelt beside her bleeding friend as the women, known as Trisha’s pack, sneaked out the door.

“Man, that fat slut’s got a good aim.” Sammie cracked a pained smile, wiping the blood from her mouth.
 

“It’s all my fault, Sammie, I’m so sorry,” Pearl said, placing ice on Sammie’s swollen lip.

Sammie shook her head. “Don’t be silly, doll. Besides, I always wanted full lips like yours.”

Pearl had to laugh. “They can get you into trouble.”

Sammie grimaced. “Damn, that hurt. Help me up.”

Vinny, a squat man with a greasy mustache and caring grin, returned as Pearl lifted Sammie to her feet. “Sorry, Sammie, but you have to go home. Can’t have you here looking like that.”

“Ah, shit, Vinny, my parents are gonna kill me!”

“You know fighting is against my policy. You can keep your job, but you just have to go home for tonight.”

“It’s slow in here anyway,” Pearl said. “I can take care of it.”

Sammie shrugged and headed out the door.
 

“I fired Trish,” Vinny said when they were alone. “I’m going to need you to help pick up the slack.”

“Oh, I don’t know, Vinny,” Pearl said hesitantly. “I’m already working more than Roy wanted me to.”

Vinny ran a hand through his graying hair. “I really don’t want to train another waitress. With how slow it’s been in here, it would only be a few more hours a week.”

Pearl thought it over. “I’ll have to talk to my husband, but if it’s only a few more hours, I’m sure he’ll be okay with it.”

“Great, just great,” Vinny said, clapping his hands together as though the issue was settled.

She was left alone in the empty restaurant, only an hour before closing. She continued her useless cleaning, wiping down spotless tables, even dusting behind the blender, stopping only once to answer a call from Roy. She was focused on her work, her mind accustomed to the silence when the door opened, the bell causing her to jump. Surprised to see a costumer in so late she set her rags aside and straightened her uniform to come to the counter. She was greeted by a familiar smile, and warm rich coffee eyes.
 

“Good to see you again,” the boy said, taking a seat on the bar stool. Pearl’s pulse quickened at the sight of him. She caught a glance of her reflection in the coffee machine’s mirror and moved a strand of wispy hair that had fallen from her sloppy bun.

“Hi, Ben,” she said. “In so late?”

“Had a craving for one of Vinny’s cream pies.” He gave her a large grin, settling in, resting his elbows on the counter.

“One of my favorites,” she said, fighting the hair that had once again fallen from her face. His eyes followed her fingers to her hair. She turned away from him before he could see her blush.

“You’re in luck. Just one left.”

“Coffee still hot?” he asked.

“Only decaf,” she answered.

“Perfect.”

She poured him a cup. The coffee hitting the mug was a welcome sound in the edgy silence of the room.

“Pretty dead around here,” he said, as though reading her thoughts.

She laughed at that. “If only you’d been here an hour ago.”

He lifted a brow, urging her to go on.

“It was nothing, really.” She handed him the cup; his fingers grazed hers as he took it. She could see now in the light the warm circle of honey in his eyes.

“Wow, I heard you got married,” he said nodding his head at her finger.

She pulled away, the weight of her ring feeling heavy on her hand.

“A little while ago,” she answered.

“They told me you were Roy’s girl. Didn’t know to believe it or not.” He shrugged. “Never thought Roy was the marrying type. We went to school together. Though we were never friends—Roy was always too cool for me.”

Pearl watched Ben eat his pie, twisting the ring around her finger nervously.
 

“Is that why you’re here?” Ben asked. “Did you move to Oregon for Roy?”

She nodded.
 

Ben chuckled. “You don’t say much, do you?”

She cracked a shy grin. “Sorry, I guess I’ve gotten a little tired of the Roy inquiry in this town. I had no idea he was such a big shot around here.”

“Big shot? I guess that’s one way to put it. Depends on who you ask. I’d say he makes himself known.”

She turned away, not wanting to hear any more bashing on her husband. She knew who he was. She didn’t need to be told.

“Hey, come back,” he said, leaning against the counter. “I wasn’t saying anything. Hell, I barely know the guy.” He sighed at her stiff back. “I’d rather know more about you.”

She twisted her head to look at him. “What do you want to know about me?”

He finished the last bite. “What else do you got back there?”

She pulled out two pieces of blackberry pie and one slice of carrot cake.

“I think that will do.” He patted the seat beside him. “Come join me.”

“Oh, I don’t think so,” she said, shaking her head. “I’m working.”

“Yeah, you’re slammed. Now come sit with me and eat this pie.”

She smiled, giving in, pulling up the seat beside him. Digging in with a fork, she took a bite of the blackberry pie, moaning at the taste.

“Vinny does good work,” Ben said through a mouthful of pie.
 

Pearl took another bite and set her fork on the plate. She felt the chill of goose pimples on her arms as his knee brushed hers under the table.

“Do you miss Arizona?” Ben asked, finishing the rest of the pie.

“I miss my family. But things are just so different now.”

“Being married?”

She shrugged. “Not just that, although that is a big part of it. I guess when I left I didn’t know when I’d be back, but I knew I’d go home sometime. Now, that seems farther and farther away.”

“You don’t think you could go home?” he asked, pouring her coffee from the pot.

“We can’t afford for me to go home to visit. But even if we could, I don’t know.” She took a sip from her mug, not wanting to finish the sentence.

“I’ve never lived anywhere but here,” he said. “I think it’s brave that you left.”

She shook her head with a humorless laugh. “What I did wasn’t brave. I left in the middle of the night. I didn’t even tell my father where I was going.”

Ben cocked his head at her. “Do they know where you are?”

She shrugged, looking away from his concerned stare. “I wrote a few letters. It’s just my dad and brother. My mom isn’t around.”
 

“Where is your mom?”

She opened her mouth, but hesitated. No words made their way to her lips.
 

He continued to stare, but she refused to meet his eyes. “You’re a bit of a mystery, Pearl, aren’t you?”

The intensity of his gaze frightened her. Not in the same way that Roy terrified her, but in an uncontrollable sense of losing herself in him if she met his eyes.
 

“Tell me about you,” she said, hoping to take the subject off her.

“Why won’t you look at me, Pearl?” he asked softly.

She tilted her head slowly, peeking out at him through the space between her fallen strands of hair. Her eyes traced his strong jaw, his full lips, all the way up to his penetrating eyes. She said the words again. “Tell me about you.”

“Well, you already know I’m a contractor,” he said, with his chair now turned fully toward her. He seemed closer now that he faced her. She kept her eyes on his face, her body forward, closing away from him. “And my nosy brother told you I still live at home.”

“That you built your own house,” she corrected.

“Good memory.” He smiled. “Yes, I did. But remember, it’s very small. I also run the lessons on my parents’ horse ranch.”

Pearl smiled. “I love horses. Roy just built a stable on the farm, but he says I can’t ride any of the horses ’cause they’re not ours.”

“Well, you can ride mine.”
 

“Oh, I don’t know about that,” she said, her smile fading. “I’ve never actually been on one before.”

“I can teach you.”

She stayed silent, turning her head from him again.

“Is it Roy?”

“I just don’t think it’s a good idea.” She looked at the clock. An hour had passed so quickly, it was already closing time. “I need to get home,” she said, standing.
 

Ben ate the last slice of pie as Pearl took the plates to rinse off. He followed her out the door, shutting the lights off behind her. She was keenly aware of the space between them. He walked so close to her she could feel the air moving from his body to hers, and yet she didn’t pull away. When he caught her as she tripped over a small pothole, she leaned her body into him.
 

“So tell me, Pearl,” he said as he opened her car door for her. “Do you think Roy would mind if you and I were friends?”

She sat behind the wheel, trying her best not to look up at him, but her eyes betrayed her. She took in his long frame that leaned casually against the door, his hand pressed on the hood as his face tilted down toward hers. His smile was warm, inviting, and wildly alluring. She knew for certain she had to see the boy again.

“I’m sure he wouldn’t,” she said, forcing a smile through her lie.
 

CHAPTER 11

“Baby, wake up.”
 

Pearl felt strong hands shake her body. She moaned and tried to turn over in her sleep, but something was in the way.
 

“Come on, baby.”
 

Pearl lifted one eye to peer at Roy, who was leaning down on top of her. His smile was wide; his eyes were warm and rich. Something was off; she just couldn’t place her foggy head around it. She took a deep breath, and then it hit her. The smell of alcohol was absent.
 

She sat up, her eyes fully aware and open. “Where am I?” she asked, searching around her.

“You fell asleep on the couch again,” Roy said. “Must have been pretty tired—you slept in your uniform.”

It all came back to her then. She’d passed out from another night at Vinny’s, a busy shift that knocked her out from the hustle of the restaurant. She’d come home to an empty house, and never made it past the couch. She was out cold, not even hearing when Roy finally came in.
 

“What time is it?”

“It’s late in the afternoon. You slept through morning.”

“Breakfast,” Pearl gasped. She waited for it, the berating that would come from her being so lazy. How could she have slept so late? Her body sank into itself as she anticipated what was to come. “Oh, Roy, I’m so sorry. I don’t know what got into me. It won’t happen again.”
 

Roy laughed. The astonishing sound made her shudder. “Baby, don’t worry! I already ate. Now hurry up and get dressed. I have a surprise for you.”

Pearl hesitated a moment. As often as she had dreamed of having the old Roy back, she was not prepared for it. Now she didn’t know what to do with his unexpected exuberance.

“Pearl,” Roy said with a hint of annoyance, “go.”