Tempus (12 page)

Our little store was on the northeast corner, off the square.  The building was old red brick, two stories, and one of the few structures left close to original.  High up on the side, the faded remnants of a painted sign, “J & J Clothier,” was still visible.  It was a striking contrast to the newer buildings on the next block, which were boxy, plain, and wholly uninteresting.

The closer we came to the store, the more I noticed my nerves.  I didn’t like feeling nervous about going into
my
store.  I wondered if I should have called Steve first, or sent him a message.  What if things weren’t exactly as I thought they were, as they had seemed.  What if he looked at me like a kid again when I walked in.  What if he…

“STOP!”  Julie grabbed my arm and pulled be back up on the curb.  I had nearly walked right into the street at the crosswalk.  The car in front of me had stopped, but the driver was giving me a dirty look.

“I don’t want to go yet.”  I pulled loose from Julies grasp.

“Don’t be a chicken, Jessie.  You always face things head on.  Time to see what’s up, don’t you think?”  The ‘walk’ sign lit up, and I reluctantly let Julie drag me across the street.

She never slowed her pace; continuing straight to the door and swinging it open, she released me only after we were inside.  Steve was at the counter with a customer.  He glanced up and started to speak, but as our eyes met, he smiled a brilliant smile, his eyes nearly dancing.  He held up one finger, and then finished counting out change.  Julie flashed a look at me and squeezed my elbow, grinning.

“Thank you, Mrs. Miller.  We have some new things in the back that will be out tomorrow.  You should come back and take a look early, you won’t be disappointed.” He gave her a barely perceptible wink, and she giggled.  Steve was fabulous with the customers, and all the
older
women just loved him.  The younger ones did too, now that I thought about it.  He handed her a bag of carefully wrapped items and she was on her way.  She smiled politely as she passed and exited onto the sidewalk.

Steve waited until she was around the corner, and then came promptly from behind the counter, his eyes taking in my appearance.  “Jessie!”

“Hi, Steve.”  I felt myself blush under his appreciative gaze.

“Hi Jules, welcome home.”  He said the words to Julie without his eyes leaving mine.  He stopped in front of me, and appeared to be unsure how to proceed.  The moment his eyes changed, I knew.  His arms went around me.  He squeezed gently, then released, leaving one arm around my shoulders as he turned to face Julie.

“How was your summer vacation?  Jessie sure missed you.  We thought we were gonna have to lock her in a closet the first week.”  He squeezed my shoulders a little, giving me a friendly shake, smiling at Julie.

I could see the wheels turning behind her eyes.  She wasn’t missing anything.  Nothing said, nothing done, catching every word and gesture.  “It was great.  Dad’s doing well.  He said to say hi to your mom and dad.  He misses Friday night cards at their place.”

“I’ll pass it along.”

Julie was still watching every move.  She didn’t mean to be rude, and it wasn’t taken that way.  Steve had known Julie as long as he’d known me.  In some ways, though, they knew each other better than he and I did.  When her parents were still together and they would go play cards with Steve's parents, Julie and Steve would hang out and watch movies sometimes.  She had been there through several of his girlfriends, all the way until he had moved out on his own.

For a brief instant, it seemed like they shared some secret communication.  I couldn’t see Steve’s face, but I could see Julie’s, and I could tell a look passed between them.  Julie smiled.  I told myself to remember to ask her about it later.

Steve chuckled.  “So, what are you two going to do today?  Have any special plans, or just hanging out?”

This question was for me.  “Oh.  I don’t know, we’re just playing it by ear, I think.  No real plans.”  I looked to Julie for help.

“Where’s Mr. McLeod?”  She asked.

“He went to grab lunch and I’m holding down the fort until he gets back.”

“In that case, I guess we’ll wait here for now.”  She looked at me as if it were a question.

“Yeah.  We’ll wait here.”

“Great!”  Steve took his arms off my shoulders and started to the back.  “Give me just a second.  If someone comes in, tell them I’ll be right back.”  He was already going through the door.

Julie and I looked at each other, and then broke out in a silent, girly, simultaneous bounce.  In two steps she was grabbing my hands, a radiant grin on her face.  “Ohmigod, Jessie.  He’s crazy about you, I can tell!”

I wished she would be quieter; I would die if he heard.  I shushed her and whispered, “You really think so?”

“I’m telling you, I
know
so!”  She glanced at the door over her shoulder, making sure Steve wasn’t coming.  “I know how he looks at girlfriends.  I know how he acts.  There’s something completely different, in a
very good
way.  I can’t explain, but I
promise
I know!”

I got a little tingle.  Steve.  Crazy about me.  Was it possible?  Even after yesterday, I hadn’t allowed my imagination to create anything with Steve. 
Re
-create, yes.  Create, no.  I was afraid to let my mind go beyond
now
.  That’s where things got messed up, that’s when I found trivial reasons to say goodbye.  I didn’t want to say goodbye, not yet.  Not
ever
?  I couldn’t, or wouldn’t, answer that.

Steve poked his head through the door, smiling.  Julie and I turned to look, and he gestured for us to come.  We shared a quick, questioning glance with each other, and then complied, silently.

I was stunned when we entered the back room, the room where I had spent most of my hours over the last forever and a day. 
Someone
had been working in here, working
hard
.  From the Cheshire cat grin on his face, I knew whom.  Besides, Dad didn’t have the patience. 

It was far from finished, but the area where I worked most was very clean and organized.  The perpetually dirty surfaces were spotless, as spotless as possible for a work area.  Even the sink was gleaming.  I had forgotten until now what color it was.  The towels were clean, folded, and stacked neatly on the counter.  The floor had been swept and mopped.  There was room for me to move around without tripping over things.  I was speechless.

I turned around and looked at Steve.  He looked thoroughly pleased; smiling so big his face appeared as if it might break.  He walked over and put his arms around me.  “I’ll get it all finished when I can.  I hope you like it.”

I couldn’t speak.  I felt tears well up in my eyes, and I concentrated
very
hard to push them back.  I kept them open as I buried my face against his chest, hoping they would dry out before I had to face him again.  This was one of the nicest things anyone had ever done for me.

As I struggled with my composure, Julie, with her infinite perceptual abilities, started asking Steve questions about his college schedule, among other mundane things.  It gave me the time I needed, and I was able to regain control of my roiling emotions.  I turned in Steve’s arms so I could see Julie and catch her eye.  I knew she would recognize the thank you in my own.

When there was a slight lull in the conversation, I stood on my tiptoes and whispered “Thank you” in Steve's ear.  His response was a soft kiss on the forehead.

The bell on the front door jangled and we all turned toward the open doorway to the front.  It was my dad, and he hadn’t looked up yet.  I stepped away from Steve a little, and he didn’t stop me.  I was still unsure how to act in front of my dad.  I didn’t know what he would consider inappropriate, especially in the store.  I gave Steve a look of apology, with a bit of questioning thrown in, hoping he would understand what I was trying to convey.  It seemed he did, and he gave me a very sweet smile.

“Back here Roger.  We have a surprise.”  Steve called to my dad.

Julie had stepped out of view of the doorway.  “Well, isn’t today just a day full of surprises?”  He looked from Steve, to me, and back to Steve.  He didn’t look upset, but he did look wary.

He walked slowly through the doorway and Julie pounced.  “Hi, Dad!”

Dad’s face broke out in a face-splitting grin.  “If it isn’t my Julie-oolie-oolio!”  He gave her a long-lost-daughter hug.  “You look
great
!  Even got a little sun.  Do I see some new freckles?”

Julie laughed her tinkling laugh.  “Probably.  I went to the beach every chance I got.  You know how I am about the sunshine and sea breezes!”

They chattered away for a few minutes, and then Dad suddenly stopped.  “I have a surprise of my own.  I was at Vivienne’s for lunch and I was telling Frank I needed to hire someone for the store since you two are going back to school,” He glanced at Steve and me, “and this kid comes over.  Well, I say
kid
;   I think he’s nineteen or twenty.” 

“Either way, his family bought the big Estate just outside of town.  You know the one, Jessie.”  He looked at me and I nodded.  “They’re just now getting moved in, came from the city.  I don’t remember where he said.  Well, the point I’m trying to get to is he said he was looking for a job.  I talked to him a while and he seems pretty knowledgeable about antiques, so I told him I’d give him a shot.”

“That’s great, Dad.  I’ll feel better knowing you’ve got someone around to help out when we can’t be here.”  I didn’t mean ‘we’ as a couple when I said it, but the thought did cross my mind afterwards.

“Polite kid. 
Yes, Sir, no Sir
.”  He winked at Steve, who just smiled and shrugged.  “Knight.  Gabriel Knight.”

“Knight?”  I asked.  “Like ‘in shining armor’ Knight?”

“Exactly.  Funny you should say that, Jessie.  That’s exactly what
he
said.  I told him to stop by tomorrow afternoon and I’ll have him fill out an application.  It’s just a formality, though.”

The news made me happy.  I was starting school on Monday, and Steve was starting his classes a week after that.  I would have homework through the week, and Steve would only be able to work a few hours a day on most days.  This would be
wonderful
!  I wouldn’t have to do my homework in the back, even though it wouldn’t be so bad now if I had to, since Steve had cleaned it up. 

“Steve, take a lunch if you want.  Have you girls eaten?”  Dad looked at Julie and me and we shook our heads.  He looked back at Steve, who laughed and shook his head back.

“Girls?”  Steve questioned, “Vivienne’s?”

“Sure, if
you
want to, Julie”

“Sure.”  Julie grinned a huge grin.

“Let me wash up and we’ll go.”  Steve stepped over to the now shining sink, and washed his hands.

While Steve’s back was to us, my dad gave me a look, then Steve, then me again, raising his eyebrows.  I shrugged and smiled in response, not a big smile, not a small smile—a ‘why not see’ smile.  Yeah, that’s what kind of smile.  Dad made a ’humph’ sound just before Steve turned around.

“Shall we, Ladies?”  Steve said, extending an arm, palm up, toward the doorway.

Julie and I exchanged a glance and exited the room, side by side.  We walked straight through the front and out the door to the sidewalk.  Steve caught up and took my hand, twining his fingers through mine, caressing the back with his thumb.  I realized he did that often, the thumb thing, and I liked it. 

We talked about various things as we walked, the three of us.  We all wondered about the new guy.  Steve wondered what,
exactly
, Gabriel would be doing.  He was a bit territorial about the workshop.  Even though the equipment belonged to my dad, Steve considered it
his
stuff in a way.  In some ways it was.  He had picked out which pieces to buy, and gone with my dad to purchase them all. 

Without Steve to use them, they were worthless to my dad.  He couldn’t even turn them on, not if he
wanted
to, at least.  He had leaned on the lathe once and accidently hit the power button.  I thought he was going to have a coronary right in front of me.  Luckily, Steve was there and shut it off promptly.  Dad was embarrassed, and Steve couldn’t stop laughing.  It was funny afterwards, and as much as Dad wanted to be mad at Steve for laughing, he couldn’t help but laugh, too.

We made it to Vivienne's and Steve held the door for us.  The café was small, with tables in the middle, a bar on one side, a jukebox, and podium on the other.  It was still mostly full with the later lunch crowd, but there were two open tables.  We seated ourselves at the closest one, and Steve scooted his chair closer to mine.

I noticed we were all looking around the room, trying to be nonchalant, and all failing.  It struck me as funny, so I laughed.  “Either he’s in the bathroom, or he’s already left.”

Julie and Steve laughed, too.  Steve said, “I’ve got the bathroom door; Julie, you take the back tables.  Jessie can be my backup, in case I look down and miss something.”

We were still laughing when the young server arrived.  I recognized her from school, but wouldn’t have remembered her name if not for her nametag.  She obviously recognized me too.  She smiled a friendly smile and said, “So what’s the joke?”

Steve, still having fun said, “Well, there’s a rumor a knight has ridden into town, and we heard he was here.”  We all burst out laughing at our private joke.