The Weight of Gravity (26 page)

“Cindy, could you just give Max a message and not tell anyone?”

“Sure, I can do that.”

“Tell him that ... Garner knows about the house on Sunset Cliff Drive.  Would you tell him that for me?”

“Sure.”

“Tell him, too ... no, never mind.  Just give him my message when you see him.”

“Why don’t you call him?  He’s still in town cuz of Doris’ stroke.  Do you have his cell phone number?  Cuz if you don’t ...” Cindy began to dig in her purse.

“I have his number, thanks.”

“Okay.  You know, Max’ll be at the bar-b-cue next Saturday at the Pie Paper Ranch.  You comin with Garner and Jay?”

“Probably.  If Garner’s in town.”  Erika turned to leave.

“I’ll give him your message, don’t worry.”  Cindy reached out and touched her arm.  The gesture made Erika want to cry.  “Hey, you know, Max is coming over for steaks tonight.”  Cindy took a step closer and tightened her fingers on Erika's arm.  Her voice was gentle and comforting.  “Look, I’m not going to second guess anyone here, or even suppose I know what’s going on, but if you’re not doing anything and maybe Garner’s still out of town, why don’t you come by ... about seven?”

Erika lowered her eyes. 

“Look, it’s just old friends getting together for a few long necks and maybe a game of Monopoly, all right?”  Cindy stepped back.  “Regardless, I’ll pass along your message to Max.  Hope we see you later.”

When she got home Cindy told Clay about her encounter with Erika.

“Was she suicidal or something?”
he seriously wanted to know

“She seemed fine, Clay, except kinda scared.  She always marches into the shop like she owns the place.  Keeps her head higher than most, you know what I mean?  But she was kinda timid when we talked in the meat aisle at the Piggly Wiggly.  I truly felt sorry for her.”

“So’s she comin?”

“I don’t know.  Maybe.  Do you think Max’ll mind if she shows?”

“Are you kidding?  He never got over that filly.”

Chapter 32 - Max

              “Yo, buddy.  Com’on up.”  Clay was standing on the back porch with a can of charcoal lighter in one hand and a tire iron in the other.  “Just gettin the coals goin.”

             
Max stepped onto the porch.

             
“Get a cold one in the cooler there by the swing.  Grab one for me too, will ya?”

             
Max brought Clay the beer.  “Correct me if I’m wrong, but this is a gas grill, isn’t it?”

             
Clay squirted lighter fluid and poked the charcoal with the iron.  “Yeah, but I like to bar-b-cue the way my daddy taught me.  I buy those mesquite bricks, you know?  Makes the meat taste better.”

             
“Why’d you buy the gas stove then?”

             
“Cindy bought it for my birthday last year.  I told her I wanted one of the old fashioned models but she insisted on this Cadillac of outdoor cooking.  How’s Doris?”

             
“She gets stronger every day.  Donny and Joan are visiting with her tonight or I would have brought her with me.”

             
“Well, you might as well know.  My lovely wife in there kinda made tentative plans for your partner this evening?”

             
“Not another blind date.”

             
“She ain’t blind, Max.”

             
“Pauline?  Clay, honestly, I’m not in the mood ...”

             
Cindy came bursting out the back door.  “Max!  My you look handsome tonight!”  She hugged him warmly and kissed him on the lips.

             
“You look beautiful too, Cindy.  Clay was just telling me ...”

             
“Look at my idiot husband, will you, Max?  I buy him a topnotch grill, ordered it special from Home Depot and he throws charcoal in there.  Will you never grow up, Clay?”  She wrapped her arms around her husband’s waist and kissed his neck.  “Got a new thong to show you tonight, babe.”

             
“See what I mean, Max?  Frustrating as hell, but damn she turns me on with a smile and a wink.”

             
“It don’t take much, honey.  That’s for sure,” she said, dancing back into the house.

             
Max watched as Clay squirted and poked until he was certain the coals were ready.  Cindy brought out a tray of steaks and Clay forked them onto the grill, and then sat with Max at the metal table.  Cindy had draped the chairs and table with new cloth covers.  He was certain, too, that she had hounded Clay until he hosed off the porch and picked up the yard.  The deflated floating toys were still bunched together at one end of the pool.

             
He turned his attention to watching the last rays of sunlight shrink into the peaks of the San Augustine Mountains to the west.  The sky above exploded into a canopy of orange and gold streaks that slowly faded to gray.

             
“We got company, gentlemen.”  Cindy was standing in the doorway.

             
Clay and Max rose and turned to see Erika standing behind Cindy.  Max froze.

             
“Hey, Erika, glad to see you made it,” Clay said.

             
She stepped out onto the porch and approached them, first shaking hands with Clay, and then turning to Max.  “Hey, stranger.”

             
She’d dressed in the Roper jeans he’d seen her wear at the
Fox and Hound,
a v-neck Cashmere sweater with the sleeves pulled back, and boots that brought her nearly eye level with him.

             
“Erika?” Max didn’t hide his surprise.

             
“Yes?”

             
“I didn’t know you were coming tonight.”

             
“Neither did I until about half an hour ago.”  She turned to speak to Cindy who was still standing in the doorway.  “Seems my son had plans and wanted me out of the house.  I’m just grateful he’s inviting friends over instead of going out.  Safer that way.”  She turned back to Max.  “You look nice.”

             
“Thanks.”  He was lost for words, excited to see her, but unsure why she was at the Bakers'.

             
Cindy broke the silence.  “I ran into Erika in the grocery and invited her, Max,” she said, stepping out onto the porch.  “Hope you don’t mind.”

             
“No, of course not.”

             
“By the way, Erika.  I didn’t have a chance to take care of that little matter you and I discussed.  Maybe you can find the time.”

             
“Say, what?”  Clay asked.

             
“Never you mind, Clay Baker.  Keep you mind on the steaks ... and that lacy thong I told you about.”

             
“Say, what?” Erika asked, turning to Cindy.

             
“Never you mind, Erika Hightower,” Max said.  “It’s a family joke between these two lovers.”

“Can I get one of those?” Erika asked, pointing at Max’s beer.

“Yeah ... sure.”  He pulled a long neck Lone Star from the cooler, twisted the top and handed it to her.  “Please, sit.”  He motioned to his chair.  “Clay and I were just enjoying this gorgeous sunset.”

“I saw it driving out,” she said, looking up at the darkening sky.  Erika turned and smiled at him over her beer as she brought it to her lips.

Clay went to check on the steaks.  “Be ready in a minute,” he said over his shoulder.

“You didn’t call.”

“I’ve been a little busy, Max.”  She began to peel the label on her beer bottle.  “Garner’s out of town, but before he left we had a major fight.”

“About what?”

“About you.”  She turned to look at him.  “Garner knows we were at Miriam’s that night.”

“Shit.”

“Yeah.  But it gets worse.”

“How?”

Erika’s shock at having confessed everything to Garner lingered for days but eventually gave way to a euphoria about having everything in the open.  No more secrets, she’d promised herself one morning.  The decision to let it all out made her feel empowered somehow, unconcerned about what the future would bring.  Truth had a way of liberating her spirit.

“Remember I told you that I’d made some poor choices recently?  Well, I let Garner know about a little thing between his partner ... and me.” 

Max couldn’t hide his feelings, and knew she could see that he was hurt and confused.  “So, what was it all about ... you and me ... that night?”

“You have to believe me when I say my affair with Darrell, his partner,
before you hit town, was nothing but a weak moment when I couldn’t take it anymore, when I was at my lowest point emotionally. I was incredibly depressed with my life.  The affair was a diversion and nothing more.”

“Depression I understand first hand,” he said taking a sip of beer.

“What we shared was so much more.  It meant something.  Darrell was a mistake, a lapse in judgment on my part.  So when Garner threw you in my face, I hit back.”

“Where’d Garner go this time?”

“He had business in Chicago.  Convenient, because we needed time apart.”

“CIN!  It’s time!  Get the plates!” Clay roared.

Max was grateful their conversation was over for the moment.  The four of them sat around the table dining and talking about the local economy.  A new mall was planned for the far side of town next year and Cindy was sure the owners of the beauty shop were planning to open an outlet.

Cindy served a spinach salad with carrots, mandarin orange slices and honey walnuts to complement Clay’s steaks.  Dessert was homemade peach ice cream, strawberries and whipped cream.  Didn’t matter what the Bakers served, Max thought, it wa
s delicious, and so was the company.

At some
point in the middle of the meal Clay left the table to light bamboo torches.  A

full moon rose over the Mescaleros, just over Erika’s shoulder.

“What are you staring at, Max?” she asked, turning to look behind her.

“Damn, that’s pretty,” Cindy said.
             

“Yes, it is,” Max said as Erika turned back to see him staring at her.  She smiled.

“Com’on, honey.  Help me clear this stuff,” Cindy ordered.  Erika began to rise from her seat.  “No you don’t.  Sit!  That’s an order.  You and Max are our guests.  I want you both to sit tight while me and the better half take care of this.  Come on, Mr. Baker.  If you’re good I might give you a sneak peak on that little, and I do mean
little
, item I mentioned earlier.”

Clay and Cindy cleared the table until only Max, Erika and their beers remained.

“Care to take a dip, Reeki?” he asked, pointing his long neck at the dark waters of the pool.

“You’re kidding, right?”

“Oh, I don’t know.  In the old days you and I didn’t let chilly water stop us.”

“That’s 'cause we knew how to heat it up, fast.”  She laughed.

“This isn’t the old days,” he said in a serious tone.

“No.  We have to remember that, Max.”

“I know.  But I also feel like ... what we captured once ... could be again.”

“You’re that sure?”

“Erika.  I loved you once ...”

“We loved each other,” she said.  “Once.”

“I can’t remember ever falling
out
of love with you … not in twenty-four years.  Whenever I thought about you, about us ... over the years ... it made me incredibly sad.  For all the success I’ve had as a writer, nothing was better than the magic we once made together.  Nothing even holds a candle to that.  I succeeded for a while convincing myself that I could find that kind of happiness again ... someday, with someone, but it never happened.”  He turned to study her face.  “I was terribly wrong, Reeki.”

“About leaving?”

“About leaving you.” 

She took his hand in both of hers.  “Let’s not s
poil tonight by making promises or asking for commitments.  I needed to see you, Max.  It’s as simple as that.  You wrote a poem in the journal that goes, ‘I like myself the best, when I find myself with you.’  That’s true for me, too.  Let’s just celebrate your homecoming, no matter how long you stay, or whether or not I ever find the courage to leave.  Please.”

“Time for nickels,” Cindy announced, returning to the porch.

“Cindy, I should go,” Erika said, rising from her chair.

“Com’on, just a quick game or two?”  Cindy placed a deck of card
s in the middle of the table.  She had to explain the game to Max and Erika.  It involved drawing cards until someone came close to totaling twenty-one points.  Players started with three nickels each and the pot consisted of only one nickel from each person.