Where the Allegheny Meets the Monongahela (37 page)

―I‘m a big boy. I can go to a goddamned funeral without a

babysitter.‖

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227

―Okay! I was just tryin‘ to help,‖ Logan answered defensively.

―How ‘bout I come an‘ get you? We can go to The Liberty Grill for

some dinner.‖

―I‘m not hungry.‖

―Fine, how ‘bout a beer?‖

―No, I can‘t be around you. I don‘t want any company right now.‖

There was a long silence on the line before Logan said, his voice

choked, ―You don‘t want any company, or you don‘t want the company

of a guy like me? Like Alex? Or your dad? Ain‘t that what you‘re

thinkin‘?‖

―Fuck, Logan, don‘t make this about you.‖

―I don‘t think I‘m the one doin‘ that.‖

Nick heard the hurt behind Logan‘s accusation but felt numb to it.

―Look, I just know that Norah‘s dead, and I….‖
Let it happen
. ―…need

some time to deal with that. And I need to say goodbye to her.‖

―Yeah, okay.‖ The voice on the other end of the line was still

thick with emotion. ―I ain‘t him, Nick.‖

―I know that.‖ Even to his own ears, his assurance sounded

unconvincing. ―I‘m just not…. I‘m not up to talking about this right

now.‖

―Sure. I understand.‖ There was silence on the line until Logan

added, ―I guess you gotta take care of your business and I gotta take

care of mine.‖

―What‘s that mean?‖

―It means I‘m gonna be out of town this weekend, too.‖

―Then why‘d you offer to go to Norah‘s funeral with me?‖

―‘Cause I just decided for sure.‖

Nick couldn‘t make sense of what Logan was saying right then,

and he couldn‘t muster up the strength to try. ―Okay, I‘ll… I‘ll talk to

you next week. I guess.‖

―Yeah, take care of yourself.‖

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Though he‘d slept for hours, Nick felt exhausted. After downing

most of a quart of orange juice right from the carton, he fell back onto

the couch and pulled the afghan back over him. As tired as he was,

sleep was a very long time coming.

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Chapter 16:

The Long Uphill Climb

It isn’t for the moment you are struck that you need courage, but for the

long uphill climb back to sanity, faith and security.

—Anne Morrow Lindbergh

SATURDAY morning, Logan woke and rolled over on his sister‘s rec

room couch so he could squint groggily at the oversized wall clock in

the dim light filtering down the open staircase. It was just after six a.m.,

and he considered grabbing a little more sleep since they‘d all been up

late into the night talking over old times. Well, truth be told, Krista had

been almost as quiet as her dad while Daisy and Meghan did the lion‘s

share of the talking, aided by Daisy‘s oldest child, Lisa, with the boys,

Mark and Pete, chiming in occasionally.

The latter nephew in particular had peppered Logan with

enthusiastic questions about the Thunderbird parked in the driveway.

Logan had been a bit bemused by the conversation, finding it difficult

to reconcile the appearance of this gangly teen with the memory of a

squalling baby who, fifteen years earlier, had made a habit of disturbing

Logan‘s sleep.

Though the attitude puzzled him, it hadn‘t escaped Logan‘s notice

that his brother-in-law had seemed almost disapproving of his older

son‘s interest in the sports car. The two men had always maintained a

cordial, if distant, relationship, so he finally chalked it up to Chuck‘s

permanent state of crankiness, always in evidence by his habit of

growling out complaints about nothing and everything in his raspy

voice. Upon Daisy and Chuck‘s wedding, Logan had felt welcome

enough in their home to stick around until he married Linda, but not

enough that he wasn‘t relieved when he finally got a place of his own.

After stretching out on the tweed couch and staring at the

dropped-panel ceiling for a few minutes, Logan decided that the early

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morning hours might be the perfect opportunity for a private chat with

his sister. He threw off the blankets, pulled his jeans on, and grabbed

his shaving kit before heading upstairs to the bathroom, passing silently

by the front room where his daughters slumbered, snug in their sleeping

bags. The house was very quiet, probably in deference to his brother-in-

law, who liked to sleep late on the weekends even though Daisy had

always risen with the sun. However, when Logan crested the threshold

of the cluttered kitchen fifteen minutes later, he found his sister

standing at the stove frying bacon while her husband sat at the nearby

table reading the paper. ―Morning, folks.‖

―Good morning,‖ Daisy exclaimed. ―What‘a you doin‘ up so

early?‖

For lack of a better excuse, he mumbled, ―Habit, I guess. Plus I

gotta get the car over to Cal‘s by eight if he‘s gonna get the paint job

done by tomorrow.‖ Logan ambled into the room and stopped next to

the white-enameled range, where he towered over his petite sibling.

―Fixin‘ breakfast already?‖

―Yeah, I like to make sure Chuck gets a good breakfast in him

before he goes off to work. Knowin‘ him, he‘ll probably skip lunch an‘

all.‖

Logan refrained from observing out loud that, from the

appearance of things, his brother-in-law hadn‘t missed too many meals

in his life. Instead, he turned to Chuck, saying, ―You workin‘ today?‖

Chuck brushed his poker-straight, thinning hair back before

gruffly replying, ―Yeah, I had‘a let some more guys go, so there‘s no

one to cover the Saturday shift but me.‖ He shrugged before grumbling,

―Not a goddamn thing I can do about it. Twenty-three years I been

bustin‘ my ass at that lumberyard, and now I‘m back to workin‘ the

weekends.‖

After grabbing a clean mug from the dish drainer and filling it

with coffee, Logan sat at the table across from his brother-in-law.

―Things still slow?‖

―Hell, yeah. Can‘t see orders really picking up ‘til the housin‘

market gets better.‖

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231

Daisy leaned down and put a dish heaped with bacon and

scrambled eggs in front of her husband. Her eyes sparkled warmly at

her brother as she said, ―I‘ll have a plate ready for you in a second.‖

―You don‘t have to bother, I‘ll just have some toas—‖

―Like hell you will,‖ Daisy scolded. ―Looks to me like you lost

some weight since I saw you last.‖ She turned back to the stove and

plopped six strips of fresh bacon in the pan, noting, ―That‘s what‘ll

happen with a man living on his own.‖ Over the sizzle, she asked, ―But

you‘ll be gettin‘ back with Linda soon, won‘t you?‖

That was one subject Logan had no desire to explore in front of

Chuck, so he dissembled quietly, ―We were just talking about that on

Wednesday.‖ Which was, if misleading, still sort of the truth. He and

Linda had been talking about how that wasn‘t going to happen, but still,

not an outright lie. To change the subject, he asked Daisy, ―Can you

give me a ride back from Cal‘s place after I drop off the Thunderbird?‖

Even though the ten-minute ride wouldn‘t give him much time for

talking to his sister, it would be a place to start.

―Sure thing, hon.‖

Suddenly, inspiration struck, and Logan asked, ―And could we

swing by my shop on the way back?‖

Chuck stopped shoveling in his breakfast long enough to growl,

―What the hell for? Ain‘t it empty?‖

―Pretty much.‖ Logan shrugged and looked at Daisy, who was

stacking hot, crisp bacon onto a melamine plate. ―But I still own it, and

I just wanta check it out.‖

Daisy appeared to consider the request as she scooped a mound of

fluffy eggs beside the bacon and set it in front of Logan. ―Okay, don‘t

see why not.‖

―Don‘t see the point,‖ Chuck ventured, tone as sour as his scowl.

―The realtor‘s takin‘ care of it for you, ain‘t he? Nothin‘ to do there,

unless you‘ve heard of somebody finally wantin‘ to buy it.‖

―Nothin‘ like that,‖ Logan answered honestly. There hadn‘t been

a flicker of interest in the shop in all of the months it had been on the

market. ―Just wanna make sure Nate‘s keepin‘ the place from fallin‘

down. God knows, it was close enough when I left it.‖ He turned to his

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sister, saying, ―A trip to the shop won‘t be keepin‘ you from anything

important, will it?‖

―No, ‘course not.‖ Daisy turned to her husband and said, ―No real

harm in me taking Logan over to High Street, is there?‖

Chuck pushed his stocky frame away from the table, answering,

―It‘s your time, Margaret. If you wanta waste it, guess that‘s your

business.‖

That was good enough for Daisy. She cleared her husband‘s place

as she promised Logan, ―We‘ll go right after breakfast.‖

―Go where?‖

The three adults immediately swiveled their heads towards the

doorway, where Pete stood waiting for an answer to his question. His

mom immediately filled him in on the plans they‘d just made, causing

the boy‘s eyes to light up. ―Can I go, too? It‘d be cool to see ‘em

painting Uncle Logan‘s car.‖

Logan wanted to groan as his careful plans for a private talk with

Daisy came close to ruin. He was silently struggling with a response,

wanting to say no but unable to do so without hurting his guileless

nephew‘s feelings. Unexpectedly, Chuck came to his rescue. ―They

ain‘t gonna be hanging around watchin‘ Cal paint that car. And you got

leaves to rake. I want that yard cleaned up
today
.‖

―I‘ll do it as soon as we get back.‖

Chuck grabbed his canvas coat off the back of his chair and

watched his son take a seat at the table. ―No, you‘ll do it first thing.

What‘s the rule ‘round here?‖ Not waiting for an answer, he turned

towards the door and said, ―Chores first. Then you can screw around all

you want.‖

Feeling the need to soothe the problem he had inadvertently

caused, Logan offered, ―Your dad‘s right, Pete. There won‘t be nothin‘

to see this mornin‘. You can go with us tomorrow when we pick the T-

bird up.‖

Pete sighed with resignation but said nothing as his dad pecked

Daisy on the cheek and headed off to work. After his mom laid a plate

piled higher than Logan‘s in front of him, he said to his uncle, ―If only

you‘d‘a waited a few more months. I‘ll have my permit, and I could‘ve

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233

taken it out for a spin.‖ He smiled shyly, asking, ―Maybe you could

bring it back next year?‖

―I don‘t think so,‖ Logan said. Seeing Pete‘s face fall, he hastened

to explain. ―Remember, it ain‘t my car. It belongs to my friend, Nick.

I‘m just helpin‘ him restore it.‖

―Maybe he‘ll let you borrow it sometime?‖

Daisy was beating more eggs in a bowl and gently scolded,

―Don‘t pester your uncle, Pete. This man ain‘t likely to let Logan take

his car all over creation. Them Pittsburgh folks ain‘t like ‘round here.‖

Instinctively, Logan leaped to Nick‘s defense. ―He‘s as good a

guy as you‘d ever find in Elco, Daisy. Better, even.‖

There was mild surprise in her eyes as Daisy smiled at her

brother. ―Well, now, that‘s good to hear. Good you got a friend like

that.‖

―Then maybe he
will
let you bring the T-bird back here in the

spring?‖ wheedled Pete.

―Could be,‖ Logan offered doubtfully. How could he tell Pete that

he was unsure where he now stood with this ―good friend?‖

A LITTLE over an hour later, Logan was lost in thought as he stood in

the middle of his abandoned shop, frowning at the peeling paint and

cobwebs.

―I‘m sure glad Daddy can‘t see it like this, aren‘t you?‖ Daisy

asked, bringing him back to the present.

―Why? It didn‘t look that much better back when he had it. Dad

never was one for fixing up.‖

―I know that,‖ she laughed as she walked the perimeter of the

small space. ―I meant seeing it empty an‘ that, you know?‖

―Yeah,‖ Logan sighed sadly. He took off his baseball cap and

scratched the back of his head. ―Where‘re folks gettin‘ their cars fixed

these days?‖

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Daisy stopped pacing around and stopped in front of her brother,

answering, ―Most everyone I know goes over to the Wal-Mart in Belle

Vernon.‖

―Damn, you gotta be kiddin‘ me,‖ Logan snorted. ―I hope it‘s just

for oil changes and small stuff, ‘cause they do shitty work there. I

know, I had to fix some of their handiwork myself.‖