Page 20 of JoJo
Chapter 6
We both sat, sipping on our beers, and just thinking. At least, I was thinking. About everything. Steel’s normally harsh grey-blue eyes seemed a little less intense tonight. They reminded me of a sea trapped in a ring of quicksilver. I was absolutely mesmerized. I knew he was watching me appraise him, and still I continued on with my outward inventory of the man. Besides the five o’clock shadow on his face from lack of shaving, his bald head wasn’t exactly bald anymore either. From the look of the stubble cropping up everywhere he would have a full head of thick, dark hair if he’d just let it grow out.
“You’re wondering why I shave it off?” I just offered him a smile and slight shrug of my shoulders in answer. I figured he would tell me if he wanted me to know. “I did it for the first time when I was fourteen. My friend in school was diagnosed with leukemia. He was thirteen at the time, but he didn’t start losing his hair until he went through a few treatments. Some of the kids at school, including a girl Charlie had been crushing on, made fun of him. He never told anyone he was sick. He didn’t want their pity. The girl, Amy, started flirting with me soon after, and I smiled at her and maybe led her on to believe she’d be my girlfriend. Then the next day I came to school with my head shaved. I even shaved it down with a Bic razor until no stubble was evident. Amy had told all her friends that we were going to be a thing and I was going to make it official that day.” He laughed then. “Honestly, I didn’t even know what the hell I was supposed to do to make it official, even if I had wanted to. I showed up, completely bald, and rejected her in front of all her friends. They were all stunned, but the best thing in the world happened in that moment. Charlie laughed so hard I thought he was going to piss himself. He hadn’t laughed like that since before he found out he was so sick. I kept my hair shaved off out of solidarity for Charlie for the next two years, and then it just became habit.”
“I take it Charlie’s story didn’t have a happy ending?”
“No, it sure didn’t. He hung on, getting sicker and sicker for those two years. We thought he was starting to get better around then.” Steel shook his head then. “He did for a month or so, but then everything took this major downhill slide, and he was gone a couple weeks later.”
“I’m sorry to hear about that. It’s a horrible thing to watch a loved one go through. I imagine it's even worse for a kid or a teenager.” Steel simply nodded. “So you’ve kept your head shaved bald for the past 16 years? I was astonished after I started tallying up the years. “That is dedication, because even I give my legs a break sometimes and pack on the winter fuzz or whatever.”
When Steel’s eyes twinkled and he chuckled at my admission, I felt like I won an award. I didn’t want him stuck down a miserable memory lane because I was curious. “I promised myself I’d keep it bald until I manned up enough to read the letter Charlie left for me. Obviously, I still haven’t gotten there yet.”
“Oh my God, Steel!” Fourteen years is a long time to be a coward.” His head snapped back as if my words had physically assaulted him. I brought my own hand up to my mouth to shut myself up when I realized how that came out. “Shit. I didn’t mean it to come out like that.”
Steel just shook his head. “No, you’re right. I’ve been running from that letter for too many years.”
“If you need someone to hold your hand while you read it, I will. I promise not to judge anymore than I already just did. Believe me, I know how hard it was to sit through the reading of my father’s Last Will and Testament. Hearing his words echoed back by a veritable stranger was the worst. I can’t imagine a personal letter waiting on me.”
“Thank you, I may take you up on that one day. We probably have other things we should work out tonight. I guess we’re going to see your lawyer tomorrow at 10?”
“Yes, I hope you don’t mind. I’m not sure if you even need to be there, but just in case, it would be good if you could go.”
“I’ll be there, if for no other reason than to keep your brother in check. He’s a real piece of work.”
“That he is. My dad used to say it was because my mom coddled him too much. I don’t know though. I don’t like to make up excuses for other people’s shit behavior. My brother and I were both raised by the same parents and I would never think of selling the family business and leaving him high and dry if the situations were reversed. Hell, I’ve even offered to split profits with him if he does any work for the garage, but I’m not handing over checks to my brother for what me and my crew earn while he’s off playing dress up on the stage. That would be like me asking for a profit share from his performances. I admire his work, and he gets paid for it. I would never take a part of that if I never earned it. I won’t pay him for work he hasn’t done in the garage.”
“I’d probably lose some respect for you if I thought you were paying him off. I’m glad you put your foot down.”
“You’d lose respect for me doing that, but not for marrying a complete stranger to save my business?” He simply smiled at me.
“You’re doing what you have to do in order to keep a part of your family alive, and pay the bills. You’re not doing anything people throughout history haven’t done by way of arranged marriages. No, you don’t lose my respect for that.”
We sat in silence for a few more minutes after I refreshed our drinks. There was nothing awkward or uncomfortable about the silence we were sitting in. It was just reflective on both our parts. Our lives had both taken a beating and serious upheaval lately. Which reminded me… “So, what do you want to do about our living situation? I’m assuming you’ve been staying in the clubhouse?”
“Yeah, I have.” Steel looked around then. “I don’t want to impose on you. I can keep staying there if you want me to.”
“Nonsense. You’re saving my business. You’re welcome to stay here. I mean, we are married. It would look weird to live in two different places anyway, especially for newlyweds.”
Steel laughed. “Yeah, I suppose it would. I can pay my share too. In fact, I insist on that. Half the bills and I’ll help out with the labor on the house as it gets refurbished. I just refinished my mom’s hard wood floors for her last summer.”
“That’s great, because I was just going to Google how to do the floors and hope for the best.” Steel laughed at that too.
“You’re a brave lady.”
“I try.” I replied as I smiled at him. “Hey, you never got to see the upstairs. Do you want to take a look?”
“Sure.” I don’t know what possessed me, but I reached out and took hold of Steel’s hand, pulling him along behind me to the stairs. His hand was so much larger than mine that I was practically engulfed in his warm grasp. The calluses along his palms and fingers were evident as they grazed across my own, slightly more delicate skin. I may be a grease monkey, but I moisturized the hell out of my skin so I didn’t end up with teeny tiny versions of man-hands.
“I have two bedrooms and one full bath upstairs. I’ve toyed with the idea of just making one big master suite up there, but I’m not sure what that would do to resale values. For now, I’ve just left the one bedroom alone as a guest room if any of the girls needed it or for my brother when he actually came to visit dad before he died. I don’t feel so inclined to have my brother stay here anymore, because he obviously doesn’t care if I lose my house if he were to sell my business or not. You know?”
“I get it. It’s too bad he doesn’t though, because family is a short commodity. Once it’s gone, there’s no replacing what’s missed.”
I turned my full attention to Steel at the top of the steps. “Exactly. So, this first room is the guest room.” I showed him the sparsely furnished space that contained a queen sized bed, a dresser, and a desk. “There’s a small closet over in the corner too.” I backed out after allowing him the chance to look around. Then I moved on to the next door, which happened to be the bathroom. It was your standard box house, starter home bathroom. It had a toilet, a sink with a cabinet space underneath, and a tub-shower combo. There was a small linen closet in the space between the wall and the shower too.
Then we moved on to my room, which made me a little nervous. I opened my door to show the queen size bed in the middle of the opposite wall from us. On each side of the bed a nightstand stood just below window level. On one side sat my small lamp while the other held my tablet that was currently charging so I could read a little before bed. Damn Angel for getting me started with her books a couple years ago. Whereas she enjoyed the actual physical book though, I was good with the electronic versions, because they took up less space, and I could take them anywhere with me and not be weighed down.
My bed was covered in a heather gray duvet set with beautiful azure blue accents. That color scheme carried throughout the room from the window treatments to the accent pillow thrown on the armchair that was tucked off by itself in the corner. My dresser sat on the same wall as the door to the bedroom, and just opposite the bed.
