David Gates - The Wonders of the Invisible World

“And the hits just keep on coming. What’s good for me. Twelve-thirty. Twelve-thirty is good for me. She says decisively. So I’ll see you then, at HoJo’s?”

“How are you getting there? I mean, how did you get here ?”

“Rented a car. That’s another thing, I have to return the car by six o’clock. So you’re covered six ways from Sunday, kiddo.”

Billy has to ask. “Had you planned to try to see Deke?”

“Had I planned, to try, to see Deke. Whew. You put that so beautifully. You really are a word person, Billy. You’re wasting yourself in computers. God, it’s like … No. Short answer: no. That would just be too much. For everybody concerned. Don’t you think?”

“I do, actually. But it’s your decision.”

“Damn right,” she says. “Not to put you on notice or anything.”

“So I’ll see you at twelve-thirty.” He looks at the corner of his screen: 10:38.

“Unless you get lucky,” she says. “That would be a novelty. Believe me, Billy, if I could go in there and sit across from me and handle this whole thing for you, I’d gladly do it.”

“What are you going to do between then and now?”

“Wow, I’ve really got you worried. That must be the way I like it. No, that must be the way you like it. Actually, there’s a Big Book meeting at the Episcopal church in Colonie. At eleven, so I better hustle. And when that lets out I’m going to stop by the Barnes & Noble on Wolf Road. Is that really the only Starbucks? In the Barnes & Noble?”

“Hey, at least we’ve got one,” Billy says. “We’re getting there, slowly but surely.”

“What’s this we ?”

“Oh, I don’t know — the civic ‘we.’ We of Greater Albany often talk this way.”

“Hey, Billy?” she says. “Don’t think I don’t worry about you, too.”

When he pulls into the parking lot, he sees her just getting out of a no-color Dodge Stratus with a paper cup in her hand. She looks right, then left, then shrugs and tosses it back into the car. She’s wearing sunglasses, a blue blazer and khaki pants, and she’s had a recent hundred-dollar haircut, judging by how perfectly the ends curve under. Billy noses into a parking space and watches her stride, long-legged, to the door, a briefcase dangling from a shoulder strap, hairdo bouncing as if in slow motion. She looks like she’s overplaying it, not that he’s any judge of where the ideal midpoint would be.

When he comes in she’s talking to the greeter girl. If this is the same one as yesterday (which Billy wouldn’t swear to), now she’ll have got the complete picture: the divorced father meeting with the estranged wife to see if there isn’t a chance after all. Can we save this? The girl leads her to the same booth he and Deke had yesterday; Cassie sits and immediately picks up her menu.

“Hey,” Billy says, walking over, smiling. “You look great.”

She looks up, smiles. “Hey. Gee, you too. Fatherhood doesn’t seem to be grinding you down.” She frowns and goes back to the menu.

Billy sits down and examines her face. In one corner of her mouth, the lipstick looks like a kid has colored outside the line — the result, probably, of freshening up in the rearview mirror. Otherwise she looks perfectly plausible. And young. His beautiful sister, who always liked the same boys he did.

“Deke’s easy,” he says. “We’re having a good time.”

“Easy for you, you mean?” She closes her eyes, opens them, nods.

“Look, I’m just glad I was there to step in.”

A waitress appears. “Do you need more time?”

Billy guesses Cassie will hear a double-entendre in that, too.

“No, we’re ready— I’ m ready,” she says. “I’ll have the hamburger platter. And coffee.”

Billy looks at Cassie. She shrugs. “Hmm,” he says. “Can I just get a BLT? Whole wheat, no mayo? Coffee also.” The waitress scrawls and goes. “Red meat?” he says.

“It’s my new thing,” Cassie says. “I mean — not red meat. But just deciding something and sticking with it. That’s a big part of my problem.”

“Deciding things?” This doesn’t seem quite dead-center.

“Well, not that per se. Are you going to start twisting everything?”

“I’m sorry,” he says. “I didn’t mean to sound—”

“I don’t mean twisting, that sounds paranoid, but, you know, reacting. It’s like you’re still trying to find out what’s wrong with me. Well, I guess that sounds paranoid, too. I’m not getting off to a very good start, am I?”

“Sssh.” He holds up a hand. “I can tell you’re doing better.”

“Oh, I am. I really am. You can’t shake my faith in that. ” She gives a smile to indicate this is a joke. Then she frowns. “I’m fucking up. I came to ask you a very big favor — two very big favors, actually — and now I’m acting hostile to you.”

“No, you’re not.”

“Well, that’s nice of you to say.”

The waitress sets their coffees down.

“So what are these very big favors?” he says. He decides not to point out that on the phone she had said this was nothing heavy.

“Look, I know you’re already doing me a huge favor by taking care of Deke, and I appreciate it that you’re not, like, grinding that into my face. Now, I didn’t want to ask you this on the phone because you don’t know who might be listening — I said might be, Billy. But do you think you could possibly go and clean out my apartment? Before I have to go back there?”

“Well — I mean I could. But it’s kind of a trek into Boston. I’d be more than glad to pay somebody to go in there. Didn’t you use to have that woman from—”

“Billy. I don’t mean like scrub-a-dub-dub.”

“Oh.”

“I can tell you exactly where everything is. And you should just feel free to go ahead and use it if you want. I mean, it’s all really good, and I hate to think of it just getting flushed. Or if you’re not into it, you must still know people who like to party.”

“Well …”

“Oh, you look so scandalized. For God’s sake, I’m an addict, I recognize that, but I’m not a fucking puritan.”

“I don’t know. Maybe I am. Anyway, sure. I could go take care of it next weekend. Would that be soon enough?”

“Oh, that would be great. Thank you so, so much.”

“I’ll have to figure out something to do with Deke.”

“Why don’t you just take him along? At this point it would probably be a good idea to sort of reintroduce him to the apartment. He can watch TV or play in his room. I don’t have anything in there.”

“Thank heaven for little mercies.”

“Yeah, okay, I don’t need you to give me shit, Billy. I know exactly what I did. And didn’t do. I just need your help.”

“Sorry, I don’t mean to be a prick. I just, I don’t know, care about him, and I get sort of protective. My motherly instinct.”

“You mean you need to protect him from me.” She nods her head. “Okay. I had that coming. I mean, you’re absolutely right. Which kind of brings me to my other favor.”

“Which is?”

“Well … Just if you’d still stay involved.”

“Involved?”

“I mean, he’s never had a father, or really any kind of man around except for, like, people that … You know. And now that he has you, and if that’s suddenly taken away …”

“You mean you’re going to take him back.”

Cassie cocks her head and stares at him. “Well, what did you think?”

“Oh. I don’t mean, I mean I always assumed that you—”

“Did you think I was never coming out?”