"They're just words, Jack." I trace the skin on his forearm and avoid his eyes. He can see right through me when I look at him. "I'm more concerned about the brick itself. It seems like a stupid kid prank."
He tilts my face up so I have to look at him and holds me there. I feel my chest swell with pain and my eyes start to prickle. Tears will come if he doesn't let me go. "I know you. I know you better than you think, and I know this is hurting you. Abby, tell me what you want to do and we'll do it. I wish I could make this all go away." He tucks a stray hair behind my ear. His touch is so soft, so gentle.
I smile sadly at him. "Okay, I didn't like it." Jack gives me a look and tilts his head. "Fine, it hurt. It hurts when they talk like that about me, but better me than you. This will pass, Jack. I knew they'd go after me. It's better this way."
"I can't stand to see you hurting." His hand is on my cheek and slips back into my hair. "Every time I hear someone say something about you - "
"Then don't listen."
He laughs, like that's ridiculous, and drops his hands. He looks at me like I'm crazy. "Not listen? How? It's everywhere."
I put my hands on Jack's and hold on tight. "Turn it all off for a few days. You and I don't have to go anywhere. As long as the protesters stay in the street, we won't see them, and Gus can tell you if something needs your attention. It will settle down in a few days. I know it will. The people will get tired and go home. In the meantime, keep working, keep creating. I mean, that's what they're trying to stop. I'd love it if you finished your next piece while they were trying to bring you down." I smile softly and look up at him. "It feels like you and me against the world. It'd be really great if we won."
"What constitutes winning, Abby?" Jack steps back and runs his hands through his hair. "This group is violent. What if they - "
"Jack, life is filled with what ifs. Let's live in the here and now. We'll avoid the mob at the end of the driveway and keep on doing what we do best."
Jack glances at me out of the corner of his eye. He sighs and takes me in his arms again. "I'd feel better if we left."
"I'm not running from this, Jack. Besides, they'll just be there when we come back. I want you to keep painting. I want you to enjoy your work. I want to see that smile on your face, the one that brings out the dimple in this cheek." I press my finger to his skin and Jack smiles softly.
"I don't have a dimple." The look on his face is so somber, so serious.
"You have two, sexy painter man." I take his face in my hands and kiss the first spot. "One's here, and..." I turn his face the other way and kiss the other side. "The other is here. You have dimples, and they're so sexy."
Jack seems torn, but before he has a chance to say anything else, Gus's voice rings out, "The police are here, Jack. We need you back in the conference room."
"Be right there," Jack replies, before looking down at me. Those beautiful eyes are filled with regret. I wish I could wash it away. "Are you sure?"
I nod. "I'm not running. Besides, I've endured rougher things than this. This is nothing. The sooner we face it, the faster it'll go away."
When we return to the conference room, we each give statements. The officer commiserates with us and reminds us to keep everything locked up and board the window. "Protesters usually get rowdy in the beginning. I've dispersed them for the night. They shouldn't be back until morning. In the meantime, try to get some rest. You might want to think about a dog or a security system for the back section of the property. If things get worse, call me." He hands Jack his card, which has his name on it: Jerry Greene.
Jack takes it and shakes his hand. "Thank you for coming out. I appreciate it."
Officer Greene nods. "No problem." He glances between me and Jack, and asks, "You two go way back, huh?" Jack and I nod. Greene gets a puzzled look on his face. "I don't pretend to understand some people. They think everybody's got to think like them, do things their way. I remember seeing your story in the papers a few weeks ago. You seem like good people and it was a sweet story. The best of luck to you." He tips his hat and turns to walk out of the building.
Cara follows behind him so she can lock up. I hear her saying that we are nice people, that it's horrible that someone would do this kind of thing.
Jack lets out a rush of air. Gus is already on the phone with the glass guy, telling him to get out here tonight.
I glance at Jack. "You really think someone will come this late in the day?" It's getting late. Most glass places won't even come out here. We aren't exactly in the central part of the island.
Jack nods. "Yeah, Gus knows a guy."
"Gus knows everyone," Kate chimes in. Her arms are folded over her chest. She glances at me out of the corner of her eye. "What? I'm not allowed to say things about him? I spent over twenty hours driving cross-country with the guy. I bet I know things you haven't got any clue about." She directs the last part at Jack.
"I lived with the guy for four years, so I seriously doubt that." Jack sits down hard in the chair before looking up at us. Kate and I don't look at one another. "For god sakes, make up already. Go talk and fix whatever broke." He shoos us off.
Kate gives him a weird look, but then shrugs and walks away. I follow her into the kitchen. She grabs the canister of coffee and starts to make a pot. "I didn't mean to be a bitch last night, Abby. It's just that this guy's timing is a little off. I'd be suspicious, and you aren't. At all. What gives?"
I sit at the little table and listen to the coffee-maker percolate. The scent fills my head. I breathe deep, wondering how much to tell her. "I know it wasn't him because we were a thing for a while."
Kate's eyes bug out of her head. "Just when I think your ability to shock me ends, you go and say something like that. I thought you didn't date anyone?"
"It was before seminary. Jackson liked me a lot, but things didn't work out." I snatch a napkin off the table and twist it in my hands as I speak. "That's why I know he has nothing to do with them. I know him."
Kate is looking at me like I have two heads. "You never told me that. How far did you go with the guy?"
"Kate!" I whine and put my head on the table.
"What? It makes a difference. A guy shows up that held your hand, okay, that's fine. A guy shows up that saw you nak*d in the shower, now we're into a whole other bag of tricks." She grabs the creamer and pulls the sugar from the cabinet.
Lifting my head, I say, "No nak*d anything. The relationship never got that far. I kept comparing him to someone else."
"Jack. He wasn't Jack, so you dumped him?" She stares at me and then places the sugar on the table.
"Something like that." I grab one of the little sugar packets from the dish and slide it around the table. Not looking at Kate, I say, "You could have trusted me last night. You didn't have to act like I was your idiot little sister."
"Sometimes I have to." I bristle and look up at her. She waves her hands, "No, no - wait. Hear me out. Even if you knew him at some point, it's been years, right?" I nod. "A lot of things can change in ten years, Abby. Look at you. Can you honestly tell me that you're the same person you were the last time you saw this guy?"
I think about it. I want to blurt out "yes." I want to be right, but I'm not. There's been a shift in how I see everything. It affects every aspect of my life. "I don't think people change so much. I'm a little bit different, but you're still you."
She smiles wickedly at me. "No, I'm not. We had to start over too. When you came back, things were tense at first. It wasn't until later, until we accepted how we both changed, that we got on with being friends. That's all I'm saying. When you have batshit crazy people gunning for you, be careful of who crawls out of the woodwork. Promise me that you won't think the best of them. Make them earn it."
Kate's rationale is grounded in the right place, but I wish she wouldn't act like I can't handle things. "Kate, I can handle this. I'm not naive. Please stop worrying about me."
"Fine," she says, pouring a cup of coffee. "I just don't want anyone to hurt you. You've been whacked in the head enough times to last a lifetime. Sorry if I was an ass. I didn't mean to be." There it is - the rare and evasive apology. Kate stirs sugar into her coffee as she says it, not looking at me.
"Me, too. I hate fighting with you." Kate glances up at me. Her prickly nature settles down. I smile at her and she smiles back. My smile turns into a lopsided grin.
"Cut it out. I'm not hugging you." She points her spoon at me as she puts it in the sink.
"No one asked you to." We're both laughing awkwardly. Neither of us is touchy feely, but she comes over and hugs me anyway. When Kate pulls away, I feel so much better. "So, I keep meaning to ask you, but every time I see you, something else happens."
Kate glances up at me from over the top of her mug. "Ask me what?"
"Who's the guy?" I give her a look that says, I know that you're seeing someone.
Kate spews her coffee and chokes. She slams the mug down on the counter and quickly turns away, which lets me know that I'm right. She's met someone. I thought she so. Kate had that perky I just had sex look on her face the other day.
Blotting her mouth with a napkin, she turns back, "There is no guy." She stares at me while she says it, like staring will make it true.
"No, of course not," I tease. "But you did sleep with someone."
"Stop it!" Kate squeals and turns away. "I hate it when you do that." There's laughter in her voice, but something else is there, too. This is a secret and she doesn't want to share yet.
"Okay, sorry. Just promise you'll tell me if things get going good." For the past few months Kate has shuffled through men quickly. Right before I moved back, some ass hurt her pretty badly. She didn't recover very well. Promiscuity seemed to be her thing for a while. I'm glad she finally found someone, even if she doesn't feel comfortable telling me about it. She's too great to be alone.
Kate turns slowly. She has a sheepish look on her face. Cradling her mug between her hands, she says, "He's really, ah..." She sighs, with a starry look in her eyes that is so not Kate. She smiles at me lazily and stirs her coffee. "It's just that things are going good for once, and I don't want to jinx it. I'll tell you soon. I promise."
"I'm happy for you, Kate." And I am. She deserves someone to love her just as much as Jack loves me.
Kate's sheepish smile contorts back into the wicked one. "So," she says, leaning back against the kitchen counter, "how's my little virgin's sex life? Gus said he walked in on you guys in the studio, and there was paint...which makes me wonder..." Her voice trails off and she holds up her cup like she's toasting me.
My face burns and now I'm the one hiding behind my mug. "That wasn't sex. We were doing something else. It just looked bad." Oh God. I'm going to kill Gus. Why'd he tell Kate that? I wonder if he told Cara, too.