The Guardian Page 4

  Mabel didn't care what people thought, and to Julie this was part of her charm. Mabel dressed the way she wanted, associated with whom she wanted, and did the things she wanted. More than once, Julie wondered whether Mabel's quirks were real or whether she simply played them up to keep people wondering about her. Either way, Julie adored everything about her. Even her tendency to pry.

  "So how'd it go with Richard?" Mabel asked.

  "Well, to be honest, I was a little worried about you the whole time," Julie said. "I thought you might pull a neck muscle if you craned your head any farther trying to listen in."

  "Oh, don't worry about that," Mabel said. "A little Tylenol and I was good as new the next day. But stop changing the subject. Did it go okay?"

  "It went well, considering I just met him."

  "From where I was sitting, it almost looked like he knew you from somewhere."

  "Why do you say that?"

  "I don't know. His expression, I guess, or maybe it was the way he kept staring at you all night. For a second there, I thought his eyes were attached to you by an invisible string."

  "It wasn't that obvious, was it?"

  "Honey, he looked like a sailor on shore leave, watching a girlie show."

  Julie laughed as she slipped into her smock. "I guess I must have dazzled him."

  "I suppose."

  Something in her tone made Julie look up. "What? You didn't like him?"

  "I'm not saying that. I haven't even met him yet, remember? I was out when he came into the shop, and you didn't exactly introduce us on Saturday. You were too busy staring back." Mabel winked. "And besides, I'm an old romantic at heart. As long as a man listens and is interested in what you say, his appearance isn't all that important."

  "You didn't think he was good-looking?"

  "Oh, you know me-I'm more partial to the guys who come in looking for Andrea. I think tattoos that cover the arms are sexy."

  Julie laughed. "Don't let Andrea hear you say that. She might get offended."

  "No, she won't. Unless I drew pictures, she wouldn't know who we were talking about."

  Just then, the door swung open and a woman stepped in. Julie's first appointment for the day. Mabel's appointment, another woman, followed her a moment later.

  "So . . . are you going to go out with him again?" Mabel asked.

  "I don't know if he'll ask, but I probably would."

  "Do you want him to?"

  "Yeah," she admitted, "I think I do."

  Mabel's eyes twinkled. "Well . . . what's your sweetie Bob going to say? He'll be heartbroken."

  "If he calls again, maybe I'll just tell him you're interested."

  "Oh, please do-I need some help with my taxes. Unfortunately, though, he might think I'm a little too adventurous for him." She paused. "So how'd Mike take it?"

  From her seat by the window, Mabel had seen them talking.

  Julie shrugged. She'd known Mabel would ask. "Okay."

  "He's a good guy, you know."

  "Yeah, he is."

  Mabel didn't press any further, knowing it wouldn't do any good. She'd already tried a few times without results. But, in her mind, it was a shame that things hadn't worked out between them so far. Mike and Julie, she thought, would make a good couple. And despite what either of them imagined, she was sure that Jim wouldn't have minded at all.

  She should know. After all, she was his aunt.

  As the morning sun fed an early-season heat wave, Mike's wrench got stuck on a bolt in the inner reaches of the engine. Struggling to free it, he pulled a little too hard, nicking the back of his hand. After disinfecting the wound and putting on a bandage, he tried to free the wrench a second time with exactly the same result. Cursing to himself, he pushed away from the car in frustration and stared at it, his expression cold, as if trying to intimidate the car into doing what he wanted. All morning long he'd made one stupid mistake after another on a repair that was second nature to him, and now he couldn't even get the stupid wrench free. Not that it was entirely his fault, of course. If anything, Mike thought, it was Julie's fault. How was he supposed to concentrate on his work when he couldn't stop thinking about her date with Richard?

  Her nice date. Her fun date.

  What, he wondered, had been so nice about it? And what had she meant by fun?

  Only one way to find out, he knew, though he dreaded the very thought of it. But what other choice did he have? It wasn't as if Julie had been all that forthcoming with him, and he couldn't exactly head over to the salon and ask Mabel in person, not with Julie standing right there. That left Henry as his only option.

  Henry, the good, kind, older brother.

  Yeah, right, Mike thought.

  Henry could have told him earlier, but nooooo, he had to set him up. Henry knew exactly what he was doing when he left the conversation hanging like that. He wanted Mike to come begging for information. To come crawling. To toss a few zingers.

  Yeah, well, not this time, pal, Mike decided. Not this time.

  Mike approached the car again and began working his hand toward the wrench. Still stuck. Looking over his shoulder, he wondered if using a screwdriver would give him the leverage he needed to pry the wrench free. Deciding to give it a try, he reached in, but just when he had it where it needed to be, he heard Julie's voice again and the screwdriver slipped from his grip.

  It was nice, Julie had said. We had fun.

  As he reached for the screwdriver, it slid further, rattling downward like a Pachinko ball and finally vanishing from sight. He leaned over, and despite the fact that he knew everything about this particular engine, he had no idea where it had gone.

  Mike stared, blinking back his disbelief.

  Great, he thought, just great. The wrench is stuck, the screwdriver was absorbed in a mechanical black hole, and I'm not getting a single thing done here. I've been working for an hour, and if it keeps going like this, I'm going to have to place a new order with Blaine Sutter, the Snap-on tool representative.

  He had to talk to Henry. It was the only way he could put this behind him.

  Crap.

  Mike reached for a rag and began wiping his hands on his way through the garage, hating the fact that it had come to this and trying to figure out the best way to ask. The challenge, he knew, was to not let Henry know why he was so interested. It would be best if the topic came up naturally, or Henry would end up rubbing his nose in it. His brother lived for moments like this. He'd probably spent the whole morning preparing zingers. With people like that, there was only one thing to do, and that was to use the fine art of deception. After taking a moment to formulate his plan, Mike poked his head into Henry's office.

  Henry was sitting behind his cluttered desk, placing an order on the phone. Directly in front of him was a packet of miniature doughnuts sitting next to a can of Pepsi. Henry always kept a stash of junk food hidden in his drawer, to make up for the healthy lunches Emma made him. Henry waved him in, and Mike took a seat in the chair across from the desk just as he hung up.

  "That was the dealer down in Jacksonville," Henry said. "They won't have the switch you need for the Volvo for another week. Remind me to call Evelyn, will you?"

  "Sure," Mike said.

  "So what's on your mind, little brother?"

  Of course, Henry already knew what Mike needed to talk about. The look on his brother's face made the topic plain, and though he could have come straight out with what Mabel had told him, he didn't. There was something about seeing Mike squirm that always left him feeling gleeful the rest of the day.

  "Well," Mike said, "I was thinking . . ." He trailed off.

  "Yes?" Henry asked.

  "Well, I was thinking that maybe I should start going to church with you and the family again."

  Henry brought his finger to his chin, thinking, That's an original way to begin. Won't do you any good, but it's definitely original.

  "Oh, really?" he said, hiding his smile.

  "Yeah, you know. I haven't been
in a while, but it would be good for me."

  Henry nodded. "Mmm . . . you might be right. You want to meet there, or do you want us to pick you up?"

  Mike shifted in his seat. "Before we get to that-I just want to know what the new reverend is like. I mean, do people like what he says in his sermons? Do they talk about it after the services?"

  "Sometimes."

  "But people do talk. After church, I mean."

  "Sure. But you'll find out this Sunday. We go at nine."

  "Nine. Okay. Good." Mike nodded, pausing for a moment. "Well, just for example, what did people say after last Sunday?"

  "Oh, well, let's see . . ." Henry tapped his finger in feigned concentration. "Come to think of it, I don't really know. I was talking to Mabel."

  Bingo, Mike thought, smiling inwardly. Just like I planned. I am a master of deception.

  "Mabel, huh?" he asked.

  Henry reached for the doughnuts. Taking a bite, he waved a hand and leaned back in his chair, talking as he chewed. "Yeah. Usually she goes to the earlier service, but I guess she was running late. We talked for a good long time, and boy, did she tell me some interesting stuff." He took a moment to look upward, began counting the little holes in the ceiling tiles for effect, then rocked his seat forward again, shaking his head. "But you don't want to hear about that. We were just talking about Julie's date, and you've already told me you're not interested. So should we pick you up on Sunday or what?"

  Realizing his plan had just gone up in smoke, Mike just sat there, trying vainly to recover.

  "Uh . . . well . . ."

  Henry glanced his way, challenge lighting in his eyes. "Unless, of course, you've changed your mind."

  Mike paled. "Uh . . ."

  Henry laughed. He'd had his fun, and as much as he'd enjoyed it, he knew it was time to stop. "Answer me a question, Mike," he said, leaning forward. "Why do you keep pretending you don't want to go out with Julie?"

  Mike blinked. "We're just friends," he said, the answer coming automatically.

  Henry ignored his answer. "Is it because of Jim?"

  When Mike didn't respond, Henry put down the doughnut. "He's been gone for a long time now. It's not like you're trying to steal his wife."

  "Then why have you been acting like I shouldn't go out with her? Like last summer on the boat?"

  "Because she needed time, Mike. You know that. She wasn't ready to start seeing people last year, or even six months ago. But she's ready now."

  Put on the spot, Mike wasn't sure what to say. Nor did he understand how Henry seemed to know so much.

  "It's not that easy," he finally answered.

  "Of course it's not easy. Do you think that asking Emma out the first time was easy for me? There were a lot of guys who wanted to go out with her, but I figured the worst that could happen was that she would say no."

  "Come on-Emma told me she had eyes for you even before you asked her out. You two were meant for each other."

  "But I didn't know that. Not then, anyway. All I knew was that I had to give it a shot."

  Mike met Henry's eyes. "But she wasn't married to your best friend."

  "No," Henry said, "she wasn't. But then, we weren't friends beforehand like you and Julie, either."

  "That's what makes it so hard. What if things change between us?"

  "They already are changing, little brother."

  "Not really."

  "Sure they are," he said. "Otherwise you wouldn't have had to ask me about the date, would you? Julie would have told you herself. She told you about Bob, didn't she?"

  Mike had no answer to that, but when he left the office a minute later, he knew that Henry was right.

  Four

  Singer's head rose from the blanket as soon as Richard entered the salon, and though he growled, the sound was muted, as if he thought Julie might scold him again.

  "Hey, sugar? Here for another haircut?" Andrea asked, smiling. He was wearing jeans, and his denim shirt was unbuttoned at the top, leaving just enough room to see the curly hair on his chest. And those eyes. "I'll be done here in a couple of minutes."

  Richard shook his head. "No, thank you," he said. "Is Julie around?"

  Andrea's smile faded. She snapped her chewing gum and nodded toward the rear of the salon. "Yeah, she's here," she said, pouting. "She's in the back."

  Mabel had heard the bell on the door jingle, and she stepped out from behind the partition.

  "Oh . . . Richard, right? How are you?" she inquired.

  Richard brought his hands together in front of him. He recognized her from the other night in the restaurant, and though her expression seemed pleasant enough, he knew she was still evaluating him. Small towns were the same everywhere he'd been.

  "Fine, ma'am, thanks. How are you?"

  "Good. Julie will be out in a minute. She's setting someone up under the hair dryer, but I'll tell her you're here."

  "Thank you."

  Though he didn't turn toward her, Richard knew that Andrea was still watching him. A knockout, that's what most people would say about her, but he wasn't all that impressed. She struck him as a forced beauty, as if she were trying too hard. He liked women who looked wholesome, the way Julie did.

  "Richard?" Julie asked a moment later. She smiled at him, struck again by his good looks.

  Singer stood from the blanket and nearly followed her, but she held up a hand to stop him. He froze and stopped growling.

  "Hey there," Richard answered. "I guess he's getting used to me, huh?"

  Julie glanced toward Singer. "Him? Oh, we had a talk. I think he's fine now."

  "A talk?"

  "He gets jealous."

  "Jealous?"

  She shrugged. "You'd have to live with him to understand."

  Richard raised an eyebrow, but he let the comment pass.

  "So what are you doing here?" she asked.

  "I thought I'd see how you were doing."

  "I'm fine, but I'm kind of busy right now. I've been swamped all morning. Why aren't you at work?"

  "I am. Kind of, anyway. Being a consultant gives me a bit of freedom, and I decided to pop into town."

  "Just to see me?"

  "I couldn't think of anything I'd rather do."

  She smiled. "I had a good time on Saturday night," she offered.

  "So did I." Richard's eyes darted from Mabel to Andrea, and though they both appeared to be occupied with other things, he knew they were listening. "Do you think you could take a quick break so we can talk outside? I called earlier, but you weren't in."

  "I'd love to, but I've got someone in the back."

  "It won't take long."

  Julie hesitated, glancing toward the clock.

  "I promise," Richard added. "I know you're working."

  A quick estimate said she had maybe a few minutes.

  "I guess that's okay," she said, "but it can't be long. Otherwise I'll have to spend the rest of the day trying to fix the color and you're going to find yourself in the doghouse. Give me a second to check on her, though, okay?"

  "Sure."

  Julie went to see her customer again. The woman was having highlights put in, and her head was covered in a perforated plastic cap. Assorted strands of hair, sticking through the holes in the cap, were coated in purple slime. Julie checked the color, turned the dryer on low, buying an extra couple of minutes, and went out front again.

  "All right," she said, walking toward the door, "I'm ready."

  Richard followed her outside. The door swung shut behind them, the bell jingling again.

  "So what did you want to talk about?"

  Richard shrugged. "Nothing important, really. I just wanted to have you all to myself for a minute."

  "You're kidding."

  "Not at all."

  "But why?"

  "Gee," he said, playing innocent, "I'm not really sure."

  "I found your card," she said. "You didn't have to do that."

  "I know I didn't. But I wanted to."

>   "Is that why you called the salon this morning? To see if I got it?"

  "No. I just wanted to hear your voice. Good memories, you know?"

  "Already?"

  "I was charmed."

  Julie looked up at him, thinking, Flattery is such a nice way to start the day. After a moment, Richard began to tug at his watchband.

  "But actually, besides wanting to see you, there is another reason I came by."

  "Oh, I get it. Now that I'm all buttered up, the truth comes out, huh?"

  He laughed. "Sort of. The truth is I wanted to see if you'd like to go out again this Saturday."

  Saturday, Julie remembered with a pang, was supposed to be dinner at Emma's with Henry and Mike.

  "I'd love to, but I can't. A couple of friends invited me over to their house. Can we go on Friday instead? Or maybe sometime during the week?"

  Richard shook his head. "I wish I could, but I'm going to Cleveland this evening and I won't be back until Saturday. And I just found out today that I might be out of town again the following weekend. It's not set in stone, but odds are I'll have to go." He paused. "Are you sure you can't make it?"