He wandered through the house, fingers trailing over the familiar things of his childhood, remembering, grinning at the height marks Sarah had etched in the door-frame, he on one side, Robbie on the other, eventually finding himself in the kitchen. He smiled at the unopened pack of coffee and box of filters stacked next to the coffee maker. He filled the beaker and poured the coffee grounds into the filter top, switched the coffee maker on and went back into the sitting room to sit and wait for the coffee to brew. As he sprawled comfortably on the couch he and Robbie had shared for so many years as they watched first cartoons, then, as they got older, their shared weakness, cop shows, once again he marvelled at how nothing had changed.
For the first time in a long time, he had nothing to do, and the feeling suddenly hit him; what was he supposed to do now? There was no-one here but him. Was he supposed to languish in grief until it died away naturally, or go out and make new friends, or maybe look up some of his old high school buddies? For so long his decisions outside work had involved Karen; they’d done everything together, and had done since the 8th Grade. How was he supposed to do this alone, how did he even start?
He went back into the kitchen and poured himself a coffee. As he took his first sip he heard the front door open.
“Hello the house!” called out what sounded like a young woman.
“I’m in the kitchen!” he called back, and carried his coffee back to the sitting room. As he walked in, a tall, pretty girl with pale skin, long, silky, copper hair and compelling green eyes poked her head in the other door.
“Hi, you must be Joey. I’m Luna. Jonah said you’d be here. I hope the place is okay. I put some basics in the fridge, milk, juice, bread, that kind of thing, but if you need anything else just leave me a note, I’ll pick it up for you. There’s no cable hooked-up yet, but the local stations do a great line in farm reports, GOD TV, TBN, and Familyland, oh, and reruns of ‘The Lucy Show’, ‘I dream of Jeannie’, and ‘Gilligan’s Island’! Cable guy said he’ll maybe be here tomorrow, but this is Springfield, so don’t hold your breath! In the meantime, welcome back to the teeming metropolis that is Springfield!”
Joey felt breathless listening to her talking nineteen to the dozen, and caught his breath as she stopped talking and smiled at him. He noticed her eyes, so like his Aunt Kat’s particularly vivid shade of emerald, and her luxuriant bright red-bronze hair, glowing in the early evening sun, almost red enough to be true Titian, a rich, vibrant shade somewhere between bright chestnut and true copper. Something about her tugged at his memory, but it was fleeting, and disappeared almost immediately.
Joey grinned at her as she wound down.
“Hello Luna, this… all this, it’s very kind of you, but you didn’t have to… it’s okay, really…”
Luna smiled, her grin fleetingly reminding him of someone else, but he couldn’t pin it down.
“Aw, it was a pleasure; your mom’s my Uncle Jonah’s friend, they’ve been friends since Grade School, he thinks of her as family, so I guess you’re family too.”
Her smile faded.
“I know why you’re here, and I’m sorry, I don’t mean to intrude, maybe I should go now…”
Joey shook his head. This girl made him breathless the way she rattled along, but he found himself enjoying her company; it was refreshing talking to someone other than family, someone who wasn’t walking on eggs around him.
“No, please stay… sit, please, have a coffee, I’ve got a fresh pot in the kitchen.”
Luna smiled again, and once more that fleeting ghost memory nagged at him, that feeling her knew her from somewhere, then it was gone just as quickly, before he could pin it down.
“I’d love one; you sit, I know where everything is, just give me a minute.”
She was back a few seconds later with a steaming mug which she set down on a side table as she sat in Sarah’s old recliner, one leg curled under her as she sat. They stared appraisingly at one another for a few seconds, strangers thrown together and wondering what to say next. Eventually Luna broke the silence.
“So you’re the famous Joe Anderson; did you know they still have your picture up all over Ellenbrook High School? Three consecutive State Championships; we never managed that ever again. You’re quite the legend!”
Joey grinned, blushing a little as Luna smiled at him. He was beginning to notice how attractive she was, and it threw him; the thought made him feel disloyal to Karen and her memory, but there was no denying it; Luna Hollister was a very attractive girl. She was above average height, but still petite enough to have to look up to look him in the eyes, something she did with disconcerting directness. She was possessed of long, slim legs and a small, neat waist, her lithe, slim, but shapely, figure covered but not concealed under skinny jeans and a tight tank-top. Her skin was pale, the merest hint of freckles dusting her cheeks and the bridge of her small, up-tilted nose, and her large, expressive eyes were a vivid, vibrant green.
“So you’re still in High School?” he asked, vaguely disappointed that she was so much younger than he was, but Luna shook her head.
“Hell, no! I graduated three years ago, and I’ve been looking for a real job ever since. I worked for a while at the Dolanco store downtown when I was still in school, but I didn’t like it there; Mr. Dolan kept looking at me real intent whenever he came in, it was just too creepy, so I quit, and then it went bust anyway. In the meantime, I looked after my uncles, although only Jonah lives here now. Uncle Jethro and Uncle Jerry are still in the Marine Corps, so they only come home when they get some leave; in the meantime, I’m on hand to meet and greet new arrivals in town!”
Joey was oddly relieved that she wasn’t impossibly younger than him, just four years, and filed it away for analysis later; he couldn’t think why he should feel that way, and it unsettled him more than a little. Luna carried on talking, unaware of his momentary distraction.
“Did you know my mom was your aunt’s friend? Jo Hollister. She and your aunt Caitlin were buddies in High School. Mom used to talk about her, how Kate Moran was the prettiest girl in Laroque County, and about how one day she just split, left town in a big rush, and never a word to anyone. It was a nine-day wonder around here, in Springfield, hotbed of intrigue that it is; it was probably the biggest thing to happen here since the Civil War, and even then nothing happened here!”
Joey grinned in spite of himself; he knew who Jodie Hollister was alright; his mom had torn a strip off him and Robbie once when they were eleven or so for spying on her undressing in her apartment at the intersection with Bixby and Lewis Street with the little 20-power telescope he’d gotten one Christmas. So this was her daughter; he’d never have known; Jodie Hollister was petite, grey-eyed, with dark hair, so Luna must take after her father’s side.
He could feel himself being drawn to this girl, much as he tried to deny the fact; her sense of humor, her quick smile, her soft contralto voice, and the nagging feeling he knew her from somewhere, all these things added-up to an intriguing package. Of course he didn’t know her, he couldn’t possibly know her, but still the feeling persisted, and wouldn’t go away.
Luna put down her coffee mug and stood up.
“I’d better be going now, I’ve got chores to do back home. I’ll stop by some time tomorrow, if that’s okay with you; I kind of promised Jonah I’d look in on you every day, but I have to go now. If you’re hungry, there’s stuff in the freezer, pizzas and such; I didn’t know what you liked, so it’s kind of pot-luck. You have a good night, Joe Anderson!”
Joey was more than a little reluctant to see her leave, and he couldn’t understand why, then it struck him. She felt like Karen, that same air of quiet competence and warm compassion, and her almost supernatural way of relaxing him; he’d not felt so at-ease in company in all the months since Karen’s death, and he realised he wanted to keep on feeling that way.
Joey also stood up, grinning at her.
“You have a good night too, Luna Hollister, and I’ll be here when you come by; maybe we can talk some more.”
Luna flashed him her bright smile.
“I’d sure like that. See you tomorrow, then!”
The house felt even emptier now that she’d gone, so Joey switched on the TV, but was unable to pick up anything except the local station; true enough, farm reports, feed prices, hog auctions, reruns, and some kind of evangelical show seemed to be the choice for the evening. The Fox and NBC affiliate stations in Roseville and Piedmont Heights were unwatchable, the screen constantly dissolving into diagonal interference patterns, and the sound was hopelessly distorted.
Joey gave up trying to make sense out of the fare being offered, and walked out to the garage, remembering that Jonah had told him to unhook the charger from his mom’s ’85 Riviera. He grinned at the dated, slab-sided car, recalling how proud she was of it, and how he’d scorned it in favour of his pride and joy, a less than reliable ’89 Camaro IROC-Z. It was strange to think that this old bus was now regarded as a classic of the future in some circles.
Joey finally raided the freezer, finding a stack of frozen pizzas, and a six-pack of Bud in the fridge, so contented himself with pizza and beer for dinner, while he watched back to back episodes of ‘I Dream of Jeannie’ and finally retired to sleep in his old room, tired, emotionally worn, but happy to be back in the place that felt most like home.
*
His sleep was disturbed and fitful; dreams of Robbie and he fighting, long, incomprehensible conversations with his mom and Steve. Finally he drifted into a dream of Karen, of the heady days after their wedding, buying and learning to handle and maintain the refurbished 35′ Bavaria Cruiser sailboat he’d christened “Lady Midnight” in honor of Karen and her beautiful, jet-black hair. It was their first long trip in her, all the way north along the coast to Puget Sound, then threading their way through the straits and islands to Lakebay, to spend some time with one of their friends from school who’d moved out that way.