“And…”
“And then you became a… volunteer.” Ah. “So you think my presence, er, motivated her to participate.”
She nods, giving me that squinty, old-lady, I-see-through-you look. Christ. Has Dorcas alerted everyone that I’m preying on the under-aged girl?
“Look, I’m not interested in Gabriel e. She’s a child. I want nothing to do with her, okay?”
Several things happen at once. Darlene blinks, eyebrows rising, as she stares over my shoulder. In the same moment, I hear a strangled whimper and rapidly retreating footsteps.
Wel , shit.
*** *** ***
Dori
I knew Friday that I was in for it today with Gabriel e. I spent the whole weekend dreading it. Even so, I misjudged the level her outrage would reach at being separated from Reid. I should have known.
The thunk of the hammer hitting the wal was, oddly enough, the catalyst for calming her. I think it stunned her that she could do something so destructive and potential y deadly. Thank God no one was in the path of that airborne tool; the claw imbedded itself into the drywal . Roberta, Gabriel e and I stood there in shock for a ful minute before Roberta cleared her throat and asked, “Maybe you’re too upset to work today?”
Gabriel e’s answer was a whisper delivered towards her feet. “No.”
Roberta and I exchanged a look and I gave her a faint nod. “Al right, then. Fol ow Dori, and I’l see you at lunch break.”
Gabriel e and I spent the morning patching the damaged kitchenette drywal , fol owed by measuring, marking and dril ing holes in every cabinet door in the whole house for the hardware we’l instal this afternoon. My ears were ringing from the constant high whine of the dril in confined spaces.
Gabriel e hadn’t uttered a single word during the entire three hours. “Two more and then it’s time for lunch,” I said, turning to find she wasn’t in the room. I had no idea how long she’d been gone, but I had a good idea where I could find her.
“Rats,” I muttered, stalking towards the back door.
I forgot to take off the goggles or leave the battery-powered dril behind. Thank the stars I was carrying the darned thing business end down, because as I yanked the back door open, Gabriel e bul eted through it. I jumped back as she lurched past me, crying.
“Gabriel e?” The sound of my voice only sped her up.
She shoved the front door open, throwing, “Leave me alone!” over her shoulder. The engine on her twenty-year-old clunker thundered to life out front a few seconds later.
Reid.
As I stride onto the back patio, he turns from where he stands with Darlene at the faucet. “What did you do to her?” I step closer and lower my voice when I notice the audience of people pretending not to listen. I don’t care about embarrassing him, but Gabriel e’s distress is no one else’s business. “What did you say to her?” I hiss.
His eyes travel the length of me, just as he did last week when we met, except today his gaze lingers on my legs, the dril clutched in my hand, and the safety goggles stil on my face. His answer is al lazy insolence. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Shoving the goggles onto my head, I raise my chin. “I’m talking about Gabriel e, who just stormed through the house, very upset. Stop acting like you’re oblivious, when we both know you’re the one who caused it.” He steps closer and looks down at me. “I didn’t do or say a damned thing to her.” He gestures towards Darlene without breaking our eye contact. “And I have a rock-solid alibi, Dorcas.”
Darlene steps closer. “Dori, calm down, hon. Gabriel e came
outside
and
overheard
something
she
misunderstood, that’s al . She’l get over it.” I am stunned speechless. I cannot believe this. He’s managed to win over Darlene! Is there a woman in this world, besides me, who’s immune to him? I turn and stomp back into the house without replying, which is incredibly rude of me and I’l have to apologize to her later.
I would dearly like to take a hammer to the drywal myself. It’s too bad there’s no demolition on this job, because I’d be a whirling dervish of destruction today.
Gabriel e and I could team up and take down a house this size like twin tornadoes.
After lunch (during which Reid and I sit on opposite sides of the yard), I grab the ratchet screwdriver set, gather the handles, knobs and screws, and head for the master bathroom. I’ve resigned myself to working alone for the rest of the day, which is fine with me, but it’s boring with no music. I forgot to bring the radio today, and my iPod, tragical y, is unfixable. If I want music, I’l have to provide it for myself.
Starting with the under-sink cabinets, I line up the screws with a chrome hinge while balancing the door on my foot, and fit the ratchet to a screw and crank it, click-click-click.
By the time I’m adding the chrome handle, I’ve got a slow, steady beat going and I’m singing a soft song cal ed
“Gravity” by Alison Krauss. It’s about a girl who leaves home and kind of never looks back, because once she’s gone, she realizes that life isn’t as straightforward as she’d once thought.
When I stand up to grab another hinge and set of screws for the next door, Reid is standing in the doorway, his hands shoved into his pockets. My voice falters, but I finish the last line before going silent. I don’t know how long he’s been there. For a moment he doesn’t say anything, and then his eyes shift to the cabinet doors stacked against the wal . “Roberta sent me to help with the cabinets.” I grab a door without replying and position it as I did the last one. Since the hinges wil be placed on the opposite side from the last one, it won’t be as easy to attach, but I know what I’m doing, and it’s not an impossible job to do alone. Aside from the fact that I’d rather do it without him standing there staring at me.