Leaping (16 page)

Chapter
20

"Give
me some time to blow the man down," Paul sang.

Seth
had to laugh, even as he refused to fish, but sat pouting on the white leather
bench behind the boat's small cabin.

"I'm
sick," he said when Jordan looked at him.

Jordan
nodded,
a look of sympathy. He was sorry the kid was
motion sick, but he'd get over it if he kept sipping that ginger ale. The Dramamine
had kicked in by now. They'd all taken some before they went out. It was
helping him and he was a little hung over. He suspected more than anything Seth
didn't like the lack of control.

Dave
had offered to let Seth drive on the way out, but Seth had quickly shaken his
head and kept his skinny jacket clad arms folded and his butt cheeks, no doubt,
in a tight clench. Anyway they were anchored now and their lines were in.
Jordan and Paul were keeping an eye on Seth's pole. Paul had had a bite, but he
lost it quickly. Now they were waiting.

Dave
was a good guy and he knew his stuff and to top it all he'd brought them out
here on his day off. They threw him a lot of business in return, well the real
estate people did, not Jordan. And he was having a hard time with Dave's
colorful speech, as if a young kid wasn't sitting there big-earring every word.
It's not like Seth had anywhere else to go.

Speaking
of, said kid was dry-heaving over the side again.

"Whoa
bro. Getting those sea legs," Paul said, interrupting Dave's story about a
'broad who was spilling out of the top of her suit' last season and how he'd
seen more ass crack….

"Hey
Dave," Jordan found himself saying, he pointed at Seth.

"Oh,
he's okay. This boat has been thrown up on more times…."

"No,"
Jordan interrupted, "watch the stories, man."

"PG-13,"
Paul said in his singsong. He slapped Dave's hand but Jordan could see Dave
thought he was a bitch. And he was. He wanted PG. Possibly G. Yeah, G.

Just
to be safe. Why the hell not…heck not?

Cori had snuck out of
his room that morning before the sun was up. They had marinated in each other
for several hours. Not sex. Not sex…less either. But it had been some kind of
thing…bonding. He hated that word, but yeah, a gluing process might just be
what it was. A silent acknowledgment….

"Seth,
you've got something buddy," Paul called out.

"I
don't care," Seth moaned, his hands having vanished into his armpits just
in case they expected him to reach out and touch his fishing pole.

"Oh
shit," Jordan yelled, straddling Seth's pole, his hands poised to grab it.
It had gone still, but then it looped over the side.

Paul
yelled, and Jordan had it in his hands. He felt like the old man in the sea.
This thing was huge.

Seth
was next to him now. "Holy shit," he yelled seeing what it took for
Jordan to keep a hold of the pole.

For
a fleeting second Jordan felt some regret over the language, but the next big
yank on the pole almost sent him slamming into the boat's side so all guilt
went the hell out of his head.

"Don't
let go," Seth yelled.

Jordan,
trying to keep silent, shook his head. The pull on his line was unbelievable.

"Moby
and his big Dick," Paul yelled.

"For
sure," Dave said, and Jordan admired the man could get it up when he must
have seen this a thousand times.

At
the end of the day Seth got his picture taken with his big-ass triggerfish.
Jordan had Dave take measurements so he could order a replica to be made for
Seth's wall. On the way home Paul suggested they turn the replica in to a
singing fish like Billy Bass who was popular years back. It could open a whole
new industry for Dave. So they joked about that and it was pretty silly.

Once
home they set the cooler on the porch and Paul went for the fish-cleaning tools
he kept in the garage. He and Seth set up a fish cleaning station on a patch of
grass that grew in the sandy yard. They had the big fish on a card table and
Paul was sharpening his fillet knife. Cori and Alisha were not there, much to
Jordan and Seth's disappointment. But Jordan had just cracked a Pepsi open when
he heard them pull up in front of the house. Pretty soon the lights came on in
the kitchen, and the women came out on the porch. Seth yelled, "Mom,"
and proceeded to tell her about the fish. Cori and Alisha seemed pretty
impressed, well Cori was promising sex with the look she gave Jordan. That's
how he took it.
And my God.
She and Alisha had gone to
a spa. There were no words to describe the level of awe he felt. It rivaled his
baptism. She was perfect.

Shiny
hair, skin like china, lips…eyes…ears…body. He could smell her sweetness over
the ocean. That took something.
Over the fish.
She was
a human flower. She was sumptuous.

And
he was pretty much her hero. Now this he could get used to.

Seth
was speaking rapid-fire, telling Cori all about how Jordan had held the big
fish, and he'd taken over
cause
Jordan had bruised his
groin.

Cori's
eyebrows shot way up.

"I
said it felt like it," Jordan corrected.

"My,"
Cori said.

"He'll be
fine," Alisha interjected. She wanted to know how they were cooking the
fat fillets Paul was cutting from the carcass.

"The
grill," Paul said, studying his cuts like a surgeon, barely able to spare
them a glance so intent was he on his operation.

Cori
and Alisha went in the house to start the side dishes, and Jordan followed her
and that scent right in.

"Wow,"
he said standing close to her as she washed her hands.

His
eyes darted to Alisha who was doing that smirk at him. Smirk away big sis.

"You
got some sun," Cori said. Yeah she was admiring him, too. "Thanks
for…he's…just thanks."

Jordan
took a big drink of his beer…to buy time. He was pretty choked up. He wondered
if everything would ever just be normal and not such a big deal. But then…it
was a big deal. She was…a big deal.

"What's
that Seth said about Moby's dick?" Alisha asked.

"Um…that
was…is the name of his fish," Jordan said softly. It was nearly on the
plague that was coming with the cast, but he took charge and said they could
just put "Moby."

Cori
gave him a look, but she was trying not to laugh.

“Sounds
like Mr. Paul," Alisha said.

Jordan
smiled. "Hey, I'm not a rat."

Sometimes
the name finds the fish.

It
was a better night than the one before, the best meal, the best company at the
meal.

Seth
ate Moby. He got in trouble for saying, "I ate dick."

Paul
laughed so hard he fell off his chair. Jordan could only smile…in terror.

Cori
didn't think it was funny at all. She whispered, "I can't believe you
would say something like that."

Alisha
just shook her head and said, "If they give me a shower we need books on
parenting."

After
that they played Monopoly.
Paul and his games.
Cori
emerged as a competitor. Jordan was surprised. She was pretty ruthless. It made
Jordan
care
more, pay more attention. At one point he
was winning. Then he landed on Cori's green properties and the slow bleeding of
his fortune began. It ended being Paul and Cori. Jordan fell asleep on the
couch watching Seth play some game on his
iPad
.

He
was awakened in the most perfect way, Cori's lips on his own. She was pulling
back whispering hello, but the kiss was on his mouth like nectar.

"Hey,"
he said back, not quick enough to catch her. She was on her way to bed.

He
got up and noticed everyone was long gone and the lights were out. He followed
Cori as was becoming his very good habit.

She
went directly in to his room. As he passed Seth's door he noticed the lights
were off.

He
was in last, shutting the door behind him. She stood, much like another night,
other nights, disrobing. She said she wasn't this woman but he wanted to fall
to his knees in gratitude that she apparently was.

Oh,
there was that skin, that body, those breasts, that dip in at the waist, that
swell out at the hips, and those legs. He literally sucked spit.

He
was bare when he reached her, on the bed. It's like his clothes evaporated, he
really had no realization he was stripping. Peer pressure, he thought. He was a
follower.

So there they were on
his bed at last, not a thing between them but good will. He wanted to get all
serious, right away, and it poured out of him, "You're the most beautiful
thing…say you'll marry me. You're mine. Say you are."

Things
like that, just a steady rant of things he couldn't believe, but he meant. She
laughed and kissed him. She laughed at his heart. But he wasn't mad.
Just…whatever, as long as she kept kissing him that way
,
moving
on him.

That
scent was all over him, he was drunk with it, with her, and thank God he had
showered, well all three of the males had been banished to the showers before
they were allowed at the table as the women had insisted they reeked of fish.
Paul had tried to persuade Alisha they'd brought the ocean in and it was
natural and beautiful, but aluminum foil had held dinner and they'd all cleaned
up.

Good
thing. He didn't want anything in the way of this coconut, tropical scent he'd
forever associate with Cori and love-making.

"Cori,"
he said, and she told him he had to be quiet before someone heard them.

That
was potentially embarrassing, his wailing…like a whale, but he didn't care
he…was…crazed.

That
night he reached a new level of letting go. She had blown him up.
Pulverized him.
In the morning he'd have to scrape himself off
the ceiling and find pieces of himself in all the corners.

"That
was…holy," he told her.

Chapter
21

The
ball smashed into the wall, and Jordan did a long-armed reach that sent it
arrowing
back to crash again. He loved that hollow sound.

It
was Seth's turn, and he swung his racket and missed. "Damn."

"Okay,
you know what? We need to curb the language."

"You're
a great one to talk," Seth said.

Jordan
caught the ball and bounced it a few times. "I said we, Seth."

He
passed the ball to Seth and tucked his racket under his arm.

"We
going?"
Seth asked.

Jordan
didn't answer. The fact that he was walking off the court seemed
self-explanatory.

Seth
followed, bouncing the ball, sometimes using his hand, sometimes the racket.

He
was so engrossed he walked into a couple of men going in to use their abandoned
court. "Oh," Seth said holding the ball and looking up. "Excuse
me."

The
kid was well-mannered when he wanted to be.

Since
he seemed to be on a roll he caught up to Jordan and said, "I told
everyone I was sorry about the eating dick thing."

"Yeah…that
was great," Jordan said flatly. "But…I've let loose too.
Too many times.
You know I was a minister, right?"

"Well…yeah.
Duh.
I was at your church…. I've never known a
minister with a dirty mouth. Until you, I mean."

They
were in the locker room now. Jordan was sitting on a bench untying his shoes.

"Yeah,"
he said. "Sorry to burst your bubble about that, but I got out of the
habit of cursing in seminary. I made a real effort to get more creative…and
less offensive.

“But
I've just…gotten so damn sloppy. So…what do you say we help each other?"

"I
don't know," Seth said wiping his sweaty face with one of the towels the
club provided. "I don't really think I have a problem."

Jordan smirked.
"Well, I do."

"Like
you'll give me a dollar every time you curse? That would be cool."

"Not
a dollar." Not a damn dollar.

"Fifty
cents then?
I'll be rich," Seth said joyfully as he changed his shirt.

Jordan
saw them then, the scars. He stood up and lightly touched Seth's skinny bi-cep.
"Hey bud…damn."

He'd
already seen the leg, the entrance and the exit, clean-through. But this was
something else. An entrance, and then the scars from surgery…the story like Braille
on Seth's pale skin.

Jordan
felt his throat grow stiff and he swallowed and the wound in his heart cracked
open a little and bled.

Seth
pulled away, and got his bag out of his locker. He quickly pulled a clean shirt
over his head.

"You
know what? Hell with it," Jordan said, also pulling his bag.

Seth
laughed. "That didn't last long."

"There're
worse things…," Jordan said, pulling his own soaked shirt over his head.

Seth
eyed Jordan's chest. "You lift weights or something?"

"No,"
Jordan said, also ripping a clean shirt over his head. "Not for a long time."

"Not
since…but it's a good thing. You were strong…what you did to Carson."

"Oh…that
was…adrenaline…," rage, fear, horror, reaction.

"They
said you wouldn't stop…."

"Yeah.
We've talked about it, right?"

"Yeah
but…I'm glad you did it."

Jordan
threw the last of his gear into his bag.
"Yeah.
It was better than the alternative…right?"

"You
wish he would have lived?"

"I…couldn't
take that chance. But…you ever read about Moses?"

"The
baby in the basket…some."

"Yeah.
He was this guy…he knew he needed to do
something…to help his people…so one day he sees one of the Israelites being
beaten…and he kills the guy…this guard who is doing the beating. But…people
turn on him…and he's afraid…and it blows up in his face…you know? So he goes to
the dessert for like, forty years, and he's just this shepherd. And one day
this bush lights up and God speaks to him out of this fire and…Moses was kind
of right all along. He was supposed to do something. It just didn't turn out
like he thought. But…there was more for him to do and God was like…handing it
to him. God was…calling him out of hiding."

Seth
was listening. Jordan really loved this kid. He really did.

"So…what?"
Seth said.

"So…I
kind of feel like him.
I've just been thinking about it."

"You're
like…on the desert?"

"Yeah.
Kind of."

"You're
like…waiting for a fire?"

"I
didn't know I was. I was just…hiding. And…you and your mom…."

"I'm
confused."

"You
and your mom are like…the light. You just kind of lit up right there…where I
was hiding. I don't know." Jordan scratched the back of his head.

"Isn't
it like schizophrenia?"

"Oh…the
all-wise Internet," Jordan said picking up his bag. "C'mon."

At
the house Alisha and Cori were dancing. Jordan and Seth came home to loud
Motown, which Alisha loved. They looked happy. Jordan leaned on the counter to
watch. They had their arms around each other. Alisha was teaching Cori how to
dance like she was at a sock-hop. Cori was graceful, just naturally elegant. He
wanted his arms around her. It was just that way.

Paul came out of the back
bedroom then. He was grinning at his wife and he asked to cut in on Cori. Cori
stood back and turned to Seth. He laughed and said no, but he moved awkwardly
with her for a moment before pulling away and running to the couch. Jordan
walked toward her then. Even that, his approach was bringing up her flush. He
laughed, and took her hand and put his arm around her waist and pulled her in,
leaving about six respectable inches with Seth looking on. She was smiling at
him and they moved some and hey, he was no slouch. He dipped her back, then
Paul dipped Alisha and Alisha groaned, and they were laughing, even Seth.

That
night she sat on the porch, scrunched in a chair with Jordan. She wasn't on his
lap, as Paul held Alisha, with a blanket over, but she was scrunched beside
him.

They'd
all gone to a movie and Seth was in the house, and it was dark and the adults
took refuge here, all mellow.

"Jordan,
I was thinking Seth and I need to fly out Monday. That way he can still get in
some schoolwork when he gets home."

They
all had to be out of the house soon because the season started in a couple of
weeks and Mrs. Palm was anxious to get it ready.

Here
it was. "Why can't I drive you home? I want…shit."

Did
that sound pathetic? She felt the same, right?

"I
already have my return ticket. I'll exchange it and get another for Seth."

"Do
you want me to come?"

Light
spilled next to them from the windows. He could see the deep shine in her eyes
but she had her lips puckered.

"Jordan…I
agreed. Remember? We're moving toward a future. You said…."

"Yes.
I just…you're talking about separating…even for a couple of days…."

"I
know, but we have to be…
it's
okay."

"Yeah."
He'd been dreading this.
"Of course."

"It's
been so great to be with you…to be here. I don't want to leave. I'm trying to
be…."

"…an
adult?" he said, laughing sadly.

"Yeah.
That."

He
ended up kissing her. They were soft singular kisses, a break between each, but
if you put them together they were about a two-minute necking session.

"Get
a room," Paul drawled and Alisha laughed. They knew how much Jordan hated
that phrase. He hated it.

"Ignore
them," he
whispered,
his lips against Cori's
hair.

"Oh…,"
Alisha laughed.

"I
don't even have a job," Jordan blurted. If they were going to eavesdrop he
wasn't going to fight it.

"Real
estate," Paul sang.

"He's
too good," Alisha said.
"Too…holy."

Wow.
Funny she should say that when it brought his and Cori's lovemaking to the
front of his mind. He'd called it that.

The
family loved to tease Jordan about being too good for the business. He'd always
known they were proud of his profession. They'd been thrown when he went to
less skilled labor, labor he didn't feel called to. That worried them, he knew
that.

He also knew they'd
been relieved he was doing something, at least.
Until he wasn't.
Mostly he wasn't. He lived off savings.
Money he'd
inherited,
and a little money from the sale
of his house. Very little as property values in Sydney had tanked and he'd
tended to make enough improvements to eat up the modest equity.

Cori
had sold her half of a Florist shop but there had been debt from the shop and
lawyer fees from the divorce. She had Henry's life insurance pay-out, but there
had been hospital bills from Seth. She had not sued the church, or rather their
insurance company, to recover those expenses. She had used the largest chunk of
Henry's money. His house had been modest, and the sixty grand it brought is
what she was living on now. But it was past time to start earning again. She
needed to put the remainder of that money away for Seth's education.

She
was telling this to Jordan. Alisha and Paul had gone to bed so they could speak
privately. She was buying the Danville house, and property values there were
slightly better than in Sydney as Danville had enough population for a Wal-Mart
and all the usual suspects surrounding it. It was also closer to the city.

"Are
you saying you would…relocate?" Jordan said.

"Oh,
Jordan," she sighed.

"Seth
says he hates it," he said, half-kidding, half-wondering if it was true.

"You
feel that free?"

He
thought about it.
"Yeah.
I cut ties. I had that
option."

She
had not.

"For
me, home was the one thing I could count on," she said.

He
got that.

"But…I
would…oh my God I am scaring myself, but I would be open…," she turned
quickly, her body facing him, her hand on his cheek holding him so he couldn't
move, not that he wanted to, "I'm scared. If you…are not the real deal…I
will cut out your liver…and kidneys."

She
smashed her lips against his.

He
laughed but he was into the kiss, then he broke it off. "Cori…I saw his
scars."

"He
let you? He's pretty self-conscious."

"At
the club…we changed after the game…Cori…."

"My
boy," she whispered,
then
her voice caught like a
trawl net skimming the ocean's depth and catching itself on a wreck.

He
held her then, for a long time, he felt it in her…where she'd been…the fear of
where he would take her. He felt that net pull tight, so tight. He felt that
net break free.