The Word of a Liar (17 page)

“He’s going to turn your boy into a biker before you know it.”

Ellen smiled. “That’s okay—as long as JD doesn’t come home with any tattoos in private places.”

They all laughed.

CHAPTER sixteen

“Refreshments have arrived,” Samantha announced. She came out on the porch, carrying a large tray of crackers, cheeses, and fruit along with a stack of ice-filled Solo cups. Mad Dog trailed behind her with a small cooler loaded with beer and whiskey.

“What the hell is this?” Spider asked as Samantha offered him the tray of delectable snacks and a cup.

“It’s appetizers, you dumbass,” Mad Dog said as he plunked down the cooler and then pulled out bottles of beer. “Don’t you have any class, Spider?”

Mad Dog handed Spider a bottle and said, “Samantha worked hard making this tray of… or…de...dervs… that looks like a fucking work of art, so you better have some goddamn manners.”

Sitting at the end of the settee, Ellen cringed. She hoped JD couldn’t hear what was being said out on the porch. Mason, who sat in the adjacent wicker chair, reached over and patted her hand. As if she had spoken her thoughts aloud, he reprimanded the other men. “Hey, you two fathers, there’s a young, impressionable child listening.”

Mason looked towards the open window of the parlor where JD was watching his DVDs and then at Ellen and grinned. The suggestive nature of his smile made her edgy. When he and JD had returned from their ride, a relaxed Mason had finally greeted her with a gentleman’s kiss to the cheek, which only made Ellen hungry for his previous roguish caresses. 

“What the hell you talkin’ about, Rambo? We haven’t said one single cuss word. Relax, have some freaking crackers,” Mad Dog said as he pulled another bottle out of the cooler and handed it to Ellen. “And, especially for you, Ellen Abrams, a hard lemonade.”

Ellen smiled. “Thanks for remembering I don’t drink beer.” 

Mad Dog sank down into a wicker chair with a beer and a whiskey bottle. He poured some whiskey into his cup and then offered it to Mason. “I’d never forget you, Ellen.”

Mad Dog grinned, turning his attention to Sam.  “I told you, you were wasting your time fixing food. Bikers don’t care about fancy crackers and shit like that.”

“It was nice of you to go to all this trouble, Samantha,” Dee said and smiled. “Don’t pay any attention to these barbarians. Their idea of a good time is going to a swap meet and looking at motorcycle parts.”

“Don’t worry, I can handle it. As a freelance photographer, I’ve encountered rougher crowds,” said Samantha as she took the seat next to Ellen. 

“That must be a great job. Going around taking pictures of shit,” said Mad Dog.

Mad Dog smiled at Samantha. Sam smiled back, tossing her hair and then eying him as she took a sip of beer.

Her sister’s little flirtatious gesture made Ellen grin. Apparently Sam had also been charmed by Mad Dog, and a twinge of jealousy took Ellen by surprise.  She shouldn’t be. Sam had no problem attracting men, and she always had been the one to put an end to the relationship. Ellen wondered if her sister knew what a broken heart felt like. This budding infatuation would be interesting to watch. Ellen sipped on the lemonade.

“I’ll have to show you some of the pictures my little sister has taken, Mad Dog. She’s traveled all over the world.” Ellen proudly patted her sister’s thigh.

Mad Dog’s intimidating eyes fell on the two of them and, even in the darkness, Ellen saw Sam blush. He turned and looked straight ahead without comment, taking a drink of beer. Stretching out his legs, he sighed. “Will you look at all those stars?”

Like neon paint speckled on black canvas, the stars sparkled in a charcoal sky. 

A warm breeze moved deftly through the smooth, silky night and settled around the small party. The alcohol worked its magic, and the group began to laugh more readily. Occasionally JD could be heard through the open window as he recited lines from the movie he was watching. Every time Ellen heard him, she smiled. It was a comfort to hear his voice again; JD made the house come alive.

The group’s friendly banter turned to the highlights of the rally. The men related their stories to Samantha, most of which were exaggerated and at Ellen’s expense.

“I can’t believe you spent the night at a rally,” Samantha said in too loud a voice. “You’ve never been known as a risk taker, Ellen. You’ve always played it safe. So why did you get on Mason’s motorcycle and go with him?”

“I am so a risk taker!” Ellen defended herself.  

“No, you’re not.  You do everything by the book. In high school, you never went to any drinking parties or caused any sort of trouble. You went to college, met Mr. Right, graduated, taught one year, got married the next, two years later you have a kid, buy a house…. Everything is so predictable about your life.”

“My husband getting killed in an accident wasn’t predictable, nor was JD’s autism,” Ellen said as she sat up, squaring her shoulders, irritated by her sister’s jabs.

“You’ve always played by the rules, Ellen, and you know it.” Samantha flicked her sleek auburn hair over her shoulder.

“What’s so terrible about playing by the rules?”

“It’s boring.”

“Well, I guess I never had the luxury of being the irresponsible baby of the family. While you got to travel the world after college, I was working and married.”

“That was your choice. You could have done the same, but you wanted to play the part of the dutiful wife and mother.”

Mesmerized by the two sisters, Mason watched. Having grown up with only brothers he never experienced the dynamics of sisterhood.

Ellen turned to him and caught him smiling. “What’s so funny?”

Mason couldn’t resist stirring the pot. “Nothing’s funny. I’m waiting.”

“Waiting for what?” Ellen’s brown eyes snapped.

“When do the two of you start bitch slapping each other? Isn’t that what happens next?”

Ellen leaned over the arm of the chair, her mouth a tight line.  “How about I bitch slap you?”

Mason grinned. No longer fettered by his previous doubt and apprehension, he thought of the night she had provoked him to anger only to manipulate his passion and now the tables had turned.  “Are you going to do it with the whip I bought you?  In front of everyone?”

He arched his brows.

Samantha shot up from the wicker love seat. Her startled eyes wide with disbelief, she brought her hand to her throat. “Oh my God!” she gasped. “That was for the two of you?”

Mad Dog looked at Samantha. He pointed his beer bottle at her. “Don’t!”

Samantha glanced at him and then turned to Ellen.  “I can’t believe it!  Are you having a mid-life crisis?  First this biker lover,” Samantha said as she shook a finger at Mason, “and then I find that!”

She looked at Ellen in horror.

Ellen shook her head. “What are you talking about? Found what?”

“In the basement. That… that… room or whatever it is!”

“God damn it, Samantha, shut the hell up!” Mad Dog stomped his foot.

Ellen looked at Samantha and then to Mad Dog. He cast his gaze downward, rapping his finger-tips on the arms of the wicker chair. Ellen turned to Dee and Spider, but they sat silent, looking as baffled as she did. Mason choked on his whiskey as she turned her attention on him. “What did they find in the basement, Mason?”

A deadly silence fell among them. Mason looked up, smiling sheepishly, to hide his amusement. He took a deep breath and then exhaled. “Remember the road not taken, Ellen?”

“What?” She cocked her head to the side.

Mason sucked his lips into his mouth and then released them with a smack. “Remember the two paths of rose petals?”

“Yes.”

“Do you recall what the card said about the path leading down to the basement?”

Ellen looked puzzled. Mason helped her to remember. “The pleasures of our pain?”

He raised an eyebrow and waited. “I forgot to put things away.”  

Mason watched the blood rush to her face.

“Oh my God! What did my sister find down there, Mason?” She practically screamed the words.

“Don’t play coy, Ellen. You know what I saw!  The chains. Those cuffs. What if JD had gone down there?  How did you plan on explaining that to a ten-year-old boy?”

“Samantha, if you don’t shut the hell up, I’m going to come over there and gag you!” Mad Dog threatened.

Samantha turned on him. “Do you think a mother should leave something like that for a kid to find? Poor Paul! He’s probably turning over in his grave by now!”

Mason stood up. “Ellen didn’t leave those things there. I did.”

He moved closer to Samantha. “And why they’re there is not your concern. Besides, what were the two of you doing down in the basement?”

Samantha stood toe to toe with Mason. Her eyes sparked with anger. “That’s none of your business, you sick, perverted asshole!”

At that moment, JD came running out on the porch. “What’s going on out here?”

JD’s anxious voice punched a hole in Mason’s temper.  JD clutched the front of his mother’s blouse, pulling like he wanted to crawl underneath it.  “Mommy!”

JD turned his terrified eyes on Mason. “The stranger and Aunt Sam have gone mad with power! We need to call the police.”

“It’s all right, JD!” Ellen pulled him close. “They were having a discussion, but it’s over.”

“Do they have frustrations?”

Ellen nodded. “Yes, but they’re all gone now.  Right, Mason and Sam?” Ellen asked as she looked at the two of them.

Mason sat down, his chest heaving. JD got up and walked over to him.

“It’s all right,” JD said as he patted Mason’s shoulder. “Your autism is just too big.”

Mason couldn’t speak. Embarrassed by the boy’s simple display of concern, he hung his head. He knew so little about kids, much less one with autism. He had watched Rain Man.
Aren’t people with autism incapable of empathy?
  he wondered. He looked up at JD, who turned his head away. “JD, show me what I need to do when my autism is too big.”

JD went to his mother and aunt and sat between them.

“Mommy has to rub your back,” JD said to Mason. To Samantha JD asked, “Do you have frustrations?”

“Not anymore.” Sam smiled, hugging him into her side.

Mason looked at Ellen. She flashed him a smile so full of pride, it reconfirmed the admiration he felt toward her. She brushed something from her cheek. Mason wondered if it was a tear.
She has a right to be proud
, he thought. JD was impressive, like his mother.

“Go turn off your show now. It’s bedtime.”

Ellen kissed the top of his head.

“Are you going to rub his back?” JD asked.

“Later.” Ellen replied, looking at Mason.

He winked at her.

“Is the party over, Mommy?” JD asked as he laid his head on her arm.

“Yes,” Dee Dee said as she rose. “Spider and I are leaving now. It’s way past my bedtime.”

Spider stood up. Stretching his arms over his head, he yawned. “Guess you’re right, ole lady. I’m pretty tired.”

Spider put his arm around Dee’s waist. Dee Dee looked at JD and said, “JD, it was nice to have met you. You and your Mom are going to have to walk down to my house someday so you can come and play in my backyard. We’ve got a cool sprinkler that shoots water all over the place. Would you like that?”

“Yes,” JD responded flatly, never meeting Dee Dee’s gaze.

“It was fun, Ellen, and I love your house.” She looked over at Samantha. “Nice meeting you, Sam. I hope you’re still alive tomorrow morning. And, Mad Dog, you better be careful riding home tonight.”

“I thought I’d sack out at Rambo’s. I’m too fucking tired to drive home now, Oh, sorry, Ellen.”

“You said a swear,” JD said and then smiled.

“Yes, he did, but you and I don’t swear, remember? Now go turn off your movie,” Ellen told JD.

JD obeyed while Ellen bid Spider and Dee Dee a good night.

When they had gone, Ellen went to the front door. She wanted to give her three remaining guests a grand teacher lecture on appropriate adult behavior around children, but she refrained. She didn’t want JD to become frightened again.  However, she did speak in her strictest tone of voice. “I’m going to go upstairs to put JD to bed, and the three of you better be civil to one another. I don’t want to hear any hollering.”

Like chastised children the three bowed their heads. Ellen fought back a smile.  “Are you going to wait for me, Mason? I have to lay with JD until he falls asleep. Since this is his first night here it might be awhile.”

“I’ll wait.” Mason looked at her. His narrowed eyes, the tilt of his chin, and that maddening half smile made her want to be inside his head and discover the thoughts he never spoke.

She turned to her sister. “No more arguing?”

Samantha sighed. “No arguing.”

Ellen went into the house. As she climbed the stairs with JD in tow, exhaustion from the tumultuous events of the day made her weary. She wanted to crawl into her bed--but not without Mason.  She wished she could be more unpredictable and ask him to stay.