Where the Allegheny Meets the Monongahela (45 page)

to convert that resolution into the reality of seeing Sam Zales in person.

Eric was now at the point of true exasperation, and in their next

therapy session, he instructed Nick to pick a cut-off date. ―Set a fucking

deadline or admit you‘re never going to do it,‖ were his precise words.

―All right,‖ Nick snapped, his ire matching Eric‘s. ―I‘ll do it next

week. I‘ll call tomorrow and—oh, shit,― he exclaimed.

―What?‖

―Next week Logan‘s sister is coming to visit, and he‘s going to—

we’re
going to tell her.‖ When Eric continued to regard him with a

somewhat jaundiced expression, Nick explained, ―About us. You

know, being together.‖

―How long is she staying?‖

―One night.‖

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―And this grand one-night visit leaves you no time in an entire

week for a ninety-minute round trip to Fayette County?‖ Eric asked

archly.

―It isn‘t that, it‘s…. Well, coming out to your boyfriend‘s family

is enough excitement for one week, don‘t you think?‖

―For Logan, yes,‖ Eric sighed. ―For you? I‘m not so sure.‖ He

sipped his coffee before asking, ―Nick, what‘re you
really
waiting for?‖

As Nick frowned and ran a hand through his hair, Eric prodded, ―Don‘t

think, just answer. What is it you‘re waiting for?‖

When he complied with the psychiatrist‘s instructions, to his

surprise, Nick heard himself blurting, ―I‘m waiting for my mom to

die.‖ A near-gasp escaped after his candid utterance. ―Wow,‖ he said

softly.

―Wow, indeed.‖ Eric leaned forward, demanding eagerly,

―Expound on that immediately—don‘t take any time to put your rather

impressive defenses back up. Why do you want to wait?‖

―I don‘t know,‖ Nick answered honestly.

―Yes, you do. You just don‘t know that you do.‖ When Nick

rolled his eyes in response, Eric suggested, ―You‘re waiting so you can

accuse him of her murder—is that it?‖

―Maybe.‖

―That didn‘t sound very convincing. It seems that you might have

to give this some thought after all.‖

Neither man said anything as a few minutes ticked by. At last, his

mind working furiously, Nick drawled, ―I guess…. I guess it would be

like… like tying up all of the loose ends. Closing the book on that

whole chapter of my life, for once and for all, you know?‖

―I do know,‖ Eric agreed. ―You like things clearly delineated, all

boxed up, neatly squared away. That‘s probably one of the reasons that

you‘re such a master of compartmentalization. But life can‘t always

work that way.‖

Somewhat stung by that observation, Nick protested, ―I know

that!‖

Where the Allegheny Meets the Monongahela

281

Eric‘s wistful smile was almost fatherly as he agreed, ―Yes, you

know that in the abstract, and I‘m sure you recognize it about your

clients‘ lives. But in your own life, it‘s what you always strive for.‖

Nick couldn‘t find it in him to refute that observation. ―Okay, so?

So what does that mean for me?‖

―It means you need to get past this inclination. Medical school

may be a long time behind me, but I can tell you that your mom could

die tomorrow, or next month, or the month after that. This delay is

blocking you from progressing in your therapy. In this instance, you

cannot wait. You need to pick a firm date, pick it now, and stick with

it.‖

The truth of Eric‘s firm pronouncement left Nick with no wriggle

room. He gave it some thought, and though his idea was initially

nothing but pure sarcasm, the date held a twisted appeal. A wry smile

bloomed on his face as Nick proposed, ―How about the Ides of March?

That‘s a nice, auspicious day.‖

Eric cocked an eyebrow at Nick and gave a short laugh. ―Okay, as

long as you promise me no daggers will be involved.‖

―No worries, Doc. I‘m sure they have metal detectors there.‖

A FEW days after Nick‘s decision, Logan heard a car pull into the

driveway of the house in Observatory Hill. When a quick glance out the

front window confirmed that it was indeed his sister‘s Nissan

Pathfinder, he took a deep breath to settle his nerves and went out onto

the porch, trotting down the steps with a show of eagerness he didn‘t

actually feel. Logan greeted first Daisy and then his niece with a peck

on the cheek. He transferred his sister‘s overnight bag from her

possession to his own, asking, ―Did you‘ins have any trouble findin‘

the place?‖

―None at all,‖ Daisy answered, craning her neck to take in the

neighborhood before following her brother up the porch steps. ―Your

directions were real easy to follow.‖ She then turned around and

addressed her daughter. ―You could take that damn iPod thing outta

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your ears and say hello to your uncle, Lisa. Thank him for putting us

up.‖

Lisa deigned to remove one earbud and protested, ―I
did
say hi,

and he‘s not putting
me
up.‖ With the merest suggestion of smugness,

she added, ―I‘m spending the night at Carlow.‖

―Well, it‘s thanks to him that
I
don‘t have to pay for a hotel while

you‘re doing this slumber party thing at that college.‖

―Mo—ther!‖ Lisa huffed. ―It‘s an overnight in the dorms, not a

‗slumber party‘.‖ The teenager looked at her uncle, explaining, ―It‘s to

give us an idea of what it will be like next year. You know, living on

campus and that.‖

―Oh, God,‖ Daisy addressed her brother. ―If she‘s this impossible

now, I can‘t wait to see what a swelled head she‘ll have when she‘s

actually going to college.‖

Logan ushered his family into the house, staying determinedly

silent as the two women continued to bicker.

―I think your head‘s swelled worse than mine,‖ Lisa accused.

―Wasn‘t me that told every last person in Elco, Roscoe,
and
Stockdale

about me getting into Carlow.‖

―Well, ‘scuse me for bein‘ proud of my daught—‖ Daisy

suddenly seemed to notice her surroundings and interrupted herself

with a startled, ―Oh. This is real nice and homey, Logan. When you

said you had moved in with your friend, I have to admit I was picturin‘

some bare, ugly bachelor pad.‖

―Nice, Mom,‖ Lisa intoned sarcastically. ―Why don‘t you tell us

how you really feel.‖

―Oh, you hush. I can say what I want to my little brother, can‘t I,

Logan?‖

As Logan gave his sister a wan smile and answered, ―Sure can,‖

he couldn‘t help but wonder if the reverse were true.

Twenty-five minutes later, they had dropped a very happy Lisa

off at Carlow University, and Logan directed his sister on how to get

through the maze of streets onto the Penn Lincoln Parkway so they

Where the Allegheny Meets the Monongahela

283

could head to the Southside and see his new shop before meeting Nick

for an early dinner at The Liberty Grill.

―Good Lord, Logan,‖ Daisy exclaimed. ―Do you fight this kind of

traffic every day?‖

Logan shrugged off her concern. ―Nah. As early in the morning as

I head to the shop, it ain‘t so bad.‖

―Never took you for a city boy. What possessed you to buy this

place, anyway?‖

―It seemed like—‖ Logan stopped himself short and amended, ―It

was
the right opportunity. I like the place, it‘s the right size, and… and

I think I can see my way clear to turning a profit real soon.‖

Logan recognized that Daisy had offered him an opening into the

matter at hand—the real reason Logan was now living in Pittsburgh—

but his plan had been to speak to Daisy in the quiet of his shop, not

while his sister was navigating unfamiliar roads. To distract her, he

said, ―Besides, with Lisa at that city college next fall, ain‘t you glad

I‘m livin‘ not too far away?‖

―Guess so.‖ Daisy snorted in apparent amusement. ―Maybe she‘ll

even treat you better ‘an she‘s been treatin‘ me and Chuck.‖

―Aw, she seems like a pretty good kid,‖ Logan demurred.

Daisy‘s lips were set in a hard line as she concentrated on the

bridge traffic. As soon as they crossed over the Monongahela, she

relaxed slightly and explained, ―Well, she‘s gotten awful mouthy lately.

As I‘m sure you noticed.‖

―That seems to be the way of a lotta kids these days.‖

―Not your two.‖

―Not usually. But I see signs of Krista headin‘ that way. Meghan,

too, sometimes.‖

―Are they takin‘ the separation hard?‖

―Yeah, kind of,‖ Logan admitted, wiping his sweaty palms off on

his denim-clad knees, his anxiety ratcheting up with each passing mile.

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―Logan,‖ Daisy ventured, in a hesitant yet hopeful tone that let

her brother know exactly what was coming next. ―Ain‘t there no

chance that maybe you and Linda could work things—‖

―No,‖ Logan interrupted firmly, wanting to cut this conversation

short—for the time being.

―I never would‘ve thought Linda was the kind to hold such a

grudge.‖

―It ain‘t her—make a right here, on South 18th street,‖ Logan

directed, deciding he could hold off any further explanation until the

frank talk he had planned. By the time the Pathfinder was heading up

the steep driveway of his shop, his dread had grown until he felt it as a

choking cloud, filling the car and fouling the air until Logan felt

lightheaded from the effect. He strove mightily to appear nonchalant as

he jumped out to open the garage door and let his sister pull into one of

the shop bays.

Fortunately, Daisy seemed so occupied by her inspection of the

recently renamed ―Crane‘s Auto Clinic‖ that she was oblivious to his

display of nerves. After twenty minutes of idle chitchat mainly

composed of verbal comparisons of the present place to his shop in

Elco, Daisy finally said, ―It seems real nice, Lo.‖ She looked at her

brother, who was perched on the edge of the ancient desk he‘d inherited

from Dave. ―Though the location ain‘t too convenient. I mean, you sure

can‘t park any cars on that driveway, can you?‖

―Nope,‖ was the only answer Logan managed, as his mouth had

gone dry as dust as soon as he had entered the shop with his sister.

Indeed, all of his contributions to the conversation thus far had been

mostly monosyllabic.

―Still, it looks like the old owner at least put a new coat of paint

on the place for you.‖

―Actually,‖ Logan started, the word barely recognizable since his

voice had cracked and wheezed with anxiety. He stood up straight, took

a deep breath, and tried again. ―Actually, it was me, me and Nick, that

painted the place just two weeks ago.‖

Still wandering the small space, Daisy laughed brightly,

observing, ―You and this Nick sure have become thick as thieves,

Where the Allegheny Meets the Monongahela

285

haven‘t ya?‖ Not pausing for a response, she went on, ―You haven‘t

had a friend like that since—‖

Logan knew Daisy had stopped abruptly rather than give the

obvious name, it still being a sore point between them, but he was

having none of it. ―Since Jerry Sievers,‖ he finished for her.

―Yeah, well….‖ Daisy trailed off, looking decidedly

uncomfortable. ―Did you get all these tools—‖

He would have gladly let Daisy redirect the conversation, but

their visit had already run double the time Logan had allotted for it and

it was entirely possible that Nick was waiting at the diner for them by

now. With a monumental effort, Logan walked over to stand beside his

sister and forced himself to interrupt her by observing, ―You know…

they‘re kind of… you might say, they‘re kind of… similar.‖

Daisy‘s mind had obviously skipped on ahead, since she turned to

Logan with a puzzled frown. ―Who‘s similar?‖

―Nick and Jerry.‖

―Yeah, I guess. You restored a car with both of them, right?

Though with this Nick guy, you actually got to finish—‖

―I meant that… that…. You know how everyone always thought

Jerry was gay?‖

Daisy had gone very still. Almost timidly, she said, ―Yeah?‖

―Well, Nick is,‖ Logan stated, in the firmest voice he‘d managed

in almost an hour.

―Oh.‖ Daisy nervously straightened the straps of her handbag on

her arm before saying, ―I guess you‘re gonna run into that kind of

thing—I mean here in Pittsburgh they probably feel that it‘s—or

they‘re more, you know—‖ It was obvious that she was fumbling for

something inoffensive to say—and failing badly. ―I mean, I guess as

long as he doesn‘t bother you none about
that
, I guess there‘s nothing

wrong with it.‖

―It don‘t bother me—‖