VOLTINI
(OR HOW THE AMAZING VOLTINI CAME INTO MY LIFE)
By
Tim Myers
VOLTINI
(OR HOW THE AMAZING VOLTINI CAME INTO MY LIFE)
by Tim Myers
Smashwords Edition
Copyright © 2010 Tim Myers
All rights reserved.
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Chapter 1
“Chaz, we need to talk.” Those are the five words that strike terror in my heart when they come from my girlfriend Summer. She said them between first and second periods with a somber tone that made me want to run like the wind before I heard the particular part of me she thought needed improvement this time. With her strawberry blonde hair and pale blue eyes, she took my breath away every time I looked at her, but her ‘talks’ were enough to make me want nothing more than to escape. My locker door was open, and the hall was full of other kids reloading their books between classes. Maybe if I distracted her, I could slip away before I heard the follow-up to what she was thinking.
“Is that Jack Blaze over by the water fountains?” Blaze was her favorite movie star, and I thought that even the hint that he was visiting Jenkins High would make her look.
No such luck.
“Chaz, this is serious.” Oh, Boy, I was batting a thousand. Summer is the poster child for High Maintenance, a girlfriend who demands constant attention and special consideration. When I forgot our one month anniversary, you would have thought I ran over her foot from the way she carried on. Even the dozen roses I gave her barely soothed her hurt feelings. The flowers cost me the spark plugs I’d been on my way to buy for my 1965 Mustang when I’d bumped into her downtown. Getting my car running has been my goal in life, at least the past two years of it. Long ago I’d set the target date for completion to coincide with the day I got my driver’s license, but my birthday came and went two months ago, and my car still wasn’t running yet.
I wondered what part I’d have to sacrifice this time when Summer said, “It’s about your car.”
Finally she was taking an interest in it. “I’m so close I can taste it, Summer. I figure in another three weeks, it’ll be running like a top.” If you don’t make any more demands on my meager funds, I added to myself.
She frowned cutely at me. “Do you mean that, Chaz?”
“Absolutely,” I said with more assurance than I felt. I’d done a thousand things to the Mustang since I’d traded it for a year of lawnmowing and working as a handyman for Mrs. Jeffries. The car had belonged to her son, and it was in pretty rough shape when I made the deal, since it had been sitting out back through ten years of all kinds of weather. Still, it was a car, and it was the only way I’d get my hands on one, so I’d jumped on it with both feet. Since then, it’s been a drain on my job jar, taking the money as fast as I could earn it.
Instead of the ‘all clear’ sign on her face I’d been hoping for, there were still storm clouds in Summer’s eyes. “I hope you’re right. I can’t be expected to take a bus on my dates much longer, now can I?”
“It was one time, Summer, and Mom needed our car.” It’s just Mom and Jenny and me at home, and we have a standing house rule: the good of the family comes before the good of any one of us. Dad had been gone so long it was as if he’d never been there. I was four when he left, Mom pregnant with Jenny and me just starting pre school. Mom had wiped every trace of him out of our lives, throwing away every photograph that even hinted of their time together, and his image had faded into a fuzzy memory of a man built entirely of shadows.
Eric Granger came by my locker and leaned lightly against the wall beside us. “Hi, Summer. You look wonderful today.” Eric wore his neatly laundered and pressed football jersey over his clothes, as if anyone could forget he was our star quarterback.
“Thanks, Eric,” she said as she smiled enough to show her dimples.
“You look smashing yourself, Eric my boy,” I said with a grin.
Eric ignored my comment, focusing on Summer instead. “It was great seeing you.” He glanced at his watch, then said, “Excuse me, I’ve got to run.”
Like he had somewhere more important he needed to be! And the crack about seeing her was total hot air. He’d wormed his way onto the same bench with her in Chemistry in third period, so I knew he’d see her again in less than an hour!
After he was gone, Summer said, “Chaz, are you sure about the Mustang?”
I started getting suspicious. “Why are you so interested in my car all of a sudden?”
She looked down at the books in her arms and said, “I need a boyfriend with his own car, Chaz. I’m sorry, but that’s the way it is.”
Was she looking at Eric when she said it? He’d been born with hundred dollar bills in both hands, and his parents had presented him with a brand new Porsche on his sixteenth birthday. This was getting serious. I’d have to get Stinger, that’s what I called my Mustang, on the road soon if I was going to keep my girlfriend.
I was still staring after her when I heard the locker beside me slam shut.
“Hey, Chaz, what world are you in?”
“Ren, it’s nice to see a friendly face. You want to come over after school and work on Stinger with me?”
He said with a smile, “You’d better believe it. Without me, you’d manage to foul something up.”
I grinned at him. “Yeah, between the two of us, we make one good mechanic.”
“I don’t know if I’d go that far. Three quarters, maybe.”
Ren and I have been friends since the Second Grade, when he made me laugh so hard in the cafeteria chocolate milk squirted out my nose. I can call him at two in the morning with a problem and all he wants to know is how he can help. It’s nice to have a friend you can count on, and Ren’s mine.
The bell clanged in the hall signaling the next class, and I grabbed my books and slammed my locker shut. Stinger would have to wait until after school. If my grades dropped below a B average, Mom would ban me from working on my car for a full grading period, and we were getting ready for our quarterly final exams. She hadn’t been thrilled about me sinking every dollar and every spare minute I had into the car, but she’d gone along with it, as long as I kept my grades up.
And Trigonometry was endangering my plans.
Irene Hickering, my next door neighbor and a year younger than me, bumped into me as I stepped away from my locker. We’ve been friends forever, even after her growth spurt when she shot up four inches over my head. Lately though, she’d been acting odd around me, odd even for her.
“Chaz, come on, we’re going to be late.”
Irene’s a real brain, taking Trig a year early and ruining the grading curve for the rest of us with her batch of perfect test scores.
“I’m coming,” I said as I nodded to Ren. He just smiled as Irene and I walked away. I wondered what was so amusing, but I didn’t have time to ask. Mrs. Tryant wasn’t one to tolerate tardiness in her class, and I had enough trouble with her as it was.
I’d have to forget the Mustang, even try to forget the look in Summer’s eyes if I was going to bring my Trig grade up to where I needed it.
Somehow I made it through the rest of my classes.
Ren and I walked home after school, talking about our plans for life after Stinger was on the road. We’d already taken a thousand road trips in our minds as we worked, exploring the country from California to the Florida Keys and back again.
“You want to get something to eat before we get started,” I asked as we got closer to my house.
“Why not,” he said. As we turned the corner, Ren said excitedly, “Hey Chaz, what’s your Mom doing home?”
Mom’s an accountant at UltraCom, and she never gets home before Five. “I don’t know. The only thing I can figure is Jenny must be sick.”
“You want to take a raincheck on the car? It’ll still be there tomorrow.”
“No, there’s nothing I can do to help. Come on, let’s get something to eat first, and I can check on the squirt.”
The first thing I saw when I walked in the door was a pile of luggage that looked as if it had been around the world a time or two. Then I heard voices coming from the kitchen. As I walked through the hallway, I could hear my mom crying, and a man telling her everything was going to be all right.
“Mom, what’s wrong?”
I looked at the stranger, sizing him up in a heartbeat. He appeared to be a few inches taller than me; that would put him somewhere around six feet tall. I’m built like a tree trunk, while this man was as thin as a willow branch. He had gray touching each temple, but the rest of his hair was jet black. When he turned at my voice, I saw the darkest brown eyes I’d ever seen in my life.
Mom was dabbing at her eyes with a tissue, and the stranger had one of her hands clutched in both of his.
“Mom?” Since I’d been four, I’d been the man of the house, and I wasn’t about to tolerate someone making trouble for my mother.
“It’s okay, Chaz,” she said as she wiped away the last tear. She stood and brushed the wrinkles from her skirt. “Son, I’d like you to meet your Uncle Coop.”
“I’ve got an uncle,” I asked. “Why haven’t I ever heard about him?”
Mom looked at the shredded tissue in her hands. “He’s traveled a lot, dear.”
Coop said, “The truth of it is, your mother and I had a falling out a long time ago. That’s why I’m here, to mend fences.”
Mom cried again as she embraced him. “Coop, none of that matters now.”
After he and Mom hugged, Coop extended a hand. It took me two seconds to take it, and when I did, it was the quickest handshake I could manage. He didn’t seem to notice. “You’ve grown into a fine looking young man since the last time I saw you.”
“I’ve never seen you before in my life,” I said abruptly.
“Chazwell,” Mom said harshly, “Don’t you dare take that tone.”
“It’s all right, Elizabeth,” the man said. “I’ve been gone a long time. Too long.” He turned back to me, and I fought the penetrating stare of his bottomless eyes. “Chaz, it’s my fault I haven’t been around. I know I haven’t been a very good uncle to you.”
Mom said, “Coop, you don’t have to .”
The man interrupted my Mom. “It’s okay, Sis. I’m not expecting him to welcome me with open arms. He has a right to be suspicious of a strange man coming into his house and shaking things up.”
The last thing in the world I wanted this man to do was to justify my behavior to my mother. I tried to lighten my tone as I offered my hand again. “Sorry, I just saw Mom crying and .”
Coop nodded as he took my hand again, this time squeezing it warmly. “I’d do the same thing in your position.”
I’d forgotten all about Ren as he brushed past me and stuck out his hand. “My name’s Ren. It’s nice to meet you, Mr....”
“Plain old Coop is good enough for me.”
“Well,” Ren said, “I’d better hit the road. Catch you later, Chaz.”
“I’ll give you a call,” I said as Ren left, forgetting for the moment all about our plans to work on the Mustang.
The three of us stood there for a few awkward moments when the telephone rang.
As Mom reached for it, I said, “So what do you do for a living?”
Coop smiled as he said, “I’m an illusionist. At least I used to be. Now I’m retired.”
Retired? The guy couldn’t have been a day over 45, and he was retired? That wasn’t my biggest question though. “You mean you’re a magician?”
“I’ll accept that moniker,” he said, “but I focused on the Spectacular Illusion when I was in my prime.”
Mom got off the telephone with a frantic look on her face. “That was Jenny’s school. She fell off the swings on the playground. They think she may have broken her arm. We’ve got to meet her at the hospital.”
Jenny was the daredevil of the family, always trying things she shouldn’t be doing, like climbing to the top of the tallest tree, dancing on the jungle gym, or riding her bike standing up with her feet on the seat. Jenny’s had one ambition since she could crawl; she wants to join the circus when she grows up.
I used to wonder where she got it from, but now I knew.
It looked like that particular brand of insanity ran strong in my family.
Thank goodness it had missed me.
I grabbed my coat as Coop got his. I hadn’t expected him to come along, and honestly, I wanted some time alone with Mom to find out more about this mysterious uncle, but I couldn’t figure out a polite way to ask him to stay behind.
At least he had the decency to let me have the front seat.
Mom said, “Chaz, why don’t you let Coop sit up front?”
He protested, “I like it just fine where I’m at. Let’s go, Elizabeth.”
They had the cast on Jenny’s arm by the time we got there. My little sister has flaming red hair and green eyes like a cat. She’s okay, for a kid, though she drives me crazy at times with her wild stunts.
The first thing she did was to run up and hug Mom. “I’ve got to keep this stupid thing on for two weeks, can you believe it,” she said as she raised the pristine white plaster cast into the air.
Jenny stared openly at Coop the second she realized he was with us.
“Who’s this,” she asked.
“It’s your Uncle Coop,” Mom said.
Jenny flung herself at him, wrapping Coop in her embrace. “I have an uncle? For real? How cool is that? Uncle Coop. That’s so wild.”
Coop seemed to enjoy the attention from my little sister. “How’s your arm, kiddo,” he asked gently.
“It hurts a little,” she admitted.
Coop nodded, then waved his hands in the air and pulled out a bouquet of paper flowers. Where in the world did they come from? I could have sworn he hadn’t had them when we left the house.
Jenny grinned broadly up at him. “How in the world did you do that?”
“In another life, I was known as The Amazing Voltini.”
Jenny squealed with delight. “You’re a real magician? Unbelievable. Can you teach me?”
“Whatever I can.” He smiled gently. “Or should I say whatever you’re willing to learn.”
“Oh man, I want to learn everything!”
I was starting to get the feeling that this was going to be more than just a drive by visit. It looked as if Coop was going to be hanging around for a while. The thought seemed to thrill Mom and Jenny, but it didn’t do too much for me.
I wasn’t quite so eager to welcome back the uncle I never knew.
But I’d work on it.
Chapter 2
“Chaz, I need a big favor.”
Mom and I were finally alone in the kitchen; Jenny and Coop were in the living room, having their first lesson in Magic 101 for all I knew.
“What do you need, Mom?”
She looked down at her hands. “I want to give Coop the basement.”
I started to protest when she held up a hand. “I know it’s your space, but he needs a way to get in and out on his own. Please? I won’t make you, but it would mean a lot to me.”
I’d worked long and hard to carve a living space out of our basement during my last Christmas break from school. Every day Ren came over and we hammered nails, mounted drywall and painted until it was tough to see the original colors of our hides. But after sixteen days, we had the space done, with all my stuff in place.
“Where am I supposed to sleep,” I asked between gritted teeth.
“Your old room. We can move your hammock up there, and a few other things you think you’ll need.”
I stared at my hands, biting back words that I couldn’t take back. Since I was a kid, Mom has drilled the phrase, ‘for the good of the family’ into me since I could repeat it backwards in my sleep. But did an uncle I never knew I had count as family? One look in Mom’s eyes told me that he did.
“Okay, I’ll move tonight.”
She surprised me by wrapping me in her arms and hugging me tight. Mom knows how I feel about displays of affection, but I didn’t squirm too much. For some reason, it felt like she needed somebody to hang onto. “I love you,” she said.
“Love you too,” I whispered lightly.
Breaking free, I said, “I’d better get to work on the car. I’ve still got time before we eat.”
“Chaz, do you have to work on it today? Your uncle just got here.”
Summer’s ultimatum hovered in my mind. “Sorry Mom, but I really need to.”
“Need to what,” Coop asked as he and Jenny joined us in the kitchen.
“Work on my Mustang.”
“The ‘65 out back? She’s a real beauty.”
Stinger’s a lot of things, but beautiful is not one of them. At least not yet. I plan to have her painted cherry red after I’m done with the mechanical work. She’ll be a sight then, but at the moment she had more Bondo and gray Primer than she did original paint. I looked to see if he was teasing me, but I saw a steady, serious gaze in his eyes.
“She’s gonna be,” I agreed.
“If you need any help,” he said lightly, “I’m whizbang good on advice.”
“Nope, I’ve got it covered.”
I could see Mom start to say something as I added, “Thanks anyway.”
Before Mom could say another word, Coop said, “Jenny, get me a deck of cards and I’ll teach you your first trick.”
“Cool,” she squealed as she hurried to the bookcase where we keep our games. Mom’s big on Family Time with capital letters. Instead of computer and video games like my friends had, I was an expert at Monopoly, Clue, Can’t Stop, Scrabble, UpWords and a dozen other games. I got in enough of the other stuff at Ren’s house anyway.
Mom looked at me sadly as I rushed out the back door. I hated to disappoint her, but I had a new deadline for the Mustang, and it was one I couldn’t postpone. I quickly looped around to the basement and slipped into my room to call Ren. That was one of the reasons I loved living downstairs; not that I used it all that much, but it was cool having my own entrance.
“Come on over,” I said when Ren picked up.
“Your uncle still there?”
“Yeah, but he’s teaching Jenny some card tricks.”
Ren paused a second, then said, “Be right there.”
He lives two blocks down from me, and he got there in five minutes. Ren has a car of his own, but his folks won’t let him take it to school, or even drive over to my house. They tell him it’s good for him to get out and walk, but he’s under the impression that he was switched at birth with a kid who was currently enjoying his true, cool parents.
There were times when I envied Ren having a Mom and a Dad, but our family made out okay without another man around for a dozen years, and I for one didn’t see any reason for that to change. I just hoped Coop wasn’t trying to step in and take my place. Mom had gone out with a few guys over the years, but none of them seemed to click. I’d grown used to it being just the three of us, and I wasn’t eager for that to end.
Jenny might be dazzled by my uncle’s magic tricks, and Mom had to be happy to have her brother back in her life, but I kind of liked being the man of the house, and I wasn’t in any hurry to give it up to an uncle I didn’t know, even if it was just for a visit and not forever.
At least I hoped it wasn’t forever. From the stack of bags in the entry it looked as though he’d brought everything he owned with him.
Sometime later I was going to have to have a talk with Mom about just how long Coop was planning to stay.
“Try it again, Ren.”
I had my head under the hood of the Mustang, trying to figure out why it wouldn’t start. We’d done everything by the book working on the engine; at least I thought so. Now I was beginning to wonder.
Nothing. Not a growl, a grumble, a click or a snicker.
Ren came out and joined me. We both peered silently at the engine, searching for a clue neither of us could see. I grabbed the repair manual that had become our lifeline and started flipping to the Troubleshooting pages in back for the millionth time. Luckily, we’d found a Chilton’s repair manual that covered 1965-1973 Mustangs at a used book place downtown, buried under a sea of Romance novels and faded mysteries. The pages were stained with the grease from our hands, and I wouldn’t trade the book for anything except a brand new Mustang of my own. Or this one, running and ready to go. Or any car that had four wheels, a working engine, a steering wheel and a place to sit.
I said, “Okay, let’s start from scratch. Battery.”
Ren said, “I checked it yesterday when it wouldn’t start then, remember? Besides, the thing’s only a week old.”
“Let’s check it anyway.”
Ren and I studied it for a few seconds, but outside, the battery still looked fine. We popped off the terminals, and both connections were as clean as could be. There was no reason they shouldn’t be; we’d reamed the clamps a dozen times in the past six days. We tested each cell of the battery again, and came up with good readings across the board.
“What’s next,” Ren asked.
I checked the book. “We test the starter motor.”
“How do we do that?”
I handed him a jumper I’d made myself to carry voltage from one post of the solenoid to the other. “One end goes here,” I said as I put it in place, “and the other one right here.” I touched the second post and nothing happened.
“That’s what I was afraid of,” I said. “The starter solenoid’s bad. It kind of buzzed last week, and now there’s nothing.”
“So you have to buy a new one,” Ren said, the sadness obvious in his voice.
“If I want her to run I do.”
“Do you have enough cash?”
I thought about the state of my job jar, and how bare it looked. “I don’t know. I’ll get a price later. Right now all I want to do is give up.”
Ren slapped me on the shoulder. “You can’t do that. We’re so close.” He scuffed at the ground, then said, “My offer’s still good. I’d be happy to loan you the money to fix her up. You don’t even have to be in any hurry to pay me back.”
I shook my head. “I appreciate the offer, Ren, but you know I can’t do it. Mom and I had a deal. I either fix this on my own, with money I make myself, or I don’t. Nobody can bail me out.”
“I know, I know. I just wanted you to know the offer was still open.”
I slammed the hood shut. “Well, I guess we’re done for the night. Want to come in?”
Ren glanced at his watch. “No, I’d better make tracks. Mom wants me home in time for dinner tonight. I can’t imagine why.”
“Maybe because you ate the last three nights with us,” I said with a smile.
“Why can’t my mom cook like yours? It’s like prison food, compared to what you get.”
I punched him lightly. “You’ll have to just suffer through.”
“Suffer is the key word, my friend. I guess I’d better go.”
Before he left, I said, “Ren, thanks again for the offer.”
He smiled. “How else am I ever going to get to cruise around in this baby,” he said as he stroked the hood of the car one last time before taking off.
I used some Gunk on my hands, a cleaner that will take stains off a sidewalk, then dried my hands on a towel. I couldn’t put it off any longer. It was time to go inside and get to know my uncle, if for no other reason than for my mother’s sake.
I found Mom in the kitchen making homemade pasta while Coop sat in a chair at the table talking to her. “Where’s Shorty?”
“She’s upstairs calling all her friends, gloating about her new cast.”
I shook my head as I opened the fridge and reached for a Coke. “She’s a maniac.”
Coop asked, “Any luck with the Mustang?”
I shook my head. “Not really. It looks like I need a new starter motor solenoid.”
Mom raised one eyebrow as she fed more pasta dough through the cutter segment of her pasta machine. “Is it expensive?”
“I don’t know, I haven’t called yet.”
Before Coop could say anything else, I added, “I’ll go call now.”
“Chaz, I’m boiling water soon.”
“It won’t take long, Mom.”
I skidded downstairs and called the number for Auto Al’s, a number I knew by heart. Jayce answered the phone, and I suddenly felt better. Jayce has taken a real interest in my Mustang, offering tips and advice without much prodding on my part.
“Jayce, I’m in a jam. I need a price on a starter motor solenoid for the Mustang.”
“Chaz, you are one determined kid. When are you going to give up?”
“As soon as I’ve got her running,” I said.
He laughed so loud I had to hold the telephone away from my ear. “I been there,” he said. “Give me a second, I’ll get a price for you.”
As I waited, my eyes wandered back to the money jar. My fingers were crossed so tightly I thought my hand was going to freeze up. The price just had to be in reach.
He came back on a lifetime later and said, “I hope you’ve got some cash squirreled away, big guy.”
My heart sank. “Just give me the bad news.”
He laughed. “Man, I’m sorry, I know that was cruel. A new solenoid’s seven bucks.”
I suddenly realized I’d been holding my breath. “That I can afford.”
“If that doesn’t do it, you’ll need a whole starter motor, Chaz. It’s separate from the solenoid, but don’t worry, it only runs $26.99.”
“Thanks, Jayce. If I rush through dinner, I can be there before closing.”
“See you then, Sport.”
I counted the money in my jar again. I had $43.29. Enough to cover the starter motor if I had to. But I was hoping I didn’t have to.
I should be able to make it with what I had.
If nothing else went wrong.
As I walked upstairs, I wondered what the chances of that were.
Coop asked, “How bad was it?”
“Seven bucks if I’m lucky.”
“And if you’re not,” he asked knowingly.
“A whole new starter motor is around twenty seven bucks. Have you worked on cars before yourself?”
Coop nodded. “I’ve got a beauty myself, a ‘59 Cadillac Eldorado. She’s a cream puff.”
“Where is it?”
“I’ve got it in storage. Being on the road so much, I didn’t drive it much, but she’s in excellent condition.”
“Okay you two, out of my kitchen while I wrap this up. I need five minutes of uninterrupted silence while I create my masterpiece. Chaz, would you set the table since Jenny’s arm is hurting?”
“From the way she’s acting, I’ve got the feeling it’s doing fine,” I said as I grabbed the plates.
“She puts on a brave front, but that doesn’t mean she’s not in pain.” Mom looked at Coop, who refused to meet her gaze.
He said, “You need a hand setting the table?”
I nodded. “Why not? You can get the silverware.”
“Coming up.”
As we worked together, I suddenly realized that it could be really cool having another man around the house to talk to, especially about cars. Mom and Jenny didn’t even pretend to be interested in the Mustang, but Coop knew just the right questions to ask. He even had a story or two to tell himself about cars he’d had in the past.
Maybe, just maybe, it wouldn’t be so bad having him around after all.
Chapter 3
Coop pushed away from the table with a broad smile on his face. “Elizabeth, you’re an even better cook than you were before. By any chance are we going to be getting some broccoli soup soon?”
Mom laughed as I cleared away the dishes. “Don’t count on it.”
“What’s so funny,” Jenny asked.
Coop said, “When we were teenagers, your mother decided to make dinner one night for the family. She chose broccoli soup.”
“It was dad’s favorite,” Mom added.
“Well, Elizabeth decided to experiment with the preparation. It was a little lumpy, so she put it in the blender and hit Puree. Instead of the beautiful golden soup with chunks of broccoli in it, she made some concoction that was the ugliest shade of green I’ve ever seen in my life.”
“It was still good though, wasn’t it,” Mom added.
Coop winked at Jenny as he said, “If you closed your eyes, it was delicious.”
I finished stacking the dishes by the sink and grabbed Mom’s car keys. “I’ve got to get to Auto Al’s before they close.”
Mom said, “Why don’t you ask your uncle to go along with you?”
“I want to go, too,” Jenny piped up.
“You have homework, young lady, broken arm or no broken arm.”
“Aw, man, Chaz gets to do all the fun stuff.”
I didn’t have time to debate who was riding with me. “You’re welcome to come along if you want.”
Coop looked as if he was going to get up, then shook his head. “You’d better go on without me. I’ve got a bad case of jet lag.”
“Okay,” I said as I rushed out before Mom could change his mind. It was pretty obvious what she was doing, trying to throw us together so we’d get to know each other. She’d just have to wait. I wanted to do it on my own, without any help from her or anyone else besides Ren. The funny thing was, I found myself starting to like him, despite my earlier feelings. For one thing, he wasn’t trying to take over the house at all, like I’d been afraid of at first. He’d done just the opposite, trying to get along with all of us without disrupting our setup. I had to like him for that.
I got to Auto Al’s two minutes before closing. Jayce met me at the door with the solenoid in his hand as I forked over the cash.
“You want a receipt,” he asked as I turned away.
“Go ahead and run one. I’ll pick it up later.”
“You’re always in a hurry, Chaz. You need to take time to smell the flowers.”
Flowers! That made me think of Summer. I hadn’t called her yet, and she’d be expecting to hear from me. I had a sudden thought! I’d run by the florist and see if I could find something within my budget, then take it to her house. Summer was a pushover for gallant gestures; the money wasn’t all that much a factor. What she liked was knowing that I was thinking about her, all day, every day. If she knew how much time I spent thinking about the Mustang instead of her, she would have dropped me on the spot.
I got to MidTown Florists just as they were closing. I was definitely on a roll! Sandy Hames was locking the door as I ran up.
“Sandy, can I have one minute?” We were on a first name basis, since I was constantly shopping there, buying flowers for Summer.
“Not tonight, Chaz. I’ve got a date.”
“Please,” I asked, folding my hands together in mock prayer.
She laughed as she unbolted the door. “One minute, and then I’m throwing you out.”
As I slipped inside, I said, “Speaking of throwing out, do you have anything that’s just about ready to go out the back door? I’m kind of short right now.”
“Don’t tell me, you’ve been buying parts for your car again, right?” I’d talked to Sandy about my two loves, Summer and the Stinger, and she’d been sympathetic to my plight.
I nodded. “Guilty as charged. What do you say, can you give me a ‘frequent buyer’ discount?”
“You’re hopeless, you know that, don’t you?”
“It’s either that or I go through your dumpster after you’re gone.”
She moved quickly to the display case and selected a single red rose that had opened fully and was just starting to drop its petals. A bit of greenery, a sprig of Baby’s Breath added to the mix, and it was all wrapped up in green paper before I could reach for my wallet.
Sandy said, “This one’s on the house, big spender.”
“You are a jewel and a friend,” I said as I took the offering from her.
She held up a finger and shook it at me. “Just don’t tell anybody about this. I’m running a business, not a charity for the lovelorn.”
“You think I’m going to spread it around that I’m too poor to buy my girlfriend flowers? Thanks again,” I said as she let me out.
I made it to Summer’s house and stood waiting at the front door five minutes before anyone answered. She finally came out after the second time I leaned on the doorbell. The flowers were behind my back.
“I didn’t know you were coming over, Chaz,” she said as she touched her hair lightly. It looked perfect to me before she even adjusted it.
“I thought I’d surprise you. The surprise was almost on me when you didn’t answer the door.”
“I was on the telephone, and Mom and Dad are out.”
I produced the rose, happy that the porch light was too dim to show the true state of my offering.
Summer swooped up the rose and held it to her chest. “Why Chaz, how sweet you are.”
She leaned over and kissed me on the cheek, then put a hand on my chest and pushed. “Now you must go home. Mom and Dad will be back any second.”
The smile on her face was all I’d hoped for. Maybe she’d forget the ultimatum about the Mustang.
Just as I was to the top step, she said, “As much as I appreciate the gesture, perhaps you’d better spend your money getting your car fixed. You’re running out of time, you know.”
“I’m nearly there,” I said as I headed back to Mom’s car. Wow. It was even more serious than I thought. If Summer was willing to give up flowers for car parts, I knew she wasn’t fooling. There was a lot riding on me getting the Mustang running, and it had to be soon.
I was glum when I walked back into the house. Mom said, “That took forever. Did you get your part?”
I nodded. “I got Summer a rose and took it to her while I was out.”
“I’m sure she loved that.”
“You’d think so, wouldn’t you,” I said glumly.
Mom put a hand on my shoulder. “Is something wrong, honey?”
“No, I’m fine.” Like I was ready to share my love life problems with my Mom. Please.
She watched me a second, then said, “I need you to move your hammock upstairs, then show your uncle your room.”
“Okay. It won’t take long.”
I retrieved my hammock and went upstairs, glad I’d kept the hooks in the walls when I’d vacated my old room. Most people I know sleep on a mattress, but I don’t know how they do it. For me, the perfect bed is my rope hammock, swaying gently with each movement, cradling me in its embrace.
“Where is he,” I asked when I got back downstairs.
“He’s telling Jenny about some of his illusions.” She paused, then added, “I saw him perform once in Charlotte. He didn’t know I was there, but I had to see him, so I bought a ticket and watched his act. He was wonderful,” she said wistfully.
“What happened between the two of you,” I asked.
“I don’t want to get into it now, Chaz, it’s water under the bridge.”
I was tired of being treated like a child. “Mom, you bring this stranger into our home and tell me he’s my uncle. Don’t I have a right to know why he was missing in action all these years?”
“I suppose so.” She took a deep breath, then said, “When our Mom and Dad died in that car wreck, they left everything to Coop and me. I wanted to keep the house where we grew up, but Coop wanted to sell it. He needed the money for a stake to start up his act. We fought about it until I was sick of arguing about it, and in a moment of weakness I agreed. What I didn’t realize was that he had a buyer for the house already lined up. The ink wasn’t even dry on the paperwork when he sold it.” She said softly, “It took a long time for me to get over it. I still miss the place.”
“So why now? What brings him back for reconciliation after all these years?”
She was just starting to answer when I heard Coop’s footsteps coming down the hall. Mom whispered, “Enough ancient history, Chaz. Would you take your uncle’s bags downstairs?”
I nodded, wondering if Mom would ever tell me the rest of the story. Coop watched me grab a bag and said, “Here, let me help you.”
Before I could hand him the bag, Mom said, “Chaz can do it, Coop. I’d like to talk to you about something.”
Coop looked at me and asked, “Is that okay with you?”
“I’ve got it covered.” It didn’t take a genius to see the look in Mom’s eyes. I didn’t envy Coop. I’d had that same expression directed at me more times than I cared to admit. Mom meant business about something, and she wasn’t going to back down.
After I got his stuff settled, I closed the door to my room and checked my handiwork. No cracks, no edges showing; it was perfect. Ren and I built my room as a secret space. I don’t know why, except we both thought it was cool at the time. On the wall where my door is, we hinged studs to make a door that swings open easily. Then we covered the wall with drywall, putting trim between the sheets instead of taping the joints. We did this for a couple of reasons. One was that the hardest thing about putting up drywall is covering the joints where two pieces meet. With wooden trim covering the gaps, it looked finished after we slapped on a couple of coats of paint. The second reason we did it was to hide the gaps in the door frame. I’d spent a lot of time with an old miter box, getting the bevel cuts on the top and bottom of the door just right to match up to the other molding. The wood that hid the hinge was split longways, leaving a crack that was tough to see in the dim light of the rest of the basement.
I was just starting up the stairs when Coop started down. “You ready for me yet,” he asked.
“All set.”
It took him forever to get down the steps. He’d seemed spry enough before, but the travel must have really taken something out of him.
“You okay,” I asked.
“Fine,” he snapped, then immediately changed his tone. “I’m just beat, that’s all.”
I waited patiently until he made it down the stairs, then I stood there silently, waiting for him to ask me where my room was.
Without hesitating, he walked to the door and pushed the right place. As the door swung open, I said, “Mom told you, didn’t she?”
He grinned at me. “She didn’t say a word.”
“Then how could you tell? I thought I did a nearly perfect job hiding it.”
“You did an outstanding job, Chaz. But remember, I made my living by creating illusions.” He ran his fingers over the exposed molding at its break. “You’ve got the makings of a first rate illusionist yourself. This is nicely crafted.”
The last thing in the world I wanted to be was a magician. I left that crazy stuff for my sister. I wasn’t sure exactly what I wanted to do with my life yet, but waving my hands on a stage and making rabbits pop out of my coat wasn’t high on my list.
Coop put a hand on my shoulder. “It’s a fine job, Chaz. I’m truly impressed.” He grinned broadly, then said, “And what better place for a retired magician to spend time in than a secret room? You honor me, my friend.”
My friend? Is that how he thought of me? As an equal? He must have read the expression on my face. “I realize it’s too late to be an uncle to you, too much time has passed for that. Jenny, maybe, but you’re nearly a grown man. But I would be honored if you would consider me your friend.” He held out a hand, and I took it uncertainly.
“What do you say?”
“I’d like that,” I answered, surprised by my own response.
“Good enough, then. I appreciate you giving up your bed and your room for me.”
I pointed to the bed I’d put in for Ren when he bunked with me. “That’s Ren’s. I sleep in a hammock.”
He laughed at the news. “How in the world do you keep from falling out at night?”
“I can’t imagine sleeping any other way.”
Coop nodded. “I’ll take your word for it.” He stifled a yawn, then said, “Now if you’ll excuse me, I think I’m going to call it a night. Tell your Mom I turned in.” He patted me warmly on the shoulder, then added, “It’s good to be here, Chaz. Thank you.”
“Hey, like Mom said, you’re part of the family.”
He didn’t answer, but as Coop turned away, I swear I spotted a tear in his eye. Had I done something wrong, said something to upset him? Just when I thought I was beginning to understand Coop, something happened to make me throw everything I’d learned out and start over.
As I walked back up the stairs, I wondered if I’d have time to install the solenoid I’d bought before lights out. Mom wouldn’t be happy if I started banging away in the dark.
I’d have to wait until tomorrow after school. Too much time was getting away from me, and as I slipped into my hammock, I could see the expression on Summer’s face as she’d reminded me of her deadline.
Who had she been talking to, anyway? I had forgotten to ask, assuming she’d been speaking with one of her friends. They seemed to talk endlessly on the telephone about a whole lot of nothing as far as I could tell.
Or could she have been talking to Eric? I bit back the thought, trying to ignore it as I swung gently in my hammock.
I don’t know if it was being back in my old room or the thoughts whirling through my head, but it took me forever to finally fall asleep.
Tomorrow, I promised myself, I’d find out just what Summer was up to, and if she’d already lined Eric up to take my place in her life.
No matter what, I had to get that car running, and I had to do it fast.
Chapter 4
The next day at school passed in a blur. All of my classes seemed to run together, and for all I got out of them, I might as well have stayed home. I only saw Summer twice during the day, and both times we were rushing to different parts of the school. We never eat together on Wednesdays, she’s got Concert Band and they all eat in the music room, kind of a bonding thing, I guess. Ren had an orthodontist’s appointment after school, so he wasn’t going to be able to help me put in the new solenoid. As much as he wanted me to wait till the next day for him, I just couldn’t put it off another minute.
I would have liked to have had him there too, but I was running out of time.
The second the dismissal bell rang, I tore out the door and headed toward home.
I was in such a fog it took a few minutes to realize someone was calling me.
Irene trotted up beside me, nearly out of breath. “Chaz, slow down.”
“Hey,” I said, not in the mood for company. I had too many things swirling through my mind, most of them related to the Mustang and Summer, and how they were suddenly so closely linked.
As we walked toward home, Irene said, “You’ve got company staying with you, don’t you?”
“Yeah, it’s my uncle.” The word sounded funny coming out of my mouth, but I was indeed starting to accept him as a part of the family.
“What’s he like?” Irene prides herself on being a ‘people’ person, and she’s right. While I’m usually slow to warm up to new people in my life, Irene’s the type who’s never met a stranger; there are just folks she hasn’t got around to meeting yet.
I said, “He’s kind of cool. He used to be a magician.”
She clapped her hands together in delight. “Pulling rabbits out of his hat and stuff like that?”
“No, more like Grand Illusions, like making trucks disappear.” I’d heard him regaling Jenny with the story, and it had made an impression on me, too.
Irene put a hand on my arm, and I looked around to see if anyone saw it as I moved gently away. That was all I needed, the rumor that she and I were ‘involved’ now. To most people her gesture was innocent enough, but around the kids at Jenkins High the brush of an arm turned into holding hands, then kissing at the movies, building with the speed of a tornado, growing and changing with each retelling.
If Irene noticed my maneuver, she didn’t comment on it. “I’ve just got to meet him, Chaz. He sounds fascinating.”
“Go for it,” I said as we neared our houses.
As she followed me up my walk, I said, “I didn’t mean right now.”
“There’s no time like the present.”