“
Knowing Uncle Ed, this is
probably the only way he would ever take some time off,” said Greg.
“Too bad he can’t
enjoy
it.”
“
What does he need time off
for?” said Ralph. “All he cares about is tinkering around with
those old cars. It’s his whole life.”
Greg didn’t appreciate his dad’s attitude
toward Edsel. But he had a point. Edsel probably loved working on
cars as much as Greg enjoyed teaching music and directing
choirs.
He thought about the
satisfaction of hearing a student finally play a piece with
accuracy and feeling. And how he could be moved to tears by a
beautiful choral performance. Maybe that was how Uncle Ed felt when
he got an engine tuned up just right. The purr of a well-tuned
engine might be the Mormon Tabernacle Choir to
his
ears.
“
Uncle Ed’s a great guy,”
said Greg.
“
Yeah, yeah, I
know—he’s
wonderful
,” said
Ralph.
“
Well, you’re a pretty good
guy yourself.” Greg didn’t know where
that
came from.
Ralph looked surprised, then irritated.
“Yeah, right.”
Cynthia gave Greg a look that said ‘keep
going—you’re on the right track.’
“
No, I mean it,” said Greg.
“I didn’t appreciate it at the time, but you worked really hard to
provide for our family. I know you were disappointed when I quit my
job at the shipyard after only two weeks. I hated that place. But
then I thought about how you worked out there every day for over
thirty years. I don’t know how you did it.”
“
It wasn’t that bad,” said
Ralph.
“
Well, anyway, I just wanted
to thank you for that,” said Greg.
After a few seconds of awkward silence,
Cynthia spoke up. “So, did everybody enjoy the party?”
“
Oh, yes, definitely,” said
Norma. “Although, I had to help Ralph blow out the
candles.”
“
I could have done it,”
growled Ralph. “You didn’t give me much of a chance.”
“
I knew it was going to take
a lot of breath to do it,” she said.
“
Honey, you’re always saying
I’m full of hot air,” said Ralph, “and then when I had the chance
to prove it, you wouldn’t let me. That’s just like you,
though—always butting in.”
“
Well, sure,” said Norma,
“you probably could have done it yourself…but there were just so
many candles.”
“
Alright, Miss
Smartie-pants.”
“
I had to go to three
different stores to get all those candles.” Norma
snickered.
“
I’m gonna get
your
candles,” said
Ralph grabbing for her arm, and barely missing it as she jumped
back.
Greg couldn’t believe it.
Ralph had
nearly
smiled. He was glad to see that his dad was finally happy.
Maybe he’d been happy for a long time. Greg might
know
if he had
bothered to stay in touch.
**********
“
Angie?”
She dropped her magazine on the floor and
jumped up from the chair. “Hi, Edsel. How do you feel?”
“
Like a Cadillac fell on my
chest.”
She laughed.
Edsel started to laugh—then he felt a twinge
in his chest. He winced and grabbed his ribcage, which only served
to exacerbate the pain.
“
That must really hurt,” she
said.
“
You ain’t
trickin’.”
Trick
was Edsel’s standard curse
word substitute. She had not heard it in a while. “But the doctor
says you’re going to be fine. He said it would take a few weeks for
the pain to completely go away.”
“
Thanks for saving my
life.”
“
You’re welcome. I’m just
glad I happened to walk over to the shop when I did.”
“
You must have gotten there
right after. You came over to make sure I was getting dressed for
the party, didn’t you?”
“
Yeah.”
“
Well, I’m sorry I made us
miss it. What about Greg? Did he and Cynthia go?”
“
They tried to catch the end
of it. They were up here for quite a while.”
“
So, I made them miss it
too. I really feel bad about that. I was hoping it would be a
chance for Greg and Ralph to get some things off their
chests.”
“
I know. But it
wasn’t
your
fault. It was an accident.”
Edsel had a odd look on his face.
“
Edsel?”
“
No, it wasn’t an accident.
Somebody released the jack on purpose.”
“
Oh, no.”
“
Yeah. I heard them walk in,
but at first I thought it was you. So, I called out, but nobody
answered. I was about to roll out from under the car when it
suddenly fell on top of me. The oil pan slammed right into my
chest. And those ’77 Coupe De Ville’s weigh over 4,000 pounds. The
pain was excruciating. And I could barely breathe. Then I guess I
just passed out.”
“
When I found you there—I
thought you were dead.” A tear dripped down her face. “Then, when I
saw that you were still alive, I was afraid you had gone into a
coma.”
“
A coma? Nah, that’s just in
the movies.” Edsel hadn’t seen Angie cry in a long time. And she
never cried because of
him
—it was always because of
Clifford. “I didn’t mean to make you sad.”
“
What? You didn’t make me
sad. I’m happy.” Tears ran down both checks. “Can’t you see?” She
smiled.
Maybe this was the right time to tell her
how he felt about her.
“
But we’ve got to figure out
who did this to you,” she said.
“
How are we going to do
that? I didn’t see them.”
“
You couldn’t even see their
legs or their feet?”
“
I
could
have. I didn’t even look,
because I really thought it was you. Even when you didn’t answer I
figured you were just trying to get me to come out from under the
car.”
“
I think I might know who
did it,” she said.
“
Who?”
“
Remember those two women
from that band—the ones who were trying to get me to hire them to
play at the restaurant?”
“
The ones I ran
off?”
“
Yes. One of them was here
earlier. Greg and Cynthia and I had gone for coffee while we were
waiting for you to be moved to your room. And when we got here the
nurse told us a young woman with long black hair had been standing
beside your bed when she walked in. Then we realized that we had
just passed that woman at the elevator.”
“
Really? The tall blonde did
look kinda mean. But the short black-haired woman seemed sort of
innocent.” He paused. “So, you really think she’s the one who
dropped the car on me? And then came here to—”
“—
I don’t know. But I’m not
going to be comfortable leaving you alone until whoever did this is
caught.”
Angie took his hand in hers.
There will never be a better time, thought
Edsel. “Angie? I need to tell you something.”
“
Okay. Is this the same
something you were about to tell me last night after
dinner?”
“
Yes. And I’m just gonna say
it.”
Angie was not about to interrupt.
“
I love you,
Angie.”
“
I know, Edsel. I love you
too.” She reached down and gently brushed his hair back with her
hand. “I’ve always loved you.”
“
No. You don’t understand.
Not
that
kind
of love. Not a best-friends kind of love. Angie, I want to take you
in my arms and kiss you—on the lips. I want to take off all your
clothes and make love to you. I want to go to bed with you every
night and wake up with you every morning. And I want to do it every
day for the rest of my life.”
Angie’s tears were beginning to flow freely
again.
He went on. “But if you run out of here
screaming at the top of your lungs, I’ll understand. I just had to
finally say it.”
She sniffled. “Oh, Edsel. I
love you too—and not just as friends. I
want
you to take my clothes off
and make love to me. I
want
to be in your bed every
night.”
“
Oh, God, Angie.” He took
her hands in his.
“
I listened to my dad. I did
whatever he wanted me to do because I knew I was all he had. And it
was my fault that my mother died.”
“
That’s not true,
Angie.”
“
Yes, it is. I took his wife
away from him the day I was born. So, it was my job to make sure he
was happy.”
“
It wasn’t your fault that
your mother died.”
“
I know that
now
. But when I was
a teenager it was different. I couldn’t stand to disappoint him. He
was so upset with me when he found out I had been secretly dating
you.”
“
I know—I was such an
ogre.”
“
No, you weren’t. Not at
all. But you were 26, and I was only 18.”
“
Well, he didn’t have to
break us up
forever
. I would have waited
for you.” He looked into her beautiful, caring eyes. “What am I
saying? I
did
wait for you.”
“
Oh, Edsel.” Not today, but
soon, Angie would have to tell Edsel her long-held secret. And she
knew that after he’d heard the story, he might not want her in his
life at all—even as a friend.
Chapter
17
Greg had talked to a
waitress at
The
Biscuit
and found out that the house
band at Billy-Eye’s,
Orange
Puke
, would be performing two one-hour
sets: one at 7:00, the other at 10:00. He and Cynthia decided to go
back to their hotel and relax for a while and then go out for nice
dinner. Then they would go to Billy-Eye’s between sets, and have a
talk with the band member who had visited Edsel’s hospital room.
They had agreed to spend another night in Orange and take Monday
off from their jobs.
“
Gee, they need a bigger
parking lot,” said Greg.
“
There’s a car pulling out,”
said Cynthia.
Greg drove up to the open slot, parked the
car, and killed the engine.
“
What are going to say to
her?” said Cynthia. “You’re not gonna just come right out and ask
her if she tried to kill Edsel, are you?”
“
No. I’ll be more subtle
than that.”
“
Maybe
I
should talk to
her.”
“
Why don’t we just play it
by ear,” said Greg.
Greg paid the admission charge at the door,
and the young female employee handed each of them a soft drink
cup.
“
You get free drinks all
night, as long as you keep your cup.” She had repeated that phrase
hundreds of times over the past three nights.
Greg and Cynthia quickly realized that they
were the only adults in the building—other than the Buttards and
the band.
“
There they are,” said Greg,
pointing.
The band members were sitting at a long
table signing autographs.
“
Look at that line,” said
Cynthia. “This is going to take a while.”
Greg noticed the arcade room and pointed it
out to Cynthia. “Hey, how about a game of Galaga?”
“
Sure. But then I want to
play Ms. Pac Man.”
“
It’s a deal—if they even
have those old games.”
They did—and they only cost a quarter.
Every so often between games Greg would go
out to check the line. At 9:40, the last kid got his coke cup
signed and the band members began to get up from their chairs.
“
Excuse me,” said
Greg.
E. Z. turned to face him. Craig had made
name tags for each of the women to wear while they were signing
authographs. Greg noted the name on her tag: E. Z. Bender.
“
Hi, E. Z.” said Greg. “I’m
Greg Tenorly and this is my wife, Cynthia.”
E. Z. nodded.
“
We passed you in the
hallway at the hospital this afternoon, and we were just
wondering—“
Sondra overheard the conversation and
quickly stepped in. “—I’m afraid this will have to wait. We’re back
on stage in less than twenty minutes and we need that much time to
talk about a few things.”
“
Like what?” said
Boomer.
Sondra gave her a dirty look. “Like why your
D string was flat all the way through the last song.”
“
What? No, it
wasn’t.”
“
Let’s go—now!” Sondra
grabbed E. Z. by the arm and pulled her away from Greg and
Cynthia.
“
That was interesting,” said
Cynthia.
“
What?”
“
Sondra didn’t want E. Z.
talking to us. I wonder why?”