The Trouble Way (20 page)

They turned to the mirror and each ran a comb through their hair and smiled when either caught the other
’s eye.

“
If you’re an obedient little girl,” Linda said and she gave Ann a playful wink and reached over and squeezed her arm, “we’ll see what the good fairy can come up with for you.”

“
Nice set of wheels.” Linda was putting her groceries into the trunk of her Audi.

“
Oh, hi Mr. Forest,” Linda said. “Thank you.”

“
So, you must live pretty close,” Jake said. His VW was parked several spaces from Linda’s Audi in the Safeway parking lot.

“
Not too far.” Linda said. “About a mile down Delridge. I thought you lived in Renton.”

“
Yeah, I do. I was just picking up a few staples, myself.” Jake pulled a six-pack of Rainier partially out of the grocery bag for her to see. I’m off the weekend. How about you?”

“
Yes, lucky me. I’m off for the next three days.” She dug in her purse and pulled an enormous key ring and fingered though the keys until she came up with the door key and moved to unlock the door.

“
That’s an interesting key ring there,” Jake said, reaching out his hand. “Bet that never gets lost in your purse. Can I look?” She handed the monstrosity to him with a smile and he looked at the various do-dads and keys attached.

“
I’m familiar with the church key, but what does this one open?” he said and smiled, pointing to the colorful, beaded, leather decoration with a small alligator clip clenching its teeth on the key ring.

“
That’s my magic key to temporary happiness, Mr. Forest,” Linda said with a knowing smile. “And it helps me to become invisible.”

“
Invisible, huh? You’ll have to tell me about that sometime. Can it make me invisible too?”

“
Sure, it works on anybody who believes and follows the ritual,” Linda said.

“
Maybe you could show me how it works. There are times I’ve really wanted to be invisible.”

“
Anytime you like, Mr. Forest.”

“
Can I tell you something, Linda?”

“
What’s that?”

“
First of all, you can call me Jake. At least when we are away from work. But, that’s not what I wanted to tell you.”

“
You have me all curious now. What is it?” Linda said, taking the key ring back and twirling it as she leaned against her car.

“
I was wondering if you’d like to go out sometime. I know we’re not supposed to be fraternizing but that rule never much appealed to me and somehow I never thought it was much of anybody’s business what I did on my personal time.”

“
Well, Jake, I have to tell you something too. I was hoping that you would get around to asking me out sometime. I just didn’t think it would take this long. Of course, I’d like to go out with you. Did you have something in mind?”

“
I know this is on the spur of the moment, and I don’t want to offend you. It just popped into my head. Is it too late to see if you’d like to do something this evening? I know it doesn’t give you much of a chance to think of an excuse to say no.”

“
I’m not offended in the least,” Linda said. “And, it so happens that I don’t have any plans for this evening. I was going to do something with Ann, but she got called into work so she has to work the closing shift.

“
Speaking of Ann, I have to tell you that I’ve gone out with her,” Jake said. “Is that going to cause a problem between you two? If it is, I’ll have to withdraw the invitation.”

“
I know you have been out with her and it’s not a problem for me, and I’m almost positive that Ann won’t have a problem with it either. She is a dear. She goes out with a couple of guys. She told me about you. She said you were a real sweetie.”

“
Well, that’s good to hear. Okay, it’s settled then. We could go for a walk down on Alki Beach. Maybe build a little fire on the beach, suck some suds, watch the sunset, and maybe see if you can make us invisible.”

I
’d love to go to the beach. There’s a fish ‘n’ chip place right next to the beach. We could have a picnic. Do you like fish and chips?”

“
Yeah. Seems to be a specialty here in Seattle. We could have a little party. I’ve got the refreshments right here. What say we drop off your car at your place and head out right now?”

“
That sounds super,” Linda said, unlocked her door, and flung her purse on the passenger side, slid into the driver’s seat, and started the engine. “Follow me.”

“
Don’t lose me,” Jake said and he turned toward his car.

He followed her out of the drive and headed south on Delridge Way and pulled in beside Linda in her lot.

“Just one sec,” Linda hollered. “I have to get a warmer jacket if we are going to be on the beach. Come on in if you like. I won’t take long.”

Jake cracked his window.
“I’ll wait here if you are just running in and coming right back,” He left his motor running and waited. Linda bound down the stairs of her apartment and sprinted across the parking lot. He saw her coming and managed to have her door open before she got to the car.

“
Thank you sir,” she said and got in.

They lucked out and pulled up just as another car was leaving a prime parking spot a block from the Spud Fish & Chips on Alki Avenue.

The evening was a gorgeous by Seattle standards, it wasn’t raining. It hadn’t rained for several days and the wind from earlier in the day had calmed and the sand on the beach was dry.

“
We couldn’t ask for a nicer evening, huh?” Jake said and pulled the latch on his trunk. He went to the front and lifted the lid. Inside was a plaid blanket. “Grab the six-pack, would you please?” He rolled bundled of newspapers he stored in his trunk for such occasions and stretched a rubber band from a small toolbox around the paper.

“
Well, aren’t you just the perfect Boy Scout,” Linda said. “You have all your tools at your fingertips.”

Jake smiled.
“Here, give me that and you take this,” Jake said switching the blanket with the six-pack. “You have your purse there.”

They walked several feet toward Spud
’s and he stopped.

“
What’s the matter?” Linda said.

“
I have a wool blanket I lifted from the barracks from my days in the Air Force. Maybe I should grab that too. We may have a quick change in the weather and a warmer blanket might come in handy.” Deciding that, he turned and walked back to the car and pulled the brown wool blanket from the trunk and retraced his steps to meet up with the smiling Linda.

They crossed the busy avenue when Jake saw the sign
“Alki Spud Fish & Chips” a half a block ahead.

They walked into Spud Fish & Chips and got in
place behind the line of customers queued at the order counter.

“
I’m going to put this stuff in a booth till our order is ready,” Linda said and tossed the blankets and grocery bag on the seat of an empty booth.

“
Vinegar or tartar sauce,” the clerk asked after they had placed their order for fish and chips.

“
I’ve never had vinegar on fish. Is that something unique to Seattle?”

“
Everybody in Seattle puts vinegar on their fish and chips,” Linda said.

“
I’m always one to live on the edge,” Jake said. “Vinegar it is.”

With fish and chips wrapped in waxed freezer paper secured with a large rubber band, he carried the package and the six-pack in one hand and the roll of newspaper under his arm. Jake latched onto Linda
’s free hand and they walked hand-in-hand across the busy Alki Avenue and to the narrow stretch of beach bordering the sidewalk.

There were few people on the beach and they had no trouble finding a place to spread the blanket and put their goodies. They chose a place about fifty yards from the public restrooms and left the blanket, beer, and food and made a quick walk along the shoreline, scouring the beach for driftwood. They found several pieces of wood and Jake set about building a small fire.

“I’m an expert fire starter,” Jake said and proceeded to prove his point by using his pocketknife to make some kindling and had a fire started within minutes.

“
Would you like a beer?” Linda said.

“
Nah, I’m not very thirsty,” He said with a grin. “Of course I’d like a beer, silly.”

She used a church key attached to her all-purpose key ring to open a bottle and handed him a Rainier while he unwrapped their order of fish and chips and spread them out on the blanket in front of them.

“You’re quite the little Girl Scout,” Jake said and accepted the beer. They sat eating fish sticks and fries with vinegar, and drank Rainier from bottles and watched as the sun vanished over the islands in the Sound. Jake threw the remains of the paper wrapping the fish onto their glowing little fire causing the flames to flare and sparks to lift into the still evening until the paper was consumed.

“
Would you like to try out my magic happy key?” Linda said and rattled her key ring. “It’s getting dark enough. People won’t notice.”

“
Sure, I never pass up a chance for temporary, magic happiness,” Jake said.

Linda glanced each way down the beach and a quick look behind her then pulled a joint from her change purse. She bent a single match out of the matchbook, leaving it attached, closed the flap, and used her thumb to strike it. She
cupped her hands around the flaming match to the joint and took a noisy hit and slipped it to Jake. “The secret to invisibility is to make a sucky sound when you inhale. It’s not like a cigarette, you want lots of air with the smoke. Of course, you probably already know that. But, it works every time.”

Once the sun receded behind the distant mountains on the far peninsula, the air turned cool. The fire was nothing more than for ambiance and provided little heat even though Jake stacked the remainder of their limited driftwood on it.

“Here, get under this with me.” Linda lifted the wool blanket and they tucked it around themselves the best they could.

Jake pulled her to lying position where she put her head on his shoulder, his arm around her. They were like two puppies snuggling to keep warm. With the blanket around their cheeks, Jake nestled down and kissed Linda on her dark luscious lips. He could see the city lights sparkling in her eyes. Her mahogany skin
glowed in the moonlight. She purred as she kissed.

“
That feels so nice,” she said. “And, I can barely see you. You’re nearly invisible. The pot always makes everything feel so much more passionate, don’t you think?”

“
Mmmm,” he said. “Yes it certainly does. I’d better keep a good tight grip on you to keep you from disappearing off into the night.”

Linda and Jake remained nearly invisible and kept each other warm by opening their jackets and wrapping them around each other as one. They shared the magic of each other
’s bodies as much as they dared on a public beach in the Seattle evening. They could see in the distance silhouettes of likeminded lovers huddled close to their fires the length of Alki beach.

He began to unbutton her blouse beneath the blanket and managed to pop the single hook on her bra. She did the same with his shirt. He cupped her small breasts.

Her body began an involuntary shiver. “I’m cold.” She pulled him close and they hugged their naked chests together. “Mmmm, much better, Hon. Keep me warm.”

She
moved on top and gave him lessons on how to kiss the Philippine way using her full lips and wet tongue giving him obvious, incredible pleasure.

“
Your key ring is not the only thing with magical powers,” he said. “Your mouth has a magic all its own. You’re really very good.”

He showed her how Alice, his very first date, taught him to kiss and breathe at the same time using each other
’s oxygen to lengthen their pleasure and, as a benefit other than the obvious, kept their body heat elevated in the cool Puget Sound air. It was not only the magic key ring that granted them power, they spent the evening creating each other’s magic.

The occasional lovers strolling down the beach, arms wrapped around one another, passed within a few feet of them, kept them from going where they both wanted to go. They did not reach full invisibility but they did manage to make up for that by giving each other a satisfying amount of pleasure.

The lights of the city began twinkling as darkness got serious and threw a blanket over the Sound. Linda and Jake remained entwined and watched the gigantic, radiant ferries, transporting hundreds of cars and thousands of passengers across the water. They appeared in the distance as though they were likely to collide in the choppy Puget waters as they converged, heading to and from places with names like Blake Island, Bremerton, Vashon Island, and, the grandest of them all, Seattle.