Evan came a moment later, wearing jeans and a more serviceable navy-blue blazer. “You don't have anything more substantial?” he asked, checking out her outfit. When she shook her head, he cracked a smile and threw an arm around her shoulder. “Then I'll just have to keep you warm.” At her withering look, he laughed. “I'm just kidding. Can't you take a joke? Come on, I called a cab.”
Their destination was The Hunter's Lodge, which Evan said he chose for local flavor. Local flavor was right—blanketed by a thick haze of smoke, various parts of elk, moose, and longhorn sheep adorned the walls, and in the middle of the dining area, a stuffed wild turkey welcomed them. They were shown to a booth by a very cheerful young woman who reminded Robin of Lindy. Actually, everyone reminded her of Lindy. Even the cheeseburger she ordered reminded her of Lindy.
“Cheeseburger? What's gotten into you?” Evan scoffed after ordering the salmon (lightly sauteed in butter).
Jake Manning, that was what, completely, totally, and lodged firmly under her skin. “What's wrong with a cheeseburger? When was the last time you had one?”
“Nineteen seventy-four,” Evan said disdainfully.
“And fries, too,” she defiantly told the waitress, and thought again as the Lindy-clone walked away that she felt a little guilty for letting this infatuation with Jake go so far as it had. But when she thought of why she felt guilty, it made her crazy. It all boiled down to one thing: She was not supposed to like a guy like Jake. It was not in the path she had loosely charted for herself. Her life was supposed to be one of acquisition and achievement, including men with pedigrees and buckets and buckets of money. Jake was a great guy, but by the looks of things, he wasn't going to
be the one to provide her the lifestyle she was used to, and wow, that was shallow, wasn't it?
“I think Peerless is a good operation,” Evan said, and as he began to talk, Robin was acutely aware of the fact that she was supposed to like a guy like Evan. He was accomplished, he was a self-made millionaire, he was handsome. He was the guy she was supposed to be head over heels for. And as Evan droned on about the pros and cons of Peerless, she could see why Dad was so in love with the guy. He was very good at what he did, and he had the rare ability to adapt, something she did not do very well (case in point: Minot ). He was pleasant, he was considerate, and he'd been crazy about her once. As Evan checked out the Lindy-clone's ass, she decided that there really was nothing wrong with him. He was the perfect man for a woman like her. She just couldn't help wondering what that said about her.
But it didn't really matter, because the sad truth was, Evan just did not float her boat. Robin did not feel the rush of blood when he walked into a room like she did with Jake, or think about him like she did Jake. Like today, with just a memory of his kiss to go on, she had thought constantly of Jake, wondered what he was doing, remembered the feel of his lips on hers, the rough texture of his hands on her skin, the warmth of his smile. The harsh words she had spoken. When she looked at Evan, she wondered if he still sorted the underwear in his drawer by color, or if he had ever mowed a lawn in his life.
“So what do you think?” Evan asked, interrupting her thoughts.
“Think?”
He frowned lightly. “About Peerless? The thing I've been going on and on about for the last fifteen minutes? What's the matter, Robin? Why are you so distracted?” he asked, leaning across the table to grasp her hand.
Robin looked down at his hand, his perfectly manicured hand, and thought of Jake's scarred one. “Evan…”
Slowly, he withdrew his hand. “Oh,” he said with a heavy sigh, reading her thoughts. "That again. Look, Robbie, I told you, I'm through. You've made your wishes per-
fectly clear. You don't want a relationship in spite of your curious lack of judgment in sleeping with me—"
“Hey—”
“Uh-uh, no 'heys' this time,” he said. “It was a damn stupid thing to do. But okay, what's done is done. I'm done. I'm not trying to get in your pants, I'm not trying to do anything but make you an executive in this company. A good executive. So you can quit reading something into everything I say or do. Let's at least be adults about this for the sake of the company. Just… just get over yourself, will you?” he said and picked up the martini he had ordered and took a deep drink.
“Okay,” she said weakly, feeling his irritation. “I won't mention it again.”
“Good,” he said gruffly. “Now, about Peerless. I want to hear what you think of their potential,” he said and stabbed his elbows onto the table, looking at her with gray eyes so cold that she shivered in her linen jacket.
In spite of the wind and chill of the night's hard freeze, the day dawned sunny and pleasant in Minot . Lou Harvey was at the motel at 8 a.m. sharp. He shook Evan's hand (SLEEP ALL RIGHT? he boomed with a wink and a nudge), smiled at Robin's breasts, and ushered them out into the Oldsmobile Cutlass. They sped across town to Bubble Wrap City , where they spent the morning until it was time to go to the Lion's Club.
They careened to a halt in front of the municipal center and entered an open room where round tables had been set for lunch. Robin thought she had walked into a sea of Q-tips . A string of lady blue hairs and geezers, some actually too young to be geezers, but what the hell, advanced to introduce themselves. Lou Harvey was beside himself, practically bursting at his polyester seams with pride over his sophisticated guests.
It had all the markings of being the longest hour and a half in her life, but a funny thing happened at that Lion's Club luncheon, something that both astounded Robin and
touched her. It wasn't the Pledge of Allegiance, with Evan saying it louder than any of the Q-tips, or the invocation, or even the singing of the Lion fight song that stirred her. It wasn't even the surprisingly pleasant conversation with Barbara, who declared Robin's very expensive Hermes purse inadequate in the compartment department (which it was) and told her about her Softball team (the Peerless Pretties). It wasn't the bland salad or blander chicken, or the amazingly insightful and surprisingly amusing luncheon speech by the local medical examiner.
It was, Robin decided over yellow cake with red, white, and blue icing, the sense of camaraderie, the feeling of belonging. These people gave awards to one another for the most mundane things and little personal accomplishments in their unimportant lives. They asked each other about their loved ones, seemed interested in the details of gout, legal troubles, or softball scores. It was the fierce way in which they pledged allegiance to the flag—so fiercely, one could believe that they would pick up arms in a moment and form a battalion if challenged. It was just that they seemed to really care about one another. As Robin watched the members around her trading jokes only they found funny, she felt the strange empty feeling come over her again. She actually envied these people, she realized. She envied their belonging. She wanted to belong. To someone. Something. Anything.
On the flight back to Houston, Evan settled back in his seat and chuckled to himself. “Could you believe that crowd?” he asked with a roll of his eyes. “The Pledge of Allegiance? Shit, I haven't said that since I was ten!”
Neither had she. Maybe that was what was wrong with people like her and Evan. They had no allegiance.
Evan drifted off to sleep; Robin stared out the window, mulling over the surprising fact that she actually liked Barbara. She even liked ol' Lou Harvey for reasons that were not completely clear to her, but something about him made her suddenly sentimental. She picked up the phone, dialed
her mother's cell. “Mom? It's Robin,” she said when her mother answered. “How's it going?”
Mom sighed. “Hi, honey. Your father isn't feeling too well. We're going back to New York tomorrow to see his doctor.”
The news unleashed a dull panic in Robin. “Is he there? Can I talk to him?”
“Sure. He's right here.”
“Robbie? What are you doing?” Dad asked after a moment.
“How are you, Dad?” she asked, her eyes misting.
“Oh… I don't know. Kind of tired, I guess. Where are you, Minot?”
“We're on our way back to Houston now,” she said, remembering that she had specifically not told him she was going to Minot, and gave Evan a frown that would have made him wince, had he been awake.
“How did it go?”
“Pretty well. I'm not sure Peerless is who we want, but they seem to have a good solid operation.”
“What did Evan say?”
Robin closed her eyes, tried to swallow the disappointment. “Pretty much the same thing. I'd let you talk to him, but he's asleep.”
“Yeah, let him sleep. I'll see him in New York this week anyway.”
“So how do you feel, Dad?”
“Don't worry about me, Robbie,” he said gruffly.
But she wanted to worry about him, wanted to be part of his crisis. “Dad, I've been thinking about you, and I—”
“I hope you've been thinking about what I said. I hope you have slowed down a little and taken stock of your life.”
“I was going to say that I have been thinking about how you are doing, and I thought maybe I could come to California , or New York , if you are going to be there. You know, spend a little time with you.”
There was a noticeable hesitation; she heard Dad sigh. "No, that's not a good idea. I may have to have more radiation, and I don't want you around for that. I'd rather you
stay in Houston and find your footing. You need to focus on your issues, not mine."
His rejection stung and as tears welled, she resented the hell out of him for it. “Sure. My issues. Gotta whip them into shape.”
“What? Okay, well… you and Evan getting along?”
She was too stung to even notice the question, really. “Fine. Just fine.”
“Good. Tell him to call me about Minot when you get to Houston , will you?”
Right. He needed a real report. Not one from someone with issues. “You bet. Hope you get to feeling better. I guess I'll talk to you later.”
“Yep.”
She had no idea what else to say. “Well then, bye.”
“Bye-bye, baby,” he said, and hung up the phone. Robin put the airphone back in its cradle and stared blindly at the pale blue sky through the little portal, feeling more lost than ever. Her relationship with her father had never been exactly rosy, but this was just hurtful. Since the astounding news of his cancer and the loss of her job, nothing seemed right anymore, nothing felt right anymore. It was as if she had nothing to lose, nothing to find, that her life was just a series of moments wasting away. In fact, the only thing that was clear to her was that she wanted to see Jake's smile and feel its warmth wash over her. Now, please.
In California , Aaron put down the cell phone and grinned at Bonnie. “I think we're seeing some progress, Bon-bon,” he said cheerfully. “I think Robin is seeing Evan again.”
Bonnie frowned lightly, picked up her fork, and stabbed at the pineapple on her plate.
“What's the matter?” Aaron asked, confused.
“I'm not sure if Evan is Robin's choice or yours, frankly,” she said. “You may think you know what's best for everyone, but you're not always right.”
“Well, I am right about this,” he said with a snort. "Evan
is a good man. He's thoughtful and will take good care of her and he knows the business inside and out. I could not ask for more at this point."
Bonnie put her fork down, stared across the table at him. “Would you stop that?”
“Stop what?”
“Charting your daughter's life. You sound like you are more interested in the business than you are Robin. She will find her own way without you dictating the course for her— just let her choose her own path.”
Aaron waved a hand at her, looked down at his plate, and saw several strands of his hair. “Robbie could do a whole lot worse than Evan Iverson. Trust me, this is the right thing for her,” he said and pushed up from the table. “I'm sorry, but I've got to lie down.”
He walked out of the room, but not without hearing Bonnie utter, 'That is so like you, Aaron. You know better than all of us put together. It's the same arrogant attitude you accuse your daughter of having, you stubborn bastard."
Jake had not known until today that one could catch up to four episodes a day of Wheel of Fortune on cable TV. This information, courtesy Elmer Stanton, who had brought a little portable TV and set it up so he'd have something to do while Zaney was working. Shortly thereafter, Jake could hear Zaney shouting out the wrong answers (Can't take it with y'all! CAN'T TAKE IT WITH Y'ALL!). He had finally convinced them to turn the damn thing off, but it was too late—he figured they had lost at least an hour to Vanna. Since Robin wasn't due back until tomorrow, Jake decided to work late and catch up.
A demolition crew had come in and taken out the two walls upstairs, another crew had stripped the paint and wallpaper in the house. There were two old fixtures in the upper master suite that needed to be disconnected, and the wiring was so old and corroded that he had to carefully peel them apart before pulling it all out.
Which was exactly what he was doing when he heard the kitchen door open and shut. He thought it was Zaney, but then he heard the unmistakable click of heels and his
heart did a funny little flip in spite of his disappointment. He had known what she was from the beginning, and still he had allowed himself to get caught up, to hope she was different.
Jake quickly wiped his hands on his workpants, then shoved one through his hair for want of a comb. The heels were on the stairs now, and he walked out of the master bedroom just as Robin reached the top landing. The sight of her stopped him—she looked absolutely gorgeous, more so than when she had left yesterday.
“So you're still here,” she said, ruining the effect.
“I didn't think you'd be back until tomorrow. I was trying to catch up on some work.”
She took a measured step toward him, seemed not to know what to do with her hands, finally letting them settle on her waist.
“How was Minot ?” he asked.
“Cold and windy.”
“So… did you acquire anything? Like a packing supply company?”