Moment of Impact (10 page)

“I’m fine. We’re fine. This is just how we are. Jason wants me to wait for him.”

“So he can have sex with you if bimbo girl doesn’t do the honors.”

“Penny?” I say, trying to keep her from escalating the situation. I know she wants to protect her friend, but she can’t protect someone who doesn’t want to be protected.

Heather is classic. She’ll allow herself to be used by Jason as long as he keeps using her just to feel some love.

The bartender puts drinks on Heather’s tray and says to us, “Bar is closed. Sorry.”

“I need to deliver these to Jason. He’s drinking tequila with a beer chaser.”

“Not a good combo,” Penny says.

Heather walks into the crowd with the tray high in the air so the dancing patrons don’t knock into it and cause her to spill the drinks.

“Let’s wait outside,” Penny says. “She’s hopeless.”

The word strikes me hard. How many times have I heard the word hopeless? He’s hopeless. The situation is hopeless. I’d been thinking that Heather was pretty pathetic for the way she was behaving. But now I just feel bad for her. If her own friends were starting to give up on her, who would she have?

No one. And I know exactly how that feels.

We make our way through the crowd until noise on the dance floor escalates and the band stops playing.

“Hey, guys,” the bass player says into the mic. “You’re killing the encore.”

I turn around and see a full-blown brawl in the middle of the room. People start running to the door. The bartender jumps from behind the bar and runs into the mayhem.

“Oh, my God. Heather is in the middle of that!” Penny says. “We need to get her.”

Fight or flight kicks in for me. Most of the time, I go in with a fist. But Edmond had been working on me. I hear his voice in my head telling me walk away. Not my game. Not my fight.

But then I see Jason grab Heather by the hair and yank her to the ground and I can’t stop myself. I run to her, pushing past the crowd of people trying to exit before they get hurt. I’m not thinking about the cops or anything like that. I just see Heather on the ground with people stepping all over her as they fight.

I grab her hand and lift her to her feet. She’s crying in heavy sobs that shake her whole body.

“Let’s get out of here before the cops get here.”

Penny wraps her arm around Heather and I lead them both out of the bar into the night air.

“What the fuck is happening in there?” the bouncer says as people pour out of the exit.

I see Lily standing on the side, reaching up on her toes so she can see above the crowd. I know the instance she spots us.

“Let’s get out of here,” I say, taking her by the hand.

“Heather. Heather are you all right?” Lily asks. But she’s crying uncontrollably. She shoves Penny’s arm off her and stomps away in the other direction.

Penny goes after her, calling out her name.

“Let’s go,” I say to Lily. We walk fast along the beach. My heart is pounding so hard I think it’s going to explode in my chest.

“I shouldn’t have gone in there,” I say.

“What happened?”

“Everyone started fighting. I saw Jason throw Heather to the ground and I reacted.”

“Did you fight with Jason?”

I shake my head. “I just grabbed Heather and left with her and Penny.”

I see the panic in her eyes and my stomach sinks.

“I didn’t fight, Lily. I didn’t hit him.”

“Okay.”

“No, it’s not okay. You don’t believe me.” I extend my hands. “Look at them. If I’d beat the shit out of someone, my knuckles would be all bruised and bloodied. I should know. I’ve done it enough times. But look. They’re fine.”

She lifted her chin. “I believe you.” We start walking again. I don’t even know where I’m going. After a few strides in silence, I look up and I realize we’re headed to Lily’s summer house. It had been automatic for me. She’s a refuge from the darkness I live in. I always want to be with her.

“I’m sorry,” I say, still feeling my adrenaline race through my body.

“What for? You helped Heather. That makes you my hero.”

I glance over at her and see she’s smiling. “Yeah? I’ve never been anyone’s hero before.”

* * *

Lily

A hard pounding on the door downstairs startled me awake. I look at the clock on the nightstand. It’s six-thirty.

“What the fuck!” Gus says as he rolls over.

I can hear the door downstairs being opened and people talking. At first I’m relieved that I don’t have to get out of bed. And then I remember Heather walking off and Penny going after her. I can’t recall if either of them came home last night.

“What if it is about Heather or Penny?”

In a groggy voice, Gus says, “Who answered the door?”

“Jenna.” I can hear Bobby’s voice.

There’s a gentle knock on the door and then I hear Jenna’s voice. “Lily? Are you in there?”

“Hang on. I’m coming.”

Gus jumps out of bed and pulls on his jeans. “I have a bad feeling about this.”

I feel the same inside, but I don’t know what’s going on. Don’t borrow trouble. That’s what my mother used to always say. I know there is trouble behind that door. I just don’t know what it is. Once we are both dressed, Gus opens the door and we head downstairs to the living room where two police officers are standing next to Jenna, Penny and Bobby. Penny has tears in her eyes.

“What’s going on?” I ask, looking at both of them.

“Edmond, what are you doing here?” Gus asks.

I glance at one of the officers and realize he’s not a policeman. He’s wearing a uniform but it has a tag that says County Parole Officer.

“I need to take you in, Gus.”

I gasp.

“What for?”

“Were you part of the fight that took place at the Windjammer last night?”

“I was there,” Gus says. “But I wasn’t part of the fight.”

“That’s not the way witnesses describe it,” the police officer says. He looks at his notepad.

“You were seen punching a Jason Kendal?”

“No,” Penny said. “I was there. He didn’t punch anyone. Jason was the one who threw our roommate Heather to the floor. She has bruises on her. I saw them.”

“Is that true?” Edmond asks Gus.

“Yes. I was at the Windjammer to check on Heather with Penny. The fight broke out and we started to leave. But then, I saw Jason throw Heather to the ground and people were walking all over her trying to get out. So I reached into the fight and grabbed her so she wouldn’t be hurt.”

Edmond looks at him suspiciously. “That’s very admirable of you. If it’s true.”

“It is,” Penny says. “I was there.”

Edmond turns to me. “What about you? What did you see?”

“I wasn’t inside the club. I saw everyone leaving. Heather was upset. Where is Heather? Is she still asleep?” I start to run to Heather’s room. I see the open door and then stop.

Penny says, “She took off last night. I couldn’t find her in the crowd. She never came home last night.” Edmond sighs. “We’ll deal with trying to locate your roommate. But for now, I need to take you back to the mainland, Gus. I’m really sorry about that.”

“Why?” I ask. “He didn’t do anything wrong.”

“He’s not allowed to be drinking in a public place.”

“He didn’t have anything. Ask the bartender. Ask the bouncer,” Penny says. “We got there after last call. We were only there to check on Heather.”

“All this can be sorted out when you meet with the judge. He can make the determination if you violated parole or not.”

“But he’ll lose his job. He’ll go to jail!” I say.

“It’s okay, Lily,” Gus says as if he’s resigned to being locked up.

“No, it’s not okay. You didn’t do anything wrong. You helped Heather. Isn’t that self-defense?”

“Where’s Heather?” Jenna asks Penny.

“I have no clue.”

I should be worried about Heather. But right now all I can think about is Gus being led out the door by the police and put in the back of a squad car. And suddenly I feel like that small girl who’d walked out of the pantry trying to hide the stain on her dress.

# # #

Gus

Spending Sunday night in jail was the pits after I’d spent so many nights lying next to Lily’s naked body and loving her. I feel the cold of the jail seeping into my bones even as I’m led into the courtroom to meet with the magistrate.

The old man was sitting at one of the lawyer’s tables in an empty courtroom. No court was in session in that room so they were using it for quick cases. Like parole violators. An African American man in a suit sat across from him looking over paperwork.

My feet are shackled, making it hard to walk. But they undo the cuffs on my hands and lead me to a seat next to the suit.

The man turns to me and extends his hand. “My name is Malcolm Stone. I’m your lawyer.”

“My lawyer? I didn’t hire a lawyer.”

“Lily Carlson did. She’s the daughter of a business associate of mine.”

“I know who she is,” I say.

“She’s going to law school at Harvard Law next year,” he says. And then he chuckles. “She’ll make a great lawyer. She was quite convincing when she argued as to why I should take your case pro bono.”

“Pro bono?”

He nods. “Yes, you’re getting me for free.”

I don’t know what to say. I was ready to just sit and listen to whatever the judge threw at me. But now I’m off my game totally.

She got me a lawyer. Lily fought for me.

“Mr. Jennings, you’re on parole for assault?” the magistrate asks as he scans over the file that is my life.

“Yes,” I say. “Were you at the Windjammer on Nantucket two nights ago?”

“Yes.”

“Mr. Magistrate, if I may.”

The old man lifted his head from the paperwork. “You may.”

“I have three affidavits with nearly identical stories from people who were at the Windjammer the night of the incident. One is from the bartender of the Windjammer. The other two are from Heather Connelly and Penny Munez. They all same the same thing. Mr. Jennings was acting out of the best interest of Ms. Heather Connelly. If not for Mr. Jennings quick action, Ms. Connelly might have suffered serious injury. Mr. Jennings hasn’t violated his parole by simply being at the club.”

The old man’s mouth twisted. “What about this statement that Mr. Jennings assaulted Jason Kendal?”

“These affidavits also state that Jason Kendal was at the heart of the fight that broke out and that his injuries were probably sustained by any one of the other people involved in the fight.”

“I see.” The magistrate writes on the paperwork in front of him for a few seconds. Then he looks up at me. “Do you want to add anything, Mr. Jennings?”

I shake my head.

“Given the statements that were made, I agree that you acted in good faith by trying to help another person. I find that you have not violated our parole. You are free to leave.”

“Thank you.”

The court officer unshackles my legs and I stand.

“Should I drop you off at the ferry? Or do you have other plans.”

The news is good. I’m not going to jail again. But I still feel disjointed. “I probably lost my job on Nantucket.”

“All things considered, it was a good outcome. Tell Ms. Carlson I send my best and to give me a call when she finishes law school.”

* * *

Gus

Coming back to the island seems bittersweet. I could pretend that all the shit in my past didn’t matter when I was with Lily. But my biggest fear was still realized. I can’t get the look of fear out of her face when she looked at the cops. Or when I drove away in the back of the squad car. I took what was beautiful and made it ugly.

I don’t bother standing on deck to watch as the ferry pulls into the dock. I’ve seen it before, so I stay below and think about what I’m going to say to Lily. I need to go to Mrs. Beachman’s to see if I even have a place to stay here. Since it’s Monday and I’ve missed a day’s work, Drake will probably fire my ass if I show up. It sucks because I was actually beginning to like working with Drake and Penny. I could have made something of myself.

The ferry docks and I wait until half the passengers climb the metal stairs to the platform. I make it to the platform and start to walk down the ramp when I hear, “There he is!”

I know it’s Lily’s voice cutting through the crowd. I know that voice anywhere. But I can’t see her. I look over the heads of people who are walking down the ramp slower than me. And then I see her running toward me. She’s wearing cutoff white jeans and an orange tank top. Her long legs are running and then stopping as she navigates her way through the crowd.

I feel myself smiling. Not just on my face, but in my heart. And when she reaches me, she jumps into my arms and wraps her arms and legs around me.

“I knew you’d come back.”

I gaze into her eyes and then kiss her, breathing her in and twirling her around.

“Thank you,” I say. “For seeing me and believing in me.”

“I always have.”

“I know.”

I hear laughing as Penny and Drake run closer.

“Hey, you made it!” Drake says.

“What? No work today?” I say.

“We figured if you had the day off we might as well take a day off too,” Penny says. “Glad to see you back.”

I look at Drake and he says, “Glad it all worked out, man.”

He shakes my hand.

“Do you mean I’m not fired?” I asked.