Skye Blue, page 25
part #6 of Firsts and Forever Series
There was no dog, though. If Callwell had gotten rid of Benny, it was going to break Dare’s heart. I went into the pristine kitchen and looked around, then opened a few of the lower cabinets. One of these housed a bag of dry dog food, which was a good sign. I wandered down a hallway off the kitchen and heard faint whimpering. When I threw open the door to a pantry, I finally found Benny. He was laying on a dog bed, looking up at me with sad brown eyes. I hated Callwell all over again for locking up the dog like this.
As I dropped to my knees I said, “Hi there, Benny. You don’t know me, but I’m a good friend of your dad’s. Your real dad, not that asshole that kept you out of spite. My name’s Skye.” I held my hand out to him. When he sniffed it, his stumpy little tail started to wag.
There was a harness and leash hanging on a hook just inside the door, and I put these on him quickly. He was excited at the prospect of going for a walk and licked my face. When I led him out into the apartment, I saw that the door to the home office was still closed. I really had to wonder what was going on in there.
“We need to wait for my friend and then I’m getting you out of here,” I explained as I crouched down beside him and stroked his black and white fur. “You’re awfully cute, you know that? I wonder what kind of dog you are. You’re bigger than I expected, too. It was hard to tell your size from your photos.” I scratched his belly and he flopped down on his back, paws sticking up in the air. “I’m glad you’re friendly,” I told him. “If you weren’t, this would all be a bit problematic.” He wagged his tail even faster.
Vincent came out of the office three or four minutes later and closed the door behind him. He was holding his phone and said, “Nana just called. The police are downstairs already and she’s adamant that you and I don’t get arrested. She said we need to go out on the balcony. Apparently she arranged some kind of escape route for us, but I have no idea what that’d be since we’re on the top floor.”
“Does that mean she’s getting arrested? We should go down and help her.”
“I think getting arrested was all part of her plan. She was on the phone with her lawyers earlier today and I’ll bet she was planning ahead for exactly that.”
Vincent slid the patio door open and stepped out onto the wide balcony with Benny and me. The ubiquitous sound of traffic rose up to meet us, drowned out slightly by a loud motor in the construction site next door. The rich people in this building must love that.
“Um, should I ask what you did to Callwell?” I said as I walked the dog around the patio and let him lift his leg on the potted plants.
“We just had a little talk and reached an understanding. He’s perfectly fine,” Vincent told me. He still had his phone out and was concentrating on sending a text.
I noticed something out of the corner of my eye and asked, “Does it seem like that crane is getting a little close to this building?”
Vincent glanced up, then stepped back quickly as a plastic utility basket swung over the edge of the balcony and came to rest on the patio. He walked over to the railing and looked down at the cab of the giant crane, then said, “Apparently our ride’s here. Get in and I’ll hand you the dog.”
“Awesome!” I clambered into the basket, then took Benny from Vincent’s arms and put him down right beside me. “Don’t be scared, boy,” I told the dog. “This is all going to be just fine.” He looked up at me and wagged his tail again.
Vincent scaled the side of the basket easily. It was a bit cramped now that all three of us were inside it. He looked around and spotted a little camera at the point where four guide wires joined the larger steel cable and flashed a thumbs up at it. As soon as he did that, the basket jerked and began rising up off the patio.
I let out a surprised peal of laughter and told the dog, who shifted nervously, “I know this is weird, Benny, but it’ll be over soon. You and Dare are going to be reunited, and then this’ll all be worth it.” I looped his leash over my arm and petted him reassuringly.
The rig swayed a bit and my heart leapt in my chest, but it was more exhilarating than frightening. I looked at Vincent and said, “Don’t judge me,” then leaned over the edge of the waist-high basket, flung my arms out and yelled, “I’m the king of the world!” He chuckled at that and I said, “Damn, we’re almost down already. Brace yourself, we’re about to reach the ground.” I took hold of one of the guide wires, and a moment later the basket came to rest with a slight jolt.
My companion hopped out and I scooped up the dog and handed him to Vincent as I said, “It’s too bad we’re actually trying to accomplish something here. Otherwise I’d ask for another swing around the building.”
The engine cut on the huge machine and we turned toward its cab. It was dimly lit, but I could see a man flash two thumbs-up at the crane operator before jogging over to us. “Everyone okay?” a familiar voice called.
“We’re fine,” I said. “Mr. Sandberg? I mean Gary?”
“Hiya kid.” My employer took my elbow and immediately began to escort us to the back of the construction site, away from the main street.
“What are you doing here?”
“I got a call from your friend Mrs. Dombruso, asking for a favor. My construction company’s been working right next door to your caper, so it was no problem helping out. You probably could have just snuck down the back stairs, but Mrs. D. has a flair for the dramatic, I think.”
“I think so, too. By the way, this is her grandson Vincent,” I said, and the two of them shook hands. Vincent thanked him for his help before I added, “And this is Benny.”
“Hiya, Benny,” Gary said, ruffling the dog’s ears. That earned him a big lick.
When we reached the smaller street behind the building, the black SUV was there waiting for us with Trevor behind the wheel. Dare leapt out of the back seat, grabbed hold of me and kissed me passionately, then dropped to one knee and yelled, “Benny!”
The dog jumped all over him, licking wildly while making funny little yapping sounds. He was wagging his tail so hard that his entire back half went with it, back and forth, back and forth. After a minute of this love fest, Dare got to his feet and noticed our employer. “Oh! Hi Gary.” Then he called, “Come on, boy,” and he and his dog clambered into the back seat. I thanked my employer and said goodbye, then followed Dare and the dog as Vincent got in the passenger seat.
As Trevor pulled away from the curb I asked, “What happened to River?”
“He decided to join the diversion,” Dare said. I shot my brother a quick text and found out he was a couple blocks away, so we swung by and picked him up.
“Awesome, you got the dog,” he said, his eyes sparkling with delight as he slid in beside me.
“And you managed to avoid arrest. Good job,” I told him.
“That wasn’t too hard.” River reached over me to pet Benny, who was on Dare’s lap and still wagging half of himself. “As soon as the cops showed up, everybody scattered. There must have been at least forty or fifty people, all running in different directions. I actually don’t think any of them got caught, the police were too overwhelmed. No one except Nana. She seemed to make a point of getting arrested.”
“I hope she’ll be okay. That’s the second time she’s gotten arrested in just a few days. The judge might keep her locked up this time for being a public menace,” I said. The dog flopped his head backwards, licked my face, and then went back to what could really only be described as cuddling his owner, who held him with both arms.
“I think she and her lawyers may have worked out some sort of strategy,” Vincent said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if this actually ends up helping her case with the antigay protesters. Maybe she’ll plead temporary insanity or something.”
“We owe her big time,” I said. “She’s always doing so much for others, so we should do something for her. How about a party? We’ll have to plan it a few weeks out to give us time to pull something really special together. Maybe you could you cater it, River.” He agreed enthusiastically and we worked out a few of the details as we wound through town.
When we were close to my apartment, Vincent pulled a slip of paper from the pocket of his black jacket and held it out to Dare. “This is for you.”
It turned out to be a huge check, signed by Collin Callwell. “Oh my God,” Dare whispered. “What is this?”
“Callwell caused your injury, so he should be the one to pay for your surgery,” Vincent said matter-of-factly.
“This is far more than the cost of the operation,” Dare said, still staring at the check in his hands as the dog laid down across his lap.
“I assume you’ll have to pay taxes on that once it goes on record at your bank, which will take up a big portion. Plus you’ll end up missing a lot of work during your recovery,” Vincent told him. “The dollar amount reflects that.”
“How did you get him to agree to this?” Dare asked. Vincent just shrugged. “But he’ll probably cancel the check before I ever get a chance to cash it. That or he’ll send the police after me.”
“I promise you he isn’t going to do either of those things,” Vincent said.
“Because he’s dead?” I guessed.
Vincent smirked at me, just a little. “No.”
“Is he maimed, squished or otherwise broken?”
“Not at all.”
“Oh. Well, good. No offense,” I said.
“None taken.”
“This is amazing.” Dare seemed a bit dazed. “I can’t even begin to thank you.”
“There’s no need. Ever since I heard what that fucker did to you, I’ve been looking forward to making things right,” Vincent told him.
When we reached my apartment, Dare and I kissed goodbye for such a long time that my brother exclaimed, “Do I need to turn a hose on you two?”
I pulled back and touched Dare’s face, then told my brother as I climbed out of the SUV, “You and Cole were probably the same way last night.”
“Yeah, but we didn’t have an audience.”
Trevor and Vincent were dropping Dare and my brother off at their apartments, so I waved goodbye to all of them as they pulled away from the curb. When I went upstairs, I was shocked to find that the mouse had returned to his cage. He’d eaten all the food I’d left him and was perched on his cloud throne, looking pretty proud of himself (as much as a rodent could pull that off). For his own safety, I rigged the door so it would stay shut this time. He was lucky that he hadn’t wound up as Draco’s dinner when he decided to become a free-range rodent.
The cat was curled up in the very center of the bed. I told him, “I hope you like dogs, because I just helped your other daddy get his puppy back.” When I let him sniff my hand, he looked unimpressed. I grabbed some clothes to use as a pillow and blanket since my bedding was temporarily out of commission and arranged myself in a C-shape around the cat, grinning to myself as I settled in. This had been a truly satisfying evening.
Chapter Thirteen
The next morning, I rushed to the beauty supply store just as it opened. I was able to finish my haircut and get the color done before I had to leave for school. It was a relief to be blue again.
I ran into Zandra as soon as I arrived at Sutherlin. She grabbed me in a hug and said, “I’m the worst kind of person, the kind that ditches her friends the moment she gets a boyfriend. I’m so sorry I disappeared on you.”
“You’re dating someone? That’s great!” I told her cheerfully as we started walking toward the west end of campus. “Tell me about this guy, did you meet him online?”
“No, I gave up on that skeezy website and started dating my friend Maya’s cousin. At first I was totally against the idea of getting set up with some random relative, but he’s actually the nicest guy ever, and oh my God, so cute.” I’d never seen her so giddy.
“That’s awesome, I’m really happy for you.”
“Thanks, Skye. Christian said you’re seeing someone, too. What’s he like?”
“You’ve seen him, actually. I’m dating that amazing dancer from the club.”
“The incredibly gorgeous one that we’re all supposed to hate?”
“That’s the one and we were wrong to hate him. His name’s Dare.”
“Wow, will you look at that smile! You’re totally into this guy!”
“I am,” I agreed.
She stopped walking long enough to grab me in another hug. “This is so great! After all that looking, it ended up working out for both of us. I’m absolutely thrilled for you, Skye.”
“Thanks Zan, same here.”
When she let go of me and we started walking again, Zandra said, “As soon as this insane twenty-four/seven newness ebbs a bit and we can pry ourselves away from our boyfriends, I want to have drinks with you and hear all the details. We should totally double-date, too. Maybe we could even set Christian up with someone and triple-date.”
“I doubt he’d go for that.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right.” She stopped in front of the painters’ loft and said, “This is me. I promise to call you really soon, Skye. Enjoy yourself!”
I gave her a big smile. “Oh, I am.”
*****
I ended up staying on campus long after class concluded, drafting a set of plans for my senior project with the 3D rendering program in the school’s computer lab. My sculptures were always built on heavy armatures, and since they also included a lot of open space I had to plan the framework carefully so it wouldn’t show. I really had to work out the balance with this one as well. I was designing a male dancer in mid-leap, and wanted the sculpture to be both kinetic and look lighter than air. This was all problematic since the thing would probably end up weighing a ton, given how big I wanted to make it.
By the time I finally left school, it was so late in the afternoon that I headed straight to the club on public transit. As the bus bumped and lunged its way through rush hour traffic, I shot Christian a text telling him about the excitement he missed the night before. When I finished my story, he asked what happened to Nana.
I checked with Trevor a little while ago, I wrote, and he told me she’s been released to the custody of her family again. Apparently she got a doctor friend of hers to swear she’s on some new meds that were making her loopy. We’ll see what happens when she goes before a judge.
Christian replied with: I’m glad the dognapping went well. Call me next time so I can join in the felony fun.
I would have called you this time, except that Nana showed up out of the blue and didn’t tell me what we were doing. I glanced up and saw I was nearly at my stop, so I added: I have to go, I’m on my way to work. By the way, we’re throwing her a party as a thank you in a few weeks, theme to be determined. You’re invited, I’ll tell you more soon.
Dare was already in the locker room when I arrived at the club. We were working the same shift now, since I’d finally been deemed ready for prime time. He greeted me with a smile and a daisy. “Thank you,” I said and bent down to kiss him.
“You’re welcome.”
“Flowers are kind of your thing, I see.” I sat beside him on the wooden bench and picked up his hand.
“Actually, they’re your thing. Blue skies and flowers go together.”
I grinned at that before leaning in and kissing him again. We ended up making out for a while before a voice said, “This is what it’s going to be like with you as my roommate, isn’t it? You two are going to be joined at the lips all day, every day.”
“Pretty much,” I agreed as Preston opened his locker and pulled out a checkbook.
We arrived at a figure for a security deposit and prorated rent for the remainder of September. I planned to put this with some of my money and reimburse my brother, who’d paid for the whole month. I owed him way more than that, but it was a start. I stuck the check in my locker and gave Preston a spare set of keys before he went back to work.
“I know it’s wrong to be jealous,” Dare said, “but I kind of hate the fact that he’ll get to see you more than I do as your roommate.”
“Actually, he’ll probably never see me at all. I bet you and I will end up spending a lot of time in your apartment now that Benny’s home. How’s he adapting to his new surroundings, by the way?”
“He really seems to be enjoying it. I have a garden apartment, which is a really nice euphemism for a converted basement, and it has a dog door leading to an overgrown backyard. Benny spent most of the day romping back there while I worked on pulling weeds and trimming the grass with this ancient manual lawn mower. My landlady’s already in love with him and offered to check on him while I’m at work. I suspect she’s actually going to hang out with him all evening, that’s how much they bonded.”
“Well, who can blame her? Benny’s adorable. What kind of dog is he, anyway?”
Dare gave me a funny look and said, “He’s a boxer.”
I grinned at that and raised an eyebrow. “Why did that earn me a duh expression?”
He smiled at me. “That wasn’t really a duh expression. I just figured you’d know that, given my screen name on that dating site. You know, BoxerBoy?”
“Oh! I’d always found that name confusing, since you wear briefs and not boxers.”
“You thought I named myself after underwear?”
“I totally did, but that’s okay. I only judged you a little.” Dare grinned and went back to kissing me.
Eventually it was time to get ready for our shift. As we changed into our shorts (purple tonight) Dare said, “So, I went to the bank today and deposited that check.”
I stopped what I was doing and turned to him. “Did depositing so much money raise any red flags?”
“Oh yeah. The teller summoned the bank manager, who took me to his office and actually phoned Collin, who uses the same bank. I was ready for the police to show up and arrest me for coercing that check from him, but Collin just told them to proceed and hung up on them. I still wonder how Vincent got him to shell out that money.”
