“See,” Dena said, “she answered the door.”
ALL AT ONCE, THERE WERE SO MANY THINGS TO DIGEST. MY FIRST RESPONSE was anger: I had told Katie not to go out or let anyone in. Then I realized it no longer mattered. And Katie would never understand what I’d done for her, anyway.
So I was free to absorb Dena’s main point. She had wanted the two of us to be together. But seeing that I was with Katie ended her plan.
Should it have? I didn’t even know. Did what I felt for one cancel what I felt for the other? And what about the Clown that had broken my heart?
“Here,” I said, and handed Katie the shopping bag. Now it only held, of course, her snack.
“Thanks,” she said, checking it out. “But Dena and I already ate.”
“Oh.”
Katie gave me back the bag. Suddenly ravenous, I started to bolt down the food myself. It was the only thing that made sense to do.
“You’ve got some cool friends,” Katie said, and the two women smiled at each other. “Dena has been very sympathetic about my, you know, plight.”
Not surprisingly, Katie had been loquacious, revealing her crime to a virtual stranger. Dena and Katie had bonded, and maybe that was predictable, too. One was a responsible parent, the other a restless kid.
“Look,” I said to Dena. “Maybe we ought to talk about all of this.”
“We don’t have to. I’m heading back.” She had returned to her usual practicality, and seemed comfortable there.
“Well, maybe you don’t have to, I—”
“I do have to, though.”
“But maybe you don’t have to go back alone.”
“No, I do.”
There was a finality about the statement that stopped me. It would take true romantic conviction to challenge it, and I wasn’t sure I felt it. My next remark surprised everyone.
“No, I mean … take Katie with you.”
It’s painful to learn that one sacrifice often leads to another. Better to get them over with all at once, I thought.
“She’s safe this minute. But we shouldn’t push our luck. It’d be best for her to hang out in Maine for a while.”
A general silence fell over the small apartment. Dena looked at me, quizzically, and then at Katie. I turned to Katie, too, to gauge the level of hurt feelings.
She didn’t have any. As always, she was just intrigued by a new possibility.
“You think?” she said.
“Yes,” I replied.
“Well,” Katie said. “I do like lobster.”
I shot a look back at Dena, to see if the feeling was mutual. She seemed open, yet still undecided.
“It’ll take some time for things to die down,” I told her. “But Katie’s case is closed. See, the cops wanted Clown more than her.”
Dena’s eyes grew wide. “You mean you actually got—”
“Don’t remind me.”
“And then you gave it—”
“Yes, yes. That’s enough, stop.”
Dena gave a low whistle through her open mouth, something I didn’t know she could do.
“Well,” she said, “I could use someone to split the driving.”
“Great,” Katie chirped. “I’ll go pack my stuff.”
My place being a hovel, she went to a corner, while Dena and I continued, in lowered voices.
“I found out who saw your father,” I said, “who scared him to death. And who came after me.”
“Really? Is he—”
“Yes,” I lied. “Now he’s, you know, he’s in custody.”
“Wow. This … this is all so impressive, Roy.” Dena looked at me with a new expression on her face. I think it was respect, but I hadn’t ever seen it enough to know.
“But I guess we’ll never know why your dad called me in the first place.”
Dena didn’t answer. Katie joined her at the door, a canvas bag slung over her shoulder.
“Okay,” she said. “I’m good to go.”
“Here,” Dena said to her, going in her own bag. “Wear this kerchief. At least until we get out of town.”
Katie happily covered her head in a do-rag way. That, plus her freckles, made her look like a tomboy character in an old comic strip. I still liked her, I couldn’t help it. So I glanced away.
Then Dena gave me something, too.
“Well, I know why my father called you,” she said.
It was her father’s tape. The one Dena had sent me. The one Katie brought back from Graus to me.
“And once you watch this, Roy,” she added, “you’ll know that I’m not leaving because I don’t love you.”
“What? But—”
The two women were out the door before I could finish.
