Picing up the Pieces

Chapter 10: Becoming Close

April 2007

Changes in the weather were to Brian's liking. He claimed the constant rain gave him ideas for future projects that would increase his revenue. He envisioned the attic over the café and hardware store as a livable loft. But first, readying Mr. Bennett's house for occupancy became his priority.

He still visited Henrietta and devoted as much time as possible to keeping up with the kids' activities. He was aware that Phillip and Tommy talked regularly on the phone, and he wasn't surprised when he heard Amanda talking to Marian.

"Do you ever get the idea that you're missing something that life has to offer?" he asked Henrietta. They were in her small office, going over the work he was planning to have done to the front of the building.

"When I start feeling that way, I know it's time to change the batteries in my vibrator," she said.

"You remind me of Peggy. She teased me constantly."

"Does the banker lady tease you?"

"I haven't seen her since we got back from Florida. Mrs. Nixon and John make the daily deposits, so I don't have a reason for stopping by the bank. I don't want her to think she owes me anything for the desk."

"In other words, you're avoiding her, and want me to give you some ideas as to how you can see her?"

"Why do you always have to bring her into the conversation? Thanks for the advice; I'll buy some new batteries," Brian said, not trying to hide his annoyance with her as he got up to leave.

Henrietta caught up with him at the door, making their bodies collide. She didn't back off, and he didn't either. "Brian, you don't need batteries. You have a telephone. Use it," she said, kissing him lightly on the lips.

He put his arm around her and pulled her close. "Thanks, Henry."

He didn't intend to follow her advice, but he was touched by her concern. Brian went to the small house and worked the rest of the day, filling a dumpster with rubbish, and filling his truck with items that could be sold as antiques.

He waited until the kids and Mary were in bed before dialing her number.

"I hope it isn't too late?" he asked.

"Brian," she said, recognizing his voice. "It's not too late."

"You once said that you would like to see my plans for the alterations I'm making to the antique Victorian."

"I remember saying that."

"Well, I don't have any plans. I have no ideas, either."

Her gentle laugh was easy on the ears. "Would you like to meet sometime?"

"I'd like to see...talk to you about the renovations," he said, thinking that she could stop by the house when he was there.

"I have lunch at your café sometimes."

"It isn't my café any longer, but...do you think that would be a good idea?"

"Brian, we're just meeting to talk about your plans for the house. Anyway, most people know we went on vacation together."

That was true. They were meeting to discuss renovations to the house. "Would tomorrow be convenient for you?"

"I'll see you there at twelve-fifteen. I hope we'll be able to get a table. That place is so popular now."

"I know the owner," he quipped, as they said goodbye.

Brian found himself looking forward to the luncheon meeting. Henrietta's eyebrows went up when she saw him enter the café. He almost never came in at lunchtime.

"I don't have a table for one," she said.

"Marian's meeting me."

"In that case, I'll give you the last table for four. Congratulations for taking your head out of your ass," she whispered, as she led him to the table.

Brian was reluctant to accept the table, but he knew that Henrietta would be hurt if he turned it down. A party of four, two men with their wives or girlfriends arrived shortly after he was seated. He tried not to pay any attention to them, but he could almost feel their eyes upon him.

He stood when Marian arrived, and helped her with her chair.

They laughed about things that had happened when they were on vacation, and what other diners must be saying about seeing them having lunch together.

He told her that he had the house cleaned, but they didn't discuss the renovations.

"It may be better if I stop by when you're there," she said, repeating what he had been thinking all along.

"I'll be there all afternoon," he said, and she agreed to stop by the house at three-fifteen.

With that out of the way, they went back to talking about their children's activities, what a nice spring it was turning out to be, and what the town council had decided at their last meeting.

Marian's visits to the house became frequent, not every day, but she stopped by often to find Brian knocking out a wall, installing flooring, or patching a ceiling. After ruining the jacket of a business suit, she brought jeans and a sweatshirt to change into. She never stayed long. Her visits were restricted to giving encouragement or handing him a tool when it was out of his reach.

There were also late night phone calls to remind the other of something they'd forgotten to mention.

"When are you going to take her on an actual date?" Henrietta asked.

"Soon," he said, without thinking, "or over the weekend if she doesn't stop by the house."

Marian didn't come by the house, but she called him that night. "Brian, I love the desk, but the chair I have doesn't match. Do you know where I can find one?"

He didn't know, but he offered to check with other antique dealers in the area. It took him most of the next day to find a chair that sounded like it matched the desk. They made arrangements to go look at the chair the following Sunday.

"I'll sit in the backseat with the rug rats," Amanda offered.

Marian and Brian exchanged a look, and smiled appreciatively at Amanda.

It was a long drive to the shop where the chair was located. Amanda kept the boys busy identifying out-of-state license plates on cars they met, while Brian and Marion talked quietly in the front seat.

The wood on the chair did not quite match the desk. It was a cherry finish, while the desk was mahogany. But the seat had been replaced and the casters were new, and Marian insisted that the chair would be acceptable.

"I can change the finish to mahogany," Brian offered.

"How long will that take, six months?" Marian asked, playfully tugging at his shirttail. They exchanged a long look, silently promising to get even with each other later.

Brian didn't need help carrying the chair to the car, but he accepted her offer. Likewise, he noticed that the boys didn't complain when Amanda took them by the hand.

The sun was going down when they got back to Marian's house. The boys headed for the basement playroom, and Brian thought Amanda had followed them. He carried the chair upstairs and placed it in front of the desk.

"It's perfect," Marian said, jumping into his arms. They were kissing when they realized they had company. Amanda was looking up at them, horrified by the sight of her dad kissing a woman.

"Amanda!" Marian exclaimed. We're just...I was...expressing my...it wasn't what you..."

Amanda was looking down the hall. "It's a good thing Phillip and Tommy didn't see that. They don't know why older people kiss and do stuff. I'm nine now and know about those things."

Marian pulled Amanda to her, and Brian put his arm around his daughter. "You're right, Sweetheart. Those little boys wouldn't understand."

Amanda was hugging Brian and Marian, happy to be included in their adult embrace.

"My Dad and I keep secrets from Phillip all the time. Don't we, Dad?"

"Amanda, do you think you could keep it a secret from Phillip and Tommy if Marian and I went on a date?" Brian asked.

Amanda nodded her head. "Are you going to kiss and stuff?"

They were still in a three-way embrace. Brian felt Marian's body shake with laugher. "Yeah, Dad, are we going to kiss and stuff?"

"I hope so," he admitted.

"Me too," she said, quickly kissing him before ending the hug.

Although Amanda tried her best to keep it a secret that their parents were dating, it didn't take the boys long to figure it out. Marian would deliver her son to the house, tell him to be good, and leave. Brian would leave shortly afterward, and come home long after Amanda and the boys were asleep.

Their dates began by having dinner together, ending with a goodnight kiss. Their schedule increased from one date a week to two, then three nights, until Tommy was staying with Phillip nearly every night of the week.

They were soon the talk of the town, accepting invitations to parties, planning family nights with the kids, or staying in.

They had no secrets. Marian told Brian more about her marriage and feeling compelled to tell all, he described his night with Georgia.

Marian was shocked, calling him a whore and a gigolo. But she was an open-minded woman, willing to listen to Brian's explanation. He told her what a jerk Curtis had been, how Georgia's father had misrepresented the profitability of the businesses, and how Georgia had forgiven one month's mortgage payment at a time when he was having a difficult time making ends meet.

"You did it for money," she said, accusingly.

"If it makes any difference, I turned down Doris Kelly's offer to pay me twenty-nine hundred and fifty dollars."

"That changes nothing. It only makes you an expensive whore." Marian said, and it took her several weeks of thinking about what Brian had said, to reconcile his cheating with another man's wife.

Brian assured her that his night with Georgia was a one-time event, and promised to never let it happen again.

"Come to me if you get into such dire financial straights that you feel compelled to sell your body for money. I have resources," she said.

Brian took her to mean that she was in a position to give him a bank loan, but Marian was thinking of the insurance settlement she had gained from Tom's death.

Brian was tempted to tell her that he had his own resources. Too bad he hadn't made the discovery of the nineteen envelopes in the roll-top desk before he felt obliged to help Georgia with her fantasy.

July 2007

He finished his work on the antique Victorian. Marian helped him pick out the wall coverings, and he contracted to have them installed. Lois Banks said she already had several people interested in leasing the small home, and Brian was not surprised at how quickly she brought him a signed lease. He was, however, surprised by the signature at the bottom of the first page. Max Leach and his wife would be the new tenants.

With the small house out of the way, Brian focused his attention on his last source of revenue, the attic of the building that housed the café and hardware store. The fire chief and the insurance inspector conspired against him, demanding that a fire suppression system be installed in the kitchen, dining area, and hardware store.

At first, Brian reneged at the costs, saying that a five-year payback was unreasonable. In addition to the fire suppression system, the fire chief had said that he didn't want a band of pot-smoking tenants occupying the space. This infuriated Brian. How could a city employee wield so much power?

That night, he vented to Marian, saying that he was ready to abandon the idea of making the attic into a loft. She differed.

"Five years is not unreasonable for a payback." she reasoned.

"It's more like six years when you consider the cost of hardwood floors, replacing some of the windows, and decorating."

"Are you forgetting that your girlfriend is in a position to loan you money for improvements?"

Brian had never thought of her as his girlfriend. "The agreement restricts me from borrowing money for improvements or for any other reason."

"The agreement restricts you from borrowing from a bank. What I'm offering is a personal loan. It won't show up on your books. You won't even need to sign a paper?"

"Why would you?" he asked, unable to finish the sentence.

Marian was a practical woman. She felt an attraction to Brian that she'd felt with no other man. It helped that she found his family easy to be around. Amanda was a precious little girl who needed her guidance. Phillip was a sweet little boy who missed his mother, and Mary did her best to make Marian and Tommy feel welcome in the home.

"I trust you, Brian. I'm not rich, but I have some money from Tom's insurance settlement that we don't need right now."

"How much?" he asked.

She watched him closely. Why was he questioning her? "Are you testing me?"

"Yes."

Again, she watched him, trying to determine his intent. He had just admitted that he was testing her. She had no reason to hide anything from him. "Tom's insurance amounted to five hundred thousand dollars," she said, offering nothing more. If he asked, she would give him a full accounting of her other investments, but he didn't.

"That's a lot of money. I can't match it right now, but I'm not in the breadline, either. I can afford to pay for the improvements. Thanks for the offer though."

"Does that mean you'll go ahead with the loft?"

"Yes, I believe it does."

""I'll help with the decorations."

"I'd like that," Brian admitted.

This conversation changed everything. To Marian, Brian had shown that he was not influenced by money. He could have borrowed from her with no strings attached. He didn't.

She saw him as a positive influence in the children's lives. He showed Tommy the same affection that he bestowed toward his own son and daughter. He was dependable and stable. Was she falling in love with him? Did he have the same feelings for her? If so, what was holding him back from making his move?

Marian's main concern was that Brian was not ready to let Peggy go. She consulted Mary to gain insight as to Brian's commitment to the memory of her daughter. Mary said she knew that Brian would always carry Peggy's memory in his heart. "I believe that if Peggy had married him, Brian would have closure. She left him with the nagging thought of what might have been."

Marian went to see Henrietta, and was surprised to learn how much Brian had revealed to his friend. She not only knew he had fucked for money; Henrietta knew about Doris Kelly's offer to pay for sex.

Henrietta was candid, offering her advice freely. "Don't give up on him, take a chance. Everyone in town thinks you're sleeping together anyway. What do you have to lose?"

Marian thanked Henrietta, but she wasn't ready to take the next step without assurance that Brian was in for the long haul. Marriage was not her goal. She was financially secure. What Marian needed was a different kind of security. She wanted to know that Brian would give her his undivided love.

Brian moved his toolbox to the attic and began work on converting the space to a loft. Marian couldn't get as excited about the project as he was, but she didn't object when he worked late into the night. He became obsessed with transforming the attic into a loft. It became his practice to have dinner with Mary and the kids, and then excuse himself.

Marian often accompanied him, offering suggestions and encouragement. Other nights, he would take one of the kids with him for company, and to make sure he kept in touch with what they were doing.

"Aunt Ginny met someone," Amanda said one night, when they were on their way to his project.

"How do you know?" he asked, thinking he had missed seeing a letter from his sister.

"E-mail."

"How long have you been exchanging e-mail with her?"

"Forever," Amanda answered, and then, "its okay, isn't it?"

Brian gave her a smile of assurance. "Of course it's okay. What do you talk about?"

"Second grade stuff, mostly. That's the grade she teaches. But lately, it's been all about Randy. He's her boyfriend now. They go to summer school and study together."

"She's already getting serious about someone new," Brian mused.

"It's already been a year since Danny was killed, Dad."

"It's been a year?"

Amanda nodded. "Aunt Ginny honored Danny's death for a whole year before she looked at another man. I think she wanted you to know that. She hopes you get serious about Marian."

Brian wasn't prepared to receive relationship advice from his kid sister, especially if it was delivered by his nine year old daughter.

"Tell Ginny we're thinking of her," he said, and watched Amanda grin at him.

August 2007

As work continued on the loft, other townspeople began to climb the stairs and look through the glass in the door. Lois Banks claimed to have a list of interested parties, all willing to pay the asking price for a chance to live above the café and hardware store.

One evening, Brian was framing what was to become the bathroom and adjacent closet when one of the Leach brothers came into the space.

Brian introduced him. "Marian, this is Mr. Leach."

"Mark," the young man said.

"He's the one that is still single," Brian offered, still not sure if it was really Mark or Max was having fun at his expense.

It had been Marian's intention to entice Brian into her bed, and this was to be the night. She was wearing shorts, a T-shirt with no bra, and sneakers. Seeing the way Mark was taking in her scantily clad body, she decided to see if Brian had a jealous bone in his body.

"Mr. Leach, have you seen the bathroom fixtures? They're the latest European design," she said, hoping Brian would notice the way she was tugging on the young man's arm. Mark followed her willingly, but she couldn't tell if Brian looked up from the nail he was driving into the two by four.

Mark was impressed with the fixtures, and Marian could see that he was impressed with the way her thirty-year-old ass wiggled when she bent down to lift the seat on the commode.

Brian thought he knew what Marian was attempting. She was succeeding. He would have liked to have told the younger Leach brother to keep his eyes off of his girlfriend's ass, but that would have meant that he was playing into her plans.

"Honey, Mark wants to lease the loft. How soon can we finish it?" Marian asked.

Mark confirmed that he would like to live above the hardware store, joking that it would cut down on his daily commute to work. It did make sense. Mark would have a vested interest in the security of the property. Also, he would have two means of egress, a complaint that the building inspector had raised if the tenant only had the outside stairs to enter and exit the loft.

Brian agreed to have the space ready for occupancy by the end of August and the deal was struck. The two men shook hands. Mark left and Brian decided to knock off early. He took Marian home, and when she invited him inside, he was happy to accept. There were some things he needed to tell her.

Marian misunderstood; she thought this was the night. They were sitting on the couch, waiting for the other to make the first move.

Brian didn't know any other way but to blurt out what was bothering him. "I have you to thank for urging me to go ahead with the improvements. I wasn't going to go through with it until you offered to loan me the money."

Marian, whose mind had been monopolized by the thought of having sex, was stunned by the turn of events. What was he saying? "Why did you do it?"

"It was a matter of pride. You once called me a gigolo. I wanted to prove you wrong, even if I had to use funds that I was saving for my next rainy day."

Marian got up and went to the kitchen, coming back with two glasses of wine. "I jumped to conclusions. You have nothing to prove to me. I know you're not a gigolo."

Brian took a sip of wine. "Thanks for saying that. What you think about me is important. But you have to admit; I did fuck for money," he said, watching her smirk, not getting the reaction he hoped for.

"Listen to me, Brian. I hold you in the highest esteem."

"I got you to tell me the amount of Tom's insurance settlement. I don't know why I did that. It's not me."