Author's note:
Chapter 8 of 13. Thank you Tim413413 for selfless editing.
The Perfect Pieces - Chapter 08
"You just want to put a little bit where the pieces join," I said, watching Amber confidently drop a small bead of solder on the end of one of her petals, where it touched the circular center. "The flux sucks the solder into the joint and makes it stick." Amber smiled and moved on to the next joint. She had spent a good ten minutes practicing on some scraps after our morning coffee. Now she was all confidence. I watched as she moved from joint to joint, carefully locking each one with solder.
"Now turn it over and do the same thing on the other side," I instructed.
"Shouldn't I let it dry first?" she asked.
"It already is." I smiled. She hesitantly took out the pins that were holding the structure in place and turned it over. She was amazed at the structure's sturdiness. I loved her amazement. It was breathing new life into my workshop. She was about to start dropping more solder. "Flux first," I reminded her. She smiled and went for the small paintbrush and started applying the flux. I put my elbow on the table and set my chin in my hand. I watched as she worked, transfixed by the beauty of it all. My glass, my love and the Grateful Dead playing quietly over the speakers.
"How's that?" Amber asked. I could see the pride in her eyes. All the petals were secure.
"Perfect," I complimented, "now you have to tin the rest of the foil."
"How do I do that?" she asked as she turned the structure around in her hand. Her eyes were so excited. It was probably the first piece of art she had done since she left high school.
"Flux around one of your pieces," I said as I drew my finger around one of the petals, "then build up a small bead of solder and use the flat of the iron to pull it along." I watched as she carefully painted the foil with flux. In time she would figure out that you don't have to be so neat. I didn't want to correct her and damage her efforts. I let it be and just watched.
Three more times I kept my mouth shut as she learned. Eventually, she got into the flow, figuring out the timing on her own. There was nothing she could mess up that couldn't be fixed anyway. My silence paid off when she finished the first side. The look on her face was priceless. It was almost as pleasurable as when we had finished in bed. She flipped it over, without my prompting, and began to flux the other side. Finishing art is personal, so I decided to give her some space.
"I'll start lunch," I said before I moved off. She looked up at me, thinking she was shirking her duty. I never had a duty list, but I wasn't sure if she thought she needed to contribute more. She looked back at the glass flower.
"Picnic again?" she asked, her smile growing.
"Absolutely," I answered, mirroring her smile. I left her there hard at work. I know how if feels to finish your own creation. The sense of completion warms your whole day and carries you through the next. I also knew it had to be hers. She needed it. An all new something not sullied by the past.
We had some lettuce left over from yesterday and a couple of tomatoes. I had some bacon in the freezer, wrapped accordion style in wax paper. Bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwiches sounded good to me. I pulled a few slices of bacon out to thaw as my phone vibrated. Another email from Frank. It was everything the DEA had on Pablo. I decided to read it later on the office computer. I sent back my thanks. I took a deep breath. I still hadn't figured out how to handle Pablo. A bullet always came to mind first, but adding more guilt to the mountain I already carried didn't sound appealing. Not to mention, that it may put more risk on Lizzy.
I filled the tea kettle and set it on the stove to boil. I wondered if Pablo would listen to reason. Maybe he wanted a clean break as well. My experience told me that he probably took the theft of his shipment personally. I surely didn't want him to get the drugs back. I might as well go into the business myself if I did that. The best I could start with was to put myself between Pablo and Amber. I pulled out a broiling pan for the bacon.
Some men fought fear with capitulation. Others took it as a challenge and charged forward. I suspected Pablo was the latter. I needed to make sure I didn't insult him as I laid out the change in his situation. If anything, I was a change to his status quo. One I hoped he would underestimate at first. I pulled out a teapot and set it next to the stove. I pulled five teabags out of the cupboard and placed them in the pot with the strings hanging over the edge. The main thing was to safeguard Amber. I could easily expedite Pablo's plans if I wasn't careful.
I put the quickly-defrosting bacon slices on a broiling pan and put them in the oven. I caught the tea kettle before it began to sing and filled the pot that held the tea bags. I grabbed the plastic jug from the counter and filled it with ice to the top. I watched the water steep as I bounced the tea bags up in down by their strings. My threats would have to be carefully enumerated. I would have to make a show of it without damaging his pride. Turn it into a business decision for him. I smiled, thinking of putting a dead horse in his bed. The Godfather could have come up with an offer Pablo wouldn't refuse.
I could hear the bacon sizzling and popped the oven door to look. Still too rare. I liked my bacon just this side of dried-out crispy. I pulled the tea bags out of the water and drained them over the pot. I poured the potent tea into the jug of ice and capped it. I checked on the bacon, flipped the slices and let them cook some more. Bacon texture is important. You don't want to fight with rubber when you bite, nor do you want it to crumble to nothing at the slightest touch. The smell was good either way.
"It's finished," Amber announced, holding her creation before her. She was obviously pleased with herself. "Mmmm, bacon," she added when the smell hit her. I took the flower from her and pretended to examine it for flaws. I made sure I didn't find any.
"Perfect," I complimented. That earned me a kiss. "You can solder a loop on it after lunch," I said, indicating where the hanger should be placed. She lovingly pushed me out of the way and opened the oven. The bacon seemed done. Amber grabbed the oven mitts and pulled it out.
"BLT's?" she asked. I nodded and watched her assemble two sandwiches. She still felt the need to do things for me. Maybe she just wanted to. Either way I was pleased as long as she knew I preferred her as a lover and not a maid. She packed the meal in the basket that had seen more use in the last three days, than it had in the many years I had owned it. We headed out to the dock.
"I like doing stained glass," Amber said, as she purposely bumped my shoulder with hers. "Lizzy will like her flower...if I ever have a chance to give it to her."
"We'll get it to her," I insisted. There was a bit more determination in my voice than there should have been. Amber bumped me again. She was being playful.
"I've been thinking," she said, "I don't like the idea of you dealing with Pablo. Maybe, if I just give him his stuff back, no one will get hurt." I shook my head.
"Unless he is an aberration, there is no way he would be happy with only the return," I stopped walking, "I can't have him killing you." Amber stopped as well.
"I can't have him killing you," she admitted, "you had nothing to do with my idiocy. If something were to happen to you...I don't know what I would do." The palm of her free hand found my cheek. I could see how the thought pained her. My heart thought it was wonderful that she thought me worthy of her concern. The rest of me felt badly for thinking her pain was wonderful. My hands full of chairs, I bent down and kissed her for the thought.
"Let's try to work it out so no one dies." I smiled. "My friend sent me more information. I think it is everything the DEA has on you and Pablo." I started walking again. Amber followed. "We are one step ahead. Pablo doesn't know me, and I now know him."
"I loved him once," Amber said softly, "I ignored the laws and enjoyed the money." She looked up at me with cinched eyes, "I'm not a good person. You have to know who you're risking your life for." I stopped walking again. Her words brought back memories that I preferred were forgotten. She needed me to understand her. Understanding needed to go both ways.
"I can hit a moving target at 400 meters," I said slowly, my eyes looking away, "20 years ago I was ordered to do just that. I hit the driver of an SUV. The target, I assume, died instantly. His wife and three small children died in the accident that followed." I looked up, ready for her to run, "I've killed children whose only mistake was being born." My eyes swelled as that fucked up memory came back to me. The screams that followed the fire returned as if it happened yesterday. I gritted my teeth, trying to force the thoughts back into hiding.
"Oh, God," Amber breathed. She didn't run. She put down the basket and embraced me. Her arms tucked under mine and she pulled me close. I dropped the chairs and melted into her. There is something miraculous about sharing pain. The agony becomes softer, less potent. I closed my eyes and let the memories flood back. I had done something horrendous and it was time I remembered. I let it flow through me and into Amber. It came back tainted with compassion. It was no less real, but colors other than black flowed around it. The wound stopped bleeding, though it was still sore as hell.
"You have to know who you're staying with," I whispered. She pulled me in tighter.
"The past is past," Amber said, "we can't undo what we've done. I'll never ask about your past, but I will always listen when you need to tell me." The side of her face was against my chest. It was comfortable there. Still, I disturbed it by leaning, making our mouths meet. A soft, compassionate kiss; one moral disaster to another. It took us a moment to collect our feelings and find our way to the the dock. The river, uncaring as always, flowed gently.
We ate in silence for a while. Our hands would intertwine and we exchanged small smiles as we let nature humble us. I thought of what I had divulged to Amber. I wondered if it was too much. Truth had a way of ruining things. I told her the worst, but kept other things to myself. I looked over at those lips I loved so much and knew she would never know everything. The worst would have to be enough for her to decide on our future. I wasn't going to make her climb my mountain of sin. She might tire and leave me in a downhill run.
"Can we wait a week?" Amber asked, breaking the silence.