Chapter 5
"Of course you can stay the night!" June boomed.
It was true that Jimmy had said he didn't call the police in order to discourage Maggie from testing the locks on his RV, but that didn't make what he said a false statement. Jimmy could not stand the police and would never seek them out if the choice was his. He was a large, tatted up, unfriendly-looking white guy. If he called to report anything, he'd be the prime suspect. If he called to report a rape, he'd need an alibi. Robbery? Insurance fraud. Assault? A flat-out lie. One look at him, and he was practically guilty until proven innocent. That being said, he advised Maggie to call the cops.
She said she hadn't gone to the bathroom when she got home, so her intruder could have come in and written that at any other point throughout the day. A less likely yet not completely absurd idea was that it somehow happened while they were in the house. Again, not very likely, but a freaky idea to her for sure. He checked all points of entry with her, and was happy to use his muscle to truly test the locked windows. They didn't budge. The two saw nothing, heard nothing, and had nothing; nothing but a half-empty tube of toothpaste.
Maggie recounted the way the police had made her feel the first time she had called them. She recalled how one officer made an effort while the rest couldn't be bothered and how every aspect of her story was questioned to death as if they were more interested in finding inconsistencies than the goddamn perp. It'd be that all over, and she didn't want that.
What could Jimmy say to that? He may have been way out of his depth but, if he couldn't think of any reason to call the police for his own sake, what argument could he give her in order to make her reconsider?
June came back from the hallway closet carrying a thick, winter comforter. "But, honey, I gotta tell ya. We're out in the boonies, and seeing the occasional mouse comes with the territory. You're going to have to face it."
"Yea, well..." It was a pitiful lie and probably unnecessary, too, but Maggie felt she needed some reason to want to crash on her friend's couch. If she'd told June the truth, June most certainly would have called the police with or without her consent. "When I go into town tomorrow, I can load up on traps and bait and all the jazz. I'm just not prepared tonight."
June pointed to Jimmy. "And this big, useless oaf couldn't help you catch it?"
He puffed out his chest. "You think I don't have better things to do than hunt a mouse, woman?" He turned to Maggie, unfriendly as ever. "Just get a cat, and be done with it."
"So mean," June nagged. "You're just mad you've gotta share."
News of a mouse in Maggie's home didn't seem to phase any of the six of the grandchildren there. They crowded around the food she'd brought over while the oldest passed out plastic, Disney-themed kid's ware. Maggie bent over an picked up the youngest; a one-year-old boy stubbornly refusing to start walking and instead choosing to dart all over the floor on his hands and knees. "Maybe I'll just borrow this little gremlin instead. How's that sound, stinky?" He attempted to give her his pacifier. She politely declined.
With everyone served, dinner time consisted of everyone crowding onto the living room sectional around the TV to watch some lame Netflix horror original. Maggie thought Jimmy would simply slide back into his old ways with her. It made the most sense. If they'd gone from ice cold acquaintances to something much warmer so quickly and without explanation, June would get suspicious and assume something ludicrous happened between the two like spontaneous sex or something, and she'd cling to that idea until the two proved otherwise. The trouble was that, where he'd normally be posted somewhere far away from everyone to eat in peace, he instead sidled right next to her on the couch to watch TV and eat instead. She couldn't help but smile at that, but this would make keeping up antagonistic appearances pretty tough.
Maggie looked up at him. "So, a cat, huh?"
He shrugged. "They're useful."
"Yea, but they can't read," she said under her breath.
"So, I should hang around your place all day and night looking for...a mouse?"
"I guess not. It was nice having you there when we saw it, though...and maybe before then, too."
"Yea, it was." He stared a little longer than he should have. "What are you going to do?"
"Exactly what I said. I'm going to get the tools I need when I go into town. Maybe a camera system to start."
"No, no," chimed in the oldest at twelve. "You want to sprinkle cheerios onto a sticky trap to catch it." The context of Jimmy and Maggie's conversation had gone completely over her head, but she did have an idea.
"That's a fair point." Maggie looked back to Jimmy. "Maybe I should just catch it."
"That sounds dangerous. Extremely dangerous."
"Any better ideas?"
"I still think you should call in the professionals. I know they're...incompetent sometimes, but it'd be better to go with them than go it alone."
"Would it?"
"Yes," he considered. "I think, anyways."
"Hmm."
"You don't even have to call. Didn't one leave you her card?" Jimmy reminded.
Maggie had forgotten about it. The officer's card was still in her wallet.
"Perhaps," he continued, "you could just go to the station and talk one-on-one. Explain what happened and see what advice she gives you."
"Maybe I will."
"Cause you can't stay here forever," he huffed.
Maggie leaned her head back and called across the room. "June, can I stay here forever?"
She didn't even look up from her phone. "Rent's 250."
Maggie turned back with a smile. "You sure about that?"
"Well, I sure as hell don't want you here."
Maggie lowered her voice. "Where do you want me?" She couldn't read his face.
Jimmy pursed his lips, put his empty plate to the side, and stood up. "It's time for great uncle Jim to turn in."
"Awww," called each child in unison.
"I'm not watching this crap for another hour." As they all wished him goodnight, he turned and left quickly letting the screen door creek closed behind him.
Maggie felt immediately guilty. She pushed too hard and committed a cardinal sin; making things awkward between the two. She tried not to let it show and just joined in with the rest of the kids humming and hawing at the stupid decisions the protagonist made. One thing Maggie learned as the night went on was that the kids didn't really have a bedtime. They just sort of fell asleep anywhere. The TV stayed on, too, acting as white noise as they nodded off one by one. June had already turned in to her bedroom so, with Maggie last to go, she got as comfortable as she could with three others on the couch and let sleep wash over her. Being surrounded by people definitely helped. She rested her head on the arm of the couch letting the last thing she saw be the side kitchen door in an unmistakable locked position.
Who knew what time it was when she heard the heavy, male footsteps approach. It had definitely been hours; long enough for the TV to automatically cut off after not tapping 'yes' when asked if they were still watching. Maggie was rocked gently from side to side until she was roused. She looked up to see Jimmy throwing his face to the door. She let a child who had fallen asleep on top of her slide onto the couch cushions as she quietly followed him outside. She was tired, and it was freezing, but the latter changed at least once she'd made it to his RV.
Once inside, he faced her suddenly, startling her a bit. "Don't do that again."
She sighed. "I know. I'm sorry."
"We're not..."
"I know," she interrupted.
"...anything."
"I know," she repeated emphatically.
"Good." He pulled her in and kissed her. Longer than the other times. Sweeter, too. "I want you out here with me."
"That's a bad idea." She was still being kissed on her lips, her neck, and anywhere else he could reach. She had to pull away to finish her thought. "I'd rather June have no idea than the wrong idea."
Jimmy held her head in his hands. He'd given it more thought and had decided on the best course of action. "Promise me you'll call that officer in the morning."
Maggie broke eye contact. "I have work."
"Promise me," He said firmly following it with a kiss.
"I won't have time to..." she breathed.
He quieted her with another kiss. "You promise me."
"I'll think about it." She turned her head to stop him from doing it again.
"Maggie!" He hissed in frustration.
"Jim!" Maggie hissed back disengaging from him angrily before letting herself calm down a bit. "I can't mean something to you in one breath and nothing in the next." She fell into a nearby seat, exasperated. "You can't have it both ways. You just can't."
Jimmy put his hands on his hips, frustrated at first, but ultimately understanding her point. He looked at her, frowning. "What next then? Or is that it?"
She scoffed and chuckled at the same time. "Look at us. We pretend not to care about what others think, and yet that's all we're concerned about."
Jimmy looked down a bit knowing full well that she was right.
She tilted her head. "What do you want out of this? On your own terms?"
"I like you. I want to share your company...and affection. I want that to stay our business, though. Do you get that?" He waited for her to nod before continuing. "It doesn't matter what either of us want if there is some lunatic out there out to get you."
"Then, I guess...we both have to do our parts."
Jimmy's face lightened. "So you'll call?"
"Only if you do your part."
"Which is?"
"Let me in...publicly. If you want to be my friend, even if it's with benefits, you have to treat me like one. June cannot be the sole reason we cross paths and, if you turn your nose up at me every time we speak in front of her then, yes, me coming here asking for you isn't exactly going to make sense. I'm sure the expectation tonight was for me to sneak back inside at the crack of dawn before anyone woke up, right?" She didn't wait for him to confirm or deny it. She simply shook her head at his guilty face. "I refuse to visit you in secret like this again. If you made an effort not to be a jerk, I'd never have to. So, for once in your life, be nice. Or is that asking too much of your terms?"
"We both understand that this is more than friendship but less than anything else. So," he leaned in with the most serious face she'd ever seen, "don't hurt me."
