Page 123 of The Hitchhikers
If the judge agreed to the deal, she could be eligible for parole in fifteen years. The number stole the breath from her chest. It was almost as long as she’d been alive. The lawyer said she could still have a future. There’d be programs. She could finish high school.
She didn’t know where Alice and Tom were now. She hoped Alice’s gunshot wasn’t too painful and that Tom’s shoulder was okay. She wondered if they made it to the Olympics or if they went back to Seattle. She imagined how happy they must be to be free of Simon and her.
She thought of William and Ruth and felt terrible about their broken windows and all the problems Simon and she had brought them. Their house was old, but Jenny knew it had been a happy place. She hoped they were drinking iced tea in their kitchen and laughing together like before.
Her lawyer told her that the younger officer was uninjured and had been able to get help for the older officer, who was now recovering from his gunshot wound. Jenny had cried in relief when she heard that, thinking of his little boy and pretty wife.
Her mother and Robert had been in debt. Everything would be sold off, including the house. Anything left would go to a distant uncle of Robert’s. It was strange thinking of all their belongings scattered around. Who would have their couch? Who was using her desk?
She spent the next couple of months in the provincial jail waiting for her sentencing hearing. She had so much time to think. It reminded her of the weeks she had spent hiding in Simon’s apartment.
While he was at work, she’d watched daytime soaps likeAnother WorldandThe Young and the Restlesson his black-and-white TV. She’d spent hours napping or crying, wondering what her mother was telling people. She’d wanted to help Simon in the marina store, but his dad had seen her there once and he’d given her such a look that she’d scurried up to the apartment.
She’d dropped out of school. She didn’t like leaving the house. People were horrid. She felt their stares and heard their whispers. She was so lonely. Simon had his shifts at the marina, thenhe cleaned boats. He’d wanted to find more odd jobs, but he was already tired at the end of the day. When they’d watch TV, he’d fall asleep with his head in her lap. She needed to do something. Why should Simon have to work so hard while Robert had no consequences?
So, Jenny had picked a night when Simon was unloading stock at the marina, and her mother would be at her aerobics class. She’d walked the path through the woods to the house.
She’d only wanted to talk.
Robert’s dark eyebrows lifted when he opened the door and found her on the doorstep. He immediately looked over her shoulder. He was checking if she’d come alone.
“Jenny,” he said. “You shouldn’t be here.”
“I have to talk to you.”
“Your mother’s out.”
“I know.” He hadn’t worried about being alone with her before. He’d wanted it that way. He’d created those opportunities. His gaze dropped to her stomach, then flicked away.
She hesitated, her face burning, that familiar sick feeling in her stomach. Maybe she should leave. But then she thought again of Simon and all the ways he was taking care of her.
This man couldn’t even look her in the eyes. This man wanted to send her away and make her feel ashamed for whathe’ddone.
She stepped forward until he was forced to take a couple of steps backward. He didn’t want to touch her now. She’d have laughed if she wasn’t trying so hard not to cry.
She was inside the house. She closed the door behind her. She could hear Frank Sinatra on the record player in the living room.
He shoved his hands into his pockets. “What do you want to talk about?”
She wasn’t going to have this conversation in the foyer.
“I want to sit down,” she said.
He glanced around, looking into the living room like he’d never seen it before. She walked past him and chose the gold-colored velvet sofa. The one her mother had reupholstered.
Robert hesitated, rocking back on his heels, both hands in his pockets. She could see his reflection in the windows. Finally, he sat in the love seat across from her.
“You shouldn’t be here,” he said again.
“I need money.”
“Your mother told me not to give you anything. She’s very upset with you.”
The hot tickle of rage was climbing higher up her throat. She didn’t think she’d ever been so angry before. “She’d be upset with you if she knew whatyoudid.”
A flush bloomed on his cheeks. She used to think him handsome, but now he seemed too slick, his hair combed back like a plastic Ken doll. The flesh of his chin and cheeks was beginning to sag. She wondered if her mom had noticed.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
