What You Need(29)
“You looked pretty cozy over here.”
“I figured it’d be rude to tell him to take a hike after he’d saved me from a trip to the emergency room.” I took a drink. “Why?”
“No reason.” Maxie picked up her cigarette and drew in deeply. Then she slowly exhaled. “Used to be you wouldn’t give a man like that a second glance.”
“I used to wear blue eye shadow too, Maxie. People change.”
“It’s not your blue eye shadow that I take issue with, Lenni. It’s the fact you’re forgetting your blue-collar roots.”
I’d known this would come to a head; I just didn’t want to say the wrong thing. Although she was my mother’s friend, she’d looked out for me—especially when my mother hadn’t. “You cannot have it both ways. None of the regulars who hang around were ever good enough for me. And if other guys come into the bar and I notice them, then you say I’m acting like I’m too good for the regulars?”
She grinned. “Exactly.”
“No wonder I’m still single.”
“Ain’t nothin’ wrong with bein’ single. Been happily single my whole life.”
“Wrong. You’ve been married to this bar.”
“Always been too damn smart for your own good.”
I smiled and used that as a chance to change the subject.
And a reason to forget about my run-in with Brady Lund.
Chapter Eight
Lennox
‡
The next morning I knocked on Kiley’s door at eight a.m.
I usually slept in on Saturdays, so I’d used my alarm for the first time on a weekend in well over a year. I hadn’t stayed at Maxie’s very long after she alternately grilled me and guilted me. I stuck around long enough to switch to Coke and make sure I was totally sober before I climbed behind the wheel of my car.
“What?” Kiley said from inside her room.
“Coffee’s on.”
“Be right there.”
Five minutes later Kiley strolled into the kitchen. “You’re an angel.” She filled a mug, dumped powdered creamer in it and looked at me over the rim. “You were out late last night.”
“The woman who runs the bar I used to work at called and nagged me for forgetting my old friends. So I drove down there and hung out for a while.” Although I’d never taken Kiley to Maxie’s place, she knew about the years I’d worked there. “What did you do last night?”
“Paperwork. And then more paperwork. I’m half afraid that none of my kids will show up today, and half afraid they’ll all show up.”
“Where are we going today?”
“Southside, baby.” She swallowed another gulp of coffee. “There’s a playground that’s seen better days, but it has a basketball court, which is all the guys care about. There’s some nasty graffiti spray painted on the abandoned brick building. I’ve gotten permission from the owners to fix it.”
“How’re you gonna do that?”
Kiley smirked. “You mean, how are we gonna do that? I’ll give you the options the same time I tell the kids.” She gave my outfit a slow perusal. “You don’t care if you get paint on those clothes?”
“Yes, I care if I get paint on these clothes. I’ll have to change.” I pointed at her. “And no yelling at me to hurry up, because I didn’t know this was a painting party.”
“No yelling. But there is one thing I want to ask you.”
“What?”
“Can you let your tats show today? And put your piercings in?”
Okay. That was a weird request. “Can I ask why?”
“These kids are borderline cases. And since I’ve met with them, I know they feel . . . marginalized or ostracized. Sometimes by where they live, or their parents’ actions or inactions, a lot of them think there’s no life for them beyond what they can see. I want to show them they can retain their individuality, but still fit into a more mainstream life.”
I didn’t know what to say. I had a regular job, but at that job I had to hide those things that made me stand out. So would it be more hypocritical to put the piercings in and show the tats, or to say no and then not tell these kids that I willingly cover up a part of myself five days a week in order to fit into a world I never thought I’d belong in? “Kiley. I don’t know. That seems—”
“Dishonest? Maybe a little. But it’s not like you never wear them anymore.”
“It’s rare. And I did let most of the holes close up.” Out of pure laziness—not that I’d tell her that. I found I slept better without the piercings in my nipples, my nose and my ears. I’d never gone for gauges, though at one time I’d been tempted to try it just because few women had them.