Works and Days

 The second coming of ann ford

Conclusion

That whole night Ann seemed, to her brother, to be in a trance, albeit a happy one. The food was actually good, and Bobby commented on this.

“We’re having the first meeting of the basketball team tonight,” Bobby was saying.

“Already?” Geoff asked, reaching for a roll.

“Yeah, we couldn’t call it practice because we don’t really have a team to play against. I was thinking about dividing the boys we have into two teams. And then I thought maybe next week I’d go talk to the priests over at Evervirgin—”

“Evervirgin!” interjected Geoff.

Ann just sat down and drank her water.

 

Thursday morning Geoff woke up to the sun in his eyes, which never happened. He had hit snooze on his alarm, thinking it was wrong because he couldn’t smell Ann’s coffee. But when he came downstairs in the early morning, there was still no Ann. What was more, he realized that he’d missed eight o’clock Mass. Walking into the kitchen Geoff found, in her big, sloppy handwriting a note.

 

Big brother,

I had to leave. I realized it last night when i was trying to sleep. You don’t have to be alone now that bobby’s here. I’m living on shuster street.

Love,

Annie

P.s.

 Xoxoxoxo!!!

 

Geoffrey Ford was so mad he could have hit something. The door opened and in came Bobby.

“You finally woke up! Are you feeling alright?” asked the priest.

 “I covered the eight o’clock for you. Anytime you need me to, let me know, alright?”

“Ann is gone,” Geoff said breathlessly. “She decided to move away. She’s gone.”

Robert Heinz seemed to be considering this for the moment, then he said, “It’s probably best. She didn’t belong in a rectory anyway.”

Before Geoff could recover from that there was a ring at the door, and he went to answer it.

“Chayne!”

“Good morning, Geoffrey,” Chayne Kandzierski was leaning against the door. “May I come in?”

“Come on in,” Geoff gestured to the living room, genuinely glad to see Chayne. “You’re hanging out in the rectory a lot this year.”

“Yeah,” Chayne didn’t look pleased by this.

“Can I get you something?” Geoff asked.

“No, your sister said you might want to talk is all.”

“Chayne?”

Chayne looked at the other man in black.

“You have to be Chayne Kandzierski,” Bobby offered his hand.

Chayne, reluctantly, offered his hand, and Bobby shook it briskly.

“Father Robert Heinz,” he identified himself. “You can call me Father Bobby,”

“No,” said Chayne.

“As you wish. I’m looking forward to getting to know you, Chayne. I’ve gotta be off now.” Robert Heinz clapped Chayne on the back, and Chayne waited for him to go before he said to Geoff, “I can understand why you hate him. I hate him already myself, and he’s not even in my territory.”

“Oh, by the way, Chayne,” Robert Heinz shouted, coming back down the stairs with his coat in hand, “When you get the chance, I want to talk to you about the music. There’re a couple of changes I’d like us to make, alright?”

“No.”

“What?”

“I said no.”

Robert Heinz blinked.

“I don’t fuck with your altar, and you don’t fuck with my choir.”

“Uh…” Robert began. “I suppose we can talk about this later.”

“We’ve talked about,” Chayne said. “Just now.”

And then, gently,  he closed the door in the priest’s face.

“Okay, it’s official,” Chayne decided. “We hate him.”

“I don’t... hate him,” Geoff said.

“Well, Father Popularity Poll, while you try to convince yourself of that, why don’t you let me help you?”

“What?”

“Ann came over the night before last and asked me to talk to you.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yes. Now, let’s talk. This is the kind of thing I generally try to avoid, but now that I’m here.....”

“Everything’s fine.”

“Which brings us back to the popularity poll.”

“It was not a—”

“Geoffrey, stop.”

“It’s just that he’s so wonderful, and I’m so.... Geoff.” Geoff said.

“And what’s wrong with Geoff? I mean, criminally wrong?”

“Look Chayne, I don’t feel like this right now.”

Chayne started to talk, then said, “Well good, because neither do I,” and turned around for the door. As he was opening it, Geoff said: “Chayne!”

“Yes.”

“Look at me!”

“I’m looking,” said Chayne, patiently.

“Would you say that I’m impressive? Would you say that I’m attractive. Really?”

“I’d say you’re average,” Chayne answered too weary to be less than honest. “No better, no worse. You’re a priest, Geoff, you don’t have to be attractive. Your genes aren’t getting passed on.”

When Geoff was about to say something, Chayne added.

“And I’m average too. What’s the problem? Why does everyone have to be tall and beautiful.? Why does everybody have to be somebody?”

“That’s easy for you to say. You are somebody.”

Chayne laughed outloud.

“This is all I have,” Geoff said. “And now this... Bobby just walks in and takes it, makes camp. He even sent Ann packing.”

“Ann?”

“Ann left this morning. I—I don’t know what to do... about anything.

“Chayne?”

“Yes?”

“What did you do... when you realized you couldn’t stay in Chicago anymore?”

“You know what I did, Geoff. I came here. I came home.”

“Oh.”

“Only, you’re already home.”

“Well, what did you next?”

“I’m still doing it.  You wait for the next step.”

 

“Is everything all right?” Will asked Ann when she came back down from the spare room.

“Ah, yes,” Ann looked around the cluttered living room.

“Sorry everything’s such a mess,” Will Decker said.

“Oh... oh, no,” Ann said. “I just... really appreciate you all having me.”

“We’re glad. We were saying you needed a friend.”

 Will modified this with a smile. “Or… that you needed to realize who your friends are. Hannah went to the store. She’ll be back in a minute.”

“Do you really think the new priest is better than my brother” Ann started, and was embarrassed at the juvenile nature of the question.

Will folded down his paper before asking:

“Do you really think he’s better looking than me?”

Ann looked levelly at Will and then both of them laughed at each other as Hannah came through the door with two grocery bags.

“There’s more in the car,” she said. “If you’re all free enough to laugh, you’re free enough to get a bag.”

Ann was first out the door, and as she came back in with two bags, Hannah said, “I don’t feel like cooking tonight. I feel like drinking after choir practice—”

“That’s right, there is choir practice tonight.” Ann remembered placing the bags on the counter.

“Then,” Hannah said, nodding. “I think we should go to the Blue Jewel. I need to smoke and drink and laugh my troubles away.”

“Troubles?” said Ann.

“Piano troubles, bill troubles, kids at the school troubles.”

Suddenly Hannah threw back her head and screamed. Then she smiled brightly. “I feel better now.”

“Good,” Ann said, smiling.

 

 “Encore!” Chayne and Shannon shouted, but Hannah shook her head and sat back down, while the Comets decided what else to play.

“You want something to drink?” Jewell asked. “I’ll even be nice and make it on the house.”

“How do you make money? No,” Hannah smiled. Then said. “You know what, I’ll have a Coke.”

“What about you Ann?” Jewell said.

“You know what,” Hannah elbowed her, “Drink on me, Ann!”

“Ah... A strawberry daiquiri?” Ann seemed to be looking at the other two women for permission, and they laughed.

“It’s allowed,” said Hannah. “But maybe you’d rather have a Brandy Alexander.”

“I’ve never had one.”

“It’s hot,” said Jewell. “For the cold weather. I wish I could have a Brandy Alexander,”

“That’s right,” Hannah touched Jewell’s stomach, “You’ve got a baby coming. When’s it due?”

Jewell rolled her eyes: “May.”

Jewell went off behind the bar.

“What are you looking at?” Hannah started. Then, eyes widening: “Who are you looking at? You’re—” Hannah started to laugh.

“What?” Ann blushed.

“Nothing,” Hannah shook her head and smiled. “Nothing.”

“Hannah!” Ann tried to get Hannah to tell her what was so funny, but by the time the drinks arrived, she knew it was useless.

The Brandy Alexander was going to Ann’s head, and Hannah got up to talk to Chayne.

“Did you know that Ann likes Diggs?” Hannah said without introduction as Shannon and Jewell burst out laughing.

“She told you?” Chayne marveled.

“No, She just eye fucks him so hard I can’t believe he still walks straight.”

“Well,” Chayne leaned closer. They were both whispering over the Comets music,  “what would you like me to do about it?”

 

On Friday, when Ann came home, she laughed the moment she walked through the door.

“What are you so giddy about?” Will demanded from his easy chair, smiling as he pushed the hair out of his face and rumpled his newspaper.

Ann shrugged. She was laughing because she had called 8411 Shuster home, and the word seemed right.

“I actually feel like it’s Christmas,” she said.

“If it feels like Christmas now,” Will said looking around the cluttered house, “wait till we start to decorate. Wait till we,” he raised an eyebrow, “bother to clean.”

That night Ann was in her room going over papers because there was nothing else to do, though they might end up at the Blue Jewel or even Chayne’s house. She had ignored the ring at the front door when she heard Hannah tapping on the door of her room and Ann opened it.

“Someone’s here for you,” Hannah said, excitedly.

Ann looked perplexed, and as she did, Hannah began to pull the brush on the dresser through Ann’s hair. “Now go,” she said, shoving the other woman down the narrow flight of stairs.

“Come down slowly, Ann,” Will told her, smiling.

More perplexed, Ann obeyed and glided—to the best of her ability—down the stairs.

When she was downstairs, she gasped.

Standing in the middle of the living room, hair combed ridiculously neat, a small bouquet of grocery store flowers in his hand, stood Jason Dygulski, hamster faced and grinning,