Works and Days
10 Jun 2023 82 readers Score 9.2 (5 votes) PDF Mobi ePub Txt
Eighteen
Consummatum Est
Concluded
When Jaclyn Dara Lewis was fourteen years old, she was the maid of honor at her brother’s wedding. They came down to Indiana, and though Jackie had never really been impressed by Notre Dame, not as much as some were, she was impressed that day. The Church of the Sacred Heart was splendid with flowers and crowded with Lewises, Nespreses, O’Donnells, Brennans, McLlarchlahns and friends from all over the country. The swell of the organ shook the church. Patti had been so pretty and virginal, all in white, the train of her veil going on forever it seemed, little cousins lifting it, flower girls scattering petals as she made her solemn procession down the aisle and up the steps past the main altar into the Lady Chapel. Chayne and Felice had been in the choir though, at the time, Jackie didn’t know them anymore than she knew Patti’s funny little brother. She knew only a few things. She knew that this was the day she’d fallen in love with Patti whom she still idolized a bit. She knew that she was obsessed with her own little part as maid of honor. She knew how handsome Thom had been. His hair was longer back then. He was proud in his black tuxedo, waiting for his wife. The choir had filed into their stalls, facing each other across the small chapel. Jackie had never known anything so wonderful, but she knew one day she wanted to have this long walk down the long aisle, to be presented to someone, though back then she had no idea who the Someone would be.
Then, years later, Jackie Lewis had sat in Saint Adjeanet’s and watched John marry some local girl form Fort Atkins. It had been so beautiful and she had been so angry, and she’d wished she was that girl, and it had made her angrier still. Now, over the anger, past the longing, Jackie realized that she’d thought that it was possible to have her wish. The beautful man and the beautiful wedding. She had thought, “Now it is possible.”
Now she knew she was wrong.
There was no way to play “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desire”, and so Bubba Goldstein threw back his head and chanted something in Hebrew, something very beautiful she had to admit, as Jackie came up the aisle.
“I suppose we’ll just have to make the best of the hand we’re dealt,” Jackie said after she’d been cried out and drugged out and Patti had told her, “After the doves and flowers and great music, that’s what you have to do every day for the rest of your life, Little Sister.”
With the exception of Bubba Goldstein, who had to remember to not don his ten gallon hat, the service was Catholic enough. The Eucharist came from the tabernacle, already blessed, Chayne murmured that if they ran out, “We’ll just have to give them bingo pieces. No one’ll tell the difference, and those probably taste better anyway.”
They didn’t run out, though.
Bubba Goldstein had done several weddings before, and when he demanded, “Does anyone object to the union of these two?” Kim Bayle stood up, and roared, “I do.”
“Shit!” Jackie swore at the altar, clapping a hand to her mouth.
Then Kim Bayle threw back her head, laughed and said, “Just jokin’, guys!” and kept cackling as Bubba Goldstein concluded the wedding rite and said, “You guys should really be stepping on something. A bowl. Something. Wish I’d brought a bowl with me. Didn’t plan on doing a wedding today. You,” he told John, “may kiss the bride. In fact. I think you’d better.”
“Is this even legitimate?” Jackie whispered to John.
“As legitimate as it’s gonna get,” John told her, and as he kissed her, the choir began to sing down from the loft.
As they were coming out of the church, Jackie and John heard revving engines and rifles popping off.
“What the!” started Jackie.
“Oooooooooooooooooway!”
Jackie looked down and there was her brother Finn and the head of…. Twenty five motorbikes, and beside him…. was Chip.
“Had to find a way to say Happy Hitchin’ Day to the best girl I ever had!” Chip shouted up to her. “This is your seventy-five—well, twenty five—motorcycle entourage!”
Kim came out with the boys and shoved the new bride and groom forward.
John smiled at Jackie, and then ran down to the station wagon. John wheeled around to get in the driver’s seat and drove off with the motorcycles behind him.
“What the?” Jackie said, while young Russ cried, “Yay, Dad.”
The entourage headed down Kirkland, then the station wagon turned down Boise and a few seconds later the entourage was heard rumbling up More Street and then before the church again where the station wagon stopped.
“Sorry Jackie,” John cried to his mystified wife who was standing eyes wide open beside his ex wife.
“See?” Kim said to her.
John ran around the station wagon, opened the door, let Jackie in and then ran back around, and they took off again, guns shooting the air on Kirkland Street, the train of Jackie’s dress dragging along Kirkland until they disappeared and all that was left was the noise.
At the church doors, legs planted apart and hands folded before him, Rob Keyes was in wraparound shades looking, Russell felt, like a sexy FBI agent, but sniffling.
“Are you crying?” Chayne asked him.
Rob shrugged and squeaked, “Maybe a little.”
“Well?” Chayne sighed to Russell.
Russell Lewis grinned and crossed his arms over his chest.
“Well, indeed.”
“What is it you like about sex?” he asked his cousin.
Jimmy looked at him a little shocked.
“Sorry,” Russell said instantly.
“No,” Jimmy shook his head and chuckled a little. “It’s just that you kind of surprised me. No one’s ever asked me.”
“Well,” Russell shrugged. “I don’t think that I’ve ever asked anyone.”
Jimmy put a hand on his cousin’s shoulder and said, “We’ll talk out on the porch, like two men.”
The Lewis house and backyard were full of celebrants, but now Russell and Jimmy sat on the stoop facing Breckinridge. The day was turning to night, and James Nespres took out a cigarette for himself, offered another to Russell and lit both of them.
Jimmy said, as he had earlier, “Well, you are that age.”
His mouth was tight around his cigarette. Jimmy inhaled. Russell was filled with something he thought he was too cynical for: hero worship.
“Well,” Russell shrugged, “I am that age. I mean, if you don’t want to tell me, I won’t ask.”
“No, I mean, I’ll answer any question you have,” Jimmy said, shrugging. “To the best of my ability.”
“I—” Russell started. “I’m not dumb or anything. I know that people have sex but for some reason I thought that it was like only glamorous people or really old people, but lately—and I’m not complaining—everyone around me, well a lot of people around me are... having it. It seems like they’re in the know and I’m not.”
“Lots of people your age are virgins,” said Jimmy, exhaling. “Hell, lots of people my age.”
“I know that,” said Russell. “But you’re not. And … I mean—I feel like I’m missing out on something.”
“Russell, you’re a good looking guy—If you wanted to score-”
“I don’t want to score—”
“You want romance—”
“No,” said Russell. “I want to know. I want to want to score. I want to want to have someone. I want to want to fall in love and I want to want to lose my virginity. I want to be normal. I would like to be like that. I’d like to complain about no girls liking me. I’d like to care. I’d like to say I was going to be in love or that I was going to be laid. I’d like to want to be laid—”
“Russell, it’s not the greatest thing on earth.”
“But I would like to think it is,” said Russell. “For one day I would want to be someone else like you… Or Jason Lorry—”
“Who?”
“Never mind. Or my dad even. I’m going to be a virgin for the rest of my life.”
“Russell,” Jimmy laughed. “Calm down, Cuz. Lots of guys feel that way when they’re your age?”
“Did you?”
“I wasn’t a virgin anymore when I was your age,” Jimmy said, frankly. “But one day you’ll look back and you’ll think you were just paranoid.”
“No, I won’t,” said Russell.
“Yeah—”
“No,” Russell cut his cousin off, “because I’m…”
“What?’
“I thought I was going to be a priest.”
“Well, you are serious and shit. About religion. That makes sense.”
“But I also think I’m probably gay.”
“Oh,” Jimmy said.
“Oh,” Russell said. “Is that all you can say?”
“Well, gay dudes get laid too. My friend, Flipper? He does girls and guys. He’s always getting laid.”
“Oh.”
“Do you even know what being gay is?”
“It.s…. not being straight.”
Jimmy laughed so hard that when he stopped, he started again.
“I mean, Chayne is. And I suspect that… Well, never mind what I suspect. But like, I’ve never seen what guys actually do with each other.”
“They got porn and stuff. Tapes. Even on the Internet. You can see it. I’ll send you some.”
Russell was about to say no, or that Jimmy was being silly, but instead he said, “Really?”
“Yeah,” Jimmy said, inhaling so hard the cigarette glowed bright orange in the approaching night.
“Really.”
They were both silent for a moment, and then Russell watched the smoke from his cigarette tendril rise into the clear evening.
Anigel Raez was the first into the house on 1421 Curtain Street, and she kicked off her shoes and pushed them under the coat tree with her foot, and then, as Chayne and Rob entered, said, “I caught the bouquet, and that’s how you know that tradition is bullshit. ”Now, I’m getting changed.”
As Anigel marchd upstairs, Chayne said, “I’m going to change out of these glad rags myself.”
“Yeah,” Rob stretched in that way some people do when they aren’t really tired, but want to make some type of gesture.
“I’ll be right down,” he said, heading upstairs to his room.
“Oh,” midway up the stairs he stopped, and untied his tie, coming down to hand it to Chayne.
“You looked really great today,” Chayne told him.
“You think?”
“Everyone said so.”
“Yes,” Rob said, “but did you think I looked great, Chayne Kanzierski?”
Chayne felt himself flush, and was surprised because no one made him flush. He duckd his head.
“Yes, Robert Keyes, I did.”
“Well, I thought you looked beautiful,” Rob said.
“I liked when we danced,” Chayne said.
“You’re not very good at it,” Rob smiled.
“No.”
“I’ll teach you.”
“Alright.”
“I wantd to kiss you,” Rob said.
Rob said, “Once I get changed, when I get back down here, can I kiss you?”
“You can,” Chayne said, and taking his tie, he headed to his room.
By the time he was changed into pajama pants ,a tee shirt and a pullover, Anigel came down ahead of Rob. Chayne was surprised by how much he liked her, how beautiful and radiant she was. He could barely believe that he’d been given the gift of these two housemates at once.
She was in jeans and a jacket and had a bag over her shoulder.
“I’m going over to my sister’s for the night,” she said. “They’ll probably make me go to church with them, and then I’ll end having lunch with Mama or Bobby. I’ll be back in th evening. Until then,” she looked from one to the other, “try to have fun without me.”
Anigel kissed Chayne, and then Rob on the cheek, and headed out the door.
As the engine of her El Camino started, Rob said, “She knows?”
He looked so adorable to Chayne, his pale hair, his surprised blue eyes, his elfin face. Now when he saw Rob he remembered this morning with him, the body beneath the clothes, the strong shoulders under the clean white tee shirt, the baggy blue sleep pants that concealed and, when he walked away, revealed.
“She knows,” Rob said, nodding.
“Kiss me,” Chayne said.
Rob nodded.
“OK.”
They kissed.
Here ends Works and Days.
Never despair, friends! There is so much left to tell, but we will not be telling it for some time. In the fever pitched If I Should Fall, we will get closer to some folks we only met in passing, and the story of our friends at 1421 Curtain, the Lewises and what they have in common, Russell Lewis, will continue.