I Love to Write
Capricorn in Aquarius - Part Two
After the kiss, Johnny leaned back in the rocker, me still in his arms. I drowsed contentedly, leaning back against his broad shoulder.
"Merry?" Johnny asked presently.
"Hum," I murmured.
"I asked you a question," Johnny sounded like a schoolteacher, stern and strict. "Why are you here? Did you run away from home?"
I sat up slightly. Johnny was Johnny, and yet again, he wasn't. Wasn't it enough that we were here? A new thought clutched my throat. Was he in trouble? I remembered his and Lucas' conversation about a shot policeman who died. I never saw a gun in his possession, though I supposed I shouldn't be too surprised if either of them had one. I blinked dumbly at him. In this end of the neighborhood -
"You can tell me." Johnny smoothed my French braid with one hand. "Don't you trust me? Don't you love me?"
I trusted him with my life. Though I was always afraid his father would kill him in an alcoholic rage, he never seemed to be afraid of him. There was a faint smell of beer on his breath. He wasn't working. Where was he getting the money to buy it? Diane? She couldn't deny him anything.My parents had called her an "enabler". Or - a different thought invaded my tired brain - was he robbing and stealing for -
The door to the other bedroom opened, and Kathleen and Lucas came out. She saw me in Johnny's lap and frowned, then turned away as the door to the parlor opened and whispering, anxious voices sounded, asking anxious questions, as the children in the semi-darkness crowded around the doorway.
Kathleen went to them. "No, children. Be quiet. It's almost midnight. Come on,now. Back inside -" Lucas helped her herd them back inside. Then she turned back to us and gasped, "Oh, my GOD, John! What do you think you're DOING?"
I slid off Johnny's lap. I didn't know, if by design or accident, his hand had dropped to my hip. I cold feel my face getting super warm.
"You get over here and help me make a lunch," Kathleen ordered Johnny. As he stood up, she turned to me. "You go to bed and get some sleep. Morning comes early."
Lucas moved to help her as I went into the bedroom. The sheets smelled of crisp linen and something else. Something sweet and -
I was too tired to figure it out. I laid down on the bed and wrapped the robe around me. shivering a little. I never heard Johnny or Lucas leave again.
(To Be Continued.)
After the kiss, Johnny leaned back in the rocker, me still in his arms. I drowsed contentedly, leaning back against his broad shoulder.
"Merry?" Johnny asked presently.
"Hum," I murmured.
"I asked you a question," Johnny sounded like a schoolteacher, stern and strict. "Why are you here? Did you run away from home?"
I sat up slightly. Johnny was Johnny, and yet again, he wasn't. Wasn't it enough that we were here? A new thought clutched my throat. Was he in trouble? I remembered his and Lucas' conversation about a shot policeman who died. I never saw a gun in his possession, though I supposed I shouldn't be too surprised if either of them had one. I blinked dumbly at him. In this end of the neighborhood -
"You can tell me." Johnny smoothed my French braid with one hand. "Don't you trust me? Don't you love me?"
I trusted him with my life. Though I was always afraid his father would kill him in an alcoholic rage, he never seemed to be afraid of him. There was a faint smell of beer on his breath. He wasn't working. Where was he getting the money to buy it? Diane? She couldn't deny him anything.My parents had called her an "enabler". Or - a different thought invaded my tired brain - was he robbing and stealing for -
The door to the other bedroom opened, and Kathleen and Lucas came out. She saw me in Johnny's lap and frowned, then turned away as the door to the parlor opened and whispering, anxious voices sounded, asking anxious questions, as the children in the semi-darkness crowded around the doorway.
Kathleen went to them. "No, children. Be quiet. It's almost midnight. Come on,now. Back inside -" Lucas helped her herd them back inside. Then she turned back to us and gasped, "Oh, my GOD, John! What do you think you're DOING?"
I slid off Johnny's lap. I didn't know, if by design or accident, his hand had dropped to my hip. I cold feel my face getting super warm.
"You get over here and help me make a lunch," Kathleen ordered Johnny. As he stood up, she turned to me. "You go to bed and get some sleep. Morning comes early."
Lucas moved to help her as I went into the bedroom. The sheets smelled of crisp linen and something else. Something sweet and -
I was too tired to figure it out. I laid down on the bed and wrapped the robe around me. shivering a little. I never heard Johnny or Lucas leave again.
(To Be Continued.)
61-69, F
