Picturesque

Chapter 30: Lionel Red

The days were somehow sweeter after that, though harder. The anxiety that formed between Jo and I after Katie had seen us touching hands was unspoken of, though it was there. It also made it harder to remember, as the only source I have of those days is what I wrote in my journal about them.

Jo was bristled. We hadn't snuck away for another night together since then. She was scared to touch me, even in a non-romantic way—scared to shatter the promise I'd made her. I was willing to keep it. I could see how much pain Jo felt being around Katie, but I could also see her starting to crack. She no longer picked fights with her mother. She avoided her stare, that fear swelling up inside her. I was worried where that fear might take her, but I was soon to find out.

But it was still sweet. We played with the kids and sometimes stole a kiss or two like schoolchildren. We would drive away to the beach to be together, holding hands and leaning on each other's shoulder while we talked of the apartment we dreamed of. Jo said it was in the city, just a few miles away from the house. She could be away from her mother but still be involved enough to not get cut off. I told her that it would be okay if they cut her off, that I would make money teaching and she would find a job somewhere, but she refused. She thought so little of her capabilities that she viewed her parents' financial support as the only thing that would keep her alive, like it was her lifeline. She was stubborn about it.

Marty didn't seem suspicious about anything, so we gathered that Katie must not have told him about it. He hung around a little bit more, talking to me about his business prospects. I think he was really eager to teach me things, since Jo was uninterested, and Judd was still too young to understand. I learned a lot about the oil industry, the risks and rewards, and how to choose investments. I also learned about a lot of other things, because Marty was invested in so many different things, from real estate to stocks, to business start-ups and technology. He was a very smart man, and a compassionate one, too.

There was one night just after dinner when Holly tugged at Jo's arm and said, "Let's dance! Go get Lionel Red!"

I thought maybe Lionel was a musician who would play the grand piano that always went untouched in the living room, but Jo went somewhere in the house and came back holding a big red box in her hands. Holly and Judd raced to the living room and watched as Jo set the box down on the table and opened it up, revealing a Spear-Tone Lionel record player. She went over to a bookshelf where some records were sitting and shuffled through them before picking up a Beatles record.

Holly clapped in excitement. "Beatles!" Judd rolled his eyes, but still looked excited to dance. Judd wasn't all boy and football, I learned. He loved painting and music, and singing and dancing. He was a jack of all trades, except for anything that had to do with reading or writing. I was afraid to say he would not know French by the end of summer.

Marty had made himself a drink in the kitchen and was walking past the living room right as Jo put the record on. I was sitting on the couch, and he came and sat down beside me, my body falling into the gravity with which he put on the cushion with his weight. I scrambled away a little and watched as Holly and Judd started to jump around to the pop music.

Marty chuckled, and I looked over at him. His eyes were glistening, his wide jaw set into a smile. He loved his kids dearly, that was obvious. I wondered about what Jo said that day at the beach weeks before, about how she thought Marty would feel if he knew about our relationship. Maybe he wouldn't be so mad, I thought. It was Katie who would sway him. He seemed to bend to her will, like everything else in the house. Jo used to be the only one who stayed strong, but now I saw that she bent to her will, too.

Jo took Holly's little hands and started dancing with her, grabbing her under the arms and lifting her up into the air as the little girl shrieked with delight. I chuckled as I watched Judd dance. He was actually pretty good for a lanky preteen boy.