By late morning the sun broke through the sad sky and cast a mottled hope upon the city below. Lou sat on the loading dock, still in clown costume. He adjusted his wig and nose. The parking lot before him filled with departing travelers. A train moaned its way to the station.
A pickup truck honked and honked as it pulled into a spot across from Lou. Nobody stepped down from the driver’s seat. Tomoko jumped out of the other door. She ran up to Lou as he hopped down to the ground.
“Hi, Lou!” She gave him a quick, tight hug, then scrunched her face up. “There’s something different about you.”
“Yeah, new suit.” How he missed Tomoko. Not enough, though, to keep from looking past her.
Had it been only a few hours? It felt to Lou as if days and days had passed since he had last seen her. Always intriguing Jax. Often ineffable Jax. Forever enchanting Jax. Bewildering and beautiful Jax walking toward him as he went to her. No one watching could say whose hands reached out first or what they felt. But those hands did come up and touch and clasp and the jolt flowed both ways in through up out down back around and around and again. They both knew this thing and needn’t speak of it. It had become an essence of their being.
Lou was no longer embarrassed by his reaction to her touch. At least he was dressed the part. The fool managed a word. “Jax.”
She looked him over, baffled by his appearance, and offered one word back. “Jane.”
Lou could not fathom her response. Nor could he conjure up a question.
They were altogether ridiculous. Their joy became smiles became grins became laughter, standing silly in the parking lot, bemused drivers angling their vehicles around them. Jane and Lou appeared as two halves of a punchline in search of a joke.
Nobody called out. “Okay, lovebirds. What now?”
Tomoko took both their hands and led them to the pickup. She sat in the middle of the bench seat. Nobody settled in to drive. Lou climbed in and pulled Jane up onto his lap, facing the others.
“So,” asked Nobody, “are we bringing you both back to our house?”
Lou could only look at Jane while he answered Nobody. “Do you mind if we take a drive in the country? I still need to pick up produce for the market.”
“Yes, please,” Tomoko said to Nobody. “I’ve never ridden with a clown before.”
Nobody shrugged. “It’s your pickup truck. Which way, Lou?”
“River Road, for starters.”
Nobody drove, content behind the wheel. Tomoko had a wide grin on her face. Lou held Jane around her waist and she had an arm around his shoulders.
“Did I miss anything exciting?” asked Lou.
“I read in the paper that WECU has been taken over. Some deal was worked out for another credit union to take on all the assets and liabilities. Everybody’s account will be restored. I’d say that’s very exciting.”
“Yeah, that’s awesome,” said Lou. “Great news. Man, perfect timing. I didn’t know what I was gonna do.”
“About what?” asked Jane.
“Well, about money. And where to live. I gave Billy the step van. Not that it was ever mine. At least now I’ll have money for rent.”
“Lou, I have to tell you some things. It’s not all good.” Jane put a hand to Lou’s painted cheek and looked into his eyes. “I’m not Jax anymore. My name is Jane. It’s always been Jane.” She paused there, finding assurance that he was okay with whatever she told him. “And I’m not from Brooklyn. I grew up in a little town in Oregon called Boring.”
“Boring? Seriously?”
“Yeah, really. Jane from Boring.” She rolled her eyes. “Not a great start for an artist. I should have been honest with you.” She went on. “Also, I dropped out of school. Because of the lithium. It makes it hard for me to concentrate. And it’s hard to keep my hands steady. So I’m taking time off from art school.”
“That’s all right,” Lou said. “I understand. It’s fine.”
“That means they stopped my financial aid. And with Anne and Philip moving, I can’t afford to stay at my house. I have to move out by the end of the month.”
“So, you’re saying that we’re both homeless?”
Jane bit her lip and nodded.
“Goodie!” exclaimed Tomoko. “You can both move into my house.”
“I...uh…I don’t know what to say. I don’t have any plan for this.”
“Do we need to plan?” asked Jane. “Maybe…maybe we can just be.” She squeezed his foam nose.
“You can just be in my house.” Tomoko nudged Lou’s shoulder. “If you want, you can get a cat. You’ll have to finish the upstairs bedrooms. One for you two. One for the cat. And Jane can paint the rooms.”
Nobody just listened and watched the road without comment.
“I still need to work,” said Lou. “For myself, though. And not fixing typewriters. I think that’s a dead end.”
“You could be a clown,” suggested Tomoko.
Everyone shook their heads.
“How about this? I’m thinking of repairing personal computers. No one else is doing it.”
“Do you know how?” Jane asked him.
“Not yet. But I can learn. Someone told me once, I only need to be a step ahead of the customer.”
“I can teach you all I know about business,” said Tomoko.
Jane raised her eyebrows and tilted her head with curiosity and disbelief.
“Don’t ask,” advised Lou.
“That’s not a bad idea, though. Repairing computers. It might work,” said Nobody. “Or it might not.”
“Thanks for the hard truth, Nobody.”
“Well, life isn’t easy, lovebirds.”
“No,” added Tomoko. “But it can be good.” She looked at Jane and Lou, gazing at each other, inches apart, not saying a word.
“Are you two ever going to kiss?”
Thanks, Susie. Yours is the only comment, so far. Could it be that I wrote the novel just for you?
Perfect, just perfect. Strange as it may seem, I have had lots of computers in my lifetime… and they or me always need fixing!