Chapter 331: Joey XVII—Some Time Alone
Joe frowned, clicked off his cell phone and dropped it into his pocket. He didn’t think Debbie would be that mad at him for not waking her up that day when he left on the trip. She didn’t say too much about the figure skaters either, except for how embarrassing that was and he should have known better. But she didn’t come across to him as being sleeping on the couch angry.
Joe cringed at that thought.
He had left his car in the airport parking garage so Debbie wouldn’t need to pick him up from the airport this time. Joe didn’t really like that, not that he had a problem with driving, just that he didn’t want to be deprived of one second he could have with his wife. So he had done the next best thing, he called her up. Debbie had barely sounded excited to hear from him, in fact she sounded somewhat annoyed. Joe had been slightly hurt and confused but before he could ask her anything, she told him she didn’t have time and hung up.
Hung up!
Joe’s gut burned with hurt feelings. He supposed he could call her again and demand to know what he had done so bad to deserve her coldness, but then what if she really was up to something serious. Come to think of it, he couldn’t remember where the New Year’s Party would be, if they were going to one. Really he would like to just spend a quiet dinner with her, his wife, but hell, not if she were that angry with him.
“Kid,” Joe barked.
“Yeah Joe?” Tanguay asked as he slung his duffel bag over his shoulder.
“You’re coming home with me, for…lunch or something.” He gave Alex a pointed look that said, You obey me now for I am captain!
“But Joe!” Alex whined. “I’m sleepy!”
Joe rolled his eyes. Why God why? “Look kid you can nap at my house or something, Debbie’s in a mood so I’m betting on your doughy cheeks to soften her up a bit, you just need to say hi or something, I can take you home later.”
Alex scowled. “Okay, I’m coming.”
Things shone more clearly to him once he came within sight of his house, even if things did become more confused. A news van sat in the driveway, and he could see another one as well on the sidewalk. Joe felt his cheeks burn all the way to his ears with anger. Were those reporters being pushy again about their desire to talk with Cecile? He thought they had come to an understanding about it, they had not been calling in the past week or so, but now obviously, they had just waited for him to leave on his roadtrip so they could get at the undefended women.
“What is the news doing here?” Alex asked with an awestruck voice.
“Jerks,” Joe muttered and he slammed his car door closed. What’s worse, the damn van resided in his parking spot! Poor Debbie, she must be overwrought, and poor Cecile, she didn’t need an intrusion like this. He couldn’t imagine her suddenly wanting to talk about what it felt like to almost be murdered, to watch a man die before her very eyes. “Filthy jerks.”
He fumbled with his keys, his fingers warm with anger, the cold not even touching his flesh. He swung the door open soundly, slammed it closed to telegraph his displeasure. Tanguay gulped loudly and hopped away from him. Joe looked at the kid and shook his head. No one came to meet them at first. He could hear voices, Mitchell’s, coming from the kitchen. He started towards that way, meeting Cecile as she came out of the kitchen. “Oh Mr. Sakic!” She gasped. “You’re home! Hi… Alex.”]
“Hi there,” Alex said, he immediately left Joe’s side and hung his jacket in the closet. Joe took off his and handed it to Cecile who took it to the closet.
He then went to the girl when she turned around, squeezing her soft upper arms in his hands. “Are you okay?” he asked. “Are they bothering you and Debbie? Did they force their way in here because I can press….”
Cecile swallowed, her eyes widened briefly and she stepped back, gently extricating herself from him. She hugged herself. “No they’re not… I mean it’s the news but they’re not here for me or Mrs. Sakic, they’re here to see Mitchell actually…”
“Where are the twins?”
“Napping, I just put them down a minute ago.”
Joe frowned. “Mitchell?” he asked.
Cecile nodded and half grinned. “I can’t figure it out entirely myself, it’s, and well it’s amazing, something just short of a miracle.” She laughed. “You have to go in there.”
Joe frowned and went into the kitchen, Cecile and Alex close behind him. “Debbie? What’s going on?”
At the far end of the kitchen sat the camera crew, Mitchell sat at the table munching on something that looked like pita bread, Debbie sat next to him, her arm over his shoulders. He made brief eye contact with her and she had eyes that seemed stunned, vapid, and worried. On their other side, sat a handsome, clean faced news reporter who stood up and smiled with gleaming white teeth, holding out his hand to Joe.
“Hi there,” the reporter said and Joe gingerly shook his hand. “I’m Phil Keating from Fox News, pleased to meet ya, we’re here interviewing your son who…”
Alex huffed indignantly. “I know you!”
“Alex!” Phil grinned. “Nice to see you.”
“Oof.”
“Come father!” Mitchell exclaimed, he beamed and held out his arms. “Sit with us and partake of milk, and honey and unleavened bread!”
“Oo food!” Alex exclaimed and he went straight to the plate of bread.
Joe looked at Debbie who rested one cheek on her palm. “He wanted unleavened bread, what do you say to your kid when he asks for that hon?”
“But milk?” Joe asked looking at the glass pitcher of milk resting on the table. He remembered with gut wrenching clarity the smell and pain of poor Mitchell with just a small serving of real milk in his system.
“Soymilk,” Debbie mouthed out, “Don’t worry.”
“Ah,” Joe nodded. Mitchell happily picked up the container of honey and poured it on another sheet of cracker like unleavened bread. He crunched it in his little teeth and washed it down with a glass of soymilk. “So… so… what’s going on?”
“Hey this is real good with the honey,” Tanguay said through chews.
“Ah just what I was about to tell you, Mr. Sakic,” Keating said, clasping his hands together and smiling like a man used to getting his way. Joe narrowed his eyes and remembered a certain video tape of Mr. Keating, which involved, Alex and some girls. He didn’t think he wanted Keating in his house for very long. “Your son has demonstrated an amazing ability to read ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics, in fact, seemingly more effortlessly than he can read English!”
Oh yeah, Joe thought of that scepter still wrapped up in the attic.
“Sure Debbie told me that, interesting.”
“Indeed!” Keating said. “Sure, yeah so it’s a great story, a real great one. You have a very, very special son you should be proud.” Another clean, gleaming smile, Joe imagined that Phil used that smile on Debbie to get in through the door; he wanted to grab a blunt object and hack Keating down for that.
“Well I’m always proud of my son.”
“Of course,” and another beautiful smile from Keating. Joe’s tongue self consciously pressed against the back of his partials, and he glanced quickly at Debbie. She had a slight smile on her face directed at Phil.
“So are you almost done with this… story? What are you planning on accomplishing with it other than drowning my boy in attention?”
Phil’s smile disappeared only briefly. “Well whatever you would like done with the story. I am here only to tell it. Really, your family seems quite excited.”
Joe sighed and looked at the camera. He really, really didn’t care for cameras and he really wasn’t in the mood to be on one. “So Mitchie you’ve been reading hieroglyphics for them?”
“Yeah!” Mitchell exclaimed. “It’s really fun!” The little boy took another crunch of unleavened bread and grinned through his chews.
Joe smiled thinly. “Whatever makes you happy, Buddy.”
He lurked in the kitchen doorway for the remainder of the newsman’s visit. He crossed his arms and tried to look as imposing, and as much a master of the house as he could. Cecile stood at his side and he could feel the body warmth radiating off the girl, touching his skin through his clothing. She wore a light scent, not perfume, probably a lotion or hand cream; he liked the smell of it. He looked at Debbie, at the curve of her thin body under her clothes, the cross of her legs, her ankles, she had a soft, smooth body, a body he had wanted to come home to. Soft hair, soft lips, dammit, damn these news crews!
Cecile touched his arm and he jumped, feeling scorched and vulnerable. “They said that Mitchell deciphered an entire text from a tomb!” She whispered, and the breath on his ear, however horrible it was to realize, aroused him to insane heights and angered him because Debbie wasn’t in his arms at that moment.
“Interesting.” Joe murmured.
“I’ll say.”
After another twenty minutes or so, the news left and Joe bid them good riddance. Keating assured them that he and Debbie would receive full approval of the completely edited story; they needn’t worry about anything they didn’t want aired on the television. Joe ran his hands through his hair and sighed, he watched Alex and Mitchell continue to chow down on the biblical foods. Milk and honey indeed!
Debbie still paid no attention to him and Joe found that intensely annoying. In fact she seemed engrossed with talking to Alex about everything that could ever be insignificant in this world. Joe had been right, Alex’s cute cheeks had Debbie enthralled… maybe too enthralled. His very soul growled.
“Cecile can I talk with ya?”
Cecile raised her eyebrows, taking the cue. She followed him out of the kitchen. “Sure? Do you need something Mr. Sakic?”
Joe nodded. “Yeah actually, could I ask you to take Alex home?”
Cecile’s brow wrinkled, he could see hesitation, and he could see in her face the internal struggle. She would not say no to him but that didn’t mean that she would like it. “Um… Mr. Sakic…” Or would she say no?
“Don’t worry, honey,” he said trying to sound as brotherly and comforting as he could. “Alex is a nice guy; he wouldn’t be a hassle… and take Mitchell with you.”
“Mitchell? What about the twins?”
“Well they’re sleeping right? They still have a while before they wake up.” Joe wanted to shake the girl and scream, the blood going through his body so quickly.
“Of… of course, Mr. Sakic,” Cecile said calmly, hiding her flash of independence in those emerald eyes. “Is…is there anywhere special you want me to take Mitchell? Does he have any appointments or anything?”
“Oh gosh,”
Joe sighed and he looked towards the kitchen. “Take him somewhere nice, you
know out for a treat or…or to the
“Of course, I can,” Cecile said quickly. “You don’t have to worry.”
Joe felt his own cheeks burning with embarrassment, inflamed embarrassment, “Gosh I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that, and I didn’t need to say that.”
“Oh don’t, don’t say anything, don’t apologize,” Cecile said turning her face to him but she still didn’t make eye contact. “None of it’s my business; I’ll just go tell Alex, yeah?”
Joe reached for her arm and she gasped a little and hopped away from him. “Thanks a lot, I mean, thanks.”
Cecile swallowed and smiled weakly. “No problem, if you’ll excuse me.”
“Joe?”
Joe grimaced and looked at Debbie who had her arms crossed and her eyes narrowed. “Hey honey.”
“Whatcha talking about?” She smiled. “Are you scaring Cecile about something?”
“Hehe, no Mrs. Sakic, I’m just… He just asked me to, eh I’m going to offer Alex a ride home.” Cecile slipped by Debbie into the kitchen.
Debbie looked like she wanted an explanation and fast.
“I just wanted some time alone with ya, getting them outta the house.”
Debbie grinned, “Oh you sweetie.”
Joe smiled back and wiped at the droplets of sweat that formed on his brow.