Chapter 12
Bright yellow fingers of Saturday morning sunlight inched silently up across Jo Ann's cheek. Long eyelashes fluttered slightly in response to the quiet intrusion. A lock of blonde hair glinted as she turned her head and sighed in her sleep.
Jo Ann pulled her coat up tighter around her and stirred in her chair. It creaked loudly as she shifted her position and tried to escape wakefulness. She yawned. And suddenly, she remembered.
Blinking her eyelids at the light, Jo Ann stared sleepily ahead of her. Her body was still asleep, but her mind had begun to work. She knew where she was. And one quick glance told her that she was still alone.
No Laura. The apartment was empty. And deadly quiet.
Jo Ann stretched and let the coat slip down onto the floor. What time was it, she wondered, turning around in her seat. Almost noon.
Jo Ann leaned down and picked up her coat. Five more minutes of rest and then she would get up. What was five minutes in a lifetime, she thought, tucking the collar beneath her chin and pulling her knees up toward her chest. Whatever was to come could certainly wait until she was awake. Chances were she would need all her strength anyway to face the day that lay before her.
But sleep would not return. Jo Ann opened her eyes again as the memory of last night returned to trouble her. What was the woman's name, she tried to remember. Oh yes ... Cooky.
Jo Ann fought to bring the woman back to her mind's eye. She couldn't. The features were a blur. The face eluded her. All she could remember was the voice. And the hard, knowing lips.
A tingling discomfort urged her out of the chair. Jo Ann walked over to the sink and searched for her toothbrush. Where the hell was Laura, she asked herself again, wondering if she should worry. And wondering if all the worry in the world would do her any good.
The taste of the toothpaste mingled with the taste of stale liquor. Jo Ann rinsed her mouth quickly and tried to decide if she should chance some black coffee and toast. The thought of food made her shudder. Her stomach had withstood all the punishment it was going to. Best to leave well enough alone.
Yesterday's rumpled clothing stuck to her body. Jo Ann moved to the closet and pulled out a fresh skirt and blouse. Perhaps a shower could make her feel clean again, she thought. It was worth a try. Anything, to get rid of the physical awareness of what had happened in Cooky's apartment.
Jo Ann stepped out of the shower and reached for a clean towel. She felt a little better. Awake, anyhow. And the thought of clean, fresh clothing was inviting.
Tucking the white blouse into the waist of a brown skirt, Jo Ann faced herself in the mirror. Except for the dark circles under her eyes, she looked human again. A little make-up and she could pass for normal. She smiled. She wasn't really one of them after all, Jo Ann assured herself. In a million years she could never look like Cooky.
Jo Ann looked like a woman. A soft, sweet-smelling, real woman. And she felt glad.
The unexpected sound of a key turning in the lock sent Jo Ann running toward the front door. She didn't know what she would say when she came face to face with Laura, but it didn't really matter. Laura was home and safe. That was the most important part.
"Well, hello there." Smiling brown eyes met Jo Ann's and seemed to approve of what they saw.
"Who ... who are you?" Jo Ann stammered, backing away a few steps from the young man with the curly brown hair.
"I'm Charlie. Laura's brother. May I come in?"
"Yes, I suppose so." Jo Ann shrugged and stepped back into the apartment. "Laura's not home right now."
"Oh?" Charlie closed the door behind him. "Where is she?"
"I don't really know." Jo Ann was sorry the moment she had said it. She should have made up some excuse, she thought. How strange it must look for her not to know Laura's whereabouts at twelve o'clock in the afternoon.
"Don't let that bother you," Charlie chuckled, as though enjoying the confused expression on Jo Ann's face. "I'm used to finding my sister away on mysterious trips."
"You mean..."
"Yes, I know. Everything," Charlie announced flatly. "Now can we be friends?"
Jo Ann smiled, a little taken aback by the man's frankness. He seemed pleasant enough, she thought, wondering if he had decided that she had to be a lesbian because she was living with Laura. "Would you like some coffee?"
"With whom will I be drinking it?" Charlie unbuttoned his topcoat and hung it into the closet.
"I'm sorry." She extended her hand. "My name is Jo Ann. Jo Ann Mason."
"Glad to meet you, Jo Ann." Charlie returned her handshake and her smile. "And, yes, I'd love some coffee."
Jo Ann hurried to the stove, suddenly glad she had changed her clothes. She heard Charlie settling himself into a chair and she was glad not to be alone in the apartment anymore. She wondered if they would have to talk about Laura.
"How about some eggs?" Jo Ann called.
"Only if you'll join me." Charlie lit a pipe and tossed the match into an overflowing tray. "Don't you ever empty these?"
"We sort of rushed out of here," Jo Ann answered as she grabbed the ashtray and dumped its contents into a wastepaper basket.
"And you came back alone?" Charlie asked.
Jo Ann avoided his eyes as she replaced the ashtray on the table next to his chair. "Yes," she whispered, unable to keep the tension from her voice. "I came back alone."
"I see." Charlie's words were encumbered by the pipe between his lips. "Another woman?"
Jo Ann stared at him, unable to cope with his straightforward attitude. "Yes, another woman, if you must know," she finally said, feeling slightly annoyed with his inquisitiveness.
"You don't have to get sore at me about it," Charlie said. "I was just trying to make conversation."
"Then please make it about something else," Jo Ann said testily and returned to the stove.
"Okay, let's talk about you," Charlie said above the sound of crackling butter. "Been living here long?"
"Only a week." Jo Ann dropped the eggs into tne pan and covered them. "A new one, eh?"
Jo Ann whirled, the anger clearly showing on her face.
"Okay, okay, I take it back." Charlie held his palms up defensively and attempted a lighthearted chuckle. "Don't yell again."
"I wasn't yelling," Jo Ann said. "I just want to know how come you know so much."
"Simple." Charlie smiled. "I've seen it happen a dozen times before."
"Seen what?"
"My sister on the make ... with more than one girl at a time."
"I didn't know it was a habit." Jo Ann felt a sinking sensation in the pit of her stomach and thought she might just be sick.
"No sense in blaming Laura. She doesn't know what the heck she wants." Charlie's gaze traveled the length of Jo Ann's body. "But if I were her, I'd be home now."
Jo Ann blushed and turned back to the eggs. She wasn't mad at Charlie anymore. His honesty was simply that and nothing more. No ulterior motives. A simple, frank person, who obviously found her attractive. She liked him.
"I hope you like your eggs sunny-side-up," Jo Ann said as she placed the two plates on the table and went back for the coffee.
"That'll be just fine." Charlie put down his pipe and reached for a fork. "You have any idea at all when Laura will be back?"
Jo Ann looked at him blankly. "I don't know if she'll really be back at all," she said. "When I sa,w her last night, she was..." Jo Ann hesitated again. "Well, she was kind of..."
"Drunk?" Charlie grinned. "Yes," Jo Ann said.
"Don't worry." Charlie spooned some sugar into his cup. "Happens every weekend. She'll be home sometime today. I thought maybe she had moved in with somebody else, the way you were acting."
"I see you know her better than I do." Jo Ann sat down across the table from Charlie.
"I should. She's my sister, isn't she?" Charlie shoveled a forkful of eggs into his mouth. "This is good."
"Thanks." Jo Ann looked down and began to eat. Charlie looked nice in his blue sport shirt, she thought. Clean and polished, like a school-kid. And very out of place in Greenwich Village. "You live here in town, too?" she asked impulsively.
"Heck no," Charlie said between mouthfuls. "I'm all the way out in Queens."
Jo Ann smiled.at the way he made the borough sound like a different country. "Work out there too?"
"Uh huh." Charlie's mouth was stuffed with egg. "Got my own novelty store, just last year. You know, greeting cards, kids' games, all that stuff."
"Sounds nice."
"I can't complain." Charlie put down his fork and looked up proudly. "Only been open fourteen months and the store is paying for itself. Pretty good, huh?"
"Very good," Jo Ann agreed, figuring that he must know what he was talking about.
"Here," Charlie reached into his pocket for his wallet.
"This is the place." He pulled out a little blue card and handed it across the table.
Jo Ann glanced down and read the raised black lettering: Charlie's Novelty Shop ... Cards, Games, School Supplies.
"Yes, very nice." Jo Ann held the card out to him.
"Keep it. I've got hundreds." Charlie put his wallet away and started to eat again. "Stop in sometime and I'll give you a discount."
Jo Ann laughed softly. Charlie, in the middle of the Village, was like a fish out of water. But a very pleasant fish.
The heavy footsteps pounded up the stairs and approached the apartment door. Jo Ann's eyes met Charlie's for a brief, knowing second before they both looked toward the door.
"Good morning," Charlie called as Laura pulled herself through the doorway.
Laura hung onto the knob and stared, as though unable to comprehend what she saw in front of her. "What the hell is going on here?" she grumbled, slamming the door closed and slouching across the room to the sofa.
"Your friend was just feeding me breakfast." Charlie sounded somewhat less cheerful now, as his jovial smile went unreturned by his sister.
"How very cozy." Laura kicked off her shoes and fell down onto the pillows.
"Can I get you some coffee?" Jo Ann rushed out of her chair and over to the couch.
"You don't have to get me a damned thing," Laura yelled, pushing Jo Ann away with one hand.
Jo Ann walked silently back to the table without answering. She looked over at Charlie for assistance.
"Forget it," Charlie said, obviously embarrassed. "She must have had a bad night."
"How would you know?" Laura snapped. "When was the last time you got laid?"
"Laura, come on now." Charlie sounded on the brink of anger. "What kind of a way is that to talk?"
"I'll talk any way I goddamned please." Laura bolted upright and glared at her brother. "And if you and that no good slut sitting next to you don't like it, you both know the way out."
The resounding slam of the door shook the apartment as Charlie left.
"What did you have to yell at him for?" Jo Ann asked softly, as Charlie's footsteps faded quickly down the stairs. "He only came to see you."
"Did you show him a good time?" Laura's voice was mean and filled with contempt.
Jo Ann finished her coffee and piled the dishes in the sink. "Would you like some breakfast before I go?" she murmured.
"You're not going anywhere," Laura yelled from the sofa.
Jo Ann turned around just in time to see the woman rush across the room.
"I think we'd better have a little talk," Laura said, standing menacingly over Jo Ann.
Jo Ann quaked inside and wished Charlie hadn't gone away. She suddenly remembered Cooky's words last night and wondered if Laura would really hit her. She wasn't about to find out.
"What do you want to talk about?" Jo Ann asked timidly.
"What do you think I want to talk about?" Laura screamed.
Jo Ann sighed and sat down. Now she was in for it. And the worst was yet to come.