Angel - Chapter 7

The rest of the week seemed to go by in a blur. Johanna and I spent our time shopping, catching up with some of my old friends and more often than not, I spent as much time with Josh as possible and Jo spent time with Brian. This was often difficult for her because his girlfriend Lacey made an appearance at the house several times during the week. Brian played it cool and Johanna stayed out of the way. She knew that Lacey wasn’t as good in bed as she was and Brian had told her so on many of their fuck fests.

Lacey was home on spring break for college since she was a year ahead of Brian. They had been dating for the last year, and I knew it was hard on Brian to have her so far away. It worked for the most part and he intended to follow her to the same college in the fall, providing his grades stay up and he can manage a scholarship for one of the sports he played well.

It was the last day we were at my parent’s house and the group of us was sitting on the deck drinking sangria and enjoying the afternoon sunshine. There was so much we had already done this week and it was hard to find something to do on our last day here. Occasionally someone let out a sigh but it was mostly boredom and exhaustion that kept us quite.

“What about going to the movies?” Johanna suggested. We all glanced at each other and said, “nah” almost in unison.

“What about going to the mall?” Brian suggested this time. 

“I am so sick of the mall!” Jo said laughing. “I don’t think I have shopped so much in the last week than I have in my entire life.”

“I agree.” I said, nodding my head. “There has to be something to do!”

“We could go up to the barn and jump in the hay.” Josh spoke this time. Again, everyone shook his or her heads. Silence prevailed for a few moments longer until a large masculine voice boomed from the house.

“Angel!” my father bellowed from the kitchen and smiled when he saw us on the deck. “There you are!” 

“Hi daddy!” I said, jumping up and giving him a hug. “Your home early.”

“ I know Angel, I figured this was your last night here, so I was making an effort to see you off.” He took off his suit jacket and patted my back. “And well, I have to leave on business in the morning and wouldn’t be able to see you off.”

“Oh,” I said trying not to sound disappointed. By now I was used to my father being absent, but even as an adult I longed for his attention.

“So, I thought it would be nice for the family to go out on the Yacht for dinner!” He said smiling.

“You have a Yacht?” Johanna said, speaking for the first time since my father came home.

“Yeah. I forgot about that.” I said sheepishly, wishing I had thought of that while we were thinking of something to do.

“Well then, I think we should go!” Johanna said excitedly. “I’ve never been on a boat.”

“Then it’s done then.” My father said. “I’m going upstairs to change, but let your mother know when she comes in. I’ll call over to the slip and have the boat stocked for a old fashion cook out.” With that, my dad headed back towards the stairs through the kitchen.

“This will be fun.” Josh said, reaching for my hand. I smiled back to him.

“Well, lets get ready then. I’m gonna call my mom on her cell and let her know. She’ll be excited to go out on Angel.” I said.

“You parent’s boat is named ‘Angel’?” Johanna asked.

“Yup.” Brian piped up. “They bought it after she was born in hopes of taking family vacations together.”

“Yeah, until you were born that is.” I said back smiling.

“Well, I got a car for my 16th birthday, so there!” Brian shot back sticking out his tongue playfully.

“Children, children!” Josh said laughing. “Lets get this show on the road!”

With that said, Johanna and I made the trip upstairs to change and Josh and Brian lounged on the deck. I unfolded my new white shorts and a pink halter top with my new bathing suit on underneath. On a second thought I grabbed a zipper pullover in case it got chilly later in the evening. Johanna chose a pair of denim shorts and a tank top, and also decided on a sweater as an accessory.

My mother popped her head into my room a half an hour later and her face was lit with excitement. She was dressed in kaki shorts and a big white shirt, one of my fathers I thought. She was tightening an elastic in her hair when she said, “Paul called from the dock and said everything is ready to go. Are you girls ready?”

“Almost.” I said, searching my closet for deck shoes. “Ah ha! Here they are!” I said triumphantly. 

Grinning, Johanna led the way out of the room and down the stairs. My father was comical in his skipper outfit, complete with hat and striped shirt. I glanced around for Josh, but he was nowhere to be seen.

“He’s in the library.” Brian said from the kitchen table. He was packing a cooler with soda, beer and wine. I nodded and went in the direction of the library and could hear a muffled voice from the other side of the door. I cracked it open and slipped inside where Josh was on his cell phone.

“Em, its there last day here and I was invited to go. I can’t say no.” He paused and looked at me and rolled his eyes. “No, its not like that at all…Why do you always have to argue this with me…Its not like that!…She’s a family friend, that’s it!” He paused again and then covered the mouthpiece and whispered to me, “She’s jealous of you.”

I covered my mouth to keep from giggling. I never had anyone jealous of me before, and it was almost comical since I was jealous of her for having Josh.

“Look Em, I’ll be back by 9, 10 at the latest. I promise.” A pause. “I am not trying to avoid you! Its just that I should go.” Another pause. “I know you haven’t been feeling well…I was home this week…you’re the one who didn’t want to come to dinner the other night...Oh, you want to bring that up now?…I don’t even like your father…what does that have to do with anything?…Emily, I have to go. I will be home later…yes, I love you too. Bye.” Josh snapped the phone shut and clenched his fists.

“Sometimes I wish I could just divorce her, leave her fathers fucking company and go back to before all this bullshit happened.” He took my hand. “Back to when I could have you.”

“You could have had me, Josh.” I said, pulling him towards the door. “But you took her over me, and now you are stuck with her.”

“If it weren’t for that fucking kid she carrying, I would do it all differently.” Sighing, we dropped our hands and headed to the front door. Brian could be heard talking to my dad and I could already see Johanna in the back seat of my moms SUV and I climbed in next to her. The boys piled in after me with my parent’s in the front seat.

We made it to the dock in about 20 minutes and mostly in silence. I was enjoying the drive down the tree-lined roads because I knew it would be awhile before I made it back for a visit. We pulled into the harbor that was marked with the sign: PRIVATE PROPERTY - MEMBERS ONLY. My father swung into the off road and rumbled over the gravel to the boathouse. Paul greeted us at the door and gave me a hug. 

“It’s been awhile Angel!” He said, smiling. “Last time I saw you, you were chest high!”

“I know Paul!” I said shielding my eyes from the sun. “Now I am all grown up!” 

“That you are!” He said then turned his attention to my father. “Its all ready to go William.”

“Then, all aboard!” he bellowed and we all followed to the dock slip and boarded Angel, bobbing in the harbor.

******************

“Well, that was fun!” I said in the car on the way home, leaning my head on Johanna’s shoulder. It was dark now, but the sky was clear and we were all tired from the long day.

“Me too.” She said, stifling a yawn. Josh and Brian were in the back seat again, both with their heads back and eyes closed. Josh looked so cute and didn’t look so worried and stressed when he was sleeping.

“I hate to leave tomorrow.” I said quietly to Jo.

“I know. It’s been a nice change.”

“Well, tomorrow its back to the real world I guess.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

We climbed into bed and were asleep before our heads hit the pillow. It wasn’t until the next morning that the dread of having to return to Baltimore set in. Johanna and I started packing before we went down for breakfast. I had to find another suitcase to fit all of our new clothes into and when they were smashed in enough, we carried them down to the foyer.

Breakfast was elaborate, with pancakes, sausage and scrambled eggs. My mother was teary as she served us and made several mentions of us staying longer. Jo and I exchanged glances, knowing that if we didn’t return today, one of Romeo’s thugs would be here by nightfall.
“Ma, we would love to stay really, but we have to get back. Work and all.” I said sipping my coffee.

“I know Angel, but I wish you could stay longer, that’s all.”

“We’ll be back soon, I promise.”

After breakfast my mom offered to drive us to the train station to catch our 11:30 departure. We accepted giving my mother a few more minutes of our time. At the station, she walked us in and helped us find the gate, although we knew where were supposed to be. Before we boarded my mother handed me an envelope. She pressed it into my hands and hugged me at the same time.

“This is from your father.” She said, stepping away for a second. “There is a thousand dollars in there.” I started to protest, but she continued. “He feels guilty that he didn’t spend enough time with you while you were here and the fact he isn’t here now.”

“Ma, I don’t need it.” I said, lying through my teeth.

“I know, Angel, but you dad wanted you to have it.” She hugged me again. “Just take it and go shopping or something.” I laughed and tucked the envelope into my carryon bag.

“I have to go. I’ll call you when I get back, okay?” I kissed her cheek and I saw her eyes well with fresh tears. “I love you.”

“Love you too baby. My angel.”

We all waved as we headed towards the gate for our train. She still stood when the train pulled away from the station. We found our seats and plopped down into the cushy seats. Jo and I started at each other from across the aisle and I felt tears burn my eyes. Turning away, Johanna noticed my discomfort and brought up a new subject.

“I was surprised that Josh didn’t come this morning.” She said.

“Nah. I didn’t think he was going to. We talked about it last night, and he said that if he left the house once more to come to my parent’s house, Emily was going to throw a fit and the last thing he needed was to get an earful from his father-in-law.”

“I see.” Jo said.

“However, I told him I would keep it touch and call him to say hello. I know he has is own life now, and I’m not really apart of it anymore.” I smiled thinking of the past week.

“What about this past week?” Jo asked, as if reading my mind.

“Well, it was fun, ya know, but I don’t think he has the feelings I do for him. Or the feelings I had for him.”

“Who knows,” Johanna said. “You never know what can happen in the future.”

“Very true.” I closed my eyes and slept the rest of the way home.