Vintage Rob

Chapter 4 - A Friendly Game of Pool

During dinner, Rob behaved as cautiously as a spy at a border crossing. The thoughts he shared passed through several checkpoints before exiting his mouth, but as dinner came to an end, he feared a blowout if left alone with Molly or Sarah in the dining room. "Paul, did the pool table survive the move?"

"Worn and tilted, but in the basement."

Rob removed the cloth napkin from his lap and put it on the table. By the time he and Caleb finished a game, Molly and Sarah would be in their hidy-holes. "Caleb, let's play."

Narrow, creaky stairs led to the basement. Caleb asked if he should get Molly.

"She's a big girl. She'll join us if she wants."

The pool table occupied a part of the basement with a cement floor. While Caleb racked the dusty balls, Rob combed an area with a dirt floor for pool cues. A few leaned in a dark corner. Returning to Caleb, he used a pool cue to push the light bulb hanging overhead, causing shadows to rotate around them.

"Why'd you do that?"

"Just to watch the light play, I guess." Rob reached up and froze the bulb. "Your shot, buddy."

Caleb squinted and slid the stick back and forth, resetting the ball when he tapped it accidentally. Makiko had played on Paul's table many times, but not with Caleb's concentration and earnestness. In their day, Makiko and Molly giggled incessantly during pool games. Whenever Rob turned his back, they stuffed balls into pockets, then pantomimed ignorance. Molly was older, but they followed him everywhere back then. When he had time. His two soccer girls.

While Caleb took a shot, Rob heard footsteps on the stairs. A pair of sneakers appeared, then jeans. Instead of coming all the way down, Molly bent over to make eye contact. "My father wants to know if you want another drink."

"Sure. Thanks." He tried to evaluate the layout of the balls. Had she emphasized the words 'my father' or had he just heard it that way? "Molly, do you remember playing on this table with Makiko?"

Her foot disappeared. "Yup." The stairs groaned as she climbed faster. "One whiskey, coming up!" The door banged.

"Your shot, Caleb."

Caleb missed.

Rob pondered his next move with casual pleasure, walking slowly around the table. Part of his mind weighted Mark's threats. Mostly, he focused on the game and Caleb. Rob wanted him to have fun.

"You know Makiko?" Caleb said.

"Sure, what do you mean?"

"You asked Molly about Makiko."

Rob placed the butt of the pool cue on the cement floor. Makiko left Boston almost two years before Caleb was born. If he knew the name, then Molly was in touch with her somewhat recently. "I was talking about when Molly was fifteen or sixteen. Sometimes she played on this table with a girl she babysat, a girl named Makiko."

Caleb examined the balls. "What are you going to do next, Uncle Rob?"

Rob leaned forward. "I'm going to kick your ass." The first ball sank with a thud. The second ball nicked the edge of a corner pocket and ricocheted off two more walls before coming to an inconclusive rest near its start point, as planned. "Well, I guess you're still in the game," Rob said. "What are you gonna do?"

"I'm going to kick your ass!" Caleb thrust his pool cue forward like a lizard's tongue, his bravado tarnished slightly by a cautious glance at Rob. The cue ball rolled among the other balls without tapping them. "Damn."

His risk-taking enthusiasm was heart-warming, but Rob thought it best to discourage more cursing with a curt frown and tight lips.

Molly returned with the whiskey. When Caleb invited her to join, she declined, but watched them take a few shots before quietly slipping away. Rob had a strange feeling and went to the bottom of the stairs to see if she was eavesdropping, but the first floor door was closed.