Cherry Two

Part 15

Chapter 13

Calley hadn't phoned home for two days. James and Kate were already aware she'd gone touring along the west coast with Alain, so James spoke with Sonia instead. When he dialed, a young male voice answered without saying hello and unceremoniously hollered for his mom to pick up the extension.

"That was my boy, Kent," she said by way of an apology to James. "He can be rude at times. When it's his surfing buddies on the line he'll talk for hours. I'll make sure he's more polite next time."

The specter of Sonia chastising grown-up sons seemed inconceivable. James still held vivid mental images of Sonia the way he'd known her in 1984—intimate—a ravishing teen, so like her wild sister, Calley, enrolling him into a three-way love partnership that blew his naive mind. If rude Kent only knew the half of it.

James made an effort to push the illicit carnal thoughts aside. "We both have boys, Sonia. Not a problem. Did Calley say when she'd get back? Kate worries."

Lie. James worries.

"I spoke with Alain last night," Sonia responded. "I expect they'll be there for another couple of days. Alain said Calley had some sort of flash episode when they went to the cemetery. I'm not sure what he means and I don't think he did either."

"Is that all he said? A flash episode?" Anything ambiguous to do with Calley signaled concern that James betrayed in his voice.

"Hmm, yes. That's all he said. I expect she'll explain it when they get back. He didn't mean she displayed herself, so don't go thinking she's turning into a carbon copy of my sister. She only looks like Calley," Sonia said, evidently lying worse than James.

"Dares."

"What was that, James?"

He moved his mouth very close to the handset. "We called them dares—Calley and me. Don't you remember, Sonia?"

She went quiet for a moment. "Yes, I do remember. Oh, James, you bring back so many memories. Was that really us all those years ago? Sometimes I think..."

Over the hesitation he finished for her. "Sometimes it seems like a dream. It was a dream. Nothing so wonderful and so sad could be real. I'm such a coward, aren't I? If I had any guts I'd have gone over there too. Half of me still wants to."

A smile infiltrated her voice. "I remember how you used to blush so vividly. If I saw you now I'd be the one blushing. I did tell Keenan about our special relationship. It took me a long time to accept Calley's loss, but I'm all right now. I'd have gone up to Monterey with them, only the Department have put me on assignment—an assessment of someone. It may take several days."

"You're talking about police work?"

Sonia let out a sigh. "Yeah, police work. Another ghetto mad dog claiming he went temporarily insane. When they're caught dead to rights it's the only defense argument these violent creatures can come up with. I'm supposed to prove him a liar."

James reflected on his own work: trying to convince reformed hard drug users that their decision to quit had saved their lives—knowing full well ninety-eight percent would be back in therapy before you could say substance abuse. Thankless and underpaid as it was, the measly two percent success rate did provide a reason to continue. There were worse jobs he supposed.

The call ended with the usual polite sentiments that sounded a little absurd given the pair's history. To James there lingered little doubt Calley had been fully apprised of his conduct re the "cousins"—conduct that had blatantly gone on right under Robert's oblivious nose.