I STILL LOOK FOR YOU - PART 19

Morning sunshine, Tim, Traci and Kurt found Lynn and Bobby asleep on the sofa wrapped in each others arms and half covered with a throw. Bobby was the first to wake, in part because his brother didn’t believe in quiet.

“Well, lookey here! What do we have - a couple of love birds?” Kurt’s world was changing at a neck breaking speed and around every turn was a new development over which he had no control. He woke to an empty apartment and was in a foul mood when he knocked on Lynn’s door, sure he would find Bobby there. Where else would he go?

Tim shoved him into the wall,”Shut your mouth asshole!” He had learned to hate Kurt again who had no place in the family from his estimation but was always hanging around. His Mom treated him like she was his mother and Tim resented it deeply. He was fiercely loyal to his Dad and hated it when there was any show of affection between his Mom and Bobby. A shoving match woke Lynn who came grudgingly from a dream where all of them were living together in a beautiful home with a large yard. They were grilling out and the boys were playing volley ball while Traci was swimming in their pool.

“SHIT! Break it up or I’ll bust both of your head’s.” Lynn stomped to the kitchen in time to stop Traci from adding the fifth scoop of coffee to the filter. “Thanks, hun, but I’ll do this, just give me some space until I wake up, ok?”

Traci didn’t need to be told twice. She had gone straight to the kitchen when she came downstairs to answer the door and let Kurt in. She’d tried to keep the boys quiet and away from the sleeping couple. She was the first to wake and had started downstairs when she saw them holding each other with Bobby’s long leg thrown over Lynn’s and her head on his shoulder. They looked happy and content, expressions neither had displayed in a long time. Traci knew they’d be wanting coffee so she crept to the kitchen to start a pot. Her Mom could be a real bitch when she first woke up and no one with a brain got in her way before she’d had at least two cups and time to wake up. Kurt’s knock on the door, usually welcome, irritated Traci because she knew there'd be trouble when he saw them together. She knew Kurt liked her Mom ok and she didn’t mind him being around but her brother made his hate for Kurt no secret and they were constantly fighting.

Lynn stood in front of the coffee maker willing it to brew faster, two cups waiting on the counter. Arms slipped around her waist and Bobby kissed the top of her head, “Good morning sunshine. I guess we fell asleep.” She wanted nothing more at that moment than to sink deep into his arms and never leave. She fought back tears of frustration and longing as she poured half a cup of unfinished coffee into one cup, gave him a quick hug and headed upstairs to the shower.

The house seemed relatively quiet as she dried her hair and pulled on some blue jeans and a t-shirt, meaning Bobby and Kurt had left. Bitterly saddened that the comfort of last night had ended so abruptly, she was a junky, promising to do just a small line, just enough to take the edge off and she let her mind return to the dream she was having while sleeping in Bobby’s arms. His touch this morning rekindled desires that had lived just under the surface, controlled only because she had no other choice. She no longer cared about right or wrong, the future or the past but only the need that was growing in her. With Renee out of the picture, Lynn was going to have some pleasure in her life, the consequences be damned.

While the kids got their showers, a wet headed Bobby knocked and came into the kitchen, pouring himself a cup of coffee and refilling hers. She rose from her chair, got a kitchen towel from the drawer and began drying his hair. The smell of him, fresh from the shower, a hint of his after shave, the warmth of his body all delighted her senses as she stood behind his chair playfully running her hands through his almost dry hair. He looked up at her, a hint of question in his eyes that was answered when he looked into hers. A smile grew easily on his face. “What can we do today to get these kids tired out enough to go to sleep early?”

They drove to Musville, praying the go cart track was open for the season. All they told the kids was that they all needed to get out of the house and have some fun. Bobby and Lynn sang along with the radio on the drive up and laughed at the kids who put their hands over their ears and gagged at the crazy behavior of these two. It was a February day, blessed with temperatures in the mid 60’s and sunshine enough to fool you into thinking it was spring. The kids had been cooped up with winter’s frigid ice storms and claustrophobic amounts of snow that was useless for snowball fights. It didn’t take them long to catch the excitement. But Lynn’s heart sank when she saw the closed for the season sign swinging from the chained off track. Bobby, not to be denied, gave her a wink and told her to hold on as he ran up to the house where the owner lived. The kids were worked to a fever pitch seeing the go carts parked in an open shed, a neat row of enticement begging to be driven. In what seemed like an eternity, Bobby and a man who was stuffing money into his wallet appeared and walked toward the track.

Traci’s car drove straight into the bales of hay piled five high all around the track knocking three of them down. The man cussed and yelled that this was going to cost more if it happened again as he re-stacked the bales, nearly meeting with serious injury as Kurt’s car rounded the curve just ahead of Tim’s. Lynn choked on Bobby’s exhaust as he drove past her with a wave and a roguish grin. Not to be outdone, she mashed down on the accelerator and promptly found the only patch of leftover ice which spun her into the middle bales, knocking one crooked. Even the owner had to laugh at the scene. A bunch of kids, tearing around the track as if they were being chased by the devil him self to the sound of shrieks made of half fear, half delight. The extra twenty the young man had paid him to open for them would come in handy too. He waved goodbye and re-chained the area a full two hours after the bunch showed up at his home.

Determined to make this day last, and wear down the kids, they found a large bowling alley. The kids hit the arcade area as Lynn cued up and hit the eight ball straight into the pocket on the break. Laughing so hard he almost dropped his soda, Bobby told her he didn’t realize he was playing against a professional. He re-racked, chalked the cue and blew the excess off with lips puckered in a kiss and a smile that promised he could master more than a game of pool. Crack! He sunk three balls on the break. “Looks like you’re stripes, if you get a shot,” he laughed. Lynn watched him walk slowly around the table stretching his body to make a shot. The memory of his body on hers was so clear she could almost feel it and as he brushed past her, sinking another ball with ease. He purposely missed the next shot and left her set up with a couple of good openings. ‘Here, let me show you something,” he brought her toward the table standing behind her with his arms around hers, guiding the cue with expert hands resting on hers. “Keep your eye on the ball while pulling back on the cue and let it slide though your fingers, ever so gently and slowly with a final push just as they meet.”

“MORE quarters. We need more quarters,” three voices chimed in unison at a moment that slammed both of them back to reality and their surroundings.

“Naw, let’s bowl. You guys have been on the games too long already.” Bobby herded the kids up to the counter as Lynn found an empty lane and sunk into a chair to watch, grateful to get off her weak legs.