A Prison Break Ch. 02

I chuckled again. "You're funny. I thought you might be." Had I really? I guess I wasn't sure if I had or not.

"You're funny too."

"Lana? I don't want things to be so screwed up. And I don't want to screw up your life, and... I don't wanna screw up Barb's life more than I have already."

"I don't want things to be screwed up either. I can take care of myself, so don't worry about screwing up my life."

I wondered if that last part was true. "Lana? We can't hurt Barb. I... I don't know if she'd be able to deal with it if she found out about last Friday."

"I... I know. I guess... I don't want to hurt her either."

"My problem is that I don't want to hurt her, but I want to make love with you too."

"I have the same problem."

There was another long patch of silence. Lana broke it. "You know what else I think?"

I wondered what she was going to say. "What?"

"I think you should go to bed because it's getting really late and you have to get up early for work."

I knew there was nothing more to say at the moment and realized Lana knew that before me. "I guess you're right. You should get some sleep too." I heard her rise from the floor, so I did too.

Lana spoke softly again, "Are you still there?"

"Yeah. What is it?"

"Thanks for... coming to my door tonight."

"I'm really glad we talked."

"Me too. I... I really want to kiss you goodnight, but I think if I do that, I'll... not want to let you go."

"Lana? This is the truth... I was thinking the exact same thing." I really had been.

"I'm glad you said that. Tomorrow are... are you going to remember us talking tonight?"

I nodded to the door. "Yeah. I'm gonna remember.

"Good."

"Goodnight, Lana."

"Goodnight. Sweet dreams."

I returned to my bedroom, took a couple ibuprofen with a swig of warm beer, pulled off my shorts, got into bed, and incredibly fell asleep within minutes.

* * *

CHAPTER 9

The next morning I was jolted awake. Someone was shaking my shoulder.

"Wake up! You're going to be late! It's 6:20 already!"

I jerked up to a sitting position. "Huh! What happened?!" I rubbed my face. Lana was standing next to the bed. She was wearing a very oversized red T shirt. It went down to her knees.

"Nothing happened except for you oversleeping. You usually leave by 6:45, don't you?"

I looked at the digital. "Oh... shit." Without thinking I tossed the covers open. I was naked. I jumped out of bed right in front of Lana and quickly walked into the master bath.

"Mmm. Nice ass."

I heard Lana giggle then realized I was nude as I stuck the toothbrush in my mouth.

"Do you want a cappuccino?"

I pulled the brush out. "Ahhh... yeah, in that metal travel mug. Do you know how to make that?"

"Yes. I'm not stupid."

I almost said, You could have fooled me! as a joke, but held back.

She poked her head around the door jamb. "You make your lunch, don't you? Two sandwiches?"

"Yeah, but... I'll have to get a burger or something today. No time to make 'em." I put the brush back in my mouth.

Lana started for the hallway. "After I start your cap, I'll hurry to make them."

"Uh... yeah, ahh... thanks." I rinsed my mouth, then sat on the john. I didn't want to be late. Fuckin' Jim the prick was counting my late arrivals, but he never seemed to count the days I stayed later doing shit on site after everyone had taken off. My brow pinched. What the hell was Lana doing up this early? Did she say 'Nice ass'?

I knew I had taken a shower last night, but I took a very quick one, barely any soap, just to wake up. I must have taken some ibuprofen last night because my head wasn't pounding from the drinks at Sully's. By the time I was dried off, took a couple more ibuprofen, dressed and entered the kitchen, it was 6:35AM. I couldn't believe I had gotten ready so fast. Lana was putting a baggy on a sandwich. I grabbed three Cokes out of the fridge and headed to the mud room.

"I did that already. Three Cokes, right?"

I turned around. "How did you know that?"

"I... I must have seen you do it once. I didn't make up your cap. I mean, put in your sugar and milk."

I put the sodas back and moved around her at the counter. I was starting to wonder about her abrupt metamorphosis, but felt too rushed to give it much thought. "Jeez... you frothed the milk too?"

"Don't you?"

"Usually not. I hate cleaning the rubber thing and air tube. I like the milk steamed like this though. Ahh... thanks." I made up the cap.

"I put an apple in the cooler too."

"Perfect." I remembered not going to the grocery store last night. It was probably the last of the ham and apples.

"Do the sandwiches go in there too?"

"No, in a bag." I pulled out a paper bag where I stored them on top of the refrigerator and handed it to her.

"Thanks."

I sipped my coffee. It was good. "No. Thank you." I glanced at the clock. "I almost have enough time for a smoke."

"You should leave now, get there a little early to relax there, and quit smoking."

I laughed briefly. "Yes, dear." I actually thought it was a good plan. "You know, I think I'll do that, except for the quitting smoking part." It was amazing to see a warm, genuine smile on Lana's face. A very rare event.

Her smile grew as she offered the bag to me. "Have a good day, dear."

I chuckled. "You too." I took the bag, then grabbed the soft cooler from the mud room, put the strap over my shoulder, walked into the garage and out the side door to my truck in the driveway. I leaned in to put the cooler and bag on the seat, and the mug in the holder I had on the hump. I was about to get in, then froze. I realized I felt alive for the first time since Barb's accident. Maybe longer than that. I looked at the house for a moment. I left the truck door open as I jogged back into the kitchen.

"Lana?! Where are you?!"

She ran in from the living room. "Did you forget something?"

"Yeah." I walked up to her, held her face with my palms, waited a moment, then kissed her lips warmly. It lasted about five seconds. She kissed me back. I pulled my face away. "Thanks for making my lunch." I drew my hands from her sleepy, pretty face, and rushed outside again. In the garage, I heard Lana shout from the kitchen.

"Drive safe!"

*

I thought about Lana the entire workday. I knew I was playing with emotional dynamite. It wasn't just sex anymore. It wasn't just me, it was Lana, and Barb too. I felt like the guy with the matches, and keeping with fire metaphor, I also felt like the moth in the old adage and Lana was the candle flame. I convinced myself by the time I was driving home, after what had actually been an enjoyable day on the job although nothing out of the ordinary happened, that I hadn't really made any decision regarding Lana or anything else. I told myself everything was still the status quo -- I was Barb's husband, Lana was her daughter. That's all there was.

When I got to the house I was surprised yet again when I walked inside. The kitchen was cleaned up, I mean including the floor. I couldn't remember the last time I had mopped it. I didn't walk in. I took my work boots off in the mud room before entering.

"Lana?! Are you home?!"

"In the living room!"

I walked into the room. Lana was sitting on the floor. The old drag along vacuum was near her. The handle unit was turned over. She had a screwdriver in her hand. The bottom cover plate over the brush bar was off. I saw some sort of fabric wrapped around the bar.

Lana exhaled sharply. "It took me forever to get this stupid bottom thing open, the stupid instructions and drawing on the back of the metal part made it look so easy, and now I can't unravel this stupid pair of panties from around the roller. They're ripped and all twisted up. It... it broke that stretchy rubber ring that makes it turn and part of that is stuck behind the roller too."

She was wearing a pair of jean cutoffs and a loose T shirt. Her hair was behind one ear. She looked both like a very cute girl and a harried housewife. I almost laughed. The last time I changed the drive belt on the damn thing I had a hell of a time too. She was also right about those instructions. My hands went to my waist, my elbows cocked outward. I grinned then couldn't restrain a chuckle.

She looked up. Her eyes slightly glaring. "This isn't funny. I... I wanted to get this room done before you got home. Quit laughing at me."

I stepped over to her and crouched down. "I'm not laughing at you. I was laughing at what a bitch it is to change the damn belt." I tried to pull the panties off and they seemed to be glued on. I kept trying. "You know, Lana, this thing wasn't designed for vacuuming up panties." I grinned.

Her pretty blue eyes grew. "Really? Gosh... thanks for telling me. And... if you're wondering, they aren't my panties. They were under the couch. I didn't even see them."

My grin waned. They were probably Barb's. A few times when Lana would be on some sleepover, or we knew she'd be out all day, we sometimes got hot and heavy in the living room. That couch armrest had been used before the Friday night with Lana. I tried not to think about Barb. "Listen... ahh... do you want to go out to dinner? I didn't get groceries last night. There's probably not much in the fridge."

"There isn't. I... I hope you don't mind, I finished the last of that hickory ham you had in there."

"It's there to eat." I stopped fooling around with the stuck panties. I looked at her. She seemed nervous. "So... dinner someplace? Like... some place in town we can sit down, not fast food? Or... do you have plans?"

"Um... no... no plans. Um... yeah, okay. I need to take a shower first. I'm... kind of dirty."

"The kitchen looks great."

"Um... I th... um... thanks."

I looked at the vacuum cleaner. "After dinner we can drive up to the mall and go to Sears for a replacement drive belt for this. Okay?"

"Okay."

"I need a shower too." I stood up. My smile was growing again. "So..." I turned and started jogging to the hall. "I'm gonna get the hot water first!"

As I turned into the hall, out the corner of my eye, I saw Lana jump up from the floor.

She shouted, "You ass! I'm gonna get it first!"

I ran to the master bath, she ran to the hall bathroom. Actually it really was 'Lana's bathroom.'

Five minutes later the hot water started cooling off in my shower. I just barely heard Lana shout, "You ass! My water's getting cold!" I laughed as I hurried the bar of soap around my body.

We drove down to the business district of town. From what I had been told by neighbors and people at Sully's, it had started changing about ten years ago, getting more upscale, more "yuppie" if that term was still used. I called it "che-che renovating." New restaurants, the stores looked more like boutiques now with restored or new "old" facades stuck on, a lot of sandblasted brick, the banks had moved out to the busier roads, there was even a new micro brewery with an attached restaurant. I was tempted to try that place, Barb and I had talked about going there sometime, but at the moment it looked really expensive. Since Barb went away, I was getting more and more concerned about money. Gas was expensive for all those weekly visits, and I was still sending money to the damn lawyer.

I asked Lana where she wanted to eat. She said it really didn't matter to her. I suggested the pizza restaurant, a local chain with decent stuffed pizza, but said I would probably order the antipasto salad which was good and huge, so she could have some of it if she wanted. I added that if she wanted pizza that was fine because we could doggy bag the leftovers. She asked if we could just split the antipasto.

I said, "Great. Let's do that."

We ordered soft drinks and I ordered the salad, asking the waiter for two extra plates because we were going to split it. He asked what dressings we wanted. Lana said Italian, I was going to ask for the creamy garlic, then at the last moment, said, "Italian too." My gut tightened as the guy walked away. I knew why I changed it, or more accurately, why my dick changed it from garlic. I told myself and my dick, nothing like last Friday night was ever going to happen again.

The salad was good. Lana liked it too. We were making small talk for the most part, but then I just had to mention it.

I sipped my Coke, set the glass down then looked at Lana. "I don't wanna jinx it or anything, but... I've been wondering why you... ahh... did all that cleaning today?"

"Well, you... you gave me that money for... for the bus tokens, and... and you had said maybe I'd get paid for chores, so... so I did it because of... you know, the bus tokens. Um.... sort of."

"When I walked in, I almost thought I was in the wrong house." I smiled. "Thanks for doing it."

"You're welcome."

After dinner we drove up to the big mall. When we parked I told Lana she didn't have to come with me to Sears, that she could window shop or whatever while I got the replacement belt. She said she'd go with me. I had the old empty plastic bag from the previous belt with me for the model number. I had left it in the end table drawer knowing I'd have to get more in the future. Barb always seemed to vacuum some crap up that would bind that bar and snap the belt. Once it was the long pull cord to the window blinds in our bedroom. It had yanked the blinds off the window too. She usually liked to houseclean after having a few cocktails on a Saturday or Sunday.

We got the belt, then Lana asked if we could just walk around the mall, and if I didn't mind, she might stop in a few stores, real quick, that I could sit on a bench. She promised not to be in any store longer than a few minutes.

"Okay... sure."

She was wearing pleated cotton shorts again, an off-white color. She had a pink top on, not a T shirt, but it did have very short sleeves with a slightly scooped neckline, so the ridges of her collar bones were exposed. She was wearing her sneakers again with the ankle socks. Not much makeup on, barely any. She looked very nice, very pretty. She looked eighteen or close to it this evening. For the hell of it, I had put on my gray Dockers and a red cotton golf shirt. I guess I also looked fairly nice and also looked my age, pushin' thirty. I smiled at the thought.

"What's the grin for?"

I looked at her. "Nothing funny. I was just thinking how very nice, and... and very pretty you look this evening." I think she blushed.

"You... um... look very nice and pretty too." She grinned.

I laughed.

"Um... Here's a store I want to go into. I'll just be a minute."

"I'll come in too."

She turned to me. "No. I mean... um... I just want to see someone in the store for a moment. You... you sit on that bench. Okay?" She pointed to couple benches in the center of the walkway.

I figured she wanted to talk to a friend working in the store and might be embarrassed to be seen with me. "All right."

I went to the bench and sat down. I watched Lana go into the shop. She went to the counter and spoke with a girl around her own age. The girl called someone else over. A twenty-something chick. Lana smiled at her and said something. The chick nodded said something then walked around to the other side of the counter. She leaned down and came up with a folder. She opened it and fiddled around then pulled a paper out. She nodded at Lana again, said something else. Lana nodded, smiled and spoke, then said something to the girl her age. She turned towards the door, her smile disappeared as she started walking out. I got up and met her coming out of the shop.

"Mind if I ask what that was about?" I thought I knew. She was doing what I had suggested at the prison.

"I wanted to..." She took a quick breath. "That's one of the shops where I applied for a job. They're... they still don't need anyone."

I felt proud of her and then felt like a jerk for feeling anything like that about her. I didn't know what to say, then a questioned popped into my mind. "Did... did she look at your application again?"

"Uh-huh. She had to find it in a folder."

"So it wasn't on top?"

"No."

"You might not have been watching, but... when she put it back in the folder, did she put it on top or put it in alphabetical order or something?"

Lana's brow pinched. "I guess... I guess she put it on top."

I smiled.

Lana looked at me. "That doesn't mean anything, but..." She exhaled. "Okay, maybe it was good to go back again."

It probably didn't mean anything, but you never know. "I think it's good you went back. Where are these other shops?"

"One's closer to Penny's and the other is on the second floor."

"Okay."

When we returned to the car, Lana asked if we were going to the grocery store. I sighed, frowned and said we better. It ended up being somewhat enjoyable to have someone with me in the foodstore, maybe it was more being with the 'new' Lana, who seemed take over regarding what to buy and what to skip. I didn't mind at all. I said it looked like she knew she was doing.

"I did um... before you and... Barb got married, I... I did most of the grocery shopping and... and the housecleaning."

All of a sudden, her bathroom decor made much more sense to me.

By the time we got home and got the groceries onto the kitchen counter, it was 10:10PM.

I looked at Lana. "Listen, do you mind putting this stuff away, and I'll fix the vacuum." I held my breath waiting for her response.

"Mmm... sure. All right." She opened a bag and started putting things in the refrigerator.

I went to the garage and got a couple tools, one being my razor knife. I used it to cut the twisted panties off. While I worked on the vacuum I turned on the TV to get the local news, my interest being the local weather for tomorrow. There had been a foul up with the roofing order, the wrong color shingles or something. They finally came in late this past afternoon. Jim, Bob, and I would be starting that tomorrow while the rest of the crew worked inside. I wondered how hot it was going to be. Just as I was finishing up on the vacuum repair, Lana came into the room and sat on the couch. We both heard it was going to be in the high 80s tomorrow. That made me frown for a moment.

Lana looked at me. "The groceries are all put away."

"Thanks."

"I... I guess I should do more around here than I have been for... for a while now."

I snapped the bottom plate back on the vacuum. "I guess... I should be doing more around here than I've been doing too." I looked at Lana and smiled. I was glad to see her smile back. Were we actually starting to be friends? I was at least relieved I didn't feel she was conning me. I wasn't yet counting on her to actually start pulling some weight around the house though. It was true that I had only been doing the minimum required to keep it a step above pig sty. Both our smiles waned and it seemed we both got a little uncomfortable, probably each of us wondering the same thing about being friends. During the commercial, I tried the vacuum cleaner. The brushing bar worked. I shut it off.

Lana looked at me. "You were doing that really well. Don't stop now, you should keep going, practice more." She giggled softly.

I chuckled. "Ahhh... women's work."

"You ass. It isn't women's work. It's just work."

I sat down on the couch, not next to her but at the corner. "Yeah, I know. I've lived alone." I looked on the floor. "I'm really glad you picked up that wrapping paper."

"You... you noticed it? I didn't think you did."

"Yeah. And it really p..." I didn't want to break the mood.