Just A Memory Away. Helen Myers R.

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       Two

      The instant she heard him shut the bathroom door, Frankie pursed her lips together for a silent whistle. What a close call! If he’d stood there another few seconds, no doubt she would have offered to bathe him herself. Boy, if the guy could do that to her when dazed and grubby, there was no telling what impact he would have when spruced up and functioning on all eight cylinders.

      Bemused by the prospect, she headed back toward the kitchen, only to stop at the sudden touch of hot breath on her cheek. It was followed by the flick of a sandpaper tongue, then the weight of two reptilian feet. Finally, the iguana climbed off a stereo speaker to wrap himself completely around her shoulders.

      Frankie scratched Bugsy under his flabby neck. “So what do you think?” she whispered, continuing on her way. “I know you’re intrigued. You never come out to check out company unless you are.”

      At the counter she stooped to let the iguana onto the steadier base, then flipped on more lights. Dr. J. was already settled on his favorite bar stool in the hope of getting a late-night snack, and Honey croaked from her cage, although she still had plenty in her feeder to nibble on.

      “Okay, you guys,” Frankie said, conscious of the less patient scratching and braying that hadn’t stopped just beyond the screen door. “Everyone will get something, as usual, but keep it down. Mercy… far be it from you guys to wait five extra minutes while I try to take care of a guest!”

      Maury uttered a low-throated growl through the screen. He always needed to get in the last word.

      “I heard that.” Frankie held up the steak bone she’d brought from work that one of the girls had saved for her. “See this? No jealousy or I’ll let Samson chew on this.”

      That earned her a snort of disgust from Maury, who then slapped the aluminum door with a huge paw. Rasputin supplied his support with a bump of his head.

      Frankie couldn’t help but smile. No wonder her guest had looked dubious about getting out of Petunia. Even for someone familiar with them and as fond as she was, they could be a challenge. She knew she wouldn’t be able to play with them tonight as much as she would like, either, because she needed to save a bit of energy for the man who remained too quiet in the bathroom.

      Despite her intentions, it took her a good twenty minutes to feed the motley group. By the time she issued “lovies” to the last animal, and returned to the bathroom, the prospect of a shower looked pretty good to her, too. Hoping that the stranger had finished, she knocked lightly on the door.

      “How’s it going in there?”

      She listened, but heard no reply.

      “Hello? Are you all right?”

      The silence had her imagining the worst: what if he’d been injured more severely than she’d imagined? What if he’d lost his balance and was bleeding to death on her bathroom floor? What if…?

      “Mister! I’m going to come in, okay?”

      When he still failed to answer, Frankie momentarily lost her confidence. Only darn it all, she couldn’t afford to; there was no one to do this if she didn’t!

      As she cautiously peered around the door, she found her guest seated on the commode lid. He looked much the same as when she’d left him.

      Not one to stifle too many emotions, she sighed and touched his shoulder gently so as not to startle him. “Hey. Didn’t you hear me?”

      He looked up at her, and her heart did a little jig as his eyes brightened, warmed. “Hello,” he murmured.

      “Hi. You’re supposed to be taking a shower.”

      He glanced at the stall as if only now realizing its purpose. “I guess I forgot.”

      Forgot the only instruction she’d given him? Frankie’s spirits sank again. “Please, don’t say that. You don’t know how close I am to calling the police for help.”

      “No. No…don’t.”

      “But you’re hurt, and it’s obvious this didn’t happen by simply falling over a tree stump. I could probably be put in jail for the infraction of some civil law by not already having you at a hospital. Failure to render aid or something—I seem to remember they have that law here.”

      He frowned. “But you did help me.”

      “Proper. Proper aid is the key word in this case.” Frankie crouched before him to make him meet her studious gaze. “Look…you have to work with me. You have to take that shower. You’ll feel much better if you get cleaned up, I’m sure of it. If not, I’ll let you lie down for a while afterward. You really don’t want to lie down on my clean sheets when you’re caked with mud and who knows what else, right? Can you do that for me?”

      He inclined his head. It wasn’t, however, a full-fledged nod.

      Not sure that he fully comprehended, Frankie gestured toward the fiberglass cubicle. “Well… anytime you’re ready.”

      Obviously it wasn’t now. Her guest simply continued sitting there staring straight ahead.

      Beginning to feel as if she was fighting an unwinnable battle, she took hold of his hands, which hung loosely between his knees. “Let me try a different approach…. Are

      you making sense of anything I’m saying?”

      “Yes.”

      “Then what’s the problem?”

      “I don’t want to go in there.”

      Frankie eyed the shower stall. What did he mean? Sure, her trailer didn’t look like much from the outside, even through the kind filter of darkness. After the death of her grandmother, her grandfather had towed the thing from one part of the States to another and then some, not missing a single pothole or dusty canyon on his journey of selfdiscovery. And there was no use trying to ignore the obvious: she could almost open her own zoo. That had its own cost. But concussion or no concussion, surely he could tell she was a painstaking housekeeper?

      “I don’t understand,” she told him with quiet urgency.

      “It СКАЧАТЬ