Plain Janie

"Best part is it's a sixty-nine and you know how much I love sixty-nines."

Craig almost felt like chuckling, instead he tried to take another drink.

"You're driving tonight." Harvey snatched the glass from Craig's hand and downed the liquid in one gulp. "I have to know how you did it? I spend all damn week laying the patented Patterson charm on Plain Jane and I couldn't get anywhere. After you left yesterday all she did was cry. How the hell did you con your own sister into falling for you?"

"I didn't," Craig said after a moment's hesitation.

Harvey remained still and silent. Nothing was said until Craig asked his stepbrother if he was working that night.

"No," Harvey answered. "I thought I'd just hang out and take advantage of the employee discount."

Craig ran his fingertips over the jagged metal keys of his new car. He knew what he needed to do. He couldn't help himself. He was under the influence of that damned hope.

"Where are you off to?" Harvey asked. Craig bounded from his stool. It only took a moment before an attractive female took his place.

***

Sleep, it seemed like Jane had been doing it non-stop since yesterday. No food, no water, the only time she moved was to roll over in bed.

A fist slammed the apartment door. Mr. LaSalle had already been by twice demanding the rent. Jane rolled out of bed. She was so listless, even as her feet hit the gritty floor she felt like she was sleepwalking. She unfastened the deadbolt and opened the door.

"Hello, Mr. LaSalle," she greeted the stubby old man.

He wore a heavy coat and pajama bottoms, an unlit cigar was clenched in his teeth. He reached in his pocket. "A young man was by earlier, he wanted me to give this to you." It was a set of keys.

Jane looked at the keys then looked into the parking lot. She covered her mouth. "Oh my God." A shining silver Chevelle was parked in the lot.

"A Chevy?" Mr. LaSalle said. "That's some kind of Valentine."

***

Craig was forced to concede that this wasn't his brightest idea. Jane's apartment may have been a short drive from Harvey's bar but it turned out to be an exceptionally long walk.

At least he was able to drive the Chevelle one time. He had coveted that machine ever since Harvey brought it's skeletal remains home from the junkyard. Even now he wished he could turn back and retrieve it.

He could give his old minivan to his sister. That was what he had planned on doing from the very beginning, once the Chevelle was officially his. Strange how fate tends to intervene in those kinds of plans.

The car was Jane's now. The keys and her overdue rent were both left with the prickly old superintendent. He hoped the gesture would prove that the car meant nothing compared to her but it probably only proved that he was an idiot. Jane wasn't the kind of girl who was impressed by expensive gifts. She preferred little lions and handmade bracelets.

He couldn't wait to get back to his minivan and remove his coat. Somehow he'd managed to break a sweat on a frozen February night.

There was a muffled laugh from the side of the liquor store. A scruffy looking man tossed a box of wine in the cab of a rusted pickup truck. He gave Craig a suspicious look and drove off. Even the men who made these mean streets mean had somewhere better to be on Valentine's night.

A headlight lit up the road beside him. He could hear the motor and feel the vibrations as the car crept behind him. He'd heard horror stories from Jane and Anne about the kinds of crimes that happened at night in this part of Cooper Falls.

A car horn blared. Craig stumbled forward and landed face down on the sidewalk. He couldn't breath. He wondered if he'd been shot.

"God, Craig! I'm sorry." Jane rolled him on his back.

Her coppery hair was framed by the yellow glare of the overhead streetlight, she looked like an angel. His wind returned enabling him to speak. "Janie, you scared the hell out of me."

As soon as he sat up Jane's arms were around him. She cried into his coat. "Janie, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you." He held her close. His numb hand stroked the curls on her head. "I really am in love with you. I never lied about that."

"I forgive you," she said. Tears hit the inside of her glasses. "I'm still furious and I don't want to, but I do." She kissed him. Their lips moved together slowly, slower than any two pairs of lips had ever moved.

"I'll take you home," she breathed.

***

Craig peeled back the plastic film from the tray of bean burritos and set it on the table. Jane inhaled the aromatic steam as it lifted from the food. "Thanks. I really am starving." She hadn't eaten in almost two days.

Jane stabbed her fork in the first burrito and hungrily chewed. A strand of cheese hung from her chin, Craig plucked it off. "Thanks mom," she said. "Don't leave Janie." He took her hand from across the table. "Stay with me." He tried to look in her eyes but he couldn't maintain contact. "At least until you help me eat all of that tofurkey in the freezer."

"You have an awful lot of tofurkey. It might take me a long time to eat it all." She could feel the drumbeat of her heart. "It might take forever." Craig nodded and looked away again.

"I'll make a bet with you," she said. "We'll play one hand of cards. If you win I'll stay."

"And if I lose?" he asked.

She looked at him, the man she loved and smiled. "You won't." Craig smiled too as he digested her words. "It's a good thing we have our van. I have quite a lot to move."