The Ability

Mark went last, handcuffed to the gurney, with four broken ribs, a broken jaw, and two teeth missing.

Amanda rode in the ambulance with me, leaving Brian with the kids. I didn't think it would be a good idea for him to be at the hospital just now.

Mark was arrested that night for four separate counts of assault resulting in injury, one count of aggravated assault resulting in serious injury, domestic violence, and assault on an officer, when he kicked one of the cops trying to pick him up. He was toast, his bail set so high no one was getting him out.

I was at the hospital overnight. When they released me Amanda was waiting. "The kids would have killed me if I hadn't come and got you. You'll be staying with me while we clean your house. You need to stay out of it and let us do it. Every woman in the neighborhood wants to help."

She sighed, and looked me in the eye. "Just so you know, if you decide to take the bastard back, it would be in your best interests to move. You'll be shunned, here, and two of the husbands plan to visit Mark as soon as he gets out of the hospital and jail. Understand?"

I did.

...

I stayed with Amanda for six days before moving back to my house. It was spotless, but I took one look at the master bedroom and moved my clothes to the biggest guest room. I missed a week of work, before going back. My arm was in a sling, my lip was still swollen, my black eye faded to a mottled green and yellow.

My boss took one look at me and frowned. "What happened?"

We were in his office, so I told him the truth. His frown deepened. "Where's the bastard now?"

"In jail. His bail is too high for anyone to get him out, and even if I had the money, he can rot before he can depend on me."

My boss was still angry. "Jerk needs his ass kicked. I hope someone was around to help you."

I grinned, wincing as my lip hurt. "Oh, he didn't go away unscathed. Three of my neighbors tackled him, and while they got hit, they did a lot of damage. His face is scratched up pretty good, and he's got a few bite marks on his arms. I hear one took three staples to hold it together. Then it got worse. His niece ran and got your friend Brian, and he broke three, no four, ribs and his jaw."

The boss grinned, and pointed to a picture on his wall. It was a much younger Brian, in the boxing ring, blood flowing out of his mouth as he stood over another fighter. "Light heavyweight, he was Golden Gloves regional champion. He went pro, and fought seventeen times, with a twelve, four and one record, before an accident forced him to retire. This is the fight where he beat the number twelve ranked fighter in the world. If he had lasted another couple of years, he would have been a champion. His legs are a little slow now, but his hand speed is as good as ever. I was his corner man."

I looked at the photo for a while, trying to reconcile the bloodied warrior with the gentle man I knew. Then I remembered hearing the crack as he broke Mark's ribs, and actually smiled. My hero.

Mark was remanded to county until his trial came up. There were fourteen witnesses there, but the judge stopped the DA from calling any more after four. He had the pictures of me beaten and bloody, arm hanging at a strange angle, Amanda with her black eye, Chloe with her split lip, Sarah with her bruises. They also had the video Mrs. Roseman had made.

The public defender tried his best, but he had no chance. Mark was sentenced to three years, minus the time served while waiting for trial. He would be eligible for parole in eighteen months, and he served his time in a medium security facility.

Mark wanted Brian charged, but he had swung first when Brian taunted him, so it wasn't seriously considered.

...

Screwing up my courage a few weeks later, I walked to Brian's house. He seemed a little surprised to see me, but his smile was worth the walk. My nose was assaulted with one of the most delicious smells I'd ever encountered.

"What's that smell?," came out of my mouth before I could stop myself.

"Well, hello to you to, Angel. I'm glad to see you are recovering nicely. That smell is chicken being roasted over cherry wood coals, along with a couple of racks of ribs and a small beef roast. I tend to go overboard when I break out the grill, doing several things at once so as not to waste the wood. They're just about to come off, would you like to stay for dinner?"

"Oh, I couldn't impo..." was all I got out before Tammy came in from the patio, giggling. Amanda and Marcus followed, and before I knew it I was led out to a laden table. I had a small portion of the ribs and chicken, dipped in homemade barbeque sauce, with potato salad, and corn roasted on the grill, smothered with pepper jack cheese, butter, and lime juice, along with tall glasses of lemonade. I complimented Amanda on the meal.

She laughed. "All I contributed to this meal was an appetite. Brian is the grill master, another of his hobbies. We're usually his test subjects when he concocts something new. Not that we mind in the least. Right kids?"

There was enthusiastic agreement. I saw Brian whisper to Tammy, and she disappeared into the kitchen, coming back to get Marcus to help. Twenty minutes later they came out bearing a tray. There were cherries, nuts, bananas, pineapple chunks and whipped cream.

"What's all this?"

"It's time for dessert, Aunt Angel."

I felt a flush come to my face. I was an 'aunt'! It was a wonderful feeling. Brian was watching me, a knowing grin on his face.

"And here's the ice cream!," he announced, putting the ice cream maker on the table. It was the most enjoyable dessert I'd ever eaten. I left with two plates, which Marcus helped me carry home.

I managed to get Brian alone while the rest of the family cleaned up. "Thank you so much for letting me intrude on your family. Dinner was delicious. You know, I only came by to thank you for saving me."

He smiled that heart melting smile. "Oh, I only contributed a little there towards the end. Your friends carried most of the load. It's nice to have a support system, isn't it?"

"More than you could ever possible imagine. I'd felt so alone for so long it's hard to take, but I'm learning. What I really wanted is..."

I stopped as Tammy whirled inside, asking me to help her gather the dishes. I ended up helping her wash up, rinsing as she stood on a chair to reach the sink. I complimented her on a good job.

"Uncle Brian says everyone should contribute in a family. I'm not old enough to cook, so he showed me how to wash dishes. Maybe by the time I'm old enough to cook there will be some cousins around for me to take over."

She grinned while she said it, and I felt goosebumps, and looked up, right into his eyes. His small smile made the goosebumps linger.

...

I used the card Brian had given me, and the divorce lawyer was everything I could hope for. I ended up with the house and his car, while Mark got to keep his 401 account, but he had to pay me maintenance for three years. He was served with a restraining order, effective for five years, keeping him at least five hundred feet away from me should our paths ever cross again.

Knowing I could never afford the house on what I made, I tearfully listed it. Brian saw the sign and knocked on my door. After a long discussion, Brian, my boss Jackson, and even my divorce lawyer chipped in their expertise, getting me on a government program for battered wives, reducing my payments almost sixty per cent without extending the mortgage. The only drawback was that if I ever remarried, I'd have to refinance, getting a conventional loan. I felt pretty safe signing the papers.

It felt so good to pull into the driveway of my very own home I must have grinned every time I did it for six months.

The neighborhood parties continued, and now I was a part of the group, I even hosted once or twice. Brian had a turn, grilling while everyone relaxed by his pool. I was still a little insecure, so I wore a one piece, but it was a very nice, very expensive one piece, and highlighted my assets, while downplaying my weaknesses. The only thing I was uncomfortable with was the built in push up bra and plunging neckline. It showed the girls off to full advantage, and Amanda, now my best friend, teased me about it.

"My, my, girl. Are those store bought? They look too perfect to be natural."

Chloe jumped in. "Yeah, hubby almost walked into the grill when you took off your cover. And conversation pretty much came to a standstill. They'll be a lot of husbands thinking about a certain woman tonight while they pound their honeys. I hope so anyway, we're in a bit of a dry spell."

"Too much information," screamed Amanda as the rest of the girls laughed. Then she turned to me, grinning. "What did Brian think of your suit? I know he looked hard enough."

"Stop it!," I laughed. "I don't know what he thought of it, you know how impossible he is to read."

"Well, honey, he is a fine looking man, and you're the first woman he's shown any interest in since his wife and kids..." Jenny trialed off, embarrassed. "I'm so sorry Amanda. That was thoughtless of me."

Amanda smiled, a sad expression on her face. "Can you believe it's been over four years? I still wake up sometimes, reaching for Steve. At least I still have the kids. Brian had his whole world ripped away. I was glad he was there for me, there for the kids. I just wish someone was there for him."

Amanda told the whole story one night, after we split a bottle of wine. Her husband was his best friend, and she had met him when Brian brought him home from college for the weekend. It was love at first sight. They married three days after he graduated from college.

Brian met his cousin one night, and while it wasn't the white hot heat Amanda and Steve had felt, they fanned the flames until they married. A year later Brian was the father of twin boys.

A few years down the road, Brian and Steve went in together and bought a little cabin at a secluded lake.

"We were all going up for the weekend, but Brian got caught up testifying at a trial that ran longer than expected. Steve and Sandy decided to go ahead, to get everything ready for when we finally got to come up. The boys wanted to go because Uncle Steve had promised them a canoe lesson after the house was set up."

"It was just stupid, really. A big rig was trying to beat the light and make a left turn, and lost control. The fully loaded truck smashed the car flat, the medics used the Jaws Of Life to cut the top off, but it was too late."

I was a total loss, but Brian pulled me and the kids through. He made all the arrangements for the funerals, handled all the litigation with the really excellent law firm he'd retained, old friends just doing him a favor. The trucking company settled out of court, seven hundred fifty thousand for him, half a mil for me. Plus we had a pretty hefty life insurance policy, and a flyer on the mortgage that paid the note off in case of accidental death. Between the insurance and the settlement, I have enough to keep my standard of living and assure the future of my kids. Brian was in the same boat, but he had no one, and money never really meant that much to him. I'm sure he'd give it all back with interest if it would bring his family back."

"I really believe if it hadn't been for me needing him so badly, he would have sold his house and moved away."

My heart was torn in two, the story was so sad. Amanda showed me a picture afterwards, of a young woman, a stunning redhead, with twin boys on her lap, when they were about three years old. They shared her flaming red locks. I wandered around my house for days, imagining the sound of tiny feet running down the halls, wondering how I would have handled losing a child. Not well, I'm sure.

As soon as word got out that I was single, I started getting hit on, and I wondered why, asking Martha, my manager, if all men were horn dogs now. We were at lunch, and a couple of guys kept staring at us.

"Honey, you don't get it, do you? Guys keep hitting on you because you're hot. Since your divorce, you're dressing better, changed your hair in to a much more flattering style, gotten more skilled with your make up. Men notice. And your legs, I would have killed to have legs like that when I was your age. If you ever wore a skirt that went above your knees, you'd start a riot if you went out onto the production floor. Notice how I've had to gather the status sheets from the floor managers lately? It's because if you you do it, production comes to a standstill. You have to have felt their eyes!"

I was stunned. "I thought I always looked professional. As for the rest, for the first time in my life I could look like how I wanted to look, not like someone told me to look. Should I dress down?"

"And break the hearts out of eighty six men who take their break a little early just to watch you walk from your car to the office every morning? Your dress is always proper and professional, it just professionally hot. Embrace it, girl, it'll help you capture the man of your dreams."

I snorted and spoke before I thought. "It hasn't so far."

"So, there is an object to your affections?"

"Yes, and every time he sees me he treats me like a queen. But that's as far as it's gotten. I think it's going to take me asking him out to get him to notice me."

We had to go back to work, but Mom, as all the girls called her, had a gleam in her eye.

Two weeks later she stopped at my desk. "Our company picnic is in two weeks, and you just got assigned to help. By me."

She sat and gave me a rundown. There really that much left to do, the food was catered, the games and activities for the children and adults professionally run, the entertainment arranged.

"What am I supposed to do, exactly?"

Mom grinned. "Your task is to get your man to attend. You've told me how close you and his niece and nephew are, invite them along, as long as he comes too. The way to am man's heart isn't always his stomach, child. You should study military history, my husband is a nut about that stuff, but one thing that has stuck is that you always attack on the weakest front, and his seems to be children."

"That's not really ethical, and I like his family too much to alienate any of them."

"Another nugget from military history. All is fair in...well, you get it. Make it happen, use some of that legendary charm of yours."

"That would probably work on mortals, but not this guy. He's got this ability to look right into your soul."

"Good, then he'll see what you're trying to do, and it will be out there."

I don't know..."

"Another military reference,from the Brits, I think. He who dares, wins."

"Enough! I get your point."

She stood, patting my hand. "Good. Into the breech, then."

"Stop!"

She gave a little mock salute and went back to her desk grinning.

...

I thought about it, a lot. I had the kids, I watched them occasionally so Amanda could go to the gym, or out with other adults for grown up conversation. I even kept them once overnight when she went on a date. The kids loved it, I loved it, but when Amanda came to pick them up she had sad eyes. I got it out of her on Sunday, as we sat in the shade and watched the neighborhood kids roam.

The date was a disaster. He projected an image of a nice guy, but when he got her alone the gloves came off, and he put a lot of effort into trying to get her agree to spend the night at his place. She was polite the first few times and then flatly said that it was never going to happen and she would like to go home, please, he stormed off and she had to catch a cab home.

I hugged her. "There are nice guys out there, hon. You're still young, and hot, and you'll find the right one."

"You're younger, hotter, and yet you're still single. When is your Prince Charming going to come along."

I sighed. "He has, Amanda, he just won't get off his horse and storm the castle."

She knew instantly who I was talking about. "You know he likes you. Give him time. He told me the other day it looked like you were over your ex, so maybe he'll call."

"I was over my ex before the first time he hit me, and Brian was the one who got me to see it. I didn't have a rebound period. Oh, I mourned the loss of my dreams, but not the loss of him."

I took a chance, and told her what my manager had said. Amanda smiled for the first time that afternoon. "Smart woman, your boss. I've always thought you had excellent sister-in-law potential, you're already the sister I never had. It would be really nice to make it permanent. I say we go with the plan. Leave the details to me."

She had me snuffling and hoping. With my support group, maybe I had a chance.

We lay the trap. I left brochures of all the things my company had ordered for kids on my kitchen table, knowing they would see. I was pulling a tray of cookies out of the oven, when Tammy saw them.

"What are these, Aunt Angel?"

I acted like it was nothing. "Oh, that's just some of the things we're going to have at our company picnic. Too bad I don't have any kids, I bet they would have a ball."

"We can be your kids," said Marcus, "well, for one day, anyway."

I hugged them both after I sat the cookies on a rack, before pouring the milk.

"I would be honored, my babies, but I have to help with the organizing, and I can't watch you and do that too. Maybe your Mom can come along."

"Sorry kids, I'm already helping with that charity fun run this weekend. If there was just somebody else..." Amanda tried her best not to look at me, afraid she'd start laughing.

Tammy was off like a shot, and soon she was back, her uncle in tow. "I found somebody. Unky will go. Please Mom?"

Brian grinned at me and I felt like he knew everything, but all he asked was when they needed to be ready.

I bet I changed outfits five times that morning before he pulled up in a convertible, the kids in the back seat. The thing was huge, old, my favorite color, bright yellow, and looked like it just rolled off the showroom floor. I arched an eyebrow and he laughed.

"Believe it or not, I didn't buy this thing. Well, not directly. One of my clients was going through a messy divorce, and he had to sell it anyway, so he gave it to me to cover his debt. The wife was furious, and I told her she could have it if she paid my bill. She never got back to me, so here we are. I rarely drive it, but it is growing on me."

I settled in and we drove away, the kids chattering nonstop. It was like we were floating along, and I told Brian that I was going to drive it home. He grinned, pulled over, and handed me the keys. "Here you go. Make a grand entrance."

Did we ever. The car had every man drifting over as I carefully parked, and of course, one look at Brian and the ladies were right behind them.

Martha came up and hugged me, laughing. "Yours?," she said, looking at the car.

"Not yet, but I'm working on it. It has some great accessories." We were both looking at Brian, in his tight tee shirt and cargo shorts, as he helped the kids out of the back seat. He looked up then, and smiled, like he knew every word I'd said.

The kids quickly packed up with the others, and were off, trying to do everything and see everything at the same time, the shrieks and giggles echoing over the park. I latched down on his hand and walked around introducing him. The single girls looked at his finger, grinning a little. I practiced my Star Wars Death Stare and held his hand a little tighter.

We wandered around while I pretended to check on things, until we finally found a bench where we could watch the kids. He sighed, smiling at me. "Thank you for this. It's good to feel normal again, to sit and watch the children play. It reminds me..."

He stopped, and I snuggled to him a little. "I didn't mean to..."