My Name Is Venus Black(93)
“I don’t know how I’m going to manage with Leo,” Inez insists. “I’m not equipped—”
“Didn’t they give you something to help Leo relax on the plane?”
“It’s not just that. It’s when I get home….”
“It’s one weekend,” I tell her. “And you have your friend Shirley. You’ll be fine for a few days without me.”
“You’re coming after, though?” She sounds desperate.
“We never talked about what we’d do if…Honestly, I’m not sure when I’ll be there or for how long….”
“Is it because there’s a guy involved? Is it a boyfriend? Are you still moving to California?”
“It’s just a little girl, okay? Just a little girl I got to know. But she…” I want to say, needs me, but that sounds so sappy. “I need some time to figure out what I’m doing,” I tell her. “You fly. I’ll drive. I’ll see you both in a few days. End of story.”
* * *
—
ON FRIDAY AFTERNOON, I pull up at the Porters’ in Seattle. Piper’s aunt Sue decided to go last minute to see friends for a long weekend—so, apart from Mike, I get Piper to myself. It’s foggy and cold, but Piper is waiting for me on the porch. She’s wearing her green sweatshirt with the hood pulled up.
She rushes to the car when I park. I’m barely out of the car before she throws herself into my arms. “You came! When you kept not calling, I thought you forgot about me. But you came!”
“I came, Piper,” I say, pulling her away to look at her face. She looks at me steadily, and suddenly she seems much older.
“What happened? Why did you keep not calling me?”
“You’ll never guess.”
“I don’t want to guess.”
“We found Leo.”
I had decided to save the news so I could see her reaction in person. Her green eyes are round with surprise. “Your brother, Leo? Where?”
I smile. “California! Now he’s coming home to my mom’s in Everett. Isn’t it exciting?”
I can see her struggle to take in what it means. “California?”
“He was in a house down in California. Some people found him there and decided to take him into their home and make him their little boy. They did it without asking, which was super wrong. But we found him.”
“So, he’s okay?”
“He’s fine. The people who had him actually took pretty good care of him.”
“Will you go live with him and your mom now?”
“I don’t know what I’m doing, honestly. My mother wants to sell the house we used to live in….I was going to move to California. But now…Oh, it’s really complicated, Piper. Since we found Leo, no one knows what they’re doing.”
Piper thinks about this. “If you move to California, you’ll never see me again,” she says.
I notice she’s been biting her fingernails raw. Her hands are red from the cold. “That’s not true, Piper. I would still visit you. But what are we doing, standing out here freezing?” I head for the front door.
As soon as we get inside the house, Piper races to the kitchen and comes back with an envelope. “I almost forgot!” she squeals. “Maybe you won’t want to move, because someone dropped off a card for you. I think it’s about a boy. But I didn’t open it or read it.”
I can tell the seal has been opened and licked back shut, but I decide to let it go.
“Well, open it!” she says.
“I don’t need to open it right now,” I tell her. We’re sitting on the couch and she is perched at my arm.
“Open it!” she urges again, bubble gum breath in my face.
The envelope says “Private for Annette” on the front. I pull out a single page of typing paper and quickly glance at the bottom to see that it’s a note from Danny. It’s written in the same cramped style he used on the napkin that time. When I start to read, my heart stops. He is calling me by my real name.
Dear Venus, I hope you get this letter. I was sad to learn you’d left the Dipper. I’ve had some time to think about things and I decided to fess up. You have a right to be mad at me when I tell you that I always knew who you were. I didn’t want to scare you off, because you clearly wanted to start over as “Annette.” I didn’t want to make you lie about your life at dinner, but I didn’t want you to think I wasn’t interested in you. I worried if I told you that I know who you are, you’d get upset and leave town. I wonder if you dumped me because I’m a cop. Or maybe because of guys in the past. But I want you to know you’re safe with me and beneath my persistence, I’m also the most patient guy in the world. I only want to get to know the real you. We could have fun together. I would try to stop flirting with you, even though you’re so beautiful, brilliant, and funny.
Your smile is like the stars coming at night, Venus.
If you want to leave our friendship in the past, I have no hard feelings. And I promise I won’t ever bother you again. Since I’m a cop, I can’t also be a stalker. Ha Ha.
Your Friend,
Danny