Bookends
By Shotzette and Missy

1972
By Missy

The morning was hazy, as though the steam swirling from his cup of coffee was clouding the room.

The new apartment had freshly-polished floors, was warm and well-heated, and yet was still mostly empty. The cold floor made him shiver; he was somehow aware that it was far too icy for a California morning.

He was thankful for what little money he had managed to pile together. It had not been a pleasant month for ice cream men; California was lost in an unseasonable cold snap. With what money he had managed to make ended up being spent on rent and food; he had gone hungry so that Skye might have formula, and his tee shirts had large, worn holes in them. He was secretly thankful for the hundred dollars Squiggy had sent from his new place. Squiggy called him abruptly at the end of a very long day, brimming with news about his new job and his new world. Squiggy explained then that he was wiring the money down, that he supposed he'd owed Lenny's kid "Stormy" something nice, on account of his never meeting her.

He explained that he had been cleaning the refrigerator (at his girlfriend's request, of course) and had found a sock stuffed with dollar bills at the back. One look and she demanded that he throw the sock away; no decent person kept footwear in the freezer, for heaven's sake. That was another reason Lenny hated Jamie; she had no imagination. And her lack of one had cost her one hundred dollars.

Whenever Lenny's mood sank too low at the realization that he was gradually losing his best friend, he would walk into the bedroom and play with Skye.

She was an amazingly beautiful little girl; heartbreakingly beautiful, even. Lenny refused to credit himself with that, but he didn't want to think it was Karen. Even THINKING about Karen caused his stomach to roil. He didn't want to give her the power of his rage. Not on Christmas Day.

In the bedroom, his daughter stirred. Her distressed noises were familiar and, thanks to experience, he knew how to treat them. A swift diaper change and a warm bottle of formula later and the one-year-old crawled happily across the floor in her new onesie.

Lenny held each present out to her, showed her how to rip at the paper; that seemed to be her favorite part, and she frequently tugged so hard that she would lose her balance and fall onto her rear end. It didn't seem to hurt her, and over and over, giggling, she rose back up on her chubby, unsteady legs.

One by one, each toy was revealed; a new, rainbow-striped top, a soft brown-furred teddy bear with a bright green bow that was nearly twice his daughter's size and, because everyone at the toy store had reccomended it, a jack-in-the box. Jack popped out of the box, all right, but Skye didn't seem impressed.

She grabbed the paper in her little fists and squealed, waving the sheets over her head and letting an inhuman shriek escape her tiny body. She reminded Lenny of a wild indian on the warpath.

"We better get to the park," he chuckled.

***

The place was deserted and chilled; the bright green grass lay frosted with silver and white. Lenny was suddenly relieved that he had dressed Skye in the sweater, hat and gloves Rainbow, one of the women from the commune, had made for her.

He sat down on the swing, cradling her in his lap, pushing them back-and-forth carefully and gently. Skye squealed her delight; motion excited her. He understood.

For every part of him that was lonely without Karen, without Squiggy, there was another part of him that was gratified to be loved by his daughter, and to love her more intensely than he had ever loved anyone in his life.

Except...

"Hello!"

Lenny jumped at the nasal sound of his best friend's voice.

"Jeez, Squig." His grip tightened around Skye's belly protectively. "Whatt're you tryin' to do?"

"Nothin'!"

"Whatt're you doin' here? I ain't seen you since you moved to Eureeka."

"Yeah, well, now I'm movin' to Osh Kosh..."

"Things with Jamie are that bad?"

"Things with Jamie are over," Squiggy smiled and waved at the kid. "Hey, Cloudy..."

"Skye."

The baby looked suspiciously at Squiggy. She leaned more heavily against her father at his approach.

"So I'm passin' through. They ain't got no more flights until Friday, sos I ain't flying until Monday. Cheaper then."

"Smart."

"Yeah, well...you think we could go see a movie?"

Lenny's eyes lit up. "Great! They got the Aristocats down at the New View..."

"Aww, a kid's movie?"

"I got a kid. My treat."

"No, my treat. Kids get in free, remember?"

"Jamie left her purse open, didn't she?"

"Uh-huh."

"You're a swell friend, Squig."

"And a handsome one!"

"What?"

"Well, I'm sayin'."

Lenny's attitude became more and more upbeat as they left the park. He had forgotten that his friendship with Squiggy would always endure, no matter what.

That was more than he could say for his relationship with Laverne.
FIN



Back To 1971

To the second part of Christmas-1972











(Close This Window To Return To LAS Fic)