Knight In Black Leather by Gail Dayton (people reading books .txt) 📗

on one foot, holding onto the wall, while she went back to wrestle the wheelchair up.

The front door opened while all this was going on, but the short gray-haired woman who had to be Marilyn's mom just stood there watching, without offering to help or call anyone else to do so. It made Eli mad, but he bit back the words that wanted out. He didn't need to antagonize people before he got through the door.

"Who is it, Mom?" A woman's voice called from inside. "Is Marilyn here?"

The woman who appeared moments later could only be one of Marilyn's sisters. Tall like Marilyn, but thinner, with a perfectly groomed cap of light brown hair, she peered out through the glass at Marilyn who'd just gotten the wheelchair onto the porch.

"Well, for goodness' sake, Mom, why didn't you call one of us to help?" And the sister came outside in time to get in the way while Eli was trying to turn and sit down.

"Kate, if you could grab the wheelchair handles," Marilyn said, smoothing Eli's ruffled waters, "we can do the rest of this. We've had plenty of practice."

Eli held onto the wall, waiting, watching while Marilyn and her sister did a little shuffle dance before sorting themselves out on the narrow porch. He let Marilyn hold his arm, though he almost did it better by himself these days. He needed that extra connection with her in this place where he felt so out of place and unwelcome. It had been a long time since he'd been in this position, and he didn't like it any more now than he had then.

Marilyn bent down to "help" him with the brake. "Just till the cake," she whispered in his ear. "I can last till the cake, then we're outa here."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Eli muttered back. He checked the movement on the chair and nodded.

"Let's get you in out of the cold," Sister Kate said in a voice so sweet Eli almost broke out in sugar hives. She opened the door and he wheeled through, crowding Mom a little when she didn't back up quickly enough.

Marilyn's family was assembled in the old-fashioned living room. Eli hadn't seen anything like it--family or furniture--except on TV. He shook hands with Joey, glad to see a familiar, mostly friendly face, and gave him his coat. So did Marilyn, except she hugged her brother instead of shaking his hand.

Eli watched Marilyn for a clue as to what he should do next and overheard Mom in a hissed conversation with Kate.

"What made you think I wanted that--that criminal in my house?" Mom was saying. "What brain fit made you invite him?"

"Shh! He'll hear you," Kate hissed back.

"I don't care if he does." But Mom still whispered.

Kate went on as if Mom hadn't spoken. "And I invited him because you kept going on and on about how you didn't know anything about him, you wanted to know who he was, you wanted to get a look at him--well, now you can find out anything you want to know and look at him to your heart's content."

"He's probably casing the place, checking out what he can steal," Mom said.

"Relax, Mom," Marilyn said out loud, making her sister jump and blush. "You don't have anything worth stealing. If Eli were a thief, which he isn't, he'd turn his nose up at your ancient TV and your Betty Crocker stainless."

Eli grinned. Damn, he liked this woman.

"Everybody," Marilyn went on, "this is my friend Eli Court. You'll have to forgive him for not getting up for the obvious reason. Eli, this is my mother, Delores Franks."

"Hey, Delores." Eli wheeled his chair closer and bumped his good fist against the one she tried to keep out of his reach. Her expression made him grin--all scrunched up like she'd just stepped in doggie doo. That's what Mom would call it. No word so crude as shit would come out of her mouth.

Marilyn introduced him to Sister Kate and Kate's husband Norman, and to Sister Sue and Sue's spouse Trey. Sue looked closer to Kate's age than Marilyn's, somewhere in the next decade. She looked like a high school teacher, which it turned out, she was. English. Trey taught algebra. Norman was a loan officer at some branch office bank, and Kate apparently did nothing except live slightly beyond Norman's income.

"And what do you do, Eli?" Kate asked brightly when everyone's credentials had been established.

"I fix things."

"Things?" Mom still glared at him. "What kind of things? You a fixer? You make dead bodies go away?"

"Things. Toasters. Lawnmowers. Chainsaws. Dishwashers. Furnaces. Motorcycles." He didn't know why he explained, since it would probably be more fun to go on letting Marilyn's mom think he was some kind of small-time hit man. But Marilyn had never asked and he wanted her to know.

"There isn't much I've found that I can't fix. Though it's a little tough to do right now without two hands. And those computers they put in cars these days have made them too much trouble to work on unless you spring for all the fancy tools. I probably will someday, when the time comes."

At the conclusion of his long speech, everyone stared at him, including Marilyn. He winked at her as he grabbed one of the fancy cheese-and-cracker things Kate had put on the coffee table and popped it in his mouth.

"Dinner!" Kate clapped her hands together, as if she'd just invented the concept. "Everyone go sit down in the dining room and I'll get it on the table."

"Let me help you with that." Marilyn moved toward her sister, but Kate waved her off.

"No, no, I've got it. Sue can help me if I need it. You get Eli taken care of." And Kate bustled away.

He rolled his eyes when Marilyn looked at him, and they both hid smiles. He could move himself to the table just fine, but apparently he wasn't to be left unattended.

Eight

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Marilyn took the handles of the