Doreen’s the next night and offered to help Karen with her computer. The visit had been less than magical—Karen had been sullen and uncoopera-tive—but Ellie had looked pleased when he told her about it.
“You can’t expect miracles,” she’d assured him. “Especially with a teenager.”
“But why does she always seems so angry?”
“She’s probably not very good at expressing her feelings. Or maybe she’s just afraid to. Some kids have trouble with that.”
“So you’re saying I should just give up until she’s an adult?”
“Adults can have the same problem.” She gave him a pointed look, and he frowned, still not really understanding. She sighed. “Think of it like starting a business. You wouldn’t work for one day and expect to make a million dollars, would you? You have to spend a lot of time and effort before it starts to pay off. A relationship is the same way.”
Once again, her words stuck with him. He’d gone over to help Karen a second time—and had even stayed for dinner.
Doreen had been astonished.
The meal had been full of wary glances and awkward silences, but she’d invited him back the following week, and it had been easier that time. He’d been telling Karen about the time one of Doreen’s boyfriends had come to the house to take her on a date. While Doreen was getting ready, Garek—still in junior high and barely five feet tall—had taken the brawny twenty-two-year-old Joe Pulaski into the living room and proceeded to ask him about his job, his income, whether he was planning to go to college, what his plans for the future were, and exactly how did Doreen fit into those plans? Joe, sweating and squirming, had leapt to his feet when Doreen came down, and rushed her out the door.
Karen had listened to the story expressionlessly, while Doreen sniffed and said what a little pest Garek had been…but then, unexpectedly, she’d smiled. And he’d smiled back. And then, suddenly, they’d both started laughing, and Karen, her mouth agape, had stared at them with wide, bewildered eyes—
A burst of applause interrupted Garek’s thoughts. He glanced at Ellie, who was clapping vigorously. She had a way of explaining that made everything seem so clear and simple. But at the same time, when he was with her, he felt confused. Looking at her, he felt the same way he did when he looked at Woman in Blue. He could almost see it. Almost get it. Almost…
The applause faded and everyone rose to their feet. Garek looked down at Ellie. Even with her heels on, the top of her head barely reached his chin. She was so small—and yet she was somehow becoming more and more important in his life.
“Will you let me take you to dinner?” he asked, raising his voice to be heard over the clanking scrape of metal chairs. She glanced over her shoulder, and he added with a smile, “Somewhere inexpensive, I promise.”
For a moment, he saw an answering smile in her eyes. But then, just as quickly, it disappeared, and she turned away.
“Ican’t, I have other plans. ”She stepped into the aisle.
His smile vanished. Going after her, he caught her arm. “You have a date with someone else?”
“No…not exactly.” She stared at the back of the man in front of her. “It’s my cousin Alyssa’s birthday. My aunt and uncle are having a party for her.”
“I see.”
Ellie shifted uneasily at the cool note in his voice. She’d thought about inviting him, but quickly decided against it. She couldn’t imagine him with her family. They weren’t rich. They were hardworking, respectable people, but she didn’t know how he would react to them. A month ago, she would have thought he would look down his nose at them. Now, she wasn’t quite so sure.
He’d surprised her these last few weeks. Now that the blinders were off, and she knew who and what he really was, she’d expected that spending time with Garek would banish any lingering feelings she had for him.
Instead, she’d noticed a change in him. He wasn’t as flip, as glib as he’d been before. He no longer seemed to be trying to charm her—but instead of liking him less, she actually liked him more. He no longer seemed as guarded, the remoteness she sometimes sensed in him seemed almost to have vanished. It only returned occasionally, like now. But this time, unlike before, she recognized what it meant—he was hurt.
The expression in his eyes bothered her more than she liked to admit, even to herself.