it to be there. This Japanese aphorism points to the circumstance of basically people working hard for other folks, but aren’t acknowledged for it, like anonymous champions.”
She paused briefly then added, “Those who do thankless jobs… like cleanin’ ladies. These are the unsung heroes.”
His eyes became tight as he grew thoughtful.
“Yeah, like cleaning ladies,” he said softly, his voice watered down like the river. Soft… like the clouds wrapping themselves around a hot sun.
She placed her hand on his shoulder and they looked out into the water. “So, since Benjamin was in construction, he naturally was into architecture to some degree, too. They sometimes go hand in hand, I imagine.”
“I actually found proof that he had an architecture degree from Emory University.”
“Emory? That’s a good school, Aries.”
“I know… I know… Ya hungry?” He fished around in the cooler. “I’ve got some fruit in here.”
“Yes, I’d like some.” He handed her a bunch of big green grapes. Lifting the vine up, she started to gobble them, one by one. As she enjoyed her early morning snack, she could feel him watching her, and it made her tingly all over. She chewed slowly, fighting the urge to lick one real slow and show off her special oral prowess. “Hey, do you know where the whole concept of Greeks eating grapes came from?” she said.
“No. But I bet you’re about to tell me,” he teased, then drank some juice.
“Dionysus… god of the grape harvest and wine.”
“You’re like some walking encyclopedia.” He snatched one of the grapes and tossed it into his mouth, chewing noisily.
“Aries?”
“Mmm hmmm. What is it?”
“Why do you think your mother never wanted to discuss your father with you?”
“I don’t know for sure. On one hand, I figured he musta hurt her real bad and maybe she just wanted to forget about him. On the other, maybe she was safeguarding him in some way.” He shrugged. “No idea. She didn’t even tell her friends, her mother, nobody that she was pregnant until she couldn’t hide it anymore. She wouldn’t budge. Now, she can’t budge. Can’t say a word.”
“Do you know how they met?”
“I heard different rumors in the family over the years. Some said they were together, like a couple. Others said she worked for him at his office building, got paid under the table, and they had a one-night stand. It’s hard to believe the second one. But I can never be one hundred percent certain.”
“Why?”
“Because my mother was really particular about men. She wouldn’t date just anybody. She was picky. My grandmother said she’d always been like that. On top of that, all throughout my childhood, I can only recall a couple guys she took seriously, and she never let ’em spend the night. She was real protective of me, wouldn’t let just anyone meet me and get close to me. She worked a lot though, so that’s why I was with my grandmother a lot, mainly during the summers and breaks from school. Sometimes I resented her for that. I don’t anymore, especially after I became a parent myself.”
Lauren picked up the piece of paper with the seven addresses and re-read the words in Japanese at the bottom.
“Have you been to all of these properties? Wait, yeah, you have. You said the keys don’t work.” He held his fishing pole tight. “He has that Japanese saying at the bottom here about houses, structures, and you mentioned your mother just now. Could this be about her? You told me she was a cleaning lady and I remembered.”
“Lauren, I don’t know. I can’t make heads or tails of this shit. I’m a straight shooter. I don’t understand riddle-talk.”
“Well, Benjamin it seems was a secretive, private person. So, maybe his way of communicating emotional things, stuff that made him uncomfortable, was in this riddle-talk you’re speaking of.” He turned around slowly to face her. “What if your father is in love with these places, Aries? Like I thought about weeks ago? You remember when I had made a joke about him treating these properties like lovers.”
“What are you getting at?”
“Well, you said you can’t find a letter he left your mother. Maybe it’s a love letter, and… it’s in one of these properties somewhere?”
The man turned pale. He reached for her and stroked her face, and their gazes hooked. The grimy hand that turned over soil, changed motor oil, and fixed faulty fuel tanks touched her like she was made of fragile glass, and a whisper would cause her to break.