Fall Guy

Mei was right, I needed time off. Even after a round of tai chi, I was still on overload. I fixed Dashiell's dinner, looked longingly at the nylon bag with my swimsuit, cap and goggles, but there was no time for a swim, not if I was going to be here when Brody came. I grabbed an apple and curled up on the couch with O'Fallon's notebook to see if there was anything I could learn about Parker while I waited for the bell from the front gate to ring. But it was later than I thought. Or maybe Brody was early. I hadn't yet bitten into the apple or sampled O'Fallon's notes when he arrived.
    Walking barefoot down on the cold stone flooring of the tunnel, I could see Brody waiting on the other side of the gate. He stood with his hands at his sides, looking as if he could do that all day. I imagine he could have gotten a job at Buckingham Palace, guarding the queen, or perhaps he could work as a mime, pretending to be the Statue of Liberty, his face painted green, his breathing barely discernible.
    I unlocked the gate and pulled it toward me. For a moment, he stood there, still not moving.
    „I don't have the answer to your question,“ he said.
    „Which question?“
    „Why. What it was Tim wanted.“
    „That makes two of us.“
    He hesitated and for a moment I thought he was going to leave. I stepped back and waited. After another moment, he walked in. I watched him walk down the tunnel and head for the garden before I closed the gate and locked it with the key. I could have had a system where I buzzed people in without having to walk out to let them in, but then I'd be depending upon other people to make sure the gate clicked shut, people whose security didn't depend on it the way mine did. I had seen how people handled a similar situation at the dog run, being careful to secure the gate when they went in, being careless when they left. I didn't want to bet my life that the kid who delivered pizza or the UPS guy would give a shit if my gate was locked or not. 1 didn't want to be surprised one day by a visitor I would not have invited in, especially considering the work I did.
    Brody walked to the center of the dark garden, stretched his back and then turned around to see where I was. I headed toward him, feeling suddenly that I was at least as hungry as I was tired, thinking it might not be such a bad idea to have to walk out to the gate one more time, to pay for a pizza or some chicken Milanese.
    „Have you eaten?“ I asked.
    He shook his head.
    „You forget meals, too?“
    „Sometimes.“
    „That's a bad habit. At least that's what my mother used to say.“
    Brody smiled. A real smile.
    „You have your phone with you?“
    „I do.“
    „Okay, dial this number.“ I gave him the number of the pizza place, not even embarrassed that I knew it by heart.
    „What do you want on it?“ he asked.
    He knew the number, too. I began to laugh. It felt really good. I waved a hand to him. „Whatever,“ I said, „except anchovies,“ and started to laugh again. „And mushrooms.“
    He nodded.
    „Don't get meatballs on it either,“ I told him.
    „How about sausages?“
    I shook my head.
    „You want a plain pie?“
    „Okay.“
    „Why didn't you just say so?“ He took out his phone and just held it for a moment. „My wife used to say she didn't know how I was still walking around, all the meals I skip, the junk I eat.“
    „Used to? You mean, except for tonight, your eating habits have improved? Or did she just give up on you?“
    He nodded. „Totally. Three years ago.“
    „I'm sorry,“ I told him.
    „Yeah. Me, too.“ He dialed the pizza place. „Let's stay out here,“ he said. „Is that okay?“
    „Someone told me I should spend time in a garden today, that I needed to clear my mind.“
    „Always a good idea.“
    „Difficult to do.“
    „Not for him.“
    Dashiell was rolling on his back in the ivy.
    „Guess he needs to empty his mind, too.“
    He took off his jacket and put it over the top railing. „What's he got on his mind?“
    „He hasn't said.“
    He nodded. We sat for a while without talking. It had been a long day. Sometimes it seemed they all were. I bet Brody would have agreed but I didn't bother to ask his opinion. When the bell rang, we could hear the sound coming from behind the closed cottage door. While I was unlocking the gate, Brody took out money to pay for the pie. I tried to argue with him, but he insisted. The truth is, I never care about stuff like that. I could pay, or he