“You called the police?” Suddenly it felt like Raoul had eaten a pastry filled with cement. “Does anybody have any water? Or coffee?”
Jacob held out a Coke. “Here.”
“Thanks,” Raoul said. He swilled some down. “I can’t believe you called the police. Why the fuck did you do that? You should have waited until I got here.”
“I think a better question is, Why did Theo knock the walls in?” Micky said.
Again, Raoul looked at Jacob. Jacob had his arms crossed in front of him and was staring at the floor. “Have you called Colin?” Raoul asked. “He’s going to have to come in and fix it.”
“Colin?” Micky said. His freckled face reddened. “You’ll excuse me for saying so, Raoul, but you should be the one to fix the walls. You or Theo, but I’d say you, since you’re the one who knows how.”
Raoul glared at Micky. The guy was Irish, and Catholic, and he went to Mass every Wednesday before work. He had a conscience, and that was why Raoul made him foreman so many years ago. Now Raoul wanted to punch him. Except that he was right.
“Fine,” Raoul said. “I’ll fix the walls myself. But it’s not going to happen today, and it’s not going to happen tomorrow. I have to get home to my family. So, Micky, you take a couple of days off, and Carter, you get your ass in gear and don’t leave until bathroom number three is finished. Do you hear me? Finished!” Raoul’s anger was mounting-the vandalism, the newspaper article, Micky-and his head hurt. Suddenly, Raoul was left alone in the room with Jacob. Jacob, who thought it was okay to get high with Kayla.
“Come out to the truck with me,” Raoul said. “I want to talk to you.”
“I want to talk to you, too,” Jacob said. “That’s why I showed up today.”
Raoul got a bad vibe from the sound of Jacob’s voice. “You go first, then. What’s going on?”
“I have something difficult to tell you, man. I don’t even know how to say it.”
They moved outside into the sun. Raoul’s head felt like it was splintering apart. “Can you just break it to me gently, please?” Raoul said. “I’ve had one hell of a weekend.”
“I know. I really don’t want to add to your worries, Raoul, but I’ve got to tell you this one thing.”
“Tell me.”
Jacob took a deep breath. “I quit.”
“I’m sorry?”
“I’m moving away, actually. I decided last night.”
Raoul grabbed his truck bed to steady himself. “How long have you worked for me?”
“Eight years.”
“Eight years, and you’re the best finish guy I have, and now you’re telling me you decided in one night that you’re quitting and moving away.”
“That’s right,” Jacob said. “Sorry, man.”
“Why?” Raoul said. “Are you going somewhere with Val?”
“No.” Jacob turned his baseball cap forward, then backwards again. He looked up into the sky. “Actually, we broke up.”
“You broke up?”
“Yeah,” Jacob said. “Last night.”
“So you’re moving away because you broke up with Val?”
“Not exactly,” Jacob said. “I’m not going to explain the whole thing to you, Raoul. And believe me, you don’t want to know. But basically, now that she’s left her husband she wants me to marry her, and I can’t. I don’t want to. It’s time for me to get out of Dodge. Trust me.”
“I was going to yell at you for smoking a joint with my wife, but I don’t think I’ll bother,” Raoul said. “It sounds like you had more on your plate last night than you needed.”
“Right.”
“So. So you’re moving away. Where will you go?”
“I’m not sure. Maybe to live with my brother. He works on a good crew.”
“In Arizona?”
“Uh-huh.”
“And you’re sure about this? You’re really fucking sure?”
“Yep.”
Raoul glanced into his truck and saw a bottle of Advil on the floor of the passenger side. “Give me your Coke,” he said to Jacob. He downed three Advil and finished the rest of the soda, wondering how long it would be until he felt better. “Okay, come see me in the office on Tuesday, then. To get your check. We’ll have to figure out what you want to do with your retirement account.”
“Can you just send me that stuff in the mail?” Jacob asked. “I want to leave today.”
‘Today?” Raoul was overwhelmed. Nothing was working the way it was supposed to. But before he could figure out what was going on, really, with Jacob, a car screeched into the dirt driveway. It was a BMW. Val. Raoul moved for the driver’s side of his truck. The last thing he wanted was to get in the middle of some crazed, jilted-lover scene between Jacob and Val. He needed to get home.
Raoul waved to Val and then climbed into his truck. “Come see me Tuesday,” he said to Jacob. Raoul started the engine, but Val pulled right up to his front bumper, blocking his way. He cursed at her under his breath. Now he was stuck.
Val got out of the car and marched to Raoul’s window. When she lifted her sunglasses, Raoul saw that her eyes were puffy and red. She had the hic-cuppy breathing of someone who’d been crying for a long time.
“Did he tell you?” she said.
“Yeah,” Raoul said. “He did. I’m sorry.”
“You’re sorry?” she said. “You’re sorry?” She glared at Jacob, who just stood there, balanced on the balls of his feet like he was ready to dart away. “Frankly, I’m surprised you didn’t beat him bloody.”
“It’s really none of my business,” Raoul said. “I’d rather not get involved.”
“None of your business?” Val said. “He slept with your wife, and it’s none of your business?”
At that moment, Jacob dashed for his Bronco. He drove into the brush to get around the BMW. In a matter of seconds, before Raoul could process the words he’d just heard, Jacob was gone.
“Coward,” Val said. “So I guess he didn’t tell you.”
Raoul opened his mouth, but the sounds he made weren’t words.
“They slept together, Raoul,” Val said. “Last night, at Great Point. When Jacob came home, I smelled her on him. And he admitted it. He flat out said he’d had sex with Kayla.”
“He was lying to you,” Raoul said. “He was lying to get out of the relationship. Because you scared him, Val. You fucking scared him.”
“I smelled her on him, Raoul,” Val said. “She’s my best friend. She wears Coco Chanel, and that was what Jacob reeked of when he got home last night.”
“Get out of here,” Raoul said. “Get your car out of my way.”
Val started to cry again. “We were just trying to protect her. I can’t believe she’d do this when we were only trying to protect her from the truth.”
“Val!” Raoul shouted. “Aw, fuck it.” Raoul started the truck and he, too, drove into the brush to get around the BMW. Once he was on the road, he felt better. But God, what to do with this news, where to go? Jacob having sex with Kayla, his wife? The mother of his children? Of course it was a lie, a hysterical, dramatic accusation dreamed up by that lunatic woman. As Raoul drove toward home, he tried to remember what Kayla had been like the night before. Crying, insisting that her life was over, the strap of her dress torn, the distinctive scent of marijuana. And Jacob, quitting, leaving the island today without even his last paycheck, running like a fugitive from the law.
Raoul screeched into the driveway. When he stormed into the kitchen he found Kayla, showered and dressed and smelling of perfume, cleaning up the breakfast dishes.
“Where are the kids?” he said.
“Theo’s still in his room. Jennifer’s getting ready to go to the beach. Cass and Luke are outside. The phone has been ringing like crazy.”
Raoul watched Kayla rinse the last sticky plate and put it in the dishwasher. She pulled off her rubber gloves. Raoul was trembling.
“We’re going for a ride,” he said.