2000
Behind Carter’s house, Ginny leaned against the deck railing and inhaled deeply. Did she smell orange blossoms or jasmine or both? Memories invaded her senses. For a moment, she felt dizzy.
Ginny couldn’t believe what her friends had told her. Why hadn’t Tommy and Sarah Jo ever mentioned it? More secrets. It was like her life had been built on one big lie. She didn’t know what to believe anymore. Or who to believe.
She looked around, trying to breathe, to center herself, and her eyes fell upon the garage. She hadn’t stepped foot in that garage in fifteen years. It was a large, three-car unit, separate from the house, with a small guest house on the second floor.
She slowly walked toward it, remembering the bad times along with the good. When she reached the side door under the guest stairs, she knelt and lifted a ceramic frog. The keys were still there. Just as Carter had promised, the garage had never been used. That was one of the only conditions Grizz had insisted on when Ginny told him that Carter would be living there. No one in the garage. Ever.
Ginny had a little trouble with the dead bolt. It obviously hadn’t been opened in years. She went inside and flicked on the light. She expected the air inside to smell bad, but she was surprised that it didn’t. It was just a little stale.
She stared at the two automobiles covered with big cloth tarps. She knew under each cover was a black vehicle—his and hers. Grizz bought a new black Corvette every year. He tried to buy her a new car, too, every year, but she wouldn’t let him. She loved her birthday Trans Am. She wondered if it would now be considered vintage.
She walked past to the three motorcycles lined up in a neat row. She noticed one with a blue bandana hanging on the handlebar. It had been Grizz’s favorite bike. The one he had taken her on for her first ride with him. She approached it now and took the bandana off the handlebar. Her hands shook slightly, but she paid them no mind. Holding the bandana gently, she sat on the hard garage floor, lifting the cloth to her face. Could she still smell him?
No, she couldn’t. It had been too long.
After a few minutes, she noticed the back wheel of her Trans Am peeking out beneath the cover. She frowned, remembering what it felt like to be inside the car, the smell of the seats and feel of the motor rumbling beneath her. She narrowed her eyes, inspecting the wheel cap. That wheel cap.
They’d been married for a couple of years. She didn’t remember why they were in her car. Maybe his was in the shop at the time. He was driving and she reminded him that she needed a part.
“Did you remember to ask Axel about my wheel cap?” she asked as they navigated the mall parking lot.
“He didn’t get it for you yet?” Grizz raised his eyebrows.
“No, it’s just a stupid little cap. I don’t know if it fell off or if someone stole it. I don’t know why someone would steal it, but my tire looks funny without it. Will you remind him?”
Grizz began to gaze out over the parking lot, like he was assessing the cars, driving slowly. He gassed it suddenly, then took a quick right that was so sharp she grabbed her door handle.
“What the—?”
“Looks like it might be the same year,” he said to himself as he jammed the car in park. He reached into the console and took out a screwdriver. Before she could say anything, he was out of the car and walking away.
She turned around in her seat and saw him approach a car that looked similar to hers, then disappear. Two minutes later, he reappeared and jumped into the driver’s seat. He tossed the screwdriver and newly acquired wheel cap into her lap and drove off.
Her mouth hung open as she looked over at him. He had a smug little smile on his face.
“Grizz!” She moved her sunglasses on top of her head so she could look him in the eye. “Did you just steal this wheel cap from someone else’s car?”
He glanced over at her. “Of course I did. Where do you think I got it from?”
“Why did you have to steal it?” Her temper flared. “Axel could’ve gotten me one. I can’t believe you just stole it!”
He rolled his eyes. “Kit, you were complaining that you needed one. I saw an opportunity to handle it and I did. Now you don’t have to remind Axel. What’s the big deal?”
“The big deal is that you stole it.” She crossed her arms. “I don’t know, Grizz. I don’t think I can drive my car knowing you stole the wheel cap. It would bother me.”
He looked at her then and she immediately knew what he was thinking. She could read his face like a book.
“Oh no, Grizz.” She shook her head. “No way. Don’t even tell me my car is stolen. Please don’t tell me that, Grizz.”
“Then I won’t tell you,” he answered her matter-of-factly.
She jutted her chin and stared out over the dashboard, refusing to look at him. Already her face was getting flushed. She was mad.
He’d confessed later how he loved when she got mad, even if it was at him. He told her the truth, how he would never let her drive around in a stolen car. He had made the purchase legitimately, but sometimes he liked riling her up. And right then she was exactly that: riled up.
“I just don’t know who you think you are taking things that don’t belong to you!” Her chest began to flush. “I mean, really, Grizz! I suppose you think that whatever’s out there is yours for the taking.”
He didn’t answer her.
“Answer me. You think you can just take whatever you want?”
He looked over at her and smiled. “I took you, Kitten.”
Sitting on the garage floor, she stared at the wheel cap now and struggled with the memory of how immature she had been. How enraged she had become over a stolen wheel cap yet she’d been willing to ignore the knowledge of the other awful things he did. Her love for Grizz made her compromise her values. Who had she been back then? Who was she now?
Clutching the blue bandana to her chest like a security blanket, she realized she was crying. Sniffling loudly, she used the bandana to wipe her tears. Get it together, Gin. Then she stared at the bandana.
The blue bandana. She had forgotten about the bandana.