InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Purity 6: Shameless ❯ Matters of the Heart ( Chapter 15 )

~~Chapter 15~~

~Matters of the Heart~

 

 

 

Jillian stomped across the yard, arms crossed over her chest as she made a beeline straight to the open garage where Cody was half-hidden under the truck that was suspended using a hydraulic lift. “Cody,” she demanded without preamble. “I want to ask you a question, and I need an honest answer.”

 

The clink of a wrench stopped abruptly. Moments later, he slid out from under the vehicle and sat up. “O-o-okay.”

 

“Is there something wrong with me?”

 

“Wrong with you?”

 

“Yes, wrong with me.”

 

“Well . . . like what?”

 

She sighed, slumping down on a cinderblock beside the rolling tool chest. Feet askew, knees together, shoulders slouched, she shrugged off-handedly but couldn't hide the upset in her expression. “I don't know . . . am I too fat?”

 

He blinked, pausing as he wiped his hands off on a grease rag. “Fat?” he echoed incredulously.

 

“Too skinny?”

 

“Skinny?”

 

“Are my eyes too close together?”

 

“Wha—?”

 

“Stinky breath?”

 

He shook his head slowly, obviously confused as to why Jillian would think any of those things. “I don't—”

 

“A wart on the end of my nose?”

 

“Like a witch, you mean?”

 

She nodded emphatically.

 

“Uh, no . . .”

 

“Oh . . .” she sighed again. “Then what is it?”

 

Shaking his head slowly and looking as though he'd rather be anywhere but where he was at the moment, Cody dug a generic soda out of the small ice chest he brought with him every day. He brought his lunch in it—normally peanut butter sandwiches and occasionally, he'd have a small bag of chips to go with it. “I-I-I, uh . . .” he stammered.

 

She made a face. “You're a guy, right?”

 

Cody blinked and scowled at the dirty concrete floor of the garage where they'd moved the trucks so that he could work on them, his cheeks reddening as a guarded expression masked his features. “Well, yeah . . .”

 

Jillian nodded. “How does your wife get you to kiss her?”

 

“Kiss her?” he repeated slowly, finally daring to peer into Jillian's face. “What do you mean?”

 

Letting her breath out in a long, slow gust, Jillian hunched forward, hands resting on her knees as a definite air of rejection stole into her features. “He won't, and I don't know why.” She shook her head. “I've tried everything, you know . . . Tried showing him that I'd make a good wife; that I can take care of his home and all that stuff . . . just everything . . .”

 

“Gavin, you mean?”

 

She nodded again.

 

“He won't . . . kiss you?”

 

Wrinkling her nose, she heaved a long-suffering sigh. “No.”

 

“Oh . . . well . . .” Trailing off, Cody scratched the back of his neck rather self-consciously and shrugged as the blush staining his cheeks darkened just a little more. “I don't know that Sherry does anything in particular . . . I . . . I guess I just like to kiss her.”

 

“Gavin's kind of shy,” she ventured, hoping that she didn't sound as defensive as she thought she did.

 

Cody nodded quickly, and she grimaced. “Yeah, I got that . . . just . . . I dunno . . . sometimes when Sherry looks extra pretty . . . I mean, she's always pretty, but sometimes . . . Like . . . when she stands in the kitchen? Sometimes the light comes through the window just right and sort of . . . shines in her hair? She looks real pretty then . . .”

 

Jillian smiled. “How long have the two of you been married?”

 

He smiled, turning the soda can in his hands. “Little over four years . . .” He blushed a little more, but his smile didn't fade. “We, uh . . . we got married after we found out that Sherry was pregnant . . . I mean, I was gonna marry her anyway. We were just waiting till she finished school, but she got pregnant toward the end of her junior year.” He chuckled, shaking his head slowly as his grin widened. “She was the only girl at graduation with a husband and a baby girl . . .” Trailing off as a rather bashful smile surfaced, Cody chuckled softly, shaking his head as though he thought the entire affair was humorous. “I was real proud, you know? I mean, she's smart—real smart; not like me. She finished high school. Graduated on time and everything. She even made the top ten percent in her class.”

 

“That's so neat,” Jillian exclaimed softly. “You really love her.”

 

He ducked his head rather bashfully and shrugged again. “I love all my girls.”

 

Jillian smiled suddenly, rubbing her hands together as she leaned toward him. “Do you have any pictures? I'd love to see your daughters.”

 

“Oh, yeah? Sure . . .”

 

She waited patiently while he dug out his wallet, and he couldn't help the shy little grin when he handed her the thick plastic photo pages. She laughed as she flipped through the images. Most were studio pictures of his daughters. The oldest one was quite a ham; smiling broadly in every picture. The youngest, though, didn't seem to like to smile at all—at least not in the pictures. Both girls shared the same corn-silk blond hair and big brown eyes—a stark contrast to Cody's dark hair and eyes. “Do they both look like their mama?”

 

Cody nodded. “Yeah. Good thing, too. I don't think I'd be a very pretty girl . . .”

 

Jillian giggled. “Maybe not,” she agreed. “They're just adorable!”

 

“Thanks . . .”

 

“You know, I'd love to take their pictures,” she remarked as she turned to the next picture. Both girls, side by side in red velvet Christmas dresses, complete with the requisite white tights and black patent leather shoes . . . the oldest girl had her hair pulled over to the right side in a little piggy tail while the younger girl's hair was pulled to the left side. The overall effect was very cute, and she shot Cody a quick glance only to find him gazing at the picture with a proud-papa sort of smile on his face. “I've been dabbling in photography some . . . Do you think that your wife would bring the girls out here? I mean, I'd love to meet your wife, too . . . and I'll bet the girls would enjoy the ranch. What little girl doesn't want a pony, right?”

 

He laughed. “Well, I could ask her,” he agreed slowly. “If it wouldn't be a nuisance. Karis ain't a problem. She hides behind her mama most of the time, but Minnie . . . she's kind of a handful.”

 

Jillian waved away his concern as though it was of no real consequence. “Don't be silly! I'd love to meet your wife, and your daughters are absolutely precious . . . If any of my pictures come out, I can print them up in other sizes for you, too.”

 

“Yeah? That'd be great . . . I'm sure Sherry'd like that.” He grimaced as the blush resurfaced. “I, uh . . . I didn't know you were famous,” he admitted.

 

Jillian laughed. “Who told you?”

 

Cody shrugged and scratched his ear. “Sherry . . . well, sort of. She said that there was a model with your name, and she showed me a picture in a magazine. She's into that sort of thing. She was a cheerleader before we got married and stuff. I always wondered why she'd want to be with a guy like me, not that I'm complaining.”

 

“How'd you meet her?”

 

He grinned. “Her car broke down outside the station my dad used to own. She smiled at me, and I fixed it for her for free. I thought she was, uh, real pretty . . . Never did tell Dad about that . . .”

 

Jillian couldn't help but smile, too. “Love at first sight?”

 

Ducking his head, he took his time wiping more grease from his hands. “Guess so. I just got out of school, and I was working for Dad to save some to get my mechanic's certification. When the factories started closing down, though, everyone started moving out of here. Dad closed down. Didn't have enough business. He and Mom moved to Iowa to be closer to my grandma. Sherry and I were going to go, but then she got pregnant with Karis, and I got hired on at the Chrysalis plant. Thought it'd be okay to stay here.” He sighed. “Then Chrysalis shut down, too.”

 

“I wish I could stay here,” Jillian admitted softly, turning her gaze at the fluffy white clouds meandering across the pale blue sky.

 

That got his attention quickly enough, and he shook his head. “Why would you want to stay in a bump in the road like Hidekea?

 

“It's nice . . . quiet . . . friendly . . . a good place to raise a family.”

 

“But you're a model, right? Sherry said you're one of the best models around.” He blushed a little more and shrugged self-consciously. “This sure ain't New York City.”

 

Nodding almost absently, Jillian forced a little smile. “No, it's not . . . but I never actually wanted to be a model . . .”

 

“Really?”

 

She finally shifted her gaze to meet Cody's, her smile trembling precariously though she stubbornly held onto it. Staring at the young man for a couple minutes, Jillian nodded slowly. “I was supposed to marry Gavin, you know? That was my plan, anyway. I'd graduate from high school and marry him . . . and we'd have lots of babies and live in a big house with black shutters and a little white picket fence—more like a decoration than anything else . . . Gavin had other plans.”

 

He shook his head. “I don't get it. You're really pretty and all . . . I mean, I'm not trying to hit on your or nothing. I just . . . well, you are, and . . .” He sighed and shrugged as he scowled at his work boots. “I thought you and Gavin were married at first,” he grumbled.

 

Jillian laughed. “Really?”

 

“Yeah . . . I felt kind of stupid when Gavin said you weren't.”

 

Her smile widened, her spirits bolstered by Cody's inadvertent blunder. “I've loved him forever . . . ever since the day he came to my father's house.”

 

“You live close?”

 

She shook her head. “Nope. I'm from Maine. Gavin . . . his father is one of my father's friends. Gavin spent his summers with us.”

 

Cody digested that in silence, sipping his soda as Jillian flipped through the pictures once more.

 

“I've tried everything to get him to admit that we're meant to be together,” she admitted at length. “You name it, I've probably done it. Talked him into going swimming in the middle of the night—”

 

“Swimming's not so bad,” he ventured.

 

She smiled. He didn't see it. Cody likely didn't realize that Jillian didn't like to wear clothes when she swam . . . “I tried really hard in school . . . He's smart, you know? So it stood to reason he'd want a smart woman, too, so I studied and studied . . .”

 

“Smart women are okay,” he agreed. “Sherry keeps me from making stupid mistakes a lot.”

 

“I followed him around like a baby for years,” she admitted. “Sort of like a lost puppy, I guess.”

 

He chuckled. “Nothing wrong with that.”

 

She wrinkled her nose. “Except he's five years older than me. I'm pretty sure he thought it was a little un-cool at the time . . .”

 

“I used to do that with my brother. I always wanted to hang out with him.”

 

She nodded. “That reminds me of my brothers. Evan and I are ten years younger than our brother, and Evan . . . he used to drive Bassie nuts; always following him around . . . Bassie was pretty good about it, though. In fact, there were only a few times that I remember him losing his temper with us—or at least, he did with Evan. I don't remember Bassie ever yelling at me . . .”

 

“Sounds like a good brother.”

 

She grimaced. “That was before . . . nowadays, Evan and Bassie can't stand one another. I'm just not sure why . . .”

 

Cody shrugged. “Who knows? My brother and I haven't talked in awhile . . . he moved out and went to college. Then he moved to Chicago . . . Guess we just lost touch.”

 

“Maybe,” Jillian intoned. “You should call him sometime. Family's important.”

 

Cody nodded. “So you and Gavin . . . you've never even dated?”

 

He looked surprised when she laughed. “I guess you could call it dating. We're together all the time. Just more like . . . friendly dating, I guess.”

 

“Yeah?”

 

She giggled. “Gavvie took me to the homecoming dance my junior year, but only after I guilted him into it.”

 

“You had to guilt him?”

 

She grimaced but nodded. “All the other girls kept asking me who he was. I was so proud, just to be seen with him.” She shook herself and sighed. “I think I've tried everything ever written in those stupid teen magazines; all that stuff about trying to get that special guy to notice you. None of them ever actually worked . . .”

 

“You should sue `em,” he joked.

 

Jillian laughed. “Maybe.”

 

“He'll come around,” Cody said. In Jillian's mind, she thought he sounded more like he was humoring her than anything else.

 

“I could strip naked in front of Gavin Jamison, and I doubt he'd notice,” she grumbled.

 

Cody choked on the sip of soda that he'd been trying to drink. Coughing and sputtering mingled with his embarrassed laughter, and he shook his head, wiping his eyes with a balled-up fist. “If Sherry did that, I'd pay attention sure enough,” he mumbled.

 

Jillian laughed, too, then stood abruptly, handing back the sleeve of pictures and brushing off her hands. “You'll bring them out here?”

 

It took a moment for Cody to register the change in topics, but he nodded. “Uh, yeah . . . Sherry would really like that, I think.”

 

“Would tomorrow be too soon?”

 

He blinked. “Tomorrow? Sure, I think . . .”

 

She smiled. “Good! Tell me, what do your girls like to eat?”

 

“Oh, uh . . . they're not too picky,” he replied.

 

“Hmm, candy . . . they like candy, don't they?”

 

He laughed as he spun around on the creeper in preparation to work on the truck again. “Yeah, they do.”

 

“Okay,” Jillian replied. “I'll run to town and pick some up, then! And film . . . I can't forget film . . . and something nice for lunch.”

 

Careening around on her heel, she bounced out of the garage, spotting Gavin standing near the main stable, hands on hips as he scowled up at the roof. Faltering for just a moment, she squared her shoulders and drew a deep breath, pasting on a bright smile before she ran over to slap her hands over his eyes. “Guess who,” she said, deepening her voice quite admirably, even if she did say so, herself.

 

“Oh, geez . . . Evan. Gotta be Evan,” he deadpanned.

 

“Close,” she quipped. “If I'm Evan, then I have to say, I've gone and grown a right nice rack, don't you think?”

 

“J-J-Jilli!” he gasped, face flooding with instantaneous and violent color as he jerked away when she pressed her breasts against his back.

 

Jillian giggled. “You're wicked cute when you blush, Gavvie,” she countered in her best impersonation of Evan at his leering best.

 

“Yeah, and you're just plain wicked, Jillian,” he grumbled.

 

Her laughter spilled over like a thousand silver bells ringing in the early morning sunshine. Gavin smiled despite himself. “Give me your keys, Gavvie,” she demanded, holding out her hand, palm up, and wiggling her fingers.

 

“Right, Jilli. Suppose you tell me why you need them?” he asked, quirking an eyebrow in an entirely endearing sort of way.

 

“I want to go to the grocery store,” she informed him.

 

“Grocery . . . There're plenty of groceries in the house,” he reminded her.

 

She wrinkled her nose and reached into his pocket for the aforementioned keys.

 

“Jilli-an!” he growled, trying to twist his body to dislodge her hand. She reacted by digging her hand in deeper. Her hand brushed—something—and he uttered a sound caught somewhere between a gasp and a hiss as Jillian's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

 

“Oh, my, Gavvie . . .” she commented, her voice a little breathless. “Impressive . . .”

 

His face contorted sharply as he pulled her hand out of his pocket and retrieved the keys, himself. “Here,” he grumbled as his cheeks reddened even more. “Be careful, will you? And no picking up men who need jobs, all right? I'm running out of work for the ones who already work here.”

 

The last part of his sentence was aimed at Hank and Dax, who were leaning back against the fence nearby. Neither was trying to hide his amusement over the situation, and worse, they were both laughing at Gavin.

 

Jillian laughed, tossing the keys into the air and catching them as they came back down again. “Why were you staring at the roof?” she asked, taking pity on the poor man.

 

Gavin snorted but looked rather relieved at the abrupt change of topics. “I think I should put a new one on . . . that one's looking pretty shabby.”

 

She shook her head and blinked in confusion. “You sound like that'd be a horrible thing.”

 

He made a face and turned around to slouch against the fence. “Yeah, well . . .” Dragging his hand over his face in a defeated sort of way, he slowly let out his breath and shrugged. “The stock'll have to be moved to another stable for the duration, which wouldn't be a bad thing. It's just that Waterspell is likely to throw a hissy fit over the relocation, but that roof won't last another year, I'd bet . . .”

 

“If you have to do it, you have to do it,” she stated matter-of-factly.

 

He sighed but smiled. “Yeah . . . so why do you think we need groceries?”

 

Spinning around in a circle as though she couldn't quite contain her excitement, Jillian giggled and clapped her hands. “Cody said he'd bring his wife and daughters with him tomorrow so I can take pictures of them.”

 

“Oh?”

 

She nodded. “Yes. You think they'd like popsicles?”

 

He chuckled. “Of course . . . you always did.”

 

“I did, didn't I?”

 

“Yep,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck and pondering the question at hand. “Those red, white, and blue ones . . . bomb pops or something like that.”

 

“I remember those!” she exclaimed softly. “I haven't thought about those in ages . . . You didn't like them, did you?”

 

Gavin smiled and shook his head. “I liked them just fine. You always took mine, though.”

 

“And here I thought you let me have yours,” she said, her lips turning down in an exaggerated moue.

 

“It was fine,” he assured her. “I didn't mind.”

 

She smiled, rising up on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. “I'll buy extra ones so you can have some, too,” she promised.

 

“That's okay.”

 

Stepping back, she narrowed her eyes thoughtfully. “Gavin . . . Do you think you could take the girls on a horseback ride? If it's okay with Cody and his wife?”

 

He seemed surprised by her request but nodded slowly. “Oh . . . . Sure . . . I've got a horse that'd do well with them.”

 

“I just hope some of my pictures turn out,” she confessed.

 

Her quiet worry drew a marked frown from Gavin, and he narrowed his eyes as he stared at her in a thoughtful sort of way. “Jilli, you spend way too much time belittling your abilities. You have a real eye for photography, you know.”

 

She managed a bashful little smile. “You're sweet, Gavvie.”

 

He snorted as his cheeks reddened.

 

“Why don't you come with me?” she said suddenly, grabbing his hand and tugging.

 

“I was going to call and get a few quotes on a new roof,” he said slowly. “I could do that this afternoon, I suppose . . .”

 

“Yes, you can!” she decided. “Do you think we could rent a few movies, too?”

 

Rolling his eyes as she dragged him toward the truck, he grinned. “You win, Jilli. Whatever you want.”

 

She stopped for a moment to peer over her shoulder at him, a mysterious little smile turning up her lips as a wicked light danced in her eyes. “Be careful what you say, Gavvie . . . I might decide I want a lot . . .”

 

He groaned and blushed darker. She tossed him the keys and hopped into the passenger side of the truck.

 

Cody stepped out of the garage, lifting a hand to shield his eyes against the bright sunshine. Wiping his hands as he shuffled over to Hank and Dax, he glanced back at the old truck that rattled toward the road. “That thing needs a tune up,” he mused as he leaned against the fence.

 

“Probably,” Hank drawled. “We don't drive it much when Gavin's away.”

 

Cody nodded. “Hey, Hank? Can I ask you something?”

 

Hank shot him a questioning glance but nodded. “All right.”

 

Scowling at the packed gravel under his feet, Cody slapped the grease rag against his palm, willing himself not to blush. Ever since Jillian had left the garage, though, he hadn't been able to stop wondering, and from what he had gathered, Hank was one of Gavin's best friends, so he ought to know . . . “Is, uh . . . well . . . Is Gavin . . . uh . . . y-y-you know . . . that way?”

 

Hank's eyebrows disappeared in the shadows of the brim of his hat. “That way?” he repeated.

 

Cody shifted uncomfortably. “Yeah, you know . . . uh . . . gay . . .”

 

Hank guffawed. “Nah, he's just got his head up his ass, if you know what I mean,” Dax drawled.

 

Cody grimaced. “Well, I don't care, really, if he is, but . . . it's just . . . Jillian, you know? She really likes him.”

 

“Yeah, she does,” Hank allowed with a sigh.

 

“He ain't gay,” Dax muttered, spitting on the ground. “He's stupid; that's all, and you can't fault a man for being stupid.”

 

Cody tried not to grin. He really did. “That's what my mom used to say,” he admitted as his smile broke free.

 

“No, no . . . Cody's got a point,” Hank said slowly. “Maybe you should ask him.”

 

Cody blinked and quickly shook his head. “Oh, no . . . I-I-I didn't think he was . . . It's just . . . Jillian's pretty and all that . . . I just don't get why Gavin don't notice.”

 

“Yeah, I don't think it's about noticing, Cody. Gavin's just got some really stupid notions. Sooner or later, though, she'll get him. She's been after him for years,” Hank assured him then sighed. “Don't think she's the kind of woman to take `no' for an answer.”

 

Cody wasn't sure what to say to that. In the end, he just nodded. They did belong together, didn't they? They belonged together as much as he and Sherry always had.

 

Remembering the upset on Jillian's face when she'd first stomped into the garage, he frowned. He wasn't an expert on relationships by any means. Females in general baffled him. Still, it had come as a shock to him, hadn't it? He really had thought that the two were married . . .

 

For her sake, though, Cody hoped that Gavin would figure it out sooner than later. He didn't have to know Jillian very well to see just how hurt she was, even if she had tried to hide it. He just wondered if Gavin, himself, had any idea at all . . .

 

 

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Final Thought fromGavin:

She's so notEvan …

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Blanket disclaimer for this fanfic (will apply to this and all other chapters in Shameless): I do not claim any rights to InuYasha or the characters associated with the anime/manga. Those rights belong to Rumiko Takahashi, et al. I do offer my thanks to her for creating such vivid characters for me to terrorize.

 

~Sue~