In every color
Chapter 5. Magenta sparks
In the end Jubal, outnumbered and disadvantaged, had to surrender. He had tried to put up a fight, but he quickly ran out of ammo. And he didn't want to run away either. Tali, Abi and Ty took some more revenge but finally stopped, letting out triumphant laughter.
With sparkling eyes and a humorous smile, Jubal wiped the water from his face and beard with his hand, then shook out his hair. He was practically drenched. The way his shirt clung to his body made it difficult for Isobel to stop looking at him. She even sighed silently, suddenly feeling hot.
That exhalation of air caused, totally unexpected, that something inside her surpassed a breaking point. Isobel couldn't keep denying it to herself: she had to admit that Jubal had a certain -or a lot- of attraction on her. Sometimes, as in that moment, it provoked a truly sensual reaction in her. It wasn't something recent, either. She couldn't even remember when it started. Although, probably, it had to do with a smile like the one Jubal showed right now...
Still, Isobel stubbornly avoided the unsettling question of what it might entail. She struggled to rationalize the way she had addressed Jubal earlier. It was simply that she cared a lot as a friend, and therefore it was normal to be affected that he was having a hard time because of his son's illness, nothing more. It was not necessary to give it more thought. Same thing would have happened with Jess. Yes, sure. Sure.
Yet for the first time since she had that impulse, Isobel didn't hold back, allowing herself to enjoy, no qualms, the "scenery".
·~·~·
"Know that you are both disinherited," Jubal informed his sons with mock nonchalance.
"Come on, Jubal," Isobel said.
She walked over and leaned over so she could speak to his face. Jubal couldn't keep his eyes from straying to the sudden sight of her generous bosom, one like he'd never had before And he missed she was running her gaze up and down him.
"No tengas mal perder," she scolded him in Spanish, with a smile.
"What?" he said, bewildered, and not just because he hadn't understood her.
"Don't be a sore loser," Isobel clarified, holding out her hand to help him up.
Jubal nodded, still trying to catch his breath, and took her hand, small compared to his, soft but strong. She began to pull at him, and for an instant he was tempted to pull back hard enough that she fell on him; like to have her body warmly pressed against him again, just as it was that morning. He cleared his throat, calling his impulses to order, and stood up.
After the "watergeddon" everyone had to change their wet clothes. Ty, Abi, and Jubal went to the barn, where Jess had set them up.
As they changed into dry clothes, Jubal paused to ponder Isobel. Today he had already had two hints that perhaps she... Something in him was reluctant to realize that thought. And that made him grasp it was because he didn't know how to feel about it.
A long time ago, Jubal had repressed something inside him. It took a lot of effort because it was so intense, but he really thought he had managed to make it go away. Now, however, that part of him turned out to be not only still there, but stirring at the mere possibility which he didn't even dare to assess. Much he feared it would wake up altogether. Clarifying the matter would also mean nurturing that part, strengthening it. Frankly, it didn't seem like a good idea.
His breakup with Rina had been sad, bitter, and painful. The kind that leaves you thinking you've been dumped because you're not worth it. He did not think he was strong enough yet to risk another blow to the same flank. And something told him that this time, if it happened, it would be even harder. Perhaps he should protect himself and not go for mirages, however unusual or attractive. He shouldn't lose sight of the fact that there were other interpretations for Isobel's actions.
In the pantry, that kind of contact had simply made her uncomfortable, nothing more. And in the garden, she had only shown empathy towards a concerned father. It didn't have to mean anything else. It was perfectly possible.
Jubal couldn't help but be plunged into a deep melancholy at the thought. On the one hand, perhaps he shouldn't think otherwise, if he didn't want to crash and have a much worse time later. But on the other, he simply seemed to be struggling in vain against his own will.
He realized that he was entering paralysis analysis, finding it even funny. Jubal decided to stop thinking: he had come here to relax. It could be or it could be not. He made up his mind that, within the oasis that was this weekend, it didn't have to be relevant. And suddenly, he felt much better.
Leaving the barn, the three of them headed toward the house. The sun was already setting.
Tyler paused for a moment at the foot of the stairs, next to a pot of four o'clock plant, which flowers were already open. He reached down and carefully picked up a fallen but intact flower. It was a delicate little white bellflower, dotted with bright magenta bits and stripes. Ty smelled it and brought it inside with him. Jubal was quite intrigued by his behavior; he had never seen him show an interest in botany or gardening before...
Until entering the kitchen, where Jess, Tali, and Sarah were already starting to cook dinner, Tyler walked over to Tali, smiled at her, and offered to smell the flower. She agreed, looking up at him with sparkling eyes.
Jubal looked around for Jess, to see if he was watching. Not only was he indeed, but he did not seem very happy. Especially when Ty handed the flower to Tali, and she put it in her hair, with a shy smile; Tyler looked at her somewhat dazed. Jess pursed his lips suspiciously, and Jubal had to silently agree with him. He thought the gesture itself couldn't be more innocent, and it was surely charming, but it looked disturbingly like a scene from the movie "Blue Lagoon." Jubal
remembered how revved up his own hormones were when he was fourteen, and resignedly told himself that he was going to keep a closer eye on his son.
Sarah and Isobel, for their part, exchanged a knowing look of amusement, and managed to restrain themselves from making cooing sounds that would have embarrassed the kids and spoiled the moment.
·~·~·
They had dinner in the dining room instead of outside, as it was already getting cold. There the summer days could be hot, but the nights were always a bit chilly.
At one point during dinner, Isobel served drink to Abi, who was next to her.
"Gracias," Abi said cheerfully in Spanish. Isobel turned to her.
"[Oh, do you speak Spanish?]" she asked excitedly, also in Spanish.
Abi nodded, smiling, and Isobel pushed aside how painfully familiar it was to her.
"[I'm learning it at school. I like it a lot]". She had a pretty good accent.
"[Wow, cool!]" Isobel exclaimed. "[We can practice whenever you want]."
"[Let's play a joke on my dad,]" Abi suggested, somewhat out of the blue.
"[What kind of joke?]" Isobel asked, between amused and uneasy.
"[He can't understand us. If we look at him while we talk, he will get nervous.]"
Isobel stifled a grin. They both turned their heads and glance undisguisedly across the table at Jubal.
"[So, I tell you now one thing. And I look at him]" explained Abi. Jubal noticed that they were looking in his direction. "[He's going to think we're talking about him]".
"[You mean...]" Isobel gave him an appraising look, which brought a strange warmth to Jubal's throat, […something like that?]" She turned to Abi. "[And then just say some words, right?]"
Abi giggled. "[Yeah.]"
"What? What are you saying?" Jubal asked with an openly suspicious smile.
"[You see?]," Abi said.
"[This has potential...]" Isobel conceded.
The two of them chuckled.
Sarah, being from New Mexico, should know some Spanish, because she joined in the giggling. Tyler and Tali seemed to be catching something, as they were also smiling in amusement. Jubal looked at Jess for support, but his friend made a gesture of washing his hands.
"Very funny," Jubal complained. "Hey, and you didn't tell Vargas you didn't speak Spanish?" he protested to Isobel, studying her with narrow, spiteful eyes.
Shrugging one shoulder, the look Isobel gave him in response was a provocative mix of mischief and innocence. The heat in Jubal's throat spread through the rest of his body. Jubal cleared his throat. "This you're doing is not nice. And you are forgetting I know where you live. All of you," he threatened.
Loud laughter spread across the table.
·~·~·
Finishing their meal, they moved to the living room, to make after-dinner more comfortable. They all settled on the sofas. Sarah lit some soft-light lamps and candle lanterns. One of them, with faceted pink crystals, spread small sparks of light across the walls and ceiling, giving a magical feel to the room.
She and Isobel were talking about movies with Tali, Tyler and Abi, while Jess seemed to need no more in this world having Sarah lightly snuggled against him on one side, and his daughter sitting on the other.
Jubal reached over and picked up Angelyne's acoustic guitar, which Jess still had lying around. He began to fiddle with the strings.
"Do you still play?" Jess wanted to know.
"Do you play guitar?" Isobel asked, surprised.
"to play... to play..." Jubal replied with a humble expression.
"You did know some songs," Jess said.
"Come on, play something, "Sarah encouraged him, smiling.
"Yes, please," Isobel asked, greatly intrigued.
Jubal looked at her, half embarrassed, and she responded with an encouraging gesture.
"Okay," he agreed, "but you asked for it, so don't throw tomatoes and stuff at me ..."
He thought for a few moments, as he tuned the strings a bit. He began to play a few familiar notes, lightly marking the rhythm on the box. Even if they were simple, it showed that he did indeed know how to play.
*When the night
has come
And the land is dark*
From the moment he sang those first verses, Isobel stared at him in amazement. She had always found Jubal's deep voice to be pleasant and very characteristic, but it would never have occurred to her that he could sing like that.
*And the moon
is the only
light we'll see*
His voice had a light, captivating, raspy undertone.
*No, I won't be afraid
Oh, I won't be afraid
Just as long as you stand
Stand by me
So darlin', darlin'
Stand by me, oh, stand by me
Oh, stand, stand by me
Stand by me*
And he ended the song there.
Everyone applauded, Sarah and Isobel openly amazed, because they were the only ones hearing him for the first time. Isobel, in fact, had to close her mouth, which had remained open. She realized her heart was beating faster than it should.
"Wow, Jubal," Sarah said. "Quite a hidden talent, right?"
"Please..." he played it down.
"This song was from your time, wasn't it, Dad?" asked Abi.
Jubal laughed. "Well, it was published thirteen years before I was born, and about thirty before I learned it..."
The adults laughed. Ty looked at his sister as if to say, 'Really?'.
"What do I know..." Abi grumbled, embarrassed.
Jubal stroked her head to comfort her. "I know I look like an old man to you, honey," he teased. "It's normal."
"You're not old. You're… older," Abi muttered, getting even more laughs.
"Do you know any more?" Sarah asked, and Isobel was surprised to be genuinely eager at the prospect of hearing him again.
Jubal nodded. "OK. There it goes."
As soon as Jubal sounded the first notes in the guitar, Isobel's heart skipped a beat as she recognized them, the melody rising in her throat.
*Don't know much about history
Don't know much*
"*...biology*" Isobel chanted with him, double-voicing.
Jubal smiled and looked at her in awe as he continued to sing:
*Don't know much about*
"*...science book*," she chorused again, her face bright and smiling.
His gaze turned fascinated.
*Don't know much about*
"*...the French I took*".
*But I do know that I love you*
Heart pounding, Jubal lowered his eyes to the neck of the guitar as he said those last three words. He couldn't say them while looking at her face. Nor the next verse either.
*And I know that if you love me too*
Although he looked back at her to join their voices again:
"*...what a wonderful world this would be...*"
He was grateful for the brief pause between stanzas, which allowed him to recover a little.
*Don't know much about*
"*...geography*," Isobel continued doing backing vocals for him.
It was striking how beautifully the combination of their voices blended together.
*Don't know much*
"*...trigonometry*".
The crystal lamp cast magenta gleams in her eyes, with an absolutely bewitching effect.
*...Don't know much about*
"*...algebra*".
*Don't know what a*
"*...slide rule is for*".
Isobel left him alone in the next verse, and this time Jubal, caught in her dark eyes, couldn't turn his face away.
*But I know that one and one is two
And if this one could be with you
What a wonderful world this would be...*
And he brought the end forward with two guitar strums.
The two continued to stare at each other for a few seconds, breathless, as if the world had disappeared around them. Isobel was the first to come out of her trance, to applaud with the others, but gazing at him in amazement.
Since she was a little girl, Isobel had always loved to sing. It was something she had really enjoyed doing with her parents and family. Those days were long behind her, but she hadn't been aware of how much she had missed it, until she had done it again. And sharing the song with Jubal, the way their voices had intertwined, had made her feel closer to him than ever.
Jubal had turned his attention back to the guitar. What was going on inside him was quite revealing. Quite simply, if he hadn't been able to look at her when he said those three words, it was because he would have been too close to being totally exposed, too close to the truth. He felt a strong sense of vertigo. He noticed Isobel was watching him, but he had lost his balance so that he could return her gaze.
"That's from my time too," he jokingly told Abi to cover it up.
"Dad, Grandma usually sings it..." her daughter protested.
"Well, it's only a year older than the other one," Jubal scoffed.
Abi snorted and rolled her eyes.
"Do you want to hear one of 'my time'?" he offered.
His daughter smiled, understanding it as a peace proposal. Jubal adjusted the guitar on his hands and concentrated. He began to play the languid plucking at the beginning of "Nothing Else Matters."
"Ooooh. I love this song," Tyler said.
"Me too!" Tali exclaimed.
The two looked at each other sharing their enthusiasm.
*So close no matter how far
Couldn't be much more from the heart*
The air caught in Isobel's throat at how the slight rasp in his voice sounded with that song. It gave her goose bumps all over.
*Forever trusting who we are
And nothing else matters*
As this time Jubal never looked at her, eyes downcast, attentive to the strings; she allowed herself to admire the harmony and warmth of his face.
*Never opened myself this way
Life is ours, we live it our way
All these words I don't just say
And nothing else matters*
Jubal made a mistake on a note, and had to rectify it.
*Trust I seek and I find in you
Every day for us something new*
He made another mistake and grimaced.
*Open mind for a different view*
Meanwhile, inside Isobel, the meaning of the lyrics resonated intensely with what sometimes seemed to be between the two of them, making her vibrate and shudder.
*And nothing else-*
But then Jubal missed for the third time. He stopped all at once, giving up.
"Aaagh. I'm rusty, sorry," he said with an embarrassed smile, putting the guitar away.
Isobel swallowed hard. She was shaking inside. And the abrupt interruption hadn't helped either. She wrapped her arms around her body. She felt terribly vulnerable, and was terrified to recognize why.
"This was one of Angelyne's favorites," Jess said.
There was an awkward silence. But for once, Jess hadn't said her name as if it hurt, on his face a wistful but warm smile. Tali wrapped her arms around him, and Jess kissed her on top of the head. Sarah bowed hers. She seemed to feel sad for them and somewhat out of place. Separating from her father, Tali looked at her.
"What is your favorite song?" She asked Sarah with a slight tremor in her voice.
It was easy to see that Sarah came to tears. Meanwhile, Jess's face glowed with happiness. Jubal was sure Angelyne would have liked to see him like that.
In the most natural way, a pleasant conversation began in which everyone talked about the music they liked.
But out of the corner of his eye, Jubal saw Isobel seemed somewhat self-absorbed, as if trying to withdraw into herself. Amid the animated chatter, he searched her eyes, concerned. When he finally got her to look at him, he tried a tentative smile. Isobel's heart fluttered... and she couldn't help but return it.
~.~.~.~
Author's note: It turns out that Jeremy Sisto sings and plays very well. I encourage you to look up how he does it in Suburgatory, for example. So, we can easily imagine Jubal singing. The songs, although they are quite famous, for those who don't know them and want to look them up, or for those who feel like listening to them, can easily be found on youtube:
"Stand By Me" by Ben E. King
"Wonderful World" by Sam Cooke
"Nothing Else Matters" by Metallica.