All the Small Things

“Mr. Cooper,” a voice pierced the fog of sleep.

Jake blinked, bringing his head up slowly.

“Welcome back to the waking world,” An older woman stared back at him. “I trust you had a good nap?”

Around him, light snickers broke out.

He opened his eyes to find an extremely familiar woman hovering over him. She was rail thin, and edging into her mid 40s. Not conventionally attractive, but handsome in some indefinable way.

“Uh. Yeah. It was swell,” He said stupidly.

Of course she was familiar. She was his Algebra 2 teacher. He’d known Mrs. Moran for years.

Now the snickers turned into outright laughter.

“Well, since you must be far enough ahead of the class that you can afford to take a break from it, would you do us the courtesy of solving the problem on the board.”

He looked up at the arrangement of numbers, letters and symbols there, unable to really comprehend them.

“I, uh…I suppose I’m not far enough ahead of the class for that one,” He said, trying a charming smile.

More laughter from his fellow classmates.

“Thank you for that admission,” Mrs. Moran said. “And with that, you can come see me after school today.”

Shit! He thought, a little panic rising. That was gonna ruin his plans.

“Am I getting a detention?” He asked.

“That depends on behavior,” The teacher said, peering at Jake over her glasses.

She turned her gaze from him to the rest of the class.

“And now, if you’ll turn your books to the page on the board, we’re going to walk through how to slay this monster.”

Jake groaned inwardly. This was not supposed to happen. Today was supposed to be his big move. He was supposed to be asking Loretta to prom. He’d finally found enough courage, or at least something that resembled it, to give it a shot.

Or he would, if he didn’t have to spend the whole time in detention, at least. He looked over his shoulder, where Lacy sat. She met his eyes and gave him a sympathetic look.

She’s gonna say no anyway, he thought. This felt like more than just a doubt. It felt more like certainty.

But goddamnit, that was quitter’s talk.

He ran his fingers back through his untamed mop of auburn hair and fought back a sigh.

The rest of the class went by in a blur, and before he knew it, he was shuffling into the hall. Head down, he was thinking furiously of how to extricate himself from this situation when a pair of long, tanned legs appeared in his field of vision.

“You okay, dude?” Lacy asked.

He turned to face her. She wore a baggy Ramones shirt, with one black and one red sweatband and a pair of torn denim short shorts. Her hair was, as ever, a messy bob that framed her freckled, olive face.

“Yeah, I’m just annoyed,” He said.

“I mean, you did fall asleep in class,” Lacy said. “They don’t call her Mrs. Morningstar because she goes easy on that kinda shit.”

“Yeah, no, I know,” He grumbled. “It’s just not a good day to be in detention.”

“Is there a good day to be?” Lacy asked.

“You know what i mean,” He grumbled. “I was supposed to ask Loretta out tonight.”

She screwed up her face.

“Who cares? I don’t know why you'd wanna go to prom with Whoretta anyway.”

“Don’t call her that!” Jake said. “I talk to her in gym sometimes. She’s nicer than you think.”

Lacy scoffed.

“You’ve never been in a locker room with her.”

He shot her an irritated glance.

“You could try to be a little supportive. Y’know, like a best friend or something.”

Her green eyes widened.

“Ohmygosh, Jake! Good luck!” She said in a teasing sing song. “I hope she says yes! Can I be your best maiden when you get married?”

Even he had to chuckle a bit at that. She stuck her tongue out at him.

“I’ll see you at lunch,” He said, rolling his eyes.

This isn’t right. You went with Ryan, He thought as he walked off, not really knowing where that thought came from or what it meant. It was a big joke.

He dismissed it quickly. He had a job to do.

*****

Twenty, twenty, twenty four hours to gooooo…I wanna be sedaaated…

The band sang into his ears, but Jake barely heard them.

This late after school, the only students coming in and out were the jocks, honor students and regular detention jailbirds. Jake sat on the concrete barrier between the school and the parking lot letting music flow into his ears.

In his peripheral vision, that same long pair of tanned legs slid in beside him. He looked up to see Lacy sitting next to him.

“What are you doing here?” He asked.

She gave a slight shrug.

“I thought I’d hang around to see how things went,” She said.

She tossed her backpack over her shoulder, opened it, and pulled out a plastic bag filled with chocolate cubes. Jake smiled in spite of himself.

“Sponge candy. My favorite.”

She smiled at him, popping the bag open. She tilted it toward him, and he took one, popping it into his mouth. He bit down, enjoying the hard crunch, and the sweet toffee flavor.

“How’d it go, then?” Lacy asked, after giving him a moment.

Jake scoffed.

“If you brought me sponge candy, I think you know.”

“Mmm…” Lacy said. “You swept her off her feet, and she said, ‘a bitchy cheerleader like me is soooo lucky to have a smart, fun, sweet guy like you asking me out’ and kissed you in front of all her friends like you were in a John Hughes movie?”

Jake gave her a tired smile.

“Not exactly,” He said.

Lacy gave a nonchalant shrug.

“Well, then she’s an idiot,” Lacy said with no affectation whatsoever. She clapped him on the shoulder. “Fuck it. We’re gonna be in Colombia here in a year or so, and nobody’s gonna remember any of this shit.”

He chuckled, ignoring the powerful sense of deja vu that permeated this conversation. That was Lacy

Ryan

Always had his back.

He really looked at his friend for the first time in a long time. The two had known each other as long as they’d known anything; neighbors who grew up into and stayed best friends. On top of the fact that she was nearly as boyish as he was, it was hard to think of her as anything but a second sister.

But she was pretty. And fuck it…how many girls would wait after school with your favorite candy for you?

“Are you going to this thing?” He asked. “Or are you just skipping it?”

Lacy scoffed.

“And miss the chance to get high and request music all the jocks hate?” She asked.

Jake smiled.

“Hell yeah. I’ll see you there.”

She turned to him, pulling her knees up to her chin.

“Why don’t we go together?” She asked. “It’ll be fun!”

Jake laughed.

“Kinda confirming a lot of rumors, wouldn’t we?”

Lacy rolled her eyes.

“Oh, who the fuck cares?” She said. “We’ll have a good time. It’s not like you’ll marry any of these girls anyway.”

He couldn’t argue with that.

“Alright. Fuck it,” He said. “I’ll find a blazer or something and…ow!”

She’d punched him in shoulder.

“Wear a suit, you jerk!” She said. “If we’re gonna do it, let’s at least be fancy about it!”

“Okay, okay! Jesus!” He said, “I’ll wear a fucking suit.”

She stood up abruptly.

“Then it’s a date!” She said, “Now I gotta bolt. If I don’t get home soon, Mom’s gonna kill me.”

He smiled as he watched her go. Was he imagining it, or was there a new spring in her step?

*****

Jake shuffled nervously outside the door of the Jones-Alis.

This was stupid. He and his best friend were going to prom together. What could hepossibly have to be nervous about?

He rang the doorbell.

Farra opened the door, smiling broadly as she did.

“Jake!” She said, “Come on in!”

He followed her, trying hard not to stare too admiringly. As one Farra led him into the house, the other lounged in the kitchen, staring at him over some dense looking book.

“Oh, that won’t do at all,” She said.

Why does talking to her feel so fucking weird? He thought. You’ve known her for years, right?

Her body nearest to him stepped up, gripped his tie, and gently tightened it.

“This is a bit messy,” She said. “And you should stand straighter. You have a man’s shoulders, and it’s attractive.”

Jake gave an uncomfortable chuckle as she adjusted his shaggy hair.

“Mrs. Jones-Ali, I…”

“What the hell is that?” The Farra in the kitchen asked. “Call me Farra, for God’s sake.”

He half turned toward her, interrupting the one who was in front of her. That Farra grabbed his lapels, straightening them out and folding his collar back.

“I was gonna say that it’s just me and Lacy,” He said. “It’s not super formal. I kinda mussed the suit up on purpose.”

Farra rolled her eyes.

“You should look nice for my daughter,” She said.

He took a step back, catching a glimpse of himself in the far mirror. He did look sharp. She’d not only fixed up his suit, but had his hair looking pristine.

“Wow…Uh, thanks, Farra.” He said. “I just…you know we’re just friends, right?”

“Of course you are,” Farra said with a wink.

She turned her chin up, and with a volume exclusive to practiced mothers, shouted toward her stairs.

“Lacy, darling! Your date is here!”

“Coming, Lady!” Came the muffled reply.

“Show her a good time, okay?” Farra said with a smile.

Jake, now thoroughly confused, opened his mouth to argue.

But before he could, Lacy stepped down.

Her hair, normally a mop every bit as messy as his, was artfully brushed into soft waves just long enough to frame her face. One side of her part swept back behind her ear, while the other was left to swoop back above her eyebrow.

She wore makeup; one of the only times he’d ever seen her do so. Her lashes were turned up, and her eyes lined in violet. She’d applied a tasteful blush to her cheeks that, rather than hiding her smattering of freckles, accentuated them. Her lips were painted a purple that matched her eyeliner.

But the dress was the showstopper. It clung to every curve of her; a black, lacy black number with a built in bustier that left her shoulders bare and cinched around her toned waist. The skirt flared out in dark ruffles with a built in glitter that shimmered like stars against the night. It stopped at mid thigh, leaving her long, well muscled legs exposed.

Apart from that, she still wore the same beat up black low tops he’d seen her in for years, the same studded wristbands one one arm, a black rose corsage on the other.

It took Jake a few moments to realize he’d stopped breathing.

“How do I look?” She asked, nervously biting her lip.

“Incredible,” He said.

The smile that spread over her face was sweet, and filled with relief. It disappeared entirely too quickly for Jake’s liking.

“Well then,” She said, lifting her arm. “Take me to the car?”

*****

Jake had never seen Lacy like this before, and now that he had, he couldn’t seem to take his eyes off her. They sat with all their friends at a table tucked away from the popular kids. Tom the stoner. Marcy the goth. Travis was a jock, but liked smoking weed enough that he usually hung with them anyway.

They were all his friends, and he loved all their company. But they all felt like background noise next to Lacy. More than once, his gaze drifted to her, only to find that he met her green eyes admiring him right back. Each time, they both shrank a bit. Looked away and pretended they hadn’t been staring. But they didn’t stop.

“Ooh! Ooh!” she said at one point, slapping his thigh as a familiar horn beat began to kick in. “I requested this one.”

She stood, taking him by the wrist and dragging him as a ska song kicked on. Jake smiled, following her, and by the time two them reached the center of the converted gym floor, they were awkwardly throwing themselves around to the tune.

At some point, Jake realized that they were being stared at. He wasn’t surprised. That he and Lacy were a couple, rather than just friends, was an accusation lobbed at them since they were children. They’d always vehemently denied it. Now, it didn’t seem to matter.

The song ended, and Lacy threw back her hair.

“That was fun!” Jake said, loud enough in the space between songs that it drew looks.

A new song started; some pop tune that started with a staccato synth beat. Jake turned to leave the floor, but Lacy caught him by the wrist.

Someone said you got a brand new friend. Does she love you better than I can?

“No,” She softly.

She looked up at him, worrying her lip a bit.

“Slow dance?”

Jake gave her a shy smile, placing his hands on the small of her back. She reached up to twine hers behind his neck. They stood an arm’s length as the song, which was, itself, predictably about dancing, began to kick into gear.

”Leave enough space for Jesus. That’s what people say.” His mother’s voice said in his head. ”With all due respect to the faithful,” it followed up, ”I think that’s a load of crap.”

Swallowing his teenage anxiety, he decided that was good advice. He pulled her close; their bodies touching. They stood, swaying together.

I’m giving it my all. But I’m not the girl you’re taking home…

It wasn’t exactly a slow dance song, but it wasn’t exactly wasn’t, either. After a moment, she leaned her head against her chest.

It felt good.

“Lacy…” He said, after a moment, though he had no earthly idea what to follow up with.

She looked up to meet his gaze. God, her eyes were pretty. How had he never noticed that before?

They swayed together as she looked up at him, expectantly. She bit her lip. And god, wasn’t that cute?

Stilettos on broken bottles. I’m spinning around in circles…

Jake swallowed, forcing his brain to reset.

“We, are just friends…right?” He tried.

It wasn’t quite what he meant to ask, but it’s what came out anyway.

The look she returned was so **** that he instinctively wanted to hug her closer. But he restrained himself.

Lacy did not.

She stood on her toes, her lips meeting his. After a moment, their mouths opened. They’d kissed before. Practice between a boy and a girl who were friends, and too young to know the significance of what they were doing. This was their first real kiss.

It ended before it became too obscene. They were, after all, in a school gym. But it lasted just long enough for catcalls to start.

“About fuckin time!” Marcy cried from their table.

Jake didn’t even care enough to shoot her a glare.

“How long have you wanted to do that?” He asked.

“Years,” She admitted, quietly.

The song was ending, and the couples around them were breaking up. Jake didn’t care. He took Lacy by her lower arms and really kissed her. She let out an exciting little moan.

“Hey!” Mrs. Moran’s voice called from the back of the gym. “School dance, Mr. Cooper.”

Jake let Lacy go, but she was grinning like an idiot.

It was pretty much over from there.

*****

Jake and Lacy did go to Colombia in a year or so. And there, they met Hannah and AJ. They weren’t the only friends the two made there, but they were the ones that stuck.

Jake liked Hannah; felt that she was someone he could see himself with. But it was Lacy he’d fallen for.

She was fun, spontaneous, and served as a vital counterbalance to his drive and the occasional bouts of self-flagellation that came with it. They shared interests in music, in movies, and they never stopped gaming together.

When they graduated, with rents in New York already beginning their gradual hike toward pants-shitting insanity, they decided it was as good a time as any to move in together.

It was a good life. But it wasn’t perfect…

*****

For all Jake’s expectations and confidence, for all the way he’d crushed his interviews fresh out of college, and all the surety that he was onto great things…it sure as hell didn’t start out that way.

Rejection was met with rejection, as one firm after another turned him down for the top intro analyst positions. Eventually, he had to settle for a terrible boiler room jobs pushing bullshit for a living. He worked for pit bosses whose only skill seemed to be cracking the whip. Today, his boss, Scott, had even thrown out his desk plant for failing to make his talk time quota. It was just a cheap little cactus, but the indignity ate at him.

Such was the fate of a would-be investment banker in the aftermath of the greatest crash since the 20s.

He went to work early, and came home late. He came home demoralized. He came home feeling dirty. He came home exhausted after 8-9 hour call blocks.

He came home late tonight expecting to be alone. Instead, he found Lacy playing games on the couch, having ditched her pants, a bottle of wine open and a glass poured. Tired and already in an ugly mood, he felt a real spark of irritation at the sight.

“Hey baby!” she bubbled at him. He could smell acrid booze on her breath.

She got one look at him, and immediately seemed to sense the mood he was in.

“Is everything okay?” She asked.

“I mean, my job makes me fucking miserable, I’ve worked late every day this week, we have no money, and my asshole boss killed my cactus,” He said. “But yeah, I guess other than, everything’s fine.”

Lacy made some sympathetic noises at him, but it did nothing to brighten his mood.

“Aren’t you supposed to be at that store your Dad gave you tonight?” He asked, a little more sharply than he’d intended.

She straightened, the smile on her face dropping away.

“I…uh…didn’t make it in,” She said. “Baby, what’s wrong?”

Irritation into real anger.

“Oh, nothing,” He said, doing nothing to keep barbs out of his voice. “I’ve only been working my ass off all day so we can get by.”

She frowned.

“You’re mad at me…” She said softly.

Jake fought to keep his temper under control, and mostly succeeded.

“Goddamnit, Lacy,” He said. “Do you have any idea what I’m going through to keep up with everything? Can’t you fucking help me out?”

“It’s not like I’m not getting paid!” She said, “As long as the store doesn’t catch on fire, or whatever-”

But Jake cut her off.

“Yeah, and it must be really nice just getting it all from Daddy,” He said. “What are we gonna do if he gets tired of your shit, here, Lacy? I guess it’s fine. I’ll just end up taking care of everything you need instead of him!”

“Don’t yell at me…” She said,

He had been raising his voice. Part of him hated himself for that; a larger part knew it was long overdue.

“Am I just another Dad to you? Or are we a team here?” He asked. “When are you going to grow up and pull your shit together?”

Now the anger looked mutual.

“That’s not fucking fair and you know it!” She said. “You know you’re a lot more to me than a meal ticket!”

“Then act like it!” He yelled. “Help me out here, for fuck’s sake. And if you’re not gonna work, at least clean up the house for a change. Y’know it’s bad enough I have to spend my day killing myself to keep this roof over our heads. If you’re gonna skip work anyway, does it have to look like shit when I get back to it?”

Lacy crossed her arms beneath her chest.

“I didn’t realize you wanted a housewife.”

“I want a girlfriend who isn’t lazy!” He shot back.

The defiance seemed to leak out of her. She cast her eyes toward the floor.

“You’re right,” She said quietly. “I’m sorry.”

His anger dissipated.

“Look...” He sighed. “I’m just frustrated. And I wish you were more serious about…y’know, the future. About…being a fucking grown up.”

She cringed at that, but she didn’t deny it. Eyes downcast, she bit her lip. It wasn’t cute this time. Only wounded. He felt guilty, even if he knew he was right.

“Do you want me to leave for the night?” Lacy asked.

It was a fair question. God knew the place wasn’t big enough for both them and their tension. Still, he wasn’t willing to go quite so far.

“No,” He said, forcing himself to sound a bit gentler. “Don’t leave. Just…give me some space. I’ll be in the bedroom”

She nodded, some of the tension leaving her body. They stood in an awkward silence for a moment, neither knowing how to proceed. Finally, Jake stalked off and shut the bedroom door behind him.

*****

The two remained chilly for much of the next week. They both knew the blowup had to be talked about, but neither seemed to want to do it.

Jake’s job only got worse over the coming days, too. That the market was gradually improving didn’t seem to dampen his pit boss’ enthusiasm. Rather, it was a cudgel. If all the other guys on the Street were able to close more, why couldn’t the boiler room boys?

He was tired. He was weary of dancing around his girlfriend. And if he didn’t get a new job soon, he was going to burn out of this one.

Such was his mindset as he limped through the front door on Friday evening.

“Lace? You home?” He called, taking off his rain slicked coat and tossing aside with his satchel.

When he turned, he found two candles burning on their small kitchen table. A towel covered several other objects, a note was folded atop it. He plucked it up and read.

Jake,

I left you a couple of surprises tonight. When you’re finished enjoying them, come see me in the bedroom.

<3 Lacy

Jake smiled, the intrigue wiping away everything else that had been on his mind that night.

He pulled back the towel. There was a plate, with a plastic carton in the center; an egg salad sandwich from one of the Japanese grocers, just like the kind he’d raved about on his trip to Tokyo. A tall can of Genesee Cream Ale, a cheap Rochester brew that he loved, but was surprisingly hard to find in the City, stood beside it.

Overseeing it all was a small potted plant. No succulent, like his manager had thrown in the garbage. This was a beautiful, miniature bonsai tree. He ran his fingers along the leaves, verifying that it was real.

“She remembered...” He whispered, wiping the beginning of a tear from his eye.

Ignoring Lacy’s instructions, he went straight to the bedroom.

“Heya, babe,” She said, smiling up at him.

Jake gasped.

She was posed on their bed on her knees, her long legs drawn up beneath her. She wore a lacy red camisole that hefted her modest breasts, and left her toned midriff exposed. A red, translucent pair of panties hugged her shapely ass, a heart cut out in the center. Her hair was left to frame her face, as unruly as ever, but she wore makeup, and striking red lipstick.

Jake loved his girlfriend’s boyish style. That it made moments like this all the more breathtaking was one of the reasons why.

“Wow…” Was all he could manage.

Lacy beamed.

“Come here,” She said, patting the bed in front of her.

Jake took a seat, and helped her take off his shirt and tank top. She kissed his neck from behind, then withdrew. Jake grunted with real pleasure as Lacy began working the knots between his shoulders.

“I think I’d have remembered seeing you in that before,” He grunted. “I don’t mean to complain, but can we aff-”

“Shhh…” Lacy quieted him. “None of that tonight, okay?”

Fair enough, he decided. He relaxed into the massage.

“Besides, Mom bought it for me anyway,” She continued.

Jake jerked in surprise.

“You mother bought you lingerie?”

He could almost hear her eyes roll.

“She didn’t see it! She just paid for it, is all,” She said. “I told her I wanted to do something special for you. And you know how much she loves you.”

“Mmm…well, I’m not complaining…” He said. Farra was the last thing on his mind.

When he’d sufficiently relaxed, Lacy slid around into his lap. Jake held her close as she looked up at him, smiling.

“Thank you for all this,” He said. “I know I’ve been…”

He paused, but whatever he intended to follow with never came out. She stopped him with a hard, passionate kiss. They held it for a moment before she broke it to whisper in his ear.

“Anything you want tonight is yours.”

What he wanted was to see her.

Jake lay back on the bed, letting Lacy move on top. She unbuckled his pants, sliding them off and down until he was naked beneath her. She tucked back a lock of hair and crawled toward him.

Jake took her by the waist, and kissed her neck. He reached down and slid the flimsy little panties down her thigh, and went rock hard as he felt her wetness slide against it.

Tall, strong, and boyish as she was, Lacy had an almost catlike grace between the sheets. She braced herself, then slid him inside her with a breath. He held her hips as she rolled them, her strong arms bracing against his shoulders as he thrust inside of her.

Lacy’s back arched and she cried out, her fingers digging into his shoulder. Jake let out a grunt as he exploded inside of her. She fell, panting into his arms.

*****

Jake climbed the access stairwell toward the roof of his shitty Bedford apartment, which despite its cramped quarters, offered a fantastic view of the city. Even before he got to the top, he could smell cooking meat and hear the laughter of his friends.

He opened the door to find Hannah and Lacy drinking beer at their foldable card table with their friend Matt. AJ stood over a grill, cooking burgers and ribs.

“This looks nice,” Jake said with a smile.

“Yeah! We’re celebrating!” AJ said, “Hannah got the Douglas job!”

“Congratulations!” Jake said, giving her a salute.

“Thank you, Jake,” Hannah said with a smile. “Did you ever hear back from Mellon?”

“Ah. Yeah,” He said. “I got off the phone with them about an hour ago, actually.”

The group went quiet, waiting to hear what he had to say. He gave them a pause just long enough to be theatrical, before exclaiming,

“I’m hired!”

Lacy’s eyes went wide, and she let her bottle fall to the roof. She hopped up from the chair and ran at him, placing her hands on his shoulders to pull herself up. Jake barely caught her in time, grabbing her powerful, tanned thighs as she wrapped them around his hips.

“Ohmygod! I knew it!” She said, raining kisses on him.

He held her tight with a chuckle.

“I’m glad you did,” he said. “I was nervous as hell.”

She stroked his hair.

“I never doubted you for a minute,” She said, then added in a whisper. “And I never have.”

And even as the dream began to dissolve, and Jake started recognizing it for what it was, he knew that was probably true.