Knitting Under the Influence

“Sort of.”

She gestured toward the baggy sweatpants and the too-tight T-shirt he wore over his bulging stomach. “You'll need real pants. Some plain khaki ones would be nice and neat. And you need to wear shirts with buttons. Sari can take you shopping and help you get the right clothes. You'll want to look nice for your job interview.”

“Okay,” he said.

“And when you're at work, you have to be polite to everyone and not get upset about anything. That's very important.”

“Okay.”

Ellen smiled at him. “I like your attitude,” she said. “I think you're going to make a wonderful employee.”

“Yes,” he said. He went back to spooning up his ice cream. Some collected at the corners of his mouth, but he didn't seem to notice.

“Sari?” Lucy said. “I don't want to interfere, and I know you're the child expert here, but I’m fairly certain that if you don't do something soon, Zack's ice cream is going to drip all over both of you.”

“Oops,” Sari said, and caught up Zack's wrist, swiftly bringing his cone up to her mouth. She licked the edge in one long circular motion.

“Wow,” Kathleen said. “Nice tongue moves. That Jason is one lucky guy.”

“My boss is sitting next to you!” Sari said, but Ellen was laughing.

They couldn't stay much longer-if Eloise found out they were gone, there was no way of knowing how she'd react, and no one wanted the guys to have to deal with the fallout.

While Charlie and Zack finished their ice cream, Sari walked Ellen to the door.

“Thank you,” she said. “Oh, Ellen, thank you.”

“Don't be silly,” Ellen said. “Like this is anything but a pleasure for me. Sari, if we can make things better for your brother-”

“I know,” said Sari. “I know.” And found she was crying. Ellen hugged her tightly before saying goodbye. Sari watched her walk away. Even through her tears, she could see that Ellen had a huge run down the back of her black tights and that her slip showed below the hem of her dress.

She was the most beautiful, perfect woman Sari had ever seen.

Eloise realized they were all gone about fifteen minutes before they got back. The men tried to keep her in the dining room, but eventually she insisted on getting up to clear the table, and then started calling to the girls to come help her… and finally went looking for them and realized that they weren't anywhere in the house. And that Charlie was gone, too.

“They're all missing!” she said, with some alarm.

Jason hit himself in the forehead. “Oh, that's right-I totally forgot-Sari said she was thinking of taking Zack and Charlie out for ice cream. They must have done that. I’m sure they'll be back any minute. Want me to call her on the cell?”

“Sari should have asked me,” Eloise said. Her brows had come together. “I don't like Charlie to go out without me. He gets very nervous.”

“I’ll tell her that when she gets back,” Jason said. He took her arm. “But don't worry about it-I’m sure they're fine. Let's go sit in the living room and wait for them.”

The men did what they could to entertain Eloise with their conversation, but she was less distractible now, and her eyes stayed fixed on the front door.

When the girls and Charlie finally walked in, Eloise jumped to her feet. “There you are!” she said. “You didn't tell me you were going out.”

“Sorry.” Sari put Zack down and he ran to his father, who picked him up and gave him a hug. “We went out for ice cream. It was fun, wasn't it, Charlie?”

“Yeah,” he said. “I’m going to watch some movies now. I have to get ready for my job.” And he went into the TV room.

“What did he say?” Eloise whipped her head around. “A job? Sari, what have you been saying to the poor boy?”

“Nothing,” Sari said. “It's just… we ran into Ellen, my boss-”

“Oh, no,” Eloise said, clutching at her heart. She took a staggering step backward. “You wouldn't.”

“We had ice cream,” Lucy said, coming forward. “That was it, Mrs. Hill. And Charlie talked about movies a lot. He really loves movies.”

Eloise stared at her. “I know he likes movies,” she said. “But-”

“He was really happy,” Kathleen said, also stepping up. “Honestly, if you had seen how happy Charlie was, eating his ice cream and talking about movies, you wouldn't have worried at all.”

“We just want him to have fun,” Sari said. “And to be part of something. The job would be at a video store, which you have to admit he'd love. He's so excited at the idea of it-”

“He doesn't know what could happen out there,” her mother said. “I know. I know how cruel the world can be, how vicious people are. And I thought you did, too.”

Jason put a gentle hand on her arm. “Give this a chance,” he said. “Sari just wants what's best for Charlie.”

“I’m his mother,” Eloise said. “I know what's best.”

“And I’m his sister,” Sari said. “I love him as much as you do.”

“I can't let him go out in the world unprotected. I can't. It would be like sending a lamb out to be eaten by wolves.”

“I think it's a good idea,” said a voice from behind them all. Everyone turned around. Sari's father was standing in the hallway that led to the back bedroom. “He should try getting a job like other men his age. Why not?”

“You don't know anything about this,” Eloise said.

“I know that grown men get jobs,” her husband said. “I’dlike to see my thirty-year-old son get up off the sofa and give it a try.”

Eloise opened her mouth to say something, but there were too many people circled around her, too many eyes watching her, too many faces waiting. She held up her hands, more like she was warding something off than in surrender. “If he gets hurt, it'll be your fault, Sari.”

“He won't get hurt,” Sari said. “Not this time.”

“We'll be looking out for him,” Jason said, guiding Eloise into a chair and down into a seated position. “I promise.”

She clutched at his arm. “You, at least, I trust,” she said. “You understand me.”

“Of course I do.” He knelt at her side. “We both know what it is to love a child with special needs and to want to do right by him.”

She burst into drunken tears and he stayed there, patting her shoulder, while the others busied themselves cleaning up and getting ready to go.

“And you call me a miracle worker,” Sari said to Jason a little while later, after they had said their goodbyes and left. They were all standing together in front of the house. “You were amazing with her.”

“Yeah, that was pretty impressive,” Lucy said. “Let's hope you only ever use your skills for good and not evil.”

“It wasn't bullshit,” Jason said. “I really do know how she feels. I mean, not the religious stuff, but the part about just wanting to keep Charlie safe at home. I get that.”

“So what now?” David said. “Want to go to the pound and make out with the dogs, Luce?”

“Sorry,” she said. “Can't.” She indicated the other two girls. “It's knitting time.”

“No, it's not,” he said. “It's the afternoon.”

“That's because we had to come here first,” she said. “We switched it around.”

Jason looked at Sari. She smiled apologetically. “Sorry,” she said. “Just for a couple of hours, okay? I’ll be back in time for di

Jason picked up Zack and said, “Looks like we're on our own for a while.”

“Do you mind driving David home?” Lucy asked him. “So I can take the girls in my car?”

“No problem.”

The men watched the girls pile into Lucy's car.

“Ever feel extraneous?” David said. “I mean, if Lucy didn't need someone to feed the cat when she's out of town-”

“Can't get in the way of their knitting circle,” Jason said. He hoisted Zack up onto his shoulders. “I’ve learned not to try. Anyway, girls like these are worth waiting around for, right?”

“Yeah,” David said, but not completely happily.

They lifted their hands to wave in unison as the car drove by them.