Gilbert's New Girl

Chapter Six

I called Sally from work the next day, but she couldn’t really talk. She just said that Gilbert had finished with her; he said he didn’t want to mislead her about his intentions. She sounded pretty crushed and refused my offer to meet up for lunch. ‘I don’t want him thinking I’m crying on your shoulder, Amy. And besides, I’m still really mad at him right now, and it’s not fair to you to have to listen to me badmouthing your brother.’ Later on that afternoon Tucker called me and I arranged to meet him after work and drive over to Fern Creek for something to eat and to catch a movie. Then I called the store to let Gilbert know I wouldn’t be home. It was Tally who answered the phone. ‘Gilbert’s out back, sorting out some deliveries,’ she said, ‘Do you want me to get him?’ I said no and asked her to pass on the message. Afterwards, I thought, ‘Well that was a dumb thing to do!’ I mean, if either Tally or Gilbert had any notion of getting together, I had just provided them with the ideal opportunity. What the hell was I thinking! I had no reason at all to suspect them of anything and here I was having them plotting an illicit get together behind my back! Sometimes, I get so mad with myself, you know?

Gilbert got a letter from Mary Jane on Wednesday morning, and that seemed to brighten his mood a little. I swear to God, he hadn’t said more than two words to me since the night he mowed the lawn. Oh, he nodded his head and shrugged his shoulders, and once he even smiled, but words were definitely off his agenda for the time being. How can men do that? Just stop talking? Gilbert’s never been much of a talker, but I didn’t know how much more of his silences I could take. I must have been under the weather or something, because I took a bad headache at work and left early. As I walked up the driveway, I could hear Gilbert whistling up in his bedroom, Wednesday is his half day at work. Well, whistling is a positive sign, I thought to myself, although it wasn’t doing my headache any favours. I walked round the house and entered by the kitchen door, and there she was, sitting at the table! Tally Chambers! I was too stunned to say anything. I just stared at her, as she smiled and said hello. ‘Where’s Gilbert?’ I asked, without returning her greeting. ‘He’s upstairs’ she said, ‘he’s looking out some books for me.’ Books! Gilbert read mostly detective novels or science fiction, neither of which I imagined would interest a seventeen year old girl. Just then Gilbert came clattering down the stairs, two at a time, his arms full of a pile of old paperbacks. He saw me, but he never missed a step. ‘Hi Amy,’ he said, ‘You’re home early, are you okay?’ I told him I had a headache and he said, ‘Go on up and lie down and I’ll bring you some lemon tea and a couple of painkillers.’ Conversation and concern coming from Gilbert the Grouch! Whatever next? I figured he was just trying to impress this girl, but I still took him up on his offer. Besides, it gave me a chance to sneak a quick look in his room. Thankfully, his bed was undisturbed, still neatly made.

I opened my bedroom window wide and then drew the curtains. I stripped down to my slip and lay on top of the bed. A few minutes later Gilbert came upstairs with the tea and the pills. ‘You ought to be more careful about bringing that girl here’ I hissed at him. He looked at me blankly. ‘What are you talking about? Since when do I have to sneak visitors into the house?’ I tried to tell him that Mrs Fenner across the street would have seen him bringing Tally into the house, but Gilbert just stared at me as if I were mad. ‘Gilbert, how long do you think it took for word to get out that you broke up with Sally? And how long do you think it will take before people put two and two together and come up with five!’ I saw his eyes glint with anger, and he started chewing on the inside of his cheek like he does when he’s upset about something. ‘There’s nothing going on between us, Amy. Nothing, and even if there were, what’s the big deal? I’m a free agent and so is Tally’. I put my forearm over my face to cover my eyes as I said quietly, ‘She’s seventeen years old, Gilbert. She could be your daughter. Get her out of this house and don’t bring her back if you’ve got any sense.’

The next day, the silence descended again. No more conversation or concern for Mrs Bossy Boots. Gilbert came and went as he pleased, but he started taking his meals up to his room and leaving me to eat alone in the kitchen. One night I was watching television and heard him banging about in the kitchen, so I went to investigate and there he was doing his own laundry. ‘You get a sudden urge to start washing your shirts, Gilbert?’ I said teasingly. He gave me a look and said, ‘Just felt like depriving you of checking them for traces of lipstick, or sniffing them for perfume. See, I know how you get your kicks.’ I was furious, but I knew he was trying to make me mad, so I turned and walked out of the kitchen, saying over my shoulder, ‘Welcome to the world of laundry, Gilbert, because I’ll never wash anything of yours again.’ Tucker came round once or twice, but he couldn’t stand the atmosphere in the house. ‘He’s your brother, Amy, and he’s not done anything wrong. I hate it when you two aren’t getting along, because I get it from both sides. I can’t be here with both of you in the house, both of you sulking like a couple of little kids.’ Gee, well thanks for the support, Tucker! I told him to go, and he went, but l knew he’d be back because Gilbert and I are his only friends.