The Devil on Kazoo

10: Kathy's Lease on Life

Kathy pressed her lips together, torn between feelings of indignance and pity.

He looked so forlorn with those blue puppy dog eyes, she thought.

"No, you hear me out," Kathy retorted. "I thought we were friends, you and I. I rather liked you, in fact. But then you turn out to be a lying git who's been working with our station rivals the whole time."

"But I didn't know we were rivals before," Jim replied, stepping toward her carefully. "I didn't even know you were in radio."

Kathy folded her arms. It was true that she hadn't exactly disclosed her profession to Jim, just as he hadn't to her. Still...

"Either way, we can't talk anymore," she said. "My friends and our station comes first and...well, let's just say that The Crumbs and the Mad Teddy's had their chance, but we're destined to be enemies and that's that."

"Kathy," Jim said, his voice soft. If Kathy didn't know better, she'd actually say he sounded sad. "I know my cousin and his friends aren't the most polished bunch, but if you'd just give them a chance–"

"They're a lot of barney tossers who–who insulted us like we're just poppycock-spewing ninnies!"

Jim replied, "I don't know what most of those words mean, but I'm telling you I'm sorry. And I understand if you don't want anything to do with the Teddy's. We were real jerks that day. But what I'm saying is that I sure like talking to you."

Whatever insult Kathy was about to say next caught in her throat.

"Why?" she asked. "Why do you like talking to me?"

Jim scrubbed the back of his neck and his cheeks melted into a distinct shade of red.

"See, I never even wanted to come to London, but my parents...well, they're getting a divorce back in the States." He shrugged as if it weren't a big deal, even though Kathy perceived otherwise. "They thought it was best to send me away while they did the paperwork. I'd only ever met Greg twice before coming to live on his boat. He's alright, if you get to know him, but ever since I came here I haven't been able to fit in anywhere. I don't know a lick about music or radio or anything, really. That's why they sent me to the fabric store to make a flag that day in the first place; because I wasn't really useful anywhere else. But when I talk to you...I dunno..."

He looked as if he was trying to come up with the right words, then gave up by lifting his shoulders and letting them sag back down.

Kathy blinked back tears. It didn't take much to put her back into good graces, even with someone she disliked. In fact, she'd been ready to hug Jim ever since he said he was sorry.

But the voice of reason (which, oddly, always sounded like Smiley) kept whispering to her, telling her to cut it off.

What if Jim wasn't telling the truth? What if he wanted to use her to get information about Crumb Radio?

Kathy asked herself these questions less because she actually believed their answers and more because it felt like the obligatory thing to do.

"When I first started, I didn't know about radio, either," she said. "You'll get there."

A tentative smile reached up to Jim's eyes. "Well, that's good to hear. Because I've got a long summer ahead of me."

"I'm glad."

"Care to go for a walk?"

Kathy opened her mouth to give a resounding "absolutely", but stopped. Perhaps she and Jim were friends now, but that didn't mean he'd earned her trust just yet.