Billy was waiting on Tess. She was in the bedroom getting ready for the walk they would take before he had to come back to Bank Street for an afternoon training session.
It was safe to say that Billy wanted to pursue boxing. He had been at the gym every single day. He was trying hard and working hard, and Marvin just kept pushing and encouraging him.
Marvin had Billy thinking he could make a career out of it if he kept going at the rate he was now. Billy wanted to keep going with it. It was the first career choice that seemed natural to him, and Marvin seemed to think he was born to do it.
Billy was thinking about boxing as he watched the man walk slowly down the sidewalk. He couldn't help but listen to Abigail's conversation in the next room. She was in the kitchen, talking on the phone, and Billy could clearly hear her.
"Oh, yes ma'am. That's no problem. My sister has a car, and she can give me a ride to your house. … Oh, that'll be amazing. Thank you. … Yes ma'am. All of July. I'm not leaving till the end of the month. … Yes ma'am. Thank you. … Okay, see you tomorrow. Thank you. Bye-bye."
Abigail appeared in the living room only seconds after she hung up the phone. "Looks like somebody got a babysitting job," she said.
"A babysitting job?" Billy asked. "That's what that was about? I thought you won a sweepstakes or something. You said 'thank you' too much for a babysitting job. I thought it was something good."
"It is something good," Abigail said. "That was Mrs. King's friend. Last time I babysat for her, she gave me twenty dollars. They're so rich. And the kids aren't even brats. They're fun to hang out with. And, anyway, Billy, thankfulness is good, even if they weren't paying me twenty dollars. It's nice of me to say 'thank you' to her. You need to say it way more, if you ask me."
"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked.
"You need to thank people more," Abigail said with a shrug. "I was in here the other night when Tess gave you your bag, and all you said was, "Oh okay, set it over by my keys."
Billy gave her a defensive stare. Surely he had thanked Tess for fixing his bag… hadn't he? He was thankful she had done it. He honestly couldn’t remember if he had said the words to her or not.
"She sat here and worked for two hours on it," Abigail said. "And Marvin, too," she added.
"What about Marvin?"
"He goes to that boxing gym every single day of the week and works with you. I wonder if you ever say 'thank you' to him."
"Of course I do," Billy said.
He had told Marvin thank you lots of times. Hadn't he? He didn't know for sure now. He tried to think of a time. Surely, he had said it.
"I'm just saying," Abigail said. "My mom and dad didn't let us stand up from the dinner table without thanking them for our food. I just got used to that. Maybe they were overboard, but I think if you're going to mess up one way or the other, it's better to mess up by saying it more. People like to be thanked for things they do."
Billy shrugged casually, but Abigail's words had made him think. He wasn't an ungrateful person, but the truth was, he didn't say those words very often. He considered what she said about their parents teaching them to give thanks, and he realized no one had ever done that for him. He wasn't a 'thank you' type of guy. Until this moment, he didn't think that was a problem.
"Twenty bucks is pretty good for babysitting," he said, still glancing out of the window as he waited for Tess.
"It's amazing," Abigail said. "Back home, I used to get seven bucks for babysitting the Broussards all weekend. And little Teddy's a nightmare. He pulled some of my hair out one time."
Billy laughed at the thought. He acted nonchalant and unaffected, but all he could think was how many people he must have offended by not thanking them. He thought about Tess stitching his bag for two hours straight. He didn't even think about how much work she had put into it.
He felt something he had been feeling a lot lately. Conviction. In the past, that word would have scared him, made him put on loud music and start drinking. But not now. He had been convicted of a lot of his behaviors lately, and being with Tess made him choose to confront those things rather than run from them. She believed in him. She believed he could change and be better.
Her confidence in him gave him something to strive for. Having Tess anticipate and expect the best from him caused him to want to tackle his shortcomings rather than run from them.
He decided not to be offended by Abigail's words. He decided he would take them as a challenge and try verbalizing thankfulness for a while—see how it went.
Tess came out of her room a few minutes later wearing shorts and a blouse that was sleeveless and looked more like a bathing suit top than a regular shirt. She was proper, but she was showing just enough skin to drive Billy wild. He wanted to claim her constantly. He wanted to keep a hand on her, let everyone know she was his. And this was even before they left the apartment.
Abigail stayed home while they headed to the beach. They were on their way down the stairs, Billy going down in front of Tess, when Billy stopped in his tracks and turned to face her. Her momentum was already moving forward, and she fell gently into his arms. He was expecting her to do that, so he caught her.
"You okay?" she said.
He smiled at her surprised face. She was on the step above him, which made her as tall as he was. She stared into his eyes, innocently wondering if everything was all right.
"Did you forget something?" she asked.
"Yeah, I wanted to… I needed to thank you for fixing my bag the other day. I don't know if I ever told you 'thank you' for that."
Her expression softened as she stared at him. "You didn't have to," she said. "I knew you were thankful that I did it."
"Well, I should have told you. I shouldn't have made you assume it."
She smiled and leaned toward him, reaching up and touching the side of his face. She stared at Billy like he was the most desirable thing in the world. He had no idea what he had done to deserve Tess Cohen's attention.
"You're welcome," she said.
She leaned in to kiss him on the cheek, which caused his heart to pound violently. There was nothing so sweet as the touch of a woman—the touch of Tess.
"I was happy to sew it for you. It makes me think you'll glance at it sometime when you're training hard and feeling tired, and it'll make you know I’m cheering for you. Go Billy! You can do it!" She pumped her fists, acting like she was cheering, but whispering and showing silent excitement because they were in a public stairwell.
Billy did not feel like he deserved Tess. He couldn't believe she was able to see past his lack of manners and be so patient with him.
"I'll set my bag where I can see that patch while I'm training."
She nodded. "Good."
"But, thank you for doing it."
"You're welcome, you old sap."
That was it. Tess was teasing him, and Billy didn't take kindly to being teased. She was standing above him, so they were positioned just perfectly so that Billy could grab onto her and throw her over his shoulder.
Tess let out a quiet shriek but she instantly held onto him, making it easier for him to handle her weight. He carried her to the bottom of the stairs and set her on her feet in the doorway. She giggled as she stabilized herself.