“This is just about it. I changed the pillowcase. So it’s as good as new.”

  I’m not sure why, but he went from rubbing his forehead to staring at me intently the moment I opened my mouth. I was only a few inches away, but he always looked so grave and hard to read. He broke contact when he noticed me staring back, and came quickly with simple reasoning to explain himself.

  “Sorry, I’m staring,” As he gestured with his hands to tell the rest. “It’s just, you sort of mumble when you talk. And I tend to understand more when I’m reading a person’s lips while they talk. My intention ain’t to be creepy.”

  That made me feel a lot better considering how crazy it was to be lending my couch to a complete stranger. Kit had always been that person I barely knew. I couldn’t help my pessimism.

  My mother had always taught me to treat people the I wanted to people to treat me, and if something was up with me, I sure as hell wasn’t against taking hospitality. But it was Kit. It wasn’t likely he could ever do anything he could get away with even if he tried. Plus, I knew where he lived, and where he came to drink once a week, but still…

  “Think I could use your phone before I pass out?” Kit asked as I assumed someone might be waiting up for him.

  “That’s fine. Hope no one was expecting you too soon.” Hoping to get more information out of him. “I could dial them if you like.” I offered, curious to if his response would change.

  “It’s just my mama. I don’t want her waiting up on me.”

  Not exactly the answer I was expecting, but I shouldn’t have been surprised. Hardly any Southern boy I’d ever known wasn’t at least a tiny bit of a mama’s boy. I’m sure if the worst he had to call was his mother, I probably didn’t have as much to worry about.

  He read the number out loud to me, as I scooted into the kitchen to pick the phone off the wall before I’d lost the number to memory. When the phone rang four times with no answer, I was a bit skeptical. But all it took was hanging up and dialing again to get a live voice to answer on the first ring.

  “Hello?” A woman’s voice, shy of my age, possibly older if fatigue distorted her voice, answered on the other end.

  “Good evening, is this Mrs. Parrish?”

  There was a slight hesitation on the other end, but I knew she’d heard me when she answered, “It’s Ms. Shepard now, but yes. Who is this?”

  With so little time to plan what I was going to say, I tried to tell as much of the truth that wouldn’t make her worry. “My name is Rebecca Dobson. I know your son, Kit. He asked if I could call you so you wouldn’t wait up on him. He just wanted you to know he was alright.”

  A light laugh escaped her throat, as she sounded as confused as a mother could be on the other end. “Oh. You’re about the first lady friend of Kit’s to…call that he’d be out late.”

  I couldn’t help but want to laugh myself, but in effort to put the insinuation at bay, I lowered my voice into the phone. “No, it’s nothing like that! I just—” I covered the mouth around the bottom of the phone, defending myself in hopes Kit wouldn’t be able to hear it. “I was a little worried. I ran into him earlier, and he seemed out of it. He said he was fine, but I just didn’t feel right not making sure. He’s just on my couch, and he may not even stay the whole night. He just wanted to me to call so you didn’t worry.”

  “Well, thank you, Rebecca. That’s very kind of you.”

  His mother seemed sweet. It was no wonder he didn’t want to stress her more, this late. We had our share of small talk until she wished me a beautiful night before hanging up the phone. I’m sure Kit was probably wondering where I’d gone. I hadn’t expected to speak with his mother so long, but she was pleasant to talk to. Once I hung up, I skipped back to the living room, which forced Kit to sit up, rubbing his palm against his thigh, as he watched me.

  “She knows you’re here.”

  “Okay.” He replied, nodding to confirm he’d heard me.

  “Anything else you need?” I offered, balancing on the one foot that wasn’t scratching the back of my leg.

  He rubbed his face as if he were blending his fatigue all over his face. “Not unless you can tell me what you were doing with a guy like Brendan.”

  He hadn’t seemed to remember him, but he hadn’t spoke during the car ride, so he could’ve put together that Brendan had been at the barbecue. “I’m almost certain it’s none of your business what I was doing with a guy like Brendan.” Overly emphasizing, Brendan.

  “Look, I ain’t trying to be nosy. Just giving my opinion before you can refuse it. You could do a lot better than someone that had you spooked like that.”

  I crossed my arms across my chest. “Well, since I didn’t ask you, you can keep your opinion to yourself.” I laughed. “We can’t all be Lucky Parrish, getting anyone he wants.”

  Kit leaned down onto the couch, pulling the pillow and sheet closer to him. “You don’t have to be me to get anyone you want. Shit, a pretty thing like you…” He started but never finished before deciding to hit the hay. It took everything in me not to smile, and I’d been grateful that I hadn’t. I would’ve been dumb as rocks to let him know his words got to me.

  I made my way up the staircase leading to my room, and it didn’t take long for that damn smile to emerge once I was out of eyeshot. It had been a long night I guess; any compliment gave the power to make me feel better than I had.

  I shut my room door, leaning my back against it, unsure of what to do. I wasn’t sure why, but I locked my door. I didn’t know what I was so afraid of…myself, or Kit Parrish sleeping on my couch. I certainly didn’t think he’d come up here, considering there was a bathroom downstairs, but for my peace of mind, I didn’t question why I needed my door locked.

  I slipped out of my clothes and grabbed a nightgown in a dresser, and in a lazy daze, put my hair in a high bun so I wouldn’t have to twist it. Tiptoeing toward my bedroom window, I caught the sight of Kit’s truck parked along the path outside.

  If I wasn't so tired, I might’ve wondered what it would’ve been like seeing that truck outside my window, lights off, waiting for me to come down to sneak out when I was a teenager. Hell, I might’ve even wondered what it would’ve been like to see that truck instead of that fancy black sedan outside my house from earlier. Sure would’ve changed a lot about how tonight had gone.

  I had too much on my mind that I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to fall asleep. Lucky for me, it wasn’t long before laying down, that I found that no matter what was on my mind, sleeping wouldn’t be a problem.

  Chapter 4

  Beck

  The extra workload from the busy, happy hour shift was why I didn’t make it a regular thing covering Jodie or Martha Mae’s hours. Those two were always late, whether it be coming in or back from break. I kept telling myself if I didn’t need the money I would’ve walked out well past my shift that would have ended an hour ago. It was just Carrie Ann and me busing the twenty-five odd some tables until someone else decided that they should’ve already been here. With the looks of things, it didn’t seem like that was happening anytime soon. At least, not until things slowed down.

  I passed Carrie Ann with her steak and eggs platter for table eight in one hand and a stack of French fries and hamburgers in the other. We were pretty good at keeping up with each other’s pace. Aside from us being friends since high school, we’d worked here together for almost twelve years so while we were up to our knees in orders, if I would have been here with someone else, I was sure I’d be playing catch up. I looked out for her, and she looked out for me, that’s what kept this afternoon rush running smoothly.

  Jodie, the other waitress on the schedule today, ran into me behind the counter, grabbing her apron from the nearby coat hangers and strapping it around her waist. Can’t say I wasn’t a little relieved.

  “Hey Rebecca, sorry I’m late. See I stepped in a bit of a meltdown. Which tables do you want me to take? I don’t know how you and one of the twins’ been splitting it up.” I was a bit pissed that I had to stay a little later waiting on her slow behind, but I did need the extra cash. She wasn’t about to get my hard earned tips from fulfilling these orders.

  “You’re going to have to ask Carrie Ann which one of her tables she’s willing to offer up but out of mine you could have…” I looked out into the busy crowd off to the left corner. There was a booth full of Wheelwright High students, who I knew weren’t going to tip well and just south of them was only one of my best customers. They always asked for me and paid me handsomely on days like these.

  Just then I fixed my gaze on the one guy who’d walked in and sat down no more than a minute ago. That deep ginger hair was so familiar; you could probably spot him from a mile away. I figured I might as well do something nice for the girl even though she was always late all the time. I was trying to find any excuse to wait on Kit; I wanted to see how he was doing.

  “Why don’t you take table seven for now. They’re good tippers, some of my best ones. Especially when you get them drunk enough.” I joked.

  “You sure you don’t want me to take care of Lucky. He just walked in.”

  “No, I got that one. If you want to help, taking seven would be doing me a favor.” I waited for her nod of approval before squeezing through the crowded diner to Kit’s lone table.

  “Hey,” I said readying my pad to jot down his order but then putting it away when I got a look at his face. These days, I could tell a lot by the way someone looked at you on whether or not they were ordering food. He was only in here for a drink. Coffee, soda, Alcohol or something along those lines.

  His tired eyes smiled at me, making me draw the conclusion that he’d just come off from work. If I had to take my first guess, I’d say he was here for a few beers.

  “Rebecca Dobson.” He said with an easy smile forming at the corner of his lips.

  “No need to be formal. Friends call me Beck.”

  “I take it I’m your friend now?” He drew his lips in, questioning. It eased my mind to see that he was doing better than the other night. When I didn’t see him around, I worried myself into thinking something had happened to him when he left my couch with no note or any indication that he’d gotten home okay.

  “Well, only if you want to be. Ain’t no perks to being my friend.” At that, he smiled a ruthless smile, almost devilish but for the most part harmless. It was one of those smiles men gave you when they were trying to talk you into doing something nuts like diving off a cliff into a lake or something and pulling you in anyways after you told them no. Handsome men with smiles like that had even the sanest women doing some crazy mess.

  “Oh I beg to differ, but we’re allowed to have opposing opinions now, ain’t we?” he said. I kneeled down to meet his face as his gentle green eyes fixed on me.

  “You had me worried about you the other night. And then when I didn’t hear anything from you, the folks I thought might know told me they hadn’t seen much of you since you’ve been back. What’s going on with you? That sort of thing happen a lot to you?”

  “Doing just fine, now that you asked me. There you go already proving yourself wrong, saying there are no perks to being your friend.”

  “That doesn’t answer my question, Lucky.” He shrugged.

  “I wouldn’t say a lot, but it does happen. Not really in control when it does. A small setback but I’m fine now, I promise. I wouldn’t lie to you.”

  I laughed. Not because it was funny but because I tried to imagine all the girls he’d ever said that to only for them to discover that that was the biggest lie in itself. I wanted to believe him; he did seem different in a way no one else was used to seeing him, but that was all a part of some of their master plans. These days, I couldn’t tell the difference between a good looking man and an ambitious career criminal. Both had the ability to tell you what you needed to hear to appear more trustworthy. For Kit’s sake, I was placing my bets on him being a changed man.

  “Well, that’s good to know. What can I get for you? You drinking tonight?” He nodded.

  “ Beer would be nice.” I smiled and stood. “Coming right up.”

  I walked back just in time to find my orders for three and four fresh off the grill, anxious to get these plates to their tables to have another chance at chatting up Kit.

  “Anything else I can get for you ladies?” When they replied with a quick no, I rushed back to the bar, grabbing a cold beer out the cooler and made my way back to Kit. I prayed that he’d stick around to talk some more, so I was feeling a little blue when he did the opposite requesting the check only after one beer.

  The waitress in me welcomed the cut down on tables I’d have to service, the humanitarian inside wanted just one more moment. I couldn’t explain what it was about him that made me so interested in his well-being. I suppose I could relate to what it felt like to come back home after years of being away and not feeling like being social because of something happening that changed the way you looked at things. He’d learn to cope with it eventually, but I couldn’t help feeling like our situations weren’t all that different.

  “Hey Beck, you want me to clean that table for you? It’s slowing a bit, and I know by the way four and thirteen are taking their times that they’re probably going to order something else.”

  I glanced back at Kit’s table as well as a quick scan around the room. He was gone. And without saying goodbye. The only thing that could have made this night worse is if he stiffed me for the bill. Mind you, he didn’t spend much, but it would still come out of my tips at the end of the night if he did.

  “No, that’s alright. I’ll get around there. It’s on my way anyways. Thanks, though.” I said as I sauntered back over that way.

  “Y’all need anything?” I asked the couple at table five a few feet away. They assured me they were fine for now, which was a good thing, too. If they ordered anymore that’d be another thirty minutes I’d be stuck waiting on them, and as soon as we got this rush down, it was about time for me to leave.

  As I approached Kit’s table, the sight of a few loose dollar bills between a few napkins eased my nerves about him skimping on the bill. When I opened the row of napkins, my eyes widened at the twenty dollar bill he’d hidden behind the loose singles and something else inside hitting the floor in one tiny “clink.” There was something written on it that was almost illegible from the beer bottle’s moisture nearly smearing the message but thankfully I was able to make out some of it.

  Used to think it brought me luck. Never knew if it did but may it bring you more than it brought me

  I bent down searching the floor for what fell out of the napkin. I wasn’t certain of what I was looking for, but the moment something caught my eye, I knew that had to be it.

  I held it up to the light, admiring the lush mix of emerald and citron blended in like one of those mood rings, only it wasn’t a ring it was a charm. It was shaped like a four leaf clover and had a small loop fit for a thin chain, maybe. Small and maybe not worth anything, I couldn’t help thinking that it was sweet. They said four leaf clovers were supposed to be lucky but did I need another reason to have him on my mind all day?

  Yes…yes, I did.

  I stuffed it in the pocket of my apron and headed back behind the counter counting the minutes I had left before I this head of mine made a little reunion with my dear pillow.

  I’d put off figuring out this backyard and garden situation long enough. When my mother passed, I promised myself I’d keep up with the scenery. Weeks turned into months and months turned into years. The only thing I’d managed on my own was keeping the front lawn cut. The backyard—I didn’t touch the backyard in fear that I might never find my way back to the back porch with what a shit show it was. I didn’t go back there if I didn’t need to but with the repairs to the roof that needed to be done soon, I figured I might as well start off with something easy that I could do by myself. That meant tending to the yard and lawn.

  The upside was when and however long it took me, the result would be something enviable and beautiful. I’d planned planting a garden out back and maybe a row of flowers up front, like my mama had it before she got sick. What I needed, I didn’t have, so I rounded up my wheelbarrow, stuffing last night’s tips in the side of my bra. It seemed like once I got to a place where I was comfortable, everything around me just started breaking with no money to fix it.

  The way I looked at it, I was better off getting a new car with how much that hunk of junk was going to cost me in repairs. For now, I had my two feet, and those never let me down. I only wished it wasn't an hour and a half walk; Heaven knows it was going to take me twice as long to haul all this cargo back. And that was only assuming I needed to make one trip. Estimating in my head, it looked like it'd be more than three. Not something I can do all in one day.

  When I arrived at the home improvement store, it was already a quarter past nine and already felt like it was going to be a warm to hot day. Nelson’s was just about the only hardware store in town so whenever someone was out of work, they hung out here, in any case someone was in need of some repairs around their house.

  Ralph Hightower was always out of work, only looking to score money to get drunk down over at the Joy’s. I learned my lesson letting that man work on my gutter. He was the reason why half the stuff in my house didn't work in the first place. He was in his mid-50s, stocky, pale aged skin with peppered hair, and a tongue ridden with lies the second he opened his mouth.

  "Hey, Rebecca. You looking to have someone look at the roof for you still?" He said holding the door open for me as I anchored my wheelbarrow in front of me.

  "Yeah, I'm still looking. But not now and not you." He shrugged.

  "Come on, Beck. That last time you didn't tell me about how bad the leak was. Damn near almost fell off the ladder when that pipe shot me with all that drainage." Even I had to admit that it was funny watching him almost fall. But nothing he did was worth paying him for. I was better off googling some DIY website and figuring out how to do it myself.

 

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