by L L Shelton
Her balance faltered. Carly fell off the side of the boat to the floor with flailing arms and landed on her butt, and another hit of the stick cracked against the wood a foot from her. Cheddar rolled head over tail before he ran into his hole tucked in a corner of the boat. The stick missed him by inches. “What the fuck are you doing?” Carly yelled out while pulling herself up. She turned to face the heavy breathing from the stranger.
“There was a mouse on you. Didn’t you feel it? I was trying to get it off you, not to kill it. It went in a hole over there near the door.” She replaced the stick on the side of the cart. “I didn’t want to hit you in the stomach. So, I slammed the stick on the floor to get it off.”
“That mouse is my friend, and you just scared the shit out of him. Who the hell are you?” Carly barked out.
“I’m Avery Johnson. I just started working for Charlie’s Bait on Wheels. I’m sorry that I scared him and you. Wait, you have a pet mouse?”
“No, I have a mouse that is my friend.” Carly’s patience was tipping to red. “Where is Charlie?”
“He had a hip replacement and hired me until he recovers. Do you need bait today?”
Carly pushed the sunglasses back up that had slipped to the tip of her nose. This girl has not even noticed that I’m blind. She sounds young. I wonder if she’s cute? Stop it, Carly. She just tried to kill Cheddar. Carly breathed a breath for calmness. “No. I need nothing.”
“Okay. Well, sorry about the mouse event and your pants,” Avery hid the smile with a hand. She noticed how handsome this woman was in front of her. Her ripped muscles painted in a bronze tan. Short blonde bleach hair that complimented her face perfectly. Her body thin and tall, the perfect butch. A tingle hit in her center. Damn! She is a sexy creature. The thoughts invaded her.
“My pants?” Carly questioned.
“Yeah.” Avery pointed to the zipper on the cargo pants. “I guess when you fell off the edge of the boat, you ripped the zipper apart.”
Carly’s fingers searched and found a gaping hole replaced the zipper. The wheels turned on the cart, and the chant began. “Live bait! Get your live bait!” The voice faded into the morning. Carly placed her hand in the hole and pulled at her briefs. “Holy freaking shit.” She directed her attention to finding Cheddar instead of trying to sort what just happen.
He banged the toast on the plate. “What’s wrong with the bread? It’s black,” Bobby asked. He hit it again, and the piece broke. He tossed it down and placed his chubby cheek in his palm. Lily Ann flipped the egg in the pan, and one side matched the color of the toast. Bobby wondered if it would break, also. A high-pitched noise blasted through the kitchen as the smoke alarm shrieked. Bobby jumped while holding both hands over his ears. Lily Ann grabbed the broom and fanned at the detector, and the sound stopped just as the pan on the stove went up in flames. The high-pitched noise exploded again. Lily Ann grabbed the hot handle and dropped the container with its contents in the sink.
“Son of a bitch!” she screamed as she poured cold water over it. Steam rose over the curtains and curved into clouds above their head. She swatted at the smoke alarm once more, before she flopped down in the chair in defeat.
Bobby stared at his sister with big blue eyes. “What a mess. I guess no eggs for breakfast. Where is Suzy?”
“She had to go to school early.” Lily Ann stood and opened the fridge. There was no milk, despite her buying a gallon not two days ago — another defeat. She sighed and reached for the only thing she couldn’t mess up.
The microwave dinged, and Lily Ann placed the plate in front of Bobby and sat down across from him with her cup of coffee.
Bobby looked down. “Hot dogs and chips for breakfast.” He shrugged his little shoulders and stabbed the fork into the piece of meat, then dipped it into the ketchup.
“So, what do you want to do for your birthday?” Lily Ann asked.
“Well, I don’t want you to make breakfast.” Bobby gave Lily Ann a smile that was missing one tooth.
“Funny. Seriously, you want to invite your friends to the bounce house?” Lily Ann took a sip of her coffee while she watched Bobby think.
“I want to go on a boat ride. I’ve never been on a boat. Have you?” Bobby bit the potato chip. Half landed in his mouth, the other half in his lap. “The bounce house is for kids. I’m older now but still hot.” Bobby placed his hand on his hip and tilted his pelvis in the chair.
Lily Ann closed her eyes and shook her head. “I’ll see what I can do about the boat ride.”
“You’re in trouble. Suzy is going to be pissed about the pan,” Bobby said between bites of a hot dog.
“Don’t use that word,” Lily Ann scolded. “Where did you hear that? Never mind. Don’t tell me.”
Bobby smiled, then the smile disappeared. “Lily Ann,” the little voice sounded out seriously. A frown appeared on his face. Bobby sat the fork down and reached over and unzipped his lunch box, retrieving a piece of paper. He handed it to Lily Ann. “My teacher wants to see you on Tuesday at teacher parent night.”
Lily Ann stared at him for a moment before she opened the envelope. Her eyes scanned over it. “She doesn’t say why. What’s up? Did you get in trouble?” Lily Ann folded the paper back up and placed it back into the envelope.
“I did nothing. She is always fussing at me and rushing me.” Bobby stopped eating and squirmed in his seat. “I guess I told her she was a pain in the butt.”
“Why in the world would you talk to an adult like that? Young man, you can stay in your room all weekend and no game system.” Bobby did not say another word. His little head shook up and down. “Go grab your backpack. Let’s get you to school.”
Bobby stood, grabbing his hotdog, as he walked by Lily Ann and wrapped one arm around her neck. She embraced him in a side hug. “I love you,” he whispered in her ear.
“I love you too.”
3
Suzy stood at the door with her hands on her hip and tapping her foot when Lily Ann arrived back from picking up David and Bobby from school. The sure sign she was not happy. She watched as Lily Ann and the boys got out of the car.
Bobby looked over at Lily Ann. “I told you. Pissed.”
“Bobby, if I hear that word come from your mouth one more time, I will tan your behind, and you will lose the TV for two weeks. Now get upstairs, and remember, no game system.” Lily Ann stopped short of Suzy and held her hands up in defense. “Before you start, it was an accident,” Lily Ann chimed out before the scolding started.
“That mess you left in the kitchen was no accident. My good pan, Lily Ann? You burned up my good pan. I take it that was an egg in the sink you tried to cook?” She loved her kitchen. It was the one place in the house she was secure, and she loved that pan. Suzy locked her jaw in anger.
“I will buy you a new pan,” Lily Ann mumbled out as she sat on the porch swing. She urged Suzy to sit beside her. Lily Ann questioned why the big deal over a pan that can easily get replaced. She meant to clean up the mess but got sidetracked. This behavior wasn’t like Suzy.
“You don’t replace a pan like that. It took years to break it in. You don’t understand.” Suzy couldn’t tell Lily Ann that was their mother’s favorite pan. A flush spread over her cheeks and down her neck as her body fell to the swing.
“What’s the matter, sis? Why so angry?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe because I cleaned the kitchen last night, then I go to school and come home to destruction with no remorse from the guilty party. Do you even have a clue what I do around here? Laundry, cooking, cleaning. I am the mother and the father. Never mind. I might as well talk to that wall.” Suzy stood. A hand grabbed her at the elbow and stopped her retreat.
“Suzy? Talk to me. Don’t run away.” Lily Ann’s eyes looked upwards to the brown eyes filled with mist.
“I’m just tired. Let me go.” With a jerk of the elbow, Suzy headed inside.
Lily Ann laid back and rocked the swing. What the hell is going on with her?
An hour later, Lily Ann walked past the back of the couch. “Go get your brother from his room. Dinner is ready,” she told David before she headed into the kitchen.
“Hey.” Lily Ann leaned on the butcher block with both elbows while Suzy stood at the stove and turned the fried chicken. The baggy sweats and tee-shirt hung from her body with her hair thrown up in a bun. “Can we talk after dinner?” Lily Ann asked.
Suzy flipped the stove off and stabbed at the golden-brown meat. She placed each one on a plate before patting the grease out of them. “It isn’t necessary.” The words tumbled out over the exhaust fan. “Once dinner is on the table, I’m headed to the library. I was angry earlier. I didn’t mean to yell.”
“I haven’t seen you eat today. You’re not staying for dinner?” Lily Ann walked around to the tip of Suzy’s shoulder. “Something is bothering you. I can tell.” Lily Ann touched her with the softest touch, but she pulled away.
“I already said that I am just tired. I didn’t mean to snap earlier. I’ll stay for dinner then head to the library.”
The family sat around the table with full bellies while David and Bobby kept the conversation alive throughout the dinner. Lily Ann noticed Suzy picked at her food. She ate hardly a bite. Lily Ann watched her younger sister in thought. Does Suzy like a new boy? Is she worried about graduating? Maybe losing our parents and taking care of the family was too much. Shit. What is going on with her? Lily Ann released an inner sigh. “I’ll clean up, Suzy. I promise.”
“That’s fine. Excuse me. I need to go call my friend Sara and tell her I’m leaving for the library.” Suzy pushed away from the table and gave Bobby’s head a rub before heading to her room.
Suzy closed the door behind her after she entered the bathroom. She looked at herself in the mirror — she was ugly inside and out — and a lengthy sigh released from her body. She turned to the left and hung over the toilet, heaving and spewing.
The water made a ping sound as the droplets pounded the tin. Remains of fish, crabs, and an assortment of unknown guts washed down the drain. Avery stood there, holding the hose in a daze, her mind on a cute blonde, reliving their talk. Though short, she found the woman intriguing. Who allows a mouse to lie on her? Avery looked up at the feral cats gathered around the cart, low meows emerging deep from their throats. A sight straight out of a Stephen King book unfolded.
Avery cut the water off and backed up as the felines swarmed the water around the cart. What the fuck? Her thoughts drifted away from the cute blonde to reality; she was about to get eaten by cats.
“Close the garage door when you clean the cart out,” the young boy yelled out as he walked over and picked up the hose and sprayed the water two feet from the cats, the blast on the concrete enough to get them fleeing. Switching the water off, he tossed the hose down and made his way over to the garage door, jumped up, grabbed the chain, and pulled. Metal on metal scraped as an ear-jarring noise ricocheted through the garage.
“Thanks. Lesson learned,” Avery said.
“No problem. I’m Tony Carbello. My family owns the restaurant on the pier. I think I’ve seen you there a few times. Wow, Charlie had that hip replacement. He put it off for years. So, you are?” Tony joined the woman deeper in the garage.
“I’m Avery Johnson. Yes, I’ve eaten at your parent’s restaurant a few times. More than I should.” Avery jumped when a lingering cat ran across her feet. “Oh shit.” She reached down to grab the feline when Tony screamed out,
“No! Don’t!”
Avery jumped back. “It’s just a cat.”
Tony scooted the female cat away in the door’s direction. The orange tail was the last thing seen exiting. “She would have torn your arms to pieces. She’s pregnant. You’re out of your element, aren’t you?”
“Does it show?” Avery slumped on an old lawn chair. “I’ve nowhere to go. I cannot lose this job, but I know nothing about fishing, boats, or piers. And zilch about the animals that live around here.” Avery’s thoughts traveled back to the blonde that laid on the boat with a mouse sleeping on her. Her friend, that’s what she called the mouse. I’ve never had animals. An animal was the last thing a foster parent wanted with the kid. Well, at least mine did. Tony’s voice rang out in her ears
“Hey, where did you go?”
“Sorry, I was thinking about something.” About someone. Avery leaned over and opened a little fridge. “Want something to drink?”
“Sure. A beer would be nice.” His response was followed by a boyish grin that would have a young girl head over heels. Tony was cute: Olive skin and the beginnings of muscles. A thin line of hair above his lip, a show that manhood knocked on the door.
Avery raised an eyebrow and tossed him a coke. “How old are you?
“Twenty-one,” Tony responded.
His response received a higher eyebrow arched from Avery. She tossed him a convenient store packet of Oreos.
“Okay. I’m almost eighteen. I’m about to graduate. How about you? How old are you?
“Twenty-three.” Avery opened her pack of cookies and popped one in her mouth.
“Have you lived at the marina all your life?”
“Yeah, my parents have owned the restaurant here for the last twenty years. Shallow Water Marina is my home. Where are you from?”
With both parents drug addicts and no other living relative, Avery remained in foster care her entire life. She moved from house to house, lived on her own, and roamed from place to place for the last five years. It was fun at first, but now she wanted to settle down. Charlie’s Bait on Wheels was not her dream job. For now, it kept a roof over her head and Oreo cookies in her belly. “Different places. I travel up and down the east coast. I never stay in one place long enough to get serious.” Avery took a swig of her coke.
“You like younger men?” Tony asked with a flash of that flirtation smile.
Avery let out a cough as the swallow of drink wiggled down the wrong way. “Seriously.” She coughed a few more times before letting out a laugh. “Sorry, I try to stay away from men. Young and old. I like girls.”
“See, we have something in common. I like girls.” There was that smile again.
“You are funny. Hey, can I ask you a question?” Avery leaned forward on her elbows.
“Sure, we’re friends,” Tony replied. “I saved you from being eaten alive by the cats.”
“Yes, you did. I will forever be grateful. What’s up with the boat Feeling Desire or the woman who owns it?”
“That’s Carly Hutch. She’s been here for almost six years, possibly longer. She dated a bitch named Brittney, but they broke up three years back. Hey, she could be your next hook up.” That smile appeared again. “She was the best fisher in the Marina.”
“Was?” Avery asked.
“Yeah, she hasn’t taken the boat out in years since it all went bad.” Tony finished his Coke and tossed the can in the trash.
“Tony, you’re talking in circles. What went bad with her?” Avery was at the tip of her chair, waiting for an answer.
“She got sick and lost her sight. She does odd jobs around the marina now. I saw her help my mom and pop a few times around the restaurant. Sadly, the gorgeous boat sits in the slip.” Tony stood. “Well, I better get home. Thanks for the soda and Oreos.”
Avery touched his shoulder while walking him to the door. “Thanks for earlier. For saving my life and all. Nice to meet you. I’m sure that I’ll see you around. Stop by anytime. I may need saving again.” She patted him.
“I’m sure you will. Nice to meet you, Avery. Remember, close the door before you clean the cart.”
“Oh, I definitely will not forget that. I don’t want to be on the news as a story, Woman Eaten by Cats.” They laughed.
The door closed behind him, and Avery bolted it shut. With a turn, she leaned back on the door. The cold metal caused goosebumps to trail down her arm. “So, your name is Carly. Blind?” She looked down her arm at the little tiny bumps. “Are you caus
ing these, Carly Hutch? Oh, I hope so.”
4
The sun was still high in the sky when Carly stood at the sink and cleaned the dishes from lunch. A soft breeze blew off the bay. With a deep breath, the aroma of salty water radiated into the open window, teasing Carly’s nostrils. In two hours, the escort she hired would arrive. She ran her fingers through her hair. Immediately, she realized her hands were still wet. Damn it! Did I put bubbles in my hair? She grabbed the kitchen towel and dried her hands. Then her hair got scrubbed in case there were lingering bubbles. The phone rang, and Carly hung the towel back up on the rack. Picking up the phone, she answered. “Hello.”
“Hi, Carly.”
Carly’s face twisted, and she turned and leaned on the sink as if someone hit her in the gut. She kept quiet. Why was she calling me? This can’t be good.
“Carly, I know you’re there. Might as well talk to me.” The voice shrilled through the phone. “Come on. You know you can’t resist me.”
“What do you want, Brittney?” Carly’s words strangled her throat. Her voice mute of emotions.
“I need to come by and get something that I left there,” she answered.
“We broke up years ago. Nothing on this boat belongs to you.” Carly felt the pit in her stomach swell. Every time there was a conversation between them, her stomach twisted and a headache flared above her temples. If she had only had these symptoms earlier in the relationship, she would have saved herself a lot of money and frustration.
“There is something that’s mine. I forgot it when I left. It’s something personal.” Brittney got quiet and waited for Carly’s response.
“What is it? I will get it and have someone drop it off.” Carly’s words finally broke the deafening silence.