Untrusting (Troubled)

by A. J. Wells

  “No, but I almost slid into the ditch just as I turned onto the dirt road so I drove slower. I called Maria to let her know I was home, hoping Bob was there so he could call you. I don’t have your number.”

  “He wasn’t there. He came home early. I guess they had a disagreement. You have Grams’ number.”

  “Oh, yes I do, I forgot, sorry. Maria said he was miffed. Does Bob know Maria’s background?”

  “I don’t know. I try to stay outta those kinda things.”

  “Sit down. Want a cup of coffee, or a glass of tea?” I go to the kitchen part of the room.

  “I’ll take a cup of coffee. Sher, I don’t know that our getting involved will help Bob and Maria.”

  “ Maria and Bob are taken with each other. I don’t want to but in, I just want to give them a chance to understand the other before they make a decision about their relationship. Can you understand that?”

  “Yes. Okay, what do you want to say?” He asks as he sat down at the kitchen table. I see him looking around and explain how I happen to be in the bunk house. “You know, independence stuff,” I say. He chuckles at me.

  I tell him about Maria’s life in short terms except for her marriage. I let him know Maria needs to take it slow with any relationship she may go into with a man. She has real reason to mistrust. Then I explain I understand Maria so well because I had many of the same problems. At midnight, and after talking that long about our pasts, Steve and I agree to take things slow, too. He doesn’t want any mistakes anymore than I do. He says he’ll try to talk to Bob and get him to slow down a bit. I thank him, we kiss goodnight and have a hard time stopping, but we do.

  After he leaves, I shower and go to bed. I’m thankful we talked tonight. Now, if only we can stick to our agreement to go slow. I know every time I kiss him my resolve evaporates in the heat of the moment. I fall asleep imagining Steve’s arms around me.

  Monday morning the phone’s ringing off the hook—cancelations. Everyone needs time to clean up from the storm. Even if their house is okay, they’re out helping neighbors, and family get past the clean-up. We find out there wasn’t much damage done. Mostly roofs, windows, trees and flowers. Mom and Dad’s ranch wasn’t bothered at all, except for a little wind and rain. We were lucky. They’re predicting the electricity will be back on sometime today. There’s a line down outta town and we have to wait for the electric company to repair it.

  The tornado skipped town, but it was low enough to leave a mess for twenty miles, two miles wide. It touch down in an unpopulated area five miles east of town. Miss Lili calls saying she’s not coming in today, there’s too much work that needs to be done around town. Steve calls asking if Maria can sit at the station while they go out to help clear things up. Maria agrees and I stay at the office to answer the phone. The day goes slowly, but I get the next newsletter started. Maria comes by after five, to invite me to supper. The guys are still out working in town and will be ‘til dark. Janice had come over after work to relieve Maria ‘til the guys quit for the day. Janice’s ranch wasn’t hit hard, either, just a few broken limbs. All of this is good news.

  We close the office and go to Maria’s, fix supper and play with Shay ‘til his bedtime. Shay asks about Bob and Maria tells him about the mess the winds made and how Bob’s busy helping clean it up. Shay’s satisfied and goes to bed without a problem. Just before I leave, Bob arrives.

  Maria’s not sure what to do, even tho’ we’d discussed it earlier. Bob waits for me to leave to talk to Maria. He tells me Steve will be over to help with the dogs. I hug Maria ‘bye and tell her I’ll talk to her later. She smiles as I leave.

  Steve’s at the office when I get there. He looks very tired, so I ask him how his day went. He tells me about clearing the downed trees with a chain saw and stacking the wood for use later by whomever uses wood heat. He says Bob was busy boarding up broken windows ‘til they can be replaced. He says Bob got the hardest job. There aren’t many houses that don’t have a window broken. Yolie, an EMT, was called out to help with cuts from broken windows and glass. He says he called her out because the people had treated themselves and the cuts didn’t look good to him. He’s still in his uniform as was Bob. They haven’t been home yet, they wanted to see their girls before they went home, Steve says. They figured they wouldn’t leave, if they had gone home first, too tired.

  While we’re getting the dogs inside, Steve stops me for a hug. I can feel how tired he is because some of his weight shifts to me. I lead him back inside and tell him to go home, he’s wore out and needs to get some rest. I tell him I haven’t heard from Lili since this morning. I hadn’t thought about it before, but I should have checked on her before supper to make sure she hadn’t over done it. He looks at me, “What’d ya mean?” I tell him she was helping around town, too. He looks startled, “She’s not supposed to be doing heavy work. She’s not frail or sick, but her heart’s weak.” He kisses me quickly and leaves.

  I hurry to get the dogs settled and go to Miss Lili’s. When I knock, she answers the door and she looks fine, but a bit sunburned. “Hi. I came by to check on you. Are you okay?”

  She steps out onto the porch, “Sher…what’s that short for?”

  “Sheralynn,” I answer.

  “Sheralynn, nice name. Sheralynn, when I tell you something, you really shouldn’t worry my boys with it. Steve came home upset with me for my activities today. I’m upset with you for upsetting him and then he got Bob upset. At my age I’m not used to being told what I can and cannot do and I don’t take kindly to tattling.”

  “Miss Lili, I wasn’t tattling. I was simply talking with Steve about his activities and mentioned it. I had no idea there was a problem. And, Miss Lili, I like you very much and had I known you might over do, I would have been upset with you and tried to find a way to stop you. Now, you can be upset with me and the boys, but we care about you and don’t want you to kill yourself with over exertion.” With that I give her a long hug. “I’ve been concerned about you since I heard you might have harmed yourself. That’s why I stopped by. I had to be sure you’re okay.” I say this into her shoulder. She hugs me back then.

  When I step back from the hug she says, “I’m not going to die before the Good Lord’s ready for me. If he’s smart, and I think he is, he doesn’t want me yet. I’m still too cantankerous to share heaven with. I’m glad to know ya care about me and are concerned for my health. I feel the same way about you. Now it’s getting late and you’ll be getting home even later. So you go on and I’ll see ya tomorrow.” She hugs me and shoos me off.

  I get in my truck, drive home, shower and go to bed, finding it interesting how Miss Lili has come to be important to me.

  Tuesday’s quiet, too. The streets are cleared but other work’s going on. Miss Lili stops by with lunch just as we’re about to go out to take a look around and eat. She gives us a report while we have our lunch. Then we work on the newsletter and posters for the next two weeks. Maria asks her if it would be a good idea to have an event to raise money to help with the repairs around town. Miss Lili thinks it’s a “wonderful idea.”

  Miss Lili will coordinate everything and get others to donate time and…soon she was off on an errand of mercy and betterment of the town. She sure has a way about her that makes one…tired, that’s the word, tired. She’s like a dog with a bone that can’t find a suitably safe place to bury it, so there are holes all over the yard. On her tricycle, Miss Lili’s off to see every merchant in town and the mayor. She’s back before five o’clock with all the arrangements made. A carnival in the city park, in two weeks, after church, is arranged and all the merchants are contributing. Now, we just have to get the word out, make booths, decorations and find out who needs the help after the insurance is paid to those with a claim, and immediate help to those who don’t have insurance.

  Miss Lili has the senior citizens handling the list of those in need, to help build booths, and organize the food. She hopes it’ll get the town moving again instead of lif
eless. She’s very excited about the event. We’re to include the event on the calendar and posters are to go out immediately, asking for volunteers and participants. We’ll need something for the kids to do, too. Miss Lili’s in her element when she leaves for home.

  After she leaves, Maria and I are wondering how Bob and Steve are gonna take this new development. Maria, Shay and I have supper at the Burger Barn, hoping to avoid the guys. No such luck. They find us and are livid, but we discuss the situation calmly. Maria and I suggest the four of us try to keep a lid on Miss Lili’s physical activities concerning the carnival. Otherwise, the idea is a good one. Steve asks, “Do you know how much work it’s gonna take to corral Grams?” Maria and I agree we don’t, but surely a seventy year old woman can’t out do the four of us. “You’ll soon see how hyperactive Grams can be when she’s on a mission.” Steve hopes we can just keep up with her.

  Bob laughs, “They don’t know Aunt Lili like we do. But they will.” We’re not so sure the carnival is a good idea now, or that we’ll be able to keep up with her.

  Shay has crawled into Bob’s lap while we talk. Nobody seems to notice ‘til Bob notices he’s asleep. Bob takes him out to Maria’s car and follows her home to help her get him in the house and to bed. Steve follows me to the office to wait for time to put the dogs out.

  “Did ya know Grams is trying to organize work groups to get things fixed?” Steve asks. I admit I didn’t know anything about it. “She’s talking about an annual charity carnival to help those in need and she’s going to contact the governor to find out about food stamps and any other help she can arrange for the less fortunate people here. This is getting out of hand for a seventy-ish woman.”

  “But if all she does is the paperwork and makes phone calls, what harm can it do her?” I’m beginning to wonder if the guys aren’t overly concerned about her. “If she’s happy doing these things for the town and it’s not hurting her health, isn’t it better for her to do them than sit around getting old and senile? She’s a pretty active person anyway, how do ya figure we can stop her?”

  He shrugs and holds me, “I don’t believe she’s stoppable when she sees a need.” He says into my hair, “She wants to fix as many problems as she can.” He tightens his hold on me, “I don’t know what I’d do without her, that’s a day I don’t want to come anytime soon.” He puts his head down on my shoulder. I tighten my hold on him, realizing I hadn’t thought about how Miss Lili’s death would affect him. Now I know how hard it will be on him. I promise to help put that day off as long as possible.

  He lifts my head and kisses me, gently at first, becoming more serious. I can’t breathe and everything around me disappears. There’s nothing, but me, Steve and the kiss. We’re on the edge, about to fall off the side, when Chief barks and nudges us. We break the kiss, but Chief keeps barking. Steve finally looks down when Chief tugs on his pant leg. “I guess we’d better see what he wants.”

  Chief leads us to the kennel room where there’s nothing wrong that we can see, but Chief keeps barking and goes to the door to the outside. Steve opens it slightly and there’s a puppy on the other side. I pick it up, but it’s not one of mine. It’s a new one. Steve steps outside to see if someone’s out there, or maybe, a mother dog that might be looking for her baby. No mama, but five other puppies. I’m beginning to realize the need for an animal shelter.

  We take them in and I check them out. They’re skinny, about three months old, dirty and abandoned. I guess they’re my problem now. Chief isn’t happy yet, he leads Steve out to the body of the mother dog. Steve comes back to tell me about it. I go out and the mama dog is skin and bones and dead, from malnutrition, is my guess. I don’t know how she got here, but she could have come by herself. She hasn’t been dead long. I need to bury her, but for now I need to contain the body and take care of the puppies.

  Steve puts “mama” in the back of his truck. He’ll take care of her tomorrow. I make up some formula for the puppies and some soft dog food. I put it down and the puppies devour it. I didn’t put much down, they can’t be used to eating well. I don’t want them to get sick from overeating so I watch them. They’ll get more each time they’re fed, but not this time. They’re full of fleas and filthy so they’ll get a bath tonight. I don’t want an infestation among the dogs, or in the clinic.

  Chief’s calmed down now that the puppies and their mama are taken care of. He wants to get close to them but I keep him away because of the fleas and the fact that I don’t know anything about them, yet. I want to know they’re not diseased before I let them be around the other dogs. I don’t have an outdoor kennel, and I don’t know, for sure, why they’re mother died. I don’t know what to do with them, but I can’t just leave them.

  Steve and I bathe them and try to figure out what to do with them tonight. Steve suggests a box and goes to the grocery store garbage to get a fruit box with holes in it and another two boxes to set it on, outside, for the night. I shredded some newspaper and put it in the bottom and find some thin blankets to put over the box for some warmth and some plastic, incase it rains or there’s a heavy dew. We put it on the driveway next to the building, but away from the door. They’ll need another bath tomorrow to kill more of the fleas and they may need to be wormed. I’ll figure it out tomorrow.

  We let the dogs in the kennels out and I need to get home for some rest. Steve kisses me goodnight, saying he’ll come by on his way to work to check the puppies that are outside. He’s being so helpful, a wonderful friend. It’s a start.

  I come in early today to check on the newest addition of puppies. They made it through the night. They seem a little peppier today, guess the food helped. I decide to feed them the same thing today. They gobbled it up in short order and curled up for a nap. I checked them for fleas and they seem to be rid of them for now. I’ll bathe them again to be sure their clean then they can stay inside.

  Maria arrives and helps me bathe the orphans. It’s so hot out the puppies will dry in no time so we don’t put them under the dryer. I can’t place the main breed of them, so they’re just mixed. I’ll keep them ‘til the carnival and either sell them or give them away there. I’ll have them up to par, size wise, and healthy by then. I’ll talk to Lili about an adoption booth for the clinic. Maria thinks it’s a good idea.

  Steve calls and I ask if he could tell what breed the mother dog was, he said he couldn’t, but she was mid size. That means the puppies could be any size when they’re grown. After work he’s going to find a quiet place to bury the mother. I tear up, it’s a shame there’s no place to bury animals and that there are stray animals dying. If the mother hadn’t died here the puppies would have died, too. Maybe I should talk to Miss Lili about an animal shelter and maybe, my booth should include other animals people want to find new homes for. Steve says he’ll be over after he buries the dog and hangs up.

  Miss Lili brought lunch again today. She’s arranged everything for the carnival, I wonder why she wants Maria and I involved. I talk to her about the orphaned puppies and the booth, she likes the idea and she wants it put it on the carnival posters so we’ll get the unwanted animals. She says most of the merchants will have a booth with games or food. She plans to have a band in the gazebo and she wants several awnings for card tournaments and shaded sitting areas. She has some big ideas, but it should draw a crowd. It could draw people from neighboring towns. Miss Lili has a thoughtful look on her face. I’ve gotta stop talking. I could be putting my life in jeopardy.

  When Steve and Bob arrive, Miss Lili asks them about including the neighboring towns in the carnival. Their merchants can have a booth, maybe, sell a few small things, insurance companies, crafters, all sorts of things. We need to get flyers out to advertise the availability of such an event to them. Steve and Bob can do that Saturday, she says…asks…orders, sorta. The guys look at her like she’s lost her mind. Then she says with this big of an event, maybe we should hold it Saturday, nine to midnight, and Sunday, noon to seven. She’s mostly talking t
o herself, but she reaches for the phone to call the mayor. The guys, Maria and I sneak out the back door to talk about the turn of events.

  “Who’s idea was this, or maybe a better question is, what started this?” Steve’s not happy, thinking Miss Lili’s plans are getting outta hand. I tell him about the idea of a booth to adopt out the orphaned puppies and maybe including other unwanted animals and how it might attract people from the small towns around here and Miss Lili kinda took over with advertising the carnival in the out lying towns and it took off from there. Steve looks at me, “Okay, I guess ya don’t know Grams very well yet, so I’ll forgive ya…this time. But, please, don’t let it happen again.” he pleads. “Next time talk to me first, will ya? Please?” Bob’s laughing at Steve. “I don’t know what you’re laughing at. You do know whose going to be doing the hard work, don’t ya?” Bob quit laughing immediately. Maria and I tried to turn our heads before a muffled snicker came out.

  Steve reached out to catch me, “What are you smirking about?” he asks, holding me. When I tell him, Bob’s reaction to his last question, he pulls me closer to give me a noogie on the head. I holler and he says I deserve it. Maria got away with it. When Bob pulled her to him for a hug, she’d controlled her smile, sucking in her cheeks a bit.

  “Did you think that was funny?” Bob asks her. Innocent faced, she lied, “No, of course not.” I shoot her a look that tells her what a traitor I she is and she smiles at me over Bob’s arm.

  Later, I ask her why she lied. “Seemed like the right thing to do at the time,” she says with a snicker. We walk out of the office, lock the door and join Lili, Steve and Bob. Maria’s going to get Shay and join us for supper at the Barn. Miss Lili loves eating out, so loves us girls being around and says so.

  Shay’s all over Bob as soon as he sees him and Bob loves it. Bob reaches for Maria, and Shay insists on a group hug. Bob kisses her on the head and Shay gets one too. Shay kisses Bob on the check. Bob’s making no secret of his feelings for those two and Maria likes the affection he’s showing. Maria’d said earlier Bob had backed off some, but still makes no secret of his interest.