by Magan Vernon
"That's my boy." Jackson slapped me on the back.
I couldn't remember the last time I'd been to Reesey's, or hung out with the boys, but I distinctly remembered the last time I was there with Libby and the guys.
"Another draft and a rum and Coke, Sadie." I leaned on the rickety bar, handing a twenty to the tattoo and hickey covered woman behind it. She was my oldest sister's age, but looked more like my meemaw.
Sadie nodded and pulled out two glasses. "That little city girl of yours can't handle the ghost?" she asked, filling up a glass with Ghost In The Machine, one of my favorite local IPAs.
I shook my head and smiled. "Naw, I think she may be hitting her limit. Maybe give her more Coke than rum."
Sadie filled up the glass and set it on the counter, looking over me. "Maybe she just needs some water, I think your girl may be about to get in a cat fight."
I turned toward where Sadie's eyes landed and saw Libby, swaying and leaning over a table. When I moved slightly to the left, my breath caught in my throat and it felt like all the air had been whooshed out of my lungs.
Julie.
My ex-girlfriend.
The one who ruined me.
I'd seen her earlier. The same girl who said she'd never set foot back in this Podunk town was now at my crew's hangout. Not only that, but she was talking to my girlfriend.
Before I could even approach them to see what the hell was going on, Libby turned around and staggered before her eyes fluttered and she hit the ground.
A crowd quickly gathered around her, but I pushed through them, kneeling down beside her. I thought she might have passed out, but she was still moaning and moving slightly. At least she was still conscious. I thought a sorority girl could probably drink me under the table, but I was wrong. Not everyone fit into their stereotypes, I guess, and that wasn't a bad thing. I didn't need a girl who was a drunk, but it would have been nice if she wasn't a rag doll.
"Someone needs to get this girl to a hospital," a random voice yelled.
"I'll take care of it," I grumbled, slowly helping her to a sitting position.
"Wow, Blaine, really moving up in the world."
I cringed, hearing Julie's voice. It used to be the voice that made my stomach do somersaults, now it just brought out a bunch of knots.
I put Libby's arm around my shoulder and slowly brought her to a standing position before turning to face Julie.
Julie was her usual prim and proper Southern belle self with her hair not a stitch out of place and the usual tease with her tanned cleavage on full display. But that wasn't what I was staring at. It was the scowl on her face. The one that was always there. The one that disapproved of everything I did, like I would never be good enough.
"Yeah, maybe she's had too much to drink. I'm going to take her home."
Julie nodded. "Yeah. That's probably a good idea."
I should have said something smart back. I should have asked why the hell she was even there, but instead I turned around and walked Libby out of the bar and into my truck.
I got Libby in with a little bit of effort and buckled her in as she leaned against the seat. She looked like she was sleeping peacefully with her head on the window instead of like she just passed the hell out.
I turned on my truck and headed toward town.
I should have taken her to the hospital or maybe called someone, but instead I found myself turning down a back road and pulling to the side of the road.
I hadn't smoked in forever. Libby didn't like it, but at that moment I needed something to calm my nerves. I cut the engine and rolled down the windows before pulling a pack of cloves out of my center console along with a lighter.
I sucked in the sweet taste of clove and nicotine and blew it out.
Fuck.
What the hell had I gotten myself into?
Once upon a time I thought Julie was my be all, end all.
We had grown up together. I'd watched her go from the gap-toothed girl on the monkey bars to the head cheerleader. She was my first everything. But she gave it up. As soon as she went away to college, she was done. It was like I was just another stepping stone on her life to being a future Stepford wife.
The night before she left for Ole Miss, I had a ring in my pocket. I didn't know if I wanted to get married then and I probably dodged one hell of a bullet by not pulling it out.
I just didn't want her to leave. All I'd known in life had been Elsbury, baseball, and Julie. Then she left. Guys usually didn't talk about things like heartbreak, but the girl fucked me up.
Libby stirred in the seat next to me and moaned softly. The moonlight shown in from the front windshield and bathed her in a soft glow. This beautiful girl was with me. This girl went and tried to stand up to the girl that fucked me over. Something I didn't even think was possible.
It may have been a dumbass move, but there was something I admired about it. She was willing to go the extra mile for me, something Julie would have never done.
Shit, I knew I was falling hard for this girl.
But I was also afraid that at the end of the summer she'd leave, just like Julie.
I'd be alone, again, and back in a spiral.
I couldn't get too close.
No matter how much I found myself falling just as hard for her.
***
"Hey, ain't that your girl?" Rico called, as I removed the last of the orange cones that separated the new road from the old one.
I looked up and saw her blonde wavy hair before the two bags in her hand as she slowly approached the road barrier.
"Yeah, it is," I said, putting the last of the cones in the truck.
"Man, your little mama looks even hotter while pregnant. Think she'd be up for some brown wood?"
I smacked Rico on the back of the head. "In your fucking dreams, man."
I didn't look back at him as I sauntered up to the barrier. "Hey, baby, what are you doing here? I thought you had class?"
She smiled, biting down on her bottom lip. "I did, but I just had to turn in my final paper and I was done, so I thought I'd bring you lunch. You know, my version of hunting."
I rubbed the back of my neck. "Yeah...about this morning..."
She shook her head and put her hand up. "Let's not talk about that right now. Can you take a break and eat with me? I got burgers and fries from Sam's."
I stepped around the barrier and took her hand. "That sounds great."
I opened the tailgate of my Blazer and we sat on the back. Usually I brought my lunch, but having something hot was much better.
"How much bacon did you get on these things?" I asked.
Libby giggled. "I've been craving it, sorry!"
I pinched her arm with my free hand. "No, I like it. I like when you eat, it provides nourishment for our little William Robert."
She wrinkled her nose. "You know we vetoed that name once my sister pointed out that it could be shortened to Billy Bob."
"Okay...then what do you suggest?"
She swung her legs back and forth and shrugged. "I don't know. We don't need to decide that right now."
"Yes we do. We've both put it off long enough. You're right, baby. I've been ignoring you for what I want to do, we should decide."
She blinked slowly, staring at me. "Who are you and what have you done with my husband?"
I laughed. "I'm right here, baby. Come on. Throw some names out at me."
She shook her head. "No, seriously, I've been a real bitch. You've been working your butt off while I sit at home and eat bacon."
I grinned. "I like it when you sit at home and eat bacon."
"Maybe after the baby is here we can talk about me working more hours...maybe I can pick up another job...then you wouldn't have to work as hard."
I put my hand on hers. "Let's not talk about that now. Let's worry about that after he's here. Now tell me some of those names I know you've been thinking of."
She smiled before slowly pulling her phone out of her purse. "Well, I
went through some baby name sites and found a few that I really liked."
"Okay. Lay them on me."
"We have...Noah, Cain, Daniel, Eli, Gabriel, Gideon..."
I grabbed her phone and looked at the list, which had to be at least fifty pages long. "Are these all bible names?"
She smiled. "Some. There are also celebrity baby names and some traditional Creole names."
I raised my eyebrows. "You want to give our baby a Creole name?"
She shrugged. "I figured it couldn't hurt to look."
I scrolled down the list. "Okay, some of these aren't too bad. I could probably live with an Abel or Andre, but not Baptiste."
She giggled. "Yeah, I was just adding some random ones in there."
"I think our boy needs a Creole name, but something traditional. Who knows, maybe someday he'll want to go to school in Chicago and marry a city girl."
"I don't know if little Gaston would want to go up north," Libby said.
I scrolled down the list again, stopping on one name that caught my attention. "Yeah, but Mathieu might."
Libby looked at the list. "Is that how it's pronounced? Like Matthew?"
I laughed. "How did you think it was?"
"Math-A-wee," she said, with an over-enunciated French accent.
I shook my head. "Naw, baby. It's like the traditional name and I like it. Mathieu Crabtree."
She smiled. "I like it too. A lot."
I glanced at her. "Did we just pick our baby's name?"
"I think we did."
I leaned in and kissed her gently.
"Hey, Crabtree, quit making out. Get back to work so we can head to Reesey's!" Jackson yelled and I cringed, pulling back to see Libby's wrinkled nose.
"What did he just say?"
I rubbed the back of my neck. "Well, Jackson and some of the guys were going to head to the pool hall after work today. The job's almost done and tomorrow will be a short day since it's the day before a holiday and they thought it'd be nice to celebrate a little. You know, unwind."
I was rambling and I knew it. She knew it too because the scowl on her face was pretty tight.
"And you weren't going to tell me? Just make me think you were working more overtime while you partied with your friends and I worked my ass off with swollen feet at my, you know, minimum wage job, as you called it."
"Baby, I was just upset when I said that, I didn't mean it," I said, keeping my voice low. The guys didn't need to hear us fighting; that would just add more fuel to the fire. They'd start yelling jabs and even after Libby left they'd give me shit.
"Obviously you did or you wouldn't have said it. Now, what, you're just going to go out with the guys and keep things from me? What else are you keeping from me?"
I winced and of course she caught it, folding her arms over her chest. "Seriously? Is there something else you need to tell me?"
I rubbed the back of my neck. "Well, I didn't want it to come out this way..."
She gritted her teeth. "Now it is, so just tell me."
"I got my assignment for my new job yesterday. It's the highway extension in New Orleans."
She blinked rapidly. "The one that's by the bridge?"
I nodded, swallowing hard. "Yeah. The foreman thinks it'll be a great opportunity for me to move up."
She nodded, looking down. "It probably is..."
"It's only an extra forty-five minutes to my commute and I'll make sure that I have all the time off I need when Mathieu is born. This could be great for us and our future."
I didn't know she was crying until she looked up and tears were streaking her cheeks. "You're going to be farther away from me. I barely get to see you now. When am I ever going to see you?"
I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close, as she pressed her face to my chest and sobbed while I rubbed her back. "It's okay, baby. We'll make it work. It's going to all work out."
But even as I said the words, I wasn't even sure myself how anything was going to work.
Chapter 5
After work I decided to stop by the grocery store. Libby was working at Dee's shop until close and after our scuffle that afternoon, I decided to surprise her with dinner.
The local grocery store was small and overpriced, but it did well in a pinch and it was better than driving another thirty minutes to something larger and better. I also had a thing about shopping local and supporting Elsbury.
I was a simple man, though, and my cooking ability was pretty limited. Basically, I knew how to put stuff on the grill and pour out a bag of salad mix into a bowl.
I sauntered down the produce aisle, scanning for the mixed bags of salad. They had to be somewhere.
"Hey, Blaine."
I winced.
That voice. One I was all too familiar with. A voice that the last time I heard it, had been when she was drunk at my wedding.
I put my hands up and stepped forward. Nikki had way too much bourbon and I knew when that happened she either got super angry or super horny. By the way she stood with her hands clenched into tight fists, I knew it was the former. "Now, I think you've had a little too much to drink. Why don't I go find Bubba to take you home?"
She swatted my hands and scowled. "No! I'm speaking the truth! Do you really think you're going to be happy? You're just marrying her because she's knocked up and now you have to go home to her bitching every night. You'll never get to go out with your friends. This is the end of the line, Blaine Crabtree and I hope you're happy with it."
I turned slowly to see her standing next to the display of watermelon. She was wearing a red employee polo and khaki shorts, her blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail and made her look more demure than the usual wild country girl I was used to.
We had a fling, I'll admit that. When Julie dumped me I made a lot of mistakes, and one of the big ones was jumping into bed with Nikki. I knew she'd always had a crush on me. Hell, she was Bubba's little sister who was always fishing or mudding with us. I never thought of her as an actual girl for the longest time, but she definitely was. And definitely the girl I didn't want to be around.
"I didn't know you worked here..."I said, my words trailing. If I would have known she did, I probably would have driven the extra thirty minutes.
"Yeah, Dad's business is kind of slow so I've been picking up a few shifts here stocking shelves."
I nodded. "That's cool. I mean, not about your daddy's shop being slow, but cool that you have another job."
She let out a deep breath then laughed. "Wow. This isn't awkward at all."
I shook my head. "It ain't awkward for me. I'm not the one who got drunk and made a scene at my wedding."
She scrunched her face as if I just slapped her then closed her eyes and sighed. "Yeah, I guess I deserve that. Sorry I fucked up and ruined your wedding."
"Nikki, you didn't ruin my wedding. Nothing could have. You know I'm with Libby, right? I'm going to stay with her. This isn't some fly by night relationship. I know I've been with a lot of other girls and hell, I know I probably hurt them in the process, including you, but this is different."
She shrugged. "If you say so."
"If you have something to say, Nikki, you can say it. I probably won't listen to it, but if I'm spitting some truth bombs, then you might as well fire back at me."
She shook her head. "It's just...you used to be carefree. Happy. You were always out with the guys, mudding, fishing, and hunting. Now you don't. You're always working or cooped up in your Meemaw's house doing God knows what. I just want you to be happy. Not because we had a fling, but because we're friends."
"I am happy," I said through gritted teeth.
I may have said the words, but I honestly wasn't sure. Yes, I loved Libby. Yes, I was happy that I married her. But I did miss my friends. I did miss going out without a care in the world. But I was older now. I had a family on the way. Those days were probably over forever.
She blew out a breath of air from between her teeth. "Well, if you're happy then I
guess I'm happy for you."
"Good."
She clasped her hands together. "Now that that awkward conversation is over with, can I help you find something?"
I laughed. "Yeah, point me in the direction of the premade salads."
***
I had dinner set on the table before Libby even came home. I had to admit that the fancy little gray bowls and serving dishes actually made the old farmhouse table look a tiny bit dressier.
I lit some candles and put them on either side of the tray of bacon wrapped filets that I picked up from the butcher. Aside from the bag of salad, I also picked up some bacon potato salad and bacon pork rinds, hoping that would satisfy her cravings. It also sounded disgusting, but they had a pint of maple bacon ice cream in the freezer section, so I threw that in the cart as well. I had to do something to apologize for my assholeishness.
The door creaked open and Libby's footfalls fell on the hard wooden floor before I heard her gasp as she entered the kitchen. "What is all of this?"
I put my arms around her waist and then pulled her toward the table. "Bacon feast for my favorite girl and little man."
"You cooked?" she raised her eyebrows.
I nodded. "Well, I grilled."
She giggled. "Yeah, I remember last time you tried to use the stove, you almost burnt down your mom's house."
"Hey! I'll learn! Eventually..."
"I should be the one cooking for you...hormonal, crazy, pregnant Libby kind of took over earlier."
I shook my head. "Naw, baby, you were only speaking the truth."
"No. I was out of line. You've been doing nothing but working long hours and taking care of me, you deserve some time with your friends. Hell, and if you want this job in the city, then do it. It'll be a great opportunity for all of us."
I raked my fingers through my hair. "I don't know. I may just tell the foreman it'd be better if I stayed around Elsbury."
She put her hand on my bicep. "Don't. If this is what you want to do, I'm going to support it. As long as you get the time off when Mathieu is born, I'll be here."