by Lauren Wood
“You are going to have to make time for Sherry. I haven’t seen her all year and it would be nice to have both of my kids back in one place. You know that she is never here long. Don’t you miss your sister?”
Here comes the guilt and I knew I was going to be lost in it if I didn’t find some reason quickly why I couldn’t come. “I do miss her, but she is going to be back for a while I though. Isn’t she taking off a little time before she goes back? Besides, I was supposed to meet Rex later.”
“Well tell him to come over. I haven’t seen him in a while either. I never see you since you moved to the city. I hope that Sherry doesn’t do the same thing. You guys go off to college and don’t come back. You are supposed to come home after you get your degree.”
“I had to go where the money was. No one around here wants to pay anything, so unless you want me pumping gas at the station, there isn’t anything for me here.”
She was rocking back and forth in her wooden rocking chair, a tea in her hand. The porch afforded a good view and mom was enjoying the breeze. What I didn’t understand was why everything had to come down to this. Why was it that she couldn’t see it was miserable in this small town for anyone under the age of fifty? There were no jobs, no people that I really wanted to hang around. Hartford had always been the kind of place that you wanted to leave. It didn’t matter how you got there, it wasn’t an end game place. It was a jumping off place for me and I didn’t want to ever get back to the slow life that I had here. I preferred the fast-paced life that I had made for myself in the city.
“I know son. I just wish you were closer and weren’t so busy…”
“I will try to come out more. The drive isn’t so bad.”
She smiled to herself and we both knew that she had won. Mom got what she wanted by her gentle suggestions because Sherry and I knew that it was her way of manipulating us to do what she wanted. Even though we knew about it, it didn’t change the effectiveness of her tactics after all of these years.
“Good I would like to see you more and for once I would like both of you kids to be home at the same time. We will have dinner. I miss that. If you guys would start having kids of your own, I would have grandkids to keep me occupied.”
“Okay, you win. I will stay till Sherry gets back, but I am not talking to you about grandkids. I don’t even have a steady girlfriend right now, so that is going to have to wait.”
“What about Tina? She seemed like a nice girl.”
I chuckled to myself and shook my head. Tina was a great lay and sucked me off like her life depended on it, but she wasn’t really the type that I would want to marry, if there was even such a thing out there. She was a rebound and I had only mentioned her before to avoid a similar conversation about my love life. It was never what I wanted to have with my mother.
“It just didn’t work out. I am only twenty four. No one that I know is married yet. It is better to find the right one, isn’t it?”
“I guess, but don’t wait too long. I am getting old and your father has five years on me. I would like to see them before I leave this world.”
I smiled at her and shook my head. It was hard to be aggravated with her and at this moment I just couldn’t be. She got her way, she always did and there was nothing that I could do about it. I was told by those who knew us both, that I got that specific trait from her. Not even the devil could refuse me. Well she was the one person that I couldn’t convince.
“Okay, well then I have a couple of calls to make and then I am going to go pick up Rex.”
“Just be back for dinner. I will make your favorite.”
She was bribing me with food now. Roselyn would use anything in her power and since she had always been a great cook that had always been on the blackmail list. I couldn’t say no to her lasagna and she knew it.
“I will be here by six. Dad will be home around then, right?”
Rosalyn nodded her head. “Like clockwork. I wish you would get something like that so that I would know where you were and when to expect you.”
“Okay mom, I got to go. I will be back in a little bit.”
I got off of the porch before I was pulled into something else. I really needed to get back to the city like now, but I was just going to have to wait and see how it went. There was no getting out of dinner and then I would see Sherry. Sherry was like my mom. She would rope me into something. It was what she had done before heading across the country for college. I doubted that anything had changed. The only difference I seen in the summer when she was back was that she was more annoying than usual.
Getting in my little red car, I peeled out of the driveway, but not enough to turn an eye from the older woman on the porch. She would tell me if she thought I was being too rowdy. I looked back in my rearview mirror and I swear that I could see the scowl on her face.
Sighing to myself, I thought about just not going back, but I knew better. I knew that the next time I seen her there would be consequences. It was just one dinner, right? I would be in and out in no time. Rex and I would just have to drive in when it was all over. I had business that had to be taken care of tonight, one way or another. If not, I would have to figure it all out when I got back. I hated to leave the club unattended for too long, especially on a Saturday night. It was like asking for trouble.
Chapter 2
Rex
“How the hell did I know that I would find you here Rex with some hot female on your arm?”
I looked over to Charlie and shook my head. “Because you have the worst timing as always and there is only one bar in this whole town. Where the hell else would I be but here trying to get a taste of the local fare? It has been a while since I found one as sweet though.”
The woman next to me giggled, liking the attention and it told me more tha anything that she was the kind of girl I was looking for.
“True. And who do we have here?”
He was looking from me to the hot little blonde that I had just met by the name of Candy. I was sure that it wasn’t her real name, but it didn’t matter. The woman was sweet and I was feeling like some sugar. Candy would do just fine. Plus she wanted to be a dancer and make it famous in Chicago, so who was I to kill her dreams? We owned a club in Chicago and were always looking for new girls. All of the girls had other aspirations, just waiting for that one shot. Candy wanted to be an actress someday. For now she would do just fine getting naked on the stage.
“She wants to come with us back to the club. This is Candy and she wants to dance for us Charlie. I told her that she has what it takes, don’t you think she does? Nice little body and a cute face. I think the guys will pay well to see her naked. Wouldn’t you?”
He looked her up and down and I could see a slight gleam in her eyes. “Yes, I can see that, but this is not really a good time for bringing in more girls. We have to go back for dinner at my house before we leave. Roslyn isn’t going to let us go without sharing dinner there and waiting on Sherry to come in. She said you are to come too, so I am here to pick you up. Don’t mean to get in the way of your fun which I am no doubt sure you are about to have with this lovely young lady.”
I wasn’t going to argue with Charlie’s mom, especially if there was cooking involved. Since me and Charlie had been friends for years, I had always loved her cooking. But he was right about what I was there for. I wanted to slide into this woman immediately. I didn’t want to wait, but I would. My mom was long gone and I didn’t even remember her, so Charlie’s mom had always invited me over for holidays. Rosalyn made me feel welcome and I was unable to refuse her.
“Well she gets what she wants.”
“Yes she does. Maybe you can pick up your little friend later on our way out? We can always use another beautiful face at the club Candy and yes, you have what it takes. I am sure many men are going to lose a lot of money trying to get on your good side.”
She giggled and seemed to take a minute to follow the conversation, but reacted properly soon enough. She was pretty, bu
t she sure the hell wasn’t that smart. It was about how I liked them. Less thinking was always good for less headaches. When I made it clear that I was about to head out, I gave her my number and told her to get some things together for the trip. I also promised that I was going to make her scream tonight when all was said and done.
“We have a few apartments in the city and you can share with one of the other girls. I think this is going to be a good change for you Candy. Chicago is a beautiful city with all kinds of opportunities for hot women like you.”
She beamed at me and then kissed me on the lips before going off to do as I asked. I wasn’t too into her, but she was exactly what the guys were looking for back at home and I was always quick to try out the new girls. I had a hankering for the blonde and I would get it out soon enough. It was a win-win situation. Those were the best kinds.
“I see it didn’t take you long to find a friend Rex. I can’t say that you did bad. That little bitch is hot and looks like she is ready to go down on you under the table.”
“She already offered to do just that.”
The look on his face was one of pure joy. “She will be good to have around. I may have to change my stance on diddling with the help.”
“These broads are dying to get out of this town and are willing to do anything to do it. She was hot to trot the moment I laid my eyes on her. Those tits were calling to me. I didn’t think that I was going to do any hiring while I was here. But can you blame me?”
Charlie nodded that he couldn’t. “All I wanted to do was get the hell out of here when I was younger. There is even less to do here if you are a woman. I think anyone with half a brain wants to go somewhere new. I still don’t see what you see in these little towns and why you like come back here with me.”
“I like the women. They aren’t near as suspicious and shifty as they are in the city. They are wholesome and pure. Here they just want to be happy and please you in any way they can. In the city they want everything you have. Candy is naïve and sweet. She will get to Chicago and change, but for now she has that new car smell that I like so much. I really like turning those kinds of girls naughty. Hell, Candy is halfway on her way. Her legs were wide open and she stuck my hand up there. The chick was dripping wet and didn’t have a stitch of underwear on.”
He laughed at me. “I bet she didn’t.”
It was easy for Charlie to say, he had everything that he wanted or a contentment that I couldn’t match. Me, I was still looking for that good girl that I can turn bad. There wasn’t a lot of that in the city, but I didn’t have the patience to find one anywhere else, not when there were girls like Candy to keep me busy.
I finished up my drink and got on my bike to follow Charlie back to his house. I had always liked his family and I was thankful that they were always so nice to me. It was like going home, even though it wasn’t my blood family. I was good to see that normal still existed, somewhere.
The house smelled great and I moved into the kitchen when we got back. That is where Rosalyn was going to be and where all of the good food she cooked would be as well. The longer I was there, the hungrier I became.
“Hey Mrs. Rose.”
She smiled at me and waved me off. “Just call me Rosalyn Rex. You used to call me mom years ago. It is strange to hear you call me Mrs. Anything.”
It was a show of respect and I felt too old to still call her mom. I had when I was younger though, because it was the closest thing that I had ever known to one and she hadn’t seemed to mind.
“Well I am too old to call you ma and Rosalyn just seems too formal.”
The older woman smiled and pushed her black hair off of her shoulders. “Well we certainly can’t be formal around here, now can we? You turned out to be a fine boy Rex. I always knew that you would be. Now if you and Charlie could find you a couple of girlfriends to marry and settle down with, then I would be happy.”
Charlie walked in around that time and told me not to listen to her. “She is trying to get us to have her some kids. Don’t listen to her. Mom, the deal was off the table for grandchildren tonight, remember? Sherry will be here in a little while and you can hound her for some. She is going to have a better chance of it then we are.”
Rosalyn just sighed out loud, very loudly so that we would both know her displeasure. “Sherry isn’t the one that is always out. She is going to college. You two are the ones in the city, out every night. Every time I go up there, there is a new girl for me to meet. I think that I should put my faith in you two first.”
I had to chuckle at her, even though Charlie was looking like he wanted to melt into the floor. He was embarrassed, but it was nothing different than what I was used to. Rosalyn had no qualms to say something like that in front of me or anyone else.
I steered the conversation away from what was making his face red and tried to ignore the look of anguish in my friend’s face. He really hated coming home, but I always liked to come back here and remember what family was supposed to be like. To a guy like me, this back and forth was as close to family as I got.
Chapter 3
Sherry
The flight was late and it took almost twenty minutes to even find a taxi. There was a line of them, but no one willing to drive all the way to Hartford. I had to pay extra to get the two hour ride covered. It seemed like they would be happy for the higher ride, but not so. It was the drive back with no running clock that was hard to stomach. There certainly wasn’t going to be anyone in Hartford looking for a cab ride.
Finally I got a nice guy like Steve to make the trip for me. He was tall and older, but handsome. He had a dimple in his chin when he smiled and he made me feel better about finally getting home. Steve was my savior for the time being.
“Thanks, you don’t know how many people I had to ask before I got to you. No one was willing to take the drive.”
“I saw you walking down the line. I was curious when you got to me what your game was going to be. It was not at all what I had expected.”
“No game. I just need to get home and I didn’t want to drive all the way down. I don’t know why I thought getting a cab to make the trip was going to be so hard.”
“At this time of night, it is slim pickings that will go out of the city. You couldn’t have someone pick you up?”
“Not this late at night. I missed my flight, so I didn’t want to keep anyone up. You know how people are from small towns. They go to bed at eight.”
He chuckled and I saw his dark brown eyes looking at me through the rearview mirror. I wasn’t unused to that sort of attention, but we were going to be stuck in this car together for a while and I didn’t want to appear like I was trying to come on to him. My openness got me in quite a bit of trouble and I was trying to be good.
“Yes, I was raised in a small town in Ohio.”
Steve pulled into traffic and I was able to relax a little bit because his attention was no longer on me, it was on the traffic around us. The city was bustling and even if I had the time to drive down, I never did get the knack of driving in bumper to bumper traffic. It was chaotic and I preferred something a little slower. Steve was used to it though, so I was able to calm down a little bit and enjoy the ride. It wasn’t long before Chicago was behind us and we were on our way across the state lines to Michigan.
The scene outside of my window never seemed to be something that I could get tired of. It was just so pretty and I tried hard to think of it as anything else but magical. I missed home and the reasons why were right outside the glass in front of me.
Seasons changed and instead of the wet, rainy weather I left behind in Seattle, the air here was dry and crisp. Leaves of all colors were on the trees and underneath them, scattered all over to create a collage of color. It was days like this that I missed my home more than anything else. I didn’t come home much because I would get so homesick every time. I would get to missing my family, as well as just the area around me. I missed the fall here the most. It was the prettiest time of yea
r.
“So how long has it been since you have been home? You look like it has been a while.”
“It has been almost a year. I come back in the summertime when I am off of classes last year.”
“What are you studying for?”
“Biology.”
He crinkled his nose up, like a scientist?”
I nodded my head and smiled at his response. It was hard not to get the same reaction all of the time. It was like girls weren’t supposed to be scientists. That or they were picturing me in one of those white vests. It didn’t seem to be hard to stump most people.
“Huh, you must be one of those smart broads.”
“I guess so.”
He looked far less interested and that wasn’t something that I was unfamiliar with either. It was the way of things. I was hot until a guy realized that I wasn’t the cheerleader type. Dating had been interesting since I changed my major from communications. It seemed like the more down my path I was the harder it was to find a guy that I wanted to share it with. Not that Steve was an option, but the way he reacted reminded me that it wasn’t smooth sailing from here.
He rode for a while in silence. It was peaceful and I was able to see the lights going down for the day and the beautiful colors that the sun gave off. If I didn’t know any better, I would have thought that the leaves and the sun were competing against each other. I couldn’t say which one was winning.
“We’re here?”
“Huh?”
My head was leaned against the door and I realized that I must have dozed off in those few moments with no sound but the hum of the engine.
“We are here Sherry. Your directions were perfect.”
I looked up at my childhood home and smiled to myself. It was good to be home and all I wanted to do was get inside and get some rest. It had been many hours of traveling and I was ready to stay still for a time. It was hard to do that when I was always on the go, but now school was over and I had time to decide what was next. I had just finished up my bachelors and I was taking some time off before I tried to conquer a master’s degree. This was the long overdue break that I needed. Not sure where it was going to take me yet, but all I could think about now was drinking some tea on the front porch and watching the leaves fall. It would be a long time, years even that I had been able to do that. Every time I was here, it was either summer or a short stint in the winter for the holidays.