“Dude...where ya going?” Brandon, his often-baked roomie, asked him.
“I’m heading to Wyoming to do a job. I may be gone a few months,” he said. “The lease is up in two months, so I’ll pay my portion until then and store my stuff at my sister’s store.”
“Dude, I heard you took a dookie on the Doc’s lawn,” Brandon said through a half high gaze. “That was a shitty thing to do. I heard someone call you the MacTurdgular. You know, the MacBurgular who breaks in and leaves turds.”
Holden ignored Brandon and loaded his truck, taking the last bits of his stuff to his sister Janie’s store and shoving it in a back closet.
“Janie don’t like this. Janie don’t like it all,” Janie said to her younger brother.
“I took a dump on her front lawn, busted out her window, and evidently molested a garden gnome,” he said to her. “I need to get away for a minute.”
“Okay,” she said, looking at him forlornly. She and Holden had been through so much and grew up too fast in her opinion. He never smiled much, but his time with Tallulah, he’d been happy. The breakup was ugly. This side of her brother was ugly. It didn’t help that Tallulah was her sister-in-law and had complained constantly to Ethan, her husband, about Holden’s unfair treatment. Evidently, she had complained to the whole town who had turned on her brother. He was right. He needed to leave town.
“I’m going by to see Mom and Dad, then I am going to start driving,” he said. “I am taking my time getting there, to clear my head ya know.”
“Janie is missing you already,” she told him.
“I will miss you too, Sis,” he said as he kissed her cheek then climbed into his truck. He said nothing to his brother-in-law Ethan, who obviously was on Tallulah’s side in the entire matter. He appeared to be very pissed off and had warned Holden against the idea of him dating his sister from the beginning. Holden was several years younger than his sister with limited life experience. It was also bad juju. The idea of the two of them marrying left a bad taste in Ethan’s mouth. His brother-in-law would be his brother-in-law twice and their children would be cousin cousins. It felt incestuous.
Holden waved at Ethan as he put the truck in gear and started to drive. Everything he had worked for was shattered in one night, like that picture frame window. Ruined because he loved too hard.
“How did I get here?” Holden asked himself again as he drove up the interstate headed towards Atlanta. His journey with Doctor Tallulah Strom was a fast trip into a love so pure that he often thought it was all a silly dream his mind had created to help him deal with such an unusual existence in such a small town. He would not allow the tears to roll down his cheeks as he drove, as if hoping holding in the salty drops would also purge the woman from his system. I will not cry over that woman.
Time was what he needed.
Time is what he would take. He doubled-checked his GPS as it guided him towards Serenity, Wyoming. A little dot that wasn’t even on a map. A conversation with the Sheriff’s sister verified that they were building a town outside of Medicine Bow. They had loads of work for him, good pay, a bed to sleep in, and three hot meals a day.
“My brother speaks highly of you and your work,” Darlene Hill Wilstrom told him. “I can’t wait for you to get here and get started. You can stay the first night with us until we can get you settled over in Serenity.”
“Works for me,” he told her. “Serenity, here I come.”
Chapter Two- Opening the Circuit
The wedding of Ethan Strom and Janie Cimoc took place one Saturday afternoon at the Greater Mount Zion Baptist church. Naturally, the ceremony was officiated by the Reverend Doctor Henry Strom, who was also the groom’s father. It was a small intimate ceremony of family and friends, but Holden could not keep his eyes off of his newly acquired brother-in-law’s sister, Tallulah Strom, a pediatrician with legs that went on forever, a smile that could stop a beating heart and eyes that could make a blind man want to see. Initially, Holden believed it to be an infatuation. By the end of the reception, he knew it to be more.
Alice Cimoc, the mother of the bride was beyond emotional as she watched her oldest child walk down the aisle. The first time she met Ethan, she didn’t quite like him. The second time she met him in the same day, she appreciated his sense of humor as well as the playfulness he brought out in her Janie. She often worried about her second oldest, Holden. Only two years younger than Janie, he had a touch of OCD, which usually drove any woman he dated insane and left him single quite often. He was an odd young man, but so was his father. Alice was convinced the right woman would smooth out his rough edges, giving balance to the man.
Holden was beginning to think the right woman for him was Tallulah Strom. Her brother didn’t share his sentiment, but he didn’t care what Ethan thought. Besides, his hands were full with Janie, a new bookstore, and a new life. Holden wanted a new life, too. He wanted it with the good doctor. Planning and having a goal gave him purpose.
Goals.
A man had to have goals. Holden Cimoc’s new goal was to woo and win Tallulah Strom—starting today.
Henry Strom didn’t like what he was seeing. No matter where his daughter went, the greasy haired Cimoc man was always somewhere staring at her. Henry eyed the young man with interest before approaching him at the reception. The whole family was a curious oddity of hippies who seemed to not want to transition into the twentieth century because the twenty-first century seemed to be beyond them.
“Enjoying the view?” Henry Strom asked.
“It was a nice ceremony, Reverend. My sister has never looked lovelier and Ethan makes her happy,” Holden said to the man.
“What about you?”
“Me? I have my eye on your daughter, sir. In a year, I am hoping that it will be the two of us on that dance floor and you shaking my hand,” Holden said boastfully.
Henry remained still, eyeing the man. Holden stood at nearly six feet tall. Piercing blue eyes that seem to take in everything around him. Strawberry blond hair pulled into a ponytail and tied off with a strip of leather, Birkenstocks on his feet, a jacket that looked like it came straight off the rack at Goodwill, and a smile as bright as the sun. The only thing that stopped Henry from laughing at the young man was the determination in his eyes.
“How old are you Holden...is that your name?”
“Yes, Sir,” he said. “I am 27. A certified master electrician, an independent contractor; I have no children, nor do I have any debt, police records, or felonies.”
The laughter was so loud, half the room turned around to look at them. Especially Tallulah, who had noticed Holden watching her all afternoon. There was something about him which piqued her interest, but she would never... not even for fun.
“I like you, Holden,” Henry said.
“That’s good to know, sir, especially considering this time next year, I am going to be your son-in-law,” Holden said with a smile. “I do like to fish a bit as well, just so you know how we will be able to spend time together to get to know one another.”
“Good to know,” Henry responded. “I’m curious though, Holden. How do you think you are going to win a woman like my daughter? You two seem to have nothing in common.”
Holden turned to face the Reverend head on. Holden stood toe to toe with Henry just as he had with Ethan when they spoke about Ethan dating his sister. He wasn’t afraid of Ethan and he definitely wasn’t afraid of the father.
“That is the beautiful thing about relationships, Reverend. Too many people base them on commonalities. To me, in order for people to grow, they have to grow together by learning something new, not only about each other, but about life. I have lived a different life. My views on the world are going to be refreshing to the structured life your daughter has led. My take on relationships is unlike anything I am certain she has ever experienced and I will show her how to enjoy life,” Holden said with confidence.
“You don’t think she enjoys life?”
“I think,” Ho
lden said as he looked back at Tallulah, “she has worked hard to achieve a goal that I don’t believe she wants anymore.”
Henry looked over at his daughter. A minute ago she was smiling. Now she sat in a corner, nursing a cup of punch that she had not wanted but was given.
Is he seeing something that we have missed in our own child?
“Interesting,” Henry said. “What is your plan, future son-in-law?”
“I am going to take care of her. She takes care of everything and everyone else...I am going to take care of your daughter in a way that is going to make you proud to call me son-in-law,” Holden said to her father. He picked a spot of lint off the Reverend’s jacket, dusted the lapel with the back of his hand and gave the rest of the suit a visual once over. “Excuse me, Sir. I have some sadness to brush away in our girl.”
There was no response from Henry as he watched the young hippie walk over to his daughter. Holden’s back was rigid and his target was set as he zoned in on his prey. Hester Strom, Henry’s wife, walked over to her husband.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Waiting for the train to wreck,” he said.
“Honey, I think Janie’s brother has a thing for Tallulah. Do you see how he looks at her?”
“Oh he has a thing for her alright. He just told me he was going to be my son-in- law by this time next year,” Henry said.
“Isn’t he still in high school?”
“No, the other one, Jem, he is in high school,” he told her. “Meg is in college. There is one more right...the one that Tallulah had to make the house call for...what is his name?”
Henry pointed at the boy picking the shrimp out of the salad bowl. “Johnny, that one is the youngest.”
“Lawd Hammercy,” Hester said. “Chile, get your hands outta that salad bowl!”
Hester shook her head as Janie scolded her father, who had pulled out his bong to fire one up in the church basement. Hester looked at Alice, Janie’s mother, who appeared to have made her dress that morning but failed to put on undergarments under the pale pink dress. Each time she twirled, the visual of her butt crack shone through the thin material.
Hester’s hands were permanently clutched to her pearls the entire afternoon.
“Henry, I don’t know if I can handle these people. They are so different,” Hester said. Jem, the next to the youngest was questioning the guests on extra-terrestrial life forms being stored in the souls of crustaceans, which is why Johnny had been collecting the cooked babies, to return them to their masters. “I really think that youngest one there is special...and not in a good way. Why is he throwing the shrimp in the air asking them to fly and be free?”
“Lawd Hammercy,” Hester said again. “Chile, stop throwing that shrimp!” This time Hester moved in the direction of Johnny. The boy took off running, tossing the shellfish in the air. Someone had let in a stray cat who gobbled up the morsels from the floor before Hester had a chance to shoo the mangy animal out of the building.
Henry’s eyes were on Holden. The young man had reached his destination. His hand was extended and Tallulah accepted his request to dance. Confidence covered him as he led her onto the makeshift dance floor, hand in hand, pulling her behind him. Holden looked up, searching the room for Henry. He made eye contact with the good Reverend Doctor Strom and winked.
“Well, slap my bottom and call me Susie,” Henry said. Holden took his daughter into his arms, whispered something in her ear, and then he saw it. The very same thing Holden had said to him a minute ago, Henry physically witnessed her releasing something she was holding and leaning into his shoulder. Tallulah’s eyes were closed as the young man maneuvered her around the floor.
“I’ll be darned,” Henry said.
Chapter Three- Testing the Current
Tallulah hated weddings. It was a barbaric ceremony where women were given over to men so they could breed, buy property, and spend the rest of their lives making tuna casseroles on Tuesday nights. What truly chapped her hide was that every matronly relative in the room wanted to know when was she getting married. So many times she wanted to tell her Aunt Millie that she was a lesbian who planned to lick her way to the job of surgeon general, but each time, she would stop herself from being that big of an ass. It didn’t, however, stop Aunt Millie, whose big ass kept knocking things over when she walked past anything stationary. Earlier in the day, she witnessed the ass knocking over a small child who sat in the middle of the floor crying. When she went to help the child to his feet, the little boy recognized her as the mean lady who gave him a shot last week and screamed louder.
That was how she felt at this very moment listening to her patronizing big-butt aunt. She wanted to plop down in the middle of the floor and scream. She wanted to scream loudly and run out of the door like a crazy person just to get away.
“Tallulah, I keep telling you that medical degrees ain’t going to keep you warm at night. When you going to settle down and get married to a nice young man and have some babies?” Aunt Millie, her father’s youngest sister, asked.
This was followed by the same damned question from his oldest sister, the middle sister, her mother’s brother Uncle Ray, and she could not leave out her Grandma Ruth, who refused to talk to her about it anymore, but only gave her sad looks of pity when she walked by her at the singles’ table. Fifteen more minutes were all she had left to stay at the wedding of the weirdos. Her new sister-in-law was an odd duck who often referred to herself in third person. It didn’t help that her family lived in a trailer painted with peace signs and a yard full of garden gnomes. Those things creeped Tallulah out. Janie’s brother was also starting to give her the willies. No matter where she went, Holden’s eyes were always on her.
Holden was a nice looking guy, but he was too young for her. He also didn’t match. He was as wrong as those Birkenstocks he had on at a formal affair. She looked up to see Uncle Ray coming her way. Panic covered her face as she looked for an escape from the conversation from hell about his bunions. Holden spotted the look and made a beeline for her, arriving seconds before Uncle Ray. He said nothing as he extended his hand to her for a dance.
To Tallulah, it felt like a rescue. His hand was warm as her fingers slipped into it, following along behind him as he led her to the middle of the dance floor. He spun her around once and pulled her into an embrace. In her ear he whispered, “Lean into me, close your eyes, and let’s float.”
The Floaters sang in the background from an mp3 player since neither Janie nor Ethan wanted a DJ in the church. Tallulah enjoyed the feel of his arms around her as he gently guided her through the song. Holden had an unusual smell about him that tickled her nose, yet she found it arousing at the same time.
Girl, it has been too long if this hippie is getting to you.
The song had come to an end, but her eyes were still closed and she was holding on to him.
“Tallulah, the song has ended,” he whispered into her ear.
“Oh, I’m so sorry,” she said to him, patting on his strong arms.
“Don’t be,” he responded. He took her left hand, isolated the ring finger, and kissed it. In her right hand, he placed his business card. “Thank you for the dance.”
Her left hand also tingled where his lips had touched the skin. She looked at her hand then at him, back to her hand and then at him. She was trying to understand why he kissed her ring finger.
“I want you to always remember that the first thing I put on that finger was a kiss,” he said to her. “The next thing I put on it will be rubies.”
“Holden, right?” she asked.
He stopped and moved closer to her.
“Don’t pretend like you don’t know my name or who I am,” he said to her.
“I wasn’t...I just wanted to make sure I got it right, that’s all,” she said with a smile. When she smiled at him, his mouth dropped open.
“Good Lord you are stealing my heart, Tallulah Strom, when you smile at me like that,” he said to her.
Tallulah blushed furiously.
“Are you blushing?” he asked as his callous-tipped finger touched her cheek. “Absolutely adorable.”
Without warning or even asking permission, Holden wrapped her in an embrace, hugging her closely to him, the heat of his body sending electrical currents of yummy through Tallulah as she grabbed on, clinging to him. As quickly as the embrace began, he stepped away.
“Call me if you need me,” Holden said to her. She watched him walk away to gather his family to take them home to their hippie trailer and waiting gnomes. She looked at the card in her hand.
Holden Cimoc, Master Electrician.
229-Ele-Tric
Nothing else. Only his name and a phone number.
“Why would I need to call him?” she asked and stuck the card in her pocket. He was missing the C in electric she noted.
Arrogant. Won’t be calling him ever.
A week later, the silly misspelling of electric is what made her remember the number when the fuse box in her office blew. She needed an electrician and fast. She dialed the number hoping to get the master himself and not one of his assistants, if he had any. Holden answered on the third ring.
“Holden, this is Tallulah Strom; I need you,” she said breathily. There were samples and specimens in the cooler that had to go to the lab. If those were ruined, so would be the case for study she was working on under a grant. “Please hurry.”
“It is after hours, Dr. Strom. There’s an additional fee on top of the service call,” he told her.
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