The Perfect Cast

by T. K. Chapin

  “I don’t care about your girlfriend.”

  Brandon glared at Roy. “You best put on your Christian hat there buck-a-roo, or you might just lose your footing as the man of God you claim to be.”

  “If perfection was required, Jesus wouldn’t have had anything to die on the cross for. I try my best, and I’ll be damned if I will let you walk all over me and treat me as a doormat.”

  “Relax, old man. I’m not your enemy. I’m here for my kids. They need their father, and you know that.”

  Roy couldn’t argue with Brandon on the matter. He knew he was right. The kids were heartbroken about their dad being off the grid, and it meant the world to them that he had shown up. Shoving his own personal feelings aside, Roy decided to make the most of it. “Well, I’m going to make you work while you are here at least. My farmhand is gone, and I need the barn roof re-shingled.”

  Brandon looked up. “You’ve been talking about doing the roof for a while…”

  “Yep… It’s real now though. I have the shipment of shingles arriving on Friday.”

  “Okay…” Brandon replied. “I’ll help with the chores around the farm too.” Roy knew he’d agree. He wasn’t one of Roy’s favorite people in the world, but the guy knew how to work. He had helped early in Tiffany’s and his relationship around the farm. He was constantly trying to impress Roy back when they were courting. Roy suspected it had partially been about impressing him and partially about the chunk of life he missed out without a father in his early years growing up.

  “Are you going to tell them the truth?” Roy asked again finishing up with the calf. Coming over back to Brandon, Roy climbed out of the stall. He felt tired from jumping the stall and even slightly pained, but he wasn’t one to put comfort over responsibility. “They deserve to know it wasn’t Tiffany who left the marriage.”

  “How do I explain that?” Brandon asked taking a swig of his beer. “They look up to me so much…”

  “That’s a door you have to walk through kid,” Roy replied glaring at Brandon’s bottle. “Being drunk and here doesn’t constitute being a father.”

  Brandon looked at his bottle and didn’t say a word. His long face and lack of words indicated to Roy that he took it to heart.

  Coming out of the barn, they found Levi walking and back down the driveway.

  “Who’s that?” Brandon asked.

  “Levi!” Roy said, as he tried to catch him.

  “I have to go. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have been here,” Levi said glancing Roy in the eyes for a moment before continuing down the driveway.

  “Hold on son,” Roy said. “I thought you weren’t going to be here?”

  Levi stopped and looked at Roy, then over his shoulder back up at Brandon. “I’m not. But I don’t leave until the morning, I thought I’d come check on Rose… the calf… once more before splitting.”

  Roy could tell Levi was upset from what he must have heard them discussing in the barn. “You can’t tell Jess.”

  “Tell her what? I didn’t hear anything.” Levi’s lip tightened. “I gotta go.”

  Roy grabbed Levi’s arm. “I’m serious… I know how it is to be a kid and how emotions can overwhelm you… It’s not your place to tell Jess.”

  “I’m leaving at dawn. Your secret is safe with me. I won’t tell.”

  “You promise?” Brandon asked, walking up to the two of them.

  Levi glared at him. “I said I won’t. My word is my bond.” Levi turned around a made his way quickly down the driveway and over the bridge out of sight.

  “That boy has a thing for Jess, doesn’t he?” Brandon asked, looking over Roy’s shoulder and watching Levi as he left.

  “You need to tell them,” Roy said, ignoring Brandon’s question. Walking away, Roy went back up to the farmhouse and began to prepare dinner.

  Chapter 27 ~ Levi

  Getting back to his own house, his brothers and his friends were all out by the bonfire they had built an hour earlier. Approaching, Chris came up and put his arm around him.

  “Didn’t go so well, I take it?”

  Levi shook his head. Looking Chris in the eyes, Levi said, “I’m sorry about earlier and our little fight, dude.”

  “No need to apologize. We’re guys, all water under the bridge, I’m glad you called and invited me and Billy over.”

  “Thanks for understanding,” Levi smiled. Bo came over and handed him a bottle of ice-cold cola.

  “Push that little chicky out of your head, Levi, and kick it with us all once more tonight before you head out to Nashville.” Levi grabbed the bottle and popped the cap off.

  “You’re right,” Levi replied as he walked over to the bonfire and looked up at the night sky. The moon and stars shone down and lit the fields around his parent’s property. He felt happy, and he was glad to have so many family and friends who supported him in his dream of Nashville. “Nights like these are the ones I’ll hold on to forever.”

  “Sounds like a line to a new song,” Elly said.

  Levi smiled at her.

  “What’s Jess doing?” she asked.

  “I’m not sure, I went over there, but didn’t see her.”

  “I’m going to go see if she wants to come over,” Elly said. She got up from her milk crate she had been sitting on in front of the fire and kissed Chris goodbye before heading out to her truck.

  That evening, Levi’s brothers and all his friends sat around the bonfire and told stories that they had, all which involved him. Listening to his friends talk about the good times they had with him warmed his heart. He knew these memories and lives would still go on, even if he ended up getting a deal in Nashville. He hoped to find success in Nashville, but he knew it was only one audition, and he planned on jetting back pretty quickly if it fell through. Everyone suspected this was it for Levi though, he’d be going on to bigger and better things than little old Chattaroy.

  Chapter 28 ~ Jess

  “What did you do to fix it?” Henry asked looking up at Jess.

  “Just powered it off and back on. That seemed to do the trick. Do you turn it off very often?”

  “Nope, not really… I figured I didn’t need to if I closed out of the apps.”

  “Should still power it off and back on every once in a while.”

  Jess got up from the kitchen table and poured herself a glass of milk. Sitting back down, she looked out the window to see her grandpa and dad still in the barn with the light on.

  Someone suddenly pulled into the driveway and over the bridge. Glancing out to the driveway beyond the yard and trees, she didn’t recognize the truck.

  Going outside, she walked the sidewalk to be greeted by Elly getting out of her truck. “Hey, Jess!” Elly shouted as she shut her door.

  “Hey…” Jess said. Glancing over to the barn, she continued, “What are you doing here?”

  “I was just up the road at Levi’s place.”

  “Really? How come?” Jess asked suspiciously.

  “I was there with Chris for a get together… he didn’t tell you they were building a bonfire?”

  Jess shook her head. “I didn’t know anything about it…”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I had a really good time with Levi earlier… It’s weird he didn’t invite me.”

  “He tried coming over earlier to invite you.”

  “Odd, I didn’t see him…”

  Elly shrugged. “I don’t know what happened with that, but you should come over and hang out. All of Levi’s friends are wishing him farewell.”

  “Nah, it’s fine. I’ll skip it, kinda sounds like a friends type of thing anyways.” It wasn’t fine though. Jess’s thoughts swirled about in her head. Was the day just a waste? Just a quick fling before he got out of town? She began to wonder if he wasn’t the guy she was led to believe earlier in the day, but instead just another typical guy she was accustomed to.

  Either way, it didn’t matter, and she needed to take her mind away from Levi. Hearing noise come
from the barn where her dad and grandpa were at, she turned to Elly and said, “You should come see this calf I’ve been taking care of.”

  “ Alrighty,” Elly replied. Jess took Elly out to the barn and Roy and her father Brandon exchanged introductions with her.

  “I had no idea you already made friends,” Roy said.

  “Yeah… I don’t really sit around and brag about meeting people,” Jess replied. Leaning over the stall, Jess pointed out Rose to Elly. “I’ve been bottle-feeding her since she can’t latch onto her momma.” Jess looked over to see a beer in her dad’s hand. Jess glared at him in frustration that he was drinking. She had seen him drink on occasion, but only when he was upset or there was a celebration.

  “Calm down Jess, I’m celebrating the fact I’m here.”

  “Ha. Okay.” Jess turned and led Elly back out to the farm.

  “What was that about?” Elly asked catching up to Jess’s quick pace. “That thing with your dad?”

  “My parents had a split a little while back and my dad never drinks unless he’s upset or it’s a holiday. I just worry about him since mom left him, maybe he’s become a drunk.”

  “Ahh… I see.” Elly grabbed her arm, stopping her out in the middle of the driveway just outside the garage. “Jess… Can I say something and you promise not to be upset?”

  “Guess that depends on what comes out of your mouth, doesn’t it?”

  “Yeah, I suppose… Basically, I just don’t want you hurt and you seem pretty attached to Levi. He’s going to Nashville and I wanted to make sure you’re okay…”

  “Of course I’m okay. He’s going to Nashville and I’m leaving after the summer is gone. I didn’t expect anything to come out of today, it was just fun and I liked it.”

  “Ok just making sure. You seemed to be swooning over him, and the look in your eyes when you talked about him had me worried.”

  “Okay, well I appreciate it, I really do. I’m kinda with Clint though, so it doesn’t matter. Levi’s not an issue, promise.”

  “Okay, good.”

  “I’m going to head back to Levi’s.” Elly hugged Jess. “I’ll see you around.”

  Jess smiled as Elly got back into her truck. She might have not known Elly for very long, but she was glad to have someone that had her back and cared about how she was doing.

  Chapter 29 ~ Levi

  Tossing and turning that night, Levi awoke with his nerves on edge an hour before his alarm clock went off. Four in the morning was far too early, even for a country boy who woke up with the chickens.

  Hanging his head in the toilet in the bathroom down the hall from his bedroom, he dry heaved for twenty or so minutes. He had never been so nervous before in his life, but he knew he had to take the step he was about to take, and If he didn’t, he’d always wonder ‘what if.’ That’d be torture.

  Leaving at about six-thirty in the morning after his chores, Levi was able to make it to Spokane International Airport and through security by eight, just thirty minutes before his flight. Sitting in the waiting area for his flight to Nashville, he pulled out his notebook, and began to write.

  Dear Jess,

  Hi.

  Ripping the page out from his notebook, he crinkled it up. That was a horrible way to start a letter. It was too cliché. It was similar to starting with you woke up when asked to describe your day, of course you woke up, and it is what every human has done since the dawn of humanity.

  Dear Jess,

  I love you.

  Ripping another page out from his notebook, he crinkled it up. That was far too forward. She had no idea of how he felt about her and he couldn’t just put that down in a letter, they hadn’t even known each other for very long. Those words were reserved for just the right moment, when the moonlight was reflecting off a beautiful lake or just before a sunset. It wasn’t something to be written while sitting at an airport.

  “Now boarding, Flight 104 for Nashville, Tennessee,” a woman’s voice said over the intercom. Time to say goodbye to all the good times and the bad, time to set sail for the future and try not to be sad, Levi smiled as he jotted down his thought. That could make a sweet verse for a song.

  Levi looked up and saw people beginning to line up at the gate that led out onto the plane. Shoving his notebook back into his back pack, Levi got into line.

  His brow beaded with sweat as his hands became jittery from nervousness. This was the opportunity he had been waiting for, a chance with the stars in Nashville. He had an open invite to perform before a record label looking for new and upcoming talent. He had already been performing around Chattaroy and Deer Park in the local venues, and even had a spot on one of the stages during Hoop Fest, but this was the big leagues. This was Nashville, the city that would chew you up and spit you out quicker than you could even begin to sing the first line if you didn’t have the talent.

  He was excited, but fearful of what would become of him if he were to be rejected. He felt certain he’d be tossed to the curb since even the greatest legends of country music had faced several years of rejections before making it big. He didn’t care though; he needed to do this for his sister Emmie. She had believed in his music and loved it dearly, even in the beginning stages, when he was just learning to play. She was only eight at the time, but she would sit at his feet and admire every strum of the guitar and every word he’d sing.

  After Emmie died, Levi put his guitar away. He didn’t want to play; it was too difficult, too painful and downright unbearable. Then one night, six months after her passing, she came to him in a dream and told him to play again. He felt she had really come and visited him, maybe as an angel, or maybe just as a part of his subconscious, but regardless, he was going to never stop playing again.

  Finding his way onto the plane, Levi came to the seat that was marked on his ticket. Placing his guitar in the overhead compartment, he took a seat next to a pretty blonde girl that looked to be about his age.

  “Hello miss,” he said politely offering her a hand.

  “Hi,” she grinned shaking his hand. “… I saw your guitar.”

  Levi nodded as he sat down.

  “What kind of music do you play?”

  “Country. I feel that country can capture the heart and soul of humanity like no other music really can.”

  “Wow… that’s deep. So are you going to Nashville to make it big?”

  “That’s the hope.” Levi motioned a flight attendant over to him. “Could I get a pillow for my head?”

  “Yes,” the flight attendant replied, leaving for a moment.

  “My brother Rex…” the stranger said. “He moved out to Nashville with a dream, and ended up bartending temporarily while he’s waiting for his big break. He’s been doing that for five years now.”

  Levi felt disheartened by the woman’s story. Five years? He didn’t even know if he cared about playing music professionally enough to stay there for a couple months, let alone five years. He adjusted in his seat and nodded politely at the woman.

  “Well, I won’t be there that long.”

  Pulling out his notebook, Levi attempted to write another letter to Jess.

  Jess,

  I can’t stop thinking about our time together… it’s on my mind like a movie clip, replaying over and over. I’m writing this to you on my way to Nashville. I really like you, Jess, and care about you. I just wanted you to know you mean a lot to me.

  Levi

  He was okay with this version and tore it out nicely from the notebook. Folding it in half, then again, and once more, he then shoved the paper into his back jean pocket.

  “That was a cute note,” the girl sitting next to him said.

  “Thanks,” Levi said looking around strangely. How rude is that? Just reading my letter.

  “I’m Vanessa, what’s your name?”

  “Levi.”

  “Tell me Levi… do you write your own music?”

  “I have.”

  “Can I hear some of it?”

 
; Levi shook his head. “I don’t know if I feel comfortable doing that… I’m sorry.”

  “At least tell me a part of a lyric. I’m a music lover myself.”

  He figured there couldn’t be harm in sharing a little piece of his music. So he scrolled through his songs in his head and landed on one called, The Perfect Cast. “Sitting, waiting, wishing, hoping… Just thinking about that night. The stars were out and everything just felt right…”

  “That’s cute,” the girl smiled as she leaned in. “Can you write me a song?”

  “No, I can’t just write you a song.” The girl placed her hand on his arm. “Excuse me?” Levi said pulling himself back from her.

  “What’s your problem? Am I not attractive?”

  “You’re very attractive, but you read that letter; you should have been able to tell I’m interested in someone.”

  “I read it… but she isn’t on this plane. I figured…”

  “Figured what? You are crazy.” The flight attendant returned with his pillow. “Can I change seats?”

  “Is there a problem?” the flight attendant asked.

  The strange girl sitting next to Levi leaned over his lap. “We’re fine. Nothing’s wrong.” The attendant left, and Levi looked at her, confused. “Relax… I will leave you alone, jeez.”

  “Thank you,” Levi said with a quick nod. Relaxing his head, Levi leaned back into the pillow and began to quickly fade to slumber. With such a restless night, he was finally able to find sleep aboard the plane.

  Chapter 30 ~ Jess

  Waking up early to the buzzing of her alarm clock didn’t bother Jess. She was excited her father was only a few paces away, downstairs asleep on the couch. Leaping out of bed, she ran downstairs to wake him.

  “Dad…” she said tugging on his shoulder. “Time to wake and feed the animals.”

  Rolling over, her dad let out a heavy sigh as he blinked open his eyes. “That time already?” He said with a grin. “Could you put on some coffee?”