Small Town Tango

by Jennifer LeJeune

  “You did?” he asks.

  “Yup.”

  “Why would you do that?” he asks.

  “Because you have made me realize that I need to live for myself a little bit more, be more spontaneous and not worry so much. I need to take some time for myself every now and then to relax and have my own life. Don’t get me wrong, it feels great helping others, but sometimes I think that I spend so much time helping others that I forget to help myself.”

  “How did I make you realize that?” asks Bo.

  There is a long sigh. “By showing up here being the complete opposite of me, but at some point since you have been here I saw a change in you. You don’t want to be who you are being and I don’t want to be who I am being. I mean I do, but it just needs a little tweaking, and maybe we can help each other with that.”

  “You know, they say opposites attract,” says Bo.

  “Do they now?” she replies.

  Suddenly, there is a loud knock on the door and Bo hurries over to answer. It is Becky, standing there with a distraught look on her face. “Please tell me Katy is here,” she exclaims.

  “Yes, she is in the kitchen. Come in, come in.”

  “Katy, I have horrible news…”

  “Becky, what’s wrong?”

  “There was a small fire in the kitchen, something happened with the oven and I am afraid it is totally ruined. A few walls are scorched, the firemen and police and Sally are there now. We evacuated the customers as soon as we smelled the smoke, but they need you down there right away.”

  “Good heavens!” Viola shouts, “I will finish up this spaghetti, you get on to the bakery, and Bo, you go along too. I am sure she could use the support.”

  “Ok, thanks, Mammy. Katy, I will grab your bag and pull the car around.”

  Upon arriving at the bakery, Katy lets the tears break loose. Even though she knows it was only a small fire, she thinks about how she has let her father down. It has only been two years and she has managed to mess things up. Dylan Jones is the lead firefighter on the team that showed up.

  “Katy,” Dylan calls out, “I am so glad you are here. Becky and Sally did the right thing by getting the customers out as soon as possible, but I am afraid there is some extensive damage to the kitchen.”

  “Oh no!” replies Katy.

  “You ought to go in and take a look and get on the phone with your insurance agency as soon as possible to get this place back up and running pronto. Every day this shop is out of business, money is being lost, and I know this is you main source of income.”

  “Ok,” she replies. “Bo, would you mind walking in there with me?”

  “Not at all, doll,” he says, wrapping his arm securely around her shoulder and pulling her in tight.

  When they step into the building, the strong smell of smoke hits them in the face, and Katy instantly gets a sick feeling in her stomach thinking that this could be how she loses her father’s dream if she cannot fix this mess. They walk through the double doors into the kitchen, hand in hand, and stand there quietly for a moment examining the damage.

  “It’s not too bad,” says Bo. “This shouldn’t take very long to fix, it’s just the oven surrounding walls and ceiling that need to be replaced. It’s a good thing it got put out in time.”

  “Yeah, Becky thought on her feet and grabbed the fire extinguisher just in the nick of time,” Dylan chimes in. “If it wasn’t for her quick thinking, this whole place might have burned down.”

  “I guess I need to take some pictures to send to the insurance agency,” Katy says. I don’t have a camera with me, though.”

  “It’s ok, I have one out in the car. I will go grab it,” says Bo and steps out.

  “So,” says Dylan, “you two an item now?”

  “I don’t know if you could say we are an item, but yes, Dylan, we are getting close. I mean, it’s only natural, I am practically best friends with his grandmother.”

  “Yeah, I have always found that a little strange about you, Katy. Befriending the elderly and volunteering at the homeless shelter, don’t you have a life?” he says.

  “That is my life, Dylan, I would not expect you to understand.”

  “Alright,” Bo says as he comes back through the swinging doors with his camera. “I will take the pictures of everything and help you get them sent to the insurance agency.”

  “Thanks,” she says.

  After at least an hour and a half of Bo taking pictures of all of the damages from every different angle, they decide to call it a night and solemnly head back over to Miss Viola’s for cold spaghetti.

  “I’m sorry this happened,” he says to her.

  “Oh, it’s not your fault. I should have had that oven replaced a while back. I have just been putting it off, and look what happened, it blew up in my face.”

  “Well, let this be a lesson to you, Katherine Bates. Don’t put off the important things in life. Your dad’s bakery was important to him and I know it is important to you to keep it alive with his memory. Sometimes in life we aren’t sure of things, but we have to take the chance anyways, so we don’t always wonder what might have been or could have been. Now wouldn’t you feel terrible if that whole place had burned to the ground and there wasn’t a shred of your father’s memory left there?”

  “Where is all of this coming from?” she responds.

  “It is just that, since being here, my eyes have been opened to a whole new side of life, a life where you live for yourself and what makes you happy, and don’t worry about what the world expects out of you, you just do… you.”

  “Well that is very inspiring, Mr. Brogan, but is there an underlying point here that you are trying every so hard to beat around the bush before letting out?”

  “I like you, Katy. I may even love you, will you agree to a date outside of church now?”

  “Ha-ha, I told you, Bo, I only date men who go to church and put God first. If I am going to marry a man and let him lead me and my family, I need to know that that man is being led by God. I will tell you what, you show up to church in the morning and I will accept your offer on a trial basis. If you pass, you may call me, you may take me on as many dates as you wish.”

  They continue walking the sidewalk back to Miss Viola’s, hand in hand, with a warm fuzzy feeling in their hearts, taking in the smell of the honeysuckle. This could not be a more perfect night.

  When they arrive back at Miss Viola’s house, they see two plates put out on the table with a note that said, “I went to bed. I hope everything is ok, my darling Katy bug. I will see you in the morning. Enjoy your dinner,” with a little heart drawn at the bottom of the note. They fix their plates in silence and sit down, and devour the tasty meal. After loading the dishwasher and putting the leftovers away, Katy tells Bo it is time for her to go home.

  “May I walk you?” he asks in a very gentlemanly tone.

  “Of course, you may,” Katy replies, batting her eyes at him, completely smitten by how charming he can be. He grabs her shawl and throws it around her shoulders and gets her bag off of the hanger for her as he opens the door. It is a beautiful night; the stars are shining bright and the moon is full. They walk in silence, enjoying the feeling of happiness in their souls; they each have a smile that will not leave their face despite the tragedy that has just happened. When they come up to Katy’s house Bo walks her to the door.

  “So, will you be at the service in the morning?” Katy asks.

  “I’m not sure yet,” he says, “there are some things I have to work out first.” She takes him at his word, and he gives her a peck on the check and tells her good night.

  Baammp-baammp-baammp. Bo can hear his grandmother’s alarm clock going off all the way from the living room. He rolls over and checks his watch. “Six thirty, Mammy!” he shouts down the hall as he pulls his pillow over his head, although he can still hear her laughing. “This is supposed to be a vacation!” he shouts again.

  “No one needs a vacation from the Lord, sonny boy.
Get up and get to it! I will be in the kitchen making biscuits and gravy. Why don’t you go on and take yourself a nice shower, that will wake you up.”

  Bo wobbles off of the couch down the hall and into the bathroom as his grandmother ordered. He hops in, and although the hot shower is refreshing, he starts having second thoughts about attending church this morning. “What if God isn’t willing to forgive me for all of the mistakes I have made, all of the times I have put myself and my own needs above those of others? I have been so selfish and greedy and basically beat my way to the top with a baseball bat. I have been unforgiving and ungrateful. I wouldn’t be surprised if He sets me on fire the second I walk through the door,” he thinks to himself, imagining walking through the church doors and bursting into flames.

  He hops out of the shower, dries himself off and gets dressed, and follows the delicious smell of homemade biscuits cooking in the oven. “This smells delicious, Mammy!” he shouts to her.

  “Boy, you just scared the ever-loving daylights out of me, and I messed up my mascara! Eat it and hush!” Boy, does he love his mammy and her sense of humor.

  Viola comes down the hall in her Sunday’s best pink dress, pink purse, pink diamond-shaped earrings and her cross bracelet ready to go. She has the best fashion sense for an almost-90-year-old woman he has ever seen.

  “Wow, Mammy, you look great!”

  “Where in the good Lord’s name are your clothes, son? I sure hope you don’t plan on showing up in your undies.”

  “I didn’t even realize the time, Mammy. You go on without me, I am going to throw my clothes in the dryer to get the wrinkles out and be right behind you.” He gives her a kiss on the cheek as she walks out the door.

  “Hurry along now, Bo, I don’t want you being tardy for church.” Bo throws his suit into the dryer and hits the wrinkle release button but sits down on the bed contemplating if he is actually going to go or not.

  “I could tell her that the pork sausage in her gravy was bad and I got sick, but, no, I am sure she ate it too and would know I was lying. See, there is my problem, lying and cowering out of the things that I know I should do, but I am just too scared, or intimidated. Whatever it is, I need to man up and face it.”

  Bo does something he has not done in a long time - he gets off the bed, gets on to his knees, and folds his hands and prays.

  “Dear heavenly Father, I know I haven’t always been the man that I am supposed to be, and I have put greed and money in front of my family and most importantly in front of You. I know I am a sinner and I need You in my life, guiding me to make the right choices and take the right paths. Please, Lord, forgive me for my sins and take me back into Your arms, shielding me from the evil of this world, and all of the worldly temptation. Amen.”

  Viola meets Katy halfway up the path and Katy notices that Bo is nowhere in sight. With a grim look on her face that is unusual for her especially on a Sunday morning, Viola asks her what is wrong.

  “It’s just that… well, Bo asked me if I would be his girlfriend last night and that made me the happiest I have ever been, but I told him that I will only date a man who is led by God, so he can righteously guide our family if in fact he happens to be the one.”

  “Oh, honey, Bo just got a little too carried away with my biscuits and gravy. He was throwing his suit in the dryer to get the wrinkles out as I was walking out the door. He said he would be right behind me. Don’t you worry your pretty little head, my Katy bug,” Viola says as she slaps Katy in the knee, “he will be here soon, sugar.”

  They take their seats in their regular spot on the sixth pew back in the center by the aisle. The choir starts to sing and Katy keeps looking behind her with the hopefulness that he will walk through that door. It is time to sit and pray, everyone bows their heads and the preacher says a prayer. Suddenly, she feels a person pass in front of her down the aisle and sit down beside her. She can tell it is him by the scent of his cologne. After the last Amen is said, Viola gives him a slap on the leg and says “I told you not to be tardy for church, boy.”

  “Were you having second thoughts?” asks Katy.

  “No, like I told you, there were just a few things I had to take care of first. She puts her hand in his lap and he claps it with his as they listen to the service. Katy thinks to herself that this is the kind of life she wants so desperately. Throw a few kids in, a nice but modest cottage in down town Little Hill, and this is her dream come true.

  When the service is over, Viola stays behind to talk to a few of her girlfriends and they plan their next week of manicures and Bible studies, bread-making and shopping dates. Bo and Katy walk hand in hand, once again, down the sidewalk. People stare and whisper to one another as they pass by.

  “So, really,” Katy asks Bo, “what were you… ‘taking care of’?” with her hands up in the air doing the quotation sign in her best masculine voice.

  “There were just some things that I had to get straight with God before I stepped into His house this morning. There are a lot of things I think that He thinks I might blame him for, but I don’t. I didn’t want to spontaneously combust when I walked through the doors, ya know.”

  Katy finds that to be the funniest thing that she has heard in a long time and they laugh.

  “Do you think I will ever get married, Bo?” she asks very randomly as they pass Agnes Jones obviously whispering to her grandson about them on the ice cream parlor patio.

  “I do,” he says. “Hmm… I do, I really like the sound of that. Do you think I will ever get married, Katy?”

  “I hope so!” She answers just a little bit too enthusiastically Bo can hardly contain his laughter.

  Katy and Bo step into the ice cream parlor to have a Sunday afternoon date at the second most favorite place to hang out in Little Hill, besides Bates Bakery. As they walk in, for once, no one whispers, but they look and smile. Katy, all of a sudden, feels like this is right where she is supposed to be in her life, and she knows that the feeling is a sign from God that this is His will for her. Katy has brought Bo back to the Lord and made her feel complete, she only wonders if she might make him feel the same way. They sit eating their ice-cream, both feeling peacefulness and security.

  Bo hears a sound he has not heard in what feels like forever coming from his pocket - a loud, obnoxious ring from his cell phone. He didn’t even remember putting his phone in his pocket this morning. He must do it out of habit from so many years of being tied to a phone or desk. He hears Monica’s voice on the other end of the line.

  “Mr. Brogan, hello, Mr. Brogan, are you there?”

  “Monica, hi, this is Bo.”

  “Mr. Brogan, where are you?” she says frantically.

  “Little Hill,” replies Bo, and all of a sudden his entire schedule for the month comes flooding into his brain, and he remembers that he has a meeting with a very important potential client in the morning and he is still hours away from Dallas.

  “Monica, I will be there as soon as I can. I am going to call the airline now and try to get a flight out as soon as I can. I must have completely lost track of time this week, I don’t know what I was thinking.”

  He throws a twenty-dollar bill down on the table and asks Katy to come back to his mammy’s to help him get his things together. They quickly walk three blocks back to his grandmother’s house without a single word. Katy can tell that there are thousands of thoughts running across his mind right now. The problem is that she cannot tell if she is one of them.

  Viola is already back at the house making toasted turkey sandwiches for lunch when Bo and Katy come barging in. Bo goes straight back to the spare bedroom where his clothes are scattered all over the bed and he tosses them back into his bag.

  “Don’t you need to call the airline first?” Katy says as she pulls his clothes back out of his bag and starts to fold the pieces neatly.

  “Oh, yes, I sure do. Thank you, Katy.”

  “Did I just hear someone say ‘airline’?” Viola says as she walks quickly from t
he kitchen to the bedroom. “Are you two jetting off into the sunset together?”

  “No, Mammy,” Bo replies. “I can’t believe I have already been here one week. Monica just called to let me know that I have a meeting to be at six o’ clock in the morning with a major potential client that could bring tons of attention to our firm.”

  “Time flies when you are having fun,” she says as she walks back into the kitchen to give them a little space.

  Bo calls the airline and, to his surprise, there is not a plane going back to Dallas tonight or early enough in the morning.

  “I just got off of the phone with the airline, ladies,” says Bo. “It looks as if I will be driving back tonight. There are no more flights going to Dallas tonight or in the wee hours of the morning, so my only choice is to drive.