(Don't Mess With) Clear Lake Women

by Linda Hadaway

  Jacki met her eyes. “I think I just need some space.”

  “Space? Usually in a relationship, when someone says they need space, it means they want to date someone else.”

  Jacki shook her head. “No. That’s not it at all.”

  Elvira threw up her hands in frustration. “Then what?”

  Jacki clenched her jaws. “All right. I’ve been single for...a long time. Then you came along and I’ve been doing okay. We’ve been doing okay. You have your house and I have mine. And ever since you saw that house, you’re obsessed with buying it, moving in, and I’m supposed to fix it up. I don’t have any ties. I rent my house. I can move out anytime. I can fly to...Tim-buck-Two if I wanted to. But not...”

  “If you’re tied down to me and a house.” Elvira finished the sentence for her.

  “I didn’t mean it that way.”

  Elvira tilted her head back and ran her fingers through her black mane. “It’s about committing to something and someone.”

  “You make it sound so...juvenile.”

  Elvira stood. “I want the house. I’m going to pursue it because I love it. You definitely have some issues to work on, Jacki. You know where to find me.”

  She walked out of the house, leaving Jacki staring at the television, wiping away the tears that slid down her face.

  Chapter 29

  Roxy was nearly ready. Bud told her he’d be at her house at seven o’clock. She finished dressing, applied perfume on her neck, wrists, and a dab between her breasts—just in case. One last look in the mirror, a quick rinse with mouth wash. Done. Waves of tingling excitement seemed to vibrate from her every cell. She liked Bud a lot, an awful lot. Even during her daily routine of making beds and cleaning toilets, thoughts of him invaded her mind. What was he doing now? Was he thinking of her?

  His truck motored into her driveway. Roxy grabbed her wallet and skipped out the front door, locking it quickly behind her. Bud got out of his truck and quickly opened the passenger door. “You in a hurry?”

  Roxy laughed, sliding across the seat, wanting to sit close to him. Bud got back in his truck and began to back out of the driveway. Roxy’s phone chirped. She pulled it from her summer jacket. Seeing the name caused her heart to lurch. She placed it back in her jacket without answering. Bud pulled on to the main highway when the phone went off again.

  “Aren’t you going to answer it?”

  Roxy gave a weak smile and put the phone to her ear.

  “Hi, Mom.” She gritted her teeth, listening to her mother complain about Cory. She tried to sound out the voice of her mother. “I really can’t now. No, I’m not at work. I’m with a friend. Can’t you...”

  “Does your mother need something?” Bud inquired, sympathetically.

  Roxy covered the phone. “She needs some milk from the store.”

  “We can stop and get some. The restaurant is open for hours.” He grinned.

  “Yes, Mom.” She sighed heavily. “I’ll be there in a few minutes.”

  Bud pulled up to a small grocery store. Without waiting for him, Roxy jumped out. Moments later she climbed back into the truck and gave him directions.

  “Are you okay?” Bud asked.

  Roxy nodded. “It’s just...my mom is pretty weird.”

  Bud’s eyebrows lifted in question. He blinked.

  Roxy wondered if he thought maybe that’s where she got her crazy spiked hair and face jewelry.

  Minutes later, he drove behind her mother’s house. Roxy grabbed the door handle, but Bud placed his hand on her arm. She turned to him. “I’ll just be a minute.”

  “Roxy, I’d like to meet your mother.”

  Roxy shook her head radically. “No, you wouldn’t.”

  “Please.” His eyes pleaded.

  Roxy closed her eyes for a few seconds, grounding herself. “All right. Just keep in mind that she is crazy and what happens in there,” she pointed towards the house, “you won’t hold it against me and you won’t stop seeing me because of her.”

  Bud laughed. “Don’t be silly, Roxy. How bad can she be?”

  Roxy shook her head again, slowly getting out of the truck, carrying the container of milk. Reaching the front porch, she took a deep breath and inhaled before she knocked. Her mother hollered, “Come on in, Roxy.” They entered and walked through the kitchen and into the living room where her mother seemed to be in a trance in front of the television. Some game show played.

  “Mom? Here’s your milk. I’m putting it in the fridge.”

  Madeline turned around; her eyes grew wide seeing a man in her house.

  “Who are you?”

  “Mom, this is Bud. My friend.” She looked at Bud. “My mom.” She walked into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator.

  “Bud? What are you doing with my Roxy?”

  “Uh, Misses...”

  “Madeline,” she barked.

  “Madeline, Roxy and I are going out for...”

  Roxy jumped in. “We’re going to Madison’s house, Mom. We’re going to play cards.” Bud frowned at her. She didn’t care.

  “Oh, cards. How is Madison?”

  “Fine. We gotta go now.”

  “Oh, Roxy.” Her mother walked slowly to the dining room table and sat down. She patted the table cloth. “Sit down for a few minutes and visit. I never get to see you. Especially now that you have to work all those extra jobs to pay your bills.”

  Bud pulled out a chair for Roxy. “We gotta couple of minutes.”

  Roxy closed her eyes, taking another deep breath. She sat.

  “What do you do, Bud?”

  “I drive a truck and deliver Pepsi products to stores.”

  “Oh.” Madeline nodded. “That sounds very interesting.” She reached out and touched the large urn in the middle of the table.

  Oh, God, no... Roxy prayed.

  “This is my brother, Ned. He took very good care of me and the kids when they were little.”

  Bud scooted his chair back an inch; his eyes grew wide. “Oh.”

  Madeline cocked her head. “Roxy, haven’t you told your friend about your Uncle Ned?”

  “No, Mom. We really just met. I haven’t had time.”

  Madeline caressed the vase, her eyes filled with waiting tears. “He was my rock.”

  Bud glanced at Roxy. He checked his watch then scooted his chair back and stood up. He reached out his hand. “It was very nice meeting you, Madeline. Roxy and I have to get going now. We don’t want to upset Madison.”

  “Oh, no. We don’t want to upset little Madison, do we?” Madeline winked at him, as if trying to play the seductive woman.

  Roxy hugged her mother. “I’ll come by next week. Promise. We’ll go out for lunch. Your favorite place.”

  Her mother held her at arms length. “Promise?”

  Roxy nodded and followed Bud out of the house. When they got into the truck, Bud noticed Roxy was trembling. He took her hands and held them. “I’m so sorry.”

  “Because she’s my mom or because you made me come here?”

  “Both. I...had no idea...she was...so...”

  “Crazy as a loon.”

  Bud started the truck. “Is that really you uncle in the glass thing on the table?”

  Roxy covered her smile with her hand. “She thinks it is.”

  “Oh?”

  “That’s another story...sometime.”

  “And telling her we were going to Madison’s?”

  Roxy turned to him. “Would you want her to invite herself to come to dinner with us?”

  Bud cleared his throat. “She is your mom.”

  “Trust me, Bud. If you want to take her out for dinner, I’ll stay home alone and have the better deal. You only had a tiny peek at her tonight. I lived with her...and...fucking Uncle Ned!” She folded her arms tightly across her chest and turned to face the road. She could feel Bud’s eyes upon her, but she said nothing, biting back the hatred of her uncle and the tears that threatened to spill.

  The drive to th
e restaurant was quiet. Roxy did not say a word during the twenty minute drive. She was upset over her mother’s behavior and at her own explosion in the truck. Bud would never want to see her again.

  At the restaurant, Bud read his order from the menu to the young waitress. Roxy told her what she wanted to eat and watched her walk off. She met Bud’s eyes and looked away. He reached over and took her hand in his. “Please don’t let your mom ruin our evening.”

  Like she’s ruined my life. Roxy only nodded a response.

  Bud gave her hand a squeeze. “I know this doesn’t have anything to do with your mother, but with April’s mom, when she was into drugs, it’d send me into my own hell. I couldn’t control anything she did. It caused me to be a very angry, unhappy man. My sister talked me into seeing a counselor, because, well, I just wasn’t able to be a good dad to April and manage her mom. One of the things I learned was, if you let a person take space in your head, and it’s all negative, it just eats you up. So, for tonight, could you leave your mom at home and just be with me?”

  Roxy met his eyes and smiled. I won’t let mom win this one. She leaned over and kissed his cheek. “She’s out of my head.”

  Bud grinned. “Good, ’cause sometimes, three’s a crowd.”

  “Unless it’s April!”

  “Unless it’s April.”

  * * * *

  Jacki had a miserable day at work. Everything seemed to go wrong. Her weed eater died. While clearing brush, a long limb had slapped her, causing a deep welt on the side of her face. Elvira invaded her thoughts. Her stubbornness spewed anger. Why hadn’t Elvira left things the way they were? Why did she push, push, push about the damn house? She fought off the urge to call her. She was in the right. She just needed her space. Why didn’t Elvira see that?

  Chapter 30

  Jacki answered her phone on the second ring. She knew it was Elvira from the ring tone and found herself emotionally responding with mixed feelings. “Hello?”

  “Hi, Jacki.” Her voice lacked the seductive quality it usually held. “I have a favor to ask, but it’s just a friend favor.”

  “What’s that?” Her voice held a bit of a bite, she didn’t want to relay.

  “Uh, I need some advice. I’m meeting Marci, the real estate agent, at the house tomorrow at four, but I don’t think I’ll ask the right questions. I was wondering if you could meet me there? If you could get away, that is. If it’s not too much of an intrusion...” Her voice trailed off.

  If it had been anyone else, Jacki would have thought they had a second agenda going on, but not Elvira. She closed her eyes for a second.

  Elvira spoke up. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have bothered you...”

  “No, it’s all right. I was just trying to remember what all I had to do tomorrow. I should be able to leave Becon’s place at three-thirty. I could swing by and pick you up?”

  “Oh, that would be nice.”

  “Mainly, you’re wanting to know about the repairs and costs? What’s salvageable?”

  “Yes, like the roof. I don’t know how much it would cost for repairs.”

  “Have you called anyone for an estimate?”

  “No.” Elvira sighed. “I didn’t know if I should do that before I meet with the real estate agent or after.”

  “Ya. Probably better to see what they say first. Do you know if the owner is local?”

  “I think they said the owner lives in Florida or something. They had inherited the place and, hopefully they’ll want to sell it quickly. They did say it’s been on the market for some time.”

  “I bet.”

  A long silence held until Elvira finally spoke up. “Tomorrow then?”

  “Yep.” Jacki closed her phone and continued to stare at it for a few moments. She could call her back and tell her she loved her and missed her, but what then? Elvira was not going to let go of the house and it wouldn’t be fair of Jacki to ask her to. And if she did sign on the dotted line with Elvira? And a few years down the road, if they decided to split up? Like most couples do? They’d be fighting over what each got and the damn house would need to be sold again. Or Jacki would simply move out and give everything to Elvira. She thought back to her parents’ bitter divorce, the screaming and...physical fighting. She remembered when her parents had been happier in love. Then that younger woman came into her dad’s life and everything went to hell. They fought over the kids, the house, and even childish things like her dad’s golf clubs. Her mother had taken them and threw them into the river, just for spite. By the time the divorce was final the house they had lived in all of Jacki’s young life had to be sold. Both parents were strapped for funds with legal fees and such. Her dad died of a heart attack two years later. Her mother was never the same. She turned bitter and cynical. You never knew what was around the bend in the road. She had always kept her lovers, few that she had, at arms length. Only Elvira had somehow slipped in under her watchful guard. Only Elvira held her heart now. She didn’t want to let her go...yet...she fought against that kind of a commitment all her adult life. She had saved and paid cash for her truck; she rented her small house, and had a nice savings.

  * * * *

  Jacki stood beside Elvira and stared up toward the roof. “That’s a lot of money to be asking for a house that’s falling apart.” She stared upwards. “Do you know how much heat is lost on a yearly basis with those old windows?”

  Marci coughed. She outstretched her hands, turning them palms up. “I can certainly relay that to the owners.” A pregnant pause hung in the air until she added, “Did you want to have the repairs appraised before giving a counter offer?”

  Elvira looked at Jacki who nodded in return. Elvira turned to Marci “Yes, I think that’s only fair.”

  * * * *

  On the drive back down Clear Lake hill, Elvira asked, “Who should I call about the appraisals?”

  Jacki shifted gears. “I’ll give you a list when we get to your place, along with some basic questions you’ll want to ask.”

  Elvira clasped her hands together. “I’m really anxious to...” Her voice trailed away. She peered out the passenger window.

  “It’s all right. You should be excited about the house.”

  Without turning towards Jacki, she replied, “I just wish you were too.”

  Jacki shifted again, driving down the steep hill. She offered no response.

  Chapter 31

  Sunday and Duffy had returned from their two weeks in Hawaii and attended their first counseling session. Sunday felt like she was falling in love with Duffy all over again. He had been so attentive to her on the trip. Even during the session he was affectionate and loving.

  Sunday had only brought a few issues forward to the counselor. She knew it would take time before she felt safe enough to bring deep core problems to the sessions. Still, she was very hopeful for their marriage.

  Madison, Roxy, and Jacki didn’t share her enthusiasm. She understood why, yet it saddened her. She wanted her friends to be happy for her. She felt a little guilty when she thought about her “secret” attorney and all the planning she had done, preparing herself to leave Duffy. The guilt lifted quickly as she reasoned with herself why she had wanted to leave. In fact, if she allowed her mind to think about the bad things... Sunday’s love “high” quickly dissipated.

  * * * *

  Madison put the potatoes in the oven to bake a little while longer. The green salad was ready. She only had to turn the steaks on the barbeque. The familiar sound of Justin’s pickup made her smile. She pulled a tall glass out of the freezer and poured a cold beer into it. Justin walked into the house and sat down in his recliner. He leaned over and unlaced his steel-toed boots. He took them off and sighed. Madison handed him the beer and gave him a kiss.

  “Long day?”

  “Ya. We worked a couple hours longer and finished the job.”

  She sat on the love seat sofa. “Dinner will be ready in a few minutes.”

  He nodded and took another sip of his be
er. “Do you remember Red Keller from school?”

  Madison pursed her lips. “A skinny red-haired kid. A couple of years behind me in high school, I think.”

  “Yes, that’s him. He’s living in Hawaii now. Been there for, oh, maybe five years now.”

  “Yes, I think I remember Jacki or someone mentioning that.”

  Justin leaned a little forward. “He’s got a contract to build a big house, for some movie star. Can’t remember his name now. Anyway, he needs some good workers.”

  Madison wasn’t sure if she liked where this conversation was headed.

  Justin leaned back in his chair. “He asked me and Jeff if we would go there and work for a couple of months. He’d pay for the air fare there and back.”

  Madison said nothing.

  “I’ll get paid a lot more than I am here and with the weather, I can put in long days. Seven days a week if I want it.” He didn’t meet Madison’s eyes.

  Madison stood up. “Dinner’s done.” She walked into the kitchen and took a plate out of the cupboard. A few minutes ago she felt famished, now she didn’t feel very hungry at all.

  Justin got a plate for himself and grabbed the hot potato, dropping it quickly onto his plate. “He’s got a place, so we wouldn’t even have to pay rent. Just buy my food.”

  Madison walked outside and opened the barbeque. She lifted a steak and set it on her plate and walked to the picnic table.

  “It’s just going to be for a couple of months.”

  Madison cut a piece of meat and put it in her mouth. It seemed to have no taste.

  Justin took a big bite. “Mummm. This is the best. Thank you, Honey.”

  She nodded and took a bite of her salad.

  Justin swallowed. “Aren’t you going to say anything?”

  Madison poked at her salad with her fork. “You already told him you’d go.”

  Justin stabbed into a small chunk of the meat. “How did you know? Did Sally call you today?”

  Madison set her fork on her plate. Sally was Jeff’s girlfriend. Evidently, she already knew. “No. I can tell by your voice. The way you’re talking about it. You’ve already made up your mind.”