“This is Amy Ovalle,” I said. “She’s a writer.”
“I’m not a writer yet,” she corrected me quickly. “But it’s what I want to be.”
God, the stab of guilt was unbelievable. Did I really care that much about her fulfilling her hopes and dreams, especially when I knew what it would cost me personally? Maybe she was just in the process of worming her way into my heart, and I was letting her do it.
Maybe this was all a game for her. A method to get the information she needed for her story.
The thought was enough to make me shudder.
“I know you’re not cold,” she said, handing me a beer from the case Brody was finding room for in the coolers. “It’s hot out today.”
“It’s hot out every day,” I confirmed. “It’s summer in Rio Seco. We’re in the desert. You can’t escape the heat.”
“Oh, I don’t think it’s unbearable,” she said, taking a sip from her beer. “You’ve obviously never done summer in the deep south. At least Rio Seco doesn’t have any humidity.”
“How deep south are we talking about? I thought you were from Los Angeles.”
“No, no,” she said. “I live in Los Angeles now. I grew up in Alabama.”
“Wow, really?”
“Don’t give me that look,” she said, throwing her head back and laughing. “There are plenty of Latinos living in Alabama.”
“That wasn’t the look I was giving you,” I protested. “You just…I don’t know. You make a little more sense to me, now.”
Maybe it was just me, but I could’ve sworn her cheeks flushed a little bit. “You think so?”
“You just didn’t seem like you could be from LA.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Hey!” Jack said brightly, interrupting our conversation. “Remember us?” Ace was beside him, toting a bag of charcoal.
“Of course I remember you guys,” Amy said. “How are you all?”
“Doing well, now,” Ace said. “But about to be a whole lot better once we get this grill started up. Are you more of a hotdog or hamburger girl?”
“To be honest, I’m kind of a one-of-each girl,” she said. “Don’t judge me.”
“Judgment-free zone,” Ace told her. “There’ll be plenty, whatever you choose. Welcome.”
“Thanks for having me well, thanks for Sloan inviting me,” she said. “I hope it’s okay.”
“It’s better than okay,” Jack said as Ace started prepping the grill. “We always like to have fresh faces around. Puts us on our best behavior.”
“I hope it won’t be your very best behavior,” Amy said. “I heard that you all had lots of beer.”
“Oh, yes,” Jack assured her. “You just have to promise one thing.”
My insides curdled a little, trying to guess what Jack might say to her, but she just laughed. “What’s that?”
“You’re a writer, right?” he asked.
“Not yet, but someday.”
Jack smiled at her. “Trust me. You’re already a writer. You’re already thinking about things as a writer. Observing things with a writer’s eyes, a writer’s mindset.”
Amy look a little flustered. “Well, thank you for that incredibly inspiring pep talk, but where does the promise come in?”
“Treat today as pleasure instead of business,” he said. The statement was delivered as lightly as a suggestion, but I recognized an order when I heard it.
I was surprised when Amy readily agreed. “Everything’s off the record today, I promise. I’m here to party, not to write.”
“That’s the spirit,” Jack said, and he clinked his bottle against hers. “Let me know if there’s anything we can do to make your time here more enjoyable or if Sloan starts irritating you.”
“Hey!”
“Will do,” Amy said, laughing. She looked at me as Jack wandered off. “You have some pretty good friends, you know.”
“I do know it.”
“You’re still looking at me funny.”
“I’m just glad they didn’t scare you off.”
“I’m impossible to scare off.”
“And if we’re being honest here…”
“Please.”
“I’m still reeling about that Alabama revelation.”
She chortled. “Seriously? What’s wrong with Alabama?”
“I didn’t say there was anything wrong with Alabama. You’re obviously the one who has a problem with Alabama.”
“I’m going to have to disagree with you on that one,” she spluttered. “That’s my motherland, Alabama. Roll tide!”
“If you love it so much, why did you leave it?”
A cloud passed over her face, but it left as quickly as it’d come. “It would’ve been hard to be a writer where I grew up, and that’s what I wanted more than anything. More than staying in Alabama, even.”
“I’m sorry,” I said. I really was. “That went…darker than I meant it to. I was only trying to tease you a little bit.”
“I hope you’re not trying to flirt with me,” she said, batting her eyelashes at me.
And, goddammit, maybe it was because I’d taken off at a sprint with drinking today, but I batted my eyelashes right back at her. “And what would you do if I was flirting with you?”
If my behavior shocked her, she didn’t let on. “I’d enjoy myself,” she said, grinning broadly. “You’re easy on the eyes, Sloan, and I’ve been instructed to have a good time today.”
Well. Color me surprised, then. Amy took a long pull of her beer, waggled her eyebrows at me, and strutted off toward the porch. Haley waved at her as she approached, and Chuck joined me even as Ace lit the grill and made the air temperature roughly a thousand degrees hotter than it already was.
“So, this is the woman who’s been driving you crazy these past few weeks?” Chuck asked me, watching as Haley and Amy laughed at a highly-animated story Katie was telling probably about the rest of us. “She’s quite a catch.”
“I’m not looking to catch anything from her,” I said, then winced. “Well, that came out wrong.”
“Yes, sir, it did,” he said solemnly before guffawing. “I hope, for your sake, that you’re not this awkward when you’re around her.”
“Oh, just a million times worse,” I sighed. “I don’t know what I’m doing with her.”
“Just enjoy yourself, man.”
“She wants to know about Iraq. That’s why she’s here.”
“Ah. That’s a little problematic.”
“You’re telling me.” I coughed, helplessly inhaling a lungful of smoke drifting over from the charcoal. “Dammit, Ace.”
“Smoke follows beauty, Sloan,” he reminded me. “And can I just say that you are positively glowing today? Is there someone attending the party who makes your cheeks that rosy red?”
Chuck lowered his sunglasses to eye me. “I don’t suppose you put on any sunscreen today, did you? You’re getting fucking toasted, man.”
“Ugh.” I patted my own cheeks. “No wonder I’m so hot.”
“No, no, it’s hot out here,” Chuck said. “But we’d better find some shade for you.”
I had a little bit of a buzz going on as we plopped down in some chairs in the shade stretching from a cluster of brush. The tangles of branches and thorns didn’t look like much right now, but during the spring, they’d bloomed into a riotous mess of yellow and purple and pink.
“I wish that pool of yours was finished already,” I told Chuck, dragging a cold beer across my forehead. “That would be amazing in this heat.”
“It’s just something we’ll have to look forward to next year,” he said, taking a swig from his beer. “Look at it this way this is the last year you’ll be sweating on the Fourth of July.”
“God willing,” I said, grim. “Just think of all of us floating on our own inflatable swans, watching the city’s fireworks.”
“I think you’re overestimating just how
big that pool is going to be,” Chuck said, looking dubious.
“We could share swans,” I suggested, laughing at the mental image that popped up. “You know it would be amazing.”
“I mean, maybe.” Chuck actually seemed to consider it for a minute or two. “But I’m just thinking about the logistics, here.”
“Fuck the logistics,” I recommended. “Horizon MC. Pool. Swans. It’s a magical combination.”
“You guys know of a pool around here?” Amy had sidled up to us without me noticing. That either meant she was good at sneaking around or I was so comfortable with her presence that I just didn’t notice her anymore. The latter option scared me a little.
“There’s a municipal pool the next town over,” Chuck said. “Soon, though, Haley and I will have a pool.”
“That’ll be nice,” Amy said brightly. “Are you all planning on entertaining often?”
“Oh, definitely,” I said, answering for him. “I think they’re going to have thrice-weekly swim meets.”
“Is that a fact?” Chuck asked, obviously not impressed. “I think I might have to run that one by Haley.”
“What are we running by me again?” Haley asked, reaching high to toss her arm around Chuck’s shoulders. The size discrepancy between those two was really something.
“Sloan here is trying to get us to have him over to swim any time he wants, basically,” he explained to her. “I told you we should’ve crowdsourced the pool.”
“I mean, I believe you, now,” she said. “I just didn’t think everyone was going to be so ridiculous about it.”
“Who’s being ridiculous about it?” I demanded, hurt. “Not me, right?”
“Yes, of course it’s you,” Haley said, exasperated. “But it’s also Ace and Jack and Brody. All of you are making plans for a pool that isn’t even yours.”
“Just charge admission,” Amy said. “Like a toll to use the pool. If they really want to swim in it as often as you’re saying they do, that pool will pay for itself in no time flat.”
Haley raised her eyebrows. “Girl, I like the way you think. I like it a lot.”
“At the very least, make them bring you some kind of token of appreciation or something,” Amy added. “Like a case of beer, or some groceries or something you need around the house.”
“Did you say you’re a writer?” Chuck asked, peering at her. “Because I think you could make a killing as a life coach.”
“Life coaches do a lot more than swindle people out of goods and funds,” I protested. “Can’t you see that’s all she’s advocating for?”
Amy laughed. “I’m just trying to even the playing field. Chuck and Haley are going to have something the rest of you guys want, so you should try and compensate them for it. You know, so you don’t screw over your friends.”
“Yeah, yeah,” I grumbled. “We were never going to screw them over. We just liked teasing them about taking over their pool.”
“I know just how much truth there is in jest,” Amy said. “Don’t try to pull one over on me, too.”
The sun slipped down below the horizon, all of the food came off the grill, and everyone set in to drinking with a passion. I was pleasantly surprised that Amy could more than hold her alcohol. I didn’t know why it pleased me. Maybe I just liked someone who looked like she could keep up with me even if I was already feeling more than a little drunk. I was honestly having a good time with Amy. After Jack had made her promise to extract the business from her visit and just enjoy herself, she was wonderful to be around. If she had an awkward moment with anyone, it was always me. Otherwise, she seemed to fit in seamlessly with the group, and I had to wonder at that.
Wonder at why it felt so damn good.
“Thank you so much for inviting me here,” Amy said when the opportunity arose, just us two out in the backyard while the rest of everyone had drifted closer to the porch. “You didn’t really have to.”
“I felt bad,” I said, shrugging. “No one should have to spend the Fourth of July alone.”
“I’d been planning on going to the town celebration,” she said.
“This one’s a lot more fun,” I said. “Better people, more booze.”
She laughed. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure this is a lot less of a family affair than the town celebration.”
“Well, I wouldn’t say that.” I surveyed the rest of the guys as they milled around Brody’s backyard, chatting and laughing and eating. “This is just a different kind of family.”
“I like it.”
“Really?” I cocked my head at her. “The guys can be kind of…frank.”
“If you think a couple of cuss words are going to make me shrink like a fragile flower, you’ve got another thing coming,” she said. “I’ve lost count of the times my mother washed my mouth out with soap for cursing around her.”
“See, that just tells me that you are incapable of learning from your mistakes,” I pointed out, laughing. “Not that you embrace naughty words.”
“I guess that’s true, too.”
The first firework popped in the distance, and we all bellowed a cheer, the rest of the guys joining us in the yard.
“Let’s see what you got, Rio Seco!” Ace hollered, shaking his fist in the air.
“It’s not supposed to be a competition,” Chuck reminded him quickly, jerking his thumb at Jack.
We all turned to our fearless leader, waiting for a witty comeback shutting the two wannabe arsonists down, but Jack looked stricken instead of amused.
“Hey, you okay, bud?” Ace asked, glancing quickly at the rest of us. “Jack?”
“Sorry,” Jack said quickly, blinking fast. “I don’t know…fireworks have never bothered me before.”
“Maybe it has to do with the memory that resurfaced for you,” Ace suggested. “It’s okay. A lot of veterans don’t like fireworks.”
“Do you want to leave?” Chuck asked. “I could take you in Haley’s SUV.”
“No, no,” Jack said, waving us away. I realized we were kind of hovering, and backed off. “I like fireworks. I love fireworks. It’s stupid to feel like this.”
“It’s not stupid” Ace tried to say, but Jack cut him off.
“It is stupid. All I want to do is enjoy the Fourth of July with my friends. Can we do that, please?”
“Of course we can,” Brody said easily. “Need something else to drink?”
“God, yes,” Jack sighed. “You know, at this point, I would take even one of your damn fancy beers.”
“Really?” Brody asked, bright and excited, and the rest of us laughed.
“That’s how we can tell he’s really not feeling like himself,” I informed Amy, who was hanging close by my elbow. “He hates craft beer.”
“Doesn’t he realize that drinking one craft beer is basically the equivalent of two regular beers?” she asked.
“What?”
Amy gaped comically at me. “Do you not know, either? The alcohol content in craft beers is so much higher than regular beers. You get drunker quicker.”
“Well, that would explain this buzz,” I said, shaking my head a little and feeling it spiral. “You know, Brody should definitely lead with that when he’s trying to sell us on craft beer. We don’t give a shit about mouth feel or whatever the fuck.”
“You guys talking about mouth feel?” Brody asked eagerly, returning from the cooler with an armful of beers, making us both laugh. “This one is really velvety with a hoppy finish.”
“I’m more interested in the alcohol content,” I said. “And I think that’s how you should talk about it.”
“Okay, then,” he said, doubtful, handing me a bottle. “This one will get you if you’re not careful.”
“Now that’s the information I need to know,” I said, cracking the beer open and taking a sip of it. “You know what? You said velvet before, and I felt the velvet.”
“Welcome, brother,” Brody said, patting my arm.
Despite Jack vowing to enjoy the Fourth
of July fireworks display and celebration, he left Brody’s rather early before Chuck and Ace had even finished hashing out the details of their answer to Rio Seco’s show, making excuses about being tired.
“I’m worried about him,” Brody confided to me. “Ever since that episode at the bar, I don’t think he’s been the same.”
“Can you blame him?” I asked. “He’s lived for years without a clue who he really is,outside of who people tell him he was. When you get a sudden memorya real one of a time you haven’t been able to remember before, I’d say that would shake a person up a little bit.”
“Jack has amnesia?” Amy asked.
I hesitated. “It’s not really something he likes to talk about.”
“But you’re talking about it,” she pointed out. “Right?”
“We’re just worried about him,” I assured her. “It’s not gossip if you’re worried.”
“And I told him it was all off the record, me being here. I’m worried, too. Tell me.”
“He was told he might not recover his memory after losing it in an explosion while he was an Army Ranger,” I said. “And just the other week, he had a memory he couldn’t explain. Something from before the explosion.”
“Explosions explain why the fireworks bother him,” Amy said, nodding to herself.
“That’s just it, though. They didn’t before. He loves the Fourth of July. Loves fireworks. This is the first time they’ve bugged him.”
“And you think it’s because of the memory he got back.”
“That’s right. Maybe that one memory is the first warning droplets of the flood that’s to come.”
“God, what would that even be like?”
“We thought he was having a stroke when he had that first memory.”
“Jesus.”
“Yeah.” I sighed, then smiled. “You can understand why we’re worried about him, now.”
“Yes. I can.” She smiled back. “And you’re right. It’s not gossip if you’re worried. I can tell you all care about him. You have a good group of friends.”
“We didn’t scare you off tonight?”
“Of course not.”
“Damn. We’re losing our touch, then.”
Amy laughed so musically that I stared at her in wonder. She was so beautiful. I didn’t care that it was probably the beers talking. She’d been beautiful this whole time she just scared the shit out of me before. Now, though, without the specter of what she really wanted from me hanging over my head, I could just sit back and enjoy being around her.
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