Long, Hot Texas Summer

by Brown, Carolyn

  He sat down in a recliner and removed his boots, then threw the lever on the side to lie back and stared at the ceiling. He’d noticed that both Loretta’s and Nona’s lights were still on. Nona would be making up with Travis. What was Loretta doing? He shut his eyes and envisioned her removing that pretty dress and putting on a faded old nightshirt like the one she used to wear. It had some cartoon character on the front and he could skim it up over her head so fast that it was a blur.

  None of those fancy corsets and folderol for Jackson. He wasn’t one to take hours to unwrap a present. He liked to get right at what was inside. He went to sleep with a smile on his face.

  Chapter Eleven

  LORETTA AWOKE BEFORE DAYLIGHT and checked the clock to find that it wasn’t quite five. She put a pillow over her head, but that didn’t work, so she sat up and realized she’d fallen asleep in her clothes. Her mouth felt like it had been packed with cotton and tasted like stale beer. Her head throbbed and her feet hurt and she could not go back to sleep even though it had been less than five hours since she left Jackson on the porch.

  She padded across the hall to the bathroom and turned on the water in the tub. While that ran, she brushed her teeth, groaned at the rat’s nest in her hair and the bags under her eyes, and slipped off her clothing. Leaving it lying on the floor in a pile, she sank down into the water and let it work warm miracles on the aches and pains in her body. It had been years since she’d danced that much, drank more than one beer, or made out like a sex-starved sophomore on the front porch, and it had all caught up to her at once.

  She shampooed the smell of the Sugar Shack out of her hair, shaved her legs, and leaned back, shutting her eyes and letting the whole evening replay in her head. When the water turned lukewarm, she pulled the plug and wrapped a towel around her head and one around her body. She checked the hallway to make sure the coast was clear and carried her smoky-smelling clothing back to her room.

  It was too early to get dressed for church, so after she dried her hair and tamed it down with mousse; she pulled on underwear, her work jeans, and a T-shirt. She made her way to the kitchen, put on a pot of coffee, and stood in front of the cabinet while it perked.

  “Okay, okay, a watched pot never boils,” she mumbled. Her gaze went to the refrigerator where magnets held up pictures of Nona at all stages of her life and cute little quips or sayings that appealed to Rosie.

  She read a Bible verse about vengeance belonging to the Lord and then a round magnet with words written over a bank of beautiful clouds caught her eye. She read it aloud: “Change is never easy. We fight to hold on and we fight to let go.”

  The coffeepot gurgled one final time and she poured a cup, reread the magnet, and nodded.

  “A-damn-men to that. Here stands living proof in the body of Loretta Sullivan Bailey in this kitchen,” she whispered.

  Nona was fighting to hold on and Loretta was fighting to let go. What was Jackson fighting for? Did he think if he held on to Loretta that she’d relent and be happy that Nona was on the ranch?

  She was still thinking about the magnet as she carried her cup of steaming hot coffee to the porch swing. The sun had barely peeked up over the edge of the canyon off to the east and there was a warm breeze fluttering the mimosa tree leaves at the edge of the porch. They were in for another long, hot day if it was already this hot before dawn.

  She’d set down and put the swing into motion when she noticed the bright yellow sports car sitting in the driveway. The vanity plate on the front said DINA’S BABY and had a wild sunflower entangled among the words.

  The driver’s door was wide open and two of the ranch dogs were hiking their legs on the back tires. A barn cat walked up across the hood, over the top, and down the back window before he jumped off and circled back around to the driver’s side and hopped inside. Then she heard a squeal and a blonde head of big hair popped up over the steering wheel.

  “Damn you, cat! You’ve ruined the inside of my car. Shit, I smell like tomcat piss. I’ll sue Jackson for this,” she yelled as she scrambled out of the car and grabbed her head.

  Loretta set her coffee on the porch and was standing beside the car in half a dozen long-legged strides. “Good mornin’, Dina!” She yelled as loudly as her own headache would allow.

  “God Almighty.” Dina grabbed her head. “Lower your voice. I spent the night with Jackson and we had too many margaritas.”

  “I’m not buying that brand of bullshit, Dina Mullins. Jackson hates margaritas. The only things he drinks are whiskey and beer. And, honey, there’s not a cowboy in the canyon that’d go to bed with someone who smells like tomcat piss. Besides, I spent most of the night with Jackson, so what are you doing here?” Loretta asked.

  Dina stared up at Loretta with bloodshot eyes. “I can take a bath and buy a new car, but you can’t get any shorter. And, darlin’, he told me that he wouldn’t take you back if you begged him. He said that he’s messin’ with you for payback for leaving him.”

  Loretta leaned down and whispered, “You want to drive out of here with just a hangover or do you want me to drag your sorry ass out of that car and give you what you deserve?”

  Dina slung her legs around and got out of the car. “I’m not afraid of you. You are dumb as hell as well as ugly as sin. I can make Jackson believe anything. Just watch me.” She fell down in the grass and rolled up in the fetal position, screaming and holding her knees. “Don’t hit me again. I was leaving. I told you I’d leave. Why did you attack me?”

  Loretta crossed her arms over her chest and waited. The front door opened and Nona rushed out with Jackson right on her heels.

  “Mama, what is going on? What in the devil is Dina doing here? She sounds like a dyin’ coyote.” Nona stopped so suddenly at the bottom of the steps that Jackson had to grab the banister to keep from knocking her down.

  “Looks like Dina is having a seizure to me,” Loretta said.

  Dina jumped up and limped toward Jackson. “Loretta tried to kick me to death. She pulled me out of my car by the hair, slung me down on the ground, and started kicking me with those cowboy boots. Can’t you see what a bitch she is, darlin’?”

  Loretta held up a bare foot toward Nona and Jackson. “I guess I put one boot in her ass and the other in her lying mouth. Must be what made her scream so loud.”

  Dina looked at Loretta’s feet and broke into tears. “She had on boots. I swear, Jackson. She got mad when she saw me coming out of the house and went crazy. I thought I could get away from her, but she grabbed me before I could shut the door.”

  “You said you were calling your dad to come drive you home, Dina. What happened?” Jackson asked.

  “I fell asleep,” she pouted.

  Nona took a couple of steps forward. “That means you passed out, right? Mama, are you going to take care of this or am I? I don’t believe her for a minute and you shouldn’t either. Daddy wouldn’t ever date an alcoholic.”

  “I’m not an alcoholic,” Dina shouted, then grabbed her head again. “And I’m leaving, but I’ll be back. Nothing can keep me away from what I want.” Dina marched back to the car, slammed the door, and left in a cloud of red dirt.

  “Sorry about that,” Jackson said.

  Nona’s hands went on her hips at the same time Loretta’s hit hers.

  “Talk, Daddy. What was that shrew doing here at daybreak? And is that tomcat piss I smell? And you had to have talked to her if you thought she was calling her dad.”

  “The smell comes from a big old yellow tomcat that marked his territory while she was still passed out. I could have yelled at him but I didn’t want to,” Loretta said. “She’s always been slightly unbalanced, Nona. But it looks like the drinking has pushed her over the edge. She probably did show up here, but I’d bet dollars to cow patties that she passed out in her car. She was trying to prove to me that she could make your dad feel sorry for her. It didn’t w
ork and now she’s mad as well as hungover.”

  Jackson looked past Nona at Loretta. “You are right. She showed up last night and I told her to leave and never come back. She got locked into the high school stage and never grew up. I’m not sure therapy would even help her,” he said.

  Loretta started toward the house. She should hate Dina. But how could she hate someone so pathetic? Mostly what she felt was pity. Besides, she had bigger things to think about than Dina. She still had to convince Nona to finish college. “She’s not worth ruining a lovely Sunday over, is she? Coffee is ready. Y’all want to join me in a cup on the porch before Rosie gets up and around?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Jackson said.

  Bobby Lee took his place behind the pulpit and opened his Bible. “The Lord has laid it upon my heart to talk about forgiveness and revenge this morning. The Good Book says that vengeance is the Lord’s and that if we don’t forgive, we can’t expect to be forgiven.”

  Loretta only listened with one ear; she wasn’t completely ready to turn vengeance over to God or to forgive Dina. Besides, she was a whole lot more interested in the way Nona and Travis behaved across the center aisle from where she and Jackson sat.

  Travis kept an arm around Nona and she gazed up at him with big blue puppy dog eyes. Fight like hell, then make up. Loretta had been down that path many times. Was it all worth it?

  Jackson shifted his weight until his side was pressed against hers. Sparks danced around the church in living colors so bright that if the rest of the congregation could have seen them, they would have thought the second coming had arrived that June morning.

  Was it worth it? Yes, definitely, if Nona didn’t let guilt or lack of self-esteem rob her of what she loved. Travis would learn eventually that only a woman who truly loved a man would break two lamps and a coffee table for him.

  Dammit! She’d had the perfect opportunity to kick Dina’s ass and she’d let it get by her again. The woman might be wise to check herself into rehab, because it wouldn’t happen a third time. Not even if Loretta spent a month in county lockup for it.

  “So if there is hardness in your hearts,” Bobby Lee was saying when she started listening again, “let it go. Peace and bitterness cannot live together in harmony. Now I’m going to ask Flint to deliver the benediction for us.”

  “Great sermon this morning,” Rosie said at dinner. “I invited Bobby Lee and his family to dinner, but I was too late. Someone else had already asked.”

  “Yes, it was and so timely,” Nona said. “But I’m still not ready to forgive that hussy for going after my daddy.”

  “Me either, or your daddy for not stopping,” Loretta said.

  “Hey, now,” Jackson protested. “I might not be innocent, but let’s leave the past in the past. It’s not good to keep dragging it up and rehashing it.”

  “Amen,” Travis said.

  Nona shot a look his way. “You don’t really want to go there, darlin’.”

  He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. “Neither do you, sweetheart.”

  “Looks like to me that the preacher’s words didn’t hit the right mark,” Rosie grumbled. “I’m done eating so I’m going to my house. I’ll see y’all later.”

  “You finished?” Travis asked Nona.

  She laid her napkin on the table and nodded.

  “What are y’all doin’ this afternoon?” Nona looked at her parents.

  “I’m watching Westerns on television,” he said.

  “And falling asleep,” Nona laughed.

  “You know me too well,” he grinned.

  “I’m going to the creek to meet up with Heather and Maria. Don’t wait up for me. I could be late,” Loretta said.

  “Probably will be,” Rosie said on her way out the door.

  “Well, have fun.” Nona blew them both kisses as she and Travis left.

  Loretta was antsy for the next hour. Suddenly, she couldn’t wait to see Maria and Heather. She checked the clock every five minutes and kept her cell phone turned on. She tried sitting in the swing, but time seemed to drag by like at a snail’s pace. Reading didn’t work, so finally she put a six-pack of cold beer in a small cooler and picked the right keys off the rack beside the back door. If she got there earlier than the other two, she’d sit on the tailgate of the truck and reminisce about what fun they’d had in high school.

  Her hair was pulled up in a ponytail and she wore her cowboy boots. Long ago she’d walked to the creek in her bare feet, but she’d learned that morning when she faced off with Dina that she’d turned into a tenderfoot after so many years of wearing high heels every day. No way could she walk twenty yards with her soft feet, much less a mile. And that day she didn’t want to walk. She wanted to drive the old truck and spend time with her friends.

  Chapter Twelve

  HEATHER AND MARIA WERE STANDING in the knee-deep water waving at her as she parked the old work truck beside one that didn’t look a lot better. If rust was integrity and dents were personality, both vehicles were better than a brand-new Silverado right off the show floor.

  Loretta’s bare thighs made a sucking noise as they came unglued from the fake-leather seats. She picked up the cooler of beer from the truck bed and smiled all the way to the edge of the water. The three of them had been ornery in their youth and they’d shared everything with each other. She wished they’d all worked harder at staying in touch.

  “What are you grinnin’ about?” Heather asked.

  “Is that the same old truck you used to drive when you and Jackson were together?” Maria asked.

  Loretta plopped down on the sandbar, pulled off her boots, and joined them in the knee-deep water. “I don’t know if Jackson kept the truck for sentimental reasons or if the damn thing just refuses to give up the ghost, but yes, it’s the same one. I was grinnin’ because comin’ here brings back a whole shitload of memories, Heather. I stuck to the seats just like I used to when the truck was new and Jackson and I were dating.”

  “It’s Texas in June, darlin’. Even with air-conditioning, you’d probably stick to the seats,” Heather said. “I brought a quilt.” She pointed toward the ancient, gnarly scrub oak tree. “Not much shade, but in this kind of heat it beats nothing. Is that beer?”

  “Can’t have bologna sandwiches without beer,” Loretta said.

  “Or cookies,” Maria laughed.

  “Remember that night we got drunk right here and dipped chocolate cookies in our beer?” Heather waded through the water out onto the sand and headed toward the quilt.

  Loretta followed her. “What I remember most is that beer spilled all over me and I just knew Mama would catch me sneaking in after hours smelling like beer.”

  “I did a hell of a lot more stupid things than that up under that old oak tree, darlin’.” Maria blushed.

  Loretta laughed. “If that tree could talk, we’d all be in a shitload of trouble.” She sat down on the quilt and opened the cooler. “Looks like I should’ve brought two six-packs with all the catchin’ up we’ve got to do.”

  “Oh, honey, that’ll take more than one visit and cases, not six-packs.” Heather reached into the cooler and brought out an icy cold can of Coors. She popped the ring top off and handed it to Loretta, then did the same thing for Maria before opening her own.

  “To us.” Maria held up her can.

  The other two clinked their cans against hers.

  Loretta nodded at Maria. “You go first. I know you’ve got a son. What’s happened since we talked last time? Did you move back to this area with your family?”

  “Caught the husband cheating about a year ago and divorced him. Our son decided to live with his father. He hates anything that gets his hands dirty like farming and Claude, Texas, bores him to tears. He visits often, but he hates this place.”

  The orange bill of Maria’s baseball cap bobbed up and down and the jet-
black ponytail stuffed through the hole in the back swung from side to side. “His name is Liam. Can you believe I let my computer geek husband of the time talk me into an Irish name? He should have been Luiz after my dad, but oh, no, Jimmy wanted to name him Liam and in those days I was so damn much in love I would have named my only child Bugs Bunny if Jimmy insisted.”

  “Is Jimmy Irish or Scottish?” Loretta asked.

  “He’s Native American, actually. Full-blood Fox Indian, and his mama was not happy that he married a little Latino girl from Texas, let me tell you. I swear”—Maria held up her hand—“I thought of you when we divorced. Now I understand why you took off like a bolt of greased lightning. His mother was the bitch from hell until after Liam was born and then she at least warmed up enough to speak to me. But, darlin’, she wasn’t as bad as Eva Bailey.”

  Loretta smiled. “Eva passed on two years before I left, so she doesn’t get to carry the blame for that. She never did like me, but she loved Nona and thought the sun came up in the morning to shine on Jackson. Even there at the end when she didn’t know her husband anymore, she’d still smile at Jackson and Nona. And with her confined to the house, I could get away from her.”

  “You should have killed Dina. You always were too nice to that bitch. Remember how she used to treat you at cheerleading practice? She tried six ways to Sunday to break you and Jackson up before you got married,” Heather said.

  “I remember it all very well and I didn’t do a thing to that girl,” Loretta said.

  “It wasn’t what you did, darlin’. It’s what you didn’t do. She wanted to move in here from that big city in Florida and be the queen bee when her granddaddy died and left her folks that big ranch. You weren’t willing to follow her around and pick up whatever scraps she let fall to the ground. Besides, Jackson was the quarterback and she wanted him,” Maria answered.