The Kentucky Cure

by Julieann Dove

“You’re not going to call him back?” Ben said, turning on the stove.

  “I’ll call later.” Answer given. Now move on. Please, move on.

  “Who is Darren?”

  Ever the non-committer, she replied, “A friend.”

  “A friend?” A note of skepticism was in his tone. Did he know the real Elise Newton too well?

  “Yes, a friend. So, what are you making?” She stretched her neck toward the little work area where he was cutting up vegetables.

  “Change of subject noted, Elise. I’m making spaghetti. The kids love it and it’s a pretty easy dish to prepare.”

  “Would you like any help?”

  “You can put your clothes in the dryer if you want and then help cut up the tomatoes for the salad.”

  Elise took her clothes into the laundry room. After throwing them in the dryer and placing the setting on low, she returned to the kitchen.

  “It feels weird without your parents here.” She stood beside him, waiting to take over. His smell intoxicated her. Made up purely of a hard day’s work and laced with his pheromones, it taunted her with its familiarity.

  “Yeah, I’m sure Melanie told you that after Dad died, Mom moved to Atlanta. She couldn’t stay here without him.”

  “I was sorry to hear how all that happened.” He handed her the knife and pulled a head of lettuce from the fridge. She took it and unwrapped it before rinsing it under the faucet.

  “So, are you and Beth serious?” Are you kidding? Why are you going there? No talk of relationships. You just moved from the Darren talk. What’s the purpose?

  “I think she is,” he answered, disguising a slight grin. Elise noticed it.

  “Why the grin?”

  “I just think it’s funny how I can answer questions about me, but your life is off limits.”

  “He’s my friend, Ben,” she said, emphasizing the large period at the end of the point.

  “All right.” He raised his arms in surrender. “I met Beth a couple months ago and she’s kind of attached herself to me.”

  “Oh. I see. I just thought that you all were tight.” Relief released from Elise, knowing she could have her cake and eat it too. He would be a gentleman and lay off her business.

  “I’m trying to create some distance, but she shows up everywhere.” He checked the spaghetti sauce in the pot. “It’s like I turn around and she’s there.”

  The noise of the front door snapping shut stopped both of them in their tracks. Elise stopped cutting and watched Ben’s reaction. He froze momentarily, then rolled his eyes and plunged the noodles in the boiling water. Beth strolled out to the kitchen and stopped dead when she saw Elise standing in the kitchen wearing Ben’s clothing.

  “Did I interrupt something?” Her tone went high in octave. Obviously it was a rhetorical question.

  Elise turned and looked at the chick who thought she had ownership there.

  “Not at all,” Elise spoke before Ben. “We’re making dinner. If you’d called before just dropping over, we might have had enough for you.” Elise was the champion of being a wench when the situation called for it. And since she knew Ben wasn’t serious about Beth, she was ready to take care of business for him.

  Still waiting for recognition, Beth walked over to Ben who was now at the sink. She was an adorable girl, even when she was three shades of green.

  “Ben, can I see you for a minute?”

  Ben followed her to the porch, his posture now bent over, perhaps in anticipation of the beating he was about to receive. He turned around mouthing ‘thank you’ to Elise behind his back. She finished cutting the lettuce and found a large bowl to empty the summer medley into. Beth’s voice raised, forcing Elise to move closer to the open window to listen. Seconds later Ben came inside. Without Beth.

  “You’ve done it,” he said, making a beeline to the stove. “What, exactly?”

  “She said she’s not coming back until you’re gone.” He looked back at her without expression. Elise tried to interpret it. “So, this means you can’t ever leave.” He busted out laughing and Elise joined in. Old times had found them again.

  They finished preparing dinner and served the children first. The four of them sat at the table and joked as they twirled their noodles into fat-sized bites that slid down into their hungry bellies. Ben and Elise enjoyed a few glasses of wine and the intensity that began with her visit to the farm had disappeared.

  Her phone buzzed on the counter and she leaned over to look at it, hoping it wasn’t Darren. Melanie messaged her that she had to work over for someone who didn’t show up. But she’d be home by eleven o’clock, for sure.

  The kids slipped into the room with a movie that Ben put in for them. Their gears were slowing down from school and the evening activities. Elise put her head down on the counter, tired from getting up so early to get them to school. Ben returned from the living room and stacked the dishes by the sink. He turned off the light and walked to Elise, pulling her off the chair and leading her out to the porch, his touch making her weak.

  The evening was too good. Too familiar. Like going back to her favorite place and finding a reason to stay, all over again. If only the variables were different. Her heart was still a prisoner of a war she knew nothing about, but was trying desperately to discover.

  Heat lightning lit the sky with intermittent flashes, and faint sounds from the horses competed with the front yard crickets. California was another light year away. Elise sat on the red and white glider, pushing off with one foot. Ben sat on the chair next to her. She knew she should go, she just didn’t want to.

  “Do you ever think about here?” he said, interrupting her quiet thoughts.

  She looked out into the blackness of night and thought about the question and the answer. Was he asking about Kentucky or him? “Sometimes, I guess.”

  “Are you happy there?” He leaned forward on his knees.

  She drew a breath, wanting to say so much more than she knew she would. “I’m happy there.” She shifted and stopped swinging. “Ben, I think I better go now.”

  “Don’t go.” His statement was full of between-the-lines. She stood up, having to go, now. “I’m too scared to go get the car. Would you get it?” She looked at him in the dim light that was shining from the living room, giving her best puppy dog look.

  He didn’t move. “Come on, Ben. Those kids have school tomorrow and it’s late. You know I’m not fond of the dark.”

  He stood up. “Fine, give me the keys, you chicken.” She ran inside to get them. Before she went back out, she ducked into the living room and checked the kids. Both of them were five seconds away from unconsciousness. She checked her phone, too. It was eight forty and there was a text message from Darren. She waited to read it.

  “Here.” She handed him the keys when she got back to the porch. “Your children are on the cusp of dreamland. We’ll have to carry them to the car.”

  “Okay, I’ll be right back.” He didn’t seem happy, but obeyed her wishes.

  While he was gone, Elise pressed the button to read Darren’s message. ‘Getting off work. Wishing you were on my way home. Miss you like crazy.’

  The hands of shame wrung her by the neck. Was it possible to be guilty of thoughts? To possibly love one guy and want so desperately to fix what she’d broken in another one? She quickly messaged him. ‘Will call in a little bit. Getting the kids to bed.’ Add a white lie to her rap sheet and prayer time confessions.

  She sat back down and rested her head against the chair, reminiscing about all the times she sat on that porch with Ben and his mother. All the talks about the future they had together. And all the while no one knew she always envisioned herself leaving. Because she had no other choice.

  The ancient screened door screamed as it opened. She jumped off the glider. “You scared me to death, Ben.”

  “I’m sorry.” He handed her the key. “The car wouldn’t start.”

  “Well, fix it.” She couldn’t believe her luck with that heap o
f junk.

  “There is no way I’m going to stand out there in lightning to try and fix that crappy car, Elise.”

  “But Ben, it’s only heat lightning. Now, go back out there. I’ll come and hold a light or something.” Elise’s tone held urgency. The expiration for this platonic get-together was approaching fast. Complicated was beginning in the next five-minute time frame.

  He wasn’t moving.

  “Fine, just take us home.”

  “And how are you going to get them to school tomorrow? You can just stay here. They have clothes and I can take them tomorrow and fix the car for you to leave.”

  Huge problem. Gigantic problem. Rock of Gibraltar problem. Spend the night? Are you freaking serious? This would go beyond test to examination of how long she could remain under the water of friendship, before coming up for some complicated air. And he clearly wanted to know who Darren was to her. No, these ingredients were not conducive to a friendly sleepover. This was a Dr. Phil experiment in willpower. Something she did not pack for an overnight visit.

  Elise rubbed her head, searching for different solutions.

  Where would she sleep? Did he have any extra chastity belts lying around? Extra sleep aids and bolts and chains for the bedroom door? How could she get through a night under the same roof as Ben Hudson and not fall into their need-you-more-than-ever trance? As teenagers, they couldn’t be within a mile of one another and not end up naked under a blanket. She furrowed her brow, conceding to what it was.

  Ben opened the door that led back into the house. The pit to her downfall awaited. He went inside the living room and scooped up Mason, carrying him to his room. She waited in the hall, holding Faith, the little girl’s head bobbing back and forth in Elise’s arms. “Where does she go?” she whispered loudly, but not too loudly.

  “I’ll put her to bed.” He took her from Elise, remaining still for a second as the exchange caused skin-on-skin contact between the two. Their eyes said more than their mouths had all night while talking, saying nothing that needed to be said. He left, and Elise moved to the kitchen to message Darren. She held the phone covertly, encrypting a quick message to let him know she was bushed and would call in the morning. She turned her phone off, knowing he would try to call to anyway.

  She jumped when Ben suddenly appeared. She felt his chin resting on her shoulder.

  “Talking to Darren?”

  She pressed the power button and put the phone on the counter. “Not hardly.”

  “Elise, tell me the truth.” He hoisted himself onto the counter and settled himself in front of her. “Why can’t you be honest?”

  “What does it matter to you?”

  “I guess I...” he began and Elise quickly stopped him.

  “Ben, I’m going home Sunday morning. Let’s not talk about things that don’t affect the present moment.”

  She knew he would always be honest with her and she couldn’t take hearing it. He got off the counter and stood by the porch door. A determined breeze began blowing through the screen. She heard rain beginning to hit the worn railings and smelled the cool dust as it lifted from the ground and wafted inside.

  “I have to check the horses one more time. I’ll be up in a little bit.”

  “But it’s beginning to rain. You’ll get soaked.”

  “I have to get out of here for a minute. I’ll be all right.” He pushed the door open and disappeared into the black night.

  Elise walked to the living room and sat down. One diffused light struggled to illuminate the space. She watched out the window and concentrated on the silence in the house. The grandfather clock in the entryway began hypnotizing her with its perfect rhythm. Before long, she had laid down, forming herself into a tight ball on the oversized sofa’s comfortable cushions. It wasn’t too much time before sleep came and she fell into a dream. Ben was next to her. He nudged her first, trying to quietly wake her from her slumber.

  Finally, her heavy eyelids lifted and she came face to face with his teenage eyes. She read anticipation in his thoughts. Time had not moved since she was last there. Nothing had changed in the house. Nothing had changed in their hearts. They still belonged to one another. After years of searching, her soul had rediscovered its mate.

  He touched her cheek with the backside of his hand. It felt damp. His eyes moved from hers down to her lips, as if he’d been waiting all evening to taste them. She too had wondered what his tasted like. Were they still salty and warm, like they used to be? And could he remember the exact spot that his touch could elicit a surrender groan from inside her? She closed her eyes and welcomed him. No one could suckle her tongue like him. No one felt more natural than him. It was like pulling on her favorite shirt, the one she felt most comfortable in. The one that went with everything.

  “Daddy!” shouted Mason.

  Elise opened her eyes from her semi-coma state. It wasn’t a dream! Ben’s lips were kissing her and very intimately, at that. It wasn’t her imagination. His tongue was inside her mouth, his lips smothering her in the best kind of way. Oh no!

  She pulled back, as though fire had scorched her.

  “Mason, what is it?” he asked, trying to adjust himself as he raised halfway from the sofa...and Elise.

  “Daddy, it’s thundering and I’m scared. Come and lay with me.”

  Ben banged his head on the cushion where Elise had just been. “I’ll be right up, buddy.”

  He moved his head to her lap. She sat, still frozen from the dream she mistook that she was having. “Ben, I was asleep. I thought I was dreaming.”

  He looked up at her. “It is a dream, Elise.” He stood up slowly, still watching her reaction. “Stay here, I’ll be right back.” He touched her face before running upstairs to Mason’s room.

  After she figured he was out of sight, she high-tailed it up to Faith’s room and crawled in bed with her. She quickly sent a text to her sister, saying that she and the kids were going to stay over at Ben’s house, and then tried to relax her very tensed body. Her heart was banging so loudly in her ears, she could barely hear the rain as it splashed on the leaves before sliding down to the metal roof. A few sounds of thunder cracked after the stray veins of light shined in the distance. She closed her eyes and knew she had to keep it together before sunlight moved to her part of the world again. Her eyes stayed tightly pressed together as she heard the door open to the room. She felt him walk to the bed and she pretended to be asleep. Once she slept, she didn’t wake again until the next morning.

  Elise heard the squeaky door open. She lay there motionless, regulating her breaths. After feeling the mattress sag, she pried her eyelids open to find Ben sitting on the edge of her bed. She looked to her left. Faith was long gone. Ben must have taken her and Mason to school already. She could always manage to sleep through anything.

  “Hey, there,” he said cautiously.

  Elise quickly pulled the blankets over her head. If she wished hard enough maybe she could teleport to anywhere but here. She looked down at herself in the dark shadow of covers. Luckily she was fully clothed and hadn’t slept with him in her sleep.

  “Hey,” she said, only exposing her eyes, like a robber. “What time is it?”

  “It’s almost nine. Are you hungry?”

  “I guess.” She began looking around the room. It was difficult to see it last night, when she sought refuge in the small space. Framed posters of puppies and kittens littered the walls. High on the ceiling in the corner was a mobile of butterflies that danced when a breeze blew in from the meadows outside.

  “Good,” he said, hitting the bed with his hand as he got up. “I’ll make us some breakfast. Come down when you’re ready.”

  “Ben,” she yelled before he left the room. “Could you get my bag from Melanie’s car? It has some things I need inside it.”

  “Sure. I’ll be right back.”

  She got up and ran over to the window watching him step off the porch. After he closed the door of his truck, she raced to the mirror on the tin
y dressing table in the corner. Her mouth fell open when she witnessed her wild hair and pale face. Hopefully, her bag had some magical things inside to help combat the ugly morning reality that had climbed on her face overnight. After pulling at her wrinkled shirt and stretching down the shrinking boxers, she had little faith she would resemble anything past having a pulse for the day.

  “Hold on,” she said after Ben knocked on the bedroom door.

  Elise opened it wide enough to take the bag and say thank you to him. “I’ll be down in a minute.”

  She poured everything out onto the bed. There was a tiny thing of lip gloss, a few fast food napkins, and yes! a small trial-sized compact full of eye shadows and blush. She squatted down at the kid vanity and began painting the canvas of her face. It was in the line of emergency primping, but it would have to do. She used her trusty hair band that was hidden under some gum wrapper trash in her bag and fluffed her hair before tying it back. California would never have seen this rendition of her. It certainly carried the one-night stand look, but without the stand.

  Ben was scrambling eggs when she walked hesitantly into the kitchen. The bacon had been fried and was lying on a platter next to some toast. It smelled like home. Certainly not her home. She never made breakfast for herself, but a home she had once missed, long ago. Elise took a seat at the center bar and socially coughed to be recognized.

  “Hey, I hope you slept well. Faith can be a kicker.” He poured the liquid egg mixture into the hot frying pan and began swirling it with a spatula. The sleeves on his Wrangler shirt were rolled up mid-way and a red handkerchief was peeking out of the back pocket.

  “I didn’t even know she was there.” So they were ignoring what happened last night? Or did it? Either way, never mentioning it sounded good to her. Now if only her conscience would stop brow-beating her and her libido would stop egging her on for more. Maybe it was a dream.

  “Trust me, that girl can pack a kick. I had to share close quarters with them during our spring camping trip. I thought my back would never heal from her foot lashings.” He grinned in his boyish charm fashion and poured some scrambled eggs onto a plate and handed it to her with a couple pieces of bacon and two pieces of toast.