Daisy's back in town lt-1

by Rachel Gibson

  Evidently a reply wasn't necessary, though. "She died because she went home from the hospital early"

  "Mom," Daisy said on a sigh, "Lily isn't going to die."

  "That's what Tammy thought too. Left behind a little boy about Pippen's age. Left a husband too. He was aYankee fella from one of those eastern states, and when Tammy made her heavenly journey, he packed up thatbaby and left. Tiny hasn't seen hide nor hair of him since. And my is a good woman. She's stuck with HoraceBarnett all these years. And everyone knows that man was born tired and raised lazy. I don't think he ever didwork a job for more than a month straight."

  She paused and it all came back to Jack in a flash. The reason he and Steven usually waited on the porch forDaisy. Fifteen years, and she hadn't changed. Louella Brooks could still talk water up hill.

  "And he had that mentally retarded sister, bless her heart. She used to come by the diner and other gizzards,every now and again. I used to think that..."

  Jack felt a pressure in the back of his skull and looked behind Louella to Daisy and Nathan. They stood inprofile, Nathan a few inches taller than his mother. He stared down at Daisy, his narrowed gaze communicatingsomething. Daisy shrugged as if to say, "What do you want me to do?" While Louella rambled on aboutgizzards and chicken filed steak, Daisy and Nathan carried on a whole conversation without saying a word.

  Mother and son.

  Nathan rocked back on his heels and slashed his finger across his throat. Daisy covered her mouth with her handand started shaking her head. They were a family. Just the two of them. Comfortable with each other. Relaxed.

  He wasn't a part of it.

  As if she felt his gaze on her, Daisy looked at Jack, then she burst into laughter.

  "Goodness, Daisy. What's gotten into you?" Louella asked as she turned to look at her daughter.

  "Just thought of something that happened today." She brushed her hair behind her ears and said, "Jack cameover to talk to Nathan, so maybe we should leave them to it."

  "Actually, I was hoping that you and Nathan could walk me out to my car."

  "Cool."

  "Sure."

  He turned his attention to Louella. "Good evening, ma'am. Give Lily my best the next time you see her."

  "I will."

  The three of them walked through the living room and out the front door, with Jack bringing up the rear.

  "Why didn't you stop her?" Nathan asked as soon as the door was shut behind them.

  They moved from the porch and down the sidewalk. The setting sun filled the night sky with blazing reds andoranges, fading in the distance to pink and purple. It seemed to catch in strands of Daisy's hair, turning it gold.

  "No one can stop your grandmother once she gets started," Daisy answered.

  "All the way home from Lily's she would not stop talking about someone named Cyrus."

  "Cyrus is your great uncle who died when he was fourteen, bless his heart."

  "And I give a crap because why?"

  "Nathan!"

  Jack chuckled.

  "Don't encourage his bad behavior, Jack," she said as they came to the end of the sidewalk.

  "Wouldn't dream of it." He turned to his son. "How do you feel about fishing?"

  He shrugged. "My dad and I used to fish all the time."

  Jack forced a smile. "I'm going bass fishing this weekend, and I wanted you to come along. I thought we'd leaveSaturday morning and come back sometime Sunday."

  Nathan looked at Jack then turned to his mother.

  "We don't have plans this weekend. Go ahead. You'll have fun."

  Nathan didn't say anything and Jack spoke to cover the silence. He opened his mouth and heard himself say,"Daisy why don't you come along too?" And he couldn't believe it. The pressure in the back of his skull movedup and squeezed his brain. He'd just done the one thing that he'd gotten mad at Billy for even suggesting.

  All he could do now was hope like hell she refused.

  Chapter Fifteen

  A slight breeze rippled across the surface of Lake Meredith while sunlight reflected off the water like bits oftinfoil. Birds circled overhead, fish jumped, and the heavy bass guitar and hard drum beats of Godsmackpounded the air like a fist.

  Daisy sat cross-legged in the front of Jack's boat and gazed at Nathan through the lens of the Fuji digital camerashe'd brought with her when she'd returned from Seattle. She wore her white one-piece swimsuit beneath a redtank top and jean shorts. A big straw hat shielded her face from the sun.

  Nathan brought his pole back to cast and she snapped his picture. He wore a ball cap, the bill curved low on hisforehead and just above his silver and black Oakley sunglasses. His khaki shorts rode low on his behind andshowed his red and white striped boxers. He wore skater shoes without socks.

  His cheeks were very pink, and he'd taken off his T-shirt although she'd warned him against it.

  "You treat me like a baby," he'd complained like a baby. But he gave in and allowed her to rub him down withsun screen.

  She turned her camera on Jack, who stood across the stern from Nathan fishing from the opposite side of theboat. He'd pushed his straw cowboy hat low on his forehead and wore a pair of sunglasses with mirrored bluelenses. His old green T-shirt was worn around the neck and the short sleeves fit loose around the hard moundsof his biceps. Earlier he'd caught her staring at the little hole in the shoulder, and he'd told her it was his luckyfishing shirt. A pair of faded Levi's hugged his hips and thighs. The edge of the waistband was slightly frayed,and the five-button fly cupped his package in soft faded denim. She wondered how much luck those pantsbrought hint Probably a lot. On his feet he wore cowboy boots. What else?

  He glanced across his shoulder at her and she snapped his picture. Irritation wrinkled his brow before he turnedhis attention back to his line. She didn't know if he was irritated because she was taking his picture or becauseGodsmack had just said the F-word again. Although, she'd certainly heard him throw that word around. I'mgoing to fuck you till you faint came to mind.

  He'd picked her and Nathan up that morning driving a white Dodge Ram truck. To her surprise, it wasn't"vintage." It was fairly new and pulling a twenty-one-foot bass boat. When he'd asked her and Nathan the otherday if they wanted to go fishing, she'd envisioned an aluminum boat with a little putt-putt motor. She shouldhave known better. Jack wasn't the kind of guy to have a putt-putt anything.

  The gray-and-red boat had dual consoles with seats that looked better suited for a race car. A third fishing chairwas perched in the back by the huge outboard engine. Below the clock on the wood-grain console was the CDplayer. Earlier as they'd set up camp, Nathan and Jack made a deal. They would alternate music. Jack went firstand then Nathan. The problem was that Jack had a human-sized CD case, while Nathan had a case about thesize of the New York phone book. They were in for a ground-thumping few days.

  Nathan caught the first fish. A twelve-inch Walleye that brought the first real joy she'd seen on his face in a longtime. Jack netted it for him and helped him remove the hook. With their head bent over the fish, Daisy snappeda few pictures. She was too far away and the music was too loud for her to hear what they said to each other, butwhen Nathan tipped back his head and laughed, Daisy felt it in her chest. The pang in her heart wasn't solelydue to the pleasure of her son's laughter, though. It was Jack too. He was reaching out to Nathan. Trying tomake a connection with his son, and for some reason that Daisy didn't understand, she felt herself fall a littlemore in love with him. Not the fast wham-bam love of adolescence. Not the flash of heat and fire like alightning bolt, which she'd once tried and failed to grasp in the palm of her hand. This was easier. A gentle beatagainst her heart, a soothing ahh in her chest, which scared her more than the first time she'd fallen for him. Thislove was more mature. She was more mature, and she knew exactly what to do about it.

  Absolutely nothing.

  Mali Flegel had called her the other night and asked her to dinner. It had been so long since a man had asked herout; she'd bee
n shocked. She'd sputtered something about contacting him once she returned from her campingtrip. At the time, she hadn't really wanted to go. Now she wondered if it wasn't a good idea. Something to takeher mind off Jack and her feelings for him.

  She snapped another picture and watched Jack through her lens as he returned to his fishing pole and picked itup. The sun glinted off the silver reel as the spool spun around and around. The movement of his hands andaims was smooth and precise, and his boots wet planted a shoulder's width apart. The CD player shut off andshe could hear the soft tick-tick-tick of his reel. Her heart picked up its soothing pace and she clicked his photo.

  White sunlight poured over one side of him while the shade of his hat slashed across his nose and mouth. Hebrought in the line and reached up to pull a weed from the hook. Then in one fluid motion, he flipped the balewith his thumb, flung the tip of the pole straight out to his side, then whipped it forward again. His lure sailedacross the water as a breeze bowed the line, catching it on a current like a spider web, suspending it in air for afew short moments before the lure hit the water with a kerplunk and pulled the line down with it.

  She lowered her camera and looked away. She couldn't hide behind her lens from either her feelings or his. Jackhated her, and he'd never forgive her. He'd made that perfectly clear. Around her, he was very guarded, and shedidn't even know why he'd asked her to come along on this fishing trip. He acted like she was a necessary evil,like bug spray. She was leaving at the end of the summer, and she probably wouldn't see him again until nextyear. There was no future for her and Jack, except that at some point she hoped it would be possible for them tobe friends again.

  She wasn't going to hold her breath, though.

  She was making a future for herself and Nathan a thousand or so miles away in Washington. She'd talked toNathan about selling their house, and he was okay with it. He'd been sad, like she was. The house held as manygood memories as bad, but he liked the idea of moving into a loft in Belltown even if it meant a change inschools. She'd already called a realtor, a friend of Junie's, and put the house on the market. Junie had always hadan extra key, so she arranged to give a copy to the realtor.

  Daisy was definitely getting on with her life now. She'd never been on her own before. Never solely responsiblefor all decisions. She was scared. And if she thought about it too much, she got little anxiety attacks, but sheknew things would be okay.

  It was well past noon and everyone was hungry by the time they made it back to camp. While the boys cleanedthe fish they'd caught, Daisy set the picnic table with a red-and-white checkered cloth and red plastic plates andutensils.

  When she spoke with Jack the night before, she insisted that they split the meals. He was in charge of dinner.

  She wondered if he'd pull out a package of hotdogs and a bag of chips and call it good.

  She set a roasted chicken, salad, and a loaf of rye bread on the table. By the time she'd sliced the chicken andadded dried pieces of fruit and raspberry dressing to the salad, Nathan and Jack were walking from the shoretoward her. Nathan had put on his shirt and he carried his ball cap. His hair was sweaty and smashed to hishead. She couldn't help but notice that when Nathan forgot to act cool, he moved, a lot like Jack did. More easyand relaxed. Jack took off his sunglasses and brushed the side of his face against the shoulder of his lucky T-shirt - which had proved to be lucky once again, since he'd caught two smallmouth bass and a crappie.

  "I'm going to change and be right back," he said as he tossed his hat and glasses on the table. He moved towardthe four-man tent they'd pitched beneath a cottonwood tree. "Watch out for faaar ants," he warned, drawing outthe vowels. "I saw a nest of 'em over by the toilets." He grabbed a fistful of his shirt and pulled it over his headas he threw the tent flap back.

  "Mom," Nathan called to her.

  Daisy pulled her gaze from the tent and the fleeting glimpse of Jack's bare back, the smooth planes and indentof his spine, the sliver of the white elastic just above the bluer waistband of his jeans...

  "What's a faaar ant?" he asked just above a whisper "Fire." She chuckled and shook her head. "Fire ant. Theyhave a nasty bite that burns."

  Nathan smiled. "Well why didn't he just say fire?"

  "He thinks he did." She placed some chicken and salad on a plate and handed it to Nathan. She'd brought aThermos of ice tea, and she put ice in three red Dixie Cups and poured. "Are you having a good lime?" sheasked her son.

  Nathan sat and shrugged in that way of his that could have meant anything. "I guess." Then he grinned anddrawled like a Texan, "I'm gonna catch my limit if it harelips the governor."

  "Just don't get bit by faaar ants," she warned him.

  Nathan tipped back his head and laughed a steady heh-heh-heh.

  "What are y'all laughing about?" Jack asked as he walked toward them, closing the snaps on his shirt. It wasbeige, cowboy cut, with the arms hacked off.

  "Nathan says he's going to catch his limit if it harelips the governor."

  Jack looked up and his green gaze touched Daisy's face from across the table. "Damn straight." He grabbed aplate and placed a few pieces of chicken on it. "What is that?" he asked as he looked into the salad bowl.

  "Salad."

  He scowled. "It looks like chick food. Like flower petals, weeds, and leathery fruit chunks."

  Nathan laughed and Daisy frowned at him. "It's very good."

  "I'm going to take your word on that." He put three pieces of bread on his plate and then looked across the tableat her. "Butter?"

  "You still eat butter?" She hadn't used butter in so long, it hadn't occurred to her to pack any. "I have creamcheese."

  He shook his head and walked away. He moved to the back of his truck, lowered the tailgate and rummagedaround in his cooler. When he returned, he had a stick of butter. He unwrapped the stick then set it on the table.

  "You've been living up North too long, Daisy Lee." He pulled a pocket knife out of his front pocket and madewafer-thin pats. "Do you want some of this?" he asked Nathan.

  Nathan nodded and Jack stabbed a few thin pats with the knife, then handed it over to him. Nathan laid them outon his rye bread and paused a moment to eye the knife before he handed it back.

  "How about you, Daisy?"

  "When was the last time you cleaned that knife?"

  "Hmm." He finally sat down and pretended to think a moment "Last... no, the year before last. It was right afterI used it to gut an armadillo."

  Nathan laughed as he took a big bite of his bread.

  She was sure he was lying. Well, almost sure. "No thanks," Daisy answered.

  "Pansy-ass," he said right before he sank his teeth into his bread covered in little squares of yellow butter.

  She took a big bite of her salad. "Scardy-cat. Afraid of a little arugula and raspberry dressing."

  "Hell, yeah," he said as thin creases appeared in the corners of his green eyes. "If a man eats stuff like that, thenext thing he knows, he's wearing pink and tying a sweater around his neck"

  Nathan held up his hand and Jack gave him five.

  "I thought you liked my raspberry salad."

  "No," Nathan said. "I'm hungry."

  Daisy didn't believe him. Jack was turning him into a traitor. A guy just like him.

  "So what did you bring for dinner?" she asked.

  Jack used his armadillo-gutting knife to cut his chicken. "Wild rice."

  "That's it?"

  "No, I brought some real lettuce and some bleu cheese dressing."

  "We're having wild rice and salad?"

  He stared across the table at her as if she couldn't possibly be so dense. "And the fish."

  "You were that sure you'd catch our dinner, that you didn't bring anything else?"

  "Hell, yeah. I wore my lucky shirt."

  Daisy turned her attention to Nathan, who was highly amused.

  Jack took a long drink of tea then set the glass on the table. "I coat the fish in flour, then fly 'em up."

  "Sounds g
ood," Nathan said.

  Jack lifted a finger off his red plastic glass and pointed at his son. "It's the kind of meal that'll put hair on a guy'stea bag."

  Her confusion must have shown on her face because Nathan cleared things up for her. "Gonads."

  Gee, she probably could have gone all weekend without knowing that. "But," Daisy said weakly, "I'm not aguy."

  "And you don't have a tea bag," her son pointed out needlessly.

  She shook her head and placed a hand on her chest. "And I sincerely don't want a tea bag. Ever."

  "That's what they all say before they try it," Jack said through a grin, then he and Nathan busted up laughing asif they got some secret joke that she didn't.

  As she looked across the table at her son laughing, she felt left out. Left out of the guy club, but this was whatshe wanted, wasn't it? Since she'd flown down here weeks ago? Jack and Nathan to get to know each other? ForNathan to know his real father? Tea bag and gutting knife and all?

  Yes, but not at her expense. She didn't want to be excluded. She wanted to be a part of the tea bag club, too. Itwasn't fair to be excluded because she didn't have the right equipment. Growing up, Jack had used the sametactic to exclude her from a lot of things.

  "I know what you're doing, Jack," she said.

  He looked at her.

  "You're trying to exclude me like you and Steven used to when you didn't want me around."

  His brows lowered but his smile stayed in place. "What are you talking about, buttercup?"

  "Remember when you excluded me from your television club. You made a rule that in order to be a member, Ihad to pee on a tree while standing."

  "I remember that, but I don't remember anything about a television."

  She thought a moment. "It was the CBS club or something like that."

  He thought a moment, then said, "Ahh. You mean the NBBC. I forgot about that." He grinned. "You thoughtthat was a televison club?"

  "Of course."

  He shook his head and chuckled. "Honey, that was the Nekkid Boobs and Butts Club. It's where we got togetherand looked at porn."