When they finally had the truck empty, Linda called them all into the kitchen for iced tea and sandwiches. Kent felt a little uncomfortable with everyone else being family but he could hardly refuse.
So he found himself sitting around the table with Matt on his right and Grace on his left. At first, he was safe since she was talking to her mother on her other side. Then she turned toward him and said, “Kent, I look forward to teaching alongside you and Judy Wallace now. I’m just so happy to be back home.”
Before he could answer though, she continued, “I’ve heard that the principal, Dr. Payne, is rather difficult to please. Has that been your experience too?”
Kent frowned and was afraid to answer that question, especially since Grace’s mother, the high school secretary, was also listening in.
But Linda saved him by speaking before he had to. “Now, Grace, you know that’s not a fair question to ask Kent.” She chuckled. “So I’ll answer it for him.”
Kent started to object but she forged on anyway. “As I said before, Kent is one of our best teachers but for some reason Dr. Payne has always given him a rough time of it.”
“Oh!” was all Grace said, and Kent decided that it had to be time for him to go.
He stood and said, “Well, I guess I’ll see you two at school Monday. I need to go now.”
* * *
As Grace watched Kent leave the room, she was still thinking about him standing there the way he’d been earlier when she had looked up and noticed him. She tried to follow the rest of the group out of the kitchen but apparently didn’t quite move fast enough. She felt a hand on her arm and turned to look into her mother’s eyes.
“He still has strong feelings for you Dear.”
Grace collapsed into a chair at that shocking announcement. She didn’t even pretend that she didn’t know whom her mom was talking about. “What do you mean Mom? Kent and I have always been friends but never any more than that.”
Her mom shook her head with a sad smile on her face. “That may be the way you looked at it Dear but Kent didn’t. You’ll remember that I have been the high school secretary since even before you two were there. I saw how he always acted whenever he was around you.”
Grace hoped that her mom was finished with that conversation but she wasn’t.
“You may not remember Grace, but when you graduated from college, Kent was just finishing his first year of teaching here.”
Grace had forgotten that fact but what did that have to do with her?
Her mom finished with, “Well, when I told some of the teachers that you were going to marry Randy and teach up there in St. Louis, Kent came in to see me as soon as he heard.”
Her mom looked down at her hand on Grace’s arm then back into her daughter’s eyes. “He was devastated. He apparently thought that you were coming back here to teach. I felt so sorry for the boy.”
Grace was so completely overwhelmed by what her mom had just told her that she remained submerged in her own mind for a short time. She was brought out of it when she heard her mom talking to Matt who must have just stepped back into the kitchen.
“Matt, why don’t you and Betty Sue come over to our house for supper, as soon as you turn the truck in.” She turned to Grace. “Of course, you and Brianna are coming too. That way you won’t have to worry about grocery shopping until later.”
Grace could only nod her head. She was still reeling from what her mom had told her about Kent. Could he have actually been in love with her all that time and she hadn’t even realized it?
She suddenly felt ashamed of her behavior back then. She had always taken Kent’s friendship for granted. Hadn’t he been the first person she’d turned to years later when Matt needed help after his motorcycle accident last year? Hadn’t he been the best man at Matt’s wedding too?
Kent! Wow! How would she ever be able to face him now that she knew all of that?
She almost woodenly walked to Brianna’s room to get her so they could go to her parents’ house for supper.
On the way over to her grandparents’ house, Brianna jabbered about everything from her new room to her new swing set and being able to spend so much more time with her grandparents and Matt, oh and Betty Sue too.
Grace, on the other hand, had one thing on her mind. Kent. How had she been so blind? She thought back again to this morning when she’d looked up and seen him standing in her kitchen doorway. There had been a strange look in his eyes. Did he still feel that way about her? Was that what she had seen there?
Of course, that led to the next question. How did she feel about Kent? Sure, she had been surprised to see him in her kitchen but that didn’t totally account for the fact that she had been thrilled to see him for some reason.
That was going to have to take quite a bit more thought and she didn’t have time for it right now, since they were pulling into her parents’ driveway and Brianna was already unbuckling her car seat.
Soon, Grace was in the kitchen with her mom and Betty Sue, helping to finish supper and had no more time to think about her mom’s revelation or had it really been a bomb?
Everything was finally ready except for some dinner rolls, which were browning in the oven when Matt stepped into the kitchen and put his arms around her shoulders to pull her into a hug from behind. Boy did she ever need that hug. She hadn’t realized how much she’d missed having her big brother nearby.
When she turned around, Matt looked down into her eyes and she could tell that he knew something was bothering her. Before she could deny it, he motioned toward the back door with his head and she knew he wanted her to go out onto the patio with him. So, she had no choice but to follow him out the sliding door.
Once they were out there, Matt sat in a patio chair at a small round table and she took the seat across from him. She just sat there and waited for him to start the conversation. After all, he was the one who had called this little meeting.
She smiled when she remembered how many times while they were growing up that one or the other would silently call a meeting just like this one. They certainly had been a big help to each other back then. Could Matt still be able to help her in her present befuddled state of mind?
Matt just looked at her for a long moment and suddenly Grace not only knew what was coming but was growing rather uncomfortable under his stare.
Finally, he blew out a sigh and said, “Back before you married Randy, it was always uncomfortable for me knowing that my best friend was in love with my little sister.”
He waited for a response from her but when he didn’t get one, continued, “Well, back then, I didn’t think anyone was good enough for you Grace even Kent.”
He snorted. “Still don’t for that matter. But I never realized how wrong for you Randy really was. The jerk was always so smooth and treated you like a queen whenever any of us were around.”
Grace knew he was just getting going so she waited while he obviously chose his next words carefully. She was thankful for that at least.
He shook his head. “Boy did he ever fool me.”
She knew she needed to say something then. “He fooled all of us Matt. Don’t blame yourself for any of what happened after I married Randy. I should have admitted that something was wrong long before he died in that car wreck. Deep down, I knew that he was having an affair with that woman. I just couldn’t even admit it to myself. Then you could say I had my proof when they found them together in the wreckage of Randy’s car.”
Matt hit his right fist into the palm of his left hand. “I wish he’d survived that wreck just so I could beat him to a pulp now.”
She almost laughed at that, especially the expression on his face. “Matt, I appreciate your concern for me but what good does it do to rehash all of that now?”
He shook his head as if to clear it. “Well, I guess you could say that I said all that to lead up to what I really wanted to tell you.”
When she sat there with her eyes on his, waiting, he continued, “I warned K
ent away from you back when you were in your last year of college.”
That confession hit her hard. How could he?
He snorted again. “Yeah, I know it was a dumb thing to do. But now, I know that you and Kent could have been good together. You both wound up marrying the wrong person.”
Grace had been following what Matt was saying now with half of her attention. She was still lost on the fact that Matt had kept Kent away from her. Then the last thing he said popped into her mind.
“What? What did you just say Matt?”
He looked puzzled and she said, “Did you say that Kent was married?”
Matt looked at her as if she was talking gibberish. “Why sure. Didn’t you know that?”
She shook her head from side to side for a long moment causing her hair to fly back and forth. After a long moment, she looked back up at Matt. “What happened?”
Matt groaned. “She divorced him and left town. Right now, no one knows where she is, not even Kent. I think it’s been more than five years since he’s seen his kid.”
Grace was shocked all over again. “Kent has a child?”
“Yep, a little girl.” He scratched his chin where a bushy beard used to be. “Let me see. I guess she’d be just about the same age as Brianna.”
Grace didn’t say anything else. She couldn’t. No, she couldn’t even think. All these years she’d been living up in St. Louis, Kent had been going through probably just as much grief as she had.
Matt left her alone with her thoughts after that. And did she ever need to be able to think. The problem was that she just simply couldn’t process all of what Matt had just told her about Kent Jackson, especially on top of all that her mom had told her earlier.
* * *
Kent looked around the huge, noisy room. Thousands of lights of all imaginable colors were flashing everywhere he looked. This had to be the noisiest place he’d ever been. Clanging, honking, beeping, buzzing, and ringing sounds were all around him. If that wasn’t bad enough, smoke hung like a thick cloud near the ceiling.
He shook his head in amazement. How did he ever get started coming here? Sure, Larry had brought him the first time but now he couldn’t stay away. At least he hadn’t started drinking like Larry did.
He reached down into his cup, fed three more dollars into the machine in front of him, and pushed the button. Nothing! That was getting to be the routine anymore. Nothing! Why couldn’t he win like he did for quite a while after he first started coming in here?
Kent stood for a moment to stretch his legs and get the kink out of his back from sitting on that backless stool for so long.
He pivoted on his heels, making a full 360-degree turn as he continued to take in the sights and sounds. He wasn’t so sure of anything right then.
But he knew that he had to keep playing or he’d never win back all that he’d lost over the summer. No, he couldn’t think about that right now. They all say that thinking about your losses was bad luck and he certainly didn’t need any more bad luck than he already had.
His palms were sweating and he could feel another headache beginning to build up. He’d been having them a lot lately and they seemed to be getting worse all the time. It had to be due to all the smoke. He looked in the direction of the exit. But he didn’t want to leave yet. He couldn’t leave yet. He hadn’t won yet and he had to win before he could leave.
Kent looked down at the twenty tokens in his cup and suddenly wished he hadn’t bought that last twenty. He had started out playing a quarter slot machine and after an hour had only been even. He knew he’d never win back enough just playing those cheap machines. So he had switched, as he usually did, to the dollar machine.
The new machine had taken more than a dozen of Kent’s dollar tokens with no results, when a man next to him let out a whoop. Lights on top of his slot machine began to flash and a loud honking noise came from it as tokens began clanking against the metal tray at the bottom of the machine.
The guy yelled over the noise of the machine, “That’s what a hundred bucks sounds like. Hey, it looks like this is my lucky night!”
The guy kept talking loudly and reached into the metal bin at the bottom of his machine, rattled the pile of tokens, and said, “Makes a nice sound doesn’t it?”
Kent continued putting tokens into his machine with no result until he only had two left. He looked around and didn’t see anyone he knew. That was good. He decided that he needed to scout out another machine since it didn’t look like this one would pay out any time soon.
No, he’d had enough for one night. After all, he still had almost an hour drive home. As soon as these last two tokens were gone, he was getting out of this place. He figured he’d be lucky if he only lost twenty dollars. But when those were gone, he bought more.
When all of the money he’d brought with him was gone, he headed for the exit with his head pounding worse than ever. In fact, it was hurting so bad that he was almost staggering. But he never remembered what happened next. It was all a fuzzy memory to him. He must have stayed in the casino most of the night.
The next morning, he woke up in a strange bed with his head still pounding. He could barely focus on a platinum blond wearing a robe who was sitting at a dressing table across the room, smoking a cigarette and staring at him.
“Time to get up and get out of here.”
That was all she said to Kent and he didn’t waste any time getting dressed and almost running out of her apartment. He found his car sitting in the parking lot near the entrance. Reaching in his pocket, he found his keys and jumped in the car.
He didn’t start the car right away. He just sat there with his forehead leaning on the steering wheel, trying to figure out exactly what had happened to him. Better yet, maybe he should be asking himself exactly what was happening to him overall, not just that night. What was happening to his life?
When he finally looked up, he realized that he had no idea where he was. So he drove down the street until he came to a stop sign. Then he turned left toward the rising sun, hoping this street was a bigger one that would lead to an even bigger one, which he might finally recognize.
Eventually, he did come to a street he knew and was able to get on the highway heading back down to Strawberry. Man, he had to figure out what in the world had happened to him last night. He sure never wanted anything like that to happen to him again. Ever.
Forty-five minutes later, when Kent turned into his driveway, he had to maneuver around Larry’s car to get into his garage. Just as his car entered the garage, he noticed Larry curled up on the front porch. Great! That was all he needed especially after the night he’d just had.
Then he wondered why Larry hadn’t just used his key and gone inside to bed. No, he didn’t have to wonder. That was probably as far as his brother had made it before he passed out. How did he drive here in that condition? That really scared Kent.
He went through the garage door into the kitchen and on through the living room to the front door. When he opened the door, Larry rolled into the room. He must have been sleeping while leaning up against the door.
Larry lay there on his back for a moment then he opened his eyes and looked up at Kent. “It’s about time you opened that door. I’ve been knocking all night.”
Kent almost laughed but caught himself. How could he criticize his brother for doing very much the same thing he had probably done that night? If he only knew what all he had actually done last night. Or maybe he was better off not knowing.
He helped Larry up and led him into the kitchen where he put on the pot of coffee that both of them desperately needed.
Chapter Three
Grace and Brianna had a quick breakfast of cereal Sunday morning. By the time they had left her parents’ house the evening before, both she and Brianna had been so tired that they’d only stopped at a store to get some milk and cereal.
They had both gone to bed early and of course, Brianna had been up very early this morning.
Now,
as they sat at the table, Grace’s thoughts returned to all that her mom and Matt had told her about Kent the day before. She still felt extremely bad and of course embarrassed that she hadn’t known how Kent had really felt about her.
But, would it have made any difference anyway? Probably not, especially once she met Randy. It probably wouldn’t have kept her from marrying him. He came from a very affluent old family in St. Louis and he had had the means simply to sweep her off her feet. He’d given her so many things that her head had been spinning most of the time.
As she looked back on that time, she knew she hadn’t really known what hit her. She had been too young and yes even more than a little naïve, to know that all the things he gave her and did for her were simply cover ups for who Randy Donaldson really was. But the real Randy had certainly come out later.
She realized that Brianna was talking to her and she had no idea what she was saying.
“I’m sorry Sweetheart. What did you say?”
Brianna made a pouty face and said, “Mommy! You weren’t listening to me, were you?”
Grace grinned. “No, Honey, I’m afraid I was daydreaming. I’m so sorry.”
“Okay. I was asking you if we are going to join Grandpa’s church today like we talked about on the way here from St. Louis yesterday.”
Grace was so happy to see Brianna excited this way. For the last six months they’d been in St. Louis, her baby girl hadn’t been very happy and it had showed in the way she moped around and didn’t talk much. But now, she was happy and excited all the time. Fantastic!
“Yes Brianna, we will both go up to Grandpa after the service, just like you did when you went up there to be baptized. Only this time we’ll be asking Grandpa if we can join the church.”
Brianna placed her spoon in her bowl and looked up at her mother. “Good. I think I’ll just go get ready then. Can I wear my pretty blue dress today Mommy?”
Walking Away (The Walking Together Series Book 2) Page 3