by Susan Schild
Linny found his hand under the table and squeezed it. Thank God he had guts.
“I just wish you’d told us first. Your own mama and daddy,” Ceecee said and shook her head sorrowfully.
“Mama,” Rush said and fixed her with a look that said he’d had enough.
For a long moment no one said anything. Jack sipped iced water and Linny gazed around at the other diners, wearing what she hoped was a neutral expression on her face.
Ceecee had the grace to put her hands over her face and flush scarlet. “Forgive me, my dears. I’m a silly woman making a mountain out of a molehill.” She stood and, stepping between their chairs, pulled Linny and Jack into a fervent hug. Clasping her hands together, she said, “I’m thrilled to pieces at such happy news. I just was taken by surprise.” She wagged a finger at her son. “Jack, you could have told me you were in love. I’ve been praying for that every single night.” She came in for a second round of hugs.
Linny let herself be hugged and pasted on a smile but eyed Ceecee to see how earnest she looked. She caught Jack’s eye and her heart lifted. His smile was wide and his face open as he was being smushed in his mother’s arms.
“We need to toast the happy news,” Rush called out, looking relieved that the squall had passed. He raised a hand to beckon a waiter. “Young man, we need some bubbly.”
As the waiter poured Prosecco into crystal flutes, Rush stuck out his beefy paw and beamed as he pumped Jack’s hand. “Well done, Son. I’m real pleased for you.” Turning to Linny, he gave her a warm smile. “Welcome to the family, my dear.” His eyes sparkling with mischief, he leaned toward her and added sotto voce, “We can be crazy as loons, but we grow on you.”
* * *
It was Tuesday night and the week was flying by. She was fixing supper for Jack in the tiny kitchen of her renovated trailer. Tonight it was just the two of them, and Linny was glad. Between her work revving up, the stress of getting to know Jack’s parents, trying to build a bond with Neal, and wedding planning, time alone with just her and Jack had become a precious commodity. Linny eyed the table set with her best mismatched thrift store china and admired the scarlet tulips she’d splurged on at Earth and Sky. She reached out and rearranged them so that a few draped gracefully over the side of a mason jar. There.
Jack blew in on a gust of cold fresh air and gathered her into his arms for a bone-crushing hug. “Hey, darlin’ girl,” he drawled as he slipped his phone and car keys from his pocket and put them on the counter. He stood stock-still and sniffed the air like a hunting dog on point. “Smells great, Lin. Is this a dish from your online cooking class?”
“It is,” she said with a satisfied nod. “It’s called Hungry Cowboys on the El Paso Trail Ride Chili.” She ladled the spicy chili into red bowls and he held out her chair as she slid into her seat. Linny waved her napkin into her lap and breathed in. The aroma—cumin, chipotle, and onion—did smell great, and she’d played with the recipe some and served it over small, perfect Yukon gold potatoes.
Jack took a bite and groaned happily. A smile played at the corners of his mouth. “Might need an antacid later, but it will have been worth it,” he said. After he’d spooned in the last bite, he rose to dish up seconds. “For a woman who couldn’t cook when I met you, you’re getting so you can really rattle a pan.”
“It’s just practice,” Linny explained, but she felt warmed by the compliment.
This week, Birdie, the instructor for A Fun Mom’s Guide to Fast, Frugal Weeknight Cooking, had pointed her wooden spoon at them on the computer screen and said in her ebullient voice, “Practice, my little chickens! Rachael Ray and Padma Lakshmi practice constantly, and so must you.” And Linny had.
* * *
Later, Linny put the lids on the glass bowls of leftovers and peered in the refrigerator to find a spot for them. Jack gave the big pot a final rinse and set it in the sink drainer. She reached under Jack’s arm to grab a sponge and gave him a flirty smile. He caught her around the waist and pulled him toward him for a quick smooch. Meal cleanup in the tiny kitchen meant lovely collisions and close ups with Jack. She’d miss this kitchen when she moved to his house after the wedding. The chili recipe was a keeper. As Linny carefully folded it and put it in a drawer, she caught herself humming.
In the living room Jack sank back into his corner of the couch, picked up the remote, and started to scroll through the programs. “American Pickers, then Coast Guard Alaska, followed by Tiny House Nation and, Flippin’ RVs, right?”
“Sounds good.” Linny kicked off her shoes and plunked down beside him. Pulling the afghan Dottie had crocheted for her from the back of the couch, Linny draped it over them. “Are we boring old couch potatoes?”
He gave her a bemused smile. “We’ve both had long days; it’s a Tuesday night. What should we be doing?”
“I don’t know . . .” Trailing off, she pointed at the television screen to the ad for Rev You Up Energy Drink. The beautiful roped-together couple climbed a dizzying rock face, gyrated wildly at a rock concert, and laughed hysterically as they sprinted down a narrow street, glancing over their shoulders.
Jack’s brows rose as he watched the bull appear. “You want to run with the bulls?”
She broke into laughter and admitted, “No.”
Jack looked at her questioningly. “Do you want us to go out more? Dinners, movies, concerts?”
Linny shook her head no and smiled as she snuggled into his flannel-shirted chest. “I’m perfectly, ecstatically content. I just wanted to make sure you aren’t bored.”
“Never. I’m exactly where I want to be and happy about it,” he said firmly and dropped a kiss on her head. “Any chance for some popcorn?”
“Sure.” Linny rose. “Save that spot,” she said, pointing to his chest.
In the kitchen Linny opened cabinets searching for the popcorn. Why had she asked him if he was bored? It came to her: Buck. Buck had been bored by home life. Even though he’d promised her a white picket fence life and sworn that was exactly what he wanted, he’d found his fun running down to the coast to fish with his pack of merry men, dragging her to charity dos where he could butter up clients, and sleeping with girls like Kandi. He hadn’t at all wanted the cozy, quiet domesticity she’d craved, and he hadn’t wanted her. Bait and switch. She blew out a breath, disgusted, and willed herself not to let his ghost haunt her.
Finding the box, she pulled open the cellophane packet. Linny pushed Jack’s phone and keys away from the microwave door and slipped in the bag. As she entered the cooking time, she noticed a lit screen on Jack’s phone and picked it up to turn it off. But what was on the screen caught her eye. It was an itemized Amazon receipt from a store called Big Mountain Ski and Board Shop. Linny glanced down the itemized purchase list, confused.
• APO Insane board: $376.00
• Arctic Flow Fuse GT binding: $220.00
• Burton Ion boots: $429.00
• Airblaster AB/BC Jacket: $375.00
The list went on: goggles, a helmet, a snowboard bag, tether locks. When she finally scrolled down to the total, Linny drew in her breath sharply. Why had Jack had just spent thirty-five hundred dollars at a ski shop? He didn’t even ski.
The timer dinged and Linny’s hands shook as she tore open the steaming bag and dumped the popcorn into a bowl. His phone clutched in her hand, Linny carried both into the living room. Thrusting the bowl at him, she held out the phone to Jack, the lit screen facing him. “Will you tell me about this?” she asked, trying to sound calm.
Jack pinched the bridge of is nose and looked chagrined. “I told you Vera and Chaz are taking Neal to Vail over that long weekend in late March?”
“You did,” Linny said, remembering. Her exact thought was Of course Vera would want to ski in Vail. She couldn’t be expected to mingle with the regular Joe families skiing at Cataloochee or Sapphire up in the North Carolina mountains. She sat down on the edge of the sofa, a good foot away from Jack.
He shrugged. “She
emailed me a list of gear she wanted me to buy Neal for the trip.”
“Pretty big list,” Linny said shortly.
He shook his head, looking disgusted. “I know. She wanted me to buy the best of everything, too. Everything Vera buys is top of the line.”
Linny pointed out, “But Neal doesn’t care about having top-of-the-line equipment. You have to remind him not to wear the same jeans and sweatshirt three days in a row.”
Jack’s lips twitched. “True.”
Linny felt blood pound in her head, and the demeanor of calm she was working at flew right out the window. “Why does a boy who has never snowboarded before and doesn’t even know if he likes it need such expensive stuff?” she breathed. “And why would you buy it?”
“Good questions.” He rubbed his face with his hands.
“You just bought exactly what she told you to buy?” she asked incredulously, pulling farther away from him. “Why?”
Jack shrugged, and his eyes wouldn’t meet hers. “I’m not sure.”
Linny tried to slow her quick breathing. Before they’d agreed to marry, she and Jack had talked frankly about money: how much they had, how they felt about debt, and how they should spend it. Jack made a good living, but even adding her income, she couldn’t imagine they weren’t even close to being in the same league as Chaz and Vera. Why was he appeasing Vera? Was he trying to compete with Chaz? She tilted her head and studied him. “This isn’t how you usually spend money, is it?”
“Not usually,” Jack admitted.
“So what are you going to do, Mr. Bill Gates?” she asked, expecting him to say he’d made a mistake and would say no to Vera.
He shifted in the cushion and looked uncomfortable. “I’ll cancel the order and go online to try to find sales on the things on the list. It’s almost end of season. Maybe I can find some deals. . . .” He trailed off, not looking at her.
Linny had to press her lips together to keep her jaw from gaping open at his lame solution. This was her brave, smart, strong man letting a spoiled ex-wife push him around. She saw Jack in a whole new, unflattering light, and it made her push even farther away from him on the couch. Finally, she just laced her fingers together, set them on her lap, and said, “Huh.”
“Aw, Lin.” Jack shook his head apologetically. “I didn’t mean to get you involved in all this mess. It’s just something I need to straighten out with Vera.”
Or not, she thought, studying him as her supper congealed in a cold knot in her stomach. His breath smelled of onion and the five-o’clock shadow she’d thought looked sexy earlier in the evening now just looked unkempt. After they married and she contributed to the household budget, her money wasn’t going to go toward any crazy extravagance for Neal that Vera claimed was essential.
He must have seen the dark emotions play across her face because he slid closer, patted her arm and said briskly, “I’ll take care of it, Lin. Don’t worry.”
But she did worry. Of course she worried. Linny quietly simmered. He had to start telling Vera no flat out or she’d keep intruding in their new lives. His ex-wife couldn’t stand that he was happy. Vera wanted to make him pay. “Let’s just watch the shows,” Linny said, flat voiced and staring at the TV screen. She didn’t feel like talking anymore.
Linny stayed one couch cushion down from Jack as they watched their shows. Antique pickers Frank and Mike elatedly dusted off a Mobil Pegasus sign, but her stomach roiled as she remembered learning her late husband almost bankrupted her. The Coast Guard helicopter hovered over the sinking fishing boat, but she couldn’t pay attention to the rescue. Her heart hammered as she replayed the nightmare her life had become as she tried to clean up the messes Buck had left her. Jack gave her a worried glance, pointed the remote at the TV, and clicked it off. Turning toward her, he looked solemn as he studied her. “Talk to me.”
Blinking back hot tears, Linny’s words came out in a rush. “I was just married to a man who didn’t put me first and I’m never doing it again.”
Jack shot her an incredulous look and searched her face. “I’m nothing like Buck.”
“Buck blew money and was involved with other women.” Deliberately, she relaxed her hands, which had somehow gotten balled up at her side, and blurted out, “You’re blowing money. You’re too involved with another woman—your ex—if you let her manipulate you or keep trying to appease her.”
After a long moment, Jack nodded gravely. “Path of least resistance, I guess.”
Linny stared at him, blood pounding in her ears. “I’m terrified of making another mistake by marrying you.”
“Don’t say that, Lin. Don’t.” Jack tried to take her hands, but she pulled them away. “I spent my whole marriage trying to please Vera and give her what she wanted, but I never could. Maybe I’m still trying.”
Linny could hear his sense of failure and felt a wave of compassion for him. “What happens if you stop?” Linny asked, turning her hands palms up. “If you don’t give her what she wants, what’s the worst that would happen? That she gets mad?”
Jack was silent for a moment, looking rueful. “She turns into a Tasmanian devil. She screams and cries and throws things. Flames come out of her head.”
Linny cracked a smile. “We can handle it.”
“I’m sorry, Linny. I’ll fix this,” Jack said and blew out a long exhale. “I’ll cancel the order, and if it’s been shipped, I’ll return it. I’ll see how much gear he can rent at the slopes and find the rest on craigslist.” He pulled her over to his couch cushion, put an arm around her shoulders, and rested his chin on the top of her head.
Thank God Jack’s back, she thought, and let herself be hugged.
* * *
After he’d gone, Linny stood on the porch in her nightgown, cowboy boots, and a down jacket while she waited for Curtis and Roy to finish up in the men’s room near the pecan tree. Rubbing her hands together and blowing on them to keep them warm, she thought about the evening and smiled tiredly. She’d gone from wanting to kill him to feeling contempt for him to understanding his weakness and loving him more for it.
Staring at the starry winter sky, she shook her head, amazed at how honest she’d been with him. When she’d tried to talk with Buck about a concern, Mr. Gaslight would tell her she was being overly emotional. Jack hadn’t. He admitted he’d messed up and vowed to fix it.
Blowing out a frosty breath, she shivered. The whole business of exes was new to her, but she’d be willing to bet this wouldn’t be the last round with Vera. She and Jack needed to stick together, to help each other with their weak spots.
Curtis and Roy skidded onto the porch, panting and pushing each other aside to try to be the first to kiss her. Ruffling each of their handsome heads, she spoke to them softly. “Calm down, boys. There’s plenty of love to go around.” She opened the door and let them back into the warmth.
After she turned off the outside lights and locked up, she picked up her phone and felt a sense of peace come over her as she sent Jack a text. I love you more and more.
She saw the text from Mary Catherine, and smiled as she read it. Her friend had written: Can you do Quiet River Spa next Tuesday at 6:30? Coupons are for massages, manicures, pedicures: the works. We won’t have a lot of time to talk, but I’ve got two new what-not-to-do stepparenting tips for you. Let’s go early, get steamed.
Linny shook her head at her good fortune. It’d been too long since she’d enjoyed this kind of indulgence. Grinning like a lottery winner, she responded: You don’t know how perfect your timing is! I’ll meet you there.
* * *
The next morning, Linny glanced at the clock on her phone as she finished blowing out her hair. Kate would be by in a few minutes, and they’d get to Skype chat with Mama from her cruise. Linny smiled, excited. She hoped Mama was still in her new fun, fun, fun routine.
Kate came to the door a few minutes before ten. “Good morning,” she chirped, all pink-cheeked and grinning.
“Morning, girl.” Linny lean
ed in and kissed Kate.
“You look nice. Very professional,” Kate said, nodding approvingly at Linny’s outfit.
“Thanks,” Linny said, feeling frazzled as she took another unsuccessful stab at tying a fashionable knot in the scarf drooping around her neck. “I’ve got a coffee meeting with a new client at ten forty-five, so I’ll need to run as soon as we finish the call.”
“I’ve got to scoot, too. I’ve got an OB appointment.” Kate put a hand on her burgeoning belly.
“Can you tie me?” Linny pointed to her scarf. One of the many fashion things she’d never gotten the hang of, like walking in heels and grooming her eyebrows.
Kate stepped over, formed a loop, and pulled the end through to form the graceful, draped look.
Linny patted it and smiled appreciatively. She waved toward the kitchen table, where she’d set up the laptop.
As they slid into chairs, Kate glanced at her. “Quick, tell me. Any news after the other night with Jack’s parents?”
“Not a peep.” Linny shook her head. “I think I expected more fallout.”
Ever sunny-side up, Kate said, “Maybe no news is good news. Ceecee could have just needed time to take it in.”
Linny nodded, but she had her doubts. Jack’s mother had gone from ticked off to delighted a little too quickly.
A moment later, the Skype ringtone sounded. Linny scooted her chair closer to Kate. Dottie’s face swam into view, then the floor, then her chest. They called, “Hey, Mama!”
Linny’s eyes widened as she gazed at two glossy black pigtails and a ruffled red gingham checked shirt. The screen adjusted up and the camera stabilized on Dottie’s face. Linny blinked and called out, “Hey, Mama. You look . . . pretty.”
“Thank you.” Dottie boomed.
“We can hear you fine, Mama. Just like on the cell. Just talk normal,” Kate reminded her.
Linny leaned her head in and squinted, asking, “Is this the new hairdo you were talking about?”
Dottie smiled and flipped her pigtails. “No, these are pretend braids. I’m Mary Ann, from Gilligan’s Island. Today is an at-sea day, so they’re having a big costume party tonight. We’re just trying on our costumes ahead of time.” she explained. “Dessie’s dressed up as a fortune teller and Ruby is going as Lady Gaga.”