“Fine, I’ll give it a shot. Why are you so invested, anyway?”
“Because I’m curious where this goes. It’s not every day a rich father comes out of hiding.”
Glenna looked up from her papers, “Who says he’s rich?”
“I mean, I assumed. You talk about your old house like it’s a plantation.”
“You really think my family would own a plantation?”
Albert shrugged, “I dunno. Taking it back, I guess?”
“Right. Not like you would get any of the money.”
“What’s that mean?”
“You know.”
“Know what?”
Glenna turned back around. “It’s not like we’re married or anything. So, I wouldn’t have to share.”
Albert rolled his eyes and stood up straight. “This again, really?”
“Yes, again. Yes, really.”
“Why?”
“It’s been six years.”
“So?”
“SO?! Don’t you think it’s time?”
“Time has nothing to do with it.”
Glenna whispered under her breath. “You always say that.”
“And I always mean it.”
Glenna crossed her arms, “If time has nothing to do with it, what does?”
“A lot of things. Money, for one.”
“I don’t want to argue about this.”
“Me neither.”
“I’m leaving.”
“Right, and where are you going this late at night?”
Glenna was silent. She had no idea where she could go. Everything that she could think of was closed.
Maybe the library has extended hours on Tuesdays?
Albert stayed in the doorway, staring at Glenna. She turned towards her laptop for a moment. Then, she picked up her phone.
“Who are you texting?”
Glenna scrolled through the last few conversations she had on her phone. Albert, the bookstore, bill reminder, password recovery text, spam, and Jody.
“I’m texting Jody.”
She quickly texted and asked Jody to hang out. Her thumb lingered a bit before pressing send. She didn’t know if this would work. For all she knew, normal people were already in bed. But, Jody was her best friend… only friend.
So, surely…
The text was sent.
Within seconds, she saw that Jody was typing. The response came in and Glenna jumped up to get ready.
“I’m going to the bar with Jody.”
“So you’re just going to go?”
Glenna quietly grabbed her purse and a jacket.
“Just, be careful.”
She took her keys out of her purse and walked out of the front door.
The drive to the bar was short. Glenna arrived and stared at the neon “open” sign. A red chameleon holding a martini glass blinked on and off.
She watched as a few people went in, laughing and chatting. She wasn't nervous the whole drive, but every second she stayed in the car made her want to turn back and go home.
Maybe I could say I’m sick?
She bit her lip and stepped out of the car. She walked across the dark parking lot and stepped inside the door. There were couples dancing and sitting at tables munching on snacks. The seats at the bar were mostly full. She chose an empty seat at a table close to the door. She opened her phone and tried to look busy.
Who am I kidding?
Before she could text Jody that she was leaving, someone placed a warm hand on her arm. They whispered in her ear.
“You here to get laid or scroll through your phone?”
Glenna quickly turned and saw Jody. She grabbed her in a hug.
“Oh my gosh. You scared the shit out of me.”
“Good. Maybe you’ll loosen up.”
Glenna chuckled. She hadn’t seen Jody in almost a year. It was good to be in her company. Jody ordered them a few drinks and they chatted about stuff that didn’t matter for a while. It was nice. Glenna allowed herself to relax. Something she had not been able to do in a long time.
Jody was great, as always. Sarcastic, funny, and incredibly nosey. They had been friends for almost a quarter of a century. Jody was always the rebellious one. She would get them into trouble and Glenna would talk them out. She was so comfortable around her. Jody always knew what to say. Even now.
“So, Glenna, why did you really want me to hang out?”
“Just to hang out.”
“No, no. You’re lying.” She took a swig of her beer. “What’s up?”
“It’s nothing.”
“Nothing?”
“Yeah, nothing.”
“Don’t nothing me. I know you. You always use ‘nothing’ as a cop-out.”
“No, I don’t.”
“Then why are we here? Are you guys having problems?
“It’s nothing.”
Jody raised her bottle to her lips and polished it off.
“Okay.”
“Okay, can we just-”
“You usually only call when you’re having problems with The Boob.”
Jody was right. Eight months ago, she’d called her to complain about Albert. Before that, she wasn’t sure when she reached out.
“I guess things could be better.”
“Yeah. They could.”
“What-?”
“You ladies want another round?”
Glenna shook her head. Jody kept her eyes on Glenna, “Nope. The wife and I are good to go.”
“Alright, you ladies have fun.”
Jody winked. Glenna rolled her yes.
“So we're married, now?”
“Of course, babe.” Jody reached under the table and put her fingers on Glenna’s knee. Glenna laughed.
“You know, I totally had a crush on you in high school.”
Glenna’s pulse quickened.
Did I really just say that out loud?
“Only then?” Jody grinned and leaned back. “I must be losing it.”
“Not at all. I mean, you look great. Amazing. But, I’m kind of in a relationship. And I’m not a lesbian sooo…”
“Could be bi.”
“I need some water.”
“I’m just messing with you, Princess Bean. I’ll get us some water.”
Jody left the table. Glenna straightened her shirt.
Jesus, I’m absolutely plastered. What the fuck was that?
“You talking to yourself now?” Jody gave Glenna a bottle of water. “I hear they have openings at the Med Center. Top-notch doctors. And you can get a private room.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Glenna opened the bottle and let the cool water run down her throat.
“So what’s the deal? I’m not letting this go.”
Glenna sat for a while, sipping at her water until she could find the words to explain everything. The way Albert doesn’t seem to care. How he suffocates her sometimes. How she needs a break. How they were swimming in debt. But it’s because she has had so much anxiety about why they hadn’t gotten married after so many years of living together.
“Do you really want to marry him?”
“Of course. He’s smart. We like a lot of the same foods. We go hiking. I’m so ready, Jody.”
“But you just described any pet. Maybe you need to get a Labrador or something?”
“Har. Har. The pet store is closed. And I will never get another pet again. Not after Merlin.”
Glenna thought about her old cat. He had the softest grey fur and beautiful blue eyes. He loved to play and cuddle. Robert had gotten Merlin as a peace offering. They’d had an argument earlier in the day. She couldn’t remember what about. But Merlin was waiting on her when she got home from school. She’d had him for years. Things between Glenna and her dad seemed to get better. They would talk a little more instead of completely ignoring each other. On the days where they were silent - or worse, at each other’s throats - Glenna could always stomp off to her room and confide in Merlin. Then, Robert was careless and the cat
got out. Glenna saw that as her tipping point. As soon as she turned of age, she left Robert and Woods County behind.
“I miss my cat. I should have been there.”
“And skipped school?”
“Well, if Robert had been watching him.”
“You still blaming your old man?”
“Maybe.” Glenna sipped her water. “He wrote me a letter.”
Jody leaned forward, “No shit.”
“Yep. Wants to get to know me. Visit. You know, all of the check marks on the estranged dad list.”
“What did you tell him?”
“I haven’t found the words to say anything at all. Not yet, anyway.”
“Alright. Mr. Rob is a good man.”
“He hardly talked to me.”
“Did you try talking to him?”
Glenna pursed her lips. Of course she had tried. “I wasn’t the adult in the situation, you know?”
“Yeah, I get it. That doesn’t give you a pass to treat him like this, now. He’s trying, Glenna. Least you could do is respond.”
“You don’t get what it’s like to have a dad like him.”
Glenna’s insides turned to ice. Jody lost her father at around the same time that Glenna lost her mom. It was one of the reasons they had gotten to know each other. When she and Robert returned to Woods County, Jody had to take some therapy courses. She had met Jody in one of the group sessions.
Glenna wished she could rewind and swallow those words.
“Yeah, you’re right. I don’t get it.” After a bit of silence, Jody stood up. “Alright. I’ve got work in the morning.”
“You work for yourself.”
“Yep. 24/7. Listen, it’s been nice seeing you. Don’t be a stranger.”
“I won’t.”
“And write Robert.”
“I will. First thing in the morning.”
Jody polished off her water, hugged Glenna, and left. Glenna went to pay for their tab but Jody had already done so.
When she got home, she couldn’t wait to write a letter to Robert. Part of it was out of guilt and the other part was because she actually wanted to know how he was doing.
Her letter was short and sweet. She talked about how life was going and how much she missed him. It wasn’t a lie - she really did miss Robert. Even though he was always shut up in his office and hammering away at the computer. When she finished, she put the letter in an envelope and shoved it in her purse. She would take it to the post office tomorrow.
The Office
Albert brought in a bag of groceries. He placed a small stack of mail on the counter and went outside to close the trunk. Glenna got up from her seat and unloaded a few items from the bags. She glanced over and saw a letter from a bank addressed to Albert.
That’s strange.
Albert walked back in with one more bag.
“Hey babe, what’s this?”
He looked over and paused when he saw the envelope.
“We don’t bank with them. Why are they sending us anything?”
“It’s probably spam.” He snatched the letter and walked down the hall. “I’ll throw it away.”
“Okay.” Glenna raised an eyebrow but brushed it off.
He’s always so weird about the mail.
He returned to the kitchen quickly and helped Glenna finish sorting the groceries.
“Put this in the fridge, would ya?” He handed her a case of soda and kissed her on the forehead. “Thanks, babe. How was your day?”
“Okay, I guess. Boring.”
“Mine too. Slow day at the shop. Oh! Well, we did have one big guy come in. Drove this really tiny car. It was like being at the circus or something.” Albert juggled a few oranges and tossed one at Glenna. She managed to catch it and toss it back. “There’s my smile. So what’s on the agenda for this evening?”
“I was hoping that I could stop by the post office at some point. I was waiting for you to get here in case you wanted to go.”
“Oh, so you finished writing that letter, huh?”
“Yeah.” Glenna nodded towards the counter.
“Cool, cool. Can I read it?”
“It’s kind of personal.”
“Well, how about I go drop it off for you, huh? That way you don’t have to leave? Plus, I can pick us up some pizza for supper.”
“Actually, could you pick up some flour? We basically have all the ingredients we need and -”
“Oh, you want to make it? Cute. You know it’s impossible to feel like cooking after a grocery run. Besides, the only person I know who would do that lives alone with twelve cats”
“What? Jody totally makes pizza.”
“I rest my case. Let me know what you want on yours and I’ll order it.”
“Can we split one? I’m not that hungry.”
“Are you for real?”
Glenna was very for real. But, she knew that the argument would be pointless. She thought about what Jody would have done in this situation. Probably put her foot down and just get the flour.
The best pizza that Glenna ever had was made in an old kitchen with lots of laughter and flour everywhere. She and Jody were just little kids and Robert was busy in his study. Things could never go back to that now. How could they? Jody was probably still upset about last night.
“So, what toppings do you want?”
Albert nearly ran to the door when the doorbell rang. He brought the pizza boxes to the living room and set them on the table. He balled up the receipt and tossed it at the garbage can.
“Kobe!” The receipt bounced off the rim and onto the floor. “More like Shaq, am I right?” Albert rose and put the receipt in the kitchen can.
He sat down and looked at Glenna. “What’s your deal?”
“Nothing.”
He sighed, “You said we wouldn’t play the nothing game anymore.”
“Sorry. It’s just stupid and I don’t want to bring it up or start a fight or-”
“What is it?”
“That letter from the bank?”
“What letter? Oh, from earlier? Yeah?”
“You threw it away.”
“Yeah.”
“In the back?”
“Yeah. Bathroom can. What’s with the twenty questions?”
“Well, why’d you walk past two… No, three trash cans? The one in the kitchen was right beside you and-”
“Oh God, Glenna. Seriously? So I can’t go to another trash can?”
“You can. But, why?”
“Because I'm a human? I dunno. I have to pee.” Albert rose.
“Why would you throw it away instead of shredding it? I mean, you always say that it’s best to shred those things and-”
“Seriously? Do you trust me? Because, if you don’t, we shouldn’t get married.”
Glenna’s heart sank. “You know I want to marry you more than anything in the world. I do trust you. I’m sorry.”
“Me too. For whatever I’ve done to make you so damned anxious around me. I mean, I’m sorry. I don’t want to hurt you. It’s just a lot of pressure from you all the time.”
“Sorry.”
Glenna and Albert ate their pizza in silence. When their show ended, Glenna went to bed. Her stomach was doing flips. She couldn’t take her mind off of the bank envelope. If it really was so innocent, why hide it? It really made no sense for him to not shred it when he shreds everything.
She pretended to be asleep when Albert came to bed. He climbed in and turned over. Once he was snoring, she gingerly got up from the bed and put on her slippers. She made it to the doorway and stubbed her toe on the frame.
“You okay?”
“Yeah,” she whispered back. “Just stubbed my toe.”
“Where are you going?”
“I have to pee.”
“Okay.”
Whitman River Page 2