The Tennessee Mountain Man

by Olivia Gaines

  “After witnessing this reaction, I wouldn’t have told you either,” Khloe said. “You are acting rather childish. Now buck up and deal with it, Husband.”

  “I don’t wanna and you can’t make me!”

  “Fine, but tomorrow, how will you act when you see him? Is he going to know you feel differently about him or that you love him no matter who he chooses to have in his life?” she asked softly. “He accepted your choice, and I am probably going to be the local circus show in these parts. Just think, there are others reacting the same way to the news of our wedding. Pretending to throw up. Thinking I’m ugly and look like a monkey or a baboon. Praying for you at the thought of you sticking your red-blooded all-American cock in my black body.”

  “What?” he said sitting up on the couch.

  “See, sounds really ugly when it’s applied to your life choices,” she told him.

  “This is different,” Beau said.

  “How is that?” Khloe wanted to know.

  “Ennis looks like an actual baboon with a bad haircut, and he’s having butt sex with my cousin!” Beau said. “Gimme back my bottle of reality shifter.”

  “Keep your ear to the ground, Hubby, you are going to learn a great deal about the people you call family and friends,” she said. “I’m grabbing a shower and getting ready for work in the morning.”

  She left him on the couch sitting in his pity and emotions. Between processing her words and Ennis touching his cousin, his stomach had soured. Times had changed. He didn’t have an issue with the possibility of Jethro loving men, he just couldn’t stomach the idea of him loving that man. Ennis Shaken was as ugly on the inside as he was on the outer edges. It’s wasn’t the gay thing. Or a black thing. Surely people didn’t have those feelings about Black people? Khloe was a Montgomery. The name stood for something in these parts. Either they would accept his wife and treat her with respect, or he would cut off their cable and internet service.

  Technically, he couldn’t do that. It was unethical. He could interrupt services for a day or three, though. The thought made him feel better as he also prepared himself for his work week.

  Chapter Fourteen – Well, That’s Just Plain Nasty

  Monday, Harbuck Tennessee

  Excitement buzzed through Khloe’s body like currents of electricity as she pulled in front of the small doctor’s office, seeing a dedicated sign in front of a parking space which read Nurse Montgomery. I have assigned parking. This is either going to be really interesting or I’m going to truly hate it. A truck horn tooted from her husband’s truck, who parked in the same block, two buildings over. Harbuck wasn’t really a town, but more like a strip of buildings in the middle of the countryside. A traveler could stop, grab a bite to eat, drink, fuel up and keep it moving. Today she felt the same way, but this was her new job at the new office and the new life she desperately wanted. Now you have it, Khloe. Let’s do this!

  She didn’t have keys get into the building, but it appeared as if two people were already inside. Khloe opened the door, and the tiny little bell above the frame jangled, announcing her arrival. Jethro stepped out of the back room with a dark-haired young woman, with large glasses, a pug nose, and an enlarged bottom lip.

  “Morning, Nurse Montgomery, this here’s Amber Rae Thomas, your Office Assistant,” he said. “She is highly skilled to handle your office operations. Ms. Thomas has a certificate in Medical Office Administration from one of them fancy two-year schools where everybody wears a uniform.”

  “Good morning to you both,” Khloe said.

  Before she could get in another word, Jethro kept talking. “When the doctor left two years ago, I removed all the medical files and had them stored in the warehouse. They are back now, and today, Ms. Thomas will get them all set up,” he said, walking about the space.

  “There are two exam rooms, a storage room, a private bathroom for you and Ms. Thomas, and a public one up front,” he said. “Your first supplies for cleaning were on the city. Anything else you want or need, you have to buy and I’ll see about getting you reimbursed.”

  “Jethro, can you slow down a bit?” Khloe asked.

  “Sorry, I can’t. I have loads to do today, and this is first on my list,” he said, tossing her the keys. “This is the only set. Ain’t nowhere about to make a copy, so hold on to those for dear life. Ms. Thomas doesn’t have a set.”

  “Thanks, I think,” Khloe said.

  “Your license to issue medications and prescriptions and vaccinations will not be valid until Thursday. Please don’t prick, stick, or tongue flick anyone until then; however, you can tend to the normal bruises, cuts, and abrasions until that time,” he said, moving about the space. “The medical safe is under lock and key until Thursday so you are not tempted to do something which can get us all sued.”

  “Jethro, really, this is not my first rodeo,” she told him.

  “Any rodeo has the ability to kill the rider and the messenger and break the horse’s leg. We don’t want to take any chances here,” he told her.

  The doorbell jangled as Beau came through the door. His gazed fixed on Jethro who stood close by his wife. Too damned close for his comfort, but before he said anything, he spotted the young woman.

  “Morning,” he said. “Who are you?”

  “I’m Amber Rae, Nurse Montgomery’s Office Manager,” she told him trying to give the huge bear of a man a smile. It came across as the young woman having a severe case of constipation.

  “I’m Beau Montgomery, Nurse Khloe’s husband,” he replied, not even attempting to be friendly to the woman.

  “Pleased to meet you,” Amber said, looking at Khloe, then at Beau, back to Khloe and at Beau again.

  “Beau,” Jethro said. “We’re having smothered pork chops on Friday night with Cheddar Bay biscuits. Will you and Khloe come to dinner? I have a copy of Sunset Boulevard I can’t wait to show.”

  “No,” Beau said flatly, but it was drowned out by Khloe’s cheerful “yes.”

  “We’d love to come, Jethro. It will be our first adult playdate,” she said, patting Beau on the arm.

  “If it’s a read movie, I ain’t watching it,” Beau said emphatically.

  “What’s a read movie?” Amber asked.

  “One of them movies in black and white in another language that you have to read the words at the bottom to understand what the hell they’re saying,” Beau grumbled.

  “It’s black and white, and has sound,” Jethro said. “Gotta run, but remember Khloe, no prescriptions.”

  “Got it,” she said, giving him a small wave and turning to her husband. “Came to wish me luck?”

  “You don’t need luck,” he said, looking about the freshly painted office. The idea to bring the bear shit paw print painting down here made him smile. He could almost hear the comments from the locals. ‘Hey Nurse, a bear shitting on your wall.’

  Khloe could almost hear his mind working. Tilting her head, she asked, “Beau? Penny for the idea in your head?”

  “Just thinking how great that painting in the dining room would look on this wall,” he said.

  “You think it would?”

  “Woman, it would look just fab,” he said, making his eyes wide. “This evening, I will even load it up in your truck and personally hang it on that wall.”

  “You just hate that painting, don’t you?”

  “Almost as much as going to dinner Friday with Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Ugly,” he said.

  “That is not nice, judging the man based on his looks,” Khloe said in a low whisper.

  “I’m not!” Beau declared. “He’s ugly on the inside, too. You’ll see what I mean.”

  Khloe didn’t have time to see much of anything. She touched the Montgomery crest necklace thinking not much could get uglier than that thing. Her afternoon changed as quickly as her thoughts of the truly ugly with the arrival of Kaylie Springer and the rash that kept on giving.

  “NO, IT’S NOT A SEXUALLY transmitted disease, Kaylie,” Khloe told
her. “But let me caution you to wash your hands in warm soapy water each time you go to the bathroom.”

  “Is that why I have the rash around my mouth?”

  “Quite possibly, just touching the open pustules and then touching your mouth can transfer the bacteria and make it spread,” she told the young woman, whose eyes became quite large.

  “Am I contagious?” Kaylie asked.

  “With the rash inflamed as it yes, you can spread it to another person,” she said. “I am going to give you a crème to put on it, and please, if you have had contact with anyone, I suggest you send them to see me as soon as possible so we can get this under wraps.”

  “Thank you, Nurse Montgomery,” she said. “You’re a real nice lady.”

  “I appreciate that, but remember, anyone you’ve had contact with and has the rash needs to come and see me,” she told Kaylie.

  The young woman took the crème, left a jar of strawberry preserves in payment, and headed to her vehicle. Kaylie had barely closed the door of the pick-up, when her husband, one Jud Rogers, bolted through the door, went into an exam room, and dropped his pants. Although she thought it odd, the man left her two dirty rocks as payment and stood on the sidewalk, staring across the street at the diner. He stood there so long, Kaylie had to almost push the man to get him into the truck. She looked at the two rocks again, suggesting the shelf in her office is where they would store all the unusual payments for services. Looking out the door again, Jud sat in the truck, leaning over to look out his side mirrors across the street. Eventually, he put the truck in gear and pulled off.

  Khloe ignored the oddity, as well as the rocks, and continued setting up the office with Amber.

  TUESDAY

  Tuesday morning brought a visit from her brother-in-law, Lil Bo. His cheeks were red as he used his head to point towards the exam room. When she didn’t move, he waved his hand for Khloe to follow him.

  “Kaylie said I needed to come and see you,” he said, lowering his eyes. “I’m not sure how I feel about dropping my drawers in front of you, but I’m tired of itching like I got the crabs. Is this some kind of S.D.D.?”

  “You mean an STD?”

  “An STD you can cure, well most of ‘em any. An SDD is a sexually deadly disease that turns your tongue black and you end up with your man meat in a pickle jar!” Lil Bo said. “Plus, it feels weird having my brother’s wife look at my Donkey Dong.”

  “If it’s any consolation, you are twins, so seeing one is like seeing the other,” she told him. “Make sure if you have had contact with anyone that you send them over to see me so we can get this cleared up for all involved.”

  “Sure thing,” Lil Bo said. “You will keep this confidential right?”

  “Of course, it would be unethical of me to share any one’s medical history,” she said.

  “Good, I may be sending a few people your way,” he said exposing the rash with his hands perched on his hips to display a replica of the penis she’d had before breakfast this morning. “You said I needed to send people I’ve been intimate with your way?”

  Restating the need to send others to see her agreed upon as Lil Bo said he’d send a few customers to the office. A few people were more like six with two being from outlying counties. One, a very close by victim. Worked two doors down for Montgomery Communications.

  “Sarah Jean, how can I help you today?” Khloe said to the young woman who had aided Khloe on her wedding day last week.

  “Lil Bo said I needed to come to see you,” Sarah Jean said bashfully.

  Giving her the same crème and same spiel to bring others she’d come in contact with to the office for treatment, the girl barely made it out the door before pulling out her phone. The good news was that she had money and paid for the treatment with a crisp twenty.

  It wasn’t much, but it was a start.

  WEDNESDAY

  Before Khloe could get in the front door of her offices, Buck Wilson and his two cousins were waiting for treatment from the rash that kept on giving. Fredo and Daisy were brother and sister, and Buck Wilson was their cousin. Each of them could have been no older than 16, maybe 17 years in age, but the rash was flowering on all three of them.

  Treating each patient individually, she opted to speak to them as a group. “Guys, it’s important to stay clear of sex until this rash clears up,” Khloe said.

  “Can I use my mouth?” Daisy Wilson asked.

  “If you do, the rash will get in your mouth and on your tongue, possibly making the muscle swell and choke you to death,” Khloe said.

  “She don’t mind none choking on a muscle,” Buck Wilson said in the most lascivious manner, making Khloe want to slap him upside the head.

  “Until the rash is gone, please abstain, I mean don’t have any type of sex until it clears up,” Khloe said.

  “Thank you,” Fredo said trying to hide the growing rash infected erection. “I swear, we ain’t really ever been this close to a Black person before. Your skin sure is pretty. Can I touch you?”

  “No, you can take this crème and apply it around the outside of your mouth,” she said. “Wash your hands frequently.”

  Daisy left a jar of pickles as payment, while the other two left a skinned rabbit and mini jug of moonshine.

  “What in the hell is that smell?” Amber Rae asked.

  “I think this dead ass rabbit,” Khloe said, putting the clear plastic bag in the refrigerator.

  “Nurse Montgomery, I don’t mean to pry, but I have a question?”

  “Shoot,” Khloe said, placing the skinned rabbit in the fridge. She would ask Jethro later about trash service for the strip of town they called Harbuck. The rabbit didn’t smell as bad in the plastic bag, and she hoped it wouldn’t contaminate everything in the fridge.

  “Those three...Daisy, Buck, and Fredo were all cousins, right?” she asked, squinting her eyes.

  “Yes,” Khloe said, giving her office manager a poker face.

  “That’s just plain nasty,” Amber Rae said.

  “Amber, we don’t judge. We treat ‘em and street ‘em,” Khloe said, getting back to work to set up for the rush of immunizations coming in next week. However, by the looks of things, getting through this week was going to be tough.

  THURSDAY

  Jolene Beard, who ran the café and bar across the street and the caterer of Khloe’s wedding reception, paid her a visit mid-day on Thursday. She came bearing gifts of apple cobbler and a pork chop sandwich, baked, not fried.

  “Jethro told me you didn’t really eat fried foods,” Jolene said, looking bashful.

  “I don’t, but I had planned to come see you this week to bring you this thank you gift for catering my reception,” Khloe said, pulling a gift bag from her desk drawer. “Silly me was trying to get up my nerve to come talk to you.”

  “Here I was trying to get up mine to come talk to you too, Hun,” Jolene said.

  “So, what do we do now?” Khloe asked.

  “You can start by treating this rash on my cooch,” Jolene said. “My husband Rock is gonna come later, but man this is a mess. So many folks with this damned rash. It must be in the water.”

  “Just make sure you’re using warm soapy water each time you touch the infected area,” Khloe said, offering a carefully crafted smile, which felt far from natural. After Jolene departed, she looked at the pork chop and apple cobbler.

  “I ain’t eating it,” Amber Rae said.

  “That makes two of us,” Khloe said, trying to find a way to dispose of it since there was no trash service. The plus side of the whole situation was that Jethro took the rabbit, saying it would be good eating. He could also take the pork chop and apple cobbler.

  “Did she say her husband was Rock?” Amber Rae said. “The man’s name is Rock Beard. Lord, these people.”

  By the end of the day, Khloe felt the same way. Rock Beard came for treatment, then sent Mary Sue, which cycled back to Lil Bo, who returned to make sure he, Kaylie and Mary Sue all had the same strain o
f crotch crud. Mary Sue, humiliated, sent in the last person Khloe expected to see, Jethro Montgomery.

  “Please don’t mention this to Beau. He warned me about Mary Sue, but when the bear needs his honey, he goes to the source,” Jethro said. “That little lady sure is sweet.”

  “I can imagine,” she said. “Is there anyone else you have come into contact with who needs to be treated?”

  “No, just Mary Sue and Jolene,” he said, lowering his head.

  “Well, that answers that question,” she said, giving him a smile as she checked his inner thighs.

  “Good. Good. This is embarrassing having you look so closely at my man stick.” Jethro said looking up at the ceiling. “We still on for dinner tomorrow night at my place?”

  “Of course, I’m looking forward to it,” Khloe said, turning her back as he pulled up his trousers.

  The room was quiet as she made notes in his chart which was thin in comparison to Mary Sue’s, who by the looks of the thickness of the record, was a frequent visitor in the doctor’s office. She reminded him that he’d need a tetanus shot soon and once more asked if there was anything she needed to bring for dinner the next day.

  “I have everything,” he said softly and cleared his throat as if he were about to start a new paragraph in the conversation. “He almost didn’t write the ad.”

  “Who are we talking about, Jethro?”

  “Beau. Mr. Lucky,” Jethro said. “Leave it to him to place an ad on Tuesday and be married in the next two weeks. Here you are, bright as a shiny button in the summer sun, and lovely to boot. He is lucky.”

  “It is my firm belief that I am the lucky one, Jethro,” she said. “I not only married a good man, but I inherited a good family as well.”

  He nodded his head, tapped at the imaginary brim of his hat, and left. Khloe was ready to lock up as and call it a night, but Amber wandered in, her head hung low. She knew the look.

  “Come on, let me examine you,” Khloe said gently as she would to a child with a broken arm.