by Linda Mayes
***
On Monday, Grace was leaving the ranch after dropping the kids off with Louise when she saw John riding up behind her on top of Satan. She pulled off to the side of the driveway and rolled down her window as he got close.
“Hey!” he called as he rode up. “I’ve been meaning to call you all week. It’s just been a darn busy one.”
“That’s okay,” Grace told him. “I’ve been working every day. How are the new mother and her colt?”
“They’re both doing fine. If you have time when you get back this afternoon, I’ll take you out to see them.”
“I’d like that. I better get going now though, Charlie’s showing me how to do orders today, I don’t want to be late.”
John made a face that Grace wasn’t quite sure how to interpret. “Wouldn’t want to keep Charlie waiting. I’ll see you this afternoon.”
Grace went back by the house to pickup Maggie. She was wondering why the mention of Charlie waiting her at work had seemed to darken John’s mood.
Maggie dropped her at the store and took the pick-up. She was headed to Great Falls to get some supplies for her store. When they drove up in front of the market, Maggie told her to have a good day, and genuinely seemed to mean it. She had also asked Grace if there was anything that she or the kids needed while she was in the city. Grace didn’t, but she was touched that her mother had thought to ask.
She stayed busy all morning going over stock items with Charlie. He had a stock book that he used to keep track of how many of each item they sold in a month. He also wrote down items that customers asked him about and checked into the feasibility of carrying things that were frequently requested in the store. He had a detailed list of suppliers, including the farmers who he bought produce and dairy products from. Although Charlie tried hard to keep up with what was popular, he also kept to tradition after taking over the store from his parents. He sold only fresh, locally grown fruits and vegetables, and the bulk of his dairy and meat supplies came from local farmers and ranchers as well. After a couple of hours with Charlie, he had Grace start learning the cash register with Sarah.
Most of the items in Charlie’s store had barcodes, so at first, Grace was having an easy time scanning and bagging the handful of items each customer brought up to the check-out counter. Sarah had asked Charlie, and then Grace, if she could leave for an hour for a doctor’s appointment. Charlie had said he would run the register while she was gone, but Grace was feeling confident by that time and told Charlie so. He left her and went in the back, telling her to call if she needed him.
She had a few customers and things were going smoothly. She was feeling proud of herself that she had picked things up so quickly. But then she looked up and saw a frazzled looking woman and three dirty little boys in her line. The woman had a basket so filled with groceries, they nearly spilled over the side, and each little boy had his arms full of things as well. Grace swallowed hard, told herself, “You can do this,” smiled and said, “Hi there, how are you today?”
The woman looked at her as if she had only just noticed that Grace wasn’t a regular in the store. She looked around to where the other checkout counter was, but Sarah had already left. Charlie was still in the back.
“Where’s Charlie?” the woman asked in a timid voice.
“He’s in the back. Would ya’ll like to put your groceries up on the belt? I’m new, and a little slow, but I can help you.”
The woman continued to look nervously around the store and the little boys each clutched the items they held as if Grace were trying to take them away. Finally Grace asked, “Miss, would you like me to call Charlie?”
The woman nodded slowly. Grace pushed the call button on the microphone next to the register. She tried to sound professional as she said, “Charlie, can you come up front please? Customer waiting.”
There was an older woman in line behind the lady and her kids. She was holding a gallon of milk and a box of crackers. She asked gently, “Can I go on ahead while you wait for Charlie?”
The younger woman moved her boys and her cart out of the other woman’s way. Grace smiled, but the other woman didn’t smile back. Grace focused her attention then on the older woman and rang up her two items. The woman paid Grace. “You’re Maggie’s girl, aren’t you?”
Grace smiled. “Yes.”
“I’m Edith Brown,” she told Grace. “My husband is chairman of the town council. I’ve known your mama since she was a girl.”
“Well, nice to meet you Mrs. Brown.” Grace saw Charlie come out of the back and up to the woman who had been in her line. Edith explained the unique situation of the other woman. “That’s Lila Samuels. He husband got trampled by some horses at the ranch he was working last year. He gets a real small check each month for being disabled now, and when school’s in, Lila works in the cafeteria. Lila’s having a hard time keeping them boys fed, and still paying for everything else they need. Charlie has such a good heart. He sent her out some coupons that she can use once a month in the store here. I don’t know how much all those groceries in that cart would normally amount to, but he charges her twenty dollars even, no matter what. The coupon says something like ‘all you can carry out, twenty bucks.’ He’s got a real good heart.”
“Wow,” Grace said, more to herself than to Edith. No wonder the woman had looked so worried. She was probably afraid Grace wouldn’t honor the coupons. She thanked Edith, and as the older woman left, Grace went over to ask Charlie if he would like her to bag the items. The other woman was still looking at her suspiciously, but Charlie said yes, and told the lady, “Lila, this is Grace. She’s Maggie’s girl.”
That seemed to change the woman’s demeanor. She managed a weak smile and nod in Grace’s direction. When Charlie finished scanning everything, the total on the register said $349.35. Grace watched in awe as Charlie turned to Lila and said, “That’ll be twenty-dollars, even,” took the cash and then helped the woman and her kids out to the car. On his way back he told Grace, “Thanks for calling me out. Just holler again if you need me.”
Grace didn’t say anything to him about the woman and her kids, but her respect for Charlie grew that day by leaps and bounds. When Sarah got back from her appointment, Grace mentioned it to her. Sarah smiled and said, “Oh, I should have told you about Lila. I just hadn’t thought of it yet. Lila and Charlie grew up together. Charlie told me once that Lila’s daddy used to beat her when she was a girl. She married some cowboy she met while he was passing through town, and he used her for a punching bag too, until his accident. Any other woman woulda left as soon as she knew that the S-O-B couldn’t walk to ever come after her. The horses that stomped on him crushed his spine and he’s paralyzed. Lila says she made her vows, and she cares for him and those five boys all by herself. Charlie tried to give her groceries once, but she told him she don’t take charity. So he came up with the coupon thing. He made it like a contest where you put your name in a jar and we had a drawing and everything. Lila won.”
“Was it lucky that he drew her name?” Grace asked, already knowing the answer.
“No,” Sarah said with a smile. “He emptied out the jar before the drawing and put in eighteen pieces of pink paper with Lila’s name on it. No matter which one he drew, it was gonna be her.”
“He’s pretty amazing,” Grace said sincerely.
“Yes, he is.”
At lunchtime, Charlie had sandwiches delivered to them from the diner in town. Sarah had begged off, saying she ate while she was out earlier. She volunteered to watch up front while Charlie and Grace ate.
Grace didn’t tell Charlie what Sarah had shared with her about Lila. She figured he didn’t do what he did for recognition, and that made him all the more amazing for doing it as far as she was concerned. Instead, as they ate, Grace told him how happy she was that her kids seemed to be adjusting so well to life here.
“Where’s their Daddy?” Charlie asked. It was the first truly personal question he had ever asked her.
Charlie looked almost ready to cry. “I can’t imagine having the opportunity to be around your babies, and choosing not to be.”
Grace felt bad instantly, remembering what Sarah had told her about Charlie’s family. “I’m sorry, Charlie.”
“For what?” he asked.
“Bringing all that up. I can’t imagine going through what you’ve been through. Sarah told me. I’m so terribly sorry.”
Charlie smiled at her, but the smile didn’t reach his green eyes. “You are welcome to talk about your kids anytime. Even the wretched ex-husband. I still miss my girls, I always will. I finally learned that life has to go on. I’ll tell you this though, if the Good Lord ever sees fit to bless me with a family again, I won’t waste one precious second of it. I learned the hard way that the old saying about life being too short is nothing but the truth.”
Grace held her paper cup of soda up. “I’ll drink to that.” Charlie smiled again, this time with his eyes too, and clicked his cup against hers. “Can I ask you something?” Grace said.
“Anything.” Charlie had a devilish grin.
“You grew up here in Belt, so I figure you must know John Harwell pretty well, right?”
“Sure, I’ve known John all my life.”
“Can I ask what you think of him?”
“Well, John and I aren’t the best of friends. Before my wife and I started seeing each other back in high school, she was John Harwell’s girlfriend. He was pretty upset at both of us, for a long time. I had thought he was past it once he and Becca got serious, but when Celeste died, well, let’s just say he had a few things to say to me about how I screwed up her life.”
“That’s terrible, I’m sorry.”
“You don’t owe me an apology, Grace. John doesn’t either. I think he just never stopped loving her, and like I did when she died, he needed someone to blame.”
“What’s his ex-wife like? Did she grow up here too?”
Shaking his head, Charlie answered, “No, Becca was a city girl. Her family rented a cabin from John’s family every year around hunting season. She was always sweet on John, and once he and Celeste had broken up, they started spending a lot of time together when Becca was in town. Becca never adjusted to this life, though, and she knew that John would die if she put him in the city. I don’t know exactly how it all went there at the end, but Becca came by here the day she left. I was shocked that she would leave town and not take the kids. She said she couldn’t bear to take them from John, and that she would still see them as often as she could. She hasn’t been back here, but I think the kiddos have visited her a few times since she left. I’m not even sure where she’s living these days. Can I ask you a question, now?”
“Sure.”
“Why all the interest in John Harwell? Is it because your kids stay out there, or is it a more personal interest?”
“Not personal like you think, Charlie,” she said with an eye roll. “I was actually just curious. It seems like you all knew so much about me already when I got to town. I don’t really know anything about you all. Trust me, Charlie, a man is the last thing I need or want right now.”
He didn’t say anything, but the look on his face made Grace add, “Really.”
“I just wondered who you were trying harder to convince there, me or yourself.”
Grace took the last bite of her sandwich and said, “I know you’re the boss, but we should get back to work.”
Charlie let it go, but Grace went back to work, wondering herself why she was so interested in John Harwell.