Love for Buzzard- Chapter 1
Buzzard was in town again. It had already been six months ago that he had spent Thanksgiving dinner with the Hart family. It'd been a great day for Reba, mainly because Brock had absentmindedly volunteered to wash all the dishes just so he wouldn't have to watch the football game in the same room as Buzzard, but also because she'd gotten to see a side of Buzzard that she never expected.
The reason for Buzzard's visit this time was so he could attend Henry's birthday party. He was excited to come back and see Barbara Jean and Henry and he was also glad to get to see Cheyenne and Van again. Jake and him also got along very well and even emailed each other from time to time. And of course, he was excited that he would be seeing Reba again.
Reba had heard from Barbara Jean (and Brock in a more panicked tone) that Buzzard was back in town and she was actually not dreading it the way she would have six months ago. She especially enjoyed the way he made Brock "jumpier than a kitty cat in a dog pound" as she said. She didn't know how long he'd been in town, and was a little surprised she hadn't seen him yet. But, she figured she would see him at the party tomorrow.
"Hey Mom," Cheyenne said, as she walked into the living room where her mother was folding clothes on the couch.
"Hi, Cheyenne. You come to help with the laundry?" Reba asked with a hopeful smile.
"No, it looks like you got it under control." Cheyenne replied, casually. "I was actually wondering if you wanted to come shopping with me. I was gonna head over to the mall for Henry's birthday gift."
"Yeah, sure, I'll go." Reba shrugged, putting down a folded shirt. In any other family it probably would have been strange for the ex-wife to go to the birthday celebration of the ex-husband and new wife's child, but this wasn't any other family. "Let me go get my purse."
At the toy store in the mall, Reba and Cheyenne walked down aisles and aisles of games and toys, and neither of them could find the right gift for Henry. He was too smart to play with the toddler toys, but too young to play with most of the 'big kid' toys.
"What about this?" Cheyenne asked, holding up a toy nerf gun.
"Oh no, Barbara Jean said no guns, and for once, I actually see her point." Reba said. "Henry's too hyper for them."
"Yeah, I guess. Hey, I'm gonna go look at some board games in aisle three." Cheyenne said, as she disappeared behind shelves of silly putty, crayons, and play-doh.
"Alright, I'll be over here." Reba called to her and then continued slowly down her own aisle. She began moving backwards lackadaisically down the lane when she accidentally bumped into someone else who was also not paying attention to where they were going. "Oops, excuse me." She said, automatically turning around to see who she'd backed into. "Buzzard."
The familiar scruffy man smiled back at her. "Reba! Hey, I didn't see you there." He was wondering how he hadn't noticed her before. "How've you been?" He asked politely.
"I've been good, how 'bout you?" Reba smiled and noticed Buzzard hadn't changed much at all. He was still dressing in the worn jeans and flannel look that gave off an innocently careless vibe, and he still had that same old at ease disposition.
"Good, except for on my way here, I hit an armadillo. I wasn't sure what to do with him so I just threw him in the bed of my truck." He explained.
Reba smiled her small smile and raised her eyebrows so that they disappeared beyond her bangs. "Really?" Buzzard nodded a couple times. "So, how long have you been in town?" She asked, switching the topic.
"About three days." He answered. "I would've come by and said hello, but I've had a lot of work to do." The more Buzzard talked, the more it seemed like he didn't want to. A strange concept, but a clearly visible one.
Reba was surprised. "Work?" She had no idea Buzzard had gotten a job. Barbara Jean told her when he'd been fired from the auto shop he worked in, but hadn't said anything about him getting another job.
"Yeah, I started working at this out-door movie theatre just outside of town. I handle all the projection and mechanical stuff." Buzzard replied. He wasn't a clueless guy and could see Reba's surprise.
"Well…. Good for you." Reba also wasn't clueless and could sense the reserved mood about him. It was very different from the last time she'd seen him.
There was a few more moments of silence before Buzzard spoke up again. "Uh, if you're here for Henry's birthday present, there are some really nice remote-control cars over there by the baby clothes rack." Buzzard said pointing to the display he'd just walked away from. "I got him the airplane, so maybe he'll want a car too." He suggested holding up a bag with the plane in it, and giving her a small smile.
"Okay, thanks." Reba smiled back at him.
"No problem."
There was more silence. "So, I guess I'll see you at the party tomorrow?" Reba said, finally. She couldn't figure out why Buzzard looked so uncomfortable. He was usually very laid back.
"Oh yeah, I'll see you there." Buzzard replied quickly and then shyly stuffed the hand that wasn't holding the plastic bag into his pocket. "Um, bye, Reba." He gave one last smile and walked away.
"Bye Buzzard." She said as she watched him leave, confused as to what was making him act so reserved and so un-Buzzard like. That wasn't the man she remembered having over for Thanksgiving. She was pulled out of her thoughts when Cheyenne came up behind her, startling her a bit.
"Hey, Mom. I couldn't find anything. Did you?" Cheyenne asked, not noticing her mom's ponderous look.
"No, not much." Reba responded. "Why don't we go look at some of the toy cars over there?" Reba began walking towards the section Buzzard had just pointed out.
"Alright." Cheyenne agreed and followed her mother to the cars. It didn't take long for Cheyenne to pick out a bright blue racecar that she was sure Henry would love. It was the same kind she'd bought Elizabeth's friend Toby for his birthday.
It was almost three when the mother and daughter returned from their shopping trip, which turned into lunch, which turned into another shopping trip, which turned into a battle between Reba and Cheyenne concerning the kind of clothes Reba should wear, which left them both exhausted and wanting to go home.
Reba was in the kitchen loading the dirty dishes in the sink into the dishwasher when Barbara Jean came through the door. "Hi, Reba." She said in a tone that showed something was on her mind, as she took a seat at the kitchen counter.
"Barbara Jean. What can I do for you?" Reba asked, not stopping her chore.
"Well," Barbara Jean started, "I know you ran into Buzzard at the store. I can only imagine how awkward that was, especially after what I did the last time he was here."
"No, it wasn't awkward." Reba shrugged. "We just said hello."
"Oh," Barbara Jean said, sounding relieved. "Well, thank God. I was worried that my letters might not have been forgotten." Barbara Jean sighed. "Anyways, I just came over here to let you know that I understand that you are not attracted to him romantically, and I will not be playing Cupid this time around. I never should have tried to set you two up without your permission."
Reba looked at Barbara Jean, very impressed. "Thank you, Barbara Jean. That's very nice of you."
"Yeah, I know. I felt kind of bad that I never really apologized to you before." Barbara Jean said, sincerely.
"It's alright, we'll just say that me telling you pink highlights would look good last week was my way of evening out the score." Reba said, smiling with some sarcasm.
Barbara Jean smiled as well and gave her friend an enthusiastic point of the finger in agreement. "Okay! Well, I'll see you later. I've got so much cleaning to do before Henry's party tomorrow. Don't be late." Barbara Jean got up from her chair and after one final wave, left the house.
Reba just smiled as she continued to do the dishes. One thing she'd learned about Barbara Jean over the years was that she was absolutely unpredictable. Ever since Reba had found out that Buzzard would be visiting, she was worried that Barbara Jean would be up to her matchmaking antics again. She was glad she wouldn't have to worry about that anymore.
Before Reba could bask in her relief any longer, Brock came through the same door Barbara Jean had just exited out of. "Hey, Brock, if you're looking for Barbara Jean, you just missed her." She closed the door of the dishwasher, after putting in the last bowl and drying off her hands.
"Oh. I know." He said, getting himself a beer out of her fridge, which earned him an annoyed look from Reba, who was now setting out some ingredients she needed for the dinner she was starting. "I just came over here to get away from Buzzard."
"So, what, were all the bars in Houston closed?" She asked, sarcastically eying the bottle he'd just opened.
"No," He answered, trying to look innocent by making his puppy dog eyes, "but by coming here, I can have a lively conversation with you rather than some out-of-work drunk who's already on his eighth round and completely incoherent."
Reba saw right past his sweet talk. "Plus, the drinks here are free?" She said, dully.
"That may be a byproduct." Brock said, nodding and taking a swig.
"Brock…." Reba begged, "I'm in a good mood, please don't do anything to ruin that."
He sat down held his hands up defensively, "Hey, I won't, I promise." He said sincerely and then set his beer down. "Besides, I already told you, I'm just trying to avoid the nutcase."
"You married her." Reba said, and then caught a glimpse of the look Brock was giving her. "Oh, you meant Buzzard." She said, in a phony revelation kind of tone.
"Of course I meant Buzzard. It seems like every time we see each other, his dislikes more than he did the last time."
"Can you blame him?" Reba couldn't help but zing Brock when he gave her the opportunity.
Brock just ignored it. "I can't wait until he leaves town. I have a countdown taped up on the fridge."
Reba rolled her eyes and cracked two eggs into a large mixing bowl she'd set on the counter. "Why can't you just be a man about this and deal with Buzzard face to face? He's not a bad guy."
"Oh, please!" Brock exclaimed. "The guy was bored the other day so he made a giant coke can pyramid on our kitchen table."
"So?" Reba asked, not seeing his point.
"Henry walked in and decided it would be fun to throw his new baseball glove at it and watch all the cans fall."
"That's not Buzzard's fault." She reasoned and tossed some crushed thyme leaves into the bowl.
"The cans weren't all empty—that was Buzzard's fault." Brock leaned back on the counter chair. "The only reason you give him a break is because he's in love with you."
Reba stared Brock down. "Okay, one: he is not in love with me, and two: he really isn't a bad guy. I know he's a little rough around the edges, but he's a good person."
Brock just scoffed. "At what point was he a good person when he used my golf clubs to clean out the rain gutters? The expensive golf clubs you bought me, by the way." He continued on with his Buzzard rant and it didn't appear he would be stopping.
"Hey, he was cleaning your rain gutters; the thought was there." Reba cut him off, walking to the fridge, returning with a gallon of milk.
"Uh, huh." Brock said under his breath as he took another sip.
Reba just sighed, knowing she wouldn't be able to get through to Brock. "Fine, sulk about your golf clubs, but do it somewhere else so I don't have to listen to it." She poured the milk into a measuring cup and continued adding to her mixture.
Brock sighed, as well, in a frustrated tone. "I can't go anywhere else. Barbara Jean won't let me."
Reba chuckled, genuinely amused, "She won't let you? Time to start chewing the leash, Rover."
"Ha, ha." Brock said, not so amused. "She doesn't have me on a leash, she wants me to help her clean the house."
"Whatever you say, Beethoven."
"Don't make fun of me, I seem to remember a certain redhead who also liked to keep her husband close by. You weren't telling him to chew the leash."
Reba narrowed her eyes, giving him a knowing look and a sarcastic smile, "I didn't have to."
Brock just gave her a small smile and a frustrated sigh, "We're never gonna stop beating that dead horse, are we?"
Reba smirked even wider and shook her head 'no.'
"Okay, fine." He stood up from the chair and headed towards the door. "I'm gonna head back to the house. If anything, a buzz should help me handle the psycho." He lifted the bottle to his mouth and then, he was out the door.