When Leah finished her morning run, crossing the invisible finish line marked at the back of her house, she noticed a second car in Boomhauer's driveway. It wasn't long afterward when a woman came out of his house, got into that car, and left.
Leah didn't think much of it, really. She wondered if she was feeling disappointment, but why would she? She didn't want a boyfriend, or a friend-with-benefits, or any type of relationship. She needed to keep herself separate and whole for a while. Plus, he was her neighbor, with only one house sitting between them. It was too risky to turn being neighbors into something awkward.
But damn if he wasn't attractive. She felt a little funny for thinking he had beautiful bone structure, but he did. Angular cheekbones and a strong jawline, a long, straight nose, and eyes that smoldered. Not to mention he was tall and lean, yet strong. But most of all, it was that mysterious, silent type thing he did which made him all the more captivating.
She had to focus on other things. And as if on cue, she got her new focus.
Her phone vibrated when a text came in. It was from a number that wasn't saved under her contacts.
please talk to me
Her insides froze. She just knew it was from Dan, who must have gotten a new number, or was using somebody else's phone.
Immediately she blocked it. She wanted to get a new number herself, so she wouldn't have to deal with him anymore, once and for all But she had thought that maybe he'd eventually give up.
She felt knocked off kilter now, feeling violated even though they were hundreds of miles apart.
Leah went to her crystal collection, which she had in a case in the spare bedroom. She felt particularly drawn to celestite today, especially after that stupid text, so she held the pale blue crystal in her palm and tried to focus and calm her mind.
After a lengthy meditation session, she was feeling better. She felt grounded again, and not sick to her stomach anymore. The sun was shining outside her window in the warm spring air. Maybe she would work in her garden for a while.
There was a sudden knock at her back door. After that text from Dan it made her jumpy; just hearing the knock made her adrenaline kick in. She knew it wouldn't be him, though. He didn't know that she had moved, especially not five and a half hours away.
Despite reasoning with herself, she still felt a wash of relief to see it was Peggy, smiling brightly at the sliding glass doors.
"Hi, Peggy," Leah greeted her. It felt good to see a friendly face.
"Hello, Leah! I hope you don't mind me stopping by." She held a square baking pan covered in tin foil.
"No, of course not. Come in!"
Leah stepped aside to let Peggy through, and slid the glass door back behind her.
"Oh, your home is lovely," Peggy complimented as she looked around. Leah had an eclectic sense of style, with many decorations and furnishings made from various materials and time periods. She loved folk pieces, and things made by hand found at flea markets and festivals.
Peggy set the baking pan on the kitchen counter. "I made you vegan brownies. I hope they turned out; I've never made them before."
Leah pulled back the tin foil covering, revealing the delicious cakiness underneath.
"I think these look great! Thank you, Peggy." Leah beamed at her. "Would you like to try one with me? I can make up some coffee."
"I would love that! I'm so sorry you couldn't have had my apple brown betty. I tried to find a vegan recipe, but unfortunately the butter is really what makes it."
Leah brewed them each a cup of coffee and cut them each a brownie square. They sat together at Leah's round kitchen table in the warm sunlight.
"Peggy, this is incredible!" Leah praised, after taking a bite. "You'll have to give me the recipe."
"It is pretty good, isn't it? Who knew you didn't need eggs for something like this."
They chatted for a while as they sipped from their coffee mugs. Peggy was always so friendly and welcoming. All of the neighbors were, really, but Peggy was someone Leah had really felt a connection with.
"Can I ask you something, Leah?" Peggy said after a lull in conversation.
"Sure."
"Are you...alright?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, I...I know it's not my business, but I'm saying this out of concern, because you're my friend...I saw the bruises on your arm, on the day Hank and I came over and introduced ourselves."
Leah knew she should have worn long sleeves until the bruises went away. But the Texas heat…
"Yeah, I'm alright."
She considered just leaving it at that, but Peggy looked at her so openly and sincerely.
Sighing, she elaborated. "My ex boyfriend... The last time I saw him, he grabbed my arm... He was angry because I was trying to leave him."
One incident of many...over the course of two years...
Peggy reached across the table and patted Leah's hand sympathetically.
"I'm so sorry you had to go through that. My brother was in an abusive relationship. I've seen what it did to him."
"Thank you." Leah smiled. "I'm sorry about your brother."
"Well, what's important is that he got out of it. And it looks like you got out of it, too?"
If only he would stop texting and calling me…
"Yes...that's kind of why I moved here. I wanted to put some distance between myself and the negative things where I was. It was fate, or luck, or, I don't know...it was something, that my ex-boss happened to have a job opening down here."
Peggy smiled, sympathetic and compassionate.
"Well, we're all very glad you came here. If you ever need anything, even just to talk, you know I'm just across the street."
Boomhauer was glad that Lisa was gone before he had fully woken up. He never wanted the women he brought home at night to stick around in the morning.
Last night with her was nice, it got the job done at the very least. But Boomhauer still felt unsatisfied. It wasn't enough. Something was lacking.
Was he lonely? He had begun entertaining the thought, in the back of his mind, over the past few months. Maybe even longer. He didn't want to believe it, though. He had decided long ago that he wanted to live freely as a bachelor for as long as he lived. But why was it he was feeling unfulfilled now?
It was Sunday, and Sundays were usually when he drank beer in the alley and washed and detailed his 1969 Dodge Coronet Super Bee. On the surface it seemed like an accomplished day, but then that small, dark thought in the back of his mind would remind him of what his Sundays used to be like. Surfing the glittering waves near Corpus Christi, hitting up the hottest nightclubs and rooftop parties, racing cars and meeting women...
But a lazy day in the alley was fine, too.
Later that day, in the early afternoon when the sun was high and the air was warm, Boomhauer began to clean and polish his car in the driveway. It didn't need much, as he washed it every week, but it felt therapeutic to do.
He saw Leah getting into her car, eye catchingly gorgeous as she always was. He kept his attention on the engine bay of his car. He tried to ignore her, the thoughts of her, and now he was growing annoyed with himself for even thinking about her at all.
It was because she lived so close by, he reasoned. But, now he was starting to learn more about her, getting to know who she was as a person. That was different than just going by how she looked.
Just as he was finishing up with his car, his friends had begun moving out to the alley to stand with the cooler of beer. He joined them in the line along the fence, and cracked open the can he grabbed. Nothing was more refreshing than a cold beer after working in the sun for a few hours.
"Yep."
The other three talked while Boomhauer mostly listened, occasionally chiming in if prompted.
"I'm going to try to ask Leah out today," Bill informed them.
"Do you think she'll say yes?" Dale asked.
"I don't know," he shrugged, "She hasn't seemed disgusted by me so far."
"Well, good luck, Bill. Leah seems like a nice girl. She and Peggy have really been hitting it off; Peggy has had nothing but nice things to say about her," Hank offered.
Boomhauer hoped it worked out for Bill, but wasn't holding his breath on it. Bill's most successful relationship had ended with cheating, verbal abuse, and a bitter divorce. He rarely had had a relationship since, and the ones he did manage to get never ended well, either.
Though Boomhauer had no room to talk. There were only two women he had ever felt real feelings for: one who only ever saw him as a hookup, and the other who ended up engaged to his brother.
Marlene was cool and elegant, and had similar interests to his. He had fallen hard and fast for her. She did not. The chase made him all the more lovesick for her, and he even went as far as to ask her to marry him. She laughed in his face and shut the door.
Katherine was sweet and beautiful, and seemed to mesh with him perfectly. He broke her heart, of course, wanting to be free of commitment and constraints. It wasn't until years later when he started thinking about her again, starting to brush against the idea of settling down with her, when it turned out she was going to marry his brother, Patch. The two of them didn't last, but Katherine wasn't interested in Boomhauer anymore, anyway.
He had really made up his mind to never commit to anybody after that.
As the peak of the day began to subside, they watched as Leah parked back in her driveway across the street. She popped the trunk open remotely and walked around to bring the shopping bags inside.
"Looks like she might need help," observed Bill, seemingly conflicted.
"Go help her, then," Hank nudged.
Bill trotted to the other side of the alley and began talking to Leah. Hank, Dale, and Boomhauer all watched idly, sipping beer, as Bill helped Leah with the rest of the shopping bags.
They were curious when they saw Bill coming back over to them, appearing to be in good spirits. He silently grabbed a beer and cracked it open.
"So?" Dale prompted.
"What?"
"Did you ask her out or not?"
"I did."
Dale paused to allow Bill to elaborate, but he said nothing.
"And?"
"Well, she said she's not looking for a relationship right now."
Dale scoffed. "So you were rejected."
"I don't know. Maybe. But she seemed sympathetic. Maybe even sorry." Bill seemed completely unbothered, even a little happy.
"Well, I'm proud of you for putting yourself out there, at least," praised Hank.
Bill shrugged. "I'll just have to try again at a later date."
Boomhauer couldn't help but wonder if Leah really meant it, or if she was just trying to politely turn Bill down, or even both.
But why did he care? He didn't.
"When she brings home some handsome, jacked, dude, you'll see."
"Dale," Hank groaned, "Leave him alone."
Bill ignored it.
"I've been wanting to say thank you, Boomhauer, for giving me a shot," Bill said to him.
Boomhauer grumbled, "I told you...I don't want her."
"Just because she lives next door?" Dale jeered, "We can all see through that paper thin excuse. You'll fuck anything if its tits are big enough."
Boomhauer made to punch Dale in the arm, but Dale dodged backwards, slamming into the fence behind them. "Okay, okay. Sorry." He cowered under Boomhauer's fist.
"Is this a bad time?"
Everyone's attention snapped behind them, to where Leah was standing with an amused expression.
"Oh, it's just Dale being an idiot. There isn't ever another time," Hank sighed.
Leah laughed. Boomhauer tried looking impassive, to smooth over the immature behavior she just saw.
"I came to ask for a favor." She seemed hesitant, like she was asking for too much. "I forgot I'm working late tomorrow, and my lawn mower is being delivered around five or six. Would anybody be able to sign for it for me?"
"I'm sure we'll be in the alley by then," Hank nodded kindly, "One of us will gladly take care of it for you."
"Really?" she smiled, "Thank you. I do hate to ask, but-"
"No, it's no problem at all!" Bill assured her.
"Is beer vegan?" interrupted Dale.
"I think most are."
"Want one?"
"Oh, no thanks."
"Well, you should join us anyway! We need some estrogen around here."
"Okay," Leah smiled, "I see you guys out here all the time. It looks like the place to be."
"Of course it is, especially when my buddy Boomhauer is out here with us." Dale threw his arm around Boomhauer's shoulders and squeezed. Boomhauer squirmed him off in discomfort.
Hank patted Bill on the back. "And don't forget Bill. The alley is never complete without him here."
Leah continued to smile and chat with them for a few minutes. Boomhauer didn't say much of anything at all. He felt strange talking to her. He felt as though the more he was getting to know her, the more he would like her.
The discussion had moved to talk of Rainey Street and its various residents.
"I'm glad Kahn hasn't given you too hard a time," Hank said, "He can be pretty difficult to get along with sometimes."
"Understatement of the year," muttered Dale.
"No, Kahn has been great, and so has Minh. Really, everyone on Rainey Street has been so friendly. Even Boomhauer, who usually ignores me." She looked at him teasingly.
Was she really noticing that he didn't talk to her?
"Sorry," he apologized.
"Don't take it personally," Dale assured her, "Boomhauer was always a man of few words. He's much more physical, if you know what I mean." He quirked his eyebrow suggestively.
Hank gave him a look, but didn't reprimand him verbally, probably because Leah was there. Boomhauer wanted to punch him again, but didn't, also because Leah was there.
"I would never ignore you," stated Bill, with a tinge of smugness to his voice.
"I'm not ignoring her," Boomhauer grumbled.
"I was just joking with you!" Leah said, half laughing, "I just want to fit in here with you alley guys."
Hank chuckled. "You fit in just fine. You may be from Oklahoma, and drive a Prius, and you don't eat meat, but aside from all of that-"
Leah rolled her eyes and laughed. "I've heard it all before. Just live and let live, you know?"
Hank considered that, then smiled. "I like that."
It was getting close to dinner time. Leah said goodbye to them, even saying goodbye to Boomhauer individually, and made to cross the alley to go back home.
"Why don't you walk her home, Boomhauer?" Dale suggested, a sly grin played upon his face.
"Bill can walk with her. He lives closer," Hank said, and nudged Bill forward.
"No, it's fine. I think I know the way," She smiled over her shoulder and left, leaving behind a trace of her presence, her energy, clean and bright. Like fresh laundry hanging out in the sun.
Once she was entirely out of earshot, Hank began to scold Dale.
"Why do you keep trying to get her interested in Boomhauer? You know Bill likes her."
"I'm just trying to break Boomhauer," he shrugged, nonchalant, "I know his whole 'I don't care' thing is all an act."
"What makes you say that?" Boomhauer asked, annoyed.
"Well, since when don't you care about chasing women? Especially ones as attractive as that?"
"She's pretty, alright?" His irritation was growing. "But as I keep saying, I'm not going to risk making things awkward with a neighbor."
"Yeah, we'll see." Dale lit up a cigarette with a smirk. Boomhauer ignored him, because getting a rise out of him was what Dale wanted.
Once the topic had changed, Boomhauer's mind sidled quietly back to Leah. He noted how she was unfazed by any of their antics or discourse. He also thought about her teasing him for not talking to her much. Is that something anybody else would have noticed?
She certainly wasn't like anybody else, that was for sure.
