Readers notes-
Lebonnie is pronounced, "Leh Buh Knee" Her nickname is 'Bunny.' She's little at 5'2. Tan skin, good figure. Long blonde hair, pretty smile, green eyes. Works as waitress at rowdy bar called'After Shock' Her personality is bubbly and happy. Age-20
Chase is pictured to be the Redneck of all Rednecks. Picture Larry the Cable Guy, except younger. Works as an engineer. Age-25
Luke is Chases' older brother and best friend. Works as engineer as well. He raised Chase when he was only sixteen after thier Dad left them. Age-28
Twenty-year-old Lebonnie, unlocked the door to her beat-up Chevy Truck, and threw her college books inside. This was her first year at Roseburg Community College and thankfully, it was coming to and end.
She started the engine and pulled out of the driveway. She waved to her friend Helen Geller as she headed for the main road.
'Pick up Dixie, groceries, call the plumber, oh crap!' Lebonnie thought to herself. "Dinner with Mom at six!"
She sighed and took a drink of her coke. The only reason she was attending college was to make her demanding parents proud of her. After becoming a wife and Mother before her eighteenth birthday, she needed a few years of college to revitalize her reputation.
She pulled her long blonde hair in a pony while holding on to the steering wheel with her legs. 'God I need to re-do my roots.' She thought noticing the three inches of brunette roots growing from her head.She also needed to spend some time on her skin as the blemishes from poor nutrition showed along her forehead and cheeks. She wasn't wearing any makeup. She never really wore makeup anymore. Her jeans had rips and tears from being worn constantly and her sweatshirt hadn't changed in four years, besides a few stains here and there. Her nails were short and dirty, and the only jewelry she had on was her wedding ring and the five earrings she had on each ear.
People gossip that she's white trash. And she was white trash; she just sat in a college class a few times a week. She chewed tobacco, drank beer all day long, lived in a trailer, and didn't sound very educated when she talked.
But really, she didn't care. She cared in High School. Lebonnie Grace Tyrien was quite popular. Never wealthy, but well liked. That all changed when she married her boyfriend Chase. He was all that mattered to her and she couldn't picture living the last five years of her life without him. She constantly thought of him. Their first date was when Lebonnie was only fifteen years old, and he was twenty.
When she gave birth to Dixie a month before High School graduation,Chase proposed to her and married shortly after. She moved in with him at Graves Trailer Park. She was happy and bubbly the first two years, but this past one, has been a struggle.
Lebonnie pulled into the driveway of her friend Helens house. Helens parents watched three-year-old Dixie for her when she attended class. It was a nice, two-story cabin home with a beautiful front yard and growing garden. Helen had been Lebonnies best friend since the first year of high school, she had also been her wealthiest friend.
Sometimes she would become jealous of what Helen had. But her friend never flaunted it. She was one of the biggest blessings Lebonnie had next to her daughter Dixie.
She rang the doorbell and was greeted by Helens Mother, Jill.
"Hey Bunny!" Jill said as she embraced Lebonnie in a hug. "How's my second daughter?"
"Fine." Lebonnie replied kindly. Helens parents were also a god-given gift. They got her out of a lot of trouble in her teen years. "How's it goin?"
"Nothin' exciting." Jill answered closing the door behind her."Little Dixie drew you a perty picture today. She spent at least an hour on it!"
Lebonnie smiled. She was running out of room to store her presents gracious Dixie would always give her and Chase.
Jill led her into the living room where Dixie was petting the fur of a Golden Retriever named, Duke.
"I tell ya, nothing sets Dixie strait like good ole Duke." Jill whispered. "She got in trouble earlier for swearin,' and alls I said was she couldn't play with Duke if she didn't apologize, and that did the trick. She pleaded sorry more than a guilty prisoner!" Jill finished with a smile.
"Mama!" Dixie yelled running across the carpet into Lebonnies arms. "I drew you picture!"
"You did?"
"Uh-huh." Dixie replied nodding her head so quick her little pigtails shook. Jill handed Dixie the piece of artwork and Dixie waved in Lebonnies face. "Look!"
"Settle down sweetie" She said as she unfolded the paper. A stick figure was riding what looked to be a giraffe, but was actually of Lebonnies old horse Breezy. Dixie drew the same thing every time she had a piece of paper in front of her. She missed Breezy almost as much as Lebonnie did.
Lebonnie sold Breezy six months ago to a ranch about thirty miles out of town. She owned Breezy ever since her eleventh birthday. But when Lebonnie moved out of her parents house, she had to take care of the dapple gray on her own. Hay, grain, shoeing, worming, and rodeo fees, do add up after awhile. When Lebonnie figured she could no longer be responsible for the care of her nineteen-year-old mare, she sold her to a ranch that needed an experienced goat-tying horse for their thirteen-year-old daughter. They were willing to pay far more than what Lebonnies Dad purchased her for, and promised good care to the Thoroughbred cross. So, she sold her best friend to the ranch and hoped the best.
"It's beautiful." Lebonnie said holding back tears.
"I know." Dixie said feeling accomplished.
"Got your coat honey?" Jill asked little Dixie as they were heading out to the brown Chevy truck.
"Yeah!" Dixie replied as her Mom helped her into her car seat.
Lebonnie parked the truck in front of their trailer home. The neighbor kids were riding their bicycles and shooting spit wads at each other as the Mothers yelled at them. The men sat out in front of their lawns enjoying some sort of alcoholic beverage, as their wife bitched at them for any and every reason under the sun.
Chase should be on his way home from work any minute which would allow his wife to hop in the shower and clean up for dinner without having to worry about Dixie getting spat in the face from a spit wad.
"Mom can I go play with Emma?" Dixie asked tugging on Lebonnies blue sweatshirt.
"No you need to take yer bath." Lebonnie answered as she pushed open the flimsy screen door to her home.
"But I don't wanna!" Dixie protested.
Lebonnie picked the kicking three-year-old up into her arms and lead her to the bathroom. 'We both need to shower.' She thought to herself. It's been four days since she showered and God knows how many days it's been since Dixie touched a bar of soap.
She undressed her daughter as the warm bath water filled the ugly yellow tub.
"Want bubbles?" Lebonnie asked as she stripped out of her clothes as well.
Dixie nodded her head and sniffled.
"Well if you be a good girl we can pour the bubbles in okay?"
"K" Dixie said as they both hopped into the tub.
As Lebonnie was massaging the shampoo into Dixies brown hair, Chase arrived home.
"Bunny?" He called ashe entered the trailer with his brother Luke. "Why you home so early?"
"I hurried home to shower." She replied not minding to close the bathroom door. "I'm meetin' Mom fer dinner at six."
Chase walked into the bathroom as Luke helped himself to the kitchen for a beer.
"Hi Daddy." Dixie said happily as she splashed water everywhere.
"Hey honey." Chase replied leaning up against the wall. "What did you do today?"
"Colored." Dixie answered.
"And what 'bout you?" Chase asked his wife.
"The usual." She said scrubbing her face. "Can ya help?"
Chase grabbed a towel off the counter and wrapped little Dixie in it.
"Her clothes are on her bed." Lebonnie said as she dried herself off as well.
Chase carried Dixie to the small living room and sat on the couch in front of the TV. Luke handed him a beer and turned up the volume to hear Ty Murray critique the last bull riders performance.
Lebonnie pulled on her only pair of nice jeans and discarded her other pair on top of the growing pile of laundry. 'What shirt should I wear?' She pondered looking in her closet. One section was the slutty weekend clothes, and the other was her oversized lay-around-the-house T-Shirts. 'Sorry Mom, don't got time to search for the 'Perfect Blouse,' she thought to herself as she grabbed a black T-Shirt that had, 'Rodeo Queen' written in bold white letters.
Then she retreated back to the bathroom to blow dry her hair. Then she curled the ends with her curling iron and hair-sprayed it. It looked great. Though she didn't have the time or money to re-bleach the roots of her naturally dark brown hair, it was long and beautiful. 'Always her best quality... next to her boobs,' Chase would always say.
After searching for it, she opened up her little bag of makeup, and applied some foundation and some bronzed blush. She looked at the rest of her makeup...'Nah, I'll skip the other stages.' she said zipping the bag back up. She thought back to when she was in High School. She would spend hours getting ready to go on a movie date with Chase. Now she was lucky to ever wear her hair down in front of him.
Satisfied, she sprayed some cheap perfume on her shirt and turned off the bathroom light.
"Lookin' good honey." Luke said as she walked into the living room.
"Thanks Luke." She said and took Dixie out of Chases arms. "I asked you to git her dressed."
"She wanted to watch Bull Ridin." Chase said defensivley. "Huh Dixie?"
Dixie nodded her head. "It's not Daddys fault." She said Instinctively.
"That's my girl." Chase said rasing his hand for a high-five. Dixie slapped it and giggled.
Lebonnie sighed and carried Dixie into her bedroom. She set her on the bed next to her clothes. 'How come I always gotta be the mean one." She said to herself as she pulled a pink shirt over Dixies head.
When Dixie was dressed and had her hair combed, Lebonnie handed her back to Chase.
"Here." She said. "Yall can watch yer bull ridin together."
Then she pulled on her boots, grabbed her blue purse and headed out the door.
"What's her problem?" Luke asked as she sped off in her truck.
"She's been all worked up." Chase replied. "It's this damn college thing. She's tellin' her Mom tonight that she ain't goin' back next year."
"Bunny!" Luanne called waving her hand. She was sitting at a far table at Big B's Grill House.
Lebonnie saw her and headed over. 'This is gonna be a long night.' She thought.
