The next morning I woke up earlier, the sun hadn't yet risen and I was in the kitchen making coffee when there was a knock at my door. I opened it to see Tommy.
"Tommy? What are you doing here?"
"Momma told me to come help."
"Oh, well, Tommy, you don't have to help. I don't want to ruin your fun weekend."
"Momma says I should keep busy," he shuffled his feet.
"Well, sure, come in," I step back as he enters the house.
"Coffee," he noted the distinct smell. "Sorry for yesterday," he apologized again.
I waved the idea away," It's really not an issue, Tommy. I'm surprised you're here so early, when I was young, I could never wake up so soon," I told him as I filled my mug. I looked back over to where he stood in my small dining room. "How old are you Tommy?"
"I'm 19," he replied.
"19. Wow... to be that young again," I laughed at myself.
"How old are you?," he asked me.
I pretended to be shocked and gasped," Tommy, didn't you know you're never supposed to ask a lady's age."
He immediately looked down to the ground," I'm sorry, Ms. Caroline."
I brought my mug to the table," Oh, no, Tommy, I was joking. I'm sorry. I'm 28."
"I'll be 20 in August," Tommy blurted. "August 4."
"Oh, that must be a fun. A summer birthday. I just had mine, it was in April."
Tommy nodded absently and looked to side door," Can I go see the horses?"
"Sure," I took a sip of coffee.
"I can do it all myself. Feed them and everything. Del taught me."
"I know you can," I smiled then paused. "You don't have to though Tommy. I can do it."
"I like it. I like the horses. I can do it, I know how."
"Well, if you want to, go ahead."
He smiled and looked to his feet," Yes, yes I want to," then exited the house and went outback.
I guess that gives me more time for all this, I looked to vacant room and smiled. A final sip of coffee and I was off to work, I got the tape out and started to blood off the windows and outlets and got to work. The first got went on easily, then I got the second coat on and checked my watch, it was already 1 o'clock. Guess I'm not as quick as I thought. I should get Tommy some lunch, sandwiches again? All I have is bread and soup. I need to go to the store.
I went out to look for Tommy, and I heard him again. This time I waited outside the stable to listen in on what he was saying.
"There's not much else I can do... Momma needs it but I can't pay. If she don't get it then I don't know what'll happen," Tommy's strange voice was back. This tone was deeper, sounded more like a man than his normal child like self. Why does he sound like that?
"Tommy!," I called out to him. "I'm making lunch, do you want any soup?"
"Hot soup?," he asked, his voice now to his normal self.
"Yeah, it's chicken noddle soup."
"Too hurt makes it burn," he told me.
"I'll cool it down for you, okay?"
"Okay."
Okay, I thought and went back into the house. So he just sits out there and talks to the animals all day? Or is it just Peppermint? He seems really lonely. From what Mary says, not many people in Baxter will give him the time of day. Del must have been his only friend in the world besides his mom. I never asked if Mary had a husband, or any other kids? Maybe... What did he say, something about money? His mom needs money? I wonder if that's true.
I poured the soup into two bowls and added some ice cups to help cool it down. I called Thomas back into the house and he looked at the living room for a minute.
"What do you think? Coming along huh?," I asked cheerfully.
"I like the blue," he noted and sat down to eat his soup.
"So Tommy," I sat down with him. "Do you have any brothers or sisters?"
"No."
"Me neither, kind of sucks to be the only child, huh?"
"Momma said she only had me because I was all the love she needed."
"That's sweet," I smiled. "My parents said they only had one because-," I paused. Well they only had one because they adopted me... " because they didn't want to spoil me."
There was knock on the door, Thomas turned to it and looked nervous. I went and opened up to see two woman I had never seen before smiling up to me.
"And there she is, why hello hello," he one with bright red lips and think glasses sang.
"Hello there! We're a part of Baxter Welcoming Committee! We just came by to welcome you to the sweet little town of Baxter. We heard Mary came by earlier and we thought we too should show you some southern hospitality," the other blonde women told me.
"Oh, thank you," I opened the screen door to see they both were holding dishes.
"I'm Diane," the think rimmed women told me.
"I'm Janna," the other smiled. "I've brought you some tator tot casserole, my own recipe of course. All you do is stick it in the oven for 30 minutes at 450," she handed me the large dish.
"Oh, wow... that's so kind. Thank you. I'd invite you in, but my house is a mes. Under construction, I guess you could say."
"Oh, you're changing the place up are you," Diane tried to peer around me. "I always said Del didn't have a lick of good taste. Oh, and I brought you some fresh apple pudding, just made it this morning."
I juggled the two plates in my hands, I was worried I was going to drop one and it'd be a huge disaster, so I had no choice but to go in and set then down on the table. Thomas was now standing by the side door, waiting to leave when the woman saw him.
"Is that little Tommy Sicelle!," Janna came in the front door. "Oh my, look at you. Getting so tall."
Thomas looked to the floor and didn't say anything, he seemed to push himself against the wall to be further way from her.
"Oh my...," Diane came in too and looked at the living room. "What a project you have here," she inspected the room.
"Tommy, my my, what a fine man you are becoming," Janna marveled at him. "Where have you been? I don't see you much in church no more."
"Janna, look at this color. Oh, I love it," Diane went over the wall.
"Careful, it's still wet," I warned her.
"Tommy are you helping your new neighbor, what a sweet boy," Janna pinched his shoulder like a grandma would pinch a kid's cheek. "It's quite the picture... Del's house... now owned by you," she smiled to me.
"Oh, I'm Caroline. Caroline Wellton."
"Oh we know darling," Diane smiled.
"Mary has told us all about the sweet girl living down the road from her."
"Oh, that's... nice."
"So we knew we had to come out and see you for ourselves," Janna chuckled. "You don't come into town often."
I didn't know if it was a question or a statement, but I really didn't know what to say.
"Yeah, I've been trying to get the house ready."
"Can I go see the horses?," Thomas asked still glued to the wall.
"Sure, Tommy," I smiled and he left the house.
"That one is such a little angel," Janna told me after the door closed. "Even with him being...," she searched for the word," soft in the head, he has such good manners."
"Better than my son ever did," Diane laughed. "I told him, you can't act better than Tommy Sicelle, then you've got problems."
Both Janna and Diane laughed, but I didn't really understand why they were making fun of a kid.
"Well, thanks for stopping by," I didn't need to make any enemies. "Have to get back to it."
"Oh, of course," Diane went to the door.
"Oh, Caroline," Janna caught my attention. "Next week, in town is the Summer Jamboree, you should come out, get to know the community."
"Summer Jamboree? What is it?"
"Oh just a fun ol' time," Diane gave a throaty chuckle."Everyone in town goes to the city park and we grill out."
"It's our way to celebrate good times and the summer of 1993 is gonna be the best one yet," Janna told me as if it was a campaign for a politician.
"Sounds fun."
"Oh good, we'll see you there, Caroline," Janna waved and hen followed Diane down the steps.
Oh... okay. Summer Jamboree? I smiled at the thought, it could be fun. I should go, meet some people. I'm sure Savannah, Kurtis and Bryce will all be there. I should call them before tell them about it. Just so we can decided on what I'll say and stuff. Family friend? Who is going to buy that for long?
I got out my measuring tape and started to measure out the room so I could cut the large roll of carpet sitting in Del's room. Once I got it all, I did a second coat of paint on the wall. I really was happy with the deep blue color, it certainly made the whole room look different. I checked my watch it was almost 5, so I went out to get Tommy. This time he was in with the goats, petting one while the others jumped around.
"Hey Tommy, it's getting late," I told him.
He nodded and silently took the goat from his lap and stood up, he left the pen and walked past me, his head down.
I hope I didn't upset him. I just don't want him to be late for his mom.
Tommy stopped muttered," You have to milk them."
"I'm sorry? What?," I went around so I could see his face even though his head was tucked to his chest.
"The goats, they need milked. They get angry, real mad. The milk hurts so they get mad."
"Milk them?," I looked to the goats. "Are you serious..."
Milking goats? Maybe I bit off more than I could chew with these animals.
Tommy nodded and chewed on his finger.
"Do you know how?," I asked him. "Could you teach me?"
Tommy looked me in the eyes for a split second, then nodded. "Yeah, I can milk them. I know how. Del taught me."
"Oh Tommy," I rubbed my eyes," I feel so bad... I don't want you to waste your time coming here."
"I like it. I like it here. It's nice... you're nice," he looked the ground. "I like it here... and momma says I should help when I can and I can help, I can. You're busy, making a house... and I like the animals, so I can help."
It was so sweet of him to offer this," Tommy that's so sweet. It's very kind of you to offer to help."
"I'll come by again. I can help with the animals, I can do that," he nodded.
"But if you always do it I'll never learn," I told him.
"I can teach you.. I can teach you cause Del taught me."
I ruffled my hair for a moment, Maybe I can make his work. Pay him some money for helping me out while I finish the house, it'll help him too.
"Okay, I'll make you a deal. You can come by, help with the animals and I'll pay you $10 a day and give you lunch. Sound like a deal?"
"$10?! Momma says I shouldn't take money."
"Well you're not taking it... you're earning it, because you're working."
"Like a job?"
"Yes exactly like a job."
"Can I stay and sit with Peppermint?," he asked softly.
"Of course, Tommy. you can stay as long as you want, just make sure you're home before your mom gets scared."
For the first time since I'd met him, Tommy looked me into the eyes and smiled. He was surprisingly handsome, his curly hair fallen into his eyes and dimples on either side of his face with his pearly whites all lined up and straight.
"Yes, Ms. Caroline. Yes."
"Okay," I smiled and held out my hand to shake and Tommy shook it. "It's a deal. You're hired."
Tommy nodded," I got to get home to momma," he said and left down the driveway.
Should he really walk home? I don't even know how far away it is?
The next day I got up and finished cutting the carpet, it was ready and the paint was dry on the walls I peeled off the tape around the edges and marveled at the amazing job I had done, all that was left were small touch ups and gluing the carpet down. I did my touch ups and then realized I didn't have any glue for my carpet, what an idiot, I smacked myself. I'll have to go to the store. I checked my watch it was already 8 and Tommy hadn't shown up yet. I went out to the animals, I'll have to get them ready today, but to my surprise Tommy was there with a goat, sitting on an overturned bucket milking it.
"Tommy," I stopped. "I didn't realize you were here already."
He didn't look over to me," I came to my job."
I smiled," Well, I'm happy that you came," I went over to him. "Milking?," I asked.
"Yes."
"Well, you'll have to teach me another time, I have to run into town and grab some stuff."
Tommy was silent, all I could hear was the milk hitting the side of the tin bucket.
"Did you want to come?," I asked unsure if I should leave him here by himself.
"No, I have to milk them."
I nodded," Alright... I'll be back before lunch, okay? Phone's in the house if you need anything, okay?"
"Okay," he kept his eyes focused.
I took a deep breath, he'll be okay. I mean he hasn't had any problem the last few days.
There was small hardware store in town, Potter's Ace Home Center. I had gotten most of supplies when I went to Nashville, using my rented U haul for transport, but I was hoping this store would have what I need. The store was nice, it had anything I would need for future projects like tools and supplies. I went on the hunt for carpet glue and was lost in the thick of it all when a store associate came up to me.
"Can I help you find anything, ma'am?," a young man asked me,
"Actually yes," I turned to him. "I'm trying to lay down carpet and I don't really see any glue."
"Glue," he almost choked on his laugh. "Ma'am, you really shouldn't glue down carpet."
"Oh... well then... nails?," I asked feeling like it the wrong answer.
He shook his head with a smile," Not quite. What kind of padding do you have?"
"Padding?"
Another man in the same aisle came over," Darryl, you torturing the poor lady?"
"Of course not, Sergeant," the high school boy replied. "Just giving some advice on putting down carpet."
"Carpet huh," the man looked to me, he was sunburnt with sparkling blonde hair. He was wearing a police uniform, so I assumed the boy had called him sergeant because he was an officer. "You must the one who took over Del's old place."
"That's me," I awkwardly shuffled.
"Redoing the place up, huh?," he asked.
"That's the goal," I looked between the two. "You said padding? What is that?"
"Padding you put beneath the carpet, it adds extra insulation. I can show you where we have it in stock."
"That'd be great."
"I'm headed that way, Darryl. I can show her," the officer offered and the employee nodded and went up the registers.
"Well, thank you," I followed him to the back of the store.
"Here they are. This stuff is the industrial, really will keep long term."
"That's great. Just what I want," I started looking to see how much I would need to buy.
"I'm Andy," he held out his hand.
"Caroline," I shook it.
"Caroline," he repeated and nodded.
Andy looked like he was in his mid thirties, under his sunburn, I could see his crow feet and sun spots. He had a square face and he seemed to be a bulky guy, lots of muscle in his body. He was only a few inches taller than me, but he wasn't an ugly guy by any means, I was dazzled by his sparkling blue eyes.
"I haven't been to Del's in a while, but... how much are you replacing?"
"Well, right now just the living room, but when it's done, I'll redo the bedrooms."
Andy nodded," Lot of work remodeling a house by yourself."
I shrugged," Lot of fun too," I went to pull off a roll of padding and it almost fell on me.
Andy chuckled and helped me straighten it up on the ground. "Let me help you," he picked up the roll. "How much are you getting?"
"Well for the whole house, I'm going to need four."
"I'll get them down for you," he reached up and started to pull them down one by one, so I left to grab a cart. When I came back Andy was still there guarding my new carpet padding. "If you need any help, I'd be happy to install this for you."
"Oh, no, no. I couldn't ask you to do that," I told him as I loaded the cart. "I'm okay."
Andy smiled and helped me again," Do you have enough tack strips? A carpet roller? Knee kicker?"
"Tack strips?," I cocked my head to the side which made Andy laugh.
"Okay, just hear me out. I'll show you how to install the carpet in the living room so you can do your other rooms, okay? I don't want you to ruin the floors."
I sighed," I guess I should have paid for the installation," and pushed my cart to the front.
"Tomorrow is my day off and I can come out with my tools."
I didn't know if this was more of the southern hospitality thing or was he flirting with me.
"I can pay you," I told him and he shook his head.
"No, just think of it as a welcome present. Buy some tack strips and I'll do the rest," the he smiled. "Have a good rest of your day," and he went to check out.
Everyone here is just so nice... almost too nice. I went to back to where I'd seen the tack strips and loaded it up with all they had. Then I stopped and picked up some groceries from a little general store called Baxter Bi-rite. I got back to my house by 12 and I was exhausted from the trip. I chose to just heat up some of the casserole Janna had brought me. I saw glass containers filled with white in my fridge, must be the goat milk, I assumed.
Tommy came inside and ate with me, he really liked the casserole, and he was right it was delicious.
"Janna must be some kind of chef, this is incredible," I took another bite.
"Janna runs the salon in town," Tommy corrected me.
"Oh.. well, she could have a career in cooking too. How are Peppermint and Blossom?"
"Antsy, they want to ride. Have you rode them?"
"Ride? Like actually ride them? No, I... I've never ridden a horse."
"Del would ride them out to the woods. We have a trail. I can show you."
"Okay, sure. But I think I should try Blossom first, Peppermint, still doesn't seem to like me."
Tommy smiled," Good call."
