*Author's Note*
Thank you for the reviews, faves, and follows.
This chapter takes place in July and August. My muse took over and some things I didn't plan on writing got onto the page. I had originally planned on doing Novella's birthday, but I didn't cause it would've made everything too long. Like way too many scenes long, lol. Her birthday will be in the next chapter tho. End of summer and harvest is in this along with a lot of interesting fillery goodies.
A Vacant House & Empty Cornfields
Novella POV:
A few days after the 4th of July celebration I snuck ov'r the Tug to West Virginia to visit Vera. The house she shared wit' Skunk Hair was modest, wasn't that far from the Tug either. It was a quaint house, small, but big 'nough for newlyweds just startin' up a family. It felt, as cliché as it sounds, warm an' lived it. Never would've thought that Skunk Hair and his wife would have a house I wouldn't mind bein' in, but that was the case.
We were sittin' outside on the front porch, watchin' Rihanna run 'round playin' wit' a cat while we talked over a pot of coffee.
"Y'know Cap helped my Tom build this place. It was payback for my man helpin' him build his." Vera told me as a response to a compliment that I paid her on the house.
One of my thin auburn brows arched high as I blurted out, "Cap's got his own house? But I thought he lived wit' Anse and Levicy."
"He does live with his parents, but he has a house on his own land that's vacant." Vera told me, takin' a sip of her coffee, 'fore goin' on to further explain, "Jim Vance buys an' sells land so he sold Cap some acreage cause he wanted t'court a girl. Even tho he was injured he worked hard to make the money to make payments."
"What happened wit' him and the girl? She didn't want him cause of the eye or somethin'?" I found myself askin', even tho I didn't really have no right to ask.
"He don't talk bout it much, but once wit' my Tom." She took a sip of her coffee 'fore goin' on to say, "As I understand she never knew of his intentions. Nobody told her an' when he was gonna approach her it was too late."
"Oh…" Trailed off of my tongue. Poor guy, I guess in a way the girl too, since the pursuit didn't stand a chance. When nobody likes ya it's doomed.
"He barely knew her so he got over it, he moved on." Vera quickly said, a soft smile crossin' her face as we watched Rihanna catch the fat orange cat she was chasin'. Scoopin' it up an' pettin' the thing, makin' it meow like crazy.
"Yea, Cap courted Nancy What's-Her-Face for a time 'fore he decided he's not a marryin' type man." I pointed out, watchin' the cat break out of my daughter's hold.
"Her name's Nancy Smith nee Johnson as of last year." Yea, I heard she married some guy that went by Joe or Jon, somethin' like that. "She was such a whinny manipulative bitch, I'm glad he let her go."
"Yea, I met her once and she hated me. Hated my daughter too."
"Bitch hated me and it's like hello I'm the best friend's old lady you gotta like me." The brunette said, a bit of stretched out sarcasm in her sweet tinted voice.
"I can't imagine why she'd hate you, you're a genuine person." I told my friend, bringin' my cup near my lips.
"Well, she thought she was all that and better then sliced bread." Vera scoffed over her coffee cup, rollin' her eyes dramatically. "Her and Mr. Smith's 'bout ready to pop out a young'in', poor thing don't stand a chance with her as a mama."
I giggled, strugglin' to keep myself from spurtin' out the coffee I was sippin' on. Once I settled myself down I told my friend wit' a hint of a smile, "That's horrible, but it's got me laughin'."
"It's the truth, she's gonna make a horrible mother. Woman's all focused on herself. Oh hell, all she did was whine, pout, an' fuss when Cap wasn't givin' her the attention she wanted."
"What? I thought she was upset cause he wasn't an affectionate man, least that's what he said when he mentioned she decided to find 'nother man."
"She was clingy, needy, and wanted him to fuss ov'r her all the time. Cap's not like that, if he smiles at ya then you're lucky." Great, guess both me an' Rihanna are lucky since he smirks and smiles at us. Ain't that a treat. Vera took a sip of her coffee while sayin', "I've known him long 'nough from bein' with Tom to know that Cap's hardness comes from the loss of his eye."
"Really? I thought he was that way cause of his family." I countered her remark, sippin' on my own coffee.
"No, he had a lighter side t'him that kinda just drifted off once he lost that left eye. He always had a sharp tongue, but he grew quick to be insulted and got blunter wit' his words."
'Fore I could think better of it I asked the one-word question of, "Why?"
"Cause he got taunted, still does, on his eye." Vera explained, holdin' her cup with both of her hands. Sighin' she shook her head 'fore lettin' out the remark of, "Y'know that Nancy wanted him to wear a patch, cov'r it up."
"Oh…so it bothered her."
While tappin' her fingers 'gainst her blue tin mug Vera revealed, "It bothers most girls, but you. You're the only one that's been able to look him straight in the eye an' not cringe or flinch."
Shallow selfish bitches. Loggin' accident's are pretty bad, can even be deadly. The loss of an eyes nothin', better then the loss of his life. "Oh, but maybe that's cause I know how bad of an accident he had an' know he's lucky to even be alive."
"Most don't know serious his wound was."
"I saw Devil Anse bring Cap to Doc Rutherford's office the day it happened." I revealed, earnin' me a curious look from the brunette next to me. I looked down at the cup in my hand, then back up to watch my daughter play wit' the orange cat nearby, 'fore I went on to explain in great length, "It was my 16th birthday an' my Uncle Perry had just approved Tolbert to court me, told us to go spend spend the day together an' get used to courtin'. Tolbert wanted to play checkers so we took up at the checkboard on the porch of Adam's General Store. We were in the middle of playin' a game whenever a wagon pulled up wit' Anse in the back holdin' Cap. Cap had a chunk of wood stickin' outta his eye, his hand was ov'r the eye wit' blood gushin' all ov'r his hand an' face. Tolbert laughed and said somethin' like happy birthday a Hatfield's injured. I didn't think it was funny tho, I felt awful he was hurt so bad."
After a minute Vera turned to me and asked, "Does Cap know that?"
"Nope." Quickly popped off my tongue.
"Maybe he should."
"Maybe." I parroted fore bringin' my coffee cup up to my mouth, takin' a sip of it.
"Well, how bout we talk 'bout somethin' else." My friend suggested, causin' me to nod my head at her. Vera's face light up brighter then an oil lamp as she gushed out, "Oh, how bout baby names? Me and Tom's got a few in mind, but I'd like a mama's opinion."
"Sure, list the names and I'll give ya my honest opinion." I told her with a genuine smile, honestly wanting to hear the thoughts of names her and Skunk Hair had.
"Well, first girl name we like is Brigid." Vera began what would be the longest list of names, both girls and boys, that I've heard in my entire life.
The end of July was nearin', it was hot as hell, and the McCoy family were happily fussin' over a new addition. By new addition I mean that Jim and Lissa had their baby, a boy they named Charlie. Tolbert was jealous that his older brother had a son and he didn't, or that his was in the ground. I was happy that Lissa birthed a healthy baby boy, but I was also sad. It was bittersweet cause I no longer had my baby boy.
On the other hand seein' Jim and Lissa, 'long wit' just bout everyone else in the McCoy family, coo and fuss over baby Charlie stirred a yearnin' up inside of me. I wanted another baby. Aunt Sally was firm in her opinion that my next baby would be a boy, but not by Tolbert, whenever I made a remark to her 'bout wantin' another baby as we did the dishes one Sunday after dinner. She also warned me not to bring up the thought of more babies wit' my husband, that it wasn't gonna happen. Hell, she gave me that advice a few days ago, but tonight I was goin' to toss it to the side and bring up expandin' our family to Tolbert.
I had just finished tuckin' Rihanna into bed an' walked out into the main room, joinin' my husband who was sittin' in his armchair usin' the side table near him to play a game of solitaire. I took a seat on the sofa adjacent Tolbert. Claspin' my hands in my lap I looked softly at him while sayin', "Tolbert, can we talk?"
"Bout what?" My husband asked, never takin' his stormy eyes off his solo card game.
"I wanna have a baby." I blurted out, lookin' at him hopefully.
Shakin' his head, only lookin' at me for a moment, he sighed, "Ain't the right time now, darlin'."
"Why not?" I asked since I didn't understand what his reasonin' for holdin' off was. My last pregnancies Tolbert was itchin' for, he couldn't wait for 'em to happen.
My husband shook his head while pickin' a card up from his deck. Placin' the card on a row he answered me wit' a smooth voiced reply of, "It's too soon after Tol, be like replacin' 'im."
How could he even say that? Tol was our child, not a dog. He's not replaceable. That prick, insistin' that I wanna replace my late baby boy. "It ain't replacin' him. Nothin' could ever replace Tol."
"Give it more time, Ella. Few more months, then we'll see if we're ready for a baby." Tolbert told me, a slight pleadin' in his smooth-gruff toned voice, as he moved some cards 'round on the side table.
"But I'm ready now."
"Yea, well, I ain't." He snapped, turnin' a card over in his solitaire stack pile.
Bullshit, his whore was gonna have a baby. Oh, yes, of course he wants to wait a few more months. Wants to wait an' see if that whore's bastard comes a boy or not. Got nothin' to do 'bout him not bein' ready. Asshole, ain't nothin' for him to be ready for since I'm the one that carries an' births the baby.
"I understand." I gritted out, tryin' to keep from breakin', as I stood up from the sofa. Silently I went to the bookcase, grabbin' a book t'read.
"Hope ya ain't too mad at me, darlin'. I'm just tryin' t'watch out for what's best for us, our family."
Sittin' back on the sofa I curtly told my husband, "I know, Tolbert. Now, if you'll excuse me I'd like to read my Mark Twain book." Not botherin' to see the effect my words had on him I just opened my book and began to read.
Readin' 'bout travels to far 'way places would make me happy, 'specially since I wish I could be anywhere, but here right now. Here in my cabin in Pike County Kentuky it was a bit depressin' and stiflin'. Oh well, reckon I gotta just suck it up an' deal with it the best I can. Lord doesn't give us more then we can bear, or at least I hope so cause right now I'm startin' to feel like one more straw's gonna break the camel's back.
It was the now first week of August and that meant my 20th birthday was approachin', it was next week actually. The harvest season had started too, meanin' that Tolbert was workin' the fields while I was doin' housework an' carin' for Rihanna.
Currently, I was outside doin' the wash while Rihanna just sat on the porch steps watchin' me. She had her dollie with her to play with. 'Fore Skippy died she used to run 'round an' play wit' him. Skippy's brother Brownie got lost as a puppy, or at least that's what Tolbert told me. It happened 'round the time Rihanna was born, but I'm startin' to think that the dog got hurt or somethin', didn't just get lost like Tolbert claimed.
As I scrubbed the red stained sheet in the wash bucket my daughter squeaked out, "Mama, Will's here!"
I turned my head only to see Cap ridin' up to the hitchin' post in front of the porch. This is bout the third or fourth time he's paid me a visit. I paused my actions wit' the wash an' waved at him, which in turn caused him to tip his black Stetson at me.
"Hi, Will!" Rihanna exclaimed wit' excitement, runnin' off the porch steps an' over Cap as he dismounted his horse.
Cap tied his horse to the hitch post 'fore turnin' to where Rihanna was standin' by him and kneelin' in front of her. "Hey, Anna, ya helpin' your ma with the wash?" He asked my daughter, hitchin' a thumb over his shoulder to point at me.
"Yea." Rihanna smiled widely, noddin' her head at our visitor.
"Well, I got'cha some candy." Cap told Rihanna while pullin' a small bag from his pocket. Handin' the bag to her he said, "Ya can et it while I visit wit' your ma."
"Okay." Rihanna simply told Cap, takin' the bag from him wit' her hand that wasn't holdin' onto her beloved dollie, which was named for lack of somethin' better Dollie.
"Rihanna, what d'ya say to Will?" I prompted my daughter in the tell-tale motherly tone that encourages thankfulness, all the while doin' the wash.
"Thank ya, Will." Rihanna gratefully smiled. I knew she was excited 'bout gettin' the candy since Tolbert didn't keep it in the house, he didn't believe in spoilin' a child too much wit' candy. Eh, shit wit' Roseanna made him turn into a strict father. Damn, our daughter's almost 3 and he's keepin' candy from her in an attempt to keep her from growin' up spoilt an' doin' somethin' stupid.
"You're welcome, now go on an' enjoy it." Cap kindly told my daughter, givin' her a small smile, 'fore standin' up an' givin' her a slight nudge ov'r to the porch steps.
"That was nice of ya, gettin' her candy." I told him from my spot knelt down by the wash bucket.
"It was nothin'. She's a good kid, deserves some candy every now an' then." Cap told me, his deep rollin' timbre echoin' out over the scuffin' of his boots as he made his way ov'r to me.
"But still you didn't have to get it for her, that's why I said it's nice of ya to do it." I told him, never stoppin' in my task of washin' the dirty sheet.
"Yea…so how've ya been?" Cap asked, stoppin' next to me an' kneelin' down.
"You saw me couple weeks 'go, I was fine then so why wouldn't I be fine now?"
Instead of directly answerin' my question he just shrugged and then make the remark of, "Talk 'round sides o'the Tug's got it that you're an aunt as of a week 'go. Got a McCoy nephew."
"Yea. Jim an' Lissa named him Charlie." I informed him, forcin' a tight smile on my face, as I scrubbed furiously.
"Ya sound a bit down 'bout that, sweetlin'." Cap remarked, his deep wavin' tone full of knowin', as he looked at me. I just shook my head, denyin' his remark. Pointin' at the wash bucket he stated, "Red water from that sheet got anythin' t'do wit' your down mood then?"
"I want a baby, but my husband doesn't." I admitted, lookin' at the pinkish-red water in the bucket. "My flow comin' this mornin's a good thing." I said, my voice a bit shaky, as I quickly looked 'tween him and the wash bucket.
"For him, not for you." Cap stated, his tone deep an' curt. He sighed 'fore lowerin' his voice to a softer tone and tellin' me, "Nova, babies come when babies come. Don't got much control ov'r it, but I reckon sooner or later you'll have one considerin'…"
"Considerin' we do the trick a couple times a month." I flatly finished his fallen sentence.
"Ya said it, but yea there's a chance we'll have a baby." Cap smirked, placin' a hand on my shoulder.
Suddenly what Aunt Sally had told me many many months ago came rushin' to the forefront of my mind. I'd never have a son, a livin' breathin' one that is, wit' Tolbert. Instead I'd have many sons by another man. Dear lord, does that mean I'm gonna be havin' Cap's babies? I'm married to Tolbert, any child I bear'd be named McCoy due to the fact he's my husband. Aunt Sally also said that my sons'll look like their father. Oh my…Tolbert 'long wit' everyone else'll figure out 'bout my affair wit' Cap.
"Maybe we ought'a be more careful." I suggested, my voice small an' whisper like, as I inspected he sheet to see if the stain was comin' out.
"But why, thought ya wanted a baby?"
"I do want a baby, but havin' your baby'd be too complicated." I sighed, droppin' the sheet back into the water wit' a splashin' thunk since a red penny sized stain remained on the white linen.
"Cause of your dumbass husband, who don't even give two shits 'bout ya." Cap spat out, his deep voice a near snarl. "Ya know he ain't even out back in your fields. He's over in Mate Creek this mornin' visitin' his knocked-up whore."
My head snapped to the side, my copper hair flailin' 'round my shoulders, and I looked at Cap. "No, that ain't true. He's been workin' the harvest." I let out in a taken aback whisper, my head shakin'.
"Come on, let's go take a walk out to the fields. Go see for yourself that you're holdin' onto hope for a man that hates ya." Cap said, standin' up an' bringin' me up wit' him.
"You're serious?" I asked with wide eyes as he took his hand off my arm.
"Dead serious." He nodded 'fore walkin' over to the porch steps where my daughter was. I silently followed behind him, only to reach the steps when he was tellin' Rihanna, "We're gonna go for a walk wit' mama. Okay?"
"Okay." Rihanna responded, poppin' a piece of cherry candy into her mouth.
Looks like we're all gonna be takin' a walk in the woods to the fields. Oh boy…
Cap was carryin' Rihanna, holdin' her 'gainst his long torso, as we trudged through the woods towards the fields. Rihanna was restin' her head on Cap's shoulder, a bag of candy clutched in one hand and her dollie in the other. I walked right next to him. A large heavy silence loomed ov'r us. I was also 'fraid of what I'd see. Either Tolbert would be in the fields workin' an' give me hell for havin' Cap Hatfield on our land or the field empty an' missin' the broad chested figure of my ginger-haired husband.
"We're just 'bout there, sweetlin'. Don't let what'cha see, or I'd say don't see, break your heart."
"I'll be fine." I told Cap, who in turn just nodded his head at me.
Silently, other then the sound of our footsteps, we came upon the clearin' that opened up into my husband's corn fields. The corn fields that were empty, 'cept for their full stalks of corn that needed cut down.
Oh my God, Cap was tellin' the truth. Tolbert's not in the fields, he's not workin' our harvest. I was standin' at the edge of the clearin', lookin' at vast endless rows of corn in front of me wit' a mix of shock, sadness, an' anger painted on my face.
"Ya got your answer on how much he cares 'bout ya, your family, so let's get back to the house." Cap told me, a slight bitterness on the tip of his tongue.
After a few silent moments of walkin' I looked up at the tall man in the black Stetson next to me and asked curiously, "Y'stayin' for lunch?"
"Reckon I can, got the day off so no time restraints on when I gotta go."
"Okay." Not sure 'bout what he was used to havin' for lunch I found myself sayin', "Hope some sandwiches made from cheese, leftover meat, and bread's fine."
"It's more then fine, Nova." Cap told me with a smile, his deep voice a bit soft. A sympathetic look appeared in his lone icy-blue eyes as I told me, "I know it ain't my place t'say nothin', but it's bout time ya look into gettin' a divorce from Tolbert."
"You're right, it ain't your place to mention it, but you're also right that a divorce is in the near future."
A few moments passed by 'fore Cap opened his mouth and said, "I, uh, I got a small house ya can use ov'r in West Virginia if ya ever need a place to stay. It ain't far from the main house and you'd be able to go visit wit' Vera or get help raisin' Anna if ya need it."
"You're offerin' t'rent me your house if I leave Tolbert, divorce him?"
"Yea, guess I am."
"Okay, but why? Wouldn't ya want to keep your house for yourself, for when ya decide t'settle down?"
"I don't need a place of my own cause I don't plan on settlin' down." Cap answered, lookin' straight 'head as we walked the path that'd take us back to my house. I just nodded and gave him an arched brow look, silently askin' him to further explain. "I ain't the kinda guy a gal wants t'settle an' have a family with. I'm cold-hearted and got a sharp tongue, can't spew out lovin' words t'snag me a wife with. 'Sides, my eye ain't too popular wit' the ladies either. Hell, even whore's can't stand me an' they get paid t'put up wit' me."
"I don't mind ya that much and your eye doesn't bother me." I boldly found myself tellin' the tall lanky man next t'me, lookin' at him wit' honesty both in my cornflower blues an' my flowin' tone.
"I know, sweetlin'." Cap told me, a slight grin on his rugged face causin' his mustache and goatee to slant. "But that's cause you're different from all the other women in these parts. You're kind-hearted an' try not t'judge people. Hell, if ya weren't we wouldn't be…friends." I got the impression that he had a word on his tongue that he kept from rollin' off 'fore he said the word friends.
Friends, were we friends? Well, I wasn't really sure. It's not like we spent that much time developin' a friendship. Sure, he told me 'bout things I needed to know on my failin' marriage and we had some sarcastic banter, but was that enough actions to spring up a friendship? A real one? Eh, maybe it was. But friends didn't seek physical intimacy wit' each other tho, that crossed the friendship boundaries. Oh, hell, I would accidently find myself in an unexpected affair of sorts wit' Cap.
'Fore I could stop myself my flowin' voice rang out into the wood encircled air with, "Ya know I saw your pa bring ya into Doc's office the day your accident happened." Cap didn't say a word, jus nodded his head an' continued to walk next to me wit' Rihanna in his arms. I should've just let it end there, but I didn't. Instead I took Vera's advice from a few weeks earlier and went on to say, "It was on my birthday, 4-years ago. It was also my first day of courtin' Tolbert. We were at the general store playin' checkers when ya'll pulled up to the doctor's office. Tolbert thought it was funny, but I felt bad that ya got hurt when I saw all that blood 'long with a chunk of wood stickin' outta your eye an' pokin' thru your finger."
A shiver went up my spine as I felt Cap place a hand gently on my shoulder. "I didn't know that ya knew how bad it really was. Figured ya heard what everyone else does, I got a splinter lodged in my eye an' lost my sight." Cap told me, his deep wavin' timbre holdin' a bit of surprise in it. With a smirk he told me, "Reckon I'll never forget your birthday."
"Guess not, since now ya know it's the same day your accident happened." I told him as we walked through the woods, which were slowly startin' to change their foliage colorin' from shades of green to jewel tones of ruby, garnet, citrine, and bronze.
Cap left after lunch, leavin' me to finish up the wash. Rihanna, to my surprise, seemed sad whenever he left. My daughter liked him and, in a way, I think she felt comfortable 'round him cause he had one eye while she had one ear, they had a common ground. Sadly, Tolbert pulled 'way from our daughter due t'her bad ear. It frustrated him. Well, truthfully he pulled 'way from me too. First cause of Tol's death, then cause of my betrayal an' rattin' him out t'Hatfields, and now he's got a younger girl that's expectin' holed up 'cross the Tug. Well, he'll deny the knocked up ex-whore til he's blue in the face, but Cap told me so an' after today I reckon I believe his word over my husband's.
Anyways, after hangin' up the laundry I did a bit of cleanin' and prepared dinner. While the chicken an' rice was cookin' in the pressure cooker I checked on the laundry, bringin' it in once I deemed it dry. This harvest we were havin' an Indian summer, it was a bit hotter then usual. Eh, at least the wash didn't take too long to dry.
I was currently scoopin' out the finished dinner of chicken an' rice onto a servin' platter whenever the door creaked open. I subtly looked ov'r my shoulder to see Tolbert walkin' into the cabin, stoppin' by the wall hook as he removed his hat. "Poppy's home." Rihanna announced, lackin' the excitement she showed hours earlier when our guest came over, as she sat at the kitchen table.
"Hey, how was my girls' day t'day?" Tolbert asked as he made his way into the kitchen, his heavy boots clunkin' 'gaint the wooden floorboards.
"I et candy. Mama did wash." Rihanna answered 'fore I could while her poppy took his seat at the head of the table.
Tolbert furrowed his brows at our daughter as he grabbed the coffee pot and a mug off the table. "Ya et candy? But we ain't got none."
"Mama friend give it t'me." Rihanna simply answered as her poppy poured himself his cup of coffee.
"Ah, mama's friend." Tolbert said, his velvet voice a bit venomous, as he cut me a hard look. Oh shit, did he suspect somethin'?
"Just somebody from town came by, droppin' off a jam recipe." I quickly lied, ploppin' the chicken an' rice platter down on the table where the bowl of beans and platter of biscuits sat steamin' hot.
"Ah…well I was in town earlier an' nobody told me they visited ya." Tolbert remarked as I sat down at the table.
"You were in town?" I asked, tryin' my hardest to keep a neutral expression on my face. Inside my chest tho my heart was poundin' faster then a drum as I started to fix my daughter up a plate.
Scoopin' some chicken and rice onto his plate my husband said, "Yep, went 'fore workin' my poppy's fields."
"Ya worked them fields today, not ours?" I asked even tho I knew the truth. He didn't work any fields, he was off 'cross the Tug in Mate Creek visitin' Misty. God, I hate that stupid whore. Pretty golden-haired hussy stoled my husband. How embarrassin', now he's skippin' out on harvestin' our fields to go spend time wit' her.
"Mhm." Tolbert nodded, swallowin' down his meal.
I proceeded to make up my plate while sayin' as calmly as I could, "But I thought ya were workin' our harvest today."
"Was goin' to, but decided t'help poppy instead." My husband explained as I finished settin' up my plate. As I grabbed the pitcher of tea and a glass from the middle of the table he told me, a bit mockin'ly, "Don't worry, I'll be in our fields 'morra."
I didn't say a word, just nodded while pourin' myself a glass of tea. I noticed that Rihanna's eyes were dartin' 'tween me an' her poppy's as she ate her dinner. She was studyin' us, watchin' our tense conversation. I had no idea if she understood what was goin' on or not. Rihanna was so young, much younger then I was when I witnessed my mama's own marital problems, so I hope an' pray that witnessin' the tension 'tween me an' Tolbert don't scare her none emotionally. I still 'member how drunk Fred would get, how he'd scream an' yell at my mama 'long wit' callin' her names. I can still recall how Fred backhanded my mama a few times cause she did somethin' that upset him. I'm not sure if me witnessin' that for nearly 3-years messed me up or not, but I do know that unintentionally I had married a man like my step-daddy. Tolbert was like Fred, a drunk wit' a temper. Only difference is that Fred was a hitter an' Tolbert's not, but as I've discovered Tolbert's got himself holed up 'cross the Tug an expectin' young an' pretty whore. That's as bad as bein' hit, hurts just as much if not more.
My life's so messed up. Here I am havin' dinner wit' my husband who's lyin' bout his where abouts an' I'm just lettin' him get 'way with it cause I don't wanna start a fight in front of our daughter. Dear lord, maybe Cap's right and I need'a look into a divorce. I don't know if I can live like this forever. No amount of love's worth bein' in a place were ya feel lonely too often. Hell, it's like Tolbert don't even care, don't even wanna try to fix things.
Tolbert claims to love me more than anythin', but for so many months now he's been spurrin' me an' tense wit' me. I'm not stupid, I can tell that he doesn't trust me or at least not fully. Reckon he can trust that whore tho.
"So, what'd ya get at the store?" I asked, paintin' a fake smile on my face, to draw out a somewhat pleasant conversation out of my husband.
"Can't tell ya that, darlin'." Tolbert replied 'fore takin' a bite out of his biscuit.
Of course he can't….
Hmm, I think I need'a talk to my Uncle Perry bout my marriage problems next time I'm able to see him, which'll be this upcomin' Sunday. Exactly 4-days 'fore my birthday.
AN:
That talk with Vera shed some light on things, huh? So, was Tolbert really working Randall's harvest along with going to the store in Pikeville or was Cap right and he was off visiting Misty in her downtown Mate Creek apartment? I'm leaving it up to ya'll as readers to decide what to believe. It's written so that either theory can work, lol. So, do you think that Novella's serious about looking into the possibility of divorce?