Welcome back! Happy Monday and remember, cupcakes are on me!
But not the pink ones. Those are mine. *snatches them all back*
Chapter Eleven: Fibs & Fountains
Papa's hollering so loud the rest of our siblings come running in from outside. Papa grabs the edge of Rowdy's shirt, yanking him right out of his chair.
"You trying to be fast with my daughter? Do you know what I will do to you, boy?" I expect Rowdy to start sweating, but he's holding his own.
'Mr. Swan, it ain't-!"
"I saw you two!" Papa bellows, and he curls his fist tightly around the fabric. "I saw it with my own eyes! You calling me a liar?"
"Papa! We didn't-"
"Hush your mouth, Cotton! I haven't even gotten to you yet!" Papa glares at me, his nostrils flaring in rage. "This ends now! No daughter of mine is gonna be gallivanting with some hooligan!"
"He's not a hooligan!" I yell back. "I was helping him read!"
"What?" Papa's voice is still loud, but his expression turns confused.
"Papa," AJ steps forward, trying to diffuse the situation. "Rowdy was having trouble with some words, so Cotton offered to help. See? Look at all of the books." She points to the stack on the table, but Papa's still not convinced.
"Then why were y'all so close?"
"Papa, remember when the teacher said I wasn't pronouncing my r's right?" Jessie adds in. "She said to practice making the sounds so I could. It helps. Listen. Ooooo."
I owe my sisters my life now.
I nod enthusiastically, catching on. "Right. I was helping him pronounce the words. He wasn't saying the 'oooo' part correctly. Do it, Rowdy. Say it now. Oooo."
Next thing I know, all of us are saying "oooo", pushing our lips together so it looks like we're all kissing the air.
Papa is silent for twelve seconds and then releases Rowdy's shirt in frustration. "Dammit, that's enough!"
Emmett adds one more 'oooo' before Rowdy gives him the side eye.
"I still don't like it," Papa says wearily, but in a calmer voice. "Ain't no more lessons going on unless one of us is home, you understand?"
I nod, trying not to breathe a sigh of relief. "Yes, Papa."
"And you … I'm watching you, boy. You remember that. I'm watching you real closely." Papa stares Rowdy down and then turns to me. "Put some clothes on, Cotton. You know better. Last thing I need is the Reverend stopping by with you dressed like that!"
Despite trying to cover my legs with my hands, I feel as naked as a jaybird.
"I stopped by to pick up some tools. Dang motor on the boat cut out on me again. You're Jasper, right?" Jasper nods his head at Papa. "You look like a worker. Come help me look for my wrench set."
"Yessir." Jasper follows Papa as he leaves and AJ winks at me. The others leave us be as well.
The commotion is all over, and I know Rowdy and I have barely escaped with our lives.
"Fuck, Cottonseed. I didn't know you had it in you!" Rowdy chuckles as I start collecting the books in my hand.
"Shut up, Rowdy. We could have died. You don't know Papa. He's as mean as a rattlesnake when he wants to be. We have to be more careful."
"Like this?" Rowdy reaches for my behind and gives it a rough squeeze. I swat his hand away, both intrigued and horrified.
"Stop! You're going to get me in trouble!"
Rowdy takes the books from my arms and pulls me close to him. With one hand on my waist, he uses the other to gently caress my face. "Ain't nothing going to happen to you, Cotton. Even if Charlie don't want us together, I'd keep fighting for you until the death. Nothing can keep us apart."
"Except my family," I say quietly.
"Nope, not even them." His fingertips travel down the side of my cheek. "I learned something today and it didn't come from a single book. See, your daddy is worried 'cause he don't want to lose his little girl, 'specially to a poor boy like me. But he ain't scared of you growing up. He's scared of you growing away."
I frown, causing my eyebrows to push together. "What's that mean?"
"It means Charlie is a good man. There's a lot of daddies in this world that don't give a shit about their children. But your old man? He'd protect you from all the bad in this life if he could. Hell, I even respect him for it. But one day you're going to have to tell him the truth. He can't judge you for that."
"Then you don't know him very well," I mutter.
"I know he didn't believe a word we said. Did you see his face? He let it go 'cause whatever he said next was going to hurt your feelings. And no matter how furious he may be, he's not going to upset his daughter. Anger condemns, Cottonseed, but love saves even the worst of us."
I let his words soak in and through me. Did Papa really know the truth? I wasn't sure, but Rowdy led me to believe. Maybe he was right and Papa loved me enough to let me make my own decisions. But I wasn't willing to find that out today.
Rowdy presses his lips against my forehead. "Go upstairs and change. I want to show you something."
I walk away feeling the weight of the world on my shoulders. There isn't any use in praying over a situation like this. Not even baby Jesus would forgive all the lying I did today.
.
.
.
After I'm dressed in a light blue dress and coral colored wellies, I walk out to town with Rowdy. He won't point out where we're going specifically, but when I'm with him the specifics don't matter. We chat along the way and I find out all sorts of stuff I didn't know before. He tells me how he loves mud and football, and that his favorite food is cheesecake, even though he's only eaten it once.
"And your favorite color?" I ask, holding his hand.
"I don't have one."
I gasp in shock, stepping on the cobblestone of our town center. "How can you not have a favorite color? I told you mine was yellow. Seriously, what is it?"
"I don't have one," he repeats, emphasizing the last word. "You believe that God made colors, right?"
"Right," I say, agreeing.
"And that He made you?"
"Right."
"So how can I choose?" He asks, shrugging. "God made all sorts of colors, and they're all inside of you. You are my favorite color, Cottonseed. That's why I don't have just one."
He squeezes my hand and I melt a little more.
Rowdy grins just as we reach the center of the square. Forks County doesn't have much. It's a quaint little town, right on the outskirts of eastern Mississippi, and there is no downtown. From where we are standing, I can see Mr. Dell's yogurt shop and the insurance agency that nobody ever goes to. Ms. Tanya, my pageant instructor, has a dance hall too. She bought it out when the knickknack store closed up shop. I remember 'cause Ma used to always come home with random ugly vases that Papa would tell her to take back. She never did though.
"What are you showing me?" I ask.
"This." Rowdy waves his arm towards nothing and I glance around.
"The fountain?"
The fountain in the middle of the square is nothing but a man perched on a horse. It's named after Jenkins J. Forks, founder of our county. He won a battle or something, but I'm not sure 'cause I never paid attention in history class.
"Yep." Rowdy gestures for me to sit on the edge with him and I do. The water flows out behind us, splashing us as it hits the pool below. "When we moved from Rosedale, I was bitter at my parents. Well, I was bitter about a lot of things, but mostly about moving. Life won't the best for us, but it was ours, you know? I didn't know what to expect. But we drove to town, and the first thing I noticed was this fountain. Everybody in town didn't even acknowledge it. They'd keep walking by, minding their own business and nobody stopped to look at it."
"That's 'cause there ain't nothing special about it, Rowdy."
"Then, no. But now there is. This fountain is special 'cause it's here where I will take both of your hands in mine for the first time." Rowdy grasps my hands and gazes at me with his striking green eyes. I feel like the fountain is ordinary compared to him. "It will be the first time I officially tell you something very important. Cotton, I love you. I told you I was falling for you, but this here is different. I love with you my whole damn heart. I know 'cause I can't stop thinking about you. I know 'cause every time I get around you, you make me happier than when I wasn't. But most of all, I know 'cause every morning the sun don't rise until I whisper your name."
I bite my lip trying to hold back my smile. I don't think that's how it works, but I accept it, 'cause Rowdy says it's so.
"Cotton all-the-flowers-a'bloomed-when-I-was-born Swan, will you be my girl?"
I swallow and stare at Rowdy in perfect honesty. "I can't answer that."
Rowdy's gaze and hope both drop at once. I lift his chin so that he can look at me directly. "I can't answer that 'cause my next sentence will answer your question. I love you too, Rowdy."
Years from now, I will argue to those who ask that it was I who kissed him, but for now it doesn't matter.
Rowdy's lips touch mine and it is the most absolute warmest, soul-giving, heart-consuming, simply-joyful moment in my entire life. He takes my heartbeats and makes them his own. Our breaths, lips, and feelings mold together creating a bliss I didn't know existed. He's soft and gentle, ever-giving and cherished-devotion. He is mine.
Our lips finally break apart, but our bodies do not as he leans his forehead against mine. He exhales heavily as if I am the reason for his breathlessness.
"We bloom forever?" he asks, as he helps me stand up.
"Forever," I answer.
When I glance down at the spot he was sitting in, Rowdy smiles.
He already knew.
Embedded and carved into the cement of the fountain that is now special are three simple words.
Rowdy & Cotton.