"I'm sorry sweetie, I'm still not real clear on this whole situation. Why do they need you to babysit?"
Julie sat at the counter, listlessly poking at her granola while her mother stood in the kitchen, hands wrapped around a hot mug of coffee. Gracie was stretched out on the living room carpet, ignoring them both in favour of the TV. Tami allowed cartoons in the morning, but only if the volume stayed at a reasonable level. Try as they might, the Taylors were not morning people.
"I told you, Mom. Billy and Tim work all day, and Mindy's back working afternoons and evenings at The Landing Strip. There's no one to watch Jordyn between when Mindy goes to work and Tim gets home."
"And they asked you because...?" Tami prodded, glancing at her husband as he shuffled silently into the kitchen, still in pyjamas and his hair standing on end. "Morning, hon."
Julie rolled her eyes. It was pointless to engage her father in conversation in the morning until he'd had at least one cup of coffee and a shower.
"I don't know. I'm free when they need someone, and they know me well enough that they trust me with the baby, I guess."
"Well, that's a pretty big compliment," Tami observed, taking a sip of her coffee.
"What's a compliment?" Eric asked, appearing from behind Tami with his own cup of coffee in hand.
Julie barely resisted the urge to roll her eyes again. Sometimes having conversations with her parents made her feel like she was speaking a different language and they were trying (and failing) to translate.
"I'm babysitting Jordyn Riggins some afternoons when Mindy has to work," Julie repeated, exasperated.
"Huh," her father replied. "How's Riggins doing? He have a good year at San Antonio? Didn't hear much about him, far as football goes."
Julie was surprised at the lack of protest, but decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth. "He's fine, I guess. I don't know. He said he didn't get to play at all because their fullback was a senior or something."
"Well, you tell him to stop by and say hello sometime," he said. "In fact, why don't you invite them over for dinner one night?"
"Seriously?" Julie asked, glancing at her mother.
"Honey," Tami began, frowning at her husband.
"Sure, why not? It'd be nice. Catch up with Tim, see how Billy's doin', Gracie can play with little Jenny or whatever her name is."
"Her name is Jordyn," Julie replied, nonplussed.
"Sure, Jordyn. We'll have a barbecue. It'll be fun."
With that, Eric wandered out of the kitchen and into the living room to play with Gracie. Julie eyed her mother, trying not to smile at the bemused look on Tami's face.
"Great," Tami said on a sigh. "Just what I need – planning a dinner party for the Riggins clan while trying to wrap things up for the year at school. You mind figuring out a day that'll work for everyone?"
"No, it's fine. Mindy has some evenings off, so there should be a night they can come."
"Okay, well, let me know and I'll go buy a couple racks of ribs or something," Tami said, sighing again. "Jules, are you still gonna have enough time to study for exams, between classes and work?"
"I will," Julie reassured her. "Actually, it's kind of perfect – I'm planning on studying basically the whole time I'm there, and at least this way I can't get distracted by the internet or TV or Gracie wanting to play or any of that. It's pretty quiet over there with just me and the baby."
Tami nodded, considering this. "All right, then. You're the best judge of that. Just as long as your schoolwork doesn't suffer, I don't mind it."
Julie smiled, relieved by her mother's lack of interference. "It won't, I promise."
"Okay, sweetie."
"Hey hon?" Eric called from the living room. "Think you could make that ice cream thing, with the coconut on it, when the Rigginses come over?"
Tami closed her eyes and pursed her lips, gripping the edge of the counter. "Lord, grant me patience."
"What?" asked Eric, looking back over at his wife and daughter. "What'd I say?"
Julie smiled, and turned her attention back to her granola. Her mother was going to have to deal with that one on her own.
***
Tim frowned at the computer screen in front of him. Billy had saved up enough cash to get a computer to keep track of their accounting a couple of months ago. So far, Tim wasn't impressed. He was supposed to be printing updated statements of accounts that were outstanding, but he couldn't make any sense of it. He chewed contemplatively on the pencil in his mouth. How hard was it to just keep a notepad around somewhere saying that Joe Blow owed them $250 for that new muffler?
The bell over the door rang as a middle-aged man entered the office. He looked around the small, dim room somewhat sceptically.
"Afternoon," Tim said, standing up straight and putting the mangled pencil behind one ear. He cleared his throat. "Welcome to Riggins' Rigs. Can I, uh, help you?"
"I sure as hell hope so," the man said. "My Blazer's out front. Can you take a look at it?"
"No prob," Tim said, eagerly abandoning the computer and following the man outside. A red, late '90s Blazer was parked out in front of the garage, its hood popped and steam billowing out of its engine.
"It keeps overheating," the man said as they walked over to the SUV. "I've tried adding coolant and I've got a bottle of water in the car with me at all times, but I'm having to pull over and let it cool off just about every damn time I drive the thing. What the hell's wrong with it?"
Tim leaned against the hot grill of the Blazer. Peering around the alternator, he took a cursory look at the water pump. Frowning, he crouched down and looked under the truck. In the brief time the truck had been parked there, a small puddle of syrupy green engine coolant had already formed beneath it.
"You got a stain under where you park her at home?" Tim asked, standing up.
"Yeah," the man replied, somewhat sheepishly.
"Looks like you've got a coolant leak," Tim said.
"Okay," nodded the man. "What's that mean?"
"Probably a worn out seal, but it could be a few different things. I'll have to get a closer look at the water pump to see. Mind leaving her with me for a bit?"
"No problem," he replied.
"There's a diner just down the block that way," Tim said, pointing. "We don't have much of a waiting room yet."
"Okay," the man sighed. "How much is this gonna cost me?"
"Shouldn't be too much if it's just a seal or a hose."
"And if not?"
Tim scratched his head, eyeballing the SUV. "Worst case scenario, there's something wrong with your head gaskets and they need to be replaced. That'll set you back a good $1,200."
"Damn it," the man swore.
"Hoses and water pump seals wear out all the time, and they don't cost much to replace," Tim said, trying to reassure him. "That's probably all it is."
"All right," the man said, throwing up his hands. "Take a look at her, not much else I can do."
"Don't worry," Tim said. "She's in good hands."
"I know," the man replied, crossing his arms over his chest and regarding Tim. "How's San Antonio State? Think you got a shot at the NFL?"
Tim stared at the man, not realising that he had recognized him. Did he think he had a shot at the NFL? He hadn't thought seriously about the NFL for himself since he was 15 and it was decided that Jay was going to be better than Peyton Manning and Joe Montana combined, and that they were going to go all the way. Together. Tim had no real aspirations of his own; he just liked to play football. Did other people really think he was going to try to make the NFL?
"No, sir," Tim heard himself saying. "Don't really think so."
"Oh," the man replied, blinking. He turned away. "Well, I'll be down the road. Let me know when I need to get out my wallet."
The man turned and walked off down the dusty road. Tim watched him for a moment before turning back to the overheated SUV.
"Billy!" he shouted, "Come help me push this thing into the garage!"
***
"Anyway, I guess we kinda thought we could keep the whole long distance thing going, but it was pretty naive. Chicago's too far away, especially now that he doesn't really have anything tying him here except me."
Julie rested her chin on her knees, watching as Jordyn rolled herself around awkwardly on the blanket Julie had spread out on the grass of the front lawn.
"Telling a five-month-old baby about my problems," Julie said, grimacing. "I think this might actually be an all-time low."
Watching her sitter unsympathetically, Jordyn merely burbled in response.
Julie stretched out, reaching over and grabbing the iced tea she had brought outside with her and taking a sip. It was a relatively mild day for June in Texas, so Julie had decided that they should try to get some fresh air before it started to become unbearably hot.
"I should take you to the pool one day," Julie said, blowing her bangs out of her eyes. "Unless the Swede still works there. Ugh. That's a story for another day."
Julie rolled over onto her stomach, opening up the novel she'd brought with her, having decided to give herself a brief reprieve from studying. Jordyn amused herself mainly by shuffling around the blanket on her stomach, stopping occasionally to roll herself over and try to shove a hand or a foot in her mouth.
Eventually, though, Jordyn began to fuss, so Julie abandoned her book and carried Jordyn inside, where she changed her and put her down for her nap. Stopping in the kitchen to get another glass of iced tea, Julie was surprised to see from the clock on the microwave that it was getting late – Tim would be home soon.
She went back out the front door to grab her stuff, but stopped short in the doorway at the sight of Tim standing in the middle of his front lawn reading her book.
"The 158-Pound Marriage," he read aloud, without looking up at her. "What's this about?"
"It's about swingers, more or less," Julie replied, shutting the door behind her and coming to stand in front of him.
Tim frowned, flipping through the book. He stopped at a random page and read for a moment. He guffawed suddenly, looking up at Julie in surprise.
"There's sex in this," he said.
"Oh my god," Julie groaned, rolling her eyes dramatically to distract from the embarrassed flush she could feel spreading across her face and chest. "What are you, twelve?"
"No," Tim replied, passing the book into her outstretched hand, "I guess I just never expected you to be reading dirty books."
"It's not a dirty book. It's just about sex and relationships... and stuff," she said, looking away down the street and hoping she seemed too nonchalant and sophisticated for this incredibly juvenile discussion.
"Okay," Tim said, leering at her in a teasing way that reminded her of the days he spent occupying their couch. He grinned unapologetically. "Sorry."
"I'm sure," she replied, tossing her hair over her shoulder and brushing past him to gather up the blanket.
Tim had turned away to go into the house when Julie remembered her conversation with her parents that morning.
"Hey," she said, following him. "My parents asked me to invite you all over for dinner one night this week."
Tim dropped his keys on the kitchen counter and turned around to look at her.
"For real?" he asked, raising his eyebrows in obvious surprise.
Julie suddenly felt bad that her reaction to her dad's invitation had been the same as Tim's. What was weird about inviting another family over for dinner, even if that family was the Rigginses?
"Yeah," she said, shrugging like it was no big deal, "my dad really wants to see how you're doing, so my parents thought it would be nice to just have everybody over for a barbecue or something."
Tim stared at her for a moment, a strange little half smile on his face. Julie stared back at him, barely resisting the mad urge to giggle at the fact that Tim had a mancrush on her dad. After a pause, Tim looked away and cleared his throat, his face flushed.
"Mindy doesn't work on Thursday."
"Thursday should be fine," Julie replied, mentally reviewing what she knew of her parents' busy schedules.
"Should we, uh..." he squinted like he was an actor in a play and he was trying to remember his next line. "Can we bring anything?"
"I'm sure my mom's got it covered," Julie said. "Tell Mindy not to sweat it."
"Right on," Tim said, smiling at her. He looked quite pleased about being invited to a lame barbecue with her parents. Then again, she'd been almost as pleased at the prospect of babysitting just to have a reason to get out of the house, so she was in no position to mock.
"Jordyn's down for her nap," Julie said, grabbing her own car keys and her bag. "I've gotta run – can't keep the fine patrons of Applebee's waiting."
"See you Thursday," Tim said, walking her to the door.
"Thursday!" she repeated, leaving him in the open doorway and dashing down the slope of the lawn to her car.
Julie was halfway through the dinner rush before she realised that she had left her "dirty book" on Tim's kitchen counter.
***
"You think this is gonna be enough?" Tami asked, as she stood transferring several marinated chicken breasts onto a plate for Eric to grill.
"Yeah, that should be good," Julie replied, glancing up from the vegetables she was chopping for the salad. "Anyway, you only need five – Gracie always just has some of yours, and I'm not having any."
"You're not?"
"No, mom, I told you – I'm a vegetarian."
"Since when? I thought it was just pork and beef. Why aren't you eating chicken, now?"
"Since I watched this revolting video online of the inside of a chicken processing plant. Were you aware that they cut off their –"
"Julie, please."
"Okay, okay. But I reserve the right to abstain from eating dead animal."
"Jules, honey, why do you have to be so melodramatic about everything?" Tami cried, exasperated. "You don't want to eat the chicken? Don't eat the chicken!"
"You asked!"
"Yeah, well... What about fish? Can your dad grill you up some fish?"
"The fishing industry is destroying the environment," Julie began, but was prevented from launching into an indignant tirade by the sound of the doorbell.
"Go answer the door, please," Tami said tiredly, picking up the plate of chicken and carrying it out to the patio, where Eric was keeping an eye on the baked potatoes and vegetable skewers already on the grill.
Julie stopped fussing with the salad and went to the door, opening it to the Riggins clan, who stood waiting on the front step. Tim and Billy had both put on what Julie guessed were their nice shirts, and Mindy and Jordyn were both wearing summery sun dresses.
"Hey," Julie greeted them, opening the door wide. "Come on in. Everyone's out back."
They trooped in, Mindy carrying Jordyn, and Tim bringing up the rear. He stopped in front of Julie, a case of beer hanging from two fingers.
"This isn't for me," he said, "but this is Coach's brand, right?"
Julie glanced down at the box as she closed the door.
"Yeah, he likes that one," she said. She cocked an eyebrow at him. "Are you giving up drinking or something?"
Tim laughed. "No, but I don't think your parents are too wild about me drinking."
"No, they're not," Julie agreed. She walked past him into the house, gesturing for him to follow her. "Iced tea? That's what I'm having."
"Iced tea's good," Tim replied, trailing her into the kitchen.
Julie poured Tim a glass and handed it to him before returning to the salad she had been preparing. Everyone had made their way out to the patio except for Gracie, who was sitting in her booster seat on the other side of the breakfast bar, raptly watching Julie chop tomatoes.
After a moment, Julie looked up from the cutting board to find Tim still standing awkwardly in the middle of the kitchen, absently looking at the pictures on the fridge door. The case of beer was still hanging from one hand.
"You can put that in the fridge if you want," Julie said, pointing with her knife as though it wasn't obvious which appliance the refrigerator was. "There's room in there."
"Okay," Tim mumbled, the bottles of beer clanking against one another in the box as he found a spot for them in the fridge.
Closing the door, he leaned against the counter, joining Gracie in watching Julie chop tomatoes.
"I'm not used to having this big of an audience," Julie said, not looking up as she moved on to a cucumber. The watchful silence of Tim and Gracie was making her anxious.
"Chopping vegetables just right takes skill," Tim replied. "Right, Gracie?"
Julie glanced up to see her little sister eyeing Tim dubiously as he looked to her for confirmation.
"Tough crowd," Tim griped.
"She's kinda hard-boiled," Julie said, smiling at Gracie in the hopes of lightening her up. "You're going to have to work pretty hard to woo her."
"Guess I've got myself a summer project, then, huh Gracie Belle?" he said, leaning closer to the little girl and raising his eyebrows at her.
Gracie was saved from having to respond by Tami, who came in from the backyard, empty plate in hand.
"Hey there, Tim," she said, breezing into the kitchen and leaving the dirty plate and tongs in the sink. "Julie get you something to drink?"
"Yes ma'am," he replied, holding up his iced tea.
"Great," she said. "Salad almost ready, Jules? The chicken's not gonna take too long. Not that you're having any."
Julie rolled her eyes at her mother, choosing not to respond. Tim glanced between the two women, confused.
"I'm a vegetarian," Julie explained. Tim nodded, but didn't say anything else.
"When you feel like it," Tami muttered, taking the salad from Julie and whisking it out to the picnic table. Julie glared at her retreating back before looking up at Tim.
"Come on," Julie grumbled, scooping Gracie up and placing her on the floor before grabbing the booster seat and heading outside.
Everyone was seated at the picnic table and Julie was just getting Gracie settled in her seat when she remembered she left her iced tea in the kitchen. She turned around and nearly smacked into Tim's chest; he was standing right behind her, a glass of iced tea in each hand.
"Sorry," she blurted, taking the offered drink. "Thanks."
Tim shrugged and walked around the table, sitting in the spot across from Julie and Gracie.
Once the chicken and vegetables had been passed around and everyone had a plate of food and a full beverage, it took all of thirty seconds for the conversation to turn to football.
"So Tim," her father said, struggling with a forkful of salad, "how's San Antonio State?"
Sliding grilled vegetables off a bamboo skewer onto her plate, Julie glanced up to see Tim's reaction. He was frowning down at his plate.
"Pretty good, sir," he replied, glancing up at his former coach.
"I hear from Julie you didn't get a whole lot of field time."
Tim looked up at Julie with a curious look on his face, like he didn't believe that she and her father talked about him. Julie looked away, concentrating once more on the vegetables on her plate.
"No, sir," Tim replied. "The first-string guy had a good season."
"That happens," Eric said. "But you keep at it, keep working, and you'll see some play next year. I know it. That school's lucky to have you."
"Thank you, sir," Tim mumbled.
"You been seeing the news about Smash? He's making a real name for himself down there at A&M."
"I did," Tim replied, smiling wryly. "Nothing Williams does better than get attention."
Eric laughed, taking a sip of his beer. "That's for sure," he said. "You talk to Jason still?"
"Sure do."
"How's he doing? How's the big city?"
"Good, I think. He and Erin found a place near her parents."
"That's good to hear," Tami said. "Still think he should have gone to college."
"He was always gonna, but after the accident..." Tim trailed off with a shrug.
"Jason Street is one kid I never worried about," Eric said. "He'll figure things out."
"It must be so cool to work in New York and live close to so many restaurants and museums and galleries and everything," Julie said, looking across the table at Tim. "Has he seen a lot of interesting stuff?"
"I dunno," Tim shrugged. "I think he's pretty busy with Erin and the baby and everything."
"Oh yeah," Julie said, embarrassed. "Of course."
"Jules has always wanted to go to New York. Or San Francisco. Or Seattle. Or Boston. Or any big city that's not in Texas, really," Tami said, smiling.
"Billy and I were gonna go to Orlando for our honeymoon, but it didn't work out," Mindy said, spearing some vegetables and smiling brightly at her husband. "Someone had to get a new tow truck for the shop."
"It wasn't new," Billy protested. "It's used, and it was a solid investment."
"Well, whatever, it meant we had to spend our honeymoon in Midland."
"Babe," Billy warned, glaring at her.
"What?" Mindy snapped back.
"Eric and I were real lucky," Tami said, with forced cheerfulness. "We drove down to Galveston for our honeymoon. We thought we'd be staying right there on the water, but we ended up in this little pink motel by the highway with no running water. Remember, honey?"
"Sure, I remember. We got a flat tire on the way home, too, just outside Abilene. Good thing your mom's so good looking," he said, winking at Julie, "or else we never would have gotten a ride from that hog farmer who stopped to help us."
Julie looked across the table at Tim, who was looking at her parents with an expression on his face Julie could only describe as fond. She loved her parents and appreciated them more now than she had when she was a bit younger, but she still tended to think of them as weird and embarrassing and overprotective. But to someone like Tim, Julie realised, they must look like Mike and Carol Brady.
The rest of the meal passed in relative silence, especially once Mindy left the table to prepare Jordyn's bottle, preventing her from continuing to find excuses to harangue Billy about their non-honeymoon. Tim excused himself from the table, having finished his meal, and Tami gestured at Julie to help her clear the dishes.
"Jules, you wanna grab Tim and tell him I've got some game tape I wanna get his opinion on?" her father asked, glancing up only briefly from his conversation with Billy at the far end of the table.
"Sure," Julie grumbled, turning and heading into the house with an armful of dishes. She scraped them off and put them in the dishwasher. Rinsing her hands off, she wondered if maybe Tim had gone to the bathroom. She left the kitchen and walked down the hallway.
"Tim?" Julie called softly, frowning at the open bathroom door. Where was he?
Passing her bedroom, she caught a glimpse of a figure. She pushed the door open to find Tim standing in her room, examining her bookshelves.
"Uh, can I help you with something?" she asked, half amused and half offended.
"Hey," he said over his shoulder. Casually, like it was completely normal for him to be standing there in her bedroom with his hands in his pockets, perusing her book collection.
"This you?" he asked, picking up a framed picture of Julie and her best friend from elementary school at a summer camp, when they were about 8-years-old.
"Yeah," she said, blushing. She walked over and took the picture from his hands, returning it to its spot on her bookshelf. "I had no idea you were this nosy."
"Didn't get a chance to have a good look around the last time I was in here," Tim replied. It was the kind of comment that ought to have been accompanied by a leer, but Tim seemed oddly matter-of-fact.
"Right, that," Julie said, wondering how much embarrassment she would have to endure tonight.
"Are you embarrassed 'cause you tried to kiss me or something?" he asked, as though he could hear her thoughts. He was smiling at her like he found her very amusing.
Julie gaped at him. "That's... Wow. I'm so glad you brought that up, because that was super humiliating. So, thanks."
"Sorry," he said, still smiling at her. "It's just, you make this face when you're pissed off. It's kinda funny."
Julie raised an irritated eyebrow at him.
"That's the one," he said, before turning back to look at her bookshelf. "I really just wanted to see if you had any more dirty books, to be honest."
"Don't you know that dirty books go under the bed?" Julie asked, turning away to lean back against her desk, crossing her arms tensely over her chest.
Tim laughed. "Sorry," he said, reaching around and producing the worn paperback from his back pocket. "I was actually just gonna give you this, but I got distracted."
"Thanks," Julie said, taking the book from him. "You didn't have to do that. I was just going to pick it up next time I'm over."
Tim shrugged, then glanced at her bookshelf again. "You really like to read, huh?"
"Yeah," Julie replied, feeling self-conscious.
"Tyra liked to read. Just never the stuff they assigned in class, you know? Not that she'd ever want anyone to know. She had stacks of books in her closet."
Julie nodded, deciding not to press for more of Tim's anecdotes about the contents of Tyra's closet.
"Kinda lame, sitting around talking about stuff everyone else is doing," Tim observed, apropos of nothing. It took Julie a moment to realise that he was referring to their conversation over dinner.
"Yeah, kinda. I mean... I don't know. I'm happy for everybody, I'm just sick of hearing about how great everyone's lives are."
"I think I'm supposed to be more excited," Tim said softly, frowning as he ran his thumb along the dusty edge of her bookshelf.
"Excited? About what?"
"I dunno," he said. "College, I guess. Life."
"Maybe you just haven't found something to get excited about yet," Julie offered.
"Maybe. I dunno. I used to feel that way with football, I think, but..." he trailed off, glancing over at her, suddenly awkward and self-conscious. "Sorry. Dunno what I'm talking about."
Julie shrugged again, unsure what to say. "My dad has some game tape he wants to show you."
"Okay," Tim said, stepping around her and leaving the room.
Julie sighed and tossed her book onto her bed. She had the feeling that Tim might be really easy to talk to if he wasn't so difficult to talk to.
She left her bedroom and went back outside, settling herself on a lawn chair next to where Gracie and Jordyn were playing in the grass and getting to know one another. Or rather, Gracie was ripping up fistfuls of grass and dumping them on the hapless baby's face, and Jordyn was pretending to enjoy it.
It was getting dark out, but her mom had lit the lanterns around the patio, bathing the yard in warm light. Julie tucked her feet under her and watched the girls, wondering if she should be worried that lately, she preferred their company to most other people's.
The scrape of another lawn chair's legs across the grass caused her to look up, and she was surprised to find Tim pulling up to have a seat beside her.
"Hey," he said, lounging back in the chair as though he'd done it thousands of times.
"Aren't you supposed to be watching game tape?" Julie asked, frowning at him.
"Your mom and Mindy are swapping childbirth stories, and Coach and Billy got to talking Panthers and Lions."
"So you thought you'd come join us girls at the kids' table?"
"Something like that."
There was silence for a moment, and Julie glanced over at Tim. He was leaning back, looking up at the stars as they began to emerge in the darkening sky.
"One thing about New York and all those other big cities," he said, so quietly Julie thought he might be talking more to himself than to her, "you can't see stars like that."
Julie craned her neck to look up, admiring the faint lights glowing ever brighter in the eastern sky, the western sky burning a warm, peachy orange and gilding the trees in light as it sank beyond the horizon.
She didn't say anything, not wanting to disturb the tremulous peace which had unexpectedly settled between them. Instead, she did her best to silently communicate that yes, she absolutely agreed that big cities did not have this, and yes, it was beautiful.