Jill caught me looking at her belly-I guess I wasn't very sly or discreet about it.
She gave her stomach a pat, and said, "How about that?" to me.
I wasn't sure how to answer that. What was I going to say about her burgeoning middle?
"Yeah," I settled for saying.
"Daniel said you were going to make cookies today," she said.
"I was thinking about it," I said.
"Well, Hannah said it was alright-I thought I might try to make some. Would you mind?"
"No," I said, surprised. "I don't mind, if you want to."
She gave her stomach another rub, and sort of gave me a half-smile.
"Thanks for apologizing to me, Harlie," she said, and her voice now was warm. She sounded as though she
really meant it.
"It's okay," I said, and made my escape out to the porch. Kristin was sitting on the top step, looking across
the pastures.
"Let's go for a walk," I told her. "I wanna get away from the house for awhile."
"Okay," Kristin said, getting to her feet.
We walked down the driveway, and then on down the road a bit.
"It was nice, this morning," Kristin said. "Hanging out in the kitchen with Hannah and Clare. Jill was nice, too."
"I'm glad," I said.
After a couple of moments, I said, "Have you heard from Buddy?"
"No."
"Oh," I said. I couldn't imagine how it must feel, for Kristin to know that her mom was in jail.
"Buddy's probably gotten the bail together by now," she said. "I mean, he probably went to one of those bail places."
"I'm glad that you came home with us," I said.
"Yeah. I am, too. I'll probably go home, though, as soon as my mom's back at the trailer."
"You could stay with us-you know it would be alright," I said.
"Thanks." She sighed. "I want to talk to my mom first. I think this might be the time that she really tells Frank to go,
and not let him come back."
I had my own doubts about that, but Kristin looked hopeful, so I just nodded.
"Don't you think so?" she asked me. "I mean, don't you think that she'll wise up after this? With the police coming, and with
having to go to jail, and all that? She'll kick him out for good?"
I found myself looking at her eyes, and heard myself saying a lie.
"I'll bet she does kick him out. For sure," I said.
I must have been a better actress, or a better liar, than I'd thought. Because, Kristin believed me.
7
When we were walking back up the driveway, I saw Brian over in the orchard, crouched down with the pup.
Guthrie called out from the loft up the barn.
"Hey, Kris! Come on up!"
"You coming?" Kristin asked me.
"No, you go on," I told her, and watched as she ran across the yard to the barn.
I walked over to where Brian was at. By now, he was standing again, and I saw that he'd brought out a soup
bone to the pup. The dog was definitely enjoying it.
"Hi," I said.
"Hey."
"That's nice of you," I said. "Giving him a bone."
"I was hopin' it would shut him up," Brian said. "Give him somethin' to do with his mouth besides just bark."
"Has he been barking a lot?" I asked.
"The whole darn morning," Brian said.
"Oh," I said. I gave Brian an apologetic look. "Sorry."
"So, what's the plan?" he asked me.
"I guess I better go in and start making some calls," I said. "See if I can find somebody to take him."
"Hmm," he said.
"We're celebrating Crane's birthday tonight, or tomorrow," I said.
"That's what I hear."
We started walking back towards the house from the orchard, and the pup got to his feet, and began yipping.
I paused, looking back. "He doesn't want us to leave," I said.
Brian paused, too, looking at the dog. He walked back over and laid his hand on the dog's head, and spoke softly to
him. Then he walked away again, and when the dog began to yip, he turned and said, "Quiet," in a firm voice.
The pup hushed, and laid back down to begin chewing on his bone again.
"Wow. Good job," I said. "I'm impressed."
"He's gonna need somebody that's firm with him to take him. Before he forms any more bad habits," Brian said.
7
Kenny called as we were all finishing up lunch. After Guthrie had gone to answer the phone he yelled out, "Hey, Har! It's Kenny!"
I took my half-sandwich that I had left, pushing the lettuce back inside the bread as I walked to the phone.
"What's up?" Kenny asked, after I'd said hello.
"Usual stuff," I said. "I worked with D.C. Evan wouldn't let me take him out of the corral, though." I lowered my voice,
even though there was nobody in the living room right then. "I said a couple of things to Jill-and Daniel got mad at me."
"Uh oh," Kenny said.
"I apologized to her," I said.
"How's Kristin doin'?" he asked.
"She's down," I said, still quietly.
"My mom wants to know if you'd like to go out to dinner with us tonight, and to visit my aunt in Sacramento."
"Oh. That's nice," I said, thinking.
"Yeah. We'd be leavin' about four or so, and eat when we got there, then probably go back to her house for a while to
visit."
"Let me check. Hang on, okay?" I said.
"Sure."
I laid the phone receiver down, and went back thru to the kitchen. It had cleared out a bit. Adam and Brian and Clare were
still sitting at the table, and Hannah was putting things into the refrigerator. Ford was sitting on the counter, munching on
a handful of Oreos.
I paused beside the corner of the table, which put me right in between Adam and Brian. They paused in their
talking, something about the hay field, and Adam took a drink of his iced tea, while Brian said, "What's up?" to me.
"Kenny asked me to go out to dinner with him and his parents, and then visit with his aunt," I said.
"Where at?" Brian asked me.
"Sacramento," I said.
"I thought we agreed that stayin' home was the plan for you tonight," Brian said.
I gave him a beseeching look. "Kenny's mom wants me to come," I told him.
"Sacramento," Adam said, sounding as though he was thinking. "Leave at what time? Five?"
"He said four."
"Four. Two hour drive up there. Dinner and then visiting, and then a two hour drive home. It'd be another late night," Adam said.
"Maybe only ten or so," I said.
"Likely more like eleven or even later," Adam said.
Hannah, by now, was standing up straight in front of the open refrigerator, and really listening.
"It would be alright," I said. I wanted to go with Kenny and his parents.
"I don't think you got enough rest last night," Hannah spoke up.
"I did," I said.
"You didn't seem as though you did-this morning," Hannah said. Referring, of course, to my little set-to with Jill.
I met Hannah's gaze, and felt my face get hot.
Before I could say anything to her in response, Adam looked from Hannah to me. "What's this?" he asked.
I knew Hannah hadn't meant to get me into any trouble, because she looked immediately regretful.
"I just thought Harlie was extra tired this morning," Hannah said, not selling me out on the whole story.
Adam and Brian exchanged a look, and Brian said, "I think you need to stay home tonight, peach."
Adam nodded. "Yep. I agree."
"It's like you guys are punishing me for something," I protested.
"It's not intended that way," Adam said, calmly.
"Well, it feels that way," I said.
"Harlie, that's enough," Brian said, firmly.
"Tell Kenny that you'll go another time," Hannah suggested.
I stopped just short, and I mean just short, of saying something totally sassy and disrespectful. I turned around
and flounced out of the kitchen. Well, I didn't really flounce. I went back to pick up the receiver again, and
said, bluntly, "I can't go."
"Oh," Kenny said.
"Yeah. They said no. They think I'm too tired, or something," I said.
"Well, that's okay," Kenny said, but I could tell he was disappointed.
"Sorry. I really would have liked to come."
"Don't worry about it," he said. There was a pause, and then he said, "I'll miss seeing you, though."
"I'll miss you, too. Tell your mother thank you for inviting me."
"I will."
We said our goodbyes, and I hung up the telephone, with a sigh. It would have been fun to have gone tonight. I liked Kenny's
parents. They were nice to be around, because Kenny's father was so courtly to his mother. And, they liked me a lot, too. I could
tell. It would have been nice-they probably would have gone to an expensive restaurant. I could have dressed up...I was
in my own thoughts, and nearly ran into Adam. He'd come from the kitchen, and was standing at the edge of the living room.
Waiting, I figured out, for me to get off of the telephone.
I came to an abrupt halt after our near collision.
"So-" he began, in a drawn out way. "What exactly happened this mornin'?"
I wondered if Hannah had said something else, after I'd left the kitchen. Or, if he'd pressed her into saying what it was.
"Jill was irritating me, and I snarled at her," I said, suddenly, bluntly.
Adam raised an eyebrow, only slightly, and said, "Hmmm."
"I apologized to her," I said, my voice clipped.
"Good," he said.
"It didn't have anything to do with being out late last night," I said, in defense. "I find her annoying at other times, even
when I'm not tired."
Now, his eyebrow went up fully-no half-way. "So, what you're sayin' then, is that you have no problem in bein' rude, tired or
not tired, is that it?"
I felt my face get all hot. Really hot.
"Daniel already-" I began, and then stopped.
"Daniel already, what?"
"He already told me off about it," I said.
"Well, good."
I sighed heavily. "Are we done?" I asked. I knew as soon as I said it, well, that I shouldn't have. I could have chosen any number
of other ways to ask if I could go.
He didn't like it. Not one bit. That was evident in the way his jaw tightened.
"Sorry," I said, really quickly.
"Do we need to have a 'coming to an understanding' discussion, Harlie Marie?" he asked, sternly.
All the sputter and rebel went right out of me.
"No," I said, and then tacked on, "Sir."
"Well," he said, "Pull yourself together, alright? If you need to take a rest, then do it. Keep an eye on your level."
"I will," I said.
He surveyed me for a long moment. I sighed again, but way more softly, and not with any attitude.
"Try to unwind a little bit," Adam said. "Relax, and enjoy the rest of the day." He reached out and rubbed my shoulder
between his thumb and index finger. "Sometimes you're wound tighter than a two dollar watch, you know that?"
7
As is common at times, after Adam has had a 'talk' with me, it mellowed me out somewhat. Made me feel calmer.
I'd never want him to know that, though. He might think then that he needed to do it a lot more often. And, even though
I felt better afterwards usually, I definitely did not enjoy it while it was actually happening. At that time, I felt embarrassed, and chastised, and
only wanted it to be over with.
Anyway, I spent the next couple of hours with Kristin and Guthrie, with all three of us practicing our jumps and flips
out of the hayloft onto a big pile of loose hay on the barn floor. We hadn't done it in a long time, and Guthrie
kept trying to teach both of us how to do the somersault in mid-air on the way down.
I tried, but I couldn't seem to get the hang of it, no matter how many times I tried.
"You look like a contortionist when you're comin' down," Guthrie said, with a laugh.
I sat there on the pile of hay, glaring up at him in the hayloft. "Well, thanks, alot," I said.
Ford came along and joined in, and I felt myself just having a good time. Not worried about anything right then.
It was nice.
The four of us were still at it, laughing and horsing around when Daniel and Jill appeared at the door of the barn.
Daniel went to put away the bucket he'd been carrying, and they stopped to watch us.
"Sounds like a wild time in here," Daniel said.
"Watch this, Daniel," Guthrie said, and leaped out of the hayloft, making a double somersault before he landed.
"You can still do that trick, huh?" Daniel asked, grinning.
"Sure," Guthrie said, sitting up in the mound of hay.
"It's been awhile since I've seen you do it," Daniel said.
"Yeah." He eyed Daniel. "It's been awhile since I've seen you do your famous trick, too."
"Yeah. That's right," Ford chimed in, from his position in the hayloft, looking down.
"What trick?" Jill asked, looking at Daniel.
"Nah," Daniel said, with a wave of his hand.
"Tell me," Jill said, tugging on his arm, and smiling.
"Just somethin' I used to be able to do," Daniel told her.
"Yeah. It was pretty amazing," Ford hollered down.
"Do it," Guthrie told Daniel.
"No way," Daniel said. "That was a long time ago-a long time ago."
"What was it?" Kristin asked, leaning over to look down from the loft.
"Yeah, Daniel," Guthrie challenged. "Jill and Kristin want to see you do it-"
Gus, Warrior, and Jethro Bodine were all sitting, nearly in a row, at the door of the barn.
"Even the dogs wanna see it," Guthrie taunted.
"I'll try," Daniel said. "I just hope I don't break my neck-"
Guthrie gave a delighted, "Alright!" and said, "Everybody come on down. Daniel wants a full audience, don't ya?"
"Sure. More help to take care of my injuries," Daniel said.
7