Will was playing a charity function. He had long given up hustling and tournaments. He made his living by doing fancy pool tricks for charities. He was barely getting by, but he was sure that the Lord would bring something along any time now. He felt a change in the air. He was looking into owning a pool hall with his friend, Harley, although that was still in the dream stage. The impressed crowd cheered him on as he did his tricks.
A blonde, curly-haired youth came in and challenged him to a game. He wasn't going to do it at first, but Harley encouraged him. He was a cocky adolescent, who obviously was a hustler. His suspicions were confirmed when he saw Beamer trying to talk the boy out of playing him. Will decided to play him. If he took all his money, maybe he would learn that the gambling and cheating wasn't any way to live. Maybe he would go back home to his parents. He looked like he had just gotten out of high school.
The kid tried to egg him on all through the game with taunts. Will stayed silent and let him win for awhile. He wasn't a bad pool player, but he had a lot to learn. At last he put the boy in his place and sunk the balls without even trying. The boy was out of money, but he wasn't ready to give up.
"I'll play your fancy shooting stick against this ring." Then he rolled a wedding ring down the table, so he could look at it.
Will picked it up and examined it. It was the ring he'd given Dee Dee. He wondered if the boy had stolen it from her or if she had just pawned it. "Where'd you get this?"
Billy Joe was annoyed that this man thought he had come by it illegally, and it was none of his business, so he answered smartly, "I found it in a bowl of gumbo."
Will decided he was going to get to the bottom of this. He left the ring on the table and got in his car to go to the diner where Dee Dee worked. He had known she was there for awhile, but he knew his seeing her would be less than welcomed by her. He'd been trying to work up the courage to see her though, if only to apologize for the way he had treated her and bring some closure for the both of them. He had no hopes of them becoming friends, but this was as good an excuse as any, and he really wanted to know how the boy had come by the ring.
Dee Dee saw him come in out of the corner of her eye. She felt like her heart was going to stop. She reminded herself to breathe. She had known that Harley would tell him about seeing her here. There was only one way to handle it and that was to keep it strictly business. If he wanted to eat here, fine, but she wasn't about to get personal with him. She brought him a glass of water and asked politely, "What'll you have, Will?"
He laughed. "You act like I was just in here yesterday."
"Well, our Denver omelets are quite popular," she said, ignoring his comment as she wiped off the counter. He was not going to draw her into anything.
"Just coffee."
That's what he had said the first time she had waited on him. "Okay." She felt victorious that she had managed to keep things business related. She grabbed a cup and the coffee pot. She couldn't help but wonder though what he was doing here. It had been awhile since Harley was here. She and Harley hadn't really spoken just acknowledged each other with a friendly nod. She was curious. "Is this an accident or is this a visit?"
"Harley was through here a few months ago and said you were back from Oregon," he told her as she poured his coffee.
"I've been back 8 years."
"This place must agree with you."
"Yeah, I get along real good with the owner," she said.
"Yeah?" he asked.
"Naw," she said, her voice full of humor. "It's me."
"How about that?" he said impressed. "Harley said you looked good. He should have said you look great."
That made her mad. She didn't know what his motive was, but he wasn't going to worm his way back into her heart with his lying compliments. She never wanted that kind of life again, and she was going to make that clear to him. "You know I hardly recognized you, Will, without a hangover."
That made him mad too, but in a way, she was relieved the pleasantries were over.
"I just saw a wedding ring I gave you 21 years ago on a mouthy kid with a 6-pack IQ. Rolled it down a pool table. Wanted me to play him for it."
That made her really angry, and she put her hands on her hips. That was why he'd come here, to find out about the ring and insult her son. She wondered how he'd react if he knew that 'mouthy kid' was his. She was going to find out. "If his name is Billy Joe Stanley, you should have played him, Will." It was time for the truth to come out, she thought, cooling down a little. It always did whether you wanted it to or not. She said more earnestly, "That boy's your son."
He didn't believe it right away. "Aww, what are you talking about? That punk?"
That brought her temper back. He hadn't changed a bit, she thought, angrily clattering the dishes. "I wonder what he'd have called you?"
He knew she was serious then. "We ought to talk, Dee."
"I'd say we've about covered it."
"When?" he asked, standing up from his stool. "21 years ago?"
The last thing she wanted to do was talk with the kind of mood she was in, particularly to him. "I'm busy, Will." She hoped he'd take the hint. He wasn't going to cause a scene here in public, especially with a cop close to him. Will saw the cop looking at him, and he sat back down.
She busily cleared plates. Every now and then she peeked a look at him. He wasn't going away, and truthfully, she didn't blame him. She didn't regret not telling him about the baby, but now that he knew, it was only natural he'd want to know more about his own flesh and blood, but she didn't want to do it at the diner. She filled his coffee cup again and told him, "If you want to stick around until closing, you can follow me home, and we can talk there."
He agreed to it on the spot. She almost hoped he would get tired of waiting and leave, but he stuck around the 4 hours. He even helped her close the shop up, which surprised her. He had never been a great helper, and he should have been more than a little angry over the news. They never said a word to each other. They walked out to their cars, and he followed her to her house. She opened the door, and he followed her into the kitchen.
She threw her coat onto the chair and spoke first, "Well, let's see. 18 years old. Born June the 19th. Memphis, Tennessee. Right here. 6 months to the day after you dusted out. He's had the chickenpox, the mumps, a broken jaw." She said giving him a short history all the while she was pouring them some coffee.
"You could have told me, Dee. I wasn't that far away."
"Well, I was. Do you know that you broke this eardrum with that last slap you gave me? It left me with a continual ringing in this ear for 2 years to remind me of all the benders and the wrecked cars and the calls from the deputies. And did you know when Frank came along, that ringing just stopped, and I got married again."
"Billy Joe get along alright with his stepfather?"
"Yeah, it was Oregon he didn't like. Oregon's alright. It's just the drizzling started, and I don't know. He was a tough kid to raise and even tougher to know."
"I wonder why he never looked me up?"
"Cause you're dead, Will. Blown all to heck in a Louisiana oil rig in an explosion. That's what I told him. That's why he calls himself the Cajun Kid."
"And that takes care of Dad."
"I just didn't talk about you, Will. I just never got around to telling him we had any kind of wedding. Just about the ring."
They drank their coffee in silence and then she walked him to the door.
"Dee Dee, I turned the corner awhile back. Started going to church."
"And you didn't get struck by lightening?" she teased.
"Not yet," he smiled.
"You know you do look healthier, Will."
"Where's your husband?"
"Frank was killed out in Oregon. Power line went down in a storm."
"I'm sorry."
"You know he wasn't a bad father."
He nodded and started to leave.
"Hey and, Will, if you see our boy, would you tell him I miss him?"
He nodded again. She watched him interestedly as he walked away. Maybe he had changed.
sss
Will was determined to find Billy Joe. He wanted to bond with the son he never knew and maybe lead him toward the right path. He also wanted to help Dee Dee. He went from pool hall to pool hall asking for the Cajun Kid. At last, he found the right place. Billy Joe was coming out with Beamer and his arm around a girl. Then he got in a fist fight with the guy he had cheated and won before driving away. It could have very well been him in Billy Joe's place and at one time it had been.
He followed the car to a motel. He waited there all night. Billy Joe wouldn't very well talk to him with the girl there. When the girl left, he knocked on the door. Billy Joe was putting his clothes back on and didn't seem bitter about their game of pool.
"Beamer told me you used to hustle right before you started playing tournaments."
"That's true. Why do you ask?"
"Oh, everyone treats you like a real honcho, a gentleman pool player, and you're out there shucking and sharecropping just like the rest of us."
"Well, it's something I'm not too proud of, but the best thing I can say is that it's behind me."
"Also said that you were a national 9-ball champ a year before you gave up pool completely."
"Hey, can we take a walk? Get some coffee?"
Billy Joe agreed to it.
Outside, Billy Joe told Will, "Coffee shop's that way," when they started going the wrong direction.
"We'll get to it."
"What was it like being a champ? Holding a title?"
"Felt pretty good. For about 10 minutes until I realized that I had to defend it against guys like me. I do have something I wanted to talk to you about. It may come as a blinding revelation."
"Okay, blind me."
Will was trying to figure out how to tell him. There was just no easy way. He just had to say it. "Your name is Addington. William Joseph Addington."
"Wait, a minute. My father's dead. He was blown—"
"Your mother and I were married 21 years ago." Will had pulled out his and Dee Dee's wedding picture from his pocket. There wasn't a day that went by that he didn't pull it out and look at it. "Date's on the back. I'm your father."
Billy Joe had no choice but to believe it. "And all this time I thought I was a genuine bastard. Where the heck were you?"
"I didn't know you were born, son. Your mother never told me."
"She must have really hated you. What did you do to her anyway?" he demanded.
Will was proud that he was so protective of her. The boy obviously loved his mother. "I was a hardcore hustler. Booze, drugs, women. The whole 9 yards. Can we get that coffee?"
He looked away. He looked like he wanted to deck him, but you couldn't get too mad about sins that you did yourself. He started to walk away, and Will followed. He knew there was one way to get to his son and that was through pool.
"What do you want from me?"
"Just a little of your time. I think there's a few things we could catch up on."
"You're all ready to play Daddy."
"No, I think it's a little late for that, but we share the same bloodline. Some of it's working for you. Some of it's working against you. That I can help you with."
"Like how?"
"With a little coaching, I think you can be a better pool player than I ever was. Sounds kind of strange me talking to you like a father. You being told you're the son of the Baron."
"Well, I tell you what, Mr. Father," he said, grabbing his father by the arm to get his attention. "I won't tell anybody if you won't." He tucked the wedding picture back in Will's vest pocket.
sss
They met up again in a pool hall. Billy Joe had just been introduced to a lady hustler named Mary Beth. Will was focused on a game of pool as they all watched him play.
"Who is that?" Mary Beth asked in an impressed tone.
"My father," Billy Joe admitted.
Will finally caught sight of Billy Joe. "I was just leaving," and he started to.
"Hold on," Billy Joe said. "I want to say something."
"I'd say you've about covered everything."
"What I want to say is I've never played 8-ball."
"Some other time, kid," he said a little more softly.
"Yeah, whatever," and he walked off.
Will started to leave too but before he had even opened the door, he said, "What's the stakes?"
"Hundred."
"Make that a glass of grapefruit juice."
"Yeah, I think I can handle that."
Will grinned and they played their game. Will won.
They went to a restaurant around the corner.
"You do look a little like me here and there," Billy Joe said after he paid for their juice.
"Who looks like who?"
"Sure didn't look like you at the pool table."
"You'd be surprised how much you look like me at that table. Same pluses. Same minuses."
"What kind of minuses?"
"Your bridge. It's mostly mechanics. Seen your mom lately?"
Billy Joe shook his head. "Been a few months. I haven't had much time. Been traveling with Beamer. Playing mostly out in the boonies." He looked out the window while he took a sip of juice.
"You comfortable with that kind of life?"
He gave a nod. "I don't want to do it forever."
"You got a girlfriend?"
"No. I don't get too lonesome if that's what you mean. Look what's the matter with my bridge?"
"It's too short. I'll help you with that. If you're interested in trying some tournaments."
"No thanks. I'm doing fine just like I am."
"Hustling is stealing, Billy. That's all you can make out of it. You're still carrying the family name."
"I am not using your name," he said angrily. "I'm making one of my own."
"Where in backwater pool halls playing all the short stops?"
"Excuse me. I didn't know I'd stepped into a church," he said, standing up.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Let's start over."
Billy Joe sat back down.
"Why'd you take me on again?" Will asked.
Billy Joe sighed. "I haven't been working much since I blew off a game."
"I haven't either," Will said. "We ought to make a serious attempt to get to know each other."
"Couldn't hurt the way I've been playing pool."
They left the restaurant talking about trying a tournament as they headed back towards the pool hall. Beamer and Mary Beth were getting ready to get in Beamer's car.
"Hey, BJ! We got ourselves a new business associate!" Beamer shouted.
"So you're really going to keep little Miss Mary Contrary, huh?"
Will kept moving so he wouldn't get into it with Beamer, but he rested against the building to watch the outcome.
"We'll get her a new wardrobe, a new hairdo. That's a good handle you know. Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary. I like it."
"You know you could keep her in pigtails and have her ride into the pool hall on a tricycle, sucking her thumb."
"You want to shoot some pool, partner," Mary Beth challenged, "before you got too many words to eat?"
"We aren't partners yet. I'm going to have a try at the tournament in Oak Ridge. Baron's picking up expenses."
Beamer looked over at Will, who gave him a satisfied look.
"Well, I think that's a dynamite idea. Yeah, you could use a little coaching."
"Yeah, your coaching didn't get it."
"Hey, it gave you a lot of plumb. We leveled it, right?" Beamer said, although at this point, he seemed to be looking at Will instead of Billy Joe. "Right, well, maybe we'll see you in Oak Ridge. Come on, little girl, climb right in here."
Billy Joe walked back over to Will. Mary looked out the window with a quick "See you," and they drove off.
Will drove and Billy Joe asked, "Is this a shortcut to Oak Ridge," when he saw they weren't going in that direction.
"No, this is where we get in shape."
"What kind of shape?"
"Tournament's going to be double elimination. 3 the first morning, 3 the next morning."
Billy Joe laughed. "You're going to try and get me ready in a day and a half."
sss
While they were getting massages, Billy Joe asked, "How come you never got married again?"
Will saw no reason to hide the truth. "I was a long time getting over your mom." There was a bit of a lie in that. He still hadn't gotten over her.
"If you liked her so much, how come you walked out on her?"
Will chose not to answer. This was dangerous territory and not something he wanted to get in to.
They took steam baths next.
"You look like you're thinking about entering this tournament too," Billy Joe commented.
"I am if I can get back in the zone."
"The zone?"
"The zone's a combination of what experience tells you to do, what your ego wants to do, and nerve lets you do."
"This has to help," Billy Joe said, referring to the treatment.
They went to eat next at a fancy restaurant next that was part of the hotel.
"Hmm, you set quite a pace," Billy Joe said.
"Let me know if it gets too rigorous," Will kidded back.
The owner came over and was a friend of Will's. Will introduced them. "Sam, this is my boy Billy Joe. He's going to play at Oak Ridge tomorrow."
Sam shook his hand. "Well, if you can play half as good as your old man you got a beeline to fame and fortune. You know he once almost owned this place. Yep, had the deed hanging right over the pool table."
"You're kidding," Billy Joe said.
"No, siree, but the old shark here let me off the hook and I got out of losing 25,000. Mighty glad of it too. Well, everything at the table, it's on the house."
"Oh, no, Sam," Will protested to no avail.
"Will, thank you for everything."
"Thanks, Sam," Will said.
"That true?" Billy Joe wanted to know after Sam was out of hearing.
"This hotel's been in his family for three generations, son."
"That was reason to lose?" Billy Joe asked, not able to believe his ears.
"I really wanted this place but some stakes are just too precious to put on a lampshade."
"Maybe you don't know how to close out a key match, Baron. No killer instinct."
"Maybe, but I sure get one when you talk sometimes."
Billy Joe only smiled.
sss
The match didn't go so well for Billy Joe and he had to hear comments about how he didn't measure up to his father. Billy Joe ran into Mary Beth, who was looking a lot more like a woman and they flirted back and forth until Beamer joined them. He told him that they needed someone for a match that would get 15,000, but he managed to resist the temptation and head to his next match.
When he'd had enough of the jeering comments, he dumped a pitcher of water on the hecklers with the comment, "Drinks are on me, sports fans." He went over and told Beamer that he would be the partner they needed.
Will found out the match Billy Joe was playing was against the cocaine dealer, Frosty, a man not too well known for being a gracious loser. When Harley first told him about it, he thought about sticking with the tournament, especially because it seemed the only way Billy Joe learned was by experience, but at the last minute, he couldn't do it. He disguised himself as a cop. He took a gun from Frosty and pretended to arrest Billy Joe. Harley was waiting in a boat, but they barely managed their escape.
After the harrowing escape, Will took Billy Joe on a fishing and hunting trip up at Aunt Belle's cabin. They discussed tournaments. A big one was coming up and Will wanted to enter and use the money to buy and restore the old pool hall he and Harley wanted. Billy Joe decided to give the tournaments another try much to Will's delight. They were slowly forming a bond.
He laughed when Billy Joe shot at a duck while they were still fishing. "Hey, would you shoot a little quieter?"
"I thought we were going to cast and blast?"
"Not at the same time," he said, still chuckling.
Billy Joe went to get their things out of the car while Will headed for the cabin.
He started reaching for the key's hiding place, but the door opened and Dee Dee came out.
"Hey, come on in," she said warmly. "I was just leaving. Key's on the table." She had come to the cabin alone to relax and take in all that was happening.
"I didn't know you came up here anymore."
"Well, yeah. Your Aunt Belle and I still get along," she said, shutting the screen door after them.
"You always come up here alone?" he asked her.
"Usually," she answered, as she finished packing her suitcase. "Why?"
"Well, they say if you get divorced the first time, you wind up getting married 3 times," he told her as he put the coffee pot on.
"Well, I wonder why?"
"They say the second time is on the rebound and the third time is always closer to the mark. Where's the coffee?"
"In the cabinet," she told him as she went into the doorway of the kitchen. "Are you asking me if I bring other men up here, Will?" She was somewhat amused.
"No. I just noticed the 2 frosted over steaks in the freezer."
"Well, they're fresh. I've been looking for ya'll since yesterday afternoon, according to Aunt Belle."
"Well, sorry about that. We got held up down in state."
"Yeah, well," she replied, and he joined her in the doorway. "You know something? I walked way up the river there where we flipped that boat. You know on that big, old rock cause we got to kissing, and we had to swim for it."
They laughed softly at the memory, and he asked, "You didn't see my old fishing boat up there, did you?" She didn't notice it, but his eyes were roaming up and down her in a very interested fashion.
"No, but I got to remembering how dear that thing was to you. How you hated to let go of it when you had to keep me from drowning when I was trying to make it to shore."
"Some choices are easy to make," he told her fondly. There was a moment and an energy between them and encouraged by it, he asked her, "Hey, Billy's going to be here in about an hour. You won't stay here for supper, would you?"
"Oh, I can't, Will. I got to work. I don't have anybody to take my place," she said, making a move for her suitcase.
She realized how close to affectionate they had become. They couldn't go back. She was giving him all the wrong impressions. "By the way, Will, you know I didn't marry Frank on the rebound from you!"
"I know. I was just trying to make conversation."
"Well, you can pick some good topics. Love and divorce and me carrying a torch for you," she said angrily, picking up her suitcase and heading for the door. "Just tell Billy, I'm sorry I missed him."
sss
Over the next few days, Billy Joe practiced at the pool hall. Will was trying to buy and Mary Beth was there too being a pleasurable distraction to him.
Beamer finally showed up with his car looking a lot worse for the wear thanks to Frosty, but he had the cash.
"Buy some summer clothes cause we're going to Houston," he told Mary Beth as she rushed out to do some shopping with the newly earned cash.
Billy Joe explained he wasn't going and that he was going to try another tournament.
"I handed you 4,000 dollars and you're going to kiss me off?" Beamer asked with disbelief.
"I'm going to try some gentleman's pool."
"Gentleman's pool? That's a tournament where the hustlers come out of the bushes and turn their collars around, so pigeons won't know they fly so fast."
Will had been listening and he spoke up, "What kind of mess you going to have in Houston? Another drug dealer?"
"You want to know about drugs, boy, you ask the almighty Baron about how he jarred Archie Harrington."
"Be careful, Beamer," he said going over to get in Beamer's face. "You don't know all the facts. "
"I know that Archie was about to win a 9-ball match 5,000 dollars when his royal highness messed with Archie's drink."
Will shoved Archie and sent him crashing down hard onto a table. Billy Joe and Harley both rushed over to hold Will back. "Are you trying to kill him?" Billy Joe asked with a shout.
"I never jarred anybody!" Will shouted at Beamer.
"You know what I'm talking about, kid," Beamer said, standing up and leaving.
sss
Dee Dee took a deep breath and rang the doorbell. She couldn't believe she was back here. The best thing to do was to forget that this place was where they'd spent their honeymoon together. She was doing this for her son, not Will.
Billy Joe answered the door. She hadn't seen him in months and she was overjoyed. "Son!" She cried, engulfing him in a hug, patting his back, and grasping his hands affectionately. Then she saw Sara, who said to Will, "Your guest has arrived."
"Hello, Sara," she said with genuine delight.
The two women hugged.
"So good to have you. I declare time has hardly laid a hand on you. You're just as trim and prim as ever."
She laughed knowing that wasn't a bit true. "I was just about to say the same about you."
"Well, prim anyway. I'm going to feed the other boarders in the kitchen, and ya'll can have a family dinner at your own sweet leisure. Good to have you here."
"Thank you," Dee Dee told her.
Billy Joe took his mother's hand. He had invited her for two reasons. One because he was beginning to suspect his parents weren't completely over each other and two because he missed her, but he hadn't realized just how much he had missed her until now.
"You been here before?" Billy Joe asked.
"Yeah, but that was along time ago." She didn't want to touch on that subject if she could help it. "How long you been living here, Will?"
"6 years," he answered.
She saw how surprised Will looked at her being there. "Billy Joe didn't tell you I was coming?"
"Well, I thought it'd be a pleasant surprise," Billy Joe explained.
"And it is," Will said with a smile, wanting Dee Dee to know how happy he was to see her.
Billy Joe helped her off with her coat.
"You know I'm the one who could use a drink. You don't have a bottle squirreled away somewhere?" she asked. She still couldn't bring herself to believe his old ways were done, and she wanted to catch him off guard, but she realized that wasn't too subtle. "I mean for company."
"No, sorry. You look great, Dee. Have a seat."
"Well, I don't know. I don't want to break one of these heirlooms that looks like it came over on the Robert E. Lee."
They laughed and took a seat in the living room except for Billy Joe who held onto a chair top nervously as he asked, "Were the two of you together when you were here before?"
"We was on our honeymoon," Dee Dee answered.
"I thought people were supposed to have fun on their honeymoon?"
"No," Will laughed. "Our car broke down. We were on our way to New Orleans."
"You know something?" Dee Dee said with a smile. "I swear, Will, I just can't believe you've changed this much."
Will nodded.
"And you, son. You look almost athletic. Have you beat your dad yet?"
"No, he won't play me anymore."
"He's trying to win my fancy shooting stick and his game is short."
"I can't tell who's hustling who," Dee Dee laughed.
They all laughed and then went to eat. Will took a seat at the head of the table and Dee Dee didn't miss that Billy Joe took the seat furthest from his dad, forcing her to sit between them, but she didn't argue about it.
Over dinner, Billy Joe told Dee Dee of their adventure with Frosty. "So we're up running for the boat behind Frosty's pool hall, and I slip and fall in the river with the handcuffs still on behind my back."
"I had to fish around for him. I thought he was going to drown for sure," Will added.
"Where's Frosty and his gang?" Dee Dee asked.
"Chasing Beamer just like the Baron figured."
"How'd you figure that?" she asked.
"Aggravating desperation calls for bodacious inspiration."
"Didn't that Beamer used to back you some?" Dee Dee asked, knowing full well he had.
"For awhile till I found out he was giving me 20 percent of the side bets and calling it 50."
"How about that? We got the same backers. Small world." Billy Joe laughed.
"Yeah, too small," Will said.
"Hey listen, get your daddy to tell you about the freeze out. Remember that time the pool hall caught on fire. We couldn't get anybody out of there because nobody could get 10 games ahead. Who were you playing? Was that Archie Harrington?"
"No, I was playing Chuck Brown."
"You know I heard Archie got killed."
"Yeah, killed in a car wreck. It was bad."
"Aww," she said sympathetically.
"You clear something up for me. Something Beamer told Billy Joe about me."
"Ah, you mean when Archie got doped."
He nodded.
"That was 20 years ago. I was there."
"Did he just pass out in a middle of a game?"
"No, it was a proper jaw," Will explained. "It's usually amphetamines. They make you overconfident and you try impossible shots."
"Yeah, and he got jarred just in the nick of time," Dee Dee said.
"What do you mean?" Will asked, annoyance gathering in his voice.
"Well, you were losing it. That 5,000 bucks bailed you out of a world of hurt and—"
"I didn't jar Archie!"
"Well, you were pretty happy about all that money!"
"Which means I was in on it, huh?"
"Well, I didn't see you give the money back!"
"I was drunk. I didn't know what I was doing."
"That's the same old excuse."
"If there's one thing you enjoy, it's believing the very worst about me!" he shouted as he slammed his fist against the table.
Dee Dee stood and threw her napkin angrily down on the table.
Billy Joe had kept his head down and eyes closed with his hand pinching the bridge of his nose as if trying to ward off a headache during their argument, but now he tried to intervene, "Mom, come on we haven't had dessert yet."
"I'd say we've just about covered it. Dinner is over!""
To Will, he said, "She came in all the way from Memphis. This Archie Harrington thing isn't that important to me." Dee Dee had already gotten her coat and pocketbook.
"It is to her," Will said, pointing to her. "She came looking for my bottle, and I disappointed her!"
She hesitated. Maybe she was being too hard on him.
"You're heading in the right direction! Go on!" Will told her.
She was mad again. She was heading in the right direction, she thought angrily. Close to Will was not a good place to be.
After she left, Billy Joe slammed the wall in anger. It wasn't how he'd planned for the dinner to go.
sss
The next day in the car, Will told Billy Joe, "I always look forward to this tournament. Good old Nashville, the soul of the whole south."
"The capital of southern sin, I hear," Billy Joe contradicted.
"If you mean ladies with a more liberal point of view, you're right. It's a faster track."
"0 to 70 in 2 beers."
"Yeah, I hope you realize we're down here to win not womanize."
"Girls never affected my game."
"You never played against this kind of competition. Women torque out your timing, son, shake your speed. The next morning your stroke is wiggling like cranberry jelly in July."
"Are you saying no women?"
"No, what I'm saying is if you want to win, have your fun afterwards."
"Is that why you left Mom? She torqued out your timing?" He said it with a laugh, but it was obvious he still harbored resentment toward Will for leaving his mother.
"No, I was usually right on my game with her around," he said with a smile that said he was recalling some fond memories.
"Well, I'm sorry about the other night. I should have let you know she was coming."
"That's alright," Will said softly. Then he got a wide smile, "Just means we were after the same thing."
Billy Joe let that comment sink in with unexplainable, inward joy. His father wanted his mom back. He had suspected it, but now he had confirmation.
They arrived at the hotel. They had breakfast with some of Will's old friends. Then it was time for the tournament.
Dee Dee came. She watched Billy Joe's games with motherly pride. She also couldn't keep herself from watching one of Will's. She felt bad about getting in a fight with him over the past. It was long gone and who was to say that he hadn't jarred Archie. She decided to have supper with them. She had spent a couple of hours playing with her appearance before she was satisfied and hoped it was worth it.
She walked up to Billy Joe, Will, and Harley and hugged Billy Joe. "Hey," she was laughing to hide some of her nervousness and because she was happy that her son was still in the tournament.
"I thought I heard you," Will said cheerfully. "When did you get here?"
"This morning," she replied. "I watched all of Billy Joe's matches and I watched one of yours and I'm going to see both of you tomorrow on the quarter finals."
"Yeah, I play Bert Manning and Dad has Dick Vance," Billy Joe stated matter of factly. Then he said to Harley hurriedly, "Why don't I buy you a beer?"
Harley didn't need a hint. He replied eagerly, "Yes, why don't you buy me a beer."
Will's eyes had never strayed from Dee Dee and Dee Dee's eyes had focused onto Will too, although her hand was clasped onto her other arm as if to serve as some sort of protection. Dee Dee let out another nervous laugh. Will put an arm around her as he led her toward the restaurant, which relaxed her somewhat.
"So you came to see Billy Joe play, huh?" he asked.
"Well, yeah and—and to apologize. I just realized how bad I was at dinner the other night."
"Aw, I went a little fast on the draw myself, but, Dee, there's something you got to know about me. I know who I am and what I am and I'm not what I was."
She smiled. He really was different if he could admit to that.
"Well listen, you're dead wrong about one thing, Will. I always did believe in you. Trouble was it's just too much got in the way back then."
He gave her an acknowledging nod. "How about some supper?" he asked with a smile.
She smiled and she felt her heartbeat get faster. "Alright," she said, returning his smile.
He asked her to dance and she said yes. As they danced closely, she knew it was happening again. She was falling in love with him all over and this time she didn't mind it so much. It felt right. He was different now.
Billy Joe watched his parents dancing with a smile. His matchmaking was starting to work. He wasn't sure why he wanted them together so much. Maybe every kid felt the need to have his parents together or maybe he just wanted to see them both happy and not alone. They moved in even closer and rested their heads against each other. Billy Joe left them. He felt intrusive watching such a sweet, intimate moment, and he was ready for bed.
sss
The next morning, Will barged into Billy Joe's room. "You got a match with her husband downstairs now."
"Husband?" said a disgruntled Billy Joe.
"You know that could be," said the unrepentant blonde woman in Billy Joe's bed. "He does play pool."
"Her husband is Bert Manning?" he asked, sounding a trifle whiny.
Will threw him into a cold shower. "Welcome to tournament pool, kid," said Will, unpleasant memories flashing though his mind and some of them with the woman in this very room.
"I thought you might get tired of this game," he said with folded arms.
"Never. I enjoy my work. Hey, don't you be too hard on him. He's a nice boy. Real nice," she said tauntingly.
Billy Joe and Will both lost a game, but they won some too.
Will was up in his room packing up to leave when Billy Joe came in. "Checking out?"
"You'd be wise not to say too much to me."
"I screwed up royally, I know."
"I didn't come to play wet nurse, probation officer, and tournament pool at the same time."
"Are you trying to say you would have beat Dixon Vance if I hadn't been here?"
"Best pool I played in years."
"Why'd you unscrew you stick before it was over with?"
"Don't bother me, kid. You're on your own."
"So what else is new? I've had more practice of that than anything else. Years of it."
"When I go to make a comeback you're not going to stand in my way."
"You got beat by a better player. Now you're going to walk just like you did on Mom. The great Baron is going to show me his back again. I made the quarter finals. You got me there. I was ready to win this whole thing for us."
Harley came into the room. "Will, it's probably not a good time, but I think we got trouble. Barney's found another buyer for the billiard hall." He left again as quickly as he came.
Will and Billy Joe both went with Harley to find out more.
sss
"How much are they offering for the pool hall, Barney?" Will asked.
"33,000. Played me like a fiddle."
"What do you mean?" Harley asked.
"They slipped a building inspector in. Now I have to sell."
"They're going to condemn this place?" Will asked.
"If it's not brought up to code," Barney said.
"Is this the table where Joe Shelby slept off of drunk?" Will asked Harley with a smile as he touched one of the tables.
"Yeah," Harley said. "This was my daddy's favorite table."
"Listen," Barney said. "There's a buyer up the street who's trying to buy. I need 15,000 to nail it down by next Monday. If you can come up with the same price it's yours."
"It's a reasonable price," Will said, looking at Harley.
"We need more than that, Will. We're talking 50,000 after that to fix the place. 5,000 just to keep them from dynamiting it."
"The Atlanta tournament's Thursday. It's about 25,000 for runner-ups and 50,000 for first. Go win yourself a pool hall," Billy Joe said.
"You got a fever, son. There'll be over a 100 great player at that tournament."
"You've only got to beat 95," Billy Joe said.
"It's a national 9-ball championship," Will continued to argue.
"Aggravating desperation calls for bodacious inspiration," Billy Joe said, throwing back Will's own words.
"I got 5,000 in cash," Will said to Barney.
"I can come up with 7,000," Harley said.
"Don't bother," Barney said. "15,000 now. The rest by next week."
"I've got 3,000," Billy Joe said, pulling out a wad of cash. "That makes 15,000."
"Looks like we're going to Atlanta," Will said.
sss
Dee Dee called Billy Joe up at the tournament after he had lost a game to the defending champ, but so far he was still in the tournament; he had tried to talk her into seeing the games in person, but she didn't feel quite right about it with Will there, as she didn't want to make it look like she was pursuing him. "Hi."
"Hey, Mom."
"Listen, I'm watching you on the cable. What are you guys trying to do? You trying to win that thing?" she teased him.
"Wait a minute. Hold on." Billy Joe held out the phone. "Did you hear that?" he asked, referring to the applause. "That was for the Baron. He just took another one. He's kicking tail." He motioned for Will to come to the phone and held the phone against his chest so she couldn't hear. "Try to talk Mom into coming down."
Will took the phone. "We could use your help, Dee." He meant it too.
Dee Dee smiled. "Well, I guess I just wanted to hear it from you."
"I always did a lot better with you swaying for me."
"You know I never heard Billy Joe so excited or so proud."
"When can you be here?" he asked her.
She smiled and felt a bit like a schoolgirl. He was eager to see her. "Tomorrow." She hadn't been sure at first that he felt the same way she did about spending time together. He was the one who had divorced her after all.
"Bye," he said. He hung the phone up looking forward to tomorrow.
sss
Will made it into the semifinals, but Billy Joe was out of the tournament, so he spent his time getting to know Mary Beth.
That night, Billy Joe found his father drunk in a bar. The pressure of the game must have finally got to him and broken his record of not touching alcohol.
"Looking for a game, boy?" Will asked. "Bartender, get the Cajun Kid a beer."
Billy held up a hand to say he didn't want it. "You made it through the semis."
"Thanks to our little friend here the rock of ages, the cue ball. The cue ball is your confidence and your fears and your age. I miscued on my last shot, but bless its heart," he said, kissing the cue ball in hand. "It still delivered." He started to laugh, "and that's what you were boy, a missed cue."
It wasn't a comment Billy Joe appreciated. It was true that they hadn't been planning a baby and had gotten one anyway, but God had intended to make the shot, and he knew his mother wouldn't have had it any other way. He also knew that his dad was too drunk to know what he was saying or doing.
"And your poor mother," he laughed. "Bless her heart." He was thinking of how much Billy Joe had turned out like him despite having no influence in his life and her having to guide him through his teenage years alone.
"Who you playing in the finals?" Billy Joe asked.
That quickly brought a change in his mood. "Against Dixon Vance." He went back to his silly mood as he started to sing. "Deck the halls with boughs of holly." Then he became serious again. "I know why you came looking for me. You want to play me for my fancy shooting stick, so let's borrow a pool table."
"You know that's not why I'm here."
"Yes, it is. Let's find a pool table." Will got up and Billy Joe followed.
Will knocked into a man who was sitting down. "In America we walk on the right."
They left the bar, and Will pointed toward a building. "There's a nice bar."
"Let's go back to the hotel."
"First, we play, kid."
"You got a chance to win a billiard hall."
"What do I want with a billiard hall? What? I want people hanging on me?"
"You're looking for an excuse to lose."
"I'm looking for a reason to win. You think I need leeches draining my stroke. I been there."
"Get some sleep, okay?"
"Hey, I'll see you around Tennessee, alright?"
"Come on," he said, grabbing Will.
Will gave him a hard punch to the jaw and he fell on top some trash bags. Will called for a taxi to take him to the airport, leaving Billy Joe on the sidewalk.
sss
The next morning Billy Joe woke up to find Will in their shared suite. "Well, I declare," he said happily. He returned the favor his dad had shown him at the last tournament by throwing him in the shower.
Will grumbled. "6 years sober and I blew it, and my hands have turned to windchimes. "
"Sounds like pretournament jitters to me."
"Where's the hot water?" Will complained.
"You know I can't play wet nurse, probation officer and play pool at the same time."
He got a wet towel thrown at him.
sss
Dee Dee fixed her hair up, took the time to choose the right dress, and was careful with her makeup. She wanted to look her best. She wanted to possibly start a relationship again, but she was still very nervous about it. She still wasn't completely sure Will wanted to do it.
Harley met her in the lobby. "He should be down any minute." They walked toward the elevator. When he came towards them, she could tell it right away. Will had a hangover. He'd been drinking last night. He knew she knew it. No one could recognize it in him like she could.
"Mom, you made it."
"I wouldn't have missed it for anything," she said with a smile.
"I got to go warm up," he said and walked away, trying to avoid her.
Dee Dee didn't let it stop her from going to the game and rooting for him. Even the most righteous fell occasionally. Billy Joe sat between his mother and Mary Beth. The game was very close, but Will won. Vance had become overconfident.
Dee Dee was happy for him. She went over with Billy Joe and Harley. They gave each other an affectionate hug.
sss
Will knew Vance had been doped, and he didn't know what to do with the information. He didn't want to be suspected of anything. He went back to his hotel room to think. After a few minutes of pacing and thinking, the phone rang. It was Dee Dee calling to ask if he was sick.
"No, I just need a few minutes alone, but I am glad you're here, especially now. I'll be down in a few minutes. Bye."
Even in his heavy concern, it made him happy that she was worried about him. That meant she cared, and it was nice to have her caring about him again.
He opened the door to leave only to find Beamer there. "Congratulations, champ. You found the ultimate pill. Hardly anybody knew what happened."
"Be careful, Beamer."
"You going to tell me that Dixon Vance wasn't jarred? The tournament committee isn't familiar with Dixon's style, but you know and I know that he would never try those shots."
"Get out of here, Beamer."
"Yeah, why not? There's nothing more to say. My associates will settle the score."
Vance and another guy came around the corner and started beating on him. It was lucky that they left the door open as Billy Joe came to his rescue.
"He had it coming, kid, for what he done," Vance said before they left.
"You came just at the right time, son. They were going to break my thumbs. Got in a couple of licks, but they could have left sooner," Will said as he went into the bathroom to wash his face off.
"You jarred, Dixon," Billy Joe said with no doubt in his voice. "That's why they did this."
"I didn't have to. I was in the zone," he told him.
"I was hoping it was booze making him shoot wild, but it was dope."
"Hey, I didn't—"
"You righteous phony. Your act just went into the toilet and so did your gentlemen's pool. You know if hustling is stealing, you got away with grand theft."
Billy Joe was mad and Will was already condemned in his eyes. Dee Dee had come into the room and heard the last bit and she said, "But Billy Joe, you might not know all the—"
"I know all the facts. I know he jarred Vance," he said, walking off, not wanting to hear anymore.
Dee Dee looked questioningly at Will, not wanting to believe it. He couldn't be completely falling into his old ways again, but she had to know. She could usually tell if he was lying.
Will answered her unspoken question, "I didn't dope Vance. You believe that, don't you?"
She could honestly say she did. "Yeah."
"I want to go downstairs and report it. I don't want the money if it's dishonest."
She rubbed his arm comfortingly. "I'm behind you 100 percent."
sss
Billy Joe went off with Beamer and Mary Beth. Beamer was explaining what all he had lined up for them in the car. "Why in a few months you can buy that billiard parlor for your daddy."
"You are kidding. I hope that place burns to the ground."
"Hey, you don't want to talk that way," Mary Beth admonished.
"Why?"
"Hating your dad ain't healthy. It's double-edged, cuts both ways. Take it from one who's done some cutting."
"I thought you and your dad got along."
"Yeah, before he went into the joint."
"He was just there a few years you said."
"Six. He got paroled and we had a coming out party. Balloons, banners, cake, whole family, all 7 of us. Yeah, just seeing all the people who loved him and needed him gave Dad a crying fit. He bawled for a half hour all of us hugging him. Then he put us all to bed, went out, and tried to rob a liquor store. Got put away again."
They stopped at a filling station and while Beamer went in Mary Beth continued. "I got news for you, kid. I love you." Then she proved it by opening Beamer's briefcase.
"I don't get it," he said.
"Our friend, Beamer, put all his money on the Baron."
sss
Will paced and Dee Dee waited with a hand on her hip while they waited for results.
Harley came in.
"Vance, still in the hospital?" asked the chairman.
"No, I brought him back. He's back in his room taking a rest. They drew every fluid he owns."
"When we going to know something?" Will asked.
"It won't take long. The hospital has this number."
"I'll tell you what I think about this, Will," said the chairman. "Nobody else asked for a blood test. For all we know, it was his drinking and that's Vance and the way you were playing I'd have probably had a few drinks myself."
"He was doped," Will insisted.
The phone rang.
"I wouldn't be too sure about that, Will. He—" Dee Dee began, but she stopped to hear the results.
"No sign of any mind-altering drugs," he said after hanging up the phone. "Except a trace of alcohol and slightly high blood sugar."
"That's from all those Christmas carols he's been singing," Dee Dee joked.
"Alright, Will go buy your billiard hall," he said, handing him back the check.
Will tore it up. "I beat him once. I'll beat him again."
"Oh, come on, Will," said the chairman. "What kind of pill could get past 42 different lab tests?"
Billy Joe came in with the answer, Mary Beth with him. "It's a heavy dose of pure adrenaline that your body makes. Beamer put it in Vance's drink."
"I guess that's why it didn't turn up in the test," the chairman said.
"How you know it was Beamer?" Will asked.
"I was with him when he brought the pills in Houston," Mary Beth said.
"And Beamer bet on me," Will said as the puzzle pieces finally began fitting together.
"Made a bundle," Billy Joe said.
"He knew a jar job on Vance would put Billy back at his table." Mary Beth said.
"So where do you stand?" Will asked his son.
Billy Joe answered with a hug. "Come on chalk your cue, Baron," he said going over to the pool table. "Let's play some 8-ball.
They all headed for the pool table. It looked like Will and Billy Joe were finally going to play that game to win the fancy shooting stick and ring.
Billy Joe rolled his mother's wedding ring to Will. However, Will purposely made a bad shot. He took the ring and placed it in Dee Dee's hand, closing his hands over hers with a loving smile. The ring was a promise that had been renewed. They knew without saying a word that they both wanted to give their relationship another go. Then he gave Billy Joe the pool stick, another sign of a newly begun relationship, one between father and son.