Chapter 22
Sally and Lou packed a few of Sally's things, and they did not waste any more time around the farm, setting off towards Lou's home straightaway. Louise was happy that she had managed to persuade her friend to go home with her. Sally was understandably distraught after the sudden turn of events, and it was in moments like these that she needed to feel that she had her friends' support. Lou knew that Sally had no relatives in Rock Creek, and even though she knew many people in the town, she wasn't really close to anyone. When both ladies had been working at the hotel, they had grown quite attached, but Sally had always complained that she couldn't really get along with any of the local women. Now it seemed the situation had changed, considering her apparent flourishing friendship with Amanda Davis.
Sally wasn't originally from Rock Creek, and she had ended up living in this town because she had seen Mr. Faber's advertisement for the position at the hotel in a newspaper. Lou knew that her friend had an older sister in St Louis, who had practically brought her up when their parents had died. Other than that, John had been her only family, and now that he had died, Lou wondered what she was going to do, especially since she was expecting a baby. It wasn't like she could work in her condition, and Lou doubted that Sally had the energy or the spunk to run the farm on her own. She'd have to hire some working hands to work the land, but Lou suspected that her friend did not know much about farming to carry on with her husband's profession. Anyway, all Sally needed right now was to be in peace and quiet to think over where life would lead her from now on.
Sally occupied Theresa's old room and took to staying in there almost all day long except for mealtimes. She made the effort to share the meals with the family out of courtesy, but she never spoke much. She spent hours long locked in that room crying bitterly or simply in a glum state. The funeral for John Douglas had taken place the day after the moving out, and there had seem to be no comfort whatsoever for Sally. Almost the whole population of Rock Creek had attended the service. Even though John hadn't been living in the town for long, he was a well-known man by the townsfolk because of the dealings in his profession. After ten days since the funeral Sally's mood hadn't changed a bit, which was beginning to worry Louise.
Louise walked slowly along the corridor on the second floor and stopped in front of the closed bedroom door. She stood there deep in thought for a few minutes, pondering whether to carry on with her original intention. Finally, her resolution won her over, and she knocked on the door loudly. She heard a faint 'come in' and opened the door slowly. Her eyes fell on Sally's figure curled up on the bed. Her black dress, and her vacant look made her appear much older and distant.
"Good morning," Lou greeted cheerfully but the other lady didn't even look at her. Louise had wanted to leave her space during these days to mourn her husband, but it was high time she began leaving her reclusion. It seemed that Sally was getting glummer with each passing day, and today she hadn't even come down for breakfast. It was then that Lou knew she had to do something about it; Sally couldn't just stop eating when there was a baby growing in her belly. "It's such a beautiful day," Lou continued, "What about if I hitch up the wagon, and we go for a nice drive?"
"No, thanks," Sally's cold voice replied.
Louise sighed warily and walked a few more steps in her direction. "Sally, don't you think it's time for you to start living again?"
At her question Sally sat up on the bed and looked at her friend with angry eyes, knowing where she was leading to. "What do you mean by that?"
"You need to start thinking about what you're gonna do with your life," Lou said patiently.
"That's my business," Sally hissed through clenched teeth.
"You know I have left you be most of the time. I understand that you needed time to come to terms with what happened," Louise explained, knowing that her words would spark her friend's fury for sure. "Hiding from the world ain't gonna make a difference. You can't stay locked in here for ever."
"If it bothers you so much, I will leave," Sally barked furiously. "I won't disturb your home with my annoying presence."
"Don't be silly," Lou exclaimed, angry with herself for being so clumsy with her words. "Sally, I know very well where you're standing. I've gone down the same path and it doesn't lead anywhere. Don't push everybody away and let your friends be there for you." Lou knew perfectly well how it felt when you didn't see any way out. She didn't want her friend to make the same mistakes as she had. It was so easy to let yourself be dragged to that circle of desperation.
"Just leave me alone, will you!" Sally hissed, tired of listening to Lou's tiresome lecture.
"Sally," Lou insisted. "John died, not you, and you have to begin thinking about your baby."
Her words hit her hard to the core, and her anger increased uncontrollably. "How dare you!" she barked as she rose to her feet slowly and walked towards Louise. "How dare you talk about my husband!" As she talked, she roughly pushed Lou forwards as tears began trickling down her face. "I'm not gonna stay in your house one single minute and bear your smarty-pants attitude!"
Louise lifted her hands defensively and started to walk out of the room. She couldn't blame Sally for her attitude because she had similar reactions barely a month ago. Lou could understand her, but that didn't make it easier to help her. "All right, all right, I'll leave you now," Lou said walking towards the door, and when she was at the threshold, she turned round and added, "But as you told me, your tears aren't gonna bring John back." Sally stood there, staring as the door close and in her fury she grabbed a vase and smashed it against the door while she burst into bitter tears.
It was dinner time, and Louise brought the saucepan with steaming soup to the dining room and began serving it to her family already seated around the table. Jack made a grimace as he smelled the liquid in his plate. "What's this?" he asked, wrinkling his nose.
"It's onion soup," Lou said while she poured some into her plate and sat down to eat.
"Onion soup?" Jack repeated with a disgusted expression.
"My mother used to say that some hot soup makes your inside and your heart warm," she explained patiently.
"But I'm already warm, and this thing smells like feet," the boy protested again, sending Kid in a fit of laughter at hearing the remark.
"I like it!" Tommy piped in with his usual ample smile as he slid a spoonful of hot soup into his mouth.
Lou cast Kid a cautious look, which stopped his laughter instantly, and addressed the boy again. "You hear your brother, Jack? Just eat your soup like a good boy and stop moaning."
"Shouldn't we wait for Sally, Lou?" Kid asked.
Louise sighed deeply and muttered, "I really don't know." Since their argument that morning, she hadn't seen Sally at all, not even at lunch. She had gone upstairs to check on the lady a couple of times, but she had completely ignored her calls from outside the door. Kid had been out all day, so she hadn't had the opportunity to tell him about her conversation with her friend. "I had a talk with her this morning," she simply said.
"Really? And how did it go?" Kid asked again. He knew that Lou was worried about Sally, and he had also begun to see her point of view.
"How do you think?" she replied with a set face.
Kid simply nodded in understanding and continued eating his soup. Lou kept looking at her husband next to her deep in thought. She couldn't help but feel a deep sense of amazement towards him. Having Sally at home had been an eye-opener for her. She could now understand the frustration that Kid had felt for those long months. He had never faltered, keeping the faith in their marriage and love despite the fact that she had behaved like a jackass. Lou kept staring at him with loving eyes, feeling as if she were the luckiest woman in the world. After a few minutes she leaned across the table and unexpectedly planted a big kiss on his cheek. Kid turned to her, surprised at this out-of-the-blue peck and asked, "What was that for?"
Louise just shrugged her shoulders, suddenly feeling her cheeks go all hot and flustered. Both husband and wife kept staring at each other lovingly till Lou heard her name being called repeatedly by the seven-year-old boy. "Yes, Jack?" she asked turning towards him.
"You ain't eating the soup either!" he was quick to protest with a frown.
Lou chuckled at the boy's remark and his eagerness to avoid eating the broth, and shared a knowing glance with Kid. "All right, all right, I'm eating now!" She said as she began spooning the soup. "Happy, young man?"
Jack just shrugged her shoulders and whispered grumbles all the time as he followed suit and began eating the hot liquid. It was then that they heard steps coming from upstairs, and when the four occupants in the dining room turned to the noises, they saw Sally appear, coming down the stairs. The lady approached the table slowly and Louise stared at her with curiosity, wondering if she was actually going to carry out her threats to leave the house. Lou rose to her feet as she met the blonde lady's eyes. "Sally?" she let out cautiously.
Sally smiled faintly as she stood over the table and said, "I just wanted to apologize to you all for being such a nasty guest while you've been so kind as to have me under your roof and bear with my weird moods."
"There's no need to apologize, Sally," Kid replied. "You're going through a tough time right now, and we're really happy to have you here, aren't we, boys?"
The two brothers nodded simultaneously, and Sally smiled briefly. Then she turned her attention back to Lou. "I've been doing some thinking and you're right, Louise. I have to start considering my baby and our life from now on."
"Yes," Lou agreed with a serious expression.
"And I sure would like to make use of a friend's hand," Sally added, watching her friend warily. She hadn't been very nice to her that morning, and maybe Louise had taken her words to heart, and it was already too late to repair whatever rift her words had caused.
Lou's mouth twitched into a wide smile and exclaimed, "How about four of them?" Sally let out her held breath and grinned back as she moved closer to the table.
"Sit by me, Aunt… Mrs. Douglas," Jack said, correcting himself in mid-sentence. His brother's habit of calling the family friends aunt and uncle including Lou and Kid was beginning to rub off on the seven-year-old even though he didn't like it.
Sally sat on the chair next to Jack and stroking the boy's hair tenderly, she added, "Thank you, Sir. And, Jack, it's all right if you want to call me Aunt Sally." The boy shrugged his shoulders indifferently as Lou watched them with a tinge of jealousy. "So what's for dinner?" Sally asked as she placed the napkin neatly on her lap.
"Feet soup," Jack muttered as he finished off the food on his plate.
"Jack!" Louise scolded, eyeing the boy amusedly as the other three people around the table burst out laughing at the exchange between Lou and the boy. The rest of the dinner was spent without much occurrence, in quiet conversation and easy laughter, and in the middle of it Louise silently thanked heaven for making Sally finally see the light and start thinking sensibly.
The next couple of days Louise helped Sally to sort out a few matters that she needed to see to. The lady's main concerns were the farm and the credits that John had got from the bank to increase the farming land in the property. The house rightly belonged to the couple and now to Sally in its entirety, as John had bought it as soon as he settled down in Rock Creek, but unfortunately it didn't come unaccompanied and she also inherited all the debts like those bank monthly installments. It was a high sum to pay every month, and Sally knew that she would be unable to get that quantity to meet the payments. Sally had tried to sell that land back to the bank, but the director had refused her offer unless the lady was ready to get rid of the whole property, including the house. Sally felt as if she were at a crossroads. She didn't want to sell her house, the place where she had shared so many moments with her husband, or at least not to the bank, but at the same time, she knew that she'd have to do something to sort out her economic situation.
An especially bitter moment had been when Lou had gone to the farm with her friend, and both of them had packed all John's clothes and other belongings for the church. It hadn't been easy for Sally as every single item had stirred dozens of memories in the lady, but at least she was glad to have the support of Louise, otherwise, she had been unable to do it.
After those nerve-wracking days the women welcomed a day spent in peace and quiet. Kid had taken the boys for a swim to the waterhole that afternoon, leaving the two ladies on their own. It was a quite warm May day, and both friends were spending those mid-afternoon hours in Lou's bedroom as it was the coolest room in the house. While Louise struggled to mend a pair of Tommy's trousers, Sally was dozing on a rocking chair by her side. The room was in complete silence when suddenly Sally let out a grumble and woke up.
"You all right?" Lou asked in a soft voice.
Sally nodded with an ample smile and replied, "It's the baby. It moved. I hardly get any sleep at night lately because of that." Lou didn't say anything but glanced at her with a neutral expression. "Hurry, put your hand on my belly and you'll see."
She grabbed her friend's hand suddenly, and Lou let her place it on her grown middle apprehensively. Instantly Louise felt something like a kick on her hand, almost startling her. "Oh," she simply said and on seeing her expression, Sally burst out laughing.
"Does it hurt?" Lou asked when her friend had sobered.
Sally shook her head, and closing her eyes to relish on the sensations waking on her as she felt her baby moving inside her, she said, "It's the most wonderful feeling a woman can ever have."
When she opened her eyes again, her heart went out for her friend. Lou was staring at her with eyes full of tears, and her lips pursed tightly together as if trying to stifle a sob. Realizing that she had talked without thinking, Sally reached for her hand and squeezed it tightly. "Oh Louise, I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed mortified. "I've been so stupid and insensitive to talk like that!"
"It's all right, don't worry," Lou replied in a cracked voice while she wiped the unshed tears from her eyes with her hand. "I'm practically over all that now, but it's still hard in my heart."
Sally nodded and added, "Louise, honey, you have a wonderful family."
"I know that, but…" her voice trailed off, and she shook her head to get rid of those black clouds that were constantly threatening her peace of mind. "I love Jack and Tommy as if they were my own blood, honestly."
"So what's the problem?" Sally asked cautiously, not wanting to upset Louise any more with her insensitive words.
"Well…it hurts me deeply to think that there will never be a small child looking like Kid," she whispered in a husky voice, "with his bright blue eyes, his sandy hair, his beautiful smile, his soft lips…"
"Stop it right there!" Sally cut him off with a giggle. "Kid's not here, and if you get any more heated, you're gonna have to take a cold shower!"
"Sal!" Louise exclaimed, her eyes wide open in mock shock at her friend's remark.
"Don't come and get all prudish on me, Louise McCloud," Sally said, "I have a quite fair idea of what married couples do behind closed doors, especially when they've been ogling each other all evening."
Lou gave her a shy smile, blushing all the way to the roots of her hair. "Sorry," she mumbled, feeling that those gestures might have pained Sally, making her more aware of what she had lost, but she felt unable to control those looks whenever Kid was in the same room as her.
"Don't be silly!" the blonde woman replied. "It's really refreshing to see you two so much in love." Louise giggled in acknowledgement and both ladies kept smiling at each other.
A few minutes later Sally's face turned from smiling to all seriousness and she called, "Louise?"
Noticing her change of demeanor, Lou looked at her with a frown. "Yes?"
"Uh… I wanted to talk to you about something," Sally began hesitantly. "You know I got a letter from my sister this morning?" At Lou's nod the lady continued, "She wants me to go and live with her and her family in St. Louis."
"And you're thinking seriously about it," Lou said assertively.
"Actually, uh… I've already decided that it's the best option I have so far," Sally replied. "It's time for me to move on."
"If you're doing that because you think that you're imposing on us, you're wrong," Lou said resolutely. "You know you're welcome to stay here as long as you want."
"I know," Sally muttered, "but I need to start living my own life and begin from scratch. To stay in Rock Creek would just be too painful." She paused to let out her raspy breath and continued after a while. "Yesterday while you were in town, Mr. Goldman came and made me a good offer for the farm. That way I would be able to pay all my debts to the bank and still have enough to live on for a while. Then I could do some sewing jobs or something similar to help support us, me and my baby."
"You've really thought this through, uh?" Lou remarked with bitter-sweet feelings. She was glad that Sally was walking in the right direction but she knew she'd miss her terribly.
The blonde woman nodded and added, "The stage to St. Jo leaves on Friday, and there I could take the train straight to St. Louis."
"So soon?" Lou exclaimed in dismay. "Why don't you wait till the baby's born? It's a hard and long journey."
"I need to do this now, Louise," Sally said, feeling that if she put off the matter any longer, she wouldn't have the strength to leave later. "I know we'd be all right, I'm sure," she added, stroking her grown middle tenderly. "I'm gonna miss you all, though."
"Us too, honey," Lou muttered, feeling a lump in her throat and her eyes go all misty. She leaned over and both women joined in a heart-felt embrace.
Friday came too soon for Lou's liking, and they all got ready to take Sally to town and see her off. The last few days had been really hectic for the three adults as they had struggled against the clock to sort out all Sally's matters before she left town. Miraculously there hadn't been any complications which delayed things further and everything had been settled in the nick of time.
Sally was leaving today, and Lou felt that she already missed her friend. She had gotten used to having her around and the house would be empty without her in it. Louise walked down the stairs and her eyes fell on Kid and her friend sitting on the couch as they talked quietly. "Where are the boys?" she asked.
"Still upstairs," Kid replied gesturing with his thumb towards the ceiling.
Lou made a gesture of impatience and exclaimed, "We're gonna be late!" Sighing wearily she added, "I'll go and hurry them up!" Kid smiled at her as she plodded back up the stairs and headed towards the boys' bedroom. As she was about to step inside, Jack came out in a flash, almost bumping into her. "Hey!" Lou exclaimed.
"Sorry!" the boy apologized and added, "Is Aunt Sally gone yet?"
"Of course not!" she replied with a smile. "We're supposed to take her to town remember?"
"Good!" the boy exclaimed and dashed along the corridor without waiting for any cue.
"Where's your brother?" Louise called after him, and without stopping his quick steps or turning his head, Jack cried, "In the bedroom!"
Lou shook her head as she made her way into the bedroom. Tommy was sitting on the bed with a troubled expression as if he were deep in thought. "Hey, Tommy, we need to get going and take Auntie Sally to Rock Creek."
The boy looked at her silently as if pondering her words but didn't try to move or say anything. Louise walked towards him and sat down next to the four-year-old on the bed. Cupping his face in her hand, Lou gazed at his eyes fixedly and asked, "Tommy-boy, what's wrong?"
The boy hesitated a moment and after a few seconds he blurted out, "I don't get it."
Louise cast a curious look at him. "What is it you don't get, honey?"
Tommy tilted his head to one side and added, "Uh… there's Auntie Sally, Auntie Rachel … uh … Uncle Teaspoon."
"Uh huh," Lou simply nodded, wondering what had the boy so troubled and confused.
"And … uh … there's you, Auntie Lou, and Uncle Kid," the boy continued.
"That's right," Lou said with a smile.
"But…" the boy began again but stopped suddenly.
"But what, honey?" she asked, tipping the boy's head towards her so that she could look at his eyes directly.
"It's different," Tommy muttered softly.
Louise tried to hide a smile when it dawned on her what the boy was trying to say. "Different?" she repeated, feigning ignorance, eager to see what the boy would come up with next.
Tommy nodded vigorously and added, "You're more."
Lou couldn't stifle the smile any more, feeling her heart beating wildly in her chest. "More?" she asked again.
"Like a ma," Tommy peered at her with his liquid brown eyes. "But Jack don't wanna…"
Lou felt her heart gave a leap and surge with love almost in the same way as when Kid had told her he loved her for the first time. As soon as Tommy uttered those words, Louise drew him to her arms and hugged him tightly. "Oh my beautiful baby boy!" she exclaimed. "I love you so much!"
She knew that Jack was adamant in keeping the limits clear as if he felt it like a betrayal to his parents to start having similar feelings for Kid and her. In a way, Lou understood his attitude, but she feared the boy could suffer in loneliness trying to suppress those feelings. On several occasions he had voiced his protests when somebody had referred to the couple as his parents. Surprisingly, though, the boy had started addressing Sally as Aunt while he still called Kid and Lou by their given names, which admittedly didn't feel well with her.
At their tardiness Kid had gone up to see what was delaying Lou and Tommy so much and unbeknownst to them, he had watched the whole scene from the door with a smile on his lips. It moved him deeply to have heard the sweet way the boy had talked to Lou and in his own manner let her know that for him she was his ma. Kid knew that there was a special relationship between his wife and the four-year-old boy, and he was really glad of the way things were going. Lou really needed to feel like a mother for these children, and Tommy's sweet talking was definitely a further push to her complete recuperation. Kid knew that for the four-year-old this was his home, and there was no doubt about it since the beginning. Yet, to his dismay the situation was quite different in Jack's case, and Kid felt that the boy kind of considered himself a guest in their house however hard they tried to show him he was part of this family. He feared that this would eventually bring conflicts with the boy as he grew older if the same idea stuck on his mind.
Kid hated to interrupt the tender moment between his wife and Tommy, but Sally would sure miss the stagecoach if they didn't get a move on. He cleared his throat to make his presence known, and both woman and child turned to look at him. Kid flashed his smile, and Lou nodded in understanding. She put the boy back onto the floor and crouching before him, she said, "Honey, you can call Kid and me whatever you like and Jack needn't know."
"Like a secret?" the boy asked in a whisper.
"Uh huh," Louise replied. "But now we have to get going, all right?"
The boy grinned from ear to ear and answered, "Yes…, and slowly mouthed 'ma' without uttering a single sound, and turning around quickly he dashed out of the room leaving the two adults behind.
Louise kept staring after the boy with a bright smile and Kid interrupted her reverie by saying, "Come on, ma, Sally's getting nervous, and I can only guess that it's not good in her condition." He stretched his hand to her and Lou let him help her to her feet. She smiled as he passed his arm over her shoulders lovingly and as they walked out of the room, Kid muttered teasingly in her ear, "You're really making it difficult for me not to get jealous, honey, and not to lose my pride." His words got a laugh from her, which resounded in the house while they made their way towards the stairs.
In town the stage was already waiting for the passengers to say their good-byes to their families and friends coming to see them off. Sally was surrounded by the McCloud family, and now that the moment to go had arrived she felt her heart sink at leaving them behind. She first approached Kid and gave him a hug while she whispered in a soft voice, "Thank you so much for everything."
The man simply smiled and Sally turned her attention to the two children. She bent over before the boys as much as her condition let her. "And you be good boys, all right?" The two brothers bobbed their heads up and down simultaneously and ruffling their hair affectionately, Sally straightened up with an ample smile. Then she turned to Louise, who was looking at her with misty eyes, and as she was about to talk, Lou cut her off and said in a cracked voice, "Please don't say anything." She was on the verge of tears and she couldn't bear any more of this.
Sally took her by the hands and gave her a little smile, and not minding what Lou had just said, she began, "I haven't enough words to thank you for all you've done for me."
"Don't, please," Lou cut her off again, but Sally was adamant to say what she had on her mind and raised a hand in front of her to stop her protests. "I don't know what I'd have done without your help."
"Sally, there's nothing heroic in giving a hand to a friend in need," Louise remarked.
"It is for me, especially after the way John … we treated you at the social and never came to apologize." Sally had been unsure during all this time how to approach the matter to Louise without touching too delicate issues and upset her friend. All she knew was that it shouldn't be left unsaid. She had been so ashamed when John had uttered those cruel words that she had given him the silent treatment for days. He had just laughed at his private joke without understanding what those remarks had done to Louise. Now that Sally was about to become a mother, she understood how that had sounded to Lou's ears and the pain it carried. She had begged her husband to go and apologize to Louise, but John had laughed at the suggestion, and she had never had the nerve to approach her friend. Louise was right; since she had married John Douglas, she had become his shadow and only did what he approved.
"Well," Lou replied, "that made us even, didn't it? I didn't act like an angel to you either." Sally smiled at her words, knowing that no more needed to be said.
In that moment the stage driver announced that they should be leaving soon and Sally walked to the vehicle surrounded by the couple and the two boys. Just before getting on it, she gave Lou a warm hug and when they pulled away, the chestnut-haired woman said in a soft voice, "Send us a wire when you get to St. Louis, all right?"
Sally simply nodded, unable to find her voice any more and clumsily through the tears in her ears she dropped on her seat in the coach. She looked through the small window and her tears rolled down her cheeks as her eyes fell on the four members of the family. "I'm gonna miss you so much," she cracked almost at the same time as the stagecoach began to move.
"Let us know when the baby's born!" Louise called after her, and she stood rooted on the same spot staring after the carriage which gradually became smaller and smaller as it drove away along the street to finally disappear from sight. She was still looking in that direction when she couldn't see it any more, and then she felt a hand touching her arm. She turned to her side and her eyes met those of Kid's who was gazing at her quizzically. "I hate good-byes," Lou let out bitterly.
"I know," he simply said while he passed his arm over her shoulders, and Lou automatically leaned her head on his chest.
"Why does everybody have to leave me?" she asked forlornly and Kid just planted a soft kiss on her temple.
"I won't leave you, never ever!" they heard Tommy exclaim by their side as he looked at her with an ample smile.
The couple shared a grin, and Louise squeezed the boy's shoulder affectionately while she said, "Thank you, honey. I'm glad to hear that."
"Come on, Lou," Kid talked after a while. "Let's go home."
Louise nodded and they began walking along Rock Creek's main street towards the stables where they had left their buckboard. The couple talked quietly as they dawdled along; Tommy next to them clutching Lou's hand in his small one. Jack was skipping along a few steps ahead of them, immersed in his own games. As they strolled on, they passed by Teaspoon's office. The marshal was at the door listening intently to an elegant woman of fortyish. He was looking at her with a contented smile, oblivious to anything or anybody around him.
Kid and Lou shared a knowing grin; Teaspoon would never change. Despite all his well-known wisdom, he was a goner whenever a pretty lady drew his attention. Lou and Kid were still chuckling when suddenly loud guffaws reached their ears and they turned their attention to the source of that racket. Three men were leaving the saloon, obviously inebriated and stumbled towards the other side of the street. One of them raised a whisky bottle to his lips and after gulping down the rest of the liquid he hurled it against the ground, smashing it to tiny glass pieces, which sent the other two in laughing bellows.
"Jack, come here!" Kid called, seeing as the boy was too near the three rambunctious men. Jack had stopped his skipping game and was watching the three men carefully, but he didn't try to do as Kid had told him to.
"Jack!" Lou called again after her husband, getting the same response as Kid. As they kept walking towards the boy, they watched as two of the men had already crossed the street and staggered along the walkway while the third one fell behind and stood in the middle of the street.
In that moment, the boy started to run along towards the man. "Jack!" Lou cried and dashed after him, and scooping little Tommy in his arms, Kid followed suit at a slower pace while calling the boy's name as well. They saw how Jack stopped before the man and began talking to him. The fella laughed and touched the boy's head while the boy was oblivious to the couple calling his name. Finally, Lou reached him breathlessly and slightly yanked the boy's arm with the intention to steer him away from the stranger. "Jack, we've been calling you dozens of times," she said in a stiff voice as the boy stubbornly wouldn't budge from the place. They had repeatedly warned the two children against talking to strangers, and it angered her that Jack had turned a deaf ear to their words, especially with the likes of the man before them.
"But Lou…" Jack tried to protest but she wouldn't hear any of his objections.
"Come on, Jack, let's go."
"No! I won't!" the boy cried stubbornly.
Louise sighed wearily and cast a brief glimpse at the man, who tilted his head to her. "Ma'am," he greeted in a soberer voice than Lou had thought he could have.
Louise responded to the greeting coldly and without meeting his gaze she said, "Excuse me if the boy's disturbing you. You know what boys are like."
In that moment Kid reached them with Tommy perched on his arms as the man replied, "No problem at all, Ma'am." He stretched his hand to touch the younger boy's head but Tommy backed away shyly against Kid's chest. The man grinned and added, "Let me introduce myself. My name's Robert Martin and … I gather that these two children here are my sons."
As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Lou's big eyes turned to the man and in a voice that she didn't recognize as her own she simply said, "What?"