Heart of Valor

by Adriana Peck

  “So, how’d you two end up with each other?” she asks. “If you don’t mind me prying, that is.”

  I know she’ll report back to the rest of town no matter what I tell her, so I might as well get the story straight. It’s not all true, but I piece together enough truth to spin a compelling enough fiction.

  “Jake and I were old friends in high school,” I tell her. Lie. “We talked every once in a while. But we really started talking once he got out of the military, came back to Twin Orchards. Things just..happened from there,” I grin up at Janice.

  She beams back from behind the counter. “I’ve heard it a million times before,” she says.

  I take another few minutes to finish picking out the gifts for Jake and I, sliding the massive binder back over to Janice once I’ve finished.

  “So, now what?”

  Janice smiles over at me. “We’ll have it printed in the paper tomorrow. If it’s in the Daily Orchard, everyone’ll see it. I guarantee you.”

  I beam at Janice. “Thanks. Really. I couldn’t have gotten this started without you.”

  She returns the smile. “It’s my pleasure, Nancy.”

  We finish confirming the details of Jake and I’s ‘engagement,’ Janice confirms the address where mail-in gifts can be sent.

  “My apartment,” I tell her, writing out my address for Janice to punch in. I’m nervous, terrified to find out what the town’s going to send us—if anything at all.

  Janice finishes ringing me out, and as soon as she’s handed my receipt over to me I’m out of there in a mad dash.

  ◆◆◆

  I still have some unfinished business around town, and I need to get started on the rest of my errands. I’m overdue for an inspection on my car, and I know I need to renew my license plates as well, so I head toward Paul’s Machine Shop for my next stop today.

  Pulling in to the lot, I can see that it's a slow day for Paul. His two-car garage is empty, there aren’t any spare cars parked out in the lot. The garage doors are both open, the naturally sunny day illuminating the garage inside. I can see Paul and Barry, seated on overturned plastic bins, hunkered over a table, focused intently on whatever it is they’re doing.

  I hop out of my car, Barry and Paul both look up and wave at me once they hear my car door slam shut.

  “What brings you over here?” Paul calls out as I hike up the short hill to his garage. I can see they’re playing chess, and it looks like Paul’s winning for once.

  “Think you can swing an inspection today?” I ask, flashing my keys at the mechanic.

  “You mind if I show Barry around your vehicle a little bit?” Paul asks me. I shake my head, beaming.

  “I didn’t know you were into cars, Barry,” I grin over at my longtime friend from childhood. Barry shrugs, standing up from his overturned bin. I can see his tee-shirt has oil stains, his hands are dirty just like Paul’s usually are.

  “I didn't know it, either,” he grins.

  Paul takes my car, puts it in the slot and raises it up slightly. He begins to inspect my car, checking out the oil gauge, the brakes, the axels and ball bearings. Barry follows him intently, and Paul shows my friend each part of my car with a flashlight as he inspects it. I’m standing close to the car, and I end up picking up a thing or two about my own car I’d never learned. I had no earthly idea what a brake caliper was before today; I’m probably going to end up learning even more from Barry next time we catch up.

  Paul grabs a rag, cleans off his hands as Barry follows suit.

  “All finished?” I ask. Paul nods.

  “Fit as a fiddle,” he says. “Barry, you think you can lower Miss Callahan’s vehicle down for her while I ring her out?”

  Barry nods, eagerly saluting Paul in a half-joking manner. “Aye-aye, Captain.”

  Paul leads me over to the back office where he keeps his books. It’s a cramped room, no bigger than a broom closet. Original papers and carbon copies are spread about the room, covering the entirety of his desk and most of the surfaces besides the chair opposite.

  Paul takes a seat, shuffling his papers around as he clears off his seat. He motions for me to sit down, and I do so.

  “So, before Barry gets back, mind if I ask you something?” Paul says.

  “Not at all.”

  “Heard you got engaged.” Paul’s stare is flat, his usual lighthearted demeanor is gone. I can tell he’s concerned, curious.

  “That’s right. Where’d you hear it from?”

  Paul chuckles. “Where else? That Martins girl who runs the bridal shop wouldn’t call me for any other reason. Maybe besides her van’s rear axel, that thing’s a real bitch-and-a-half.”

  We both chuckle at that. All I can do is shrug, unable to tell Paul the truth, that Jake and I are just doing this to run out of town with as much cash as we can. But still, I feel pretty bad about lying to Paul and Barry about this. I wish I could tell them the truth, I really do.

  “So, you’re really going through with this?” Paul asks me. I nod.

  “We are.”

  “I never pictured you for the type to marry a Reeves brother,” Paul says. “That older one was trouble. Glad he ran out and never came back. The doctor one’s alright. But I never thought you’d end up with Jake, if you don’t mind me saying.”

  “I don’t mind you saying that much,” I reply honestly. “But I…”

  I can’t manage to say the word. You know, the four-letter one that starts with an ‘L’ you usually use to describe your fiancée? Can’t do it. I’m not there just yet. I don’t know why, but my words lump up in my throat and I can’t finish my sentence.

  “But you?”

  “But I know it’s real,” I say, covering my tracks in a rush.

  Paul shrugs, and I can see a hint of a smile cracking across his face again.

  “Well, consider today the first part of my gift to you and Jake,” he says. I can see the faded smile lines around his face, his fluffy-white beard bobbing up and down as he nods. “No charge for the inspection. I’ll mail you the rest of your gift when the announcement’s officially in the paper. In fact, you can call Jake up right now if you want. Tell him I’ll look at his truck for free. You two deserve it.”

  I feel my heart breaking in two.

  I seriously wish I could tell Paul the truth.

  I feel hot tears sting the corners of my eyes, a lump forming again in my throat.

  “Paul, you don't have to do this, I’ll gladly pay—”

  He waves a hand, dismissing my comments. “Nancy, I wouldn’t dare charge you for the work today. Honest.”

  There’s a knock on the office window, and Barry steps through the doorframe.

  “All finished, guys,” he beams. Barry looks down at me in my seat, and I can see a flash in his eyes. “Heard some news about you, Nancy.”

  “You heard about it, too?”

  Barry grins, a genuine smile plastered across his face. “Happy for you guys. Really.”

  “Thanks, Barry.” My heart’s breaking again, I feel like pure and utter shit for lying to these two.

  But we can’t stop now.

  Not when things are just ramping up.

  I start to get up out of my seat, Barry steps aside for me to leave. As I walk back to my car, back to where Barry’d just parked it, I turn around and face my friends again. They’ve followed me out of the office, watching me go.

  “Thank you both. Sincerely,” is all I manage to say.

  Paul and Barry both shrug. “My pleasure,” Paul says. “By the way, you got that registry set up at Janice's, right?”

  I nod. “Yeah, why?”

  “They let you skip your morning shift at the café to go?” Barry asks.

  I take a step toward my friends. “Nora let me go, actually. Fired me, I mean. She tried to make me choose between the job and Jake.”

  Barry nods, Paul looks impressed. He arches his eyebrows, eyes widening.

  “Love is always the right choice,” the old mecha
nic says with a tender smile. Barry gives me a reluctant thumbs-up.

  “Always knew you’d find the right one,” Barry says. I know he’s happy for me, and I wish I could tell him the truth. But I can’t. Not now. Not when Jake and I are counting on riding out of here as soon as possible.

  I feel a horrible guilt rising in my stomach.

  Part of me wants to blurt out that this is all a lie, that Jake and I are just conning the bad people in town.

  But I know word’ll just spread again, riding Jake and I out of town on a rail. We’d get tarred and feathered for this.

  I leave, getting in my car and waving good-bye at Paul and Barry as they go back to their chess game.

  As I drive to the DMV to get my plates renewed, the pit in my stomach grows deeper. I feel a sense of unbridled guilt, dragging me down with each passing moment. After that kindness from Paul, I feel like throwing up.

  I have no idea how Jake’s faring, but I hope he’s having an easier time than me.

  Twenty-One

  Jake

  My mind is fucking blown when I make it back to my parent’s house. Chance’s flashy sports car is gone, I’m the only one pulling into the driveway. When I make it inside, I don’t hear the familiar endless drone of the television in the other room. When I poke my head in the living room I find the couch barren and the house completely empty.

  Chance, Mom and Dad are all gone for the day.

  What fucking luck.

  I head into the kitchen, expressing my free rein over the house by making myself a turkey sandwich. Extra mayo, now that Chance isn’t here to give me shit on his lunch break. I’m hungry after last night, and my head’s still reeling from being with Nancy.

  And I mean, fuck.

  She’s the hottest girl in town, easily. A perfect ten out of ten if there ever was one. I always glimpsed her back in high school, but I never thought we’d be where we are right now. I’d always imagined being with her, even in high school. But this time, reality ended up being a thousand times better than my wildest fantasy.

  I walk around the house without direction, aimlessly. There’s nobody here to ask me what I’m doing or why. I’m free. I should really get a place of my own, now that I think about it. With this whole Nancy thing heating up, I’m sure it’d be more attractive to be with a guy who doesn’t live with his retired parents and über rich brother. Plus, having my own space is more freeing than I’d ever imagined. I never had this much alone time in the military. I was always crammed in a bunk with forty other guys or more, which is just as unpleasant as it sounds.

  I find my way back to the living room, sitting down on my parent’s couch as I flick the TV on. Nothing’s on anyways, the news channels and sports channel are all playing reruns. Old hat. But I know the news of mine and Nancy's ‘engagement’ is going to make waves here in Twin Orchards. Nancy said our registry’s going to end up in the paper tomorrow if all goes well.

  Imagine the talk around town when that breaks out. But I don’t really care; I’m not afraid of my neighbors gossiping about me anymore. Bring on the rumors. The gossip, the prying eyes. I can take them.

  But it’s hard not to be worried about Nancy, though.

  I get up, head into the kitchen again. But before I can grab any more food, I hear a car pulling up into the driveway. I figure it’s probably Chance, and a minute later I hear the screen door open and shut.

  It’s Mom and Dad. They’re dressed in spiffy new clothes, something they’d probably go to church in if they ever actually went to church. Chance is trailing behind them, still in his dark-green scrubs from work. They’re all carrying big paper bags, massive plastic bags, a yard-long receipt is loosely wrapped around Dad’s wrinkled old neck. They clearly went shopping. Good for them. They drop their bags off in the kitchen on the table, passing by me with a friendly glance.

  Chance stops Mom and Dad in the kitchen, before they can make it back to the living room.

  “Jake, do you have any news to tell Mom and Dad?” he says, leering at me. I know it’s overdue, I know I ought to tell my own parents the news. At this point, they’re going to find out eventually, so it might as well come from the horse’s mouth.

  I take a deep breath, preparing to lie to my family who’s taken me in and sheltered me these past few weeks. They raised me, they taught me right from wrong. And I’m throwing it all back in their face for a shot at revenge on the town. This is going to suck, I just know it.

  “Mom, Dad, I’m getting married.”

  My Mom’s face lights up as my Dad cracks a smile. Mom rushes over to me, wrapping her arms around me with glee. Dad steps over to me, punches my shoulder.

  “Good job, son,” he says.

  Mom pulls back from me. “Who’s the lucky girl?” she croons. I can tell her world’s just been turned upside-down, and I feel a massive pang of guilt as I half-heartedly lie through my teeth.

  “Nancy Callahan,” I tell my mother.

  Mom swoons, hugging me again.

  “Yes. Yes! I knew you’d end up with a nice girl like her,” she wails as she presses her face into the crook of my shoulder. I hug her half-heartedly, shooting a half-smile over at Dad.

  “Well, I’m satisfied,” Dad says. He drops the last of his bags off on the kitchen table, heading into the living room as I hear the TV click back on.

  Mom pulls away from me again.

  “I’m so proud of you, Jake.”

  She pats my face lovingly, follows my father into the living room as she sits down on the couch next to him.

  I turn to Chance, who’s still standing in the doorway, his arms crossed.

  “Happy now?” I ask. He shrugs nonchalantly, mocking me.

  “Aren’t you supposed to be the one who’s happy?”

  Now it’s my turn to shrug. “I am, Chance. Are you?” He grins in response, nodding eagerly. I know he’s probably still talking to that Micah girl or whatever her name is, and I don’t care enough to learn anything further about my brother’s budding new romance.

  “I’m happy. I’ve got a girl, I’ve got a great home. Good relationship with my parents. A job,” he says, putting emphasis on the last word.

  I throw my hands up defensively. “Hey, I’m no mooch,” I tell my brother. “I kept that cash you gave me, fair and square.”

  He punches my shoulder, laughing at me. “Good work. You kept money meant for charity for yourself. What a man you turned out to be.”

  “Nancy doesn’t care that I’m unemployed.”

  Chance laughs, clutching his belly comically as he howls with glee. “Oh, you think so now,” he says. “Just you wait. Give it a month, she’ll be singing a different tune.”

  “You really think so?” I ask. Normally I’d throw my brother’s advice straight into the garbage, but he’s got my attention with this. I’ve been worried about my lack of income, and I’ve been wondering what Nancy really thinks of my unemployment. I still have plenty of cash leftover from the check Uncle Sam cut me, but I know that’s going to run out someday. And with Nancy now unemployed as well, I know we’re going to run out of cash sooner than I think.

  “Do you really need me, your big brother, to tell you how important having a job is?” Chance asks me. He cocks an eyebrow, and I can tell he thinks I must be the biggest idiot this side of the Mississippi.

  “No.”

  “Alright. Good talking to you, Jake. Try to do something with your life before you get hitched,” he says, punching my shoulder again for emphasis as he leaves the kitchen.

  “Where are you going?” I ask him.

  Chance turns to face me just before he’s out the front door. “Back to my job, asshole.”

  And with that, he leaves. I can hear his sports car firing up a minute or so later, and I sit down at the kitchen table.

  Fucking hell.

  I guess I need to find a job now.

  ◆◆◆

  I drive through town, moving as slowly as I can down Main Street to get a good look inside ev
ery business window I can. I pass by pawn shops, tailors, the gas station, our fast food joints, restaurants, you name it.

  I don’t see a single help wanted sign anywhere.

  I keep on driving, passing by every business I know we have in Twin Orchards. In the back of my mind I know there’s always openings at the Knoxley factory, the place where I’d bumped into Nancy at the charity fundraiser. The men who work there day in and day out make all shapes and sizes of cardboard boxes for a living. A recession-proof industry, I’ll admit. But I know I’d hate that job immensely. Making cardboard boxes for eight hours a day sounds like utter torture, but I keep it pegged as a last resort in case I’m out of all other options.

  I reach the end of Main Street, parking in the back of an empty lot as I sigh to myself. Today’s a beautiful sunny day, I should feel way more optimistic than I do right now. But I know Nancy and I are going to need some sort of income to float this fake fiancée plot, and I have no idea where I can get my hands on a steady paycheck. I’ve got a bit of that Uncle Sam cash stowed away in my glovebox, but I won’t dare touch it now. Not in case of emergency, that is. Or unless something really big comes up. As I rest my head in my hands, things start to feel more hopeless than I’d anticipated.

  And then I look up.

  In my rearview mirror, I can see the sign.

  Nora’s Café. Nancy’s old work, sure. But there’s a big red sign in the window.

  Help Wanted.

  No. I can’t do that.

  This is crazy.

  I know I shouldn’t do it, I know even considering applying to work there would hurt Nancy’s feelings beyond belief. She gave up that job for me.

  But there’s still a thought in the back of my mind.

  Money’s money, no matter how it’s earned. Someone’s going to have to work the front of that house when Nora’s down, collect all those tips.

  The rent doesn’t pay itself, and Nancy’s going to have bills to cover one ay or another. Café workers make tips in the front of the house, I could give it all to her while I stay rent-free with my parents. It’s the only place I can actually picture myself working, but I know how much Nora hates my guts.