Best Friends

by Curry, Edna

  “We don’t need anyone feeling sorry for us,” Cal growled.

  Tami raised an eyebrow. “You didn’t appreciate the truckload of generators that arrived this morning from the last town that had a similar experience? Or the emergency crew the Red Cross sent in only hours after the tornado hit? And buses to help evacuate the town until they could determine which homes were safe for their owners to return to? How about the kerosene heaters and the ladies who served us hot coffee and food? Much of that wouldn’t have happened without news reporters doing their job, just like I’m doing.”

  “Of course we appreciate it. But now we can’t work for the gawkers who keep getting in our way. I have to spend more time looking where I back up my tractor so I don’t run over some fool, than where to move my loader to empty my bucket of trash. You call that a help?”

  “No, I’m sure it’s not. I’m sorry,” Tami said.

  Cal pushed back his chair. “Thanks for supper, Cora. I’d better find Bobby and get on the road. I really appreciate your taking care of him. I hope he wasn’t any trouble.”

  “He was good as gold. But why don’t you just spend the night here? I hate the idea of you two sleeping in your basement, with no heat. I have gas heat and plenty of room.”

  “Well,” Cal hesitated. “If you’re sure it’s no trouble—.”

  “Of course not. That’s settled, then.”

  “But, we’ll just stay here until they deliver the mobile home I ordered today. I told the dealer I’d take it, but I’d rather see it first, if you don’t mind keeping Bobby? It’s past his bedtime and he usually sleeps through the night.”

  “Of course I don’t mind.”

  “I should drive up to Mankato to take a look at it tonight. He wants me to sign the purchase agreement before he’ll deliver it.”

  “Sure.”

  “Can I bring you anything from Mankato?”

  “Well, I sure could use some groceries, with our grocery store here gone. With the kids here now, I don’t know when I’ll be able to drive an hour up there to get a supply again. Tami, why don’t you go with Cal and do my shopping while he looks at his trailer? Kill two birds with one stone, you might say.”

  Tami gasped at Cora’s suggestion, but could hardly refuse to do her aunt the favor she was asking. Biting her lip, she flashed a look at Cal. He looked like he’d rather eat a mouthful of dirt than agree. But Cal was polite if nothing else.

  “Of course, Cora. No problem,” he said, shooting Tami a look that dared her to refuse to go with him.

  Tami nodded and Cora smiled.

  Tami said, “But I should help you with the dishes, Auntie.”

  “Nonsense. I’ll do them after I tuck these little ones in. I have water heating on the gas stove.” She sighed. “Thanks to Cal, who brought me cans of water from Sam's farm where they have a generator to pump it."

  "You're welcome, Cora. I'll bring you more water tomorrow," Cal assured her.

  Cora smiled at him. "Thanks. I’ll sure be thrilled to get power back so’s I can use my dishwasher again. I swear, I’ve almost forgotten how to do things without electricity.”

  She bustled off to the kitchen for her grocery list.

  Tami called her mother to tell her their plans and that she’d be very late coming in. “But I don’t have a key, so you’ll have to get up and let me in,” she said as Cora returned and handed her the list.

  “Stay here, tonight, Tami. You can sleep on the sofa,” Cora said.

  Tami hesitated, then looked at Cora’s long list and realized it would be a big job putting away all these groceries after they returned. Cora didn’t need all that to do after a long day of babysitting. She nodded, said, “Thanks, Auntie,” and told her mother she’d be staying at her aunt’s house instead.

  Cal called Bobby to explain their plans. “I’m going to Mankato to see about getting us a house to live in until we can get a new one built, Bobby. You can stay here tonight.”

  “No, Daddy, I want to sleep with you. I don’t want to stay here.” The little boy clung to Cal, objecting, but trying hard not to cry.

  Cora heard Bobby’s plea. “You can sleep with your daddy here, Bobby. My spare room has a double bed. I’ll read all you children a story and tuck you in now, and when your daddy gets back, he’ll sleep with you. Okay, Sweetie?”

  Bobby gave Tami a suspicious look, making her wonder if he thought she was stealing his daddy from him. What a thought! As if she wanted Cal. Well, once he’d been all she wanted. A home and family with him. Until he’d declared his intention of returning to Conley after college, not taking a job with a city agricultural products company, as she’d expected. She still couldn’t believe he’d wanted to return to a small town after tasting the glamour of city life during his college years.

  Now, she tried to make her smile reassuring to the little boy. He looked so much like his father, dressed in jeans and T-shirt, with the same dark brown eyes and mop of brown curls. What she wouldn’t give to have those long lashes herself. They’d look great on her. Then she wouldn’t have to worry about mascara or eyeliner.

  She gasped. Make up! She hadn’t looked at hers all day, for heaven’s sake. The outdoor, temporary bathrooms she’d used at Conley hadn’t had mirrors and she'd been in such a hurry to get away again at her mother's house. “Excuse me for a minute, before we leave,” she said, grabbing her purse.

  “Hurry it up. I want to get there before the guy closes.”

  “Okay.” She slipped into Cora’s bathroom and stared at herself in the mirror. Her face was smudged and mascara had run. Her usually shiny, long blond hair looked stringy and dirty. “What a mess,” she said, shuddering. She’d been too busy to think about what she looked like. What in the world had Cora and Cal thought? And her mother! No wonder her mother had complained. Why hadn’t she thought to look in a mirror there? She’d been in too much of a hurry to leave again, that’s why.

  She dug in her oversized purse, but had only her small emergency make-up bag with her. Oh, well, she wasn’t dressing up to go shopping among strangers, and anyway, few people would be out late at night. She didn’t care what Cal thought. He’d made it plain enough he disapproved of both her and her job. So, who cared what he thought?

  She washed her face, quickly touched up her lips, and then brushed her hair. Digging through her purse, she found a rubber band and wide metal clip she kept there to use when she exercised. Quickly, she tied her hair back with them and went back out.

  Cal looked a bit surprised, but said only, “Ready? Let’s go.”

  Chapter 8

  It was still daylight as they walked out to his pickup, and the evening air smelled clean and country fresh. The sky overhead was clear, but off to the west, dark clouds marred a beautiful sunset and spoke of more rain on the way.

  A tremor of nervousness ran through Tami as she stepped into Cal’s pickup and they started off on the hour’s drive. The cab suddenly felt much smaller than it looked. She was much too aware of the virile man sitting beside her. His scent teased her with longing to be in his arms again. Her gaze lingered on his long, strong fingers gripping the steering wheel.

  She swallowed and looked out the window. She couldn’t help remembering how those fingers hand once explored every inch of her. She’d been wrong. Overdosing on Cal wasn’t possible. She’d never get enough of him.

  She hadn’t been alone with Cal since that night they’d kissed standing by her car before she’d left.

  Now she, who was usually so vocal, felt her throat close and could think of nothing to say.

  He said nothing either and they drove along in awkward silence. Once they’d been so attuned to each other there’d been no need for conversation. They’d been comfortable with each other in many different situations. No more. Each time she’d seen him the past few days, he’d been so tense with the tornado disaster problems, they’d only snapped at each other.

  They crossed the path the tornado had taken. A mile of rural road was strewn wit
h debris. She took more pictures, as Cal inched their way through it. Looking to the east and west, she saw stumps of trees and smashed building litter where a farm yard had been turned to rubble. Again she snapped pictures. Then they were past the mile-wide path of the storm, and everything looked neat and normal once more.

  She sat back, trying to relax. Finally, to break the silence, she said, “Bobby didn’t want you to leave tonight.”

  He sent her a long glance. Lifting a muscular arm, he ran his fingers through his hair. “I know. He’s just a little boy. He’s lost his home, his bed, his toys. Naturally, he’s afraid his father might be next to go.”

  Tears burned behind her eyelids. “Of course. I—I didn’t think of it that way.” Poor little guy. No wonder he watched his father with fear in his eyes.

  “No problem,” he said with a shrug. “You haven’t had much experience with kids, have you?”

  “No.” She didn’t elaborate. He knew she’d never babysat as a teen. That she’d had no contact with children since then either, was none of his business. She closed her eyes, feeling as though she’d missed something precious and important, and it was too late to recover it. Would she ever have a family of her own?

  As though reading her mind, he asked, “You never married again?”

  She jumped at the unexpected question. “No,” she said shortly. “Once was enough.” What did he expect her to say? I still love you? I never found anyone to compare with you? What a crock! But small-town people were sentimentalists, weren’t they? Not her, of course, but most of them. Like Cal. And Aunt Cora.

  “Too busy getting to the top in your career?” His mouth quirked in a sarcastic smile, but he kept his eyes on the narrow blacktop road as a large truck roared past them.

  She wanted to hit him. Instead she bit her lip and didn’t reply.

  “I’m sorry, Tami,” he apologized softly. “That was uncalled for. I’ve been a little uptight. I’m sorry if I took it out on you.”

  She shrugged. “That’s okay.” It wasn’t, of course, but she did feel better hearing his apology.

  “I read some of your articles in national magazines. I’m happy for your success. You’re really pretty good at it.”

  “Thanks.” So, he had thought of her since she’d left, she thought with a pleased tingle. Enough to notice what she was doing.

  “If you’re still working for the city paper, you must have done those articles freelancing on the side?”

  “Yes. I’m not very happy with some of the assignments the boss gives me at my job. Someday, I’d like to freelance full-time, but I can’t make a living at it yet. Freelancing gives me a lot more choice as to the subjects I write about.”

  He nodded. “You always were an independent little thing.”

  “I’m not little,” she shot back without thinking.

  He grinned and she realized she’d stepped right into their old argument. He’d always been tall and teased her about being short, though at five foot five, she was of average height. She was only short compared to his six foot height.

  “Gotcha.”

  She shot him a glare, then laughed. “So did Mr. Tall & Skinny win lots of basketball games at college?”

  “Enough to make them renew my scholarship for all four years,” he said with satisfaction. “I told Dad it would pay off better than pitching manure, and I was right. It irritated him no end I’d bested him at something.”

  “So, why didn’t you stay with it? You could have gone professional, I’ll bet. At least Aunt Cora thought so.”

  “She told you that?”

  Tami blushed, realizing she’d admitted her own interest in his life since they’d broken up. “Yes. She and Mom made sure I knew everything that went on back home.”

  He negotiated the truck around a slow-moving farm tractor. Safely back in their own lane, he glanced at her. “Why didn’t you come home more often to find out for yourself?”

  She shrugged. “Who was left to come home to see? You’d married MaryAnn and most of our friends took jobs elsewhere after college.”

  “There was Linda. And you still had family here.”

  “I had lunch with Mom and Aunt Cora often when they came to the city to shop or see a play or concert. Linda, too, before she started having her little ones.” She closed her eyes. I found it too painful to come home after you married someone else. I couldn’t take the chance of running into you and MaryAnn and seeing you happy with her.

  She didn’t want to admit that. Why should it be true, when she’d rejected him and his way of life? Yes, she’d been a spoiled child back then, but she hoped she’d grown up since then. Hadn’t she? Why should it hurt that he’d gotten on with living with someone else? Had a wonderful little boy with her, who looked just like him?

  She turned on the radio to avoid talking about it anymore. “Let’s see if they’ve gotten anything new from the weather bureau.” She played with the dial, impatiently changing stations until at last she found the report she wanted.

  “..by analyzing the destruction, they’ve decided there were fifteen separate funnels in the tornadoes which swept through the area on Sunday. One of the tornadoes has been classified as an F4 in strength and the others, having lesser wind velocity, were classified as F2s and F3s.

  “The path of destruction the twisters left is an incredible sixty-seven miles long. They destroyed some nine hundred homes and businesses and damaged thousands more. Over five hundred farmsteads were destroyed or damaged. Donations may be—”

  Cal reached out with long fingers and changed the station to music. In a strangled voice, he said, “Do you mind? I’ve had all the talk of destruction and loss I can handle for one night.” She might be fascinated, but he was just hurting. Was she made of steel? Or so used to writing about other people’s pain, she was immune to it all?

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t think.”He looked away. No, she didn’t think. His spoiled darling had never thought of others, only herself. What she wanted. What was important to her. Back when he’d told her he wanted to return to Conley after college, she’d reacted with horror. Why did she think he studied agriculture in college? To spend his life in the big city? To be fair, they’d never talked about what he planned to study. They’d compared driving distances between various colleges. They’d talked about applying for various scholarships and spent the rest of the time having fun. And kissing and making out, doing everything but going all the way.

  Enjoying each other's company. Which is what he should do now. Who knew how many days they had on this earth? Like my MaryAnn, we might not have the future we think we will. Pain sliced through him as he remembered his wife’s sudden death. He’d had to learn to live without her, to take charge of a bewildered little boy who didn’t understand why he suddenly had no mother to take care of him.

  Cal slowed and turned off the main road onto the city streets. It was dark now, but there seemed to be cars everywhere. “Ah, the stoplights work!” Cal exclaimed. “And the streetlights are on. The power’s on here, then.”

  “Did you doubt it? I told you it was. I stopped to see Mom earlier today."

  Cal pulled into the grocery store's parking lot. "I’ll drop you here, then come back for you. Okay?”

  “Sure. Where do you want to meet?”

  “There’ll be room for me to park close to the door here at this time of night. Don’t worry, I’ll find you. I should be back before you’re finished shopping.”

  “All right. See you later.”

  Tami went into the grocery store, took a cart and began looking for items on Cora’s long list. But it was an unfamiliar store and she had no idea where some of the things might be shelved. She shopped for herself of course, but that was a different story. She ate mostly fruit, fresh vegetables, dairy products and things you heated in the microwave. Cora’s list contained few of those.

  Tami’s grocery cart was only half-filled when Cal appeared beside her.

  “You’re back already? Did
you like the mobile home?”

  “It’ll be alright, I guess.” His brow dipped in a frown.

  “Nothing special, huh?”

  “He didn’t even have the one he told me he did when I called on Monday. He claimed his partner had already sold it without telling him. I doubt he even has a partner.”

  Tami gasped. “You mean, he sold it to someone else, then made up a partner to blame it on?”

  “Probably. Most likely he’d decided he could get more money for it. He says he can get another one for me that’s a lot like it, but it will cost a couple thousand more. And it won’t be delivered for a week,” he said bitterly.

  “That’s awful!”

  He shrugged. “But it’s to be expected, I suppose. There are a lot of families looking for quick replacement housing now. Temporary housing is scarce.”

  “I know, but to take advantage by raising the price when people have lost so much already!”

  “It’s called supply and demand, Tami." He sent her a surprised glance. She seemed confused and upset by what he’d come to expect–-price gouging by those who have a suddenly popular item. "Farmers live with it every day. Farm products and crop prices change at the drop of a hailstone, or an inch of rain or a frost.”

  Her blonde brows were knit in an angry frown. “I still think they shouldn’t take advantage of people already in need.”

  He shrugged. “You can’t change human nature. Most people react in the opposite way, and rush to help by donating food, clothes and money.” Frowning at her half-filled basket, he asked, “What’s the problem?”

  She glanced up in surprise. “Problem?”

  “I thought you’d be almost done.”

  “Oh. I—I guess I’m not used to shopping. I can’t seem to find a lot of these things.”

  He rolled his eyes. “Here. You take the list and read off what you haven’t found. I’ll find the items.”

  “Cinnamon. Yeast.”