“I know, but you don’t have to worry. I’m done with men totally,” I replied.
He smiled, then sat down on the bed in the bedroom. It was a queen-sized bed with a soft comforter. I plopped down next to him with a giggle.
“You don’t have to hide it from me.”
“Hide what?” I asked.
“This thing with Remy hurt you,” he said.
“No, it reminded me of who I am. I loved once. I’ll never love again. I’m not even sure why I tried,” I sighed. “As long as I get laid occasionally, I’ll survive.”
“Occasionally?”
“With your approval, of course,” I groaned.
“Of course. You will like it here. When you get ready, go down to the diner and introduce yourself to Betty. She works the counter and her husband, Luther, cooks. They are good people,” he said as he got up to walk back into the main room. “Everything you need is already here. Do you want anything from the old trailer?”
“No,” I replied. “I don’t want anything there.”
Walking out the front door, I heard him stop outside. I stepped out on to a small wooden deck with a lawn chair to my right. In the driveway, my black pick-up truck sat waiting for me.
“Except the truck,” he smiled.
“Except the truck,” I agreed.
A commotion across the street drew our attention.
“I tol’ you it would get stuck!” one of the men said.
“Help me, Tater,” the other man yelled.
They wore overalls with no shirts and no shoes. If the one called Tater was an inch taller, he would be round. The other was lanky, and he had a clear container stuck on his head.
On closer inspection, the label on the can said cheese balls. “What the hell?” I muttered
“Cletus and Tater,” Jeremiah grumbled. “They are good guys. But they are idiots.”
“I see,” I replied, as I watched in amazement.
Cletus laid down on the ground while Tater put his feet on his shoulders and grabbed the can pulling up while pushing downward with his legs.
“Ow! That hurts!” Cletus wailed.
“It’s not comin’ off,” Tater grunted as he pulled harder.
“Yer gonna rip my ears off!” Cletus yelled.
“Don’t matter. You can’t hear a damn thing anyway,” Tater replied.
I giggled at the nonsense. Jeremiah shook his head.
“I suppose I could help them,” Jeremiah said.
“With magic?” I asked.
“Yeah, they will never know,” Jeremiah said. With a wave of his hand, the container popped off Cletus’ head, sending Tater flying backward and tumbling across the ground.
I died laughing.
“Good job, Tater,” Cletus said, jumping up to help the other man. It was only then that he noticed us across the street. “Well, I’ll be damned. There’s Jeremiah.”
“I don’t see, Jeremiah,” Tater responded. “I do see a mighty fine wo-man.” Emphasis on the “wo.”
“Hello, Cletus and Tater. This is your new neighbor, Grace,” Jeremiah said introducing me.
Cletus spit on his hands, then rubbed them on his pants. An orange hue spread from his fingertips to his pants. He offered the hand to me. I barely grabbed his fingers and shook.
“Nice to meet ya, Grace. Welcome to the trailer park,” he grinned. I wasn’t sure how many teeth he was missing, but it was enough to whistle Dixie without moving his lips.
“You’re pretty,” Tater said staring up at me.
“Hi, Tater,” I said. He blushed, then took a couple steps back.
He took his ball cap off his head, revealing a mostly bald head. “Howdy, ma’am. If you need anything, you just call on Cletus and me. We know everyone around these parts.”
“That’s very nice of you,” I responded.
I heard a baby crying from their trailer.
“Oh, my. That’s Winnie. I’ve got to go feed her,” Cletus said, then ran back to his trailer.
“How did he get that thing stuck on his head?” I asked.
“He loves those cheese balls. He says the best part is the cheese stuck to the sides of the bottle. He decided to stick his head in to lick it off and it got stuck. Sounds stupid now that I think about it,” Tater said.
I laughed. “You two are going to blow something up one day,” Jeremiah said.
“That sounds like fun,” Tater said, as he ran off to the trailer.
“Which one of them has a baby?” I asked. Some humans shouldn’t procreate. My first impressions of those two were that they were included in that group.
“Neither. The baby belongs to the woman that lives with them. She’s a working girl,” Jeremiah said.
“Working girl?” I asked.
“She’s a prostitute,” he replied. “She has a good heart, but her addictions drive her need for male companionship and the money that comes with it.”
“What about the baby?” I asked.
“What about it? You don’t me that you care about a baby,” he scoffed.
“Maybe I do,” I replied.
Jeremiah made a strange face and shook his head. “Grace, this is your last chance. No magic. No human men.”
“Whatever,” I brushed him off. I was already making plans to run. I just had to figure out how they were watching me. It wouldn’t take long. When I turned back to look at him, he was gone.
I stood in front of my new trailer with a smile, but heaviness in my heart. I wondered if Remy had made it out of the situation with his wife in one piece. He deserved whatever he got, but it didn’t mean that somewhere along the way I’d given him a piece of my heart. Never again.
16
Grace
For the first time in a long time, I slept deeply. The low thrum of Jeremiah’s wards on the trailer lulled me to sleep. Only to be awakened by someone pounding on my door. I felt like I was in a repeating episode of some time travel show on television.
“I swear to all that is good in this world, if that is Remington Blake, I’m going to jerk a knot in his tail,” I muttered.
Opening the door, I found a haggard young woman holding a bundle of blankets.
“Um, hi,” she said.
“Hello,” I replied.
“I know it’s late,” she stuttered, looking over her shoulder at a car idling in front of her house. “But I need some help.”
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“Well, I have a friend here, and we have a business meeting. My daughter is just a baby. She’s asleep. See?” She moved the top blanket to the side to reveal a brown-haired little baby.
“Yea?” I knew what was coming. At least she had the decency to get the kid out of the house while she conducted her business.
“Could you watch her for about an hour?” she asked.
“Only an hour?” I asked back. Quick one.
“Um, yea. She’s a good baby,” she said looking down at the sleeping child. For all the hard times this young woman had seen, I saw a light in her eye when she looked at the child.
“Okay, I’ll do it,” I replied, taking the bundle from her.
“Thank you so much. I saw you with Mr. Jeremiah. He’s a nice man, so I know you must be a good person,” she said trying to convince herself that she was doing the right thing by handing her child off to a complete stranger.
“What’s her name?” I asked, looking down at the baby.
“Wynonna. I’m Bethany, by the way. Sorry, I should have introduced myself, Grace. Cletus and Tater told me your name,” she said. “I call her Winnie.”
“Winnie,” I replied, staring at the beautiful child. My heart thumped for a different reason. This human baby deserved all the best. The things her mother couldn’t possibly give her.
“Okay. So, see you in a little while,” she said. She leaned over to kiss the baby on the cheek, then ran back across the road.
I managed to shut the door without waking the child. I didn’t bother to turn the lights on in
the trailer. Instead, I made my way to the recliner. Leaning back with the baby in my arms, I felt something stir inside of me. A power I didn’t know and had never felt. Protecting a human was a very fairy thing to do, but it would bind your heart to something fallible and mortal. Guaranteed heartbreak.
“Story of my life,” I whispered.
Winnie’s lips crinkled and made a sucking noise. I sure hoped she wasn’t hungry because I didn’t have anything to give her. She continued to smack her lips. She was definitely hungry. I wondered what kind of life she would have considering her mother’s profession.
At that moment, I decided that I would do like Mrs. Sharolyn had done for me all of those years ago. She made me a part of her family. I decided that Winnie would be my family.
My father turned his back on me. I hadn’t seen my brother in ages. I had no family until I met Sharolyn. Now Winnie was family.
Making my way to the kitchen, I opened the fridge to find three baby bottles sitting in the door filled with a white substance. One of them had a sticky note on it.
Grace, Winnie is old enough to drink whole milk. These bottles are for her. I’m sure you will need them. - Jerry
“That old coot,” I exclaimed quietly.
I took the bottle out, pressing it against her lips. Her big, brown eyes shot open, as the nipple slipped into her mouth. She sucked hard on it, pulling the milk out quickly.
“Easy there, little one. Your Uncle Jerry left you three bottles. No need to drink them all at once,” I smiled. Her eyes twinkled when I talked to her.
We found ourselves back in the recliner. I watched her finish off the bottle, then I sat her up to burp. She did it with no prompting. Then giggled. I figured she had to be almost one. Most babies don’t drink milk until then. However, she was small in my opinion. I hoped to the goddess that her mother hadn’t done drugs while she was pregnant, but Winnie seemed perfectly normal despite being tiny.
She smiled at me as she sat in my lap. It was the most adorable thing I’d ever seen. Tomorrow I’d go into town and buy a few things for her to play with here at the house. I had a feeling that she would be here a lot in the coming year.
It wasn’t long before Bethany reappeared at the door. She looked frazzled.
“You okay?” I asked.
“Fine. How was she?” she asked.
“She’s an angel,” I replied.
“Thank you, Grace,” she said, taking Winnie from my arms.
“Anytime. She is welcome to come over anytime,” I said without hesitation.
As they walked back across the street, Winnie lifted a little hand and squeezed her fingers in and out to wave good-bye. It was the sweetest little thing.
Sweet enough for me to stay put for a little while.
17
Grace
I woke up the next morning hungry, but not in the mood to cook. The perfect situation to ride down to the diner and grab some food. Jeremiah had said I should meet the owners. I looked forward to it. Since Sharolyn, I hadn’t really met my neighbors. Maybe that was what I was missing. Something to keep me in one place.
However, that thought scared the shit out of me. Making ties. I thought back to the big, brown-eyed baby in my arms last night. I had already made ties there without knowing it. That child needed someone to look after her since her mother seemed to be lacking in that area.
The drive to the diner didn’t take long. It was just down the street from the trailer park. In fact, as I drove, it appeared that everything in this little town was just down the street. I passed a grocery inside a small strip mall. A sign pointed past it which said city hall and community center. Just in the distance, I could see the elementary school.
Pulling into the lot in front of the diner, I smiled at the small place. It was straight out of a different era. The Grove Diner sat just in front of the grocery, but along the roadside. Its shiny silver walls with a touch of neon beckoned me to come in and try its greasy offerings.
When I stepped inside the door, the few patrons who sat along the single service bar stopped talking and stared. I looked down at my cutoff jeans and tank top. I didn’t feel out of place, but I supposed I caught their attention because I was new.
“Come on in, honey,” the white-haired woman behind the bar said inviting me in.
I took a seat on the opposite end from the other people. The waitress wore a baby blue dress with a starched white collar and cuffs on the short sleeves. Her name tag proclaimed her name in a simple script, Betty. She offered me a menu, and I took it with a smile. There was something about this woman that I immediately liked. Her smile was genuine.
Behind her, an African-American man moved around in the kitchen. I could see him cooking through a small service window. He looked over his shoulder at me for a moment, and a large smile crossed his face. He nodded at me, and I returned the gesture.
“Luther, are you flirting with this pretty woman already? I swear I’m going to have to lock his philandering eye up!” Betty exclaimed.
“I believe it was just a friendly greeting,” I said in his defense.
“Whatever. Luther loves the ladies. You watch out or he will be after you,” Betty said. “What can I get for you?”
“Um,” I said, looking over the menu. “I’m new, so what do you suggest?”
“It’s all good, honey. Why don’t you start with some gravy biscuits?” she suggested.
“Sounds perfect, and coffee please,” I requested.
“Coming right up,” she said. She turned and placed an order slip on the carousel hanging at the window, then yelled, “Biscuit and gravy for your new girlfriend!”
“Betty,” Luther growled from the back. “Woman, I can hear you without all that yelling.”
“I wouldn’t know it by the way you tune me out at home,” she protested.
I laughed at their flirty exchange. For a couple of older folks, they seemed to enjoy themselves and each other. She turned and winked at me before grabbing a coffee pot to refill cups on the other end of the counter.
After refilling the other customers, she brought me a fresh cup.
“Cream or sugar?” she asked.
“No, thank you,” I said.
“You like it stout?” she asked with a questioning tone instead of a statement.
“Um, yes,” I said.
She leaned across the counter, and said, “I like a stiff drink from time to time, too.” She turned around with her elbows on the counter, to watch Luther place my biscuits in the window.
He grinned at her, smacked the bell at the window, and yelled, “Order up!”
“Luther! No need for all that yelling,” she scolded.
“You go ahead and show out for the new lady, Betty,” he laughed.
“I think I will,” she said, placing the biscuits in front of me. They looked fantastic. “So, you are new here.”
“I am. I have a trailer in the park down the road,” I said.
“Lord have mercy! You just moved in across the street from Cletus and Tater. Bless your heart. Those two are a mess,” she said.
“I’ve noticed, but the baby is sweet,” I said.
“Winnie? You met little Winnie?” she asked.
I took a bite of the biscuit, and it melted in my mouth. I groaned with approval. Luther caught the noise from behind the window, then smiled with satisfaction.
“My goodness, you’re goin’ to drive the men crazy here,” Betty said. “What’s your name?”
“Grace. Grace Ann Bryant,” I replied.
“Welcome to Shady Grove, Grace Ann Bryant. Happy to have you here. It will be nice to share the good-lookin’ men in this town. I’ve got too many as it is,” she laughed.
She made me giggle with her outlandish statements. “I’m not really in the market.”
“You will be, and when you get ready, you just ask me. I’ll point out the good ones,” she said.
“I appreciate that, but it will probably be a while before I consider such a thing,”
I offered.
“Got your heart broke?” she asked.
“No. Just disappointed,” I admitted.
“That’s rough. You’ll be ready sooner or later,” she smiled. “But you can’t have Luther. He’s mine.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it,” I said.
“Oh, you can dream. I’ll allow that much, but he goes home with me,” she smirked.
I laughed again. I wasn’t sure I’d found anyone else funnier in all my days. I liked Betty. Maybe, just maybe, having a friend wasn’t a bad thing.
Curiosity got the best of me after a couple of days, and I decided to check out the Hot Tin Roof Bar.
I wasn’t going there to ensnare a man, so I wore jeans and a nice top. Nothing fancy. I pulled my hair back in a ponytail to emphasize the fact that I was there just for a drink.
Instead of driving the truck, I decided to walk down to the bar. Cletus and Tater were sitting on their front porch drinking beer.
“Evenin’ Grace,” Tater called out to me.
“Evenin’, Boys,” I said.
“Men. We are men, Grace,” Cletus said. Tater slapped him across the head.
“You can call me whatever you want, Grace,” Tater said. I laughed.
I could hear them arguing with each other halfway down the block. The sun was sinking in the west, but the heat remained. The Katydids sang a loud song as the stars began to twinkle. The diner had a couple of customers, but it was almost closing time for Betty and Luther.
Once I made it to the bar, I took a deep breath filled with courage and walked through the door.
An old jukebox played country music from the corner of the room. There were close to twenty people in the bar. Only a couple sat at the bar itself. Some sat at tables while the center of attraction seemed to be the pool table.
I made eye contact with the bartender, and his jaw dropped open. He had been wiping out a glass with a white towel, but he froze in place when he saw me. I turned around to see if he was staring at someone behind me, or if I had caused this reaction. No one was behind me.
Relics and Runes Anthology Page 138
