Racked and Stacked

by Lorelei James

  Riss sipped her margarita. “Well, they’re wrong.”

  Jade folded her arms on the table. “So what happened today?”

  “Lonnie pulled a surprise visit to shuttle me to the doctor. He and Ike had words. Stupid male pissing contest words. The three of us had a super fun drive into Casper afterward. I refused to let either of them come into the exam room with me. When I finished early . . . I called you.”

  “They’ll blow a gasket when they find out you bailed on them.”

  She furiously stirred her drink.

  “Riss?”

  “They were being assholes, treating me like I was a stupid kid one moment and like I wasn’t there the next. They’ll call when I’m not in the waiting room. I won’t be ornery and refuse to tell them where I am. I just needed a break.”

  “Talk to me.” Jade reached for Riss’s hand. “For reals. No judgment.”

  “This injury has made me question things about my life.” She knocked the salt off the rim of her glass with her straw into her drink. “I pride myself on my independence. I never imagined my stubbornness would result in loss of that independence. I’m worried I won’t be able to drive again.”

  “The doctor warned you that could be a possibility?”

  She shook her head. “I looked at the rehab lists of dos and don’ts. Even if my arm and my hand heal perfectly? There’s a minimum of two months of PT. Two months in which shifting a semi is not allowed. Two months in which unloading a semi is not allowed. So I’m facing four and a half months without income. I don’t have enough in my savings to tide me over. I can’t ask my brothers for financial help—not out of stubbornness, but they’re havin’ their own issues tryin’ to keep the garage afloat. And my dire financial outlook doesn’t include the medical bills that’ll start rolling in soon.”

  “I hate that I don’t have any advice to give you, when you were so . . . instrumental in helping me find part-time jobs that allowed me to stay here with Tobin.”

  “Instrumental.” That brought a quick smile. “I love me some good puns.”

  Jade peered at her intently.

  “What?”

  “You always have a backup plan. Is that why you’re panicked? Because this time you don’t?”

  Riss shrugged. She had two ideas percolating. Her first option that Louie had brought up made the most sense, and the fact she hadn’t thought of it herself proved how much this injury had rattled her. The other option was so far out of left field it came from another galaxy. Sharing that one would convince her friend that she’d finally cracked.

  “This is what sucks about the current system. Catastrophic injury can render you jobless and homeless within a matter of weeks. Then if you’re persistent enough to decipher which government agencies might be able to help out, you’ll suffocate in paperwork before you go completely broke.”

  She tuned out her ranting friend. While she’d love to blame someone else for this predicament, she’d brought it on herself. Logic dictated she solve it herself.

  “Sorry about that tangent. Let’s get back to you. And Ike.” Jade waggled her eyebrows.

  “That’s a short convo; there is no me’n Ike.”

  “So the two of you aren’t . . . ?”

  “Fucking? Nope.”

  “But . . . you’re alone in his house twenty-four/seven.”

  “We’re roommates, Jade. That’s it.”

  “There’s no personal interaction?”

  “Of course there is. The man cooks for me and won’t even let me do the dishes. We watch movies or TV every night—even if it’s late, like after his sisters have demanded his immediate assistance. We talk until I can’t keep my eyes open and I swear he’d carry me to my room and tuck me in if I let him.”

  Jade opened her mouth. Closed it.

  “Don’t do that,” Riss warned, snagging her second margarita. “Spit it out.”

  “That’s not nothing, Riss. It sounds like you are getting more involved with him every day.”

  “Even if I am, I don’t trust it.”

  “Why not?”

  “What if bein’ in close quarters has temporarily amplified feelings that will vanish once we’re not sharing living space? Which is why when he’s kissed me—only twice, mind you—afterward it’s like he remembers, ‘Oh right. This is just Riss. I got caught up in the moment of bein’ overly friendly.’ It hasn’t gone any further than some suggestive verbal exchanges, a hug here and there. Once I’m outta his hair, I doubt we’ll stay in contact.” The thought of not seeing Ike every day caused a sharp pain in her chest, but things couldn’t stay as mixed up as they were now.

  “Jeez, Riss. I hadn’t expected to hear that. In fact, I’d psyched myself up to hear all the dirty details.”

  Riss raised her glass. “No one is more disappointed in the big suckfest that is my life than me. So entertain me with gossip.”

  She laughed. “Okay. Can you believe that Harlow is pregnant? Isn’t it exciting?”

  For the next half an hour they talked about their friends, book club, home projects Jade had started and TV shows. Normal conversation with her BFF that she’d desperately missed.

  Jade left to use the restroom.

  Riss’s phone rang with a call from Ike at 5:12—exactly two hours after she’d heard the receptionist order Lonnie and Ike out of the doctor’s office. She wouldn’t be petulant; this last hour with Jade had soothed her ragged edges. She answered, “This is Riss Thorpe.”

  “Where in the hell are you?” Ike demanded.

  “At the Friendly Ghost with Jade.”

  “Why didn’t you text me that you’d finished early?”

  “Because I needed some girl time.”

  A pause, then, “Girl drinkin’ time? How much have you had?”

  “Is there a point to this phone call besides tryin’ to make me feel guilty?”

  “You should feel guilty. Your brother and I—”

  Riss ended the call and shut her phone off. Listening to him rant would only demand she respond in kind. She’d had enough. Of all of it. This was why she didn’t date: she couldn’t be disappointed if she didn’t have any expectations.

  Jade slipped back into the booth. “Was that Ike?”

  “Yeah. Can I ask if it’d be too much trouble for you to give us a ride back to his place? Lonnie doesn’t need to make the drive since he’s only ten minutes from home here.”

  “Of course I’ll take you.”

  “Thanks.”

  “He’s on his way here now?”

  She nodded.

  “I already paid the bill. And before you argue, it was, like, six bucks. Total.”

  “Thanks. I don’t know what I was thinking ordering two drinks.” She smiled sheepishly. “I actually don’t have my purse with me or any money.”

  “I think you were pretty rattled. You’re still rattled. Are you sure you’re okay to go back to Ike’s place?”

  “It’s not like I have another option.” Riss carefully slid out of the booth. “My turn to use the can.”

  Everything took so much longer with only one working arm. So when Riss exited the bathroom, Ike and Lonnie had arrived.

  Yippee.

  They both looked at her warily.

  Riss dealt with her brother first. “Since Jade lives closer to Ike’s place, she’s drivin’ us back to Muddy Gap.”

  “That’ll work. What’d the doc say?”

  “Great news! I’m on the mend enough that I can move back into my trailer.”

  “Did the doc put that in writing anywhere? Or are we supposed to take your word for it?” Ike asked.

  She ignored that barb. “Think that buddy of yours would have time to fix the pipes anytime soon? I’m ready to go home.”

  “I already had him fix everything,” Lonnie said.

 
“You did?”

  “Why didn’t you tell me that when we were talkin’ earlier?” Ike asked.

  Lonnie spared Ike a look. “Because you didn’t ask.” He may as well have said, Because it’s none of your business.

  “How much do I owe you?”

  “Nothin’. I’m happy that I got to do something for you, since you don’t ask for help.”

  Riss grinned and hugged him. “Thank you! I cannot wait to go home.”

  “Me’n Lloyd and Lou will swing by every day and check on you.” He lowered his voice. “You need me to come get you in the morning and drag your stuff over there?”

  “I’ll do it. Ain’t like she’s got much.”

  Way to say that with such feeling.

  Even Jade’s eyes narrowed. Then she inserted herself between Riss and Ike. “Let me help you with your coat.”

  “Maybe she oughta do it herself since she won’t have anyone to help her when she’s back home.”

  Lonnie dragged Ike out of earshot and they exchanged terse words.

  Riss didn’t want to know what that was about.

  When Jade said, “Ike’s in rare form,” Riss didn’t acknowledge that either.

  She convinced Jade to hit the McDonald’s drive-thru on the way out of Casper.

  Sullen Ike sat in the back seat and declined a tasty double cheeseburger.

  His loss. Riss ate both of them. And his fries.

  Then she asked Jade about the honeymoon and there wasn’t a moment of dead air during the rest of the drive to Muddy Gap.

  At Ike’s house, he thanked Jade for the ride and bailed out to unlock the front door, warning Riss to stay put.

  She flipped him off.

  Just like old times.

  “I’d offer to stick around and run interference, but I have to clean the hair out of the shower drain.”

  Riss laughed. “Ain’t like this is my first go-round with him. I’ll be fine.” Or she would be as soon as she called in reinforcements. She fired off a quick text.

  The front porch light clicked on, distorting Ike’s shadow across the snow.

  He was solicitous, hooking his arm around her waist to keep her from falling.

  Even after they’d shed their outerwear inside his foyer, neither one spoke.

  Riss retreated to her room. Even one-handed it wouldn’t take long to pack up.

  She heard the doorbell and Ike’s surprise at seeing Bernice.

  Then Bernice knocked on her bedroom door twice before she entered.

  Riss waved from her spot on the bed. “Thanks for coming on such short notice, Aunt B.”

  “Your text surprised me, to be honest.”

  “You thought I would’ve figured out one-handed hair washing by now?”

  “Something like that.” She jerked her chin toward the closed door. “You and Ike fighting?”

  “Yep.”

  “So I’m a time killer?”

  “Partially.” Riss blushed guiltily. “I got my stitches out today. The PA was distracted by my babbling so she might’ve missed one. You’re more familiar with the top of my head than I am, so could you check?”

  “Sure.”

  “After that I could use a wash and a style.”

  She harrumphed. “Anything else, milady?”

  “Not unless you wanna shove that stuff in a suitcase for me.”

  Bernice whistled. “That musta been some fight.”

  “No, I just got cleared to go home.”

  “Can you go home?”

  “Yes, Lonnie had the pipes in my trailer fixed.”

  Her e-cig paused in front of her mouth. “Did you ask Lonnie to do that?”

  “Nope. He just did it as a surprise. And I cannot wait to be back at my own place.”

  “You sure you’re ready?”

  “After today I’m more than ready. I’m not cleared to drive for work, so I need to figure out how I’m gonna pay my bills.”

  She puffed on her vape pen. “We’ve all been there, girlie.”

  “Some of us more than once.”

  Strawberry-scented air drifted over to her.

  “Does Uncle Bob know you’re still smoking?”

  “Honey, as long as we’ve been married, there ain’t a lot of secrets between us.”

  Riss looked at her. “So, this might sound weird, but have you always known when he’s keeping something from you?”

  Bernice exhaled. “If he was really good at keeping things from me then I wouldn’t know he was, would I?”

  Typical Aunt B response. “Forget it.” Riss headed to the bathroom.

  “Riss. Wait.”

  She turned around.

  “Sorry. It’s easier to go for the smart-ass answer.”

  How well she knew that.

  “Bob . . . he knows I never really quit smokin’. I don’t smoke in the house and he doesn’t complain. Sorta our don’t-ask-don’t-tell policy.” She angled her head toward the door. “You think Ike is keeping something from you?”

  Even if she suspected that, she wouldn’t share her suspicions with the woman who owned the biggest gossip gathering spot in the county. “I got to thinking about that saying . . . a lie of omission is still a lie. But is it really? If a person opts to keep something to themselves, and it’s their truth, then it’s not a lie.”

  She blinked. “That’s a circular argument. A secret can be a lie too, so you can go round and round with this and make yourself crazy. So stop.”

  “I’ll try.”

  “You really okay, doll?”

  I don’t know. I hate the direction my thoughts have taken. Nothing is simple. Nothing is as it seems. “I’m trying to be.”

  “Well, get yourself stripped and in the tub.”

  “I’m not gonna miss you bossing me around.”

  “You ain’t getting rid of me that easy. I’ll be over to check on you every other day, so don’t be waltzing around buck-assed nekkid.”

  “Little cold for that this time of year.”

  She blew out another stream of air. “Who’s takin’ you home tomorrow?”

  “I imagine Ike will get saddled with that. Why?”

  “’Cause your uncle keeps asking me what he can do to help out. Personally seeing you settled in at home would give us both peace of mind.”

  That would be easier. “I’d want to leave super early, while Ike is checking stock at the Split Rock, so, like, six a.m.?”

  “Bob is an early bird. That’ll work fine.” Bernice set her e-cig aside. “You need help covering up your cast?”

  The nurse had given her a fancy inflatable plastic cover for her arm that she could slip on without help. No time like the present to test it. “I’m good.”

  Bernice didn’t chitchat, which was unusual. Seemed like she had something on her mind.

  When she was combing out Riss’s hair, she said, “I kept something from Bob once. ’Course, when he found out, he blew his top. I didn’t apologize because, at the time, I didn’t feel like what I done was outta line.”

  “He disagreed?”

  “Yeah.” She smoothed both her hands over Riss’s scalp. “Want me to French braid this? It’ll stay for a couple of days.”

  “Sure.”

  Riss prepared herself for Aunt B to yank hard as she braided, but she kept adding product to smooth the constant state of frizz that was Riss’s hair.

  “Can I ask what you hid from Uncle Bob?”

  Bernice’s motions stilled. Then she sighed. “It’s probably time you knew anyway. I’ve always been surprised that Lonnie never told you. Always been a little ashamed to tell you myself.”

  A bad feeling surfaced immediately. “What?”

  “After your dad died, and everything was up in the air, I told Lonnie I wanted you to come l
ive with me’n Bob.”

  “Why?”

  “For some reason I had it in my head that Lonnie wouldn’t raise you right. As the only girl living in a house of boys—young men—they’d expect you to cook and clean and do laundry and basically be their servant. I worried with no female influence you’d become—”

  “A doormat or a tomboy,” she finished angrily.

  “Yes.”

  “Did you feel vindicated when I turned into a tomboy? Like you could’ve somehow prevented it?”

  Bernice abandoned the braid and moved to stand in front of Riss. “Lemme finish, then I’ll let you tear into me.” She paused, but she kept her eyes on Riss. “I was wrong. Lonnie had enough to deal with without fearing that his aunt was gonna take his sister away. He said you—all of you kids—were his responsibility and he’d do whatever it took to keep his family together.”

  “Lonnie never expected me to do more because I was a girl. Neither did he ask me to do less because I was a girl either.”

  “I know that now. Back then, I had a self-righteous streak as wide as the Yellowstone River. I’d conveniently forgotten you’d spent most of your life without your mother’s influence and living in a house full of testosterone.”

  “My brothers drove me crazy sometimes, but I can’t imagine growing up without them. I hated when Lloyd joined the air force. Seemed like we had another big hole in our family.” Something occurred to her. “Is your rift with Lonnie why we didn’t spend holidays or birthdays together?”

  She shrugged. “Partially. Bob and your dad didn’t have the usual upbringing so they didn’t have holiday traditions. No surprise Lonnie limited the amount of contact I had with you after that. For a few years I was pissed off, but as the years have gone on, I’ve kept my distance because . . . I was ashamed.” Her eyes filled with tears. “Lonnie raised you right. All of you. I was wrong to think I could do better.”

  Riss stood and gave her aunt a one-armed hug. “I’m glad you told me. I won’t pretend it doesn’t tick me off now, but with all the shit I dealt with today, I’m gonna put it aside to think on later.” She stepped back. “You need to tell Lonnie what you told me. He gave up his dream to keep us together.”