Out on the Sound

by R. E. Bradshaw

  “I was so proud of the fact that I was able to talk this woman into taking a ride on a sailboat with me. I call her woman, but she was really probably a college student. I took off with this pretty coed leaning her back on the mast facing me. Things went great for a little while. She was smiling and seemed to be enjoying herself. I was too, until it happened.”

  Decky blushed red. It was the same blush she felt when the plan to burn the mattresses had gone awry.

  Charlie was grinning at Decky, “Another plan bit the dust, huh?”

  Decky began sheepishly, “Well, I had that little sunfish clipping down the cove the camp was on. We were moving pretty fast for that kind of boat. Then with a loud cracking sound, we hit the oyster bar, just under the surface. It wasn’t marked. I didn’t see it.”

  “Did the boat sink?”

  “No, it was worse. The boat hull itself had skimmed over on the surface, but the centerboard had been forced up violently. The coed happened to be sitting so that when the boat slammed to such a sudden stop, she slid into the centerboard, crotch first. I was horrified. I tried to tell her how sorry I was, but she insisted that we go back to shore immediately. She held her crotch the whole way back and never said another word.”

  Charlie was now whipping herself, laughing so hard at the story.

  Decky continued, “That wasn’t the end of it by a long shot. Once we got to shore, she sat on the edge of the boat. I’m sure she was trying to figure out if there was any permanent damage to her vital parts. I kept saying how sorry I was right up to the point when I dropped the boom of the boat on her head. I could have died right there. I dropped the rope in my hand and ran like the wind.”

  Charlie was able to gasp out, “Did you see her again?”

  “Yes, later at dinner she called me outside of the mess hall. She told me it was okay, she knew it was an accident. She cautioned me to be more careful of underwater hazards and left it at that. She had no way of knowing that I was absolutely crushed, with no idea why I felt the way I did. I stayed away from her the rest of the week.”

  Decky joined Charlie in laughter. Decky thought about all the little crushes she had on different females growing up. It all made a lot more sense now.

  Charlie commented on the way in, “Well, I for one am glad you only hit on straight girls. If you had come up on the right kind of lesbian, under the right circumstances, your life would have been a lot different.”

  “Yeah, Lizzie would have put me in a straight jacket and hand delivered me to Tidewater Psychiatric Institute, making them promise not to let me out until I was cured. Cured, meaning not gay.”

  Charlie chided, “You would be stud lesbian of the community, who are you trying to kid? You would have been through the crowd around here and half the ones in the next county by your early twenties, if it took that long.”

  Decky pretended to be offended, pretended because it was probably true, “I think I might have been a bit more selective than that. I’ve seen some lesbians that scare the shit out of me. No way would I end up riding on the back of a Harley with a woman in leather, or with one of those ‘earth dykes’ that doesn’t shave her legs or armpits.”

  “Okay, maybe you would have only screwed the pretty ones, but you definitely are a sex maniac. If you had known about this back then, you would have been a legend.” Charlie wasn’t letting up.

  Decky pulled the sailboat into the boathouse and secured it. She got out of the boat offering Charlie her hand; “I guess you’re lucky I didn’t become a lesbian sooner. Now you can experience my climb to legendary-lesbian lover status up close and personal.”

  Not missing a beat Charlie replied, “It better remain real personal or I’ll have to show you what we do to cheaters out in the Panhandle.”

  Decky grinned, “Yeah, and what’s that.”

  Charlie started for the house, “Your momma’s not the only one who knows how to use a gun.”

  #

  Decky, Charlie and Miss Kitty were on the couch, stuffed to the gills with steak, baked potato and salad. Dixie burped and lay down at Decky’s feet, scoured T-bone across her paws. A black and white Nancy Drew movie was playing on the TV screen.

  “I ate too much. I have to exercise or my stomach is going to burst. Come on, go swimming with me.” Decky tried to pry Charlie up from the couch.

  Charlie was watching the movie. “No, I have to figure out if it’s the business manager or old farmer Gray. It’ll drive me nuts if I don’t know for sure. Go ahead. I’ll come down in a minute.”

  Decky left Charlie to solve the mystery, while she and Dixie ventured downstairs. Decky set the timer on the treadmill for Dixie, which the dog dearly loved, and started swimming laps. Since meeting Charlie, Decky had eaten more food and consumed more alcohol than she had in years. Her body was starting to fight back. She had to get back to some kind of routine, soon.

  Decky swam until her stomach felt better and the overstuffed feeling had dissipated. She made the turn at the far end of the lap pool and headed back to the other end. She wore goggles when she swam laps, not so she could see, but because the water bothered her eyes. The goggles did allow her to keep a close eye on where exactly she was in the pool.

  Decky checked to see how far she was from the end of the pool. She almost took water in her lungs when she saw first feet, and then followed the legs to the golden triangle, there just below the surface. She pulled up short and stood up. There before her was a very naked Charlie.

  “I watched you for a while, and then when you didn’t stop I thought I would see if I could get your attention.” Charlie had a mischievous smile on her face.

  Decky took off the goggles. “You have my complete attention.”

  “I was just wondering, does that hot tub outside on the bedroom floor balcony work?”

  Decky thought she could see where this was going so she got out of the pool and headed for the steps. “Yep, it works.”

  Charlie was following her out of the pool, looking a little curious as to why Decky would get out of a pool with her naked and still in it. “I thought we might try it out when you got done down here.”

  Decky threw a towel at her, grabbed one for herself, slipped into the boot and stepped into the elevator. “Life is good!”

  Charlie stepped in front of the elevator, still confused, “What are you talking about?”

  Decky grinned and showed Charlie that dimple, “I am in an orthopedic boot about to race a naked woman to the third floor and I have an elevator.” Decky shut the folding iron door, “Life is definitely good!”

  Chapter Nine

  Decky lay awake, silently watching Charlie dress for work. She loved to watch Charlie flit around the room fixing her hair, tying her shoes. Decky thought Charlie dressed comfortably, yet very professional. She was one of those women that looked good in cotton or silk, with or without makeup. Today Charlie wore a white cotton sleeveless shirt with pressed khakis. She looked fresh, even though the night before had been a long one.

  Charlie checked herself one more time in the mirror.

  “You look cute as a button.” Decky finally spoke.

  “You need to get out of that bed, if you’re taking me to get my car. I don’t like leaving it at the cottage. And I am not going to be afraid of your mother.” Charlie was emphatic on this point.

  Decky knew there was no point arguing. Charlie had made up her mind and told Decky so, the minute she awoke.

  “Okay, Charlie, I’m up. I’ll take a quick shower and we can head out.”

  “I’ll go start the coffee. You want anything to eat, toast or something quick?”

  “No, I’ll just have yogurt. That should hold me for awhile.” Decky skipped past Charlie to the bathroom. Charlie slapped her on the butt as she went by.

  “Get a move on there little doggie.”

  Decky called to Charlie, as she disappeared into the bathroom, “Is that one of those cowboy things I have to get used to?”

  Charlie exited down the stairs
, but not before adding, “At least I haven’t crawled in bed with my boots on.”

  She was gone before Decky could tell her that actually sounded hot to her, but the words Charlie and bed together sounded hot to Decky anyway. Decky showered, jumped into a tee shirt and shorts and joined the rest of the family in the kitchen. Charlie had just poured Decky a cup of coffee when the phone rang.

  Decky absent-mindedly answered the phone, because for the moment her defenses were down. She was still imagining the boot scenario. “Hello.”

  A male voice was on the line. “I’d rather see a cow back up to a stump than two lesbians.”

  Decky’s facial expression must have changed. Charlie stopped talking to the cat and watched Decky.

  “Who is this?” It was the only thing Decky could think to say.

  The phone line went dead. The other party hung up.

  “What was that all about?” Charlie asked.

  “Nothing, wrong number I guess.” Decky hung up the receiver.

  Charlie would not let it go. “That didn’t look like a wrong number. Your face went white as a sheet.”

  Decky hid her face behind the coffee cup. “I just didn’t understand them at first, that’s all. Let’s go. You don’t want to be late.”

  Charlie did not look pleased, but she gathered her things and followed Decky and Dixie out the door. Charlie told Decky she would be home around 1 p.m. Decky had errands to run in town. They would meet back at the house for a late lunch. Unbeknownst to Charlie, Decky had a new plan.

  Just before she got out of the Expedition, Charlie turned to Decky, “I know that wasn’t a wrong number. Decky, I’m in this too. You can’t protect me all the time. I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself.”

  Decky smiled, “I know you can, but I can protect you from the trivial bull shit, stuff that isn’t important. I promise to keep you informed of all the important things, okay?”

  “Was that a threatening phone call, yes or no?” Charlie was speaking in her teacher voice. Decky felt like a student late with homework.

  “No.” Decky was being honest. The person had made no threats.

  “Okay, I’ll see you at lunch then.” Charlie hopped out on the ground and headed for her car.

  Decky backed up and pulled around so their driver side doors were facing each other. “Hey! Didn’t you forget something?”

  Charlie looked around. She couldn’t see that anything was missing. She even looked at her shoes. Nope, she had forgotten nothing. She shrugged at Decky.

  “You forgot to kiss Dixie goodbye. She’s really hurt. I mean I can get by without a kiss, but the princess is a very sensitive young lady.”

  Charlie walked over to the back window, where Dixie was hanging out as far as the window would let her. Decky couldn’t roll them all the way down, because Dixie had taken a flying leap out the back window once while Decky was driving. Thank God, she had only been going twenty miles an hour at the time.

  “You have a wonderful day there, princess.” Charlie kissed Dixie right on the lips, and then started back to her car.

  “Hey! What about me?” Decky pleaded out the window.

  Charlie smiled slyly and turned around. “Thought you said you could get by without it?”

  “I lied.”

  #

  Decky drove into town. She first went to the builder’s supply that would be receiving her replacement window and handling the install. She made sure the same guys that installed the other windows would be on the crew, paid for everything and headed to Fowler’s, the old hunting and fishing store downtown.

  This was one of those old stores found in little towns all over, until Bass Pro Shops put most of them out of business. The bells jingled on the door and the wooden floor squeaked as Decky entered. The walls were lined with shelves containing farming, hunting and fishing apparel. One corner held waders and boots of all sizes. Decky really liked the tiny pair of waders in the window. She always pictured a “little man” and his dad hunting for the first time when she saw them.

  Decky had been coming to this store as long as she could remember. Sometimes on Saturday mornings, she and R.C. had sat for hours rehashing the Friday night football games with the locals. Everyone who worked here knew Decky and she knew all of them like family. Decky wanted to buy Charlie her very own fishing rod and this was the only place to do it. You couldn’t belong here until you had a rod or gun from Fowler’s. It was part of her new plan.

  Decky went over to the rods and reels section. She could see that Mr. Fowler was busy with some men in the back corner by the cold pot-bellied stove. They were there either to do business or brag on a fish. Either way, Decky didn’t want to disturb them. Decky knew what she wanted and could find it on her own. She practically had the merchandise memorized.

  Decky chose an eight-foot-six-inch Fenwick inshore rod, adding a Daiwa Steed reel. She gathered line and a few new casting lures. After she had completed her fishing gear selections, she made her way over to the counter.

  Mr. Fowler waved to her from the back of the store. “I’ll be right there.”

  Decky waved him off. “Stay there. I have a few more things to get.”

  Mr. Fowler smiled at her and went back to his conversation. A few of the men standing in the back turned to look at her. One actually sniffed the air, wrinkled up his nose and turned back around. Decky told herself it was nothing. Maybe just a personal tick the guy had. She went over to the wader’s section. Charlie would need a pair of these when Decky took her flounder gigging at Oregon Inlet.

  Flounder gigging was a favorite activity of Decky’s. In the marshy section of the Inlet, you could walk around at night with a lantern and gig the flounder when the two eyes, located on the same side of its head, shined up in the light. Decky didn’t frog gig. She wouldn’t eat frog legs. She didn’t kill anything she couldn’t eat. Most of the time, she released the fish she caught, unless she planned to cook them. Decky loved flounder and she loved to catch them this way. It made it a game.

  Today was a different kind of fishing. Decky found a vest and hat for Charlie and carried them along with the waders up to the counter. Mr. Fowler met her there. They chatted, small talk about her mother and father. Decky bought Charlie a lifetime fishing license. Mr. Fowler totaled her purchases and ran her card. While she waited, he went to get some paper to wrap the rod. The men in the back broke up their morning bragging session and exited one after the other, shouting a farewell to Mr. Fowler. The last to leave was the man who had sniffed the air.

  Now Decky could see who it was. It was Trey’s uncle. She hadn’t seen him in a while, so she had not recognized him earlier. He came very close to Decky. So close that she pressed her stomach to the counter to let him by.

  “I know what you are,” he said under his breath so she could hear him. Then he left.

  Decky was stunned. The venom in the man’s voice was so clear. What did he have to do with anything? How did her life affect his? It didn’t, but there it was. Hate. Hate for this thing she was now. Labeled as not natural. Abhorrent to normal society. The normal society that got to decide what was “normal” for everyone else. The holier than thou bunch. Fuck ‘em.

  She knew Mr. Fowler had heard the man the minute she saw his face. What would he say? He had watched her grow up. Surely, he wouldn’t let something like this change the way he had always treated her. She told herself it wasn’t shame she was feeling, but it sure felt like it. Decky was not ashamed of the way she felt about Charlie.

  “I’m sorry he said that, Decky. What you’re doing don’t sit well with most folks around here. You can hope it’ll blow over when they find somebody else to talk about.” Mr. Fowler at least was not judging her. Even if he was, he was keeping it to himself. Decky wished everybody else would too.

  “I’m sorry too, Mr. Fowler” Decky picked up her packages from the counter.

  Mr. Fowler came around the counter to open the door for her. Before opening the door, he stopped, blocking Decky’
s path. Here it comes, Decky thought, but what he said was not what she expected.

  “Decky, you remember my oldest boy Jack?”

  Decky nodded, yes.

  “He went off to college and he never came back here. I know why, although he has never told me. He couldn’t live his life here. I miss him, but I wouldn’t have him live here. I would be afraid for him. I’m afraid for you too, Decky. It only takes one person in a place like this to rile up the wrong kind of people. Your momma has been all over this town and the surrounding counties, if not in person, by phone or email. Everybody knows Decky.”

  “What does everybody think they know? I have a new friend. The rest is nobody’s business.” Decky was overwhelmed with the audacity of people.