“I did. Kansas State, but I graduated and moved back.”
“Good for you. Do you do bookkeeping?”
“I don’t have a degree in it, but I can do the basics and I’ve done payroll before,” I answered.
“A degree doesn’t matter. It’s just putting in a lot of hard work and being careful. Are you looking for a lot of money? I can’t pay more than minimum wage.”
I had to smile again. “No. I’m not expecting to get rich. I just need to keep gas in my car and a few dollars in my pocket. I’m bored right now with nothing to do all day.”
“I don’t think you’ll be bored here. Should we give it a try? Can you start tomorrow?”
“Sure. That would be great. What time?”
“The store opens at seven-thirty, but I won’t need you until eight. Eight until four?”
“I’ll be here, Mr. Felton.”
“If you’re working here, you’d better call me Buzz.”
“Okay, Buzz. I’ll see you in the morning.”
He patted me on the shoulder and turned to ring up another customer.
* * * *
“You look happy,” Mom said when I walked into the house.
“I got a job,” I said with a big smile. “I start tomorrow at Felton’s Market in the office doing bookkeeping.”
“Felton’s? That’s wonderful.”
“It’s only minimum wage, but at least it’s something.”
“That’s good, sweetheart. Buzz Felton is a good man. I think you’ll enjoy working for him.”
“It seemed like it. I work eight to four.”
“I wondered how he was coping with all that since his daughter got married and moved away. Joyce was the cement in that store. You’ll have big shoes to fill.”
I laughed. “I can do it.”
“I know. Would you set the table? Daddy should be home soon, and dinner’s almost ready.”
“Of course.” Yes, back to reality. Don’t get too excited. It’s just a job.
* * * *
On Tuesday, I still hadn’t heard from Jody, so I decided to take matters into my own hands. I stopped at Wright’s when I got off work.
“Hi, Mr. Wright,” I said.
“Amy! Just the girl I needed to see. I’ve got your mother’s order ready.”
“Great!” I replied. “I can’t wait to taste it. I don’t have the money on me now, though. I’ll have to get it tomorrow.”
“Take it home with you. You can pay later. I know where you work.” He laughed. “I hear you got the job over at Felton’s. He’s real happy with you.”
I had to smile. “I’m happy there, too. I like Buzz.”
“Yes, if you can get his books straightened up, that will help a lot. He let things sort of fall apart after Joyce left. I kept telling him to keep on top of it.”
“It does go back a ways, but nothing that can’t be corrected. At least he kept all the purchase orders and receipts.”
“Then I’m glad he’s got you.”
“Is Jody around?”
“She’s upstairs. I guess Joseph wore her out this weekend. They slaughtered and cut up dozens of sheep. She was so tired this morning, I told her to go back to bed. Haven’t heard from her since.”
“I’m up,” we heard as Jody walked into the shop from the back room. She was dressed in a T-shirt and jeans.
“Are you rested?” Mr. Wright asked.
“I’m fine now, thanks.”
“Hi,” I said with a big smile.
She looked at me, then at the floor. “I need to talk to you, don’t I? I’m sorry I was unavailable this weekend.”
“Not a problem. You were working.”
She smiled. “My arms are still sore.”
“That’s what happens during butchering time,” Mr. Wright added.
“Now you tell me!” Jody crowed with a big laugh. Then she looked at me. “Would you like to go get some ice cream or something? I’ve been thinking about ice cream all weekend.”
“I’d love it. Can we go to Labelle’s?”
“Anywhere you want. You know this town better than I do.”
“All right, but you don’t call it ice cream at Labelle’s,” I said. “It’s concrete.”
“Oh, that’s right. We’re in the Midwest. I keep forgetting.”
“Want us to bring you back some, Mr. Wright?”
“No, you girls go have a good time. Jody can get your meat for you when you come back. It’s all wrapped and labeled in the refrigerator.”
“Thanks.”
“See you later, Uncle Marv,” Jody said.
I waved goodbye, and we went out and got into my car.
* * * *
I love ordering at Labelle’s. You get to watch them assemble each order. I ordered a strawberry concrete, and Jody ordered a triple chocolate one.
I watched as the waiter threw a pile of vanilla concrete onto the marble counter, then poured a ladle of homemade strawberry sauce over it. The strawberries had been cut up and sitting in sugar. He proceeded to mix that together, then scooped it into a big cup.
He wiped down the counter, then threw a small scoop of milk chocolate and a small scoop of white chocolate onto the counter with a big scoop of dark chocolate chips. He made it into a swirl, then put that into a big cup. Jody insisted on paying for them.
We went over and sat on one of the picnic tables in the shade.
“This is great,” Jody said as she started on her concrete.
“They always are. Concretes are so thick, I hear that one store in Missouri advertises their concretes in a cup that’s upside down to show it won’t fall out.”
“I think I’ve seen those ads.”
We sat there for a few minutes, working on our concretes.
“I need to apologize for Wednesday night,” Jody finally said. “I shouldn’t have just run off like that, but I panicked. I’m sorry.”
“Panicked?” I asked. “Why did you panic?”
“Cause I kissed you, and you kissed me back. Suddenly, Laramie came roaring back into my head. I didn’t want another Laramie catastrophe.”
We sat in silence as we continued to eat. I waited for her to continue.
“Amy, I really like you, but I can’t let what happened in Wyoming happen here.”
Again, we were silent.
“What happened in Wyoming?” I finally asked.
It was a few minutes before she began
“I met this woman in class, and we started hanging out together. One thing led to another, and we started having an affair.” She stopped. “No, it wasn’t an affair. I fell in love with her. One day, her mother came home from work early and found us in bed together. She called the police.”
“The police? Because you were sleeping together?”
“Well…we weren’t sleeping.”
“I think I figured that out. Did they arrest you?”
“No. I’d done nothing wrong. I was twenty-two, and she’d just turned twenty-one. We were both of age, but when her mother started screaming and quoting scripture at us, she broke down and said I had forced her to do it.”
“You’re kidding! I can’t believe that.”
Jody nodded. “That’s what she said. Amy, I’d never force anyone to go to bed with me. In fact, I thought I loved her.”
“Then what happened?”
“Well, her mother started accusing me of being a child molester.”
“But she was twenty-one years old!” I exclaimed.
“That’s what the police told her. They could do nothing because we were both of age. So her mother started saying I had raped her. The police asked if Joanne wanted to press charges, but she said no.”
“Of course! How could she? Why would she? So the police went away?”
“Yes. The police went away, but her mother spread it all over town what had happened…or at least what she said happened. She even asked everyone in her church to pray for the devil that had corrupted her innocent little baby.”
<
br /> “Oh, my God! What did you do? That was horrible!” I couldn’t believe that had happened in this day and age, but then…it was a different state. I didn’t know the mentality in Wyoming.
“Aside from crying for weeks? I did nothing. I even got fired from my job because the gossip was interfering with business. No one wanted to do business with a printing company who had a rapist working there. I mean, my boss was real sweet about it. He apologized and said he didn’t believe I’d done anything wrong, but business was way down and one of our biggest clients had cancelled several jobs because of church pressure. I mean, I had some support but not a lot.”
“Oh, Jody, I’m so sorry.”
Jody just nodded as she ran her spoon through her cement. “Anyway, Dad called Uncle Marvin and asked if he needed help out at the farm, and that’s why I’m here.”
I couldn’t stop myself. I set what was left of my cement on the bench and threw my arms around her.
“Well, first of all, that will not happen here. No, not everyone handles homosexuality the same, but there hasn’t been a witch-hunt here in decades. Now, other states around here…like Oklahoma…may have different views, but my folks know I’m gay. They don’t particularly like it, but they’d never do something like that, and they respect your uncle too much to do anything that would harm him.”
We sat there for a few minutes, just staring at the ground.
I looked at my watch. It was five forty-five. “Shit, I gotta call my mother. Dinner is at six. Want to join us?”
“Think I should?”
“Yes!” I exclaimed. “You’re Marvin Wright’s niece. They’d love to meet you. Besides, I gotta bring that lamb home…”
I pressed the home phone number.
“Hi, Mom, sorry I’m late. I let time get away from me. Is there enough for one more? I’m sitting here talking with Mr. Wright’s niece. Yes, and he has the lamb ready. I’ll bring it with me. No, we can pay him tomorrow. All right. See you in a few.”
I looked at Jody as I pressed my phone off.
“Let’s get going. She’ll hold dinner for us.”
We got up, tossed our now-melted almost-empty cement cups into the trashcan, and got into my car. I drove back, stopping in the alley so Jody could run in and get the packages of meat, then drove home.
* * * *
“You’re Robert’s daughter, aren’t you?” Dad asked as we sat down to eat.
Mom had already set four places at the table and had served four plates of meatloaf, mashed potatoes, green beans, and summer squash.
Jody nodded. She had just placed a forkful into her mouth.
“How’s he doing?”
Jody swallowed quickly. “He’s fine. Very busy.”
“What’s he doing now?”
“He teaches at the University of Wyoming in Laramie. In the summer, he guides hunting parties up into the mountains.”
“What’s he teach?” Mom asked right away.
“Land Management,” Jody said as she put some green beans into her mouth.
“Your family always had good feelings for land. That’s why the farm was so successful,” Dad said. “Do you work out there, too, or just in Marvin’s store?”
“I do both,” Jody said with a smile. “In fact, I helped with the sheep last weekend. I even cut your chops. So if you don’t like them, you can blame me.”
Mom laughed. “I’m sure they’re fine, Jody. Meat from that farm is always the best.”
Mom and Dad continued asking questions through the entire meal.
“I don’t have much for dessert,” Mom started. “Do you want some cookies?”
“I’m fine,” Jody said as she shook her head and sat back.
“I have to admit, we stopped at Labelle’s after work,” I said. I had to grin. Labelle’s was always viewed as a special treat.
“And you didn’t bring any home?” Dad asked.
I smiled. “Sorry, Dad. I’ll get you some tonight.”
“Nah, I’m just joshing you. Do you have plans for tonight?”
I looked at Jody. “Well,” I started, “I have to take Jody home.”
“Are you staying out at the farm?” Mom asked.
“No. I live over Uncle Marvin’s store.”
“Is there enough room for both of you up there?”
“It’s tight, but we make it work,” Jody said.
“Well, if it gets too tight, we have Junior’s old room here,” Mom said as she started to take the dirty dishes out to the kitchen. I got up to help. “It’s empty. I’m sure Amy would love to have a friend around, and you could commute into work together. The Butcher Shop and Felton’s Market are just a couple blocks away from each other.”
“Thank you very much. I’ll remember that, but it seems to be working out for now. I stay out at the farm when we’re slaughtering stock.”
“They’ve got you working too hard,” Mom said, as she brought a plate of peanut butter cookies in for Dad.
“That’s why I’m here, to learn the business.”
“Good heavens!” Mom exclaimed as she sat back down.
“Yes, it’s more work than I had thought it would be, but I’m enjoying most of it.”
“That’s good, then. Enjoying what you do is the most important part of making a living.”
I stood up. “Let me get the dishes done, then we can go back into town,” I said.
“I’ll help,” Jody immediately said.
“No.” Mom’s voice was firm. “Just go on and have a good time.”
“But my mother would be livid if she found out I went to someone’s house for dinner and didn’t help afterwards,” Jody said.
“Then we won’t tell her,” Mom decreed. “I never let people help the first time they visit. If you make a habit of it, then we’ll see.”
Jody smiled. “Okay,” she said. “But the next time…”
“Okay, the next time,” Mom acquiesced with a grin.
* * * *
“I like your folks,” Jody said as we got into my car.
“Mom said she remembered you when you were little,” I said as I backed out of the driveway and headed toward town.
She shook her head. “I remember visiting here when I was about five or six, but I only remember the farm, not the people.”
“I imagine the farm was more important to you than anything else.”
She nodded.
“And now?”
“Well, the farm will always be the farm and some people are okay, like your folks, but there’s one I’d like to know better.”
“We’ll have to do something about that,” I said with a smile.
After a minute, she reached over and put her hand on mine. We drove back to town that way.
* * * *
I finally pulled into the alley and parked.
“Coming up?” she asked softly.
“Won’t your uncle be there?”
She shook her head. “He sleeps over at Buzz’s.”
“Buzz? Buzz Felten?”
She nodded, a smirk on her face.
“Really?” I was astonished.
Jody nodded. “I guess it’s been years, but they keep it hidden.”
“Oh, my God!”
“He comes back here when Buzz opens the store at 7:30. He comes in and makes a pot of coffee, then he’ll sit and read the newspaper until I get up or the shop needs to open.
“Unbelievable.”
“I don’t think they’ve ever told anyone. I know Dad doesn’t know.”
I had to laugh. “No one even suspects, or I would have heard about it around town.”
“Then I guess we have a lot to keep secret. Come on up.”
She opened the car door and got out.
I got out, locked the car, and followed her to where she was unlocking the back door of the butcher shop.
She opened the door, flipped the light on, and then held it as I stepped in. She locked that door and led the way up the flight of stairs to the little apart
ment up there. The door at the top opened into a small sitting room with a tiny kitchenette with just a refrigerator, sink, and a stove. There were two big stuffed chairs there.
Then Jody turned and drew me into her arms. Even though she was taller than me, I seemed to fit quite nicely into her arms. She kissed me again.
“I can’t stay the entire night,” I said softly. “I don’t want anyone to think I seduced Marvin Wright’s niece.”
“Is that what you did?” she asked with a silly grin.
“It’s what I had hoped to do,” I admitted.
“Then you succeeded.” She grabbed my hand and pulled me through a door into a small bedroom. There was only a single bed there and a dresser.
I turned her toward me and started to push her T-shirt up over her head.
“Wait a minute,” she said. “Let me pull the shades down.”
“Are you shy?” I asked.
“Not with you,” she chuckled, “But people across the alley can see in when it gets dark out.”
“Then, by all means, close the shades.”
She lowered the one on the back window and the leaned across the bed to close the one on the side. I crawled up onto the bed beside her and drew her into my arms. I bent down and placed my lips on hers.
Oh, what a kiss! It went on and on as she turned and had me locked in her arms, too.
“I’m glad Uncle Marvin agreed to let me come here,” Jody whispered.
“I am, too.”
We kissed again as I unfastened her bra. I pulled it off. Her breasts weren’t big but just enough to fit into my mouth.
“That’s not fair,” she said as she drew away from me. “I need to see yours, too.”
She unbuttoned my shirt and pushed it back over my shoulders, then unhitched my bra. I had to sit up to take my arms out of my shirt and bra.
She sat back and looked at my body.
“I like,” she said as she leaned in to take my breast into her mouth.
I pulled her head up to kiss her lips again.
“You’ve got to take these jeans off,” I said as I reached for her fly.
“We both do.”
We were naked in just a few seconds.
“Amy,” she whispered as she wrapped her arms around me and brought her lips to mine. Suddenly, we were lying on the bed, our mouths firmly locked together. We turned with her on top of me, her tongue inside my mouth. It was like we couldn’t get close enough, although we were pressed together as if glued.
The New Butcher in Town Page 3
